Israel Approves New Construction in Gaza

[tinnypriv]

Israel Approves New Construction in Gaza
Associated Press, July 31 2003

JERUSALEM - Israel on Thursday published building tenders to expand a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, defying a stipulation in the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan that says construction in Jewish settlements must stop.

The tender, published in a newspaper by the Israel Lands Authority, offers rights to build 22 new housing units in the Neveh Dekalim settlement and fulfills a key bureaucratic step in the expansion of settlements. It is the first such tender for a Gaza settlement in about two years.

...

Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now, an Israeli group that monitors settlement activity, dismissed the natural growth argument. "This is government building in an ideological settlement — not a city with a housing problem," he says.

...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030731/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_settlements_1
http://images.maariv.co.il/channels/1/ART/517/672.html (more detailed, Hebrew)

...

Comment: Oppenheimer is right. Neveh Dekalim (which is in "Gush Katif") is a settlement for religious/observant Jews. IMO, this is an outrageous provocation (not as bad as the wall, but pretty bad).

[damnraddem]

1. The so-called Roadmap isn't balanced, skewed toward Israel.

And this Israeli violation of its stipulations will be ignored by the U.S. -- because our policy is even more-skewed toward Israeli hardliner interests.

[Resistance]

2. of course

Americans are more loyal to Israel than they are to America.

[Resistance]

3. Outrageous? Definitely. Surprising? Not in the least.

The goal has always been the theft of land from the native population - why should it stop now?

[Wonder]

4. What is there to say?

truely the blatant disregard is appalling!

If Israeli expansion is required why are they not discussing this in accordance with the peace process, and until perhaps appropriate and perhaps compromised borders are mutually agreed upon, along with recognitions of damages and required reparation, the quartet(????) enforce the freeze on any further construction. This is a flagrant disregard of the process. No further reading between the lines is required.

Better yet where is the rest of this quartet?

[Tinoire]

5. Neither Bush nor Israel wants the rest of the Quartet involved

The Quartet has demanded to be involved but totally brushed aside.

This has been the case since the beginning. One of the British papers had an article about the US and Israel basically refusing to deal with the rest of the Quarter because they won't go along with isolating Arafat but I can't find it.

I did find this though:

One point of consternation between the two quartet players is Europe’s insistence on maintaining contact with Palestinian leader Arafat despite objections from the U.S.

"They are going to, for their own political reasons, meet with Arafat. That’s their choice. We basically say we don’t think it’s a good idea," a senior official traveling with Bush in the Middle East told Reuters.

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1433_A_886403_1_A,00.html

Check this out:

The Quartet have delayed publishing the road map for months at US insistence to avoid putting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during a general election held on January 28 and while he forms a new government.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s823044.htm

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Mideast Quartet Fails to Unveil 'Road Map' Plan
Due to strong opposition from Washington, the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- on Friday failed to unveil a much-awaited "road map" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

<snip>

Publicly, the Quartet explained that the plan is not ready yet and needs some improvement in its monitoring mechanism. The reason behind, analysts say, is the strong objection from the United States.

<snip>

The Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has insisted that the plan not be considered until after the Israeli elections because the Israelis should go to ballot without interventions by "outside factors," an argument accepted and supported by Washington.

This may be partially true, analysts say. But the more important reason could be that the Sharon government is yet ready to embrace the "road map" in its entirety.

<snip>

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200212/22/eng20021222_108916.shtml

----

<snip>

In mid-January, Sharon publicly dismissed the quartet and its plan, telling Newsweek magazine that "the quartet is nothing! Don't take it seriously! There is plan that will work." In an attempt to calm the controversy caused by his comments, Israel released a statement saying that it and the US "see eye to eye" within the framework of the quartet.

In late January, The Forward, a newspaper based in New York, described what that shared vision might entail. Attributing its story to high-level Israeli and US sources, The Forward said the two countries had a plan to establish a "demilitarized Palestinian state with temporary borders."

Apart from comments by Secretary of State Colin Powell, the US was largely silent, which worries some observers. "We'll see if the US will hold to the road map," says Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al Hassan. "It's a question."

<snip>

http://wwww.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/C1938652DAF686ABC1256CD8004B8179?OpenDocument&Start=1&Count=1000&ExpandView&StartKey=Occupied+Palestinian+Territory

[Wonder]

7. Sharon Boycott of Those Leaders who Met with Arafat

thanks for the reminder to name one. In all the chaos of this conflict I guess I lost track of just how impotent the rest of the quartet is. Even so it seems odd the US has been given as much carte blanche from the international community as Bush gives Sharon.

[Jackie97]

6. How could Bush lead the Palestinians to hope like that?

He's a real piece of crap.