Volume 6; Issue 3
You've heard them from Netanyahu, from Barak, from pundits, and from friends and family. Here we take on directly the bogus excuses offered to justify East Jerusalem settlement expansion.
Jerusalem: March 2010 Archives
Special to APN from Daniel Seidemann and Lara FriedmanTwo "new" East Jerusalem settlement projects have hit the news in the wake of the Biden debacle - one for the Shepherd's Hotel and the other for the Shimon Ha-Tzaddik neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah (Click here for a larger map of the area).
Shepherd's Hotel: As is now being widely reported in the Israeli and international press, Israel has issued permits for new settler construction in East Jerusalem.
The details are as follows: on March 18, 2010 the final permits were issued for the construction of 20 units for settlers at the site of the Shepherd's Hotel (a pdf of the actual permit is available here). According to the Municipality, the settlers applied for and paid the fees for the permits on March 15, 2010.
It should be recalled that the Shepherd's Hotel project was approved (final approval) in July 2009. Thus, barring intervention from the government of Israel, the project could have moved forward at any time since then - all that was needed was for the settlers to pay the fees and the issuance of the permits would be automatic.
That said, it is clear that the timing of the settlers' decision to move on this project at this time was neither coincidental or nor innocent. This is why we have been asserting for some months that the day after indirect talks were announced, there would be a provocation in Jerusalem, and it could well be bulldozers knocking down the Shepherd's Hotel.
Why did Israel greet Vice President Biden with an announcement of more settlement activity in East Jerusalem? Was it a deliberate insult? A provocation? A sign of colossal hubris?
The more likely answer is less sinister but no less ominous: this was just business-as-usual - an Israeli government thumbing its nose at the US, assuming there will be no consequences.
Most insiders agree that Netanyahu probably didn't know in advance about the settlement plan coming up for approval, and that the timing was more about one of Netanyahu's ministers trying to embarrass him than about trying to pick a fight with Washington. But that absolves Netanyahu of nothing. For him to not be keeping track of (and taking control of) Jerusalem settlement plans at this point is either gross negligence or willful ignorance.
And that, too, is business-as-usual: an Israeli Prime Minister who believes it is politically easier and less costly to clash with the US than with his own cabinet or domestic constituencies.
The more likely answer is less sinister but no less ominous: this was just business-as-usual - an Israeli government thumbing its nose at the US, assuming there will be no consequences.
Most insiders agree that Netanyahu probably didn't know in advance about the settlement plan coming up for approval, and that the timing was more about one of Netanyahu's ministers trying to embarrass him than about trying to pick a fight with Washington. But that absolves Netanyahu of nothing. For him to not be keeping track of (and taking control of) Jerusalem settlement plans at this point is either gross negligence or willful ignorance.
And that, too, is business-as-usual: an Israeli Prime Minister who believes it is politically easier and less costly to clash with the US than with his own cabinet or domestic constituencies.
Continue reading Ending the "business-as-usual" settlements era in East Jerusalem?.
(Special to APN by Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman)Attention today is riveted on headlines in the Israeli press reporting Israeli plans for 50,000 residential units in East Jerusalem. Coming on the heels of the Biden visit debacle, the interest in this report is unsurprising. Here we offer some information and analysis about the facts behind the headlines and what they mean for the prospects of peace and the two-state solution.
(picture: Peace Now's Hagit Ofran leads a tour in East Jerusalem)
(Special to APN by Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman)
On 3/9/10 - just in time for the visit to Israel of Vice President Biden and just a day after Special Envoy George Mitchell announced that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to indirect talks - news broke in the Israeli press that Israel had approved the construction of 1600 new settlement units in East Jerusalem. The decision was strongly condemned by the US, the Palestinians, and the members of the international community. The Arab League, which the previous week had endorsed indirect talks, announced that it would meet March 10 to consider its reaction to the decision.
On 3/9/10 - just in time for the visit to Israel of Vice President Biden and just a day after Special Envoy George Mitchell announced that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to indirect talks - news broke in the Israeli press that Israel had approved the construction of 1600 new settlement units in East Jerusalem. The decision was strongly condemned by the US, the Palestinians, and the members of the international community. The Arab League, which the previous week had endorsed indirect talks, announced that it would meet March 10 to consider its reaction to the decision.
Earlier this week I blogged about Mayor Barkat's efforts to implement a grandiose settler-friendly development scheme in the Bustan area of Silwan (which Barkat calls the "Kings' Garden"). Today there are two important pieces in the Hebrew-language press today on Silwan/Bustan drama.
Continue reading The Silwan/Bustan Drama - two new articles from the Hebrew press.
My brilliant colleague in Jerusalem Hagit Ofran has posted an excellent summary of the Bustan story (including maps) on her blog, Eyes on the Ground in East Jerusalem.
As most people know by now, Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat has agreed to delay his plans to demolish tens of Palestinian homes in Silwan (and at the same time legalize a illegally-built settler high-rise apartment building in the area), following a carefully-worded intervention by Prime Minister Netanyahu (who pointedly did not say he disapproved of the mayor's plan, but rather urged the Mayor to try harder to convince the Palestinians to voluntarily agree to have their homes demolished and to be re-located to some site where the mayor thinks thinks their presence is more welcome/appropriate). The US is reportedly pleased with the Prime Minister's action and the outcome.
As most people know by now, Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat has agreed to delay his plans to demolish tens of Palestinian homes in Silwan (and at the same time legalize a illegally-built settler high-rise apartment building in the area), following a carefully-worded intervention by Prime Minister Netanyahu (who pointedly did not say he disapproved of the mayor's plan, but rather urged the Mayor to try harder to convince the Palestinians to voluntarily agree to have their homes demolished and to be re-located to some site where the mayor thinks thinks their presence is more welcome/appropriate). The US is reportedly pleased with the Prime Minister's action and the outcome.
Continue reading Bustan - Behind the Headlines.
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