Election shenanigans

By Khaled Amayreh

Israeli opposition Labour party leader Ehud Barak is congratulated by a fellow party member during a session in the Knesset in which the early elections bill was approved (photo: AP)

This week, the government gave the green light for the construction of a large Jewish settlement at Jabal Abu Ghneim on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem, a move expected to trigger fierce Palestinian opposition, including violent street protests.

The new settlement will complete the cordon of Jewish settlements around East Jerusalem, virtually cutting off the town from the rest of the West Bank and effectively depriving it of any breathing space for future Palestinian expansion. The Palestinians decided to freeze negotiations with Israel after plans to build the Jabal Abu Ghneim settlement were announced in March 1997.

Jabal Abu Ghneim is one of several settlement expansion schemes the Israeli government is putting into effect, taking advantage of the election mood. Last week, the Netanyahu government gave its final approval for the construction of several high-rise buildings at the Ras Al-Amud settlement in the heart of East Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders contend that this is a significant step toward the Judaisation of the holy city.

The settlement in East Jerusalem is being built at a time when the government is escalating its policy of ethnic cleansing against Palestinian residents of the city. This assumes many forms, particularly the withdrawal of residency rights from Palestinians under a variety of pretexts.

By giving the go-ahead for construction work at Jabal Abu Ghneim and Ras Al-Amud, Netanyahu is taking advantage of the fact that the US, the Palestinian Authority and other key regional players, such as Egypt, would be reluctant to spark off a fresh crisis over the Abu Ghneim settlement in case this contributed to enhancing Netanyahu's popularity before the election.

The Israeli government has also announced that over the next few days, it will start to open 12 roads throughout the West Bank. These roads, reportedly tacitly stipulated in the Wye River Memorandum and, therefore, agreed to by the Palestinian leadership, circumvent Palestinian towns and villages, enabling Jewish settlers to travel between Jewish settlements without having to pass through Arab population centres.

However, these new roads have destroyed thousands of hectares of citrus groves and arable land, depriving local Palestinian peasants of their livelihood.

One of the roads bypasses the Arroub refugee camp, ten miles north-east of Hebron, where hundreds of hectares of fertile Arab land had to be dug up to facilitate the construction of the bypass.

Two months ago, the Israeli chief of staff, Shaul Mofaz, recommended that the planned road near the Arroub refugee camp be scrapped in order to avert expected Palestinian protests.

However, Netanyahu ignored this suggestion, arguing that "actual or potential Arab protests should never make us change our plans on matters relating to Israeli security."

Furthermore, on Monday, the Israeli parliament passed a bill requiring the approval of a parliamentary majority of 61, and a majority in a referendum, "before ceding sovereign territory" -- a reference to the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu and his colleagues hope the approval of the bill will woo the support of the Third Way Party, headed by Internal Security Minister Avigodor Kahlani, which vehemently opposes Israeli evacuation of the Golan Heights, even in return for a peace treaty between Israel and Syria.

The only interpretation of the latest moves is that as election day nears, Netanyahu is attempting to cling to power -- whatever the cost.