Israel postpones vote on new East
Jerusalem homes before Kerry speech
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[December 28, 2016]
By Jeffrey Heller
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel pulled back
from approving hundreds of new homes for Israelis in annexed East
Jerusalem on Wednesday before a speech in which the U.S. Secretary of
State was to give further voice to international opposition to
settlement building.
The projects, in areas Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and
which Palestinians seek as part of a future state, are part of building
activity the U.N. Security Council demanded an end to on Friday in a
resolution made possible by a U.S. abstention.
John Kerry will discuss Washington's withholding of its veto when he
delivers a speech at the State Department at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT)
laying out his vision for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a
senior State Department official told reporters on Tuesday.
With applications for 492 building permits in the urban settlements of
Ramot and Ramat Shlomo on its agenda, members of Jerusalem city hall's
Planning and Building committee said a planned vote was cancelled at
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request.
The panel's chairman, Meir Turgeman, said at the session that Netanyahu
was concerned approval would have given Kerry "ammunition before the
speech".
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A spokesman for the Israeli leader declined immediate comment.
Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization,
called on Israel "to take the high ground and declare a cessation of
settlement activities, including East Jerusalem, so we can give the
peace process the chance it deserves by the resumption of meaningful
negotiations".
"SHAMEFUL"
Washington's move at the United Nations broke a longstanding policy of
diplomatic shielding of Israel by the United States. Condemned by Israel
as "shameful", it was widely seen as a parting shot by President Barack
Obama against Netanyahu and his pro-settlement policies.
The two leaders have had a rocky relationship, divided over the
decades-old Israeli policy of building Jewish settlements in occupied
territory as well as on how to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
Washington considers the settlement activity illegitimate and most
countries view it as an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a
biblical, historical and political connection to the land - which the
Palestinians also claim - as well as security interests.
Some 570,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem amid
mounting international concern that a two-state solution to the dispute
is in jeopardy, with peace talks stalled since 2014.
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![](../images/122816pics/news_m19.jpg)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet
meeting at his Jerusalem office December 25, 2016. REUTERS/Dan
Balilty/Pool
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"The prime minister said that while he supports construction in
Jerusalem, we don't have to inflame the situation any further,"
Hanan Rubin, a member of the Jerusalem municipal committee told
Reuters, citing Kerry's upcoming speech.
The panel meets regularly and the building projects could come up
for a vote at a future session.
Since learning last week of Kerry's planned speech, Israeli
officials have been concerned he might use the address to lay out
parameters for a Middle East peace deal.
Netanyahu's aides are confident Republican President-elect Donald
Trump's incoming administration will likely ignore any Obama
principles and pay no heed to the U.N. resolution. But they fear
Kerry's remarks will put Israel on the defensive and prompt other
countries to apply pressure.
Trump tweeted his opposition to the U.S. decision to withhold a veto
and lobbied Egypt, an original sponsor of the resolution, to drop
plans to bring it to a vote last Thursday.
He has pledged to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,
which Israel claims as its capital - a status that is not recognised
internationally. And he has appointed his lawyer, who has raised
funds for a major Jewish settlement in the West Bank, as the new
ambassador.
"Who's Obama? He's history," Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev
said on Army Radio on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Matt Spetalnick in
Washington; editing by John Stonestreet)
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