The Wall Street Journal reported that Netanyahu delivered his official response to the White House over the weekend.
The American demand for Israel to stop building projects in east Jerusalem came after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel in early March. During his peace-seeking trip, Israel announced that it was authorizing the construction of 16,000 new housing units in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo.
The current U.S. position holds that the Jerusalem issue must be settled through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and that Israel should not actively change the status quo.
Eastern Jerusalem is the part of the capital city that was annexed by Israel after the 1967 War. Most countries in the world consider eastern Jerusalem occupied territory, while the majority of Israelis consider Jerusalem to be the “eternal undivided capital of Israel.”
Following the announcement of the 1,600 new units, Biden condemned Israeli leadership. “This announcement underscores the need to get negotiations under way that can resolve all the outstanding issues of the conflict. ... Unilateral action taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations on permanent status issues,” said Biden.
Netanyahu also received a call from Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, in which she demanded that Netanyahu make concrete steps to show his commitment to restarting the peace process.
Clinton also said, according to a state department spokesperson, that she did not understand how something of this sort had happened in light of America’s commitment to Israeli security.
‘Ir Amim, an Israeli NGO, which promotes geopolitical compromise in Jerusalem as a way to solve Israeli-Palestinian conflict, criticized Netanyahu’s response to Obama.
“Jerusalem is turning to be the main arena in which Israel’s commitment to a solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is tested. Unfortunately, the government, and its prime minister continue to prefer political interests over strategic interests. The continued building in eastern Jerusalem severely damages Israel’s ties with its biggest ally—the United States. That is a step that severely damages one of the most important strategic interests,” said ‘Ir Amim in a statement.
Einat Wilf, Labor Party member of the Knesset commented that there is a need for a comprehensive peace plan that will clearly define the future borders of Israel, and will strive to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If Israel fails to do so, Wilf warned, it will continue to deal with minute points like this one.
