Olmert government built and planned to build 9000 homes for settlers in the West Bank

Tuesday April 28, 2009 06:43 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Peace Now group published a reported stating that the previous government of Ehud Olmert built and planned the construction of 9000 homes for Jewish settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The report, published Monday, summarized the conducts of Olmert during his three years in office. The report was prepared and published by Peace Now and Ir Amin groups.

Peace Now urged the American president, Barack Obama, to practice pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to halt all settlement expansion in the occupied territories, especially in the Jerusalem area.

 Daniel Seidemann of Ir Amin stated that Obama and the International Community should act fast and “save Israel from its own actions”, as the region is gradually losing the two-state solution.

Ir Amin is a group that promotes coexistence between Jews and Palestinians in Jerusalem.

But Netanyahu and his coalition partners are encouraging settlement expansion and construction, and do not recognize the principle of establishing an independent Palestinian State.

On Monday, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated that freezing settlement construction and expansion is the main condition for resuming peace talks.

 The President also rejected Israeli preconditions stating that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish State.

Abbas said that he will not accept Israeli control on the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

“All what I know is that there is a State of Israel, in the 1967 borders”, Abbas said, “I will not accept one centimeter more, or one centimeter less”.

 The statements of Abbas drew angry responses from Israeli officials. One of them was Member of Knesset of the Likud party, Ofer Akunis, who claimed that the Palestinians are not interested in peace.

 Israel insists that “unified Jerusalem is the eternal capital”, while East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian territories Israel illegally captured after the 1967 war, therefore it is subject to Israeli withdrawals so the Palestinians can name it as the capital of the future Palestinian State.

The previous Israeli government of Ehud Olmert issued bids for the construction of 2400 homes for Jewish settlers in a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem.

 Israel is also planning for another settlement named E-1, which will be linked via a highway with one of the largest Israeli settlements, Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem.

This project was blocked by the Bush Administration as it blocks Palestinian geographical contiguity, and voids any Israeli withdrawal from East Jerusalem, the anticipated capital of the future Palestinian State.

Fayyad government: Expansion of Ma'ale Adumim could cause 'explosion'

Date: 27 / 04 / 2009  Time:  20:27
Ramallah – Ma’an –

The Palestinian caretaker cabinet condemned a proposed expansion of the illegal Israeli West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim on Monday as a step that could cause the region to “explode.”

The cabinet, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, issued a declaration saying that the proposal would sever the West Bank into two sections, denying any possibility of the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

The statement was in reference to a decision by a special committee of the Israeli Interior Ministry, which approved a merger between Ma’ale Adumim and the much smaller settlement of Qedar. Under the plan, 12,000 dunums of land in between the two settlements would be seized and the entire area, a swath of the central West Bank, would be surrounded by the separation wall.

The cabinet called on the international community and the US in particular to pressure Israel to stop imposing “facts on the ground,” which threaten a potential political resolution to the Middle East conflict.

The statement also referred to the Hamas-Fatah talks in Cairo, and said that the current meetings may be the last chance for reconciliation.

Fayyad’s cabinet also vowed to press forward with preparations to bring Pope Benedict XVI to Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, a plan Israeli authorities say is prohibited because of the camp’s proximity to the separation wall.

"The Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, symbolizes the right of return and holds a message of peace, brotherhood, and justice,” the statement said.

The pontiff is visiting Jordan, the West Bank and Israel beginning on 11 May.

France 'concerned' at expansion of West Bank illegal Israeli settlement

Date: 27 / 04 / 2009  Time:  15:27

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

France expressed "great concern" at a proposed Israeli plan to expand Ma’ale Adumim, the 30,000-resident illegal Israeli settlement in the heart of the occupied West Bank, AFP reported.

"The plans to expand the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim are particularly concerning in that they threaten the creation of a viable Palestinian state, without which there can be no peace in the Middle East or lasting security for Israel," said the spokesperson of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eric Chevallier, according to AFP.

On Sunday it was revealed that a special committee of the Israeli housing ministry approved a proposal to merge Ma’ale Adumim with the much smaller nearby settlement of Qedar, seizing 12,000 dunums of land in between the two.