By Ted Belman
Yesterday I asked Could Rice and Olmert be in Agreement? Apparently I spoke too soon.
Today Haaretz reported
In an about-face from a day earlier, Israel’s housing minister on Thursday said he never intended to pursue a massive construction plan for East Jerusalem, a plan that sparked Palestinian outrage and a chilly reception from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
We should remember;
Atarot’s land was owned by Jews since the early 1900s.
The new neighborhood will consist of 10,000-15,000 housing units – constituting the largest neighborhood built in Jerusalem’s eastern side since it was liberated in 1967. It is adjacent to the Atarot Industrial Zone, Jerusalem’s largest industrial park, with 160 factories and businesses.
In 1914, the site was settled by Zionist youth of the Second Aliyah, including Levi Eshkol, who later served as Prime Minister. They erected a communal farm called Moshav Atarot, which was destroyed by the Jordanians during the 1948 War of Independence and the land occupied for the next 19 years.
Following the 1967 Six Day War, Atarot was returned to Jewish hands. A British air strip built atop the Jewish farmland during the British Mandate became the Atarot Airport, Jerusalem’s only civilian air strip.
One must conclude that the US wants Jerusalem to be shared no matter what rights or history have to be disregarded. They certainly are not concerned with the will of the Israelis who strongly su7pport an undivided Jerusalem.
Furthermore I have seen nowhere a discussion of how it can be safely divided. Israel has built a fence and maintains roadblocks to defend itself. What happens to Israel’s security if Jerusalem is divided. Are we going to build a wall dividing the Arab side from the Jewish side. Hardly. Once again Palestinian statehood will take precidence over Israeli security.
