Erekat: on Har Homa Expansion and Christmas

EREKAT: “ONE CRANE, ONE BULLDOZER, OR ONE WORKMAN AT HAR HOMA [MEANS] NO GENUINE SETTLEMENT FREEZE”; “[HAR HOMA EXPANSION IS] A CHRISTMAS GIFT OF DOOM FOR BETHLEHEM”

With Israeli and Palestinian negotiators scheduled to meet tonight, Chief Palestinian Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat released new evidence of “massive expansion” in Har Homa settlement, just outside East Jerusalem. The construction is a violation of international law as well as renewed Israeli commitments under the internationally-backed Roadmap peace plan, which obliges Israel to freeze all settlement activity and to allow the reopening of Palestinian institutions in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel reaffirmed its commitments under the Roadmap at the recent U..S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. However, it announced plans to expand Har Homa and other settlements shortly thereafter. Dr. Erekat released documentary evidence of ongoing construction of what appears to be hundreds of new housing units for Israeli settlers, stating that “if Israel is truly serious about taking advantage of the historic opportunity for peace provided by Annapolis, it must not only rescind all plans for future construction, but stop all existing construction— period.”

“As long as one crane, one bulldozer, or one workman remains at Har Homa there is no genuine settlement freeze. And without a real settlement freeze, Israel is showing the world that it is not serious about negotiations.”

Dr. Erekat called the timing of both the construction and the revelation of plans for further expansion “provocative.” He said the existing and planned expansion is “a Christmas gift of doom for Bethlehem.”

Dr. Erekat explained Bethlehem’s historic economic, political, social and cultural connection to Jerusalem. He noted that the crescent from Ramallah through East Jerusalem to Bethlehem once accounted for approximately 35% of all economic activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip combined. According to Dr. Erekat, Har Homa severs Bethlehem from Jerusalem, thus threatening the long-term viability of both communities. He termed this metropolitan unit “critical for any viable Palestinian state and hence any viable two-state solution.”

Dr. Erekat concluded his remarks by noting that the increase in tourism in Bethlehem was encouraging in the short term. He cautioned, however, that “short-term gains in the tourism sector shouldn’t distract from the existential threat that Har Homa spells for the long-term survival of Bethlehem as a multi-cultural town with a vibrant economy.”

Nevertheless, Dr. Erekat said, the negotiating team would proceed with the planned meeting tonight. Top on the Palestinian agenda, he said, would be getting Israel to abide by its obligation to implement a complete and genuine freeze of all settlement activity, including in occupied East Jerusalem. “We must talk to one another; there is no other way; and this time there is just too much at stake if we fail,” he said.