An
Israeli government spokesman on Wednesday said orders were issued to
seize four Palestinian-owned tracts of land around Maale Adumim, the
largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, last Thursday, Reuters
reported.
The
planned Maale Adumim section of the barrier Israel is building in the
West Bank has raised alarm in Washington because of Israel's stated
intention to build homes in Maale Adumim joining it to Jerusalem, 8km away.
By looping in the enclave, Israel would effectively seal Palestinians off from east Jerusalem, which they want as their capital.
Israel considers all of the holy city its own capital, a claim not recognised internationally.
Palestinian call
The
Palestinian Authority (PA) has urged the international community to
move swiftly to save the "peace process" which it said was facing a
"mortal danger" as a result of Israel's large-scale seizure of
Palestinian land in the West Bank.
The Palestinians say the Israeli move would cut off the northern parts of the West Bank from the southern parts and kill any possibility of creating a viable Palestinian state.
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The International Court of Justice
ruled the wall "an illegal structure" |
"It is crystal clear that Israel is trying to impose her will in the West Bank,
and this could only have one result, the resumption of violence and
bloodshed," said Ghassan Khatib, the Palestinian planning and
international cooperation minister told Aljazeera.net.
"The building of this gigantic structure would turn our towns and villages into dead-end areas and that will allow Israel to continue settlement expansion on the other side of the wall."
Khatib
said Israeli plans to impose a "fait accompli" would vindicate the
views of "many elements" on the Palestinian side who are
convinced that "violence is the only way to recover our rights".
"If Israel
continues to seize and arrogate our land and ignore the rule
of international law and legitimacy, then, yes, the ultimate
outcome would be the resumption of violence and bloodshed."
Khatib
criticised what he called the international community's "exaggerated
infatuation" with the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which he
said was being interpreted by Israel as a green light for settlement
expansion in the West Bank.
US attention
Moreover,
Khatib lauded "an increase in American diplomatic attention to the
Palestinian issue", especially at the economic level.
However, he noted that the US stand on the settlement issue was "reluctant and indecisive".
Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled the wall was "an illegal structure" and demanded Israel bring it down.
The
advisory ruling also judged that all Israeli settlements built within
the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, were illegal and in
violation of international law.
First step
The
Palestinian Authority considers the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip,
expected to be completed in 3-4 weeks, as the first step towards the
creation of a Palestinian state in the Palestinian territories Israel occupied in 1967.
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"If Israel
continues to seize and arrogate our land and ignore the rule
of international law and legitimacy, then, yes, the ultimate
outcome would be the resumption of violence and bloodshed."
Ghassan Khatib,
Palestinian minister |
However,
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, say they will
maintain Israeli control over large parts of the West Bank,
especially dozens of Jewish settlements built in the heart of
Palestinian territory such as Maale Adumim, Ariel, Gush Etzion and
Efrata.
Israel, unlike most of the international community, views the West Bank as a "disputed" rather than "occupied" territory.
The Palestinians argue that the world community, especially the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and UN) must exert pressure on Israel to carry out the "roadmap" peace plan if there is to be peace in the Middle East.
Security fence
Meanwhile, Israel continues to defend the "separation wall" as a "security" rather than "political" fence.
"The official position of the state of Israel
is that this fence is a security measure aimed at protecting Israelis
from Palestinian suicide bombers," said Mark Regev, a senior spokesman
for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
In an interview with Aljazeera.net, he said the wall had been very effective in preventing Palestinian attacks.
"I
can safely claim that the wall creates a positive atmosphere for peace.
Imagine how the overall situation would have been if there had been a
suicide bombing in Israel every week."
Regev dismissed Palestinian fears that Israel
was killing the two-state solution by destroying the territorial
integrity and Palestinian demographic contiguity in the West Bank by
reducing Palestinian towns into isolated enclaves.
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East Jerusalem Palestinians
plan to contest confiscation |