Who follows the Roadmap any more? The PA never did. The US doesn’t even follow the commitments made by Bush to Sharon. I hope that what they are not woried for nothing. Ted Belman
The danger of Netanyahu’s new settlement policy
Haaretz Editorial
A few days after he revealed his opinion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not stem from a territorial dispute, and is therefore insoluble, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to implement a horrific idea necessitated by his worldview. He decided to accelerate the race to occupy additional territories in the disputed areas by thinning out the means of supervision of the settlement project authorities.
On Sunday, the government decided that the Settlement Department of the World Zionist Organization – the long arm of construction matters in the West Bank – will no longer be required to obtain prior authorization from the defense minister.
Henceforth the department will be required only to “coordinate” its activities with the minister in charge of the territories. This decision by Netanyahu’s government makes a mockery of the 2003 decision by Ariel Sharon government (to which Netanyahu was a partner ) to freeze construction in the settlements and dismantle the outposts, as required by the road map to peace.
The initiative to pare the defense minister’s authority concerning construction in the West Bank blatantly violates the decision in 2005 by Sharon’s government (to which Netanyahu was a partner) to adopt attorney Talia Sasson’s report on the outposts.
The report found that the Settlement Department had established dozens of outposts without state permission. In light of the grave findings, Sasson recommended limiting the department’s activity beyond the Green Line to operating as a settlement organization solely for purposes of establishing or expanding a settlement the government had already decided to establish or expand.
She also recommended that the Finance Ministry adjust the department’s budget in accordance with this recommendation. The decision now to expand the Settlement Department’s freedom in the territories complements the government’s decision from about two years ago to dedicate one-third of the department’s budget to settlements in the territories.
In that same decision the department was required to request the defense minister’s authorization for any building and infrastructure development in the territories, and insofar as is necessary authorization from the prime minister as well. The decision at this time to eliminate even the appearance of supervision of settlement building is hammering another nail into the coffin of the two-state solution.
Rightists blocking Jerusalem plan to build 2,500 houses for Arabs
Left condemn Jerusalem mayor for not exerting enough effort to advance the plan, which would somewhat relieve the extreme shortage of housing in Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods.
By Nir Hasson
Right-wing and Haredi city council members are blocking an effort by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to build a new neighborhood for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, claiming the plan was poorly conceived and politically dangerous.
At issue is a plan to build 2,500 housing units on private land in the village of Sawahara in southeastern Jerusalem, apparently the largest plan ever drawn up for the residents of East Jerusalem.
Not to BB’s credit , he was the one promoting the Arab housing project!
“Makes a mockery”?
of what was itself a mockery?
— Works for me.
CHOKE on it, Ha’aretz.
If Haaretz is not happy, its good news. The Israeli Left is looking for that darkness in the tunnel these days!
Referring to the Sharon Administration’s decisions, is flogging a dead horse, if ever i have seen such vile reference to a long dead initiative.
Add to this, reference to the 2003 Road Map, made null and void by its non-implementation, and denial to recognize same by none other than mr. obama himself.
The mockery is on the other foot.
Maybe — just maybe — Netanyahu will turn out to be less a Judenratbefehlshalter answerable to Barack Hussein Obama II than some of us thought him to be. (I hope I got the German language title correctly.)
What this means, unless we are greatly misinterpreting his intentions, is that Jewish Judea and Samaria will once again get the develop its needs to best serve the future of the Jewish nation. In terms of the regional planning of Israel, there is no reason that enough new housing cannot be put in place to increase the Jewish population there by some 50,000 per year or more. I understand that the infrastructure is mostly in place, just awaiting the development. As a trained planner, the idea of urban sprawl usually leaves me aghast. But for these purposes my advice to the bulldozer and cement truck drivers is “put the transmissions in gear, boys, and let’s roll.”
As for Ha’aretz — the crummy surrenderist Tel Aviv newsrag and not the Jewish land — I’ve never been so happy to see them so disappointed.
And as for Mr Temporary President Obama, writing both as Jewish nationalist and American nationalist, my advice is, “Mr president, sir, don’t chain your ass to any of the construction vehicles. We really don’t want you to wind up as the next Rachel Corrie; at least until some Republican whips your ass in next year’s election”.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI