Israel: Government Approves Majority of Settlements in West Bank

On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet approved the National Priorities Map by 21 votes to 5 (all the No votes from Labour members) on Sunday. This plan would transfer millions of shekels into West Bank settlements.

According to Peace Now, 91 out of 121 current settlements are on the list, including many settlements in isolated West Bank spots located beyond the security barrier. The Cabinet also decided to set up an exceptions committee that will decide within 30 days whether to add Ashkelon to the plan and whether to keep settlements east of the security fence on the map.

The Labor leader Ehud Barak criticized the vote, "I don't think that we need to award [the settlements] a prize in the form of including them in the national priority map." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, "We will determine the future of settlements only within the framework of a permanent agreement [with Palestinians]. This map is intended to close rifts and this time, also to bring in our security concerns."

Israel-Palestine: Settlers' Conflict with Palestinians Escalating?

Tension in the West Bank between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank appears to be rising. On Friday, settlers vandalized and set fire to a mosque in a Palestinian village in the village of Yasuf, south of Nablus. The attackers left messages such as "Price tag - greetings from Effi" and "We will burn the lot of you" before escaping.

Palestinian villagers and Israeli security forces clashed after the incident, and the Palestinian Authority criticised the Israeli Government even though Israeli officials condemned the mosque assault.

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Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, "This is an extremist act geared toward harming the government's efforts to advance the political process for the sake of Israel's future." Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the PA, responded, "The torching of the mosque in Yasuf is a despicable crime, and the settlers are behaving with brutality. The settlers' unruly behavior must be stopped."

The U.S. State Department said: "We condemn this attack in the strongest terms and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice."

Analysis: Israel's Netanyahu "Helpless" Against Right-Wing Protests?

Is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in trouble with the growing opposition to his "concessions" regarding the status of West Bank settlements, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights?

On Wednesday, the Knesset voted in favour of continuing legislative work on the Golan Heights and Jerusalem Referendum Bill, by an overwhelming majority of 68 to 22, with one abstention. The bill requires that any withdrawal from east Jerusalem, the Golan, or another area under Israeli sovereignty would first have to go to a referendum.

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More than one-third of legislators from the "centrist" party Kadima supported the bill and the majority of Labor ministers were absent. Defense Minister and Labor member Ehud Barak, who was critical of the bill in debate, still voted in favour whereas the opposition Kadima leader Tzipi Livni voted against.

The first reaction came from Damascus, which was allegedly ready to start peace talks without any preconditions. Syrian sources told the BBC-Arabic radio station: "Israel has already annexed the Golan Heights after conquering the area and as far as we are concerned [the referendum law] makes no difference; every action that Israel would take in the Golan Heights is illegitimate. Israel cannot hold a referendum on land that it does not own."

In a sense, the Knesset vote is only holding the Netanyahu Government to account, given that it called Jerusalem the "undivided & eternal capital" of Israel; stated over and over that this settlement freeze is "one-time and temporary" and expressed the sentiment that "Israel would never withdraw from the Golan Heights". More than 10,000 right-wing protesters gathered on Wednesday in Paris Square in Jerusalem near the Prime Minister's residence to demonstrate against the temporary settlement freeze. And it appears that Netanyahu either heard them or sympathised with them all along. He stated that certain settlements outside of the large blocs in the West Bank would be considered "national priority areas" where settlers will receive benefits in education, employment, and other social provision.

Interpretation? Netanyahu is using the country's "political will", benefiting from the spectre of mass domestic protests to resist to the demands of the international community.

Israel: Netanyahu and Barak Steady the Line on Settlements

Amidst growing protests by West Bank settlers over the 10-month "freeze" on expansion by the Netanyahu Government, both Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met settlers. Both Barak and Netanyahu tried to calm the atmosphere and urged settler leaders to cooperate with officials. The Prime Minister said:

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We took this difficult decision in order to move Israel's widest interests forward. We need to pass through this period together in a spirit of cooperation.

Instead of creating an atmosphere of crisis, we should focus on getting out of this period and overcoming the problems together. We are only a few days into the process, and I ask that you show patience.

We are not your enemy, we are your brethren.

There was a subtle difference between Barak and Netanyahu over the status of the settlements.Netanyahu said: the status would be determined through negotiations after the freeze expired:

Nine months and three weeks remain to the end of this period. At the end of this period we will continue to build. I want to make clear, the future of the settlements will be decided only in a peace agreement.

Barak asserted that the settlements will always be part of Israel, irrespective of any discussions:

Settlement blocs will be an integral part of Israel in any future negotiations with the Palestinians. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea are regions that are dear to my heart.

The difference, however, may be inconsequential: both the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, beyond any immediate difficuties with the settlers, are pointing to an uncompromising position on the settlements in any final-status talks with Palestinians.

Israel: Tension between Settlers and Netanyahu over "Freeze" on West Bank Construction

Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 10-month construction freeze in West Bank settlements decision, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered his ministry to urgently recruit and train construction supervisors on Sunday in order to enforce the construction freeze. There are currently 14 supervisors in the West Bank and 40 are to be ready within two weeks.

Barak added a comment on the significance of the "freeze":

This step was not carried out in the Olmert government or in the Sharon government, not in my government and not in Yitzhak Rabin's government either. The real significance is that for the first time, we are suspending all new construction for an extended period and therefore giving peace negotiations a chance.

The road is long and there are difficult obstacles ahead, but we must make every effort to overcome them. Israel's main interest is the advancement of security and the political process - first on the Palestinian track and at the right moment on the Syrian track.

Israeli settlers in the West Bank are furious over the declaration. Settler leaders announced on Monday that they would prevent Israeli inspectors from blocking the construction of new buildings. A pro-Israeli settler group, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, on Monday appealed to the High Court of Justice to put a stop to the government's plans.

In the wake of growing criticisms and pressure, Netanyahu is expected to meet with the heads of West Bank regional authorities on Tuesday.