Saturday, 22 October 2011
Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer was made during talks with Colombian Foreign Minister. (File photo)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready partially to freeze West Bank settlement building if it will bring Palestinians back to direct talks, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.
But the Palestinians said they were unaware of any such offer, and said that anything short of a full freeze would not be acceptable.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu’s offer was made on Wednesday during talks with Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin a day after she had met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
A senior official quoted by the paper said Netanyahu had told her he would be prepared to freeze all government-sponsored construction and building on state land “if it would return Abbas to the negotiating table.”
But the Palestinians said they were unaware of any such offer, and said that anything short of a full freeze would not be acceptable.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu’s offer was made on Wednesday during talks with Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin a day after she had met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
A senior official quoted by the paper said Netanyahu had told her he would be prepared to freeze all government-sponsored construction and building on state land “if it would return Abbas to the negotiating table.”
But he refused to contemplate a freeze on private settlement activity in a gesture which the official said would “test” whether or not Abbas was serious about returning to direct negotiations.
“Netanyahu said he was ready to test Abbas by making the gesture regarding settlements,” he said, indicating the offer had been relayed to Abbas on Wednesday.
Peace Now, the Israeli settlement watchdog, criticized the distinction between public and private settlement activity.
It pointed to government statistics that showed 84 percent of settlement construction in 2011 was private while only 16 percent was state sponsored.
“The truth is that even if there was a full stop of the government construction in settlements, still the settlers can build tens of thousands of units in the settlements that can destroy the possibility for peace and two state solution,” a group statement said.
Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev refused to confirm or deny the offer of a partial freeze, saying only that the premier’s position had not changed and that he was “ready for direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority without any preconditions.”
But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said they had received no such proposal and insisted that only a full halt to settlement, including in annexed east Jerusalem, would suffice.
“We want to hear officially from the Israeli government that they accept to stop settlement on all Palestinian lands, including in Jerusalem and natural growth, and to recognize the 1967 borders,” Erakat told AFP.
“The Israeli government knows very well how to inform us officially. Until now, no-one has told us anything,” he said.
Erakat also criticized the distinction between public and private settlement activity.
“Looting is not made legal under any circumstance,” Erakat said in a statement.
“Attempting to draw such false distinctions exposes the true intentions of the Israeli government. Simply put, its goal is to continue expanding these illegal settlements, which the international community unanimously considers illegal and an obstacle to peace.”
The Palestinians say they will only return to talks if there is a total freeze on all settlement activity, and a commitment from Israel that any future negotiations be based on the lines which existed before June 1967.
Israel has rejected both demands.
Earlier this week, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said the time was not right to resume meaningful dialogue with Israel in a rare comment on the political process.
“Our own assessment is that the conditions are not ripe at this juncture for a meaningful resumption of talks,” he told a pro-Palestinian lobby group in Washington on Wednesday.
He said the process had failed -- but “not for lack of talks.”
“It’s precisely because those talks were attempted so many times before, but not on the basis of terms of reference that were consistent with what is required to bring this conflict to an end in a manner that is remotely related to what international law requires,” he said.
Direct talks were last held in September 2010 but ran aground within weeks after the expiry of a temporary freeze on West Bank settlement construction, which Israel did not renew.
The reported proposal comes just days ahead of a visit by envoys for the Middle East Quartet who are to meet both sides separately in Jerusalem to discuss a fresh round of talks.
It also comes a month after Abbas made a formal request for U.N. state membership in a move which is fiercely opposed by Israel and the United States, and also rejected by Colombia, which is a U.N. Security Council member.
The Security Council could vote on the issue as Nov. 11, a senior Western diplomat said on Wednesday.
“Netanyahu said he was ready to test Abbas by making the gesture regarding settlements,” he said, indicating the offer had been relayed to Abbas on Wednesday.
Peace Now, the Israeli settlement watchdog, criticized the distinction between public and private settlement activity.
It pointed to government statistics that showed 84 percent of settlement construction in 2011 was private while only 16 percent was state sponsored.
“The truth is that even if there was a full stop of the government construction in settlements, still the settlers can build tens of thousands of units in the settlements that can destroy the possibility for peace and two state solution,” a group statement said.
Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev refused to confirm or deny the offer of a partial freeze, saying only that the premier’s position had not changed and that he was “ready for direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority without any preconditions.”
But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said they had received no such proposal and insisted that only a full halt to settlement, including in annexed east Jerusalem, would suffice.
“We want to hear officially from the Israeli government that they accept to stop settlement on all Palestinian lands, including in Jerusalem and natural growth, and to recognize the 1967 borders,” Erakat told AFP.
“The Israeli government knows very well how to inform us officially. Until now, no-one has told us anything,” he said.
Erakat also criticized the distinction between public and private settlement activity.
“Looting is not made legal under any circumstance,” Erakat said in a statement.
“Attempting to draw such false distinctions exposes the true intentions of the Israeli government. Simply put, its goal is to continue expanding these illegal settlements, which the international community unanimously considers illegal and an obstacle to peace.”
The Palestinians say they will only return to talks if there is a total freeze on all settlement activity, and a commitment from Israel that any future negotiations be based on the lines which existed before June 1967.
Israel has rejected both demands.
Earlier this week, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said the time was not right to resume meaningful dialogue with Israel in a rare comment on the political process.
“Our own assessment is that the conditions are not ripe at this juncture for a meaningful resumption of talks,” he told a pro-Palestinian lobby group in Washington on Wednesday.
He said the process had failed -- but “not for lack of talks.”
“It’s precisely because those talks were attempted so many times before, but not on the basis of terms of reference that were consistent with what is required to bring this conflict to an end in a manner that is remotely related to what international law requires,” he said.
Direct talks were last held in September 2010 but ran aground within weeks after the expiry of a temporary freeze on West Bank settlement construction, which Israel did not renew.
The reported proposal comes just days ahead of a visit by envoys for the Middle East Quartet who are to meet both sides separately in Jerusalem to discuss a fresh round of talks.
It also comes a month after Abbas made a formal request for U.N. state membership in a move which is fiercely opposed by Israel and the United States, and also rejected by Colombia, which is a U.N. Security Council member.
The Security Council could vote on the issue as Nov. 11, a senior Western diplomat said on Wednesday.
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