No peace while colony growth continues: UAE newspaper
WAM Abu Dhabi, Sep. 5, 2009 (WAM) -- A major UAE English daily today commented on the intertwining relations between the freezing of construction of Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank and the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, quoting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner as the latest high profile personality to have underscored this fact.
Commenting editorially on the issue today, the Dubai-based "Gulf News" said: "Finally somebody is getting it right. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says that if there is no agreement on freezing Israeli colony construction in the Occupied Territories, a larger peace initiative 'will be much more difficult, or perhaps even impossible'.
"Unfortunately, his statement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated he will approve the construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank colonies next week.
"The decision to build more colonies aims to pre-empt a possible deal between the United States and Israel on a temporary halt to colony construction contingent on Arab states reciprocating by taking steps to normalise diplomatic relations, according to Israeli officials.
"Kouchner is right. There will be no peace while colony construction continues. Netanyahu is not interested in peace - in fact, he never said he was. He wants Arab states to reward Israel for doing nothing. Or, more precisely, he wants to be rewarded for slowing the rate at which land is stolen from the Palestinians. This is not just unacceptable but indeed farcical.
"What is even more unacceptable is the silence of Arab states, on whose behalf the American administration is negotiating with Israel. It is time the Arabs clarified their position. There will be no relations, normal or otherwise, with Israel before it withdraws from Arab land occupied in 1967. This is what the Arab Peace Initiative says and the last time we checked there was no other plan on the table.
"Netanyahu must be insane to think that he can be rewarded for killing the promise of peace in this region. He seems to be doing everything in his power to bury the peace process deep under the olive groves his army is uprooting every day to make room for new colonies in the West Bank. And he wants us to thank him. This is just preposterous." WAM/SA
Commenting editorially on the issue today, the Dubai-based "Gulf News" said: "Finally somebody is getting it right. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says that if there is no agreement on freezing Israeli colony construction in the Occupied Territories, a larger peace initiative 'will be much more difficult, or perhaps even impossible'.
"Unfortunately, his statement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated he will approve the construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank colonies next week.
"The decision to build more colonies aims to pre-empt a possible deal between the United States and Israel on a temporary halt to colony construction contingent on Arab states reciprocating by taking steps to normalise diplomatic relations, according to Israeli officials.
"Kouchner is right. There will be no peace while colony construction continues. Netanyahu is not interested in peace - in fact, he never said he was. He wants Arab states to reward Israel for doing nothing. Or, more precisely, he wants to be rewarded for slowing the rate at which land is stolen from the Palestinians. This is not just unacceptable but indeed farcical.
"What is even more unacceptable is the silence of Arab states, on whose behalf the American administration is negotiating with Israel. It is time the Arabs clarified their position. There will be no relations, normal or otherwise, with Israel before it withdraws from Arab land occupied in 1967. This is what the Arab Peace Initiative says and the last time we checked there was no other plan on the table.
"Netanyahu must be insane to think that he can be rewarded for killing the promise of peace in this region. He seems to be doing everything in his power to bury the peace process deep under the olive groves his army is uprooting every day to make room for new colonies in the West Bank. And he wants us to thank him. This is just preposterous." WAM/SA