Post date: Dec 03, 2012 3:43:14 PM
A rocky hill near Jerusalem could hold the key to peace. As Israel looks to build on the so-called 'E1' area, it's allies say 'no'.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 3, 2012) (REUTERS) - East of Jerusalem lies a barren hill with roads running up its rocky slopes and lampposts providing slivers of shade from the often fierce sun. There is a police station, but no houses or shops, for now.
Known simply by its administrative name, E1 (East One), this exposed stretch of landscape is at the centre of a growing diplomatic dispute that pits Israel against many of its Western allies, not to mention the Palestinian Authority.Stunned by a U.N. vote last week giving Palestinians de-facto statehood, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government dusted off old plans to build on the empty outcrop and create a new settlement in the heart of the occupied West Bank.
The White House swiftly denounced Friday's announcement, which included news the government planned to build 3,000 homes in other, undisclosed West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements.
A number of European Union governments went further, with Britain, France and Sweden summoning their respective Israeli ambassadors to protest at what they saw as an unacceptable reprisal against the Palestinians for the U.N. vote.
Supporters of the project say construction is long overdue and represents natural expansion from the neighbouring Ma'ale Adumim settlement -- a city of red-roofed apartment blocks that is home to more than 30,000 people.
Critics of the scheme warn that to build on E1 would effectively thwart any chances of creating a viable state for the Palestinians, thereby killing off the peace process.
"We hope that France and Britain can begin to show Israel that it cannot continue business as usual.Israel settlement activities cannot continue being business as usual. Every possible effort must be exerted in order to preserve the two-state solution," said senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
More than 500,000 Israelis live on land taken in the 1967 Middle East war, claiming historical and biblical ties to territory that the Palestinians say belongs to them.
The E1 site covers some 4.6 square miles (12 square km) and is geographically sensitive because it not only juts into the West Bank, but also backs onto East Jerusalem, where Palestinians want to establish their capital.
Building across this area would complicate efforts to carve out a contiguous Palestinian state, making it potentially much more difficult for surrounding Arab communities to link up.
However, supporters of the plan say it is not a deal breaker for any peace treaty, arguing there would be enough space both in front and behind the hill to enable a broad corridor that could connect the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
"When the Israeli government makes a legitimate decision after the Palestinians are breaking all the agreements and turn unilaterally to the U.N, the Israeli government will initiate what is legitimate and what strategically strengthens the state of Israel. And what strategically strengthens the state of Israel is not just utterances and journalistic briefings to this or that media outlet. What strengthens Israel is that it has Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria and a strong military that protects there against the take over of Hamas and terrorist organisations," said Israeli minister Gilad Erdan, who is in charge of liaison between the government and parliament.
Israel's closest ally, the United States, sees it differently and successive administrations have cautioned against any building on the largely unpopulated expanse.
Daniel Seidemann, the founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli NGO that monitors urban development in and around the holy city, said construction in E1 meant an end to the two-state solution.
"E1 is not just another settlement. E1 will dismember the West Bank into a northern canton and a southern canton and E1 will seal East Jerusalem from its environs in the West Bank. In the absence of the possibility of a continuous Palestinian state with a connection to Jerusalem, there is no two-state solution," he said.
Israelis have already named the prospective settlement Mevasseret Adumim - Tidings of Adumim. Ma'ale Adumin itself means Red Heights -- a reference to the Edom mountains in Jordan, visible to the east that glow red at sunset.
Preparation for building started long ago and a sealed-off bridge already links Ma'ale Adumin with its projected sister settlement, while a major road intersection swings up into E1 from the highway that heads down to the nearby Dead Sea.
If you take the exit today, the only people you are likely to find on the arid land are Bedouin shepherds following their ragged goat herds in search of the occasional tuft of grass.
Israeli authorities drew up plans in 2006 to move the Bedoiun to another site. They have yet to act on it, but rights groups say the project is specifically designed to clear the way for E1 development.
Maariv newspaper said on Monday the West Bank's higher planning committee would convene on Wednesday to approve plans for public review. Without further delays, the bulldozers could be sent in within a year.