Israel Matzav

But of course: Euroweenies demand Netanyahu implement another 'settlement freeze'

This can't come as too big a surprise. The Europeans are likely to call on Monday for the government of Israel to implement another 'settlement freeze' in order to draw the 'Palestinians' back to the negotiating table. And given that they are also likely to collectively condemn last week's announcement of 1,100 new housing units in Gilo (which several European countries have already condemned), it is likely that the European demand for a freeze will include 'east Jerusalem.'

Some of Israel's best friends in Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands, are urging Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to freeze construction across the Green Line as a way to bring the Palestinian Authority back to talks, western diplomatic officials told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.

The idea, according to the officials, is for Israel to refrain "from provocative action" in order to pave the way for the Palestinians to accept the new Quartet proposals and get them back to the negotiating table.

Netanyahu, in a Rosh Hashana interview with The Post last week, ruled out another settlement construction freeze, saying he tried that once, and "it didn't help any." Netanyahu froze settlement construction for 10 months beginning in November 2009.

The western diplomatic officials added that the recent Interior Ministry decision to approve a new project of 1,100 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, which is beyond the Green Line, will likely be mentioned negatively in a statement the EU's 27 foreign ministers will release after their monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday.

According to the officials, discussions are currently underway in Brussels among the various EU countries regarding how much prominence to give the Gilo project in that statement.

We're going to hear a lot of noise from Europe on this, and they may even threaten to collectively vote in favor of the 'Palestinians' at the UN as a means of getting us to do their bidding. But the Europeans cannot by themselves twist Israel's arm, and given that the US is moving into Presidential campaign mode and Obama is doing poorly in polls, the one party that could - at least in theory - twist Israel's arm, is unlikely to do so.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Judea and Samaria construction, settlement freeze

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:31 AM