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Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz last month approved the marketing of only 117 new units in the settlement of Ariel.
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09/06
Haaretz |
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| By israelinsider staff and partners September 6, 2005 |
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Amid conflicting reports about the government's intention to expand the Ariel by 3,000 housing units, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's fully verified approval of 117 new units nevertheless threatens to raise tensions with the U.S. Some, like Peace Now general director Yariv Oppenheimer, say the expansion could result in the demise of the road map peace plan and even ignite a new intifada. Others, like Education Minister Limor Livnat, say Israel should keep building no matter what the U.S. says.
It is clear that the Israeli government has authorized the construction of 117 homes in Ariel, officials said Tuesday, despite repeated U.S. appeals that Israel freeze settlement expansion.
Government and security sources denied reports that an additional 3,000 new housing units are planned for Ariel, a settlement of around 18,000 people. Sources said that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz last month approved the marketing of only the 117 new units.
This, after mayor of Ariel Ron Nachman, told The Associated Press that in addition to the government's recent approval of the construction of 117 housing units in the center of town (part of a plan frozen in the mid-1990s by late-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin) the Defense Ministry also has approved preliminary plans for a new 3,000-home neighborhood in the southern part of his settlement.
Defense Ministry officials confirmed the plan had received initial approval, though actual construction would need further authorization. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under department regulations.
The deputy mayor of Ariel also allegedly told Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim (Likud) on his visit to the West Bank town on Monday that 3,000 new housing units were to be constructed there.
Boim did not comment directly on the data, but told reporters that construction should continue in the settlement blocs. According to a report in Haaretz, Boim did however, hint that his statement was made in the context of the power struggle between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former finance minister MK Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the report, Boim said Likud members should be brought to Ariel to see the need to preserve the large settlement blocs, but that the divisiveness in the party made this difficult.
"Those who think there ... will be a second and third disengagement are mistaken. Not with this government," said Boim, who added that after Gaza, there would be no further unilateral pullbacks from territory claimed by the Palestinians.
The latest housing plans threaten to raise tensions with the United States just days before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to travel to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly. Sharon is expected to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush and other global leaders during the trip.
The Peace Now movement said the plan to build new housing would bring an end to the road map peace plan. Yariv Oppenheimer, Peace Now's director general, said such a plan could ignite a new intifada and wipe out the achievements of the disengagement.
But according to the report in Haaretz, Education Minister Limor Livnat said Tuesday that Israel should use what she termed a "window of opportunity" afforded by the disengagement in order to build up West Bank settlement blocs, despite U.S. objections. "We are a sovereign nation. The great United States is our friend, but there are times when we have to say, even to the United States, that we will act in accordance with our interests," Livnat told Israel Radio. "We should demand of the Americans that they do not pressure us on this matter," she said.
The United States, along with the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, has repeatedly demanded Israel freeze all settlement expansion, as called for in the internationally backed road map peace plan.
"We've been clear with the Israelis on their obligations under the road map and President Bush has specifically called on the Israelis not only to remove illegal outposts but to stop settlement expansion," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Stewart Tuttle.
"All the prime ministers have built the settlement blocs, but I built more than all of them," Sharon was quoted as saying by the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. "Settlement continues there and will continue." The paper said he made the comments in a meeting Monday with mayors from his ruling Likud Party.
Cabinet minister Haim Ramon said he would request clarifications about the Ariel construction plans, but cast doubt on whether the vision would ever become a reality.
"Even in Tel Aviv there is a master plan that one day the city will be like New York," said Ramon, a member of the centrist Labor Party. "To build 3,000 housing units means building a new Ariel and this is a mistake because this will cause damage in the international arena."
The AP contributed to this report.
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