NEW ISRAELI WEST BANK SETTLEMENT EXPANSION PLANS THREATEN DIPLOMATIC PROGRESS AND UNDERMINE ROADMAP

NEW ISRAELI WEST BANK SETTLEMENT EXPANSION PLANS THREATEN DIPLOMATIC PROGRESS AND UNDERMINE ROADMAP

Washington, DC — The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) warned of the consequences of Israel’s decision today to expand the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, bordering Jerusalem. Israeli Housing Ministry spokesman Kobi Bleich announced today the plan to build 72 housing units in an effort to expand the Betar Illit settlement. Settlements and the moving of an occupying power’s civilians into occupied territory are prohibited by international law. There are currently 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

ATFP cautioned that these strategically located construction projects could scuttle the diplomatic progress made since the election in January of the new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel should not view its upcoming Gaza withdrawal as a quid pro quo for increasing settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. ATFP urged the Bush Administration to use its good offices to ensure that this new settlement construction program does not go forward, and that neither side take steps to jeopardize the fragile cease-fire or abrogate their basic commitments under the Roadmap.

‘Any new settlement building or expansion, including natural growth, is a breach of Israel's commitments under the Roadmap promoted by U.S. President George W. Bush,’ said ATFP president Ziad Asali. ‘They also contravene Israeli PM Sharon’s April 11 commitment to President Bush in Crawford, Texas, that Israel will meet all its obligations under the Roadmap.’

ATFP is opposed to any unilateral action by Israel on the issue of settlements. Any adjustments to the 1967 borders can only be reached through negotiations and the mutual agreement of both parties.
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The ATFP is a not-for-profit corporation that aims to educate the American people about the national security interests of the United States in establishing a Palestinian state. Specifically, ATFP seeks to promote the awareness of the far-reaching benefits that Palestinian statehood will have for the United States in the following areas: (1) enhancing national security, (2) proliferation of American values of freedom and democracy, and (3) expansion of economic opportunities throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds.