US
Deal 'Wrecks Middle East Peace'
By Conal Urquhart
23 August, 2004
The Guardian
The
US was yesterday accused by Palestinian leaders of destroying hopes
for peace in the Middle East by giving its covert support to Israel's
expansion of controversial settlements in the West Bank.
American officials
are privately admitting they have abandoned their demands that Israel
freeze settlement activity, and have given Jerusalem tacit permission
to build thousands of new homes on the disputed land.
Palestinians fear
that the expansion of settlements will make it impossible to establish
a viable state on the land Israel took from Jordan in the 1967 war.
Ahmed Qureia, the
Palestinian prime minister, said the US position would destroy the peace
process, and Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, said
America's unilateral redrawing of the road map was "a very grave
development".
Publicly, the US
still upholds the road map, which calls for a freeze on all settlement
activity, including natural growth. But the administration, partly out
of frustration with Yasser Arafat, has adopted a position more sympathetic
to Israel.
The US has effectively
endorsed the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's view of the division
of the West Bank. Mr Sharon believes Israel should pull out of Gaza
and keep the large settlement blocks such as Ariel, Gush Etzion and
Ma'ale Adumim.
The first indication
of a shift in US policy happened in March when President George Bush
and Mr Sharon exchanged letters. The Israeli leader said he planned
to withdraw from settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank and
Mr Bush replied that the US recognised that the Israeli population centres
(the large settlements) in the West Bank would remain Israeli and would
not become part of a Palestinian state.
Then in a series
of meetings between Israeli and US officials, particularly Condoleezza
Rice, the national security adviser, and Dov Weissglas, Mr Sharon's
adviser, maps were drawn indicating where construction could take place.
The latest sign
of a significant move came last week when Israel invited tenders to
build more than 1,000 homes in the West Bank. The White House did not
criticise the announcement.
A western diplomat
said yesterday: "The road map calls for a freeze in all settlement
activity. End of story.
"The Israelis
have never accepted that and the US has tacitly agreed that their position
has validity and has shown that limited building is permissible."
According to another
European diplomat, the change in US policy is a "huge shift".
"In these meetings
the US has indicated areas where Israel cannot build. Israel has taken
that to mean it is permissible to build in other areas. The US is effectively
deciding how the West Bank will look in the future. It's a huge shift
in policy," he added.
Jeff Halper, an
Israeli political activist who specialises in Israel's control of the
Palestinian territories, said: "Effectively a new road map has
been drawn between the US and Israel which the United Nations, the European
Union and Russia do not agree with."
A spokesman for
the British embassy in Tel Aviv would not comment on the change. "Our
policy is that we support the road map," he said.
The European diplomat
said the EU was "institutionally annoyed" at being excluded
from discussions, but individual countries had not reacted angrily to
the change.
The US-Israeli deals
once again leave the Palestinians out of the negotiation process. Mr
Qureia said he was waiting for confirmation of the shift in US policy,
adding that he would be shocked if it were true. "I can't believe
that America is now saying that settlement expansion is alright,"
he said. "This will destroy the peace process."
The road map was
launched last year and President Bush said he would "ride herd"
to make sure both parties honoured their commitments.
By August the ceasefire
had ended, but all parties continued to hold up the road map as the
blueprint for peace. Over the last year, Israel has embarked on a large
building programme in the West Bank.
Peace Now, an Israeli
pressure group that monitors the settlements, said a minimum of 3,700
homes were being built in the West Bank.
The Israeli housing
ministry has invited tenders for another 1,600 homes and infrastructure
works are under way for a new settlement that will link Ma'ale Adumim
with east Jerusalem.
According to the
European diplomat, the change in US policy stems from frustration with
Mr Arafat and the Palestinians in not reforming the Palestinian Authority
and preventing violence.
The administration
is also furious with the Palestinians for not arresting those responsible
for the killing of three American security guards in Gaza earlier this
year.
The European diplomat
said: "Bush took the position that until the Palestinians get serious
about security there was no point in addressing them."
Israeli officials
insist that the construction is all part of prior agreements.
Zalman Shoval, a
former Israeli ambassador to the US and an adviser to Mr Sharon on foreign
affairs, said that the road map was not breached by the West Bank construction,
which was in line with previous agreements.
"The new construction
also does not negate the road map because our understanding, and also
that of the US I think, was that it was performance based.
"Therefore
the Israeli commitments would fall into place when the Palestinians
stopped terror, which they have not done," he said.