(Council on Foreign Relations) Elliott Abrams - In December 2012, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee announced a major new housing project called Givat Hamatos, with 2,600 units, half for Jewish residents and half for Arab Jerusalemites. The administration reaction is curious given that this is not new news, and that Arabs and Jews will live in this housing. Building new housing for Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem does not in fact "call into question Israel's ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians," the foolish and extreme phrase of both the White House spokesman and the State Department. Calling upon Israel to stop housing construction in its capital city is not realistic. The writer is a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at CFR.
2014-10-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive