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International News
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Written by Samuel Sokol
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Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:07 |
Israel Correspondent
Vice President Joseph Biden, visiting Israel and the Palestinian Authority this week in an attempt to jumpstart the stalled peace process, issued a scathing condemnation of Israeli plans to expand the neighborhood of Ramat Shilo in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee announced the approval of plans to build an additional 1,600 housing units in the predominantly Haredi neighborhood, which stands adjacent to the Arab enclave of Shuafat.
The vice president used harsh language to decry the move, saying that he “condemn[s] the decision by the government of Israel†to build in “East Jerusalem.†According to Israelis, East Jerusalem is not included in the Netanyahu administration’s ten month building freeze and is considered part of the nation’s capital, having been annexed following the Six Day War.
“The substance and timing of the announcement,†Biden said, “particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel.â€
The Palestinian Authority recently agreed to enter into four months of indirect talks with Israel, mediated by American envoy George Mitchell.
In a press conference Wednesday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Biden announced that Jewish expansion in East Jerusalem “undermines peace efforts,†and called for establishment of a “viable and contiguous†Palestinian State.
“It’s incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations, and not to complicate them,†Biden remarked.
President Abbas called on the government of Israel to “give the efforts of the Obama administration and Senator Mitchell the chance to succeed.â€
Biden did not mention recent attacks by Palestinian Authority security personnel against Israeli targets or continuing anti-Semitism and incitement emanating from the official PA media.
According to Interior Minister Eli Yishai, in a statement on Tuesday, the committee’s decision was “determined in advance and there is no connection to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel.â€
Politicians from Israel’s Left, including Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak and Kadima head Tzippi Livni, blasted Minister Yishai for the timing of his announcement.
The day before Biden’s condemnation, a State Department spokesman said that the construction of new apartments in the West Bank city of Beitar Illit, while being “the kind of thing that both sides need to be cautious of,†does not constitute a violation of the building moratorium. The buildings received approval before the freeze began.
Mixed Messages
While the approval of new apartments in Ramat Shilo is being seen by some as a show of defiance by Israel’s center-right government, another move indicating a perceived Israeli willingness to negotiate came in the form of the pardon of 77 Fatah terrorists this week. Many of the men are members of the outlawed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party.
According to Maan News, the Palestinians claim that during the past five years the terrorists “signed a pledge renouncing the use of violence and turned in their weapons.†Since then, according to Maan, “the men signed themselves into PA police custody and lived for the most part in a Nablus-area jail.â€
However, Palestinian Premier Salam Fayyad has harbored wanted Al-Aqsa members in the past, going so far as to pay the men salaries from Palestinian Authority coffers.
Biden, Bibi, And Peres
In a statement to the press following a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu Tuesday, Biden called the American-Israeli relationship “a centerpiece of American policy†and stressed America’s commitment to Israeli security.
Biden emphasized that “there is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security,†adding that “addressing Iran’s nuclear program has been one of our administration’s priorities.â€
Biden voted multiple times against Iranian sanction before becoming vice president. According to the Jerusalem Post’s Caroline Glick, during the Bush administration the current vice president “called for the U.S. to sign a nonaggression pact†with Iran “while threatening to move for President George W. Bush’s impeachment if he were to order a military strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons programs.â€
During a meeting with Biden on Tuesday, Israeli President Shimon Peres stated that “Whatever criticism you may have, the United States has the most serious, the most organized, and the most analytical approach to the Iranian problem,†adding that Israelis “have trust in President Obama.
Negotiations In Good Faith
According to a document sent to the Palestinian Authority on Friday, the United States has committed itself to assigning blame and will “act accordingly,†if it perceives either side to be holding up negotiations. Vice President Biden’s statements seem to indicate that the Obama administration perceives Israel to be acting intransigently.
The American position remains that Israel is required to fulfill all of the obligations it undertook when it committed itself to the roadmap. The United States, while criticizing Israeli non-compliance, has not criticized the ongoing Palestinian violations of signed treaties, nor the continued affirmation of violence as an acceptable negotiating tactic, as discussed at last year’s Fatah convention in Bethlehem.
However, the United States did announce that any agreements reached in the time since the 2007 Annapolis Conference will be considered non-binding in the current talks. This means that the United States will not require Israel to use Ehud Olmert’s offer of a Palestinian state on 94% of the West Bank and international control of the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City as a starting point for negotiations.
Vice President Biden is due to deliver what is expected to be an important policy speech at Tel Aviv University on Thursday entitled, “The Enduring Partnership between the United States and Israel.â€
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