Government reconsidering terrorist release?
"We are not happy with the prisoner releases," Yaalon remarked, speaking from an army training exercise of the Givati Brigade. "We are now before the third [terrorist] release [. . .] we will decide if - and whom - to release."
...
"Judea and Samaria has not been quiet," he stated. "We call this an 'atmosphere of terror' and it is due to the Palestinian Authority's incitement against Israel. The statistics speak for themselves: in 2012 we saw a decline in terror attacks, but in the past several months we have seen a rise in terror attacks."
"This happens every time issues between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are addressed," Ya'alon concluded. "[Negotiations] are a result of the incitement, and it has everything to do with the political process.Meanwhile, government officials said on Wednesday night that Sunday's terrorist release (assuming it goes through?) will once again be accompanied by announcements of construction in Judea and Samaria and in Jerusalem, which will anger the 'Palestinians' and draw condemnation from the US and the Europeans.
In a move likely to spark Palestinian anger and international condemnation, Israel intends to announce plans for new construction beyond the Green Line next week, soon after the release of another group of Palestinian prisoners, government officials said Wednesday night.
The officials would not say where the planned building would take place, or how many units would be involved.
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Israel's position is that it made no commitment in July to freeze settlement construction, and that both the US and the Palestinians were aware that construction would continue.
Both previous prisoner releases were accompanied by settlement construction announcements, widely viewed as a way to make the very unpopular release of the convicted terrorists more palatable to the right wing elements inside the coalition. Most – but not all -- of the units announced then were for Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem beyond the 1967 lines, and for communities inside the large settlement blocks.
Announcing the construction plans, one official said, did not in any way violate the agreement that led to the renewal of the talks with the Palestinians. He said Israel was "strictly abiding by" that agreement.All this so that the 'Palestinians' can walk away in April and blame Israel for the talks' failure.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Jerusalem construction, John Kerry, Judea and Samaria construction, Middle East peace process, Moshe Yaalon, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:27 PM
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