RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday condemned Israel’s “arrogant” policies of building settlements in east Jerusalem, saying they violated the rights of Arabs and Muslims and cast doubt on its seriousness in peace negotiations.
In a strongly worded statement carried by the official news agency, a government official asked the Quartet sponsoring peace talks, consisting the US, EU, Russia and the UN, to take Israel to task for its recent announcements to expand Jewish housing in east Jerusalem.
“Saudi Arabia is looking for explanations from the international Quartet for these arrogant Israeli policies and the insistence on challenging the international community,” the official said. “These comments cast doubt on the peace process and the seriousness of the international efforts to relaunch negotiations.”
Palestinians want east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967, as their future capital and see new settlement construction as land grabs. Israel insists the city cannot be divided and says it has the right to build anywhere.
The statement criticised Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying during his trip to Washington that settlement construction in Jerusalem would not be halted. He said Israel does not consider Jewish neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem to be settlements. About 180,000 Israelis live there.
“The kingdom strongly condemns the statements by the prime minister of the Israeli occupation in which he denied the rights of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in holy Jerusalem, without these lightest consideration for the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, especially in occupied holy Jerusalem, or for the international efforts to relaunch peace process,” the statement said.
Netanyahu’s comments came during a spat between the US and Israel over its settlement construction as Washington is pressing to restart peace talks. Israeli officials announced the construction of 1,600 new apartments in east Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden to Israel.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality approved 20 new apartments for Jews on land bought by an American Jewish millionaire in an Arab neighbourhood of east Jerusalem while Netanyahu is in Washington on a fence-mending visit.
Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, had initially backed efforts to start indirect US-mediated talks, but there has been widespread outrage over the announcements of new construction. Meanwhile, talks between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to produce signs they had ended a dispute which Netanyahu said could block the Middle East peace process for a year.
Sticking to a hardline position before the White House talks late on Tuesday, Netanyahu said peace efforts would be held up by what he called “unreasonable” demands for a freeze on new settlers homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. While Netanyahu’s office said the two rounds of talks between the key allies had unfolded in a “good atmosphere”, the leaders did not make the customary appearance before the cameras. The White House stayed silent on the meetings.
The US president initially hosted Netanyahu at the White House for 90 minutes. Netanyahu then huddled privately with his staff for more than an hour, after which he met a second time with the president in the Oval Office for a further 35 minutes, officials said.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that advisers to both men were holding follow-up discussions that would continue on Wednesday. But it gave no details, and White House officials refused to describe the tone or the substance of the talks — or to say if any agreements had been proposed or reached.
Earlier, Netanyahu maintained a firm line on US demands for a freeze in settlement construction, warning that a halt to new settlements in east Jerusalem could wind up putting Israel-Palestinian talks on ice.
“If the Americans support the unreasonable demands made by the Palestinians regarding a freeze on settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, the peace process risks being blocked for a year,” Netanyahu said.
“Relations between Israel and the United States should not be hostage to differences between the two countries over the peace process with the Palestinians,” he was quoted as saying by Israeli media.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=230751
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