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Israeli Mayor in occupied Jerusalem Nir Barkat vowed to continue building throughout the occupied city early Monday morning; just a few hours after US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell announced that Israel had agreed to freeze construction in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo settlement.
The U.S. State Department announced on Sunday that the first round of indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been completed, saying that both Israel and the Palestinians had taken steps to create an atmosphere conducive to successful talks.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement that Mitchell has left the Middle East after concluding talks characterized as "serious and wide-ranging."
Crowley said Israel had pledged not to build in occupied East Jerusalem for two years and that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed that he would work against incitement of any sort.
The State Department statement also said that both Israel and the Palestinians would be held "accountable" for actions that "undermine trust" during the course of the proximity talks.
Mitchell told the parties that progress is important so they can move to direct negotiations resulting in a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau expressed his concern over the announcement of a freeze, in spite of the denials heard from sources close to PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moreover, Israeli Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein noted that "even the US didn't call this 'Netanyahu's commitment,' but a clarification in his name. I don't think we're talking about something that can change the government's consistent stance or the position of its leader – according to which construction in Jerusalem will continue, in all parts of the city." He also noted that on Sunday the government had dedicated an hour and a half to the discussion on Jerusalem, in which the issue of the freeze had not even been mentioned.
Rightist groups reacted angrily to the freeze announcement. Among those angered were Netanyahu's coalition partners, some of whom expressed veiled threats. "If Netanyahu doesn't build in Jerusalem, he shouldn't count on the current coalition," said Habayit Hayehudi Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev. "Netanyahu promised unequivocally not to freeze construction in Jerusalem. He mustn't make do with declarations – he must show this by taking practical steps."
The Jewish Leadership faction of Likud also denounced the Israeli prime minister. After recent tension between Netanyahu and faction leader Moshe Feiglin, sources close to Feiglin said, "It is now clear that Netanyahu lied to his voters and to the people of Israel. All his commitments before the Likud elections to continue building in Jerusalem were just a fraud for the sake of the vote. He is indeed dividing Jerusalem."
Further criticism came from the National Union party. Faction Chairman MK Yaakov Katz called on Likud ministers to "stop sticking their heads in the sand, and replace Netanyahu immediately."
Despite Mitchell's announcement and the denouncements heard from the right, sources close to the Israeli prime minister continued to deny that Netanyahu had made any commitment regarding occupied Jerusalem.
"The prime minister has always said that construction and planning in Jerusalem would continue as normal, exactly as it has done throughout the last 43 years, and no Israeli commitment has been given on this issue," they said.
Patrick Seale, a leading British writer on the Middle East, wrote on Friday an article about the talks in which he said that Netanyahu knows that he cannot afford a public row with a strong American President. He cannot put at risk the lavish military, financial and diplomatic backing Israel receives from its American patron. In right-wing Israeli circles, there is always the fear that a breach with Washington could lead to defections from Netanyahu’s coalition, resulting in its inevitable collapse. Indeed, some suspect that US President Barack Obama’s real aim is Netanyahu’s overthrow.
Seale continued, “Obama has so far played it rather cleverly. He has made it clear that he expects real concessions from Israel in exchange for his repeated pledges of unwavering support for Israel’s security, his pressure on Iran’s nuclear program, and his overt displeasure with Syria for arming Hezbollah. Just this week, Obama maintained in place the sanctions against Syria which George W. Bush introduced.”
“But, as the Wall Street Journal reported last Saturday, the United States has also been conducting negotiations with Egypt on a proposal to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone - a goal Cairo has long sought. The implication is that, if Netanyahu continues to be obstructive on the peace front, the Obama administration will no longer keep silent about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, but will join the international community in pressuring it to adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and submit to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). So there is both carrot and stick in Obama’s approach,” he added.
For his part, Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and veteran peace negotiator, said the Palestinians had received assurances from the U.S. concerning "settlement activities and the necessity to halt them." He said the Obama administration had also promised to be tough in the event of "any provocations," and guaranteed that all core issues would be put on the table.
The PLO decision came despite warnings from the rival Palestinian groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad which said Friday that the move would only legitimize Israel's occupation, Palestinian media reported.
"Absurd proximity talks" would only "give the Israeli occupation an umbrella to commit more crimes against the Palestinians," Hamas reportedly said. "Hamas calls on the PLO to stop selling illusions to the Palestinian people and announce the failure of their gambling on absurd talks."
In this context, Seale concluded his article saying, “Netanyahu is clearly under pressure. But unless the Palestinians end their self-destructive feuding - and unless the Arab world starts to show some real muscle in their support - Netanyahu will survive, construction in Palestinian terri
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