Israel’s cabinet discussed the possibility of a partial settlement freeze at this week’s meeting amid US demands to halt settlement expansion, as required by the internationally backed Roadmap peace plan. The issue will top the agenda as Defense Minister Ehud Barak visits the U.S. this week. However, on the ground settlement construction has been booming: Israel has angered Palestinians with a plan to expropriate plots of West Bank land between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea including areas exposed by the lake's receding water levels, totaling a land area of 54 sq miles. It includes plots of land near the settlement of Maale Adumim, the largest settlement in the West Bank and one of the three blocs that Israel wants to keep under any peace deal with the Palestinians.
At the same time articles in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and NPR highlight the challenges of coming to a settlement freeze when a combination of tax incentives, religious fervor, and high birth rates make settlements all the more entrenched.
NPR reports that Israel's devout settlers plan to continue expansion in the West Bank settlement of Homesh, which Israel had previously given up as one of four Jewish settlements to be evacuated at the same time it withdrew settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005. However, some settlers have returned and say they are determined to bring Homesh back to life.
The Washington Post highlights the experiences of Chaim Hanfling, who moved with six of his 11 siblings to Modiin Illit from Jerusalem in recent years to take advantage of the lower land prices. Amid their modern apartment buildings, with Tel Aviv visible on the horizon, residents say they have little in common with the people who have hauled mobile homes to hilltops in hopes of deepening Israel's presence in the occupied West Bank, saying:
"We don't feel this is a settlement. We're in the middle of the country. It's like Tel Aviv or Ramat Gan," another Israeli city.
Of the nearly 290,000 Israelis who live in West Bank settlements, nearly 40 percent reside in three areas -- Modiin Illit, Betar Illit and Maale Adumim -- where the impact of a settlement freeze would probably be felt most deeply. When the Israeli barrier was built around Modiin Illit, it looped into Palestinian territory -- too far, according to the Israeli Supreme Court, whose 2007 decision said that the route went farther than security needs required in order to make room for more building in the settlement.
The Christian Science Monitor reported on the experiences Yossi and Racheli Zehnwirth, who moved three years ago as newlyweds in this devoutly religious settlement – the second largest in the West Bank – with the hopes of buying their own home. Planned by the Israeli government as a housing solution for religious sects with high birthrates and a preference for living in cloistered neighborhoods, building in the two settlements took off after the Oslo peace process began in 1993. Runaway growth has made the two cities account for one-fourth of the 300,000 Israelis spread over more than 100 settlements in the West Bank, not including Israeli neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
According to Palestinian officials and human rights groups, the lack of an agreed-upon border figures into a variety of problems -- such as the violence that flares regularly between Palestinians and settlers, as well as larger policy matters, with Palestinian officials saying Monday that they will not restart peace talks with Israel until a full settlement freeze is declared.
HEADLINES
Israel blamed over drone attacks (Al Jazeera)
Israel to swap West bank outpost for new units (AP)
Abbas meets Hamas PLC speaker Dweik (Ma'an)
Poll finds Palestinians doubt ME peace (UPI)
Palestine and the Palestinians
Palestinian Authority says it foiled Hamas attacks (AFP)
Experts Voice New Hope for Solution to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Voice of America)
PA Minister of Jerusalem Affairs resigns; Legal Affairs office to shut down (Ma'an)
Palestinian caught with knife at IDF checkpoint gets 6 months in jail (Ynet)
Sinai smugglers still tunneling to Gaza (BBC)
Palestinian killed by war-hit house collapse in Gaza (Xinhua)
Israel
Israeli Arabs zero in on West Bank bargains (Jerusalem Post)
Netanyahu: I have complete faith in Lieberman (Ynet)
The Neighbors
Challenges loom as Iraqis celebrate (BBC)
Sleiman denounces Netanyahu's recent threats (The Daily Star)
Four suspects charged with plotting attacks in Lebanon, Syria (The Daily Star)
Palestinian Ambassador to Kuwait dies during surgery (Ma'an)
Iran upholds Ahmadinejad victory after partial recount (The Daily Star)
US Foreign Policy
U.S. re-approves Israel loan guarantees program (Ha'aretz)
Audio: Job Advice For The New Ambassador To Syria (NPR)
US launches scholarship program for Palestinian students (Ma'an)
International Relations/Law
French-Israeli spat over comments (BBC)
Israel: Sarkozy advised government to sack FM (Al Jazeera)
Arts and Activism
Palestinian School London performance: dabka, traditional dress, bands and music (Palestine News Network)
Misc.
World's first ever 'self-watering' plant discovered in Israel (Telegraph)
Commentary
Zilberslag: Jerusalem needs peace (Washington Post)
Blumenthal: Neda in Palestine, sentenced to die alone (Huffington Post)
Amayreh: Cat and mouse (Al-Ahram)
Al-Naami: Back to square one (Al-Ahram)
Bishara: An alternative reading (Al-Ahram)
Views expressed on this post or on linked web pages do not represent the Palestine Center, the educational program of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. All content is for educational purposes only.
