Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Israel: Will limit new settlements
But new one announced even as restraint is set — if possible
JERUSALEM — Israel will limit new settlement construction in the West Bank “when possible” to within areas already developed or at least to contiguous areas, the Israeli government announced as it approved the first new settlement in the territory in two decades.
With the new policy, the government said it would attempt to exercise some restraint in expanding the physical footprint of settlements, though it did not specify any slowdown in construction.
Israeli media on Friday reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the guidelines at a meeting the night before during which his Cabinet also approved the new settlement.
Netanyahu had promised to build the new settlement to replace Amona, a settlement outpost built on private Palestinian land that was dismantled in February after an Israeli Supreme Court ruling. Pro-settler hard-liners who dominate his coalition and oppose Palestinian statehood on security or religious grounds had pressed him to keep that promise.
But Netanyahu also faces pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to rein in settlement construction to help revive the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu told ministers to take Trump’s position “into consideration,” calling for restraint to be shown “to allow progress in the peace process.”
Under the guidelines, new construction would be built “within existing developed areas, when possible.” If that is not possible, then it would be allowed adjacent to already built-up areas. If that also is not possible “because of legal, security or topological constraints,” building would be permitted as close as possible to existing construction.
White House envoy Jason Greenblatt has already made two visits to the region, meeting with Israelis and Palestinians and attending an Arab summit in Jordan this week. Greenblatt has been working with the Israelis on a series of understandings regarding settlement construction in hopes of restarting peace talks that collapsed more than two years ago — in part over the thorny issue of settlements.
A White House official sought to play down the announcement Thursday of the new settlement, saying Netanyahu made his promise to the Amona settlers before Trump laid out his vision. But the official, who agreed to discuss the matter on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it, signaled that the White House would take a tougher line down the road.
Thursday’s announcement said the new settlement would be built near the settlement of Shilo, close to the former site of Amona. It also said the government had approved tenders to build 2,000 new apartments from previously approved settlement projects.
The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967, as parts of a future state. In December, weeks before Trump was inaugurated, President Barack Obama allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution that declared settlements in both areas illegal and an obstacle to reaching a twostate solution to the conflict. Trump condemned the decision at the time.
Israel says settlements along with other core issues like security should be resolved in peace talks.
The new settlement approval was sharply criticized by Palestinians. Yusuf Mahmoud, spokesman for the Palestinian government in the West Bank, said, “This is a new escalating Israeli step, and it shows that the Israeli government is persistent on hindering any efforts to restore the peace process.”
Israel’s anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now also condemned the decision to replace Amona. “The government announced that they will establish a new settlement for the first time deep in the West Bank in an area that is isolated and that could never be part of the state of Israel under the twostate solution,” Lior Amihai of Peace Now said.
“The government is doing so in order to appease a radical minority of settlers who want to continue the occupation over the Palestinians and to prevent a possibility of peace and settlement in the region. This is unfortunate that the government is binding to the settlers’ will,” he said.
More than 420,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank, settlers say. But Israel has not built a full-fledged new settlement since the 1990s. Instead, construction during that period has expanded existing settlements or taken place in unauthorized outposts like Amona. The territory has deep religious significance for many devout Jews, who see it as their biblical heartland and heritage.