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Building plans announced in settlement blocs following Palestinian unity deal
Israel’s Housing Minister Uri Ariel announced yesterday evening that plans and tenders have been issued for 1,500 new housing units in the West Bank in response to the swearing in earlier this week of a new Palestinian unity government, established with the backing of Hamas.
Ariel’s construction plans relate almost exclusively to locations in West Bank settlement blocs, which most assume will remain part of Israel under any future peace deal. Just 38 of the units in question are scheduled to be outside these areas. Announcing the plans, Ariel said it was an “appropriate” response “to the Palestinian terror government.” On Monday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced a Palestinian unity government backed by both his own Fatah faction and Hamas, which is committed to Israel’s destruction and is classified as a terror organisation by both the United States and European Union.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister William Hague welcomed the new “new interim technocratic government,” although he emphasised that “our continued support” for the new government “will rest on its commitment to the principle of non-violence, and an acceptance of all previous agreements and obligations, including Israel’s legitimate right to exist.” Hamas has given no indication that it will abide by these conditions.
Ariel’s announcement yesterday signals an end to what supporters of settlement construction had recently called an unofficial but effective “silent freeze” on advancing construction plans in the West Bank during the past two months.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who also served as Israel’s lead negotiator with the Palestinians, this morning criticised Ariel’s move, saying that it served the interests of his Jewish Home party. Meanwhile, opposition leader and Labour Party leader Isaac Herzog said the failure of the government to advance towards a two state solution was leading Israel in the direction of a binational state. He yesterday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to plot a new diplomatic path.