Israel-Palestine: Netanyahu Makes A Move on the West Bank

Following another round of failed talks with Washington's Mideast special envoy George Mitchell, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his first visit to West Bank settlements since he took office, "The settlements blocs in the West Bank are an indisputable part of Israel". He added, "This is an idea that is accepted by the majority of Israelis and is part of international agreements." Planting trees inside the settlement blocks, Netanyahu said he wanted to "send a clear message that we will stay here. We are planning and we are building."

Netanyahu's statement is a political declaration that any future agreement is not going to be based on pre-1967 borders and there will have to be some "adjustments" and "swaps" of territory. He is not only trying to ease settlers' discomfort following the declarations of a "one-time and temporary" moratorium; he is also implicitly warned interested parties that the longer the delay in pressure on the Palestinian Authority to sit at the negotiating table, the more land to be occupied by Israel.

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After the release of Netanyahu's words, a harsh criticism came from Ramallah. "This is an unacceptable act that destroys all the efforts being exerted by Senator [George] Mitchell in order to bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

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UPDATE 0915 GMT: Varying responses on Thursday to Netanyahu's statement. Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat declared that Netanyahu is working to end the possibility of a two-state solution: "Netanyahu calls for the Palestinians to resume peace talks, he is effectually leaving the Palestinians nothing to negotiate about." Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said his leadership "rejects the presence of any Israeli soldier within the borders of the future Palestinian state".

There was also criticism within Israel. Meir Sheetrit, a member of Parliament of the opposition Kadima Party, said, "Netanyahu was ruining any chance for negotiations and is proving, again and again, that he is not interested in peace. There is no way that the Palestinians would agree to such an offer, and whoever raises it should negotiate with himself."

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority's "pre-conditions" for re-starting negotiations but set a new condition for a future peace agreement. Netanyahu said that Israel must have a presence in the West Bank to stop rockets from being imported even after an accord is signed.


Referring to the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, Netanyahu said: "We are surrounded by an ever-growing arsenal of rockets placed in the Iranian-supported enclaves to the north and to the south" and added, "In the case of a future settlement with the Palestinians, this will require an Israeli presence on the eastern side of a prospective Palestinian state."

Netanyahu was critical of the authority of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu said that "Palestinians are climbing up a tree", as Israelis are calling them to the negotiation tent, by "piling [on] pre-conditions" such as "the refugee problem, security concerns or the Jewish state matter."

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