Jewish housing starts in Judea and Samaria go 'poof' UPDATED
Haaretz is reporting that most of the 1,800 housing starts in Judea and Samaria that were announced last week have gone 'poof.'
Following pressure by Western European diplomats, the Civil
Administration decided on Wednesday to delay the recently announced
plans to move forward on construction of 1,800 settlement homes.
The
only plans approved by the Civil Administration's High Planning Council
concerned 381 housing units in Givat Ze'ev. Those involving
construction in Ariel, Har Bracha, Alfei Menashe, Oranit and other
settlements were put off, along with plans in the settlement outpost
Al-Matan.
Planning
council chairman Daniel Halimi said he received instructions for the
delays shortly before the meeting, and a source who attended the session
said, "Apparently the decision came from high up."
On
Tuesday, British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould and French
Ambassador to Israel Patrick Maisonnave told National Security Adviser
Yossi Cohen that their countries wanted Israel to hold off on advancing
plans for the 1,800 settlement homes, which had been frozen for many
months.
Gould
and Maisonnave told Cohen that Germany, Italy and Spain would be
conveying the same message, which the Italian and Spanish ambassadors
did to the Foreign Ministry later that day, while German Ambassador
Andreas Michaelis weighed in with Cohen early on Wednesday.
Israeli officials admit the delay but deny that it was the result of European pressure.
"Most of the deliberations set for today's original agenda were
discussed, except for a plan that was removed at the request of the
council and an additional plan that was postponed because of a
publishing process that was not implemented as asked," said the
officials.
Envision a pretzel soaked in warm water overnight floating around in a cup. Envision Prime Minister Netanyahu's backbone. Pretty similar, aren't they?
UPDATE 1:31 PM
I just found the retweet below in Barak Ravid's (the author of the report above) Twitter feed. Translation follows:
גורמי תכנון מודים: יש הנחייה לא להעלות שום תוכנית מחוץ לגושים לדיון בוועדת התכנון של המנהל. גורמים פוליטים אומרים זה בגלל ווטו של לפיד
— ilil shahar (@ilils1) June 12, 2014
Translation: Planning sources admit that there is an overall instruction not to bring up any plan for consideration in the [Israel Land] Authority's Planning Committee that includes houses outside the 'settlement blocs.' Political sources say that this is due to [Yair] Lapid's veto.
Thank you Naftali Bennett for giving Lapid so much power by refusing to go into the government without him a year an a half ago.
At a celebration of Queen Elizabeth's 87th birthday on Tuesday, British ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould said that his country "clearly and unambiguously opposes boycotts."
The British government vehemently opposes boycotts of Israel, British
Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould affirmed Monday night "clearly and
unambiguously," as his embassy hosted a celebration of Queen Elizabeth
II's 87th birthday. "They (boycotts) do nothing to build understanding,
they put up walls when we should be tearing them down," he asserted.
While
Gould acknowledged that the two countries "don’t always agree on
everything," pointing to the issue of settlements, he said that "the
important thing is that we disagree as friends, and we will stand
alongside Israel as a friend."
Does that mean that if the European Union decides to demand the labeling of 'settlement products,' Britain will be clearly and unambiguously opposed and will refuse to comply?
British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould: 'Israel is Goliath, the 'Palestinians' are David'
Here's a Channel 10 interview with British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould (the report is in Hebrew, the interview is in English, but it's about the BBC page for Israel in its Olympics coverage). Gould claims our problem is the 'occupation' and not hasbara.
Let's go to the videotape.
Support for Israel has long since eroded and continues to erode as Britain and Europe continue to bow to Islam. This has nothing to do with the 'occupation' and it's not about hasbara. It's about Israel's very existence in what Islam regards as land that belongs to it. There is nothing we can do about it.
The Torah tells us that Israel dwells alone. We see that today constantly.
For a summary of the comments you might have missed in Hebrew, go here.
"This in unhelpful and a disappointment to those who want to see the sides turn a corner", the ambassador said to the reporters, who were unsure of what projects he was referring to. Gould said the announcement of a new construction project in the settlements "took the shine off" the Amman meeting between Yitzhak Molcho and Saeb Erekat.
