Israel Hints at Renewed Settlement Activity

Thursday, May 29, 2014 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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Settlements

With the full breakdown of US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Jewish state is hinting at a full renewal of “settlement activity” in Judea and Samaria.

In a visit with settlement leaders in the Benjamin Regional Council on Tuesday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon insisted that the presence of Jews in Judea and Samaria was crucial to Israel’s security and future in the region.

“There is no security without the settlement enterprise. Where there is no settlement enterprise, there is no security,” said Ya’alon.

Later that same day, Housing Minister Uri Ariel told a Jerusalem Day celebration that not only would Jerusalem never again be divided, but that the government would also stop freezing the building of Jewish homes in other parts of the disputed territories. “There will be no more freezes — we won’t allow it,” Ariel stated.

According to Ariel, the end goal is that “there will be just one state between the Jordan River and the sea, and that is the State of Israel.”

The statements by these two ministers come just days after reports that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had decided to adopt certain clauses from the findings of the Levy Committee established in 2012 to determine the legality of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria.

Ha’aretz reported that in accordance with the Levy Committee findings, the government would significantly ease restrictions on Jewish construction in these areas.

Netanyahu himself commissioned the Levy Committee, a panel of jurists that included an international legal expert originally involved in formulating the so-called “Oslo Accords.”

Drawing on “international, Jordanian, Israeli and even Ottoman laws,” the Levy Committee concluded that “from the point of view of international law, the classical laws of ‘occupation’ as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria, over the course of decades.”

The Geneva Conventions define “military occupation” as the seizing of another nation’s land, and the fact is that no nation legally controlled Judea and Samaria following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which itself had ruled the area for over five centuries.

Additionally, the Jews cannot be considered an outside force in Judea and Samaria, but rather the historic founders of the territory as a unified nation-state. Jewish archeological finds dating back millennia abound in the “West Bank.”

Despite these legal and historical validations of a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, the Palestinian leadership is adamant that Jewish settlement activity is the sole obstacle to peace.

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'Our capital is the heart of our nation, it has to be united' - ISRAEL HAYOM

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

'Our capital is the heart of our nation, 

it has to be united'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marks 47th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem • "We want to ensure that Jerusalem is built and that it flourishes," he says • Housing Minister Uri Ariel: We will continue to build in all parts of our land.

"We are protecting the heart of the nation -- we will never divide our heart," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday, marking the eve of the 47th Jerusalem Day -- the day that celebrates the anniversary of the reunification of the capital -- at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem.

"Because we believe that our capital is the heart of our nation, it has to be united," Netanyahu said. "We want to make sure that Jerusalem is built and that it flourishes. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

"Jerusalem is the Western Wall, Mount Zion, Mount Moriah. It is the eternity of Israel. There is a lot of anti-Semitism among the gentiles, but there is also a great deal of admiration, because we have a spark, we have soul, a special spirit. We are a people who have returned to their land and built a home," he said.

Housing Minister Uri Ariel, who also attended the Mercaz Harav event, spoke against attempts to limit Israel's efforts to build housing in settlements. "There are currently no construction freezes, and there will not be in the future. We will not tolerate such things," Ariel said.

"Between the Jordan River and the sea there will be one nation and it will be the state of Israel. We will not agree to construction delays or constraints -- not in Jerusalem and not in Judea and Samaria. We will continue to build in all parts of our land.

"We will do our best to ensure that this state is in fact a Jewish state. With God's help we will return to Gush Katif, to the wide open spaces of Sinai, and to all parts of Judea and Samaria, in our lifetime," he said.

During a special Knesset session in honor of Jerusalem Day on Wednesday, Netanyahu reiterated his previous remarks, saying that "Jerusalem was reunited 47 years ago, and it will never be divided again."

"Jerusalem is vivacious and it is blossoming. We have the future right here," he said.

As he spoke, the Arab MKs left the Knesset hall in protest.

In response, Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Gal-On said that "there will never be a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians unless sovereignty over Jerusalem is divided. When you hear the prime minister talk, it is clear why Netanyahu conducted peace talks for nine months without any results or purpose."