Israel Quietly Halts Settlements Despite Publicly Rebuffing Obama
Israeli Settlements Quietly Halted: No New Housing Permits GrantedJERUSALEM — Israel has quietly moved to halt new housing projects in the West Bank, while outwardly rebuffing U.S. pressure to stop construction in its settlements, Israeli government officials, peace activists and settlers said Tuesday.
It isn't the full settlement freeze the Obama administration has been demanding, but it indicates that Israel is seeking a compromise in what has become a rare public disagreement with the U.S., its most important ally.
The government has issued no new construction permits for months, the officials, activists and settlers said, a rare agreement among elements that are usually bitter enemies – evidence that this is a new policy aimed at defusing the settlement squabble.
Asked about the Israeli step, President Barack Obama said he was "encouraged by what I am seeing on the ground."
Housing Minister Ariel Atias confirmed that there have been no new government building offers since November. Interviewed on Channel 10 TV Tuesday evening, Atias said it was part of an effort to reach an agreement with the U.S.
"There is a given situation which is a waiting period," he said. "That's a fact, and it can't be denied." He refused to call it a building freeze.
Earlier, Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying, "There is not and has never been an agreement among the prime minister, defense minister and housing minister on freezing new construction" in the West Bank.
That denial could be read different ways, since "new construction" continues full force in the settlements, with thousands of housing units in various stages of completion. The government's seems to be aiming at getting at least tacit U.S. approval to finish projects that have been started, while holding up initial permits for new ones. LinkHere
It isn't the full settlement freeze the Obama administration has been demanding, but it indicates that Israel is seeking a compromise in what has become a rare public disagreement with the U.S., its most important ally.
The government has issued no new construction permits for months, the officials, activists and settlers said, a rare agreement among elements that are usually bitter enemies – evidence that this is a new policy aimed at defusing the settlement squabble.
Asked about the Israeli step, President Barack Obama said he was "encouraged by what I am seeing on the ground."
Housing Minister Ariel Atias confirmed that there have been no new government building offers since November. Interviewed on Channel 10 TV Tuesday evening, Atias said it was part of an effort to reach an agreement with the U.S.
"There is a given situation which is a waiting period," he said. "That's a fact, and it can't be denied." He refused to call it a building freeze.
Earlier, Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying, "There is not and has never been an agreement among the prime minister, defense minister and housing minister on freezing new construction" in the West Bank.
That denial could be read different ways, since "new construction" continues full force in the settlements, with thousands of housing units in various stages of completion. The government's seems to be aiming at getting at least tacit U.S. approval to finish projects that have been started, while holding up initial permits for new ones. LinkHere
Huckabee In Israel: A Palestinian State Within Holy Land "Unrealistic" Anti-settlement protesters plan to hold a demonstration outside the dinner, and the Israeli group Ir Amim, which promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence in Jerusalem, condemned Huckabee's visit to the hotel.
In other words butt out!!!!!!!
JERUSALEM — The U.S. has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of settlements, hindering peace negotiations, former Arkansas governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said during a visit to Israel on Monday.
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher popular among the Republican Party's social conservatives, has been touted as a possible Republican candidate in 2012.
His three-day trip, focusing on visits to settlements and meetings with settler leaders, puts him in direct opposition to President Barack Obama and positions him even to the right of Israel's own hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Obama has been pushing Israel to freeze settlements. And Netanyahu has pledged to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts such as one Huckabee plans to visit.
The Obama administration has specifically criticized Israeli building plans in east Jerusalem, where Israeli control has never been internationally recognized and which the Palestinians want for the capital of a future state.
"It concerns me when there are some in the United States who would want to tell Israel that it cannot allow people to live in their own country, wherever they want," Huckabee said in east Jerusalem.
He said the Obama administration's emphasis on the settlement issue sets a condition that unnecessarily impedes peace talks.
Later Monday, Huckabee is slated to attend a dinner at the Shepherd Hotel, the site of a controversial planned housing project in east Jerusalem. The Obama administration has called for Israel to suspend the project, which is funded by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz. Israel rejected the demand, saying east Jerusalem is part of Israel's capital.
Anti-settlement protesters plan to hold a demonstration outside the dinner, and the Israeli group Ir Amim, which promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence in Jerusalem, condemned Huckabee's visit to the hotel. LinkHere
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher popular among the Republican Party's social conservatives, has been touted as a possible Republican candidate in 2012.
His three-day trip, focusing on visits to settlements and meetings with settler leaders, puts him in direct opposition to President Barack Obama and positions him even to the right of Israel's own hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Obama has been pushing Israel to freeze settlements. And Netanyahu has pledged to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts such as one Huckabee plans to visit.
The Obama administration has specifically criticized Israeli building plans in east Jerusalem, where Israeli control has never been internationally recognized and which the Palestinians want for the capital of a future state.
"It concerns me when there are some in the United States who would want to tell Israel that it cannot allow people to live in their own country, wherever they want," Huckabee said in east Jerusalem.
He said the Obama administration's emphasis on the settlement issue sets a condition that unnecessarily impedes peace talks.
Later Monday, Huckabee is slated to attend a dinner at the Shepherd Hotel, the site of a controversial planned housing project in east Jerusalem. The Obama administration has called for Israel to suspend the project, which is funded by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz. Israel rejected the demand, saying east Jerusalem is part of Israel's capital.
Anti-settlement protesters plan to hold a demonstration outside the dinner, and the Israeli group Ir Amim, which promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence in Jerusalem, condemned Huckabee's visit to the hotel. LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:02 AM
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