Netanyahu Thumbs Nose at East Jerusalem

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 3, 2014
All Rights Reserved.                                     

                 Six weeks of war with Hamas ending Aug. 26 didn’t change Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mind about settlement construction.  Hamas militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel primarily as a PR move to get international donors to bail out the cash strapped government.  Unable to pay civil servants, Hamas went broke, needing fresh cash that only comes from Israel devastating Gaza’s infrastructure.  Palestinians blame the rocket fire on Israel’s seven-year blockade, preventing the Gaza Strip from getting the necessary infrastructure and medical supplies.  When Israeli Defense Forces found a warren of over 30 military and smuggling tunnels, it became clear where Hamas was spending Gaza’s resources.  When Hamas agreed Aug. 26 to end its rocket war with Israel, it wasn’t because of winning more concessions with Israel but instead attracting $5 billion form donor states..

             Since the 1967 Six-Day-War when Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon tried to annihilate the Jewish State, Israel’s controlled Egypt’s Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, Jordan’s East Jerusalem and West Bank and Syria’s Golan Heights.  Over 40 years of Mideast peacemaking was built on 1968 U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, offering Israel peace in exchange for returning to the pre-1967 borders.  Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1978 in exchange for a peace treaty brokered by former President Jimmy Carter.  Israel’s late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave the Gaza Strip to Palestinians in 2005, receiving no peace, only more promises to destroy the Israel.  Yet despite all the peacemaking over the last 40 years, no one in Israel or the U.S. has given up on a lasting peace, including a so-called two-state solution, requiring Israel to give back more land.

             Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party and the ultraconservative Yisrael Beiteinu Party headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman believe the post-1967 borders are legitimate spoils of the 1967 War.  While the international community rejects that idea, the fact remains that Israel was attacked and seized land as a buffer zone.  Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmou Abbas wants Israel to stop building and vacate settlements inside the West Bank or East Jerusalem.  Announcing building another 500 homes in the East Jerusalem Ramat Schlomo housing project, Netanyahu antagonizes an already rocky peace.  “It is unfortunate that after the unequivocal and unanimous position last week of the international community opposing construction in Jerusalem at this sensitive time, authorities chose to move forward,” said State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez. 

            Netanyahu’s tough stance on changing building plans in East Jerusalem or the West Bank stems from his expectation to get Palestinians back into face-to-face peace talks.  Since Hamas’s rocket war against Israel this summer, Netanyahu hasn’t been in a conciliatory mood, especially bargaining about future building.  When Israel left the Gaza Strip Aug. 15. 2005, it left a treasure trove of infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings.  Palestinians know from Gaza that it any final status agreement, Israel will force settlers out kicking-and-screaming, leaving existing building structures for Palestinians.  Building per se should not throw a monkey wrench into peace talks because Palestinians know they stand to gain from Israeli construction.  Last week’s temporary closure of Temple Mount to investigate a crime scene prompted talk of Armageddon from Arab leaders.

            Jerusalem’s Old City is home to some of Jews and Islam’s holiest sites, causing sensitivities, especially to Muslims worshiping at Al-Aqsa Mosque.  While Israel has proved since 1967 to be a responsible custodian of the Old City’s holy sites, Jews fear that if East Jerusalem were handed over to Palestinians, the won’t be allowed to pray at the Wailing Wall, the historic ruins of the First and Second Temple.  When it comes to building in East Jerusalem or West Bank, Palestinians oppose any-and-all construction.  Netanyahu insists that any construction would only occur in areas that would be retained by Israel in any final status agreement.  With Palestinians insisting on no building in any of the pre-1967 borders, Netanyahu may have miscalculated.  U.S., U.K, and other Mideast peace partners want Israel to roll back its borders to the original 1948 British Mandate of Palestine.  

About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.