The only problem is that there was no new announcement of a new construction project beyond the Green Line. What there was, however, was publication by the Israel Land Authority of tenders for 312 units in Pisgat Ze'ev and Har Homa. These tenders were already announced a week ago.
After his initial condemnation, Gould clarified the matter and issued a statement saying that the Israeli government "has made clear to us that there has been no new announcement of tenders for building in east Jerusalem today, and that reports of such new tenders were incorrect. This is a welcome reassurance."
One official said this incident reflects confusion over how the planning process in the country works, with the same project – which must go through numerous steps on its way from initial design to final approval – often being condemned at every new station along the way as an "announcement of a new settlement project."
A British embassy spokesperson said Gould based his initial condemnation on a statement put out by Ir Amim, a left-wing NGO that monitors building in Jerusalem.
According to that statement, "Today, January 3, as Israeli and Palestinian representatives meet in Jordan at the behest of King Abdullah in order to restart negotiations, the Israel Lands Authority published tenders for 312 units in East Jerusalem – in Har Homa B and Pisgat Zeev. The timing of this notice is a slap in the face to Jordan…"
The tenders published by the Israel Land Administration represent the last step in the complicated approval process for construction in Israel, which can take up to a decade to complete.
The Har Homa and Pisgat Zev projects have already passed all of the approval steps from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Interior Ministry, and has already been condemned by many in the international community.
...
Tzabar called Gould's comments "cheeky," and added that the ILA considers Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev part of Jerusalem. "There are people outside of Israel that really don’t understand [the process], and just follow whatever the Arabs are saying," she said.
Just like Joe Biden on Ramat Shlomo two years ago. These people are so anxious to condemn us, they don't even bother to understand what they're condemning.
A Labor party MP has accused British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould (pictured) of having divided loyalties because Gould has declared himself to be a Zionist.
Challenged by the JC to clarify his comments about Matthew Gould, who took up the post last year, Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport West, said ambassadors to Israel had not previously been Jewish "to avoid the accusation that they have gone native".
Britain needed, he said, "someone with roots in the UK [who] can't be accused of having Jewish loyalty".
The Foreign Office and MPs from across the political spectrum sprang to Mr Gould's defence and condemned the remarks.
And who is influencing Mr. Flynn? I'm so glad you asked.
He said doubts had been raised about Mr Gould's loyalty by two of his constituents, Pippa Bartolotti and Joyce Giblin, who had been held in prison in Israel after taking part in the "flytilla" demonstration against the Gaza blockade in July.
"When they were briefly imprisoned in Israel, they met the ambassador, and they strongly believe… that he was serving the interest of the Israeli government, and not the interests of two British citizens," he told the committee.
Ms Bartolotti is the deputy leader of the Green Party in Wales and stood against Mr Flynn at the last election.
Flynn's response was some of my best friends are Jewish to claim to be a 'lifelong friend of Israel and Jewish causes.' Right....
I wonder if Mr. Flynn would be willing to serve as ambassador to Ireland. Just sayin'....
British ambassador says Iran sanctions coordinated with several countries, including Israel
Israel Radio's 3:00 pm newscast quotes British ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould as saying in an interview with Eran Sikurel - Israel Radio's foreign news editor - that Britain's sanctions against Iran, which were imposed on Monday, were undertaken in coordination with many countries, including Israel, and that they believe that they will have a real effect on Iran.
Unlike the United States, Britain (Britain!) has forbidden its banks from doing business with the Central Bank of Iran.
The European Union is threatening Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel's 'standing' will be 'damaged' if a bill supported by Netanyahu passes the Knesset. The bill limits the amount of money that can be donated to NGO's by foreign governments or the United Nations to NIS 20,000 annually. As I have documented several times in the past, the Europeans are generous supporters of anti-Israel NGO's that attempt to change government policy. The Obama administration is also opposed to the bill. This is from the second link (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
The European Union and the United States, as well as other countries, have begun applying pressure on the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging that proposed legislation limiting funding by foreign governments of Israeli nonprofit organizations be scrapped.
The EU's ambassador to Israel, Andrew Standley, contacted the prime minister's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, on Thursday and warned him that passage of the legislation could harm Israel's standing in the West as a democratic country.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will consider Likud's version of the proposed law, sponsored by MK Ofir Akunis, on Sunday. It would bar political nonprofit organizations from receiving more than NIS 20,000 from foreign governments or international agencies such as the UN or the EU.
An explanation in support of the bill - which is also supported by Netanyahu himself - said it was necessary in light of what were called "acts of incitement by many organizations operating in the guise of human rights organizations that seek to influence political discourse, the character, and policy of the State of Israel."
At the same time, Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beiteinu ) is sponsoring a similar bill that would require Israeli nonprofits that don't receive Israeli government funding pay a 45 percent tax on all proceeds from foreign governments.
Diplomats posted here from three European countries said the two bills are prompting great concern within the EU. One diplomat said the bills are problematic both with regard to potential harm to the countries' activities in Israel, and with regard to what he said was their anti-democratic character.
A diplomat familiar with the situation said that the EU's Standley told Amidror that the proposed laws are viewed as an attempt to limit civil society activity in Israel, calling the proposals part of a wider disturbing development.
For his part, Amidror is said to have replied with a defense of the legislation, calling foreign funding of nonprofits interference in Israel's internal affairs.
It's time to stand up to the Europeans. They would never tolerate the outside interference in their own legislative processes that they conduct in Israel.
This week the Knesset began deliberations on a bill that would prohibit foreign governments and international agencies from contributing more than NIS 20,000 to Israeli nongovernmental organizations. The bill was introduced by Likud MK Ofir Okunis with Netanyahu's support.
According to Haaretz, Gould issued a thinly veiled threat to Okunis related to the bill. Gould reportedly said that if the bill is passed, it would reflect badly on Israel in the international community.
Last month, Makor Rishon published a British government document titled, "NGOs in the Middle East Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."
The document showed that in 2010, outside of Iraq, the British government gave a total of £100,000 to pro-democracy NGOs throughout the Arab world.
In contrast to Britain's miserly attitude towards Arab civil society organizations, Her Majesty's Government gave more than £600,000 pounds to farleftist Israeli NGOs. These Israeli groups included the Economic Cooperation Foundation, Yesh Din, Peace Now, Ir Amim and Gisha. All of these groups are far beyond Israeli mainstream opinion.
All seek to use international pressure on Israel to force the government to adopt policies rejected by the vast majority of the public.
So for every pound Britain forked out to cultivate democracy in 20 Arab non-democracies, it spent £6 to undermine democracy in Israel - the region's only democracy.
And the British couldn't be more pleased with the return on their investment. Speaking to Parliament last year, Britain's Minister of Middle East Affairs Alistair Burt said the money has successfully changed Israeli policies. As he put it, "Since we began supporting these programs some significant changes have been made in the Israeli justice system, both civilian and military, and in the decisions they make. They have also raised a significant debate about these matters and we believe these activities will strengthen democracy in Israel."
In other words, as far as Britain is concerned, "strengthening democracy" in Israel means tipping the scales in favor of marginal groups with no noticeable domestic constituency.
Enough already! If these NGO's cannot be supported domestically they have no right to exist.
Britain has finally amended that obnoxious universal jurisdiction law, which had left high-ranking Israeli government and IDF officials unable to visit the UK.
“The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, which has now received Royal Assent, includes an important amendment to ensure that the UK’s justice system can no longer be abused for political reasons," [British Ambassador to Israel Matthew] Gould said, adding that "the change will ensure that people cannot be detained when there is no realistic chance of prosecution, while ensuring that we continue to honour our international obligations.
The British ambassador emphasized that “the UK remains committed to ensuring that those guilty of war crimes are brought to justice. This amendment requires the Director of Public Prosecutions to consent to the issuing of an arrest warrant for crimes of universal jurisdiction and will put an end to requests for warrants where there is no realistic chance of prosecution.”
And guess who Gould invited to London....
Gould called Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, who had an arrest warrant issued against her on December 2009, and announced the news. "Mrs. Livni, London is waiting," he reportedly told her.
I'm happy to have her go... so long as it's a one-way ticket.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
