ISRAELI DEFENCE minister Ehud Barak has warned fellow ministers to avoid provocative statements on Jerusalem which could harm prospects for newly revived peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Barak, head of the centre-left Labour Party, the dovish wing of the government coalition, issued his statement following a series of comments by ministers, including prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to coincide with this week’s “Jerusalem Day”, which marked the 43rd anniversary of Israel’s capture of the Arab eastern part of the city during the 1967 Six-Day War.
“These comments harm Israel’s interests, both with regard to the United States and to the international community,” Mr Barak said. “These remarks make Israel look like it refuses to make peace, and erode Israel’s international reputation.”
The defence minister’s statement followed comments by interior minister Eli Yishai from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, who told a party newspaper that there would never be a construction freeze in Jerusalem.
“We will build everywhere in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our homeland, and this I clarified to our allies and friends the Americans,” he told the Yom Le’Yom (Day to Day) Shas party paper.
Indirect peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, through US mediation, resumed last week after a 17-month hiatus. Although Israel refused to commit publicly to stop building in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem, American officials spoke of “understandings” that there would be no “provocations” during the four months set aside for the proximity talks.
A US State Department official warned that Washington would hold either party accountable for any actions that “seriously undermine trust”. This was in response to a statement by Israel’s public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, who told the Knesset that there was no government order barring the demolition of homes built by east Jerusalem Arabs without permits. He said the demolitions would resume in the coming days.
Mr Netanyahu vowed in a Jerusalem Day speech that Israel’s capital would never be divided again.
“We will continue to build and draw our strength in Jerusalem. We will continue to plan, develop, and create,” he said.
Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters in Tokyo that Israel had not agreed to a construction moratorium in east Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem is perhaps the most contentious of all the issues on the negotiating table.
The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, home to a quarter of a million Palestinian residents, to be the capital of a future independent state. Opinion in Israel is divided. Many back the government’s position that the city must remain united under Israeli sovereignty, but others believe remaining in control of Palestinian neighbourhoods under a permanent peace agreement is untenable.