Israel is reaping the benefits of a sweet deal it struck at the start of the peace process: release a token amount of Palestinian prisoners, and continue gobbling up the West Bank.
On the same evening that 26 Palestinian prisoners were released over the objections of Israeli Jewish citizens, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced that plans to construct 1,500 homes in the Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem were moving forward. While this project has long been in the pipeline–announcement of settlements there caused a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. in 2010–the new announcement means that “within several months, it will be possible to start issuing building permits and marketing land to contractors,” Haaretz’s Barak Ravid reports.
Ramat Shlomo isn’t the only illegal settlement that is benefiting from the prisoner release. The next day, Israel announced that more plans to build settlements are moving though the pipeline. 2,500 units in total–including in settlements outside the “blocs”–will be built in the future.
Ravid also reports that plans to build a national park in East Jerusalem that would block construction in nearby Palestinian neighborhoods is moving ahead, as is a move to build a tourist center in the Palestinian village of Silwan. The tourist center will sit opposite of the City of David, another tourist spot that Jews around the world travel to, in Silwan, a flashpoint area of East Jerusalem where settler groups are actively trying to expand their presence.
The Israeli government did the exact same thing in August, when the first batch of what will be 104 Palestinian prisoners freed were released. Israel announced that 2,000 homes in East Jerusalem were to be constructed on the the same day that prisoners were freed.
Right-wing members of the Israeli coalition government have howled over releasing the prisoners, who had been in jail since before the Oslo Accords and have served time for violent attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. Israel had already agreed to release these prisoners in 1999.
Despite its cries of anger, the right knew the prisoner release would happen when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started negotiating with the Palestinian Authority (PA). The roots of the prisoner release for settlements deal date back to July 2013. Netanyahu needed to give the Palestinian Authority something to entice them back to the table, so he gave them the least bad option for Israel: releasing prisoners. The other options–a settlement freeze or declaring the 1967 lines as a basis for negotiations–were off the table, since it would lead to a collapse of his ultra-right coalition. It’s a perfect microcosm for the true priorities of Israel: holding onto the West Bank and expanding settlements.
The prisoner release allows the negotiations to continue rolling on. PA President Abbas can point to an achievement every single time another batch of prisoners are released. Reuters reported that he told a crowd of Palestinians celebrating the release of the 26 prisoners last night that there was no connection between the prisoner release and settlement expansion. “The settlements are void, void, void,” Abbas said. Reuters also reported that the Palestinian Cabinet released a statement saying they “would reject any attempt by Israel to ‘trade’ prisoners for continued settlement-building.”
Except that Abbas has effectively agreed to that trade by staying in the peace talks while settlements march on.
Meanwhile, Israel’s priority of expanding settlements is strengthened. The next time prisoners are released, expect more settlements to be announced.
This expansion was inevitable and shows how easily Abbas can be bought, some commentators here say he had no choice other than to enter talks and that Israel/US would withdraw aid etc, of course they threatened the terrors of the earth before Palestine acceptance of non member statehood by the General Assembly at the UN, the sky did not fall in then, the Israelis have a political goal and a plan of action, everything they do is calculated to further the Zionist objective of a Greater Israel with as few Palestinians as possible, in the minimum 9 months allotted for the talks Israel has increased its settlement activity by nearly 100% Abbas has acquiesced in all this after telling everyone there must be an end to settlement building before he would agree to talks, he lied, Abbas regards the prisoner release as some kind of success and we see pictures of him jumping for joy, this could not be further from the truth, this was a sop by the Israelis to get Abbas to forgo the very real political gains of possible membership of all the other UN Agencies and applying to join, and pursuing Israel through the ICC, the Israelis have won this latest encounter hands down and have once again shown the utter bankruptcy and apolitical nature of the Palestinian leadership, and so the charade continues.
I do not understand what it means to say that Abbas acquiesced in the building of new settlement units. Or, to put it another way, what difference would it have made “on the ground” if he had noisily declared the wall and the settlements units and the settlements themselves — all of them that are within territory occupied in 1967– indeed, each and every one of them, both jointly and severally — violations of international law, and the residing-under-Israeli-sponsorship of the settlers within the occupied territories — each and every one of them, children and grandmothers, goats, camels, chickens, and pigs included included (in each case, of course, if any) — violations of international law, then SO WHAT? Would N’yahu who would not stop for OBAMA stop for Abbas?
What matters more in this “what was agreed for prisoner release” is whether, after 9 months, and no final peace agreed to by anyone, will Abbas take Palestine to ICC, etc.? If Abbas caves-in on that, then I’d say it’s all over. He has no other cards to play, and he has avoided seeking the help of the only entities which might conceivably serve as allies for Palestine — the nations.
You don’t have to try so hard; just go back to the Palestine Papers where it’s all laid out clear and simple. Dig them up and you’d see they’re back to discussing the concessions already agreed to by the Palestinians. Only problem remaining is how to get the Palestinian people to swallow this stuff.
To add insult to injury, today Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat (and a team of negotiators) has again quit his post and Abbas is begging him to stay on (as usual). Another smoke screen being prepared. Resignations and threats of resignations and subsequent backtracking from intended resignations are part of the charade. Erekat saying that Israel not living up to agreements.
Netanyahu agreed to enter talks on the basis of that there should be no preconditions, ie he will continue settlement building and that Abbas should put on hold any action at the UN and ICC, Abbas obviously did not like that, but agreed to the talks in any case, he now finds himself in the worst of positions because after 9 months Israel/US will find some other mechanism to prolong the charade, probably combined with more threats,and he will be blamed for pulling out, it may not matter about the ICC since if the talks are extended the Prosecutor may not investigate the situation because of the real chance [according to Israel/US] that a political break through is possible,and confirm to everybody not least the Africans that the ICC is a political tool of the West. I hope I am wrong about that, but we will never find out until all the levers are pulled, by the apolitical Abbas.
” Israel had already agreed to release these prisoners in 1999.”
Israeli antisemitism at work.