Israel calls in EU envoy over settlement statement

Date: 07 / 07 / 2009  Time:  09:47

Bethlehem - Ma’an -

Israel’s Foreign Ministry will seek a meeting with the representative of the European Commission over what the Israeli press called an “unusually harsh statement” on Israel’s settlement policy.

The statement, released Monday, said Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank was strangling the Palestinian economy and forcing residents into aid dependency.

"[I]t is the European taxpayers who pay most of the price of this dependence," the commission said, including 280 million US dollars so far this year, because settlements prevent the PA from functioning normally.


The position was earlier put forward by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which cites the 2 billion shekels (509 million US dollars) spent annually on maintaining the road and checkpoint infrastructure that separates Palestinians from accessing land outside of “Area A” zones, prescribed by the Oslo Accords as areas under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.

Palestinians have difficulty farming, building on or travelling through lands designated “Area B” - land under Palestinian civil and Israeli military control - or “Area C” - lands under total Israeli control in the West Bank.

OCHA has recently come out with position papers describing the system of roads and blocks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a system that entrenches the illegal Israeli settlement system. Byproducts of the entrenchment mean making commutes to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv faster for the illegal Israeli settlers, while ensuring Palestinian agricultural workers have scant access to areas around settlements, settler roads or military bases on Palestinian land.

The EC statement echoed much of OCHA’s findings through their West Bank and East Jerusalem field work, and were contacted for a meeting with Israeli officials Monday. There was no indication when the meeting would take place.

Moussa: 'Settlements, negotiations cannot coexist'

Wednesday July 08, 2009 01:34 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Arab League Secretary-General, Amr Moussa, stated Tuesday that the Arab League appreciates the US efforts to launch successful peace talks, but negotiations cannot resume amidst ongoing illegal Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian lands.

Moussa added that the Arab League knows that the United States is trying to create a positive atmosphere to resume the peace process, and that the such efforts are well appreciated and welcomed.

The Arab League Secretary-General further stated that the Arab stance for peace is based on the Arab Peace Initiative, and that peace talks cannot coexist with Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem.

He said that moving towards peace should be conducted in a parallel and balanced track.

Moussa stated that US president, Barack Obama, extended his hand for peace and negotiations, and that Israel should act in a reasonable way.

Illegal Israeli settlers bulldoze Palestinian-owned land near Nablus

Tuesday July 07, 2009 16:15 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Illegal Israeli settlers bulldozed on Tuesday afternoon Palestinian owned land near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The lands are owned by farmers from Bureen village, the settlers took over the land, around 7.5 acres, earlier this month to expand their illegal settlement of Burqa.

The villagers added that the settlers damaged olive trees and vines. On Monday night the settlers attacked houses belonging to the villagers and set fire to animal huts and small farms near the farmers' homes, witnesses told local media. Also on Monday morning the settlers of Burqa set fire to summer crops and fruit trees that belong to people from the same village.