Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a freeze on publishing tenders for new West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem colony homes to help US efforts to renew peace talks, army radio reported on Tuesday.
The decision to build the homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem was taken as a punitive measure late last year after the Palestinians won upgraded UN status, despite strong opposition from Israel and Washington.
News of the tender freeze was communicated by Netanyahu by Housing Minister Uri Ariel several days ago, the radio said.
Ariel, himself a colonist, is number two in the far-right Jewish Home party — the third-largest ruling coalition member — which lobbies for increased Israeli construction on land seized during the 1967 Six Day War.
“I have no intention of revealing details of my discussions with the prime minister,” Ariel told the radio, which said the tenders were related to construction in the major colonist blocs that house most of the 360,000 Israelis living in the West Bank.
Netanyahu’s decision to freeze the tenders was linked to efforts led by US Secretary of State John Kerry to relaunch peace talks with the Palestinians, according to the radio.
Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran confirmed the watchdog had seen “no new tenders published for settlement [colony] construction in the West Bank since the start of the year.”
Netanyahu is likely to face fierce opposition from his housing minister.
Ariel had warned during an April 30 meeting with Netanyahu that Jewish Home would oppose the 2013 state budget unless it contained money for further construction, according to an article by the Israel HaYom freesheet last week.
The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) said it will wait and examine Israeli seriousness on the issue. The PLO demanded that the Israeli colony construction freeze be implemented and seen on the ground and that it cover all the Palestinian territories promised for a future state.
“There should be a clear Israeli decision on a colony construction freeze that covers the entire West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem,” said Dr Wasel Abu Yousuf, a member of the PLO Executive Committee. “That Israeli decision should be seen on the ground.”
Dr Abu Yousuf said that the Israeli government should hold a meeting once Netanyahu is back in Israel to discuss the Israeli colony construction freeze, announce it publicly and show strict commitment to this decision. “We must ensure Israeli intentions and plans to see colony construction has really been frozen in all the Palestinian territories claimed for the future Palestinian state,” he told Gulf News.
Abdul Sattar Qasem, a commentator and head of the Political Science Department at Al Najah National University, recommended the Palestinians wait for an official statement of the Israeli government before any stance is taken. “The freeze decision will be a strategic one if it is taken and approved by the Israeli cabinet; it will however be a tactical decision if it was taken by Netanyahu personally,” he told Gulf News. “I do not believe the decision was strategic at all.”
“The seriousness of the Israeli government is currently on the line as a decision by Netanyahu is not enough on this issue,” he said.
“We will handle the issue as if the decision did not exist in the first place until an official Israeli government statement is issued to clarify the plan,” he said.
Dr Qassem said that the Palestinians should also understand whether the colony freeze refers to the construction of new colonies or building new homes in the already existing colonies.
He said that the current political circumstances may give Netanyahu the chance to demand an undeclared colony freeze and in such cases it will be tough on the Palestinians.
— With inputs from AFP
