News
Lapid criticises West Bank land appropriation; Kerry to meet Palestinians
Yesh Atid leader and Finance Minister Yair Lapid yesterday expressed dismay over the timing of this week’s decision that Israel will appropriate land in the Etzion region of the West Bank.
On Sunday, it was announced that 988 acres of land in the Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem will come under Israeli government administration, leaving the door open for construction of a new area called Gvaot, which has been mooted since 2000. However, it is widely thought that the Etzion region will remain under Israeli control in any future peace agreement.
Justice Minister and Israel’s chief negotiator at recent peace talks, Tzipi Livni already criticised the announcement at a time “when we need to mobilise the world … and work together with moderate forces.” Yesterday, Lapid expressed similar sentiments, asking an economic conference “what good does it do at this time?” explaining, “We have just completed a military operation and we are facing a sensitive international arena.” Lapid described the decision as “underhanded opportunism that was not put to the Cabinet and just harms Israel.” It has been recently widely reported that Lapid and Livni are pushing within the Cabinet for a return to peace talks, but are facing opposition from the likes of Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
Meanwhile, a delegation of senior Palestinian leaders including chief negotiator Saeb Erekat is set to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington today. They are set to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, but it is also widely thought that the Palestinians will present a plan calling for a firm timetable to be laid down for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
Yesterday, a poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research was published, indicating that in the wake of Operation Protective Edge, 61 per cent of Palestinians would vote for Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in presidential elections, compared to just 32 per cent in support of incumbent Mahmoud Abbas. The poll also suggests that 72 per cent of Palestinians would support Hamas’s armed approach in the West Bank.