RAMALLAH/GAZA CITY, 7 April 2008 — An Israeli organization has said that construction of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem has gathered pace since the US-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis last November.
The Ir Amim Organization for an Equitable and Stable Jerusalem said in a report that “the Annapolis peace conference has led Israel to take unilateral action with regard to East Jerusalem instead of serving as a catalyst for political negotiations with Palestinians for a peace accord.”
The organization recommended that Israel should not undertake any unilateral initiatives in East Jerusalem as it could hamper Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are scheduled to meet today to review progress in US-backed efforts to work out a peace deal by the end of the year.
Abbas said yesterday he would not accept a peace deal at any price. “We are negotiating seriously and we are striving to arrive at a solution for all the final status issues, but it will not come at any price,” Abbas told a meeting of local officials in Ramallah.
Israel and the PA revived the final status peace talks at the Annapolis conference in November. However, the settlement issue, in addition to military escalation between the two sides, negatively affected the peace process.
The report published by Ir Amim indicates that an additional 9,617 new housing units were built in East Jerusalem after the Annapolis conference.
Furthermore, planning and construction is under way on 471 housing units in settlements at the very heart of Palestinian neighborhoods. The report also maintained that the homes of 14 Palestinian families living in East Jerusalem were razed, and that dozens of political, religious and social events planned by Palestinians living in East Jerusalem were canceled by the Israeli police.
The report indicated that excavations underneath the Al-Magharebah Gate near Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem have resumed and unauthorized archeological digs are currently taking place underneath the Muslim Quarter of East Jerusalem as well as in the Arab village of Silwan. Ir Amim’s report states that the Annapolis peace conference provided a precious second chance for Israelis and Palestinians to finalize a formal peace accord. Peace talks culminating in a definitive peace deal are scheduled to conclude by the end of 2008.
“Much of this recently approved construction lies at the very heart of Palestinian neighborhoods rather than in the city’s Jewish areas. This will greatly hamper efforts to create a future Palestinian capital in Jerusalem alongside its Jewish counterpart,” states the report.
“Israel is taking unilateral action to create its own de facto borders in Jerusalem in spite of ongoing peace talks,” reads the report. “This new wave of settlements, coupled with ongoing excavations, often in some of the city’s most sensitive and hotly disputed regions, deals a fatal blow to negotiations regarding the future of the city.”
The report further states that “these unilateral efforts do much to erode trust and goodwill between Israel and the Palestinians, and could serve to lead to a dangerous escalation in violence throughout Jerusalem. It appears, however, that Israel insists on pursuing these aggressive actions and thereby endangering the fragile peace process.”
The Ir Amim report recommends that “Israel freeze construction in East Jerusalem while peace negotiations are ongoing, stop undertaking archeological excavations funded by special interests group in holy and sensitive sites throughout the city, avoid razing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem unless this seriously compromises public welfare and safety, and initiate numerous trust-building measures to repair relations with the Palestinians.”
Inter-Palestinian Talks
Islamic Jihad movement said yesterday Egypt planned to call a meeting of various Palestinian factions in Cairo to bridge the gap between Hamas and Fatah.
“Egypt continues its efforts to reunite the Palestinians and seeks to host a comprehensive Palestinian dialogue about different internal issues,” Khaled Al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad leader told Voice of Palestine yesterday. However, he ruled out the possibility of talks taking place soon.
Meanwhile, a senior member of Hamas has said that if Israel does not release 350 Palestinian prisoners, it will never get kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit back alive, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported yesterday.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, told Al-Qabas newspaper that the group will negotiate with Israel over Shalit’s bones if the prisoners are not released.
— With input from agencies
