Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – The anti-settlement Israeli watchdog Peace Now on Monday said that the current government of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has advanced 5,170 settlement unit plans in Palestinian territories since taking office in March. Peace Now said in a statement that said that units have passed at least one of the planning stages. Some of the plans having been approved for depositing, some published for depositing and others having already been approved for validation. The organization added that 27 percent were west of the separation wall, while 29 percent were east of the wall and 44 percent were between the current built wall and the planned route of the wall. It added that Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has signed the approval to plan at least 1,507 housing units in settlements that are all east of the built wall, including Shiloh, Beit El, Nofei Prat, Almog and Alei Zahav. “However, the numbers are probably much higher, as the information regarding the Minister's approvals is not public and we can only learn about it when the plans reach discussions by the planning committee,” the organization accused. Peace Now said that the Settlement Subcommittee of the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration convened recently to discuss the promotion of plans for 1,071 units in settlements. According to the organization, the construction of 1,071 new homes, if approved, will take place in six West Bank settlements. In addition, the committee is set to approve for plan no. 210/6/3 in Modi'in Illit for the construction of 732 units, Peace Now said. Yariv Oppenheimer, Peace Now's Secretary General said that “Despite the talk of a quiet freeze and a reining-in of construction policy in the (Palestinian) territories, the present government is advancing construction plans at an unprecedented scale.” “It appears that in the Israeli summer, the word ‘freeze' is a particularly fluid one,” he added. “While we are happy that the Israeli government has returned to negotiations, we are waiting to see if Netanyahu will walk the walk, and not just talk the talk. We call the government not approve any new plans and any new construction in settlements and truly give peace a chance,” Oppenheimer said. On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and the Palestinians agreed to resume negotiations without preconditions, after a three-year breakdown in direct talks. Palestinian and Israeli politicians were divided over the chances of success of the peace talks. Meanwhile, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that “any agreement reached with the Israelis will be brought to a referendum.” His comments followed similar ones made by Netanyahu on Sunday. “The United States is serious in formulating a solution to the Palestinian issue, through introducing a Palestinian state within the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Abbas said in an interview with Jordanian newspaper Al Rai, released on Monday. Rightist and leftist Israeli officials in the ruling coalition lambasted Netanyahu's call for a national referendum on any peace settlement with the Palestinians. Dovish Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will head up Israel's negotiating team, said the idea of putting a peace deal up to a national vote would undermine her role as an elected official. “The public elected us to…make the courageous decisions. The general election is the only real referendum,” she told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. Avigdor Lieberman, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman and head of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu, referred in recent weeks to referendums as a way for “decision makers to run away from responsibility.”
