Does Peace Now Deserve a Medal?

Further to the new constuction authorizations at Shiloh news, there is this from Dror Eydar:-

Praise Peace Now

...Peace Now, by force of habit, petitioned the court against the construction in Shiloh and in Shvut Rachel. As we know, Shiloh is mentioned in the Quran as an Arab community that has existed since creation. Who would believe the stories in the Bible indicating that Shiloh was the capital of the Tribes of Israel for hundreds of years?

Peace Now's argument was that these communities lacked the necessary zoning authorizations – as is the case in countless cities, even within the Green Line – making construction there illegal.

In response to the petition, the state provided the zoning permits, legalizing the existing construction and even authorizing future construction of hundreds of additional housing units. At this rate, Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer will get a Zionism medal for instigating the construction of entire cities...

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UPDATE

...a spokesperson for the EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ashton said the FM was "deeply concerned by the approval on 22 February by the Israeli Civil Administration of new construction in the settlements of Shvut Rachel and Shiloh as well as the retrospective approval granted for housing units already built."

"Settlements are illegal under international law. In addition the Quartet Roadmap states that Israel should not only freeze all settlement activity, but also dismantle those settlements erected since March 2001," the statement said.

..."The High Representative calls on Israel to respect its obligations under the Roadmap and reverse this decision," the statement concluded.

And the State Dep't:-

QUESTION: Can I ask you about --

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: -- settlement activity in Israel? There was news of a preliminary decision regarding, I think, 600 units in Shiloh, which is quite far inside West Bank territory. Do you have a reaction to this that’s different than previous reactions for the same --

MR. TONER: I really don’t. I don’t have a – frankly, I haven’t seen those press reports. I mean, you know where we stand on settlement activity. We don’t believe it’s in any way constructive to getting both sides back to the negotiating table and we want to see, clearly, a comprehensive settlement that delineates borders and resolves many of these issues.

But read here.


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