Shorts

“If there is procrastination by Israel on the two-state solution or there is no clear American vision for how this is going to play out in 2009, then all the tremendous credibility that Obama has worldwide and in this region will evaporate overnight if nothing comes out in May.”

King Abdullah of Jordan, The Times, May 11, 2009

[President George H.W. Bush] wanted to know what Rabin intended to do [about settlements]. Rabin laid the cards on the table. “Mr. President,” he said, “I can put a stop to the planned construction of some 7,000 housing units in the West Bank at once, but I cannot stop the construction of another 10,000 housing units which are already in various stages of construction. That will cost me a lot of money.”

Bush:  “And what about private construction? Not only government’s financed construction is going on there.”

Rabin: “I cannot stop the private construction. If private people construct, I have nothing to do with that.”

Bush:  “But so much money is being transferred there, what about that?”

Rabin: “I have no intention whatsoever to starve the settlements in the territories. We will continue to supply them with education, health, religion, and whatever they need. What I am willing to guarantee is that we will not expand the settlements beyond those which already exist.”

Bush:  “And what will happen if currently there are five classes of children in an elementary school and in two years time they will advance to a high school and you have to build high school classrooms? Are you calling this an expansion beyond what already exists or not?”

Rabin: “I mean that I will not expand the settlements beyond the natural growth of the settlers already living there today. I will build high school classes.”

Bush:  “Then I will take that sum out of the total of loan guarantees. According to the agreement I have with the Israeli government, dating from the Likud administration, we will cut from the loan guarantees everything that Israel invests in the territories.”

Rabin: “If you take of just what we transfer to there, we agree. . . .”

 Hadashot, October 29, 1994

West Bank construction has been accelerating for several months, putting Israel on a collision course with a U.S. administration taking a hard line on settlement expansion.

A new outpost, new roads, and other building projects have raced ahead in and around the settlements, often without legal permits, producing the biggest construction drive since 2003, according to Dror Etkes of the Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din. . . .

Construction in outposts: Between Talmon and Nahliel, west of Ramallah, a stone house and another structure have been built without a permit next to a vineyard set up by settlers a year and a half ago. The Israel Defense Forces’ civil administration has recently issued an order to stop the project.

Illegal construction has been carried out on Palestinian land at the outposts Mitzpeh Ahiya and Adei-Ad, north of Ramallah. A mobile home has been set in an outpost near Susia south of Hebron. An outpost that was vacated near Hebron has been reinstated.

Construction east of the separation fence: New houses have been built in the Eli settlement, Rechelim, Ma’aleh Mikmash and Kochav Hashahar north and east of Ramallah. A neighborhood has been built in Na’ale, and there are at least 10 houses in Halamish and new houses in Talmon (all west of Ramallah) under construction. . . .

Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently reached an agreement with the settlers to evacuate the largest outpost, Migron, and transfer it to the nearby settlement Adam. But the agreement has yet to be implemented. . . .

Amos Harel, “Settlement Expansion Seeing Biggest Boost Since 2003,” Ha’aretz, May 7, 2009

A military court has ruled in favor of a settler from Kedumim who12 years ago, with the encouragement of the local council, took control of a plot of land owned by a Palestinian. Over the years, he planted a few trees and held classes at the site, which is outside the settlement. In 2007, the settler fenced in the area and planted it more intensively.

Palestinians from the nearby village of Qaddum opposed the land grab, arguing that they had planted the area for many years until being denied access to it.

The civil administration responded to their complaint by issuing an evacuation order against the settler based on the recommendation of the Sasson report, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had commissioned to examine outposts. The report’s findings resulted in a 2007 order forbidding cultivation of private Palestinian property by West Bank settlers. (On the Sasson report, see Settlement Report, March–April 2005.)

Citing Ottoman law, however, the military court ruled that if the settler had cultivated the land for at least three years before the civil administration issued its order, he could not be removed. The court also criticized the original order from the civil administration because it applied only to Jews.

The ruling makes it easier for settlers to claim rights over private Palestinian land.

Ha’aretz, April 3, 2009

Jones is an activist on the Palestinian issue, which he lists as a top priority for the new administration. He wants the United States to offer a guiding hand in peace negotiations ‑‑ submitting its own ideas to help break any logjams between the Israelis and Palestinians. "The United States is at its best when it's directly involved," Jones says. He cites U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Balkans. "We didn't tell the parties to go off and work this out. If we want to get momentum, we have to be involved directly."

This stance may antagonize the new Israeli government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as may the prospect of U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran. Ideally, the administration would like to explore a new security architecture for the Persian Gulf that recognizes Tehran's rising power but also sets limits. But officials caution that such broad talks won't happen quickly, given the mixed signals from Iran.

For now, the administration opposes any Israeli military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Asked if that view had been conveyed to the Israeli government, a senior official answered: "We have communicated with all regional actors that now is not the time for any kind of hostilities."

 David Ignatius, "National Security Facilitator."

Washington Post, April 29, 2009

Loan Guarantee Settlement Penalties, 1992-1996

(millions of dollars)

Source: Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories. Foundation for Middle East Peace. Volume 4, Number 6, November-December 1994.