White House expresses 'deep concern' over new settlement units
With tensions between Jerusalem and Washington running high, White House says Israel's announcement of some 400 settler housing units undermine efforts to achieve peace; Israel denies tenders are new.
The move could undermine efforts to achieve peace in the region, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a daily briefing. The move "does nothing to bolster Israel's security" and in fact would do exactly the opposite, he said.
"This, in our view, would only undermine the ability of the Israelis to build support internationally and to ultimately reach the kind of peace agreement with a two-state solution that we believe is clearly in the interest of Israel's national security," Earnest said.
The comments come amid tensions between Jerusalem and Washington after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted a Republican invitation to speak at Congress two weeks ahead of Israel's elections, a move which has angered Democrats in Congress, including some old friends of Israel.
Similar comments were made by the EU, who said the tenders were "illegal" and "will further undermine the viability of the two-state solution."
The Israeli government on Friday published tenders to build 450 new settler homes in the West Bank, the head of an NGO that monitors settlement activity told AFP.
However, a senior Israel government official said the current batch of tenders is actually a group of old unpurchased tenders that are being reissued.
"Contrary to reports there has been no authorization for new construction," the official said anonymously in line with protocol. "This is merely the automatic recycling of construction procedure for housing units announced over a year ago during negotiations with Palestinians which were known to all parties, no new housing units have been authorized or added."
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The Terrestrial Jerusalem group said that 430 new homes were to be built in four existing settlements across the West Bank - 112 in Adam, 156 in Elkana, 78 in Alfei Menashe and 84 in Kiryat Arba. Peace Now, another NGO, said on Friday that 450 tenders have been issued.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the announcement, but instead of placing the blame solely on Israel, he also aimed his criticism at the international community.
"The Israeli decision is not surprising when you look at it in the context of the culture of impunity Israel enjoys from the international community," Erekat said. "One of the latest examples of that is the American Congress' invitation to the Israeli prime minister to speak there even though Israel continues freezing the transfer of Palestinian tax money."
He called on the international community "to stop treating Israel as a state above the law" and to "support the diplomatic initiatives meant to preserve the two-state solution."
"It's the opening of the settlement floodgates," said Daniel Seidemann, head of the Terrestrial Jerusalem group, adding that the announcements were the first since October 2014 and unlikely to be the last before the March 17 general election.
Tensions with US
The New York Times reported that Netanyahu contacted senior Democrats this week in an attempt to minimize the damage caused by the fact his invitation to speak on Capitol Hill was extended without first notifying President Barack Obama and the White House. Netanyahu's attempt, the Times reported, was unsuccessful.
Senator Reid, an avid supporter of Israel, told the Times he had a "candid" conversation with Netanyahu, in which he told the Israeli prime minister that the planned March 3 speech "has become such a problem" that it led Democratic senators to back off their support to a proposal to impose new sanctions on Iran.
"It’s hurting you. You have to understand this. I’m not telling you what to do or what not to do, but you have to understand the background here from my perspective," Reid said he told Netanyahu.
Sources in the Democratic party dubbed Netanyahu's decision to accept the invitation to speak to Congress about the Iranian threat "undiplomatic and reckless."
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed to the Times that Netanyahu had spoken to senior Democrats "and other friends in Congress."
After visiting soldiers wounded in the Wednesday Hezbollah attack on the Lebanese border, Netanyahu addressed the criticism over his planned visit to the US, saying, "This is a procedural problem that can be solved, but if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, it'll be a lot harder to solve."
Israel's Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, considered Netanyahu's closest adviser and strategic consultant, was sharply criticized by senior officials in Obama's inner circle after he helped orchestrate the Republican invitation to Netanyahu to speak in front of Congress.
A senior administration official told the New York Times that Dermer had "repeatedly placed Netanyahu’s political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States."
Dermer told the Times that he has "no regrets whatsoever that I have acted in a way to advance my country's interests," claiming he understood House Speaker John Boehner will be the one to notify the White House of the extended invitation.
"The prime minister feels very strongly that he has to speak on this issue. That’s why he accepted the invitation, not to wade into your political debate or make this a partisan issue, and not to be disrespectful to the president," Dermer added.
Reuters and the Assocaited Press contributed to this report
