Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem are included in the US demand that Israel halt "settlement" construction, including for natural growth, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told The Jerusalem Post during a press briefing on Monday. "We're talking about all settlement activity, yes, in the area across the line," he said, referring to neighborhoods in Jerusalem over the Green Line, or pre-1967 armistice line, in response to a question on where America's calls to halt construction in the settlements would be applied.
Special envoy to President Obama, George Mitchell, has indicated that birth statistics would be closely monitored as the basis for measuring compliance on the "natural growth" provision. He suggested that Jewish births in communities of Judea and Samaria would be consider violations of the Administration's edicts prohibiting "natural growth" of Jews there.
Kelly had no immediate reaction to the Ministry of Housing and Construction's inclusion in the draft 2009-10 state budget of funds for the capital's Jewish Har Homa neighborhood or for the nearby city of Ma'aleh Adumim, also beyond the "green line." The ministry has earmarked more than NIS 200 million ($50 million) for preparatory work and marketing of 1,210 apartments in Har Homa, on the city's southeast edge, next to Bethlehem.
There and elsewhere, Jews would not be allowed to be born even in a manger, Mitchell suggested. Even manger construction would be prohibited.
Israel has always insisted that it has a right to build anywhere in Jerusalem because the state incorporated that land into the municipality and under Israeli law it is not considered part of the West Bank. But the international community considers Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem to be settlements and has condemned any new Jewish construction there. The US does not recognize any part of Jerusalem, east or west, as being part of Israel. Children born in the city are listed in US passports as being born in Jerusalem, not Israel.
The Netanyahu government had been working under the assumption that US officials' call to halt even natural growth in the settlements did not refer to neighborhoods in the city, according to high-placed government officials. Kelly's comments will further complicate negotiation with the Obama Administration. Obama has called "settlements" illegitimate and said that their expansion must stop, including natural growth. Now "settlements" apparently apply to substantial parts of Israel's capital.
Tags: bethlehem, har homa, jerusalem, jewish breeding, maaleh adumim, mangers, mitchell, natural growth, obama, settlements
Share
You need to be a member of Israel Insider to add comments!
Join this Ning Network