Palestinians warned Sunday that a symbolic Israeli ministerial vote to annex the Jordan Valley could destroy the peace process which US Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing to advance by heading to Jerusalem and Ramallah later this week.
The vote “shows the extent of Israeli disrespect for international law and the efforts of the Quartet,” Palestinian Liberation Organization chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
In a show of support for the Jordan Valley which the Palestinians claim should be an essential part of their state, the Ministerial Legislative Committee voted 8 to 3 to annex it to Israel.
Justice Minister Tizpi Livni (Hatenua) and three Yesh Atid politicians, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, Health Minister Yael German and Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri have all said they will appeal the vote.
Such an appeal places the matter directly into the hands of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a move which many believes effectively kills the legislation, which can be revoted only with his approval.
The bill, which was sponsored by MK Miri Regev (Likud) had the support of ministers from her party as well as those from Yisrael Beiteinu and Bayit Yehudi.
Livni and Lapid accused the ministers of attempting to foil the peace talks with the Palestinians by supporting a bill that had no chance of passing.
- “This is an irresponsible bill and those who support it are irresponsible,” said Livni.
- “It is a proposal that harms the state of Israel and isolates it," she said. “It is also designed to harm the government because this is a matter of government policy and not [the subject] for a private bill," Livni said.
But Regev said, "The ministerial committee's approval of this bill now, when there are talks with the Palestinians, is a clear statement by the government that the towns in the Jordan Valley are a strategic and security asset of the State of Israel that must stay in our hands.”
According to Regev, the Jordan Valley is the "safety belt" on the eastern border.
Control of the Jordan Valley has been a sticking point in the negotiations. Netanyahu has insisted that for security reasons Israel must maintain a military presence in the valley. Many Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu and Bayit Yehudi politicians want the settlements to remain as well and for the area to become a permanent part of the state of Israel.
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar worked to convince the committee to approve the bill, saying "there is no separation between settlement and security, and the Jordan Valley is a consensus among Israeli citizens. There's nothing wrong with everyone knowing that the Jordan Valley will remain Israeli in any final status agreement."
Regev thanked Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) and Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) for pushing the bill through the committee. She and Sa'ar plan to visit the Jordan Valley later this week.
Lapid, however, said he vehemently opposed it, both because he supports a two state solution and because laws such as these are designed to cripple the ability of the negotiators to arrive at a final status solution.
Erekat told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency that the annexation of the Jordan Valley to Israel in this way is proof that the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is disregarding international law.
Erekat urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for this decision.
He said that the Palestinian response to the decision should come by joining UN agencies and organizations.
MK Nachman Shai (Labor) also attacked the decision. “This government is being outrageously irresponsible," MK Nachman Shai (Labor) said. "Instead of promoting the only way to save the State of Israel from becoming a binational state, it is ruining any chance of a treaty and deteriorating us to international isolation."
According to Shai, the vote reveals the government's real face, even though it is negotiating with the Palestinians.
In the coalition, Yesh Atid faction chairman Ofer Shelah called the bill "irresponsible and dangerous, which causes harm even if it does not become law in the end."
"The fact that all Likud ministers voted for this bill raises questions about the prime minister's party's seriousness, since he decided to enter negotiations with the Palestinians while his ministers support a bill that will tie Israel's hands in those talks and makes us look like we're doing everything to sabotage them," Shelah said.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) said the committee's approval of the bill indicates that "Netanyahu suffers from a split personality, or he's a serial cheat."
"On the one hand, he frees murdering terrorists and with the other he allows the extremists in his party pass laws that stop negotiations. On the one hand he sends Tzipi Livni to talk to the Palestinians and on the other he builds settlements. Either way, he is hurting the citizens of Israel," Horowitz said.
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Ministers-vote-to-annex-Jordan-Valley-336466
29/12/13
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For 1st time, Palestinian govt to hold weekly meeting in Jordan Valley...
ReplyDeleteThe minister warned that the annexation could lead to "the collapse of peace talks and US [peace] efforts in the region."
RAMALLAH
The Palestinian government has decided to hold its weekly Sunday meeting in the Jordan Valley in a show of defiance against an Israeli government bill calling for the annexation of the region by the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
"The Palestinian government meeting will be held in the village of Ein al-Beida inside the Jordan Valley in response to Israeli actions targeting the region," Palestinian National Economy Minister Jawwad Naji told Anadolu Agency.
On Sunday, an Israeli government committee voted in favor of proposed legislation drafted by Likud Party MK Miri Regev calling for the annexation of the Jordan Valley, a large, fertile strip of land accounting for roughly one quarter of the occupied West Bank.
"The Palestinian leadership rejects any Israeli step that seeks to establish control over the Jordan Valley, which constitutes 29 percent of the West Bank," Naji said.
The minister warned that such a move could lead to "the collapse of peace talks and US [peace] efforts in the region."
"President [Mahmoud] Abbas stressed yesterday that the Jordan Valley is a red line for the Palestinian nation and leadership," he added.
Around 50,000 Palestinians and 9,500 Jewish settlers currently reside in the history-rich valley.
Israel sees the region as an economic and security buffer zone for its Jewish settlements and hopes to keep the area under its firm control in any future peace deal.
While the Palestinians demand the presence of Palestinian forces along the border with Jordan in any future peace agreement, Tel Aviv insists on having Israeli forces deployed along the eastern borders.
Israel has also rejected proposals for an international or US military presence on the borders with Jordan.
Since 1967, Israel has prevented the development of Palestinian towns in the Jordan Valley, adamantly refusing to grant building permits to local residents.
By Anees Barghouthi
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/269139--for-1st-time-palestinian-govt-to-hold-weekly-meeting-in-jordan-valley
31/12/13
Deputy foreign minister: 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders....
ReplyDeleteZeev Elkin adds: Likud must reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank; MKs hold dedication ceremony for new neighborhood in Jordan Valley settlement.
Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin said Thursday that “the 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders” and therefore Likud has to reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank.
Elkin, of the Likud party himself, spoke during a morning tour of settlements in the Jordan Valley attended by parliamentarians and ministers that are members the Land of Israel lobby.
The tour, in which Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) participated, took place a few hours before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Israel. Kerry is expected to meet Thursday evening with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the “framework agreement” for peace that the United States is interested in presenting to Israel and the Palestinians by the end of January.
“The Jordan Valley must be under Israeli sovereignty forever,” said Elkin at a dedication ceremony for a new neighborhood in the settlement of Gitit in the Jordan Valley. “Now of all times, in a government headed by Likud, in a settlement built by Likud, we can say loud and clear: You will remain here forever and there will be Israeli sovereignty here.”
Elkin added: “To all those who are now making proposals for Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, there is only one reply, which was already given in 1969 by then- foreign minister Abba Eban: The 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders! The only reply that Likud government should give to such proposals is: No! It’s right to talk to our neighbors, but it’s illogical for them to ask us to give up the security of Israel’s inhabitants and Israel’s vital interests. Anyone who gives up the Jordan Valley will turn Kfar Sava into Sderot.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.566644
2/1/14