Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected criticism by the French foreign ministry of Israel’s settlement policy expansion after it released a statement Monday condemning reports of a peak in West Bank settlement blocs as “illegal under international law”.
The French comments came in response to a new report released by Israeli NGO Peace Now revealing that construction on Israeli settlements in the West Bank reached a 7-year high in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures released by the Jewish State’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
Expansion work began on 865 new housing units between January and March of this year, constituting a three-fold rise of the same period of 2012, and a 355% increase on the last quarter of 2012, which saw the EU foreign affairs council issue its most recent criticism of Israeli settlement activity.
According to Peace Now: “A government committed to peace would not allow nor continue to build settlements, which inevitably harms the chances for peace. These findings provide further evidence of a continuing government policy of prioritising settlement expansion, at the expense of the majority of Israeli citizens.”
Responding to the charge however, Netanyahu told the Knesset (Israeli parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee that settlement expansion in the West Bank would continue as it “does not significantly change our ability to reach an agreement – that is a false claim”.
“The real question is whether there is or isn't a willingness among the Palestinians to accept a Jewish state,” he added.
His appearance before the committee followed a report by Army Radio Monday quoting unnamed sources in the Housing Ministry, Israel Lands Authority and Jerusalem Municipality claiming the Israeli Prime Minuster had essentially frozen building activity in East Jerusalem settlement blocs, which were later confirmed by former Foreign Minister and committee chairman Avigdor Lieberman.
Such claims were refuted by Netanyahu during the course of his address, as he insisted that “construction in communities in Judea and Samaria will continue, and is continuing still today”.
The EU’s uncompromising criticism on the Israeli settlement issue has long been a point of contention with the Israeli government, heightened by a series of resolutions by Europe’s Foreign Ministers last May and December, calling for the activity to be discontinued.
Traditional Israeli ally France has been a vocal proponent of such criticism, with Monday’s statement reiterating that “our position on settlements is well known: we believe it is actually illegal under international law, it undermines the trust necessary for the resumption of dialogue and it is an obstacle to a just peace based on the solution of two states”, continuing to further invoke clauses in Israel’s trade agreements with the EU excluding products from settlements.
Netanyahu’s staunch rebuttal of claims that Israel’s settlement policy undermines attempts to reinvigorate the stalled peace process, supported by the Palestinian Authority’s insistence that direct talks will not resume whilst Israel pursues such action, echoed an address by Israel’s ambassador to the EU David Walzer at a briefing seminar hosted by the Europe Israel Press Association (EIPA) in Brussels last week.
Addressing media on the topic of Israel’s attitude to the peace process, he insisted that the EU “could be much more influential, much more important in the peace process if they chose to look at other issues as well and not focus their attention”only on settlements."
“Roughly 75% of people you describe as settlers live on less than 5% of territory held by Israel in the west bank. If you think of 5 or 6% land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians – Israel is ready,” he said, as he highlighted Israel’s proven record of doing so as part of its 1979 agreement with Egypt, which saw them destroy settlements in Sinai, and 2005’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which paved the way for internationally-designated terrorist group Hamas to seize power from their Fatah rivals in the Strip.