2005, Newe Deqalim: Israelis attempt to prevent their own army from evicting them

The Foreign Ministry says [it is] satisfied after EU apologises for statement made by one of its officials in which he claimed European taxes were paying for damage caused by settlements. Meanwhile US State Department clarifies administration’s position remains unchanged

The European Union Commission apologised to Israel’s Ambassador to the Union, Ron Kuriel, over statements it made earlier this week claiming that the settlement policy was stifling the Palestinian economy and increasing Palestinian dependence on foreign aid – and therefore was costing European citizens in taxes.

The apology was issued after EU Ambassador to Israel Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal was reprimanded by Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry Rafi Barak. A senior Commission official told Ambassador Kuriel that the statement released by the head of Operations at the European Commission’s office in east Jerusalem

The Foreign Ministry said in response that it was satisfied was the apology.

Ambassador Kuriel stressed the severity with which Israel sees Dickinson’s statement, saying that he issue was not only the lack of diplomatic manners but also the clear deviation from the Commission’s stated role, “which is to co-ordinate aid with the Palestinians, not arrogantly criticise Israel.”

Kuriel was assured that an official communiqué had been issued to clarify that the earlier statement did not reflect the Commission’s position.

The original statement caused a storm in Israel and Europe after it was released last Monday. According to the statement, the Commission believes Israel’s settlement policy is strangling the Palestinian economy and makes the Palestinian government more dependent on foreign aid – the burden of which falls on the European taxpayer. The European Union is one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority.

According to the EU, expropriation of fertile land for Israeli settlements, roads that serve only settlers, and West Bank checkpoints help constrain Palestinian economic growth and make the Palestinian government more dependent on aid.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak called the Commission out for ignoring a recent World Bank report indicating an improvement in the Palestinian economy. “The Mideast Quartet (US, Russia, EU and the UN) welcomed Israel’s plans to improve the Palestinian economy, and recognises Israel’s right to security,” the Defence Ministry said.

“Thanks to the co-operation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 140 (West Bank) roadblocks have been removed over the past few months. These measures may double the growth rate of the Palestinian economy from 5 to 10%. Unfortunately, all of these details were omitted from the European Commission’s statement.”

But while the confrontation on the European front has abated – the US on Wednesday reiterated its demand to see a complete freeze on settlement construction.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly dismissed a report on Wednesday that it had agreed to let Israel build about 2,500 housing units already under construction in West Bank settlements.

“That report in that Israeli media outlet is inaccurate,” said after the Maariv newspaper reported that Minister Barak and US envoy George Mitchell had struck such a deal.

Under the arrangement reached in London on Monday, Maariv reported, Israel would be allowed to continue work on about 700 buildings already under construction on the occupied West Bank, or about 2,500 units. But Kelly said “the bottom line” for US President Barack Obama’s administration has not changed, “that all parties in the region have to honour their obligations.

“And you know what our position is regarding settlements… This activity has to stop. This is laid out in the roadmap. So the reports are inaccurate,” Kelly said.

He added that Mitchell plans to travel to Israel soon to continue his discussions, adding that his talks with Barak on Monday had been “good, productive.” He gave no dates for the planned visit.

How dare this arrogant, unelected collection of bureaucrats presume to lecture Israel about anything in the first place? The EU Commission should not only apologise to Israel, but withdraw this unreasonable requirement (the ‘roadmap’ proposals do not allow for natural population expansion – deaths, moves and births - in the settlement areas; thus these Jewish communities will eventually die off in a kind of slow-burn ethnic cleansing). The same goes for that increasingly hapless double act, Obama and Clinton.

We’ll tell you what EU taxes pay for, Mr. Barosso. The massive donor packages that the EU provide to ‘Palestine’ already help fund the creation of evil, anti-Semitic blood libel and terrorist propaganda, that it in turn then allows Hamas and Hizballah to distribute freely within EU borders via their TV stations al-Aqsa and al-Manar and other media.

Because of the intrinsically undemocratic nature of the European Superstate (the Commission is the unelected Executive that decides on and drafts laws – the only thing the elected Legislature [the EU Parliament] is allowed to do is to debate them and vote on them); our elected representatives can only stand by and watch as this illegitimate cabal meddles unchecked in international affairs.

Therefore, as citizens of the EU we can, hand on heart, say that this appalling, cowardly example of capitulation to and shilling for Islamic terrorism, is most certainly not in our name. They are handing money over to Hamas and Fatah directly and without our democratic permission.

As one Israeli YNet commenter on this story succinctly put it: “Who needs their apology? Shut their office and kick’ em out!”

[Main story: YNet News/AFP]

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