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Burt ‘disappointed’ at Ariel University upgrade; condemns third intifada threat
The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt yesterday criticised the decision taken earlier this week in Israel to accredit full university status to the Ariel University Centre of Samaria, situated in the West Bank.
In a strong statement released yesterday, Burt expressed the government’s “deep disappointment” and commented that because “Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement…This decision will deepen the presence of the settlements in the Palestinian territories and will create another obstacle to peace.” The statement also made a point of explicitly accusing Israel of breaching the Fourth Geneva Convention in its recent announcements of new construction in East Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ruled that there was no legal reason to prevent the Ariel University Centre of Samaria from becoming a fully recognised university. The institution was established in 1982, becoming Israel’s largest public college with a current student body of around 14,000 including several hundred Arab students. This week’s ruling was an important stage in a long-running process of accreditation, dating as far back as 2005 when Israel’s government first voted in favour of the upgrade. Almost all of Israel’s existing universities oppose the upgrade, with many citing budgetary concerns. The Council of Presidents of Israeli Universities is likely to appeal Weinstein’s ruling next month.
Burt also took aim at the recent approval given by the Israeli government to plans for construction projects in the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Givat Hamatos and Gilo South. He called them “profoundly provocative actions,” which are “damaging Israel’s international reputation.”
The minister also “utterly and unreservedly” condemned “the recent call for a third intifada and a suicide campaign by a Hamas official” and commended Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ rejection of these “inflammatory statements.” Looking ahead, Burt called for “President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu to show the strong leadership needed to achieve a return to negotiations for a two-state solution.”