Israel – It is the condemnation of Israeli building in Jerusalem, not Israeli developments beyond the Green Line in Jewish neighborhoods in the capital, that distances peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a combative response to US and EU condemnations of plans to move forward with another 1060 units in the capital.
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Netanyahu, at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new port in Ashdod, said that Israel would continue to build new ports, pave roads, lay rail road tracks and “continue to build in our eternal capital.”
“I heard the claim that our building in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem makes peace more distant, but it is the criticism itself that makes peace more distant,” Netanyahu said of criticism that poured in following his announcement of plans to develop 660 more units in Ramot Shlomo in the northern part of the city, and 400 in the southern neighborhood of Har Homa.
This criticism, he said, is “detached from reality” and feeds false Palestinian hopes.
US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that plans for new projects in Jerusalem were “incompatible with the pursuit of peace. And Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for outgoing EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the move “once again” calls into question Israel’s commitment “to a negotiated solution with the Palestinians.” She warned that “the future development of relations between the EU and Israel will depend on [its] engagement towards a lasting peace based on a two-state solution.”
Netanyahu said that the international community remains quiet when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “incites to the murder of Jews in Jerusalem,” but strongly condemns Israel when it builds in Jerusalem.
“I don’t accept that double standard,” he said. “We built in Jerusalem, we build in Jerusalem, and we will continue to build in Jerusalem.”
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, meanwhile, decried the move in an Israel Radio interview, saying these types of steps will make it more difficult for Israel to thwart Palestinian efforts in the UN Security Council .
Livni said that while she feels that Israel has the right to build in Jerusalem, these announcements not only hurt Israel diplomatically, but also worsen the volatile security situation in the capital.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Shame on you bibi, it will now cost more jewish blood & you will be responsible for it, I know that jewish blood is worth 0 by you
Hashem should bless Prime Minister Netanyahu for trying to ensure that Jerusalem remain a Jewish city.
I anticipate the liberal commenters here to have a heyday with admonishing Bibi for running his country as he sees fit. The line that addresses the financial support that Israel receives from US is the bargaining chip. Well, you idiot libs – shame on you.
US has always had this “clout” with which they can BULLY Israel. No one ever, ever made it the mainstay of how the White House deals with Israel. However, the Obama administration has declared itself Israel’s bully. The WH yells every time Israel does anything that the Palestinians don’t like. He does not yell at the Muslim world for making Jews target practice for terror. That’s why so many with IQ’s on the positive side of zero recognize Obama as a terrorist with a business suit, one who supports terror in every way possible. His license to bash Israel is that, not the fact that Congress supports Israel with funds.
So, dear libs, join the discussion.
Bibi, chazak!
Don’t listen to all that garbage from two retarded ladies.
I bet they can’t even make even scramble eggs for their husbands (if they got one), they will be telling us if we can build on OUR land?!
Stay strong!
We are with you!
Am Isroel chai!!!