Israel to build unprecedented number of new settlements in West Bank

Israel Approves Construction in West Bank

Tuesday September 6, 2005 5:16 PM

By KARIN LAUB

Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel has approved construction of 117 houses in the Ariel settlement in the heart of the West Bank, the government said Tuesday, signaling it will not relinquish the sprawling community that Palestinians complain would cut up their future state.

The announcement - and suggestions that much larger construction projects are in the pipeline - came despite the risk of a U.S. reprimand, just as Israel was reaping the diplomatic benefits of its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The renewed talk about settlement expansion apparently was part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's attempt to recapture support in his Likud Party after the Gaza pullout. Addressing Likud mayors Monday, Sharon boasted that he built more homes in large West Bank settlements than any other Israeli leader.

The United States has urged Israel not to expand West Bank settlements, in line with a construction freeze under the internationally backed ``road map'' peace plan. However, in selling the Gaza pullout to his public, Sharon has said it would allow Israel to strengthen its hold over Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank.

Since the launch of the road map in 2003, Israel has started building at least 3,500 homes in the five fastest-growing settlements - Maaleh Adumim, Ariel, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Sefer and Alfei Menashe, said Dror Etkes of the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now. All these are settlements Israel wants to keep under any peace deal.

Four of the five are relatively close to the so-called Green Line, the old frontier between Israel and the West Bank. However, Ariel, which has nearly 18,000 residents, is deep in the heart of the West Bank.

Israeli officials said the 117 houses would be built in the center of Ariel and not expand the settlement's territory. However, the Palestinians said any construction in Ariel is problematic because of its location.

``If they insist on keeping the settlement, they will destroy the prospect of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state,'' said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman, a Likud member, told The Associated Press that the Defense Ministry also approved preliminary plans for a new 3,000-home neighborhood in the southern part of the settlement. The project would nearly double the size of Ariel. Israel TV said the plan is to build the homes over 10 years.

During a tour of Ariel, the deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, referred to a ``decision of the government to approve an additional 3,000 housing units.'' In the comments, carried by Israel Radio, Boim said the construction plans amount to a ``clear statement that this is the policy of strengthening the settlement blocs.''

However, analysts said the comments by Nachman and Boim, a Sharon ally, appeared to be part of the Likud leadership struggle, in which the expansion of West Bank settlements was emerging as the hottest topic.

Sharon's main challenger, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, launched his campaign last week with a tour of Maaleh Adumim, urging Sharon to build a new neighborhood there despite U.S. objections. Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, a Sharon ally, has since acknowledged the plan won't go ahead without U.S. consent.

However, in his speech to Likud mayors, Sharon said settlement expansion would continue. ``All the prime ministers built in the settlement blocs, but I built more than any of them,'' he said.

The Sharon-Netanyahu rivalry was heating up ahead of a Sept. 25 meeting of the 3,000-member Likud Central Committee, which is to decide on the date of a party primary. The outcome of that vote could determine whether Sharon leaves Likud or decides to stay for a showdown with Netanyahu.

Next week, Sharon plans to attend the United Nations' 60th anniversary celebrations in New York and meet with world leaders, including President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The United States, along with the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, has repeatedly demanded Israel freeze all settlement expansion.

``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,'' U.S. Embassy spokesman Stewart Tuttle said Tuesday.

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5259409,00.html