FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)Israel’s army will demolish structures built in West Bank settlements during the construction freeze, according to an internal military memo.
Several Israeli media outlets reported Sunday on the leaked memo, which calls on the Israel Defense Forces to use drones and photography from the air to identify illegal construction.
“Lightning operations” by special forces would destroy the illegally built structures, the memo says, and the areas around the settlements in which construction is demolished would become military zones closed to the media.
The document requires attempts at dialogue with settlers before any surprise actions to destroy construction.
Israeli troops would evict settlers “only in extreme instances which will be decided upon individually,” the memo says, according to Ha’aretz. Soldiers would be required to intervene if violence broke out, according to reports. There are concerns about troops refusing to evacuate fellow Jews; police are generally charged with handling the actual evictions.
The operation will be headed by the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Brigade, according to Ynet.
The memo also calls for immediate legal action against settlers who riot and attack security personnel or damage military equipment.
The Defense Ministry responded to reports of the leaked memo, saying that if settlers do not violate the construction freeze the outlined actions would not take place.
“The only thing needed from settlement leaders and settlers is to abide by the cabinet’s decision regarding the settlement building freeze that will be imposed for a limited time to avoid the need to use force or clashes with the security forces,” said the statement released Sunday.
The IDF responded to the reports with a statement noting that the “Civil Administration, the Israeli Police and the Border Police are the relevant authorities who deal with Israeli civilians, as is customary.” It went on to say that “Israeli citizens have a responsibility to leave the IDF, its officers and its soldiers out of politics.”
Olmert Reportedly Proposed Detailed Land Swap
Ehud Olmert proposed exchanging with the Palestinians West Bank settlement blocs for land bordering the Gaza Strip, an Israeli daily reported.
Ha’aretz reported Thursday that as prime minister, Olmert presented a map to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last September giving the Palestinians land from communities bordering Gaza, as well as land in the Beit Shean Valley, the Judean Hills and near Lachish, for a total of about 126 square miles.
Abbas reportedly did not respond to the proposed map and negotiations ended, according to Ha’aretz.
The proposal would have annexed to Israel Ma’aleh Adumim, the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements, Ariel, Beit Aryeh and settlements adjacent to Jerusalem, but would have involved the evacuation of dozens of settlements in the Jordan Valley, the eastern Samarian hills and the Hebron region, including Ofra, Beit El, Elon Moreh, Kiryat Arba and the Jewish community in Hebron, according to Ha’aretz.
The newspaper said its information was based on sources who received detailed information about the proposal.
Olmert, who has not provided Netanyahu with the detailed map, is suggesting that his map be the basis for restarting negotiations.
In response to the Ha’aretz story, Olmert’s office said that “On September 16, 2008, [Olmert] presented Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] a map that had been prepared based upon dozens of conversations that the two held in the course of the intensive negotiations after the Annapolis summit. The map that was presented was designed to solve the problem of the borders between Israel and the future Palestinian state. Giving Abu Mazen the map was conditioned upon signing a comprehensive and final agreement with the Palestinians so it would not be used as an ‘opening position’ in future negotiations the Palestinians sought to conduct. Ultimately, when Abu Mazen did not give his consent to a final and complete agreement, the map was not given to him.”
Ministers Meeting on Prisoner Deal, But No Vote Yet
Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner Cabinet met for the fifth time in two days to discuss a prisoner swap to free Gilad Shalit.
A meeting of the prime minister’s seven senior ministers ended Monday afternoon with no vote; the advisors began a fifth meeting that evening. A decision was said to be in the offing Monday evening or Tuesday morning, according to reports.
Following Monday afternoon’s meeting, Netanyahu met with Shalit’s parents, Noam and Aviva.
“The process is not over, but I expect it to be over soon,” Noam Shalit told reporters Monday afternoon. “We mainly came to listen. I am no longer optimistic, but not pessimistic either.”
Also Monday, members of the Campaign to Free Gilad Shalit demonstrated for the soldier’s release in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, holding life-sized cardboard cutouts of Shalit.
Shalit’s parents on Sunday personally delivered a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office before the start of the third meeting. They did not see Netanyahu.
“We feel that the coming days will be fateful for our beloved son Gilad,” Noam and Aviva Shalit wrote in their letter. “We are monitoring with concern and hope the movements of the government, and of yourself, at its head, in your sincere efforts to bring Gilad home. We turn to you, Mr. Prime Minister, before it becomes too late.”
The inner Cabinet met three times Sunday to discuss the swap. The first two meetings lasted for a total of five hours, according to Ha’aretz.
Hamas terrorists captured Shalit in a cross-border raid in 2006. He is believed to be held in Gaza.
According to Israeli media, the ministers are evenly split on whether or not to approve the prisoner swap deal with Hamas. Netanyahu would have to break the tie. The ministers have not yet voted, according to reports.
The inner Cabinet members are Defense Minister Ehud Barak; Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman; Deputy Prime Ministers Moshe Ya’alon, Dan Meridor and Eli Yishai; and Minister Without Portfolio Benny Begin.