President Shimon Peres believes the administration of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has violated the accepted status quo on building in the eastern capital by allowing construction for Jews in the heart of so-called Arab neighborhoods in the city.
The president reportedly told the prime minister that the current diplomatic crisis with the United States could be resolved if Israel affirmed that the agreed-upon status quo will not change, and that there will be no further building for Jews in predominantly Arab areas of the city like Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan as referred to by the United States and Israeli administration, known more properly as Shimon HaTzaddik and Maale Zeitim respectively.
The president reportedly told Netanyahu and several ministers in his cabinet that every Israeli government until now has agreed not to build in predominantly Arab areas of the city. “Previous governments built in Jewish neighborhoods, but not in Arab ones,” he said. “Even Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir did not build in the heart of Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. That’s why the entire world agreed to [building in Jewish areas], and it wasn’t a stumbling block in negotiations.”
During a birthday celebration on Friday for Dalia Rabin, a former MK and the daughter of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Peres recalled the elder Rabin’s warm relations with former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
“My heart is crushed when I see how the [current] prime minister was received in Washington,” Peres said. “I couldn’t help thinking about better days.”
The forum of seven senior ministers convened Friday afternoon to be briefed by Netanyahu on talks he conducted with U.S. government officials during his visit to Washington earlier in the week. The consensus reached at the meeting was reportedly that it was the U.S. administration, and not Israel, that changed its stance on construction in East Jerusalem, including its Jewish areas.
The ministerial forum will meet today as well as over the coming week, in a bid to present Washington with the Netanyahu government’s official position on a series of issues – including building in East Jerusalem – by the end of the Passover holiday.
(Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA – Independent Media Review & Analysis)
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3 Responses
horrible. it seems center left or left of that, unfortunately its perfectly “politically correct” and probably the best statement one could make in light of the current situation as far as world opinion.
Shimon, they gave you the title President as a gesture and that you should shut up! You had your years in politics. You had your turn at the Knesset as PM, I know it was for a short while, but that’s the answer. You know Shimon, we also have a elder statesman in our country. He was also President for a short stint (and was elected!) and loves to share his opinion on everything. Shimon, you really wouldn’t wanna hear his name next to yours. Keep yourself a little tamed and everything will be fine. You see, you at least were good at something. You were a long-time politician and pioneer of the state. Pick your choice, you can either end up being like Uncle Teddy, who although many (including me) disagreed with his views, respected him, or like the peanut farmer…
Ramat Shlomo, which was what the initial flareup with the US government was about, is a *Jewish* neighborhood just yards from the Green Line.
The position of the Netanyahu government is actually quite reasonable: Suspend construction in Judea and Shomron, which have never been part of Medinat Yisarel, but continue construction in all parts of Jerusalem, which is. Unfortunately, the gaffes by others in his cabinet has prevented anyone from seeing this.