<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile Ñ Netanyahu promised to destroy illegal settlements

Netanyahu promised to destroy illegal settlements

Friday, May 22, 2009   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

WASHINGTON Ñ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to start the process of demolishing unauthorized Jewish communities in the West Bank.

Officials said Netanyahu relayed the pledge during his visit to the United States in late May. They said President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Netanyahu for the immediate dismantling of the Jewish communities as part of a U.S. plan to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank by 2012.

"The president underscored our commitment to a two-state solution and also called for a stop to the settlements," Ms. Clinton said on May 19. "We have made that very clear. I reinforced that last night at a dinner that I hosted for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Now the hard work starts."

[On May 21, Israeli troops and police demolished a small Jewish community in the northern West Bank. Authorities evicted the families from the community, Maoz Esther, and removed seven metal structures.]

Officials said more than 100 unauthorized Jewish communities have been established over the last decade in the West Bank. They said Israel and the United States, however, disagree over the number of communities eligible for demolition.

"Israel is likely to avoid a clash on this topic," Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute and close to the Obama administration, said.

In the first stage, officials said the Israeli government would order the demolition of Jewish communities located on land owned by Palestinians. They said at least 26 such communities have been identified by Defense Minister Ehud Barak for a mission expected to begin in June.

"We will dismantle the illegal outposts," Barak said. "If it won't be done through understanding, it will be done quickly and by force."

Officials said the Obama administration has been pressing Israel to begin the demolition campaign as well as conduct other gestures before the president's address to the Muslim world on June. 4. They said Jewish construction in the West Bank would mark the key element in relations between Jerusalem and Washington.

"First, we want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth Ñ any kind of settlement activity," Ms. Clinton told Qatar's A-Jazeera satellite television. "That is what the president has called for. We also are going to be pushing for a two-state solution which, by its very name, implies borders that have to be agreed to. We want to see a stop now."

Officials said leaders of the Democratic-controlled Congress have been briefed on the Israeli pledge to the White House. They said Netanyahu was told by House and Senate leaders that they support the Obama demand for an immediate effort to demolish unauthorized Jewish communities in the West Bank and freeze other Jewish construction. More than 300,000 Jews were said to live in the West Bank.

"I re-emphasized to the prime minister the importance of Israel moving forward, especially in respect to the settlements issue," Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairmann Sen. John Kerry said.

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