The White House is demanding a construction freeze in extremely rude terms. The current crisis is attributable to the scheming Israeli president. Peres expected that Obama would force Netanyahu to formally abandon the construction, and that this decision would provoke a coalition crisis. Netanyahu, accordingly, would have to bring Kadima into the government to prevent it from falling apart, and Kadima would push for further concessions to the Palestinians.

Six years ago, police staged a provocation against the militant Jews of Yitzhar: an Arab was allowed to steal goats and police arrested the Jews who caught him for assault.

That would be another witch-hunt, much like Ariel Sharon’s criminalization of dissent over the disengagement from Gush Katif. The construction moratorium is merely a government decision—an illegal one at that—and not a law. Its violation cannot be a crime.

If Jews are indicted merely for violating building codes, why do hundreds of thousands of Israeli Arabs who do likewise remain at large?

Of the 2009 construction projects, just 1,130 were private buildings, which adds a mere 1.5% to the housing capacity, well below the natural growth rate.

The more they riot, the harder it will be for the Israeli government to withdraw from Hebron and leave the settlers alone there. For some time, IDF has quietly been withdrawing from the settlements (most recently Beit Yatir and Shani), while taking weapons away from the settlers.

The Jews—o, horror!—had built more than the two stories allowed in the area by zoning regulations. Somehow early Zionists built without any permits at all, and the goal of settling the land was considered more important than petty regulations.

And petty they are: tens of thousands of Arab housing units in the area exceed the two-story limit.

Bennett is not religious and did not live in the settlements, and is thus unlikely to establish working relations with the settlers. His appointment takes the gloves off the government’s relations with settlers: no more pretense of the Council opposing the government’s policy of asphyxiating the settlements.

The offending document asks of future residents that they share the values of Zionism—which, as ACRI rightly understands, implies rejection of Israeli Arabs.

But if they do not share our values, should we not expel them rather than admitting them into our communities?

The Mitzpe Aviv case will be a litmus test for many other communities who use politically correct wordings in statutes designed to discourage Arabs from joining the attractive villages the Jews have developed for themselves.

Very few settlers renovate their houses; it is too expensive for them, as the situation is too uncertain. The change will allow the enlargement of existing houses to any extent, thus allowing more people to live in the settlements, in direct contradiction of the spirit of the settlement freeze.

On the other hand, the Jews engaged in this fight for nothing. Either build massively and suffer exactly the same rhetoric from our “friends,” or don’t bother provoking them with unimportant projects.

Mad Jews agreed to build 500 apartments for Arabs in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem.

While Israel implemented the freeze only in order to restart peace talks with the Palestinians—or rather, to reveal the Arabs’ unwillingness to continue the fruitless talks—other countries took the moratorium for an Israeli agreement to dismantle all the settlements.

The EU, accordingly, condemned the development of settlements planned after the moratorium expires.

The freeze is an empty gesture because the construction was practically halted about two years ago. Nevertheless, settlers protest the freeze, and the government foots the bill for the protests.

Defense Minister Barak promised to crack down on settlers who refuse to let freeze inspectors into the settlements. The settlers keep the inspectors out even though nothing is being constructed.

The army, of course, never investigates Palestinian attacks on Jewish property, and hardly cares at all about routine physical assaults.

Through the council, the government helps settlers vent their feelings and safely exhaust themselves.

That’s a continuation of the Gush Katif spectacle. The Council is funded by the government, its leaders receive their salaries from the Ministry of Internal, and must therefore collaborate—but they need to retain a shred of credibility among the settlers.

For two decades, construction in the settlements has practically been halted, so the protests are a bit late.

Shas’s Minister of Internal refused to provide inspectors to monitor the ban.

Herzl is rolling over in his grave: the government of Israel is bending over backward to prevent Jews from colonizing the Promised Land.

If Netanyahu needs the ban to soothe Obama, there is still no need for the government to sneak into every backwater village to monitor compliance.

Public construction in settlements is close to nil; long before the moratorium it was halted due to tight budgeting, and the famed East Jerusalem construction currently amounts to perhaps four houses.

Meanwhile, civil law has practically been suspended in Judea and Samaria, where the Israeli Defense Forces have ordered local mayors to stop issuing building permits to Jews.

The Palestinians condemned the freeze because it is not a permanent halt.

Netanyahu insisted on East Jerusalem construction in order to torpedo the peace talks. Everyone in the government understands that Israel will abandon Greater Jerusalem’s Arab villages and deep Jewish enclaves under any peace treaty with the Palestinians. The ongoing construction is insignificant, and it is not worth any political trouble.

The world will continue to blame Israel for settlement construction, even if it is only in Jerusalem.

Obama so far has won: the Israeli government submitted to his demand for a settlement freeze. In the best-case scenario, the freeze is a payoff for Obama’s approval of an Israeli attack on Iran.

Nothing would, but we want this land, our land.

The EU joined the chorus of condemnation: the Gilo expansion, it said, “prejudged the outcome of bilateral negotiations.” Oh yes, but tens of thousands of Palestinian houses built illegally in this area don’t prejudge that outcome.

The Obama administration is already beating its collective chest, but Netanyahu rejected their demands to rescind the building permit issued by Jerusalem municipality.

Gilo is a classic settlement project for purely political purposes. With the planned expansion of 4,000 housing units, Jews will insert a wedge into the Palestinian construction in the area, preventing a continuous Arab buildup all the way to the Temple Mount.

Now Clinton wants the freeze to last “forever.” Unless she misspoke, this can only mean that Obama wants Israel to dismantle all the settlements, leaving 360,000 Jews homeless.

Clinton apparently changed her position in response to the Palestinians’ refusal to negotiate with Israel until we freeze construction.

Instead, they must follow the opinions of treacherous government.

The council is financed by the Ministry of the Internal—a bunch of quislings on the government’s payroll.

During his previous premiership, Netanyahu blocked all attempts to relinquish the Jewish holy city of Hebron to the Arabs. Then a crazed soldier shot Arabs in Hebron’s marketplace, with news cameras conveniently nearby. Amid the media screams, Netanyahu quickly approved the transfer of Hebron to Muslim control.

By allowing the Palestinians to harvest millions of olive trees in border zones, the Israeli government assures their continued interest in the conflict. Normal countries make border areas into no-man’s land, but Israel prides herself on allowing her enemies to profit from border intrusions.

The plan is not going to materialize (like so many plans before it). Jews do not want to live among hostile Arabs of the Negev and Galilee, who constantly engage in riots and robbery while the police refrain from acting lest the Arabs riot still more.

The clashes took place while the IDF’s Chief of Staff praised settlers in his Jewish New Year’s address.

So, a show of Fatah police going after Hamas or Saudis opening their airspace to El Al would suffice to strangle Jewish families in the settlements forever, as no construction will be allowed here.

The government needs the outposts a as way to vent the right-wingers’ energies.

- He tries to fool the Americans by freezing new construction while completing thousands of nominally started housing units.
- He tries to fool the Palestinians by freezing construction in Judea and Samaria—but not in East Jerusalem.
-And he tries to fool the Israeli right-wingers by adding 500-750 building permits before the freeze.

The Palestinians won’t accept his bluff, and Obama will side with them.

Israeli right-wingers, dissipated and powerless, cannot mount an offense against Netanyahu’s plans, even though these plans bluntly contradict his electoral promises. Faced with indictment, the normally hawkish Lieberman is keeping a low profile on the settlement issue.

The Israeli moratorium on settlement construction will be another unilateral action, not reciprocated by the Arabs, and it will go nowhere.

The Arab League has threatened sanctions against Arab countries which normalize relations with Israel absent a settlement freeze. But Egypt, the dominant member of the Arab League, maintains normal relations with Israel. By maintaining the Arab League’s bellicose stance, Egypt positions itself as the only link between the Arabs and the Israelis/Americans.

Britain, France, and the US continue to hold foreign territories despite the natives’ opposition. Italy, which routinely sends away boatloads of African refugees, is also less than concerned about human rights. And there is Germany.

Netanyahu approved minor construction as a nod to his fellow right-wingers because he faces a revolt: more than half of Likud’s MKs will attend pro-settlement rally in Tel Aviv next week.

We would not be surprised to see the UN eventually imposing sanctions on Israel for “occupation,” while continuing financial aid to the Palestinians despite terrorism.

Scores of ministers and MKs protested Netanyahu’s acceptance of Obama’a settlment freeze. Bibi’s move is not that wrong: during the nine-month moratorium, settlers will complete 2,500 housing units without hindrance, and be ready to start new construction.

The freeze is not a done deal: Obama and the Palestinians need an official stop to East Jerusalem construction, which Netanyahu cannot offer. Abbas has hardened his position because he cannot sign peace, anyway, as there is Hamas. Arab countries have taken hardline positions because they want Obama to concentrate on Iran and dump the peace process for now.

Barak, too, lamented the AG’s stance.

What hypocrisy! Why should the Attorney General cover Barak’s political cowardice? The problem has an easy solution: let Barak sign the construction permits, and the AG’s office would automatically defend the government and settlements.

Ir Amim charged the Netanyahu government with planting hundreds of Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. Those are plans by right-wing elements in the government, unlikely to materialize, and in any case the number of new Jewish residents represents about 0.1% of the number of Arabs.

Despite Israeli requests, Mitchell could not produce a list of reciprocal concessions by the Palestinians. Obama did not agree to permit Israel to continue construction in the settlements if the Palestinians fail to enact confidence-building measures.

Israel will undertake a moratorium on construction, the Palestinians will not reciprocate, and in a year the world will become used to the absence of construction. The government has created a new status quo where each new house built after the moratorium will cause an international outcry.

Just days ago, Netanyahu was vocal about major troubles in settlements whose residents cannot even build enough schools for their children. Now the troubles are no more, and the population will continue swelling for another year without a coresponding increase in housing. Even in the ghettos, Jews were allowed to build inside their districts.

The sanctions cannot materialize because Russia and China are unlikely to support them, and in any case a ban on gasoline exports to Iran would not be that crippling: the ayatollahs can procure it from the Far East.

The US cannot agree to the reported Israeli refusal to stop construction in East Jerusalem, as it is not considered part of the “occupied territories.”

The Palestinians cannot agree to resume talks for anything less than what Olmert offered them, and Netanyahu cannot afford to discuss ceding the Temple Mount to the Arabs.

Bibi also promised to defend “normal life” in the settlements. Buthow can life be normal there when he has closed all new construction there since he entered office?

That represents less than 0.2% of the existing construction, ten times below the natural growth.

Quite a right-wing government we have here.

With all the rampant Arab illegal construction in Ras as Amud, it is hard to believe there is any construction policy there, except for keeping the area Judenrein.

The demand is both sensible and not. Palestinians and their Western friends are rightly concerned about the strategic projects, such as connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem with a line of Jewish neighborhoods while at the same time disconnecting Jerusalem from Ