With a feeling of betrayal, leaders of communities throughout Yehuda and Shomron are using phrases like “the old Bibi is back” in reference to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policy statement announcement of Tuesday that he is implementing a settlement construction freeze along with his defense minister, Ehud Barak.
According to reports, Minister of Housing (Shas) Ariel Atias is a part of the agreement with the other ministers, bringing a halt to construction in communities until 2010. Atias is quoted as saying that he received the green light from party leader, Minister Eli Yishai, calling it a waiting policy to send “US Mideast envoy George Mitchell a message that Israel is serious about peace”.
Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman, a former Likud MK, called today’s announcment outrageous, adding the current government’s days are numbered.
The ministers explain the move, a temporary one, is intended to lower tensions between Israel and Washington with the White applying unrelenting pressure to halt construction, not only in yishuvim throughout Yehuda and Shomron, but also in areas of Yerushalayim deemed as “Israeli occupied” territories by the US State Department.
In response to the policy statement, Ichud HaLeumi opposition party leader MK Yaakov Katz stated Netanyahu is the worst prime minister for the people, calling on Shas ministers to push for immediately construction in Modi’in Illit and Betar Illit to prevent young married couples from having to live in basements and storefronts, or G-d forbid even worse, leaving the country. Katz, known more popularly as Ketzaleh, stated this policy is a continuation of the policies of the “Oslo criminals”.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon stated “I hope it is not so,” adding such decisions must be made in the “required forum”.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
There is one important legal issue that we Yidden need to address . . . and to surmount – but which we often dismiss as irrelavent, as merely anti-Torah, or as somehow Antisemetic:
The August 1949 Geneva Accords (I believe Article 47, Paragraph 4) prohibits annexation of territory taken in wartime. This is an internationally accepted standard of conduct in war; it was crafted in the wake of World War II, and in no manner or form was directed against Yidden. It is a principle that was asserted against Iraq’s 1991 annexation of parts of Kuwait and against Russia’s conduct in Chechnia.
There may be arguments in international law around this issue, maybe based on Jordan’s relinquishment od sovereignty over Shomron and Judea, – but as long as Israel . . . and we . . . go on pretty much ignoring the importance of this issue, there will continue to be extreme pressures on Israel to conform to international law.
In a 1958
PM’s office denied any freeze. Any stopping of projects has been referring to new projects, for which no new tenders have been issued anyway since Netanyahu took office. There has not been talk of a total freeze. It sounds like Israel Radio is just trying to get a scoop. Not sure if this is just hype or what.
#6 (re #3)- The salient point legally is that Shomron and Judea were taken militarily from Jordan in 1967 –
You may remember that in June of ’67 Israel indicated through diplomatic channels that if Jordan stayed out of the war, Israel would not attack – but King Hussein, listening to Egyptian propaganda, believed the Arabs were winning – and joined the frey – Baruch Hashem!
So now . . . Israel needs to develop a legal argument for remaining in Shomron or Judea, if they are to do so without contavening Article 47, Paragraph 4.
My main point is that all of us should take the legal issue seriously. Considering that the ’49 Geneva Accords were supported by Israel, and were negotiated, written and ratified largely as a response to German conduct in WWII – and considering also that we want to hold the Arabs to their legal obligations . . . Yidden should not be cavalier about this.
sellout! suck up to obama and his gang of crooks!