Is Givat HaMatos such a big deal? Not in Washington
Shavua tov v'shana tova to all of you - a good week and a good year.
On Thursday, I reported on Prime Minister Netanyahu's reaction to the Obama administration
going ballistic again over construction in 'east' Jerusalem. If you thought the article I blogged there was over the top, please consider this one from
Haaretz's Barak Ravid.
The latest quandary embarrassed Netanyahu. It destroyed his last
shreds of credibility and gave a strange, almost ridiculous twist to his
speech at the UN and his statement to Obama about integrating the
moderate Arab states in the peace process. The new, strategic idea he
had brought up now seemed like another one of his spins.
President
Obama and his senior advisers go nuts every time they hear the word
settlement. They see Israel’s international isolation deepening and the
Palestinians advancing a unilateral move in the Security Council, while
they have to deal every Monday and Thursday with crises produced by
settlements.
“How do such things help me to help you?” Obama asked
Netanyahu. Obama and his aides cannot understand how Netanyahu thinks
he could advance relations with the moderate Arab states as long as
construction in the settlements continues.
“Those moves not only
poison the atmosphere with the Palestinians, but also with those Arab
states Netanyahu said he wants to build relations with,” said White
House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, shortly after Obama’s meeting with
Netanyahu.
At his meeting with reporters, Netanyahu rejected
Earnest’s criticism, but did not attack Obama harshly or personally. He
used diplomatic clichés to downplay the fiasco. “The tones weren’t
loud,” he said. “The conversation was good and open. I highly appreciate
the president’s attentiveness.”
But it was clear Obama did not
invite Netanyahu to stay for lunch, preferring instead to dine alone
with Vice President Joe Biden. One can only guess who those two gossiped
about.
But Times of Israel's Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, who unlike Ravid lives in Washington, says it's
no big deal.
For all the strong language in the Washington statements, according to
insiders here, the administration is not interested in turning the issue
of Israel’s plans to build some 2,600 units on the southeast Jerusalem
hillside into a full-blown crisis.
Veteran Washington Mideast policy folks point
to the fact that during his press availability with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama did not even mention the
word “settlements,” focusing instead on the warm points in the
ties between the two states. Although he was aware of the building plans
– White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that the two
talked about the topic behind closed doors – Obama chose to ignore the
issue, and was, if anything, unusually amiable in his interaction with
Netanyahu during the late morning event.
If Obama had wanted to make a major issue of
the construction plans, it was well within his ability to discuss it
during the press spot, when the cameras were rolling and Netanyahu would
have been caught in the hot seat. Or he could have issued a statement
in his own name. Or Secretary of State Kerry, who was also at the
Wednesday meeting, could have done so. But they didn’t.
Instead, while the two leaders met, the State
Department and the White House were coordinating strongly worded
statements to be delivered by their spokespeople soon after the White
House talks were completed. The decision was to strike a tone that
contrasted starkly with the good-natured Obama-Netanyahu presser during
the daily scheduled press briefings.
State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki accused
Israel of being two-faced in its policies by describing the building
project as “contrary to Israel’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians,” and later warned that it would
“poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians, but also with the
very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he
wanted to build relations; and call into question Israel’s ultimate
commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.”
...
Earnest repeated Psaki’s criticism almost verbatim, warning that “the
step is contrary to Israel’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians. And it would send a very
troubling message if they were to proceed with tenders or construction
in that area.”
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Givat HaMatos, Jen Psaki, Jerusalem construction, Peace Now, Silwan, two-state solution
Deja vu all over again: Netanyahu slams Obama for speaking without checking the facts
Where have we heard this story before? A White House meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Hussein Obama is accompanied by an Israeli 'announcement' that it would 'move ahead' with the construction of
2,610 housing units in 'east Jerusalem.' The White House and the State Department blast Netanyahu within an hour after he leaves the White House.
Officials chose to publicly admonish the Israeli government only an hour
after its premier left the building, presumably deciding on the
language as the two leaders met in the Oval Office.
"This
development will only draw condemnation from the international
community," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said afterwards.
"It also would call into question Israel's ultimate commitment to a
peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians."
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki came out with similar language as Netanyahu departed for Joint Base Andrews air force base.
But the apartments were approved in 2012.
The homes will be built in Givat Hamatos, an area of the city that Palestinians believe should be a part of their future state.
The
Jerusalem Municipality approved the project in December 2012, but
waited almost two years - until the date of the bilateral meeting - to
place news of the approval in a local Israeli paper, according to Peace
Now, an organization opposed to Israel's presence beyond its 1967
borders.
Really? They weren't announced until now?
Hmmm.
Prime Minister Netanyahu
harshly rejected the criticism, which now seemed to deal as much with
seven existing buildings in Silwan, and not with 2,610 apartments in Givat HaMatos. This is from the first link in the paragraph.
Netanyahu, in a briefing in New York with reporters who accompanied him
on his trip to the US, said that as Israel’s prime minister he did not
understand the criticism of Jews legally buying and moving into
property in Jerusalem.
“Arabs in Jerusalem freely buy
apartments, and nobody says that is forbidden. I will also not say that
Jews cannot buy property in Jerusalem. There cannot be discrimination
between Jews and Arabs,” he said.
Netanyahu said that nobody
“stole” the houses in Jerusalem or took them over by force. “This is a
normal process, and I see no reason to discriminate,” he said.
Just
hours before, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the US
condemned the “occupation of residential buildings in the Palestinian
neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem -- this is near the old city
-- by individuals who are associated with an organization whose agenda,
by definition, stokes tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Earnest
said that the moves by Elad are “provocative acts” that only serve “to
escalate tensions at a moment when those tensions have already been
high.”
Earnest also slammed Israel in very harsh language for
moving forward with planning for homes in the Givat Hamatos area in
south Jerusalem. The anti-settlement Peace Now group made another
technical step taken at the local planning level last week on Givat
Hamatos public on Wednesday, just prior to the Obama-Netanyahu meeting.
“This
step is contrary to Israel's stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians,” Earnest said.
“This
development will only draw condemnation from the international
community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the
atmosphere, not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab
governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build
relations.”
Oh, and by the way, it wasn't Netanyahu's government that made that 'poorly timed' announcement about Givat HaMatos during the meeting. It was 'Peace Now.'
Without mentioning Peace Now by name, Netanyahu said the group
demonstrated a “lack of national responsibility” by publicizing this in
order to “harm the meeting.” He said that it was not a “coincidence”
that Peace Now publicized the information on Wednesday morning, and
that it was meant to sabotage his meeting with Obama.
Netanyahu also said that neither Silwan nor Givat HaMatos came up during his meeting with Hussein Obama. But Israel Radio reports that they
did come up.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly leveled unusually stern
criticism of the White House's decision to criticize Israeli plans to
build 1,610 homes in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem during his
meeting with President Barack Obama.
Israeli public radio quoted Netanyahu as telling Obama in talks in
Washington Wednesday to "study the facts and details before making
statements" about the building plan.
...
Netanyahu's reported comments to Obama echoed similar statement he made to journalists following the meeting, in which he rejected US criticism as discriminatory.
"It’s worth learning the information properly before deciding to take a position like that," he said of the statement.
But the bottom line is that as much as it may
bother Obama, both he and Netanyahu now recognize that the 'Palestinian question' is
not a high priority item. The difference between them is that Netanyahu still regards Iran as the priority, while Obama is much more concerned about Islamic State. Of course, Obama is not concerned enough to take effective action against Islamic State, but we've heard that one before as well.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Givat HaMatos, Iranian nuclear threat, Islamic State, Jerusalem construction, Peace Now, Silwan, two-state solution
Livni whines over Ramat Shlomo
Building in Jerusalem is very popular. In addition to the 1,500 housing units that were approved in Ramat Shlomo earlier this week, the Netanyahu government has announced that it will speed up the approval process for another 5,000 units. Needless to say, this has not endeared the Likud-Beiteinu combination to the Tzipi Livni party. On Wednesday morning, on Israel Radio,
Livni had a tantrum.
Speaking to Israel Radio, Livni said "They do this every election. The
Likud is exposing Jerusalem to international condemnation for electoral
purposes."
...
For her part, Livni said Israel must reserve the right to build in
Jerusalem, Israel's capital city. "I myself built in Jerusalem," she
said, referencing her governmental experience in previous Likud- and
Kadima-led coalitions. "I built in Jerusalem," she repeated, "and I will
protect it in any diplomatic negotiations [with the Palestinians.]"
The
difference, she added, was that her construction over the green line
was undertaken in conjunction with negotiations. "When we built, there
was international silence. Because we were building alongside a
diplomatic effort to reach a solution," she said.
Actually, that's a load of crap. Ramat Shlomo was completed in 1996 - before Livni took office. The only new neighborhood that has been built in 'east' Jerusalem since has been Har Homa, which was approved and started... during Netanyahu's first term in office. In fact, Livni and her boss,
Ehud K. Olmert, spent most of their time in office
denying that they agreed to a freeze in 'east' Jerusalem.
The only housing that has been built in 'east' Jerusalem since then has been small projects here and there. There has been nothing as significant as Givat HaMatos, a new neighborhood proposed for the southern end of the city, and no project has been as large as the 1,500 units proposed for Ramat Shlomo.
Israelis aren't dumb enough to be fooled by Livni.
Labels: East Jerusalem, Givat HaMatos, Har Homa, Ramat Shlomo, Tzipi Livni
New Jewish neighborhood in 'east' Jerusalem to be approved
On December 19, the Jerusalem Municipality is expected to authorize the first new Jewish neighborhood in 'east' Jerusalem since 1997. It's currently known as
Givat HaMatos.
The first stage of the plan, Givat Hamatos A, was originally slated to
receive the final approval two weeks ago during the biweekly meeting of
the Local Planning and Building Committee, said City Councilor Elisha
Peleg (Likud), a member of the committee. But the meeting occurred on
the last day of Operation Pillar of Defense, and the item was hastily
scratched from the agenda when Secretary of State Hilary Clinton arrived to try to negotiate a ceasefire.
The neighborhood’s final approval will be back on the agenda in two
weeks on Wednesday, December 19, according to Deputy Mayor Kobi Kahlon,
who is the head of the Local Planning and Building Committee.
“It’s
all connected to Clinton,” Peleg said on Sunday. He was furious when
the item was taken off the budget due to concerns about international
criticism. “No time will be a suitable time [for building in east
Jerusalem] because there will always be the western world getting
involved with internal issues in state of Israel, and they’ll never let
us build,” he said. “We need to show we’re an independent sovereign
state, and we’re doing what we need to do, which is build on all parts
of Israel. We need to stop playing the game when Clinton travels here or
travels there and we rush to cancel the project,” he said.
Givat
Hamatos A, one of four stages, will have 2,610 housing units. The
approximately 4,000 units in the four stages of the plan include around
800 units for Palestinian homes built inside Beit Safafa.
We will undoubtedly be condemned for this first thing tomorrow morning. But it's so good to hear people talking like Elisha Peleg....
Labels: City of Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, Givat HaMatos
Lady Ugly: New Israeli construction hinders EU peace efforts
Yeah, that must be it. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says that the fact that Israel might begin construction on a new neighborhood in 'east' Jerusalem in
a year and a half is hindering European '
peace efforts.' Of course.
“These initiatives run contrary to the current EU and Quartet efforts to bring about the resumption of peace negotiations,” EU Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
Oh, and she's not the only one.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israeli plans to build more than 2,600 apartments in the new Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamatos, over the 1967 Green Line as "unacceptable."
"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at continued efforts to advance planning for new Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem," Ban's press office said in a statement.
"Recent developments in this regard have been unacceptable, particularly as efforts are ongoing to resume (Israeli-Palestinian) negotiations, and run contrary to the Quartet's call on the parties to refrain from provocations," it said.
"The Secretary-General reiterates that settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the remainder of the West Bank is contrary to international law," the UN statement said, adding such activity "must cease."
They're not illegal, 'east' Jerusalem is not part of the 'West Bank,' nor is it a 'settlement,' and even if Israel stopped building entirely, the 'Palestinians' won't come back to the table. We tried that already.
Labels: East Jerusalem, Givat HaMatos, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel
Israel to build new neighborhood in 'east' Jerusalem?
This story was lost in the shuffle of the terrorists for Gilad trade, but this past week, a new neighborhood in the southeastern part of Jerusalem was approved in the area now known as Givat HaMatos. The neighborhood will have 2,610 apartments.
Israel's suicidal Left is furious.
Left-wing activists and politicians slammed the plan for a new neighborhood in east Jerusalem. “I think that this is a decisive massacre of the option of returning to negotiations with Palestinians,” said City Councilor Meir Margalit (Meretz), who holds the east Jerusalem portfolio. “Givat Hamatos is different from other neighborhoods. Construction in neighborhoods already built doesn’t scare me, but this is only on paper and this is a totally new settlement,” he said.
The plan for a new neighborhood at Givat Hamatos has been in the works for years. The general construction plan for Givat Hamatos with 2,610 housing units was approved in September. At least some of the housing units will be reserved for an Arab extension of Beit Safafa.
However, the project’s approval in September did not raise any red flags since the land for the project has many different owners, including the Spanish government and the Latin Patriarch, said Margalit. Determining and reorganizing the ownership for building purposes is a complicated legal process called “reparcelization” that can take years, leading activists and politicians to focus their energies elsewhere.
The reparcelization plan was deposited for public review on Tuesday, which began a 60-day period for review during which the public can file oppositions to the project. With the deposit, the project is close to the end of the complicated approval process, and construction could begin as early as a year and a half from now.
I think we should name some streets after Jerusalem terror victims.
Labels: Givat HaMatos, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel
Finally: Israel to build 4,300 housing units in Jerusalem
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu had what his office described as a '
friendly' phone conversation with American President Barack
Hussein Obama. When Obama awakens on Thursday morning, he is likely to be in a much fouler mood 9and he might have even been awakened during the night in Washington to hear about this: Interior Minister Eli Yishai gave final approval on Thursday to the construction of
4,300 housing units in 'east' Jerusalem.
Yishai has reportedly green-lighted the construction of 1,600 housing units in the northeastern neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo alone.
Another plan will see 700 new housing units built in the adjacent neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.
A third, 2,000-unit project is planned for Givat HaMatos, which is also beyond the Green Line.
The 'Green Line' is the common term for the 1949 armistice lines, so-called because they were green on the map (yes, really).
Those units are in addition to the
930 units in Har Homa that were approved last week.
But here's the best part: We can thank all those 'housing crisis' demonstrators supported by the New Israel Fund and billionaire peacenik S. Daniel Abraham for bringing this about.
Sources in the Interior Ministry said that Yishai views the projects as one of the solutions to Jerusalem's housing plight, adding that the recent induction of the National Housing Committees' Law, has allowed for the projects' authorization process to be accelerated.
Heh.
Haaretz has the story slightly differently.
But only slightly.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai has given final authorization to build 1,600 apartments in East Jerusalem, and will approve 2,700 more in the next few days.
And yes, Netanyahu knew this was coming.
Ministry spokesman Roi Lachmanovich said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office knew the construction plans in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in East Jerusalem were moving ahead.
This is a cold calculation by Netanyahu. Obama cannot refuse to veto the 'Palestinians' unilateral attempt for 'statehood' in the UN next month without seriously damaging - and maybe even destroying what is left of - his reelection chances.
Until this week, the Netanyahu government, which is a government of the Right, had not initiated a single housing unit in 'east' Jerusalem, let alone Judea and Samaria, in more than two and a half years in office. The 'Palestinians' have had their chances to come to the table and have refused. Now, they will have something to lose if they don't come to the table. The message is clear: We will build where we want and when we want, and if you wait for a freeze to come to the table, there just might not be anything left to discuss other than lots of 'demographic realities.'
This strategy is long overdue.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Campaign 2012, Givat HaMatos, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, Pisgat Zev, Ramat Shlomo, settlement freeze, unilateral declaration of statehood, US veto
