According to a Haaretz report, National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror, known to be a political hawk, has spoken out in closed forums against continued construction in yishuvim. Amidror reportedly feels that the construction is resulting in a loss of support for Israel in the international community, even among her strongest allies. Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office decline to comment on the report, which says Amidror is extremely concerned regarding Israel’s declining standing in the international community, particularly because of construction in the yishuvim and the PA receiving observer status in the UN General Assembly.
“One cannot explain the building in the settlements to anyone in the international community” he is quoted as saying, not to Chancellor Merkel or even Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper. The construction has become a diplomatic issue.”
Haaretz reports that Amidror was adamantly opposed to announcing renewed construction in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, the area envisioned by the PA as the route connecting Yehuda and Shomron.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announced plans to renew construction in that area led to international condemnations against Israel accompanied by threats of sanctions and a boycott by a number of European nations.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
He is right. This is the unfortunate reality of the world that we live in.
The Chareidi world must also reassess the wisdom of building Chareidi settlement communities such as Kiryat Sefer and Beitar. Rav Shach was always against settlement building.
When Israel makes ZERO effort to justify its actions internationally, in particular in not even bothering to disagree when the term ‘illegally occupied Palestinian territories’ is used for the umpteenth time, other than the occasional pathetic muttering of how ‘unfortunate’ or ‘unhelpful’ the ever increasing mountain of reports, statements and policy decisions are – WHAT the h**l do you expect?? This actually has much less to do with the specific issue at hand of ‘settlements’ than it does with the massive failure of Israel’s entire mindset to the international ‘community’ – it simply gives up before it even starts and the topic becomes almost irrelevant, be it defensive military action against Gazan missiles or failing to fulfill the Oslo Accords to the letter when the other side fulfills nothing – how can we blame others when Israel itself doesn’t even seem to think that it’s in the right??
To #2, it is sad that you think any amount of PR on Israels part will convince any of the so called “world community” that Israel is correct. The “world community” has an absolute hatred for Israel, no matter what it does. Do you think anyone’s opinion of Israel improved after giving back Gaza. All that did was make Israel look weak and less secure.
yabc143…In July of 1967 I was a crewman on the S.S. Atlantic on a run that took us to Pireus, Greece, among other places. I was witness to the first post-Six Day war Israeli Haifa/Pireus ferry entering the harbor. In something out a movie, the crews on a great many of the other ships present loudly applauded and cheered the Israeli crew, as there ship steamed slowly past us topwards its berth…and I was among a number of crewmen on my ship, mostly Blacks and Hispanics, who later went over to the Israeli ship to shake hands with members of its crew.
So…your statement here is wildly out of touch with reality. When Israel is perceived to be in the right, others do support it. I am among many Yidden who think that Likkud policies have contributed greatly to the animus against Israel. The “histadlus” of the State matters.