Truth be said, if one picks up the mainstream newspapers in Israel, one would indeed believe that Israel is a satellite state of the United States and not an independent sovereign nation. The harsh words of criticism uttered against the White House from time-to-time for its interference in domestic policy in actuality should be expected, for the daily tabloids and the state-funded radio stations are busying themselves in their naïve attempt to understand why the government has to go ahead and advertise building tenders in “controversial areas” of the capital, at this time, a move that is viewed as taunting the United States and European communities.

What areas are we addressing, none other than Pisgat Ze’ev, Har Homa and other integral neighborhoods of Jerusalem. One must only look back a number of weeks to the outrage that surrounded report of the planned construction of some 900 housing units in Gilo, a southern neighborhood in the capital which borders PA-occupied Beit Lechem.

Even the right-wing government is defending itself, boasting the Americans knew of the Jerusalem building plan, setting the stage for seeking White House approval. Approval for what, a total of 692 units in what the international community [and much of Israel] views as “over the Green Line” when in essence, it is liberated Yerushalayim, areas that were occupied by Jordan in 1948 and through the Grace of Hashem, liberated in the June 1967 Six Day War.

The PA’s Hatem Kader, who holds the Jerusalem portfolio in PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ (Abu Mazen) Fatah organization, is demanding an American response to this outrage.

The master plan presented by the Ministry of Housing calls for the construction of 6,500 badly-needed housing units, which includes the “controversial over the Green Line” units as well. The plan calls for 377 new units in N’vei Yaakov, 117 in Har Homa, and 198 in Pisgat Ze’ev.

Jerusalem proudly boasts Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has maintained 100% transparency, insisting America is and was aware of the plan, signaling the Government of Israel would not dare build in her own capital without consent of President Barak Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to a Yediot Achronot report quoting “senior US state officials”, the timing of the announced tender was not coincidental, timed to coincide with America’s observance of the Xmas holiday, during which time both American and European leaders are vacationing.

In Jerusalem, seeking to justify the move, officials reminded world leaders that the prime minister stated that he will not accept any demands for a construction freeze in Jerusalem, despite international pressure to do so.

Both the PA and the Israeli left are capitalizing on this latest brewing crisis, with the PA filing yet another excuse for not returning to the negotiating table, insisting Israel must comply with a total and unconditional construction freeze throughout Yehuda and Shomron as well as “occupied Jerusalem”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)