U.S. calls tenders for West Bank housing units 'provocation'

Ha'aretz ^ | 27 October 2003 | Aluf Benn, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

[anotherview]

Last Update: 27/10/2003 22:40
U.S. calls tenders for West Bank housing units 'provocation'
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

The United States government has issued a harsh condemnation of Israel's decision to issue tenders for 153 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, calling the move a "provocation."

U.S. officials relayed the government's warning, adding that Washington was likely to get the impression that Israel is not fulfilling its commitment regarding the settlements, and said this could lead the U.S. to cut the loan guarantees to Israel by the amount of money Israel is spending on the West Bank security fence.

The State Department is thought to be considering cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the loan guarantees. Under the loan guarantee agreements, the Americans are to provide annual guarantees for the obtaining of loans amounting to $3 billion during each of the coming three years.

The fence is set to go up east of Karnei Shomron, thereby including the settlement - which is far from the Green Line - inside the route of the fence.

The Ministry of Housing and Construction issued tenders for a total of 333 West Bank settlements last week, in Karnei Shomron and Givat Ze'ev, which is close to Jerusalem. Most of the tenders issued by the ministry in the last few years have been for housing units in large settlements near the Green Line.

Knesset c'tee approves transfer of millions of shekels to settlements
The Knesset Finance Committee approved by one vote Monday the request of Housing and Construction Minister Effi Eitam (National Religious Party) to transfer about NIS 130 million to implement housing plans, mostly in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and in the Golan Heights.

Peace Now criticized the decision, saying the government was abandoning its citizens by throwing money at settlements while social and cultural institutions were going bankrupt, Israel Radio reported.

The housing budget, which directs money toward construction in rural and urban areas of the settlements, passed by a vote of 8-7, with one Shinui member abstaining. However, critics of the budget complained that the housing ministry did not present an exact breakdown of the budget prior to the vote.

Avi Maoz, director-general of the housing ministry, said in response to questions that last year, 80 percent of the aid went to settlements. Labor and Meretz members expressed dissatisfaction with the ministry's response, which they said did not provide sufficient details about where exactly the money from this year's budget was going.

Shinui members, meanwhile, were upset because the proposed housing budget was presented in one package, even though they had requested two separate lists indicating which funds were allocated to areas within the Green Line and which to areas outside it.

Defense Min. to provide services to illegal outposts
A Defense Ministry official confirmed Monday it will provide services to eight West Bank settlement outposts, despite the government's earlier pledge to remove them as part of a stalled U.S.-backed peace plan.

Dismantling dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts was one of Israel's obligations under the "road map" peace plan, which was launched in June with great fanfare, but quickly bogged down over disagreements and violence.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the outposts will be fenced in and receive lighting, and children living there will be bused to schools.

The assurances were given to residents of the outpost in a letter by Ron Shechner, the settlement adviser of Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Israel Radio reported Monday that the letter instructs government authorities to give Pnei Kedem, Neve Erez, Mitzpe Kramim, Migron and other outposts the status of a permanent township.

Shechner told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that this does not mean the outposts are being legalized. However, the decision appears to imply recognition, and as such would violate Israel's promise to the United States not to establish new settlements.

Peace Now, which monitors settlement expansion, said that when the road map was launched, there were 104 outposts. Since then, the military has dismantled seven, but five more were established, bringing the latest total to 102. Peace Now spokesman Dror Etkes said the population in the outposts has grown.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of systematically sabotaging the road map. "These actions have to be condemned by the United States and the Quartet [of Mideast mediators], and I call upon them to intervene immediately," Erekat said.

The road map required Israel to dismantle dozens of settlement outposts built without authorization since March 2001, and to freeze construction in about 150 veteran settlements.

Israel has since said it would take no further action on the road map until the Palestinians begin dismantling militant groups, as required by the peace plan. Qureia, like his predecessors, has said he will not use force against the armed groups.

The State Comptroller report submitted in the beginning of October found that when Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was defense minister, the ministry's settlement unit subsidized security elements in illegal outposts and neighborhoods built in settlements, with the authorization for the spending being based on Home Front documents and documents provided by the settlement unit.

The comptroller found that the department approved moving and placing trailers on land before the legal status of that land was determined and without the formal approval from appropriate officials in the Civil Administration, as required by proper operating procedures.

Yossi Vardi, the former settlements assistant to the defense minister, said that the IDF Central Command's position is that Jewish settlers must be given security in those places where legal proceedings are underway to make the statutory arrangements for the settlements. The comptroller says he believes the settlement unit's officer should not be using state financing to help pay for settlement activity that had not been formally approved.

[anotherview]

The Bush administration clearly cannot tolerate Israel doing anything to upset those poor, oppressed Palestinians. Please excuse me. I think I am going to be ill.

[DianaN]

Bush will be dead in the water in 2004 if he or the Republicans reduce support for the Israelis.

He can try it, but he'll be a one term Charlie for sure if he does.

Getting Congress to do the dirty deed won't work either; we're onto those tricks.

I say EXPAND and EXPAND and tear down Arab houses until the
terrorists quit their nonsense.

[doc]

Nothing like taxpayer dollars going towards illegal settlements.

[tubavil]

the Americans are to provide annual guarantees for the obtaining of loans

Loan guarantees are not handouts. I imagine Israel has a very low default rate.

[yonif]

Israel has never defulted on its loans. In fact, loans given to Israel to purchase military equipment must be spent on buying American made products only, which creates jobs in America.

[MissAmericanPie]

Illegal only in the sense of political double speak babbling. There is nothing illegal about building on land that a nation has won in war, if it were we would all be moving back to Europe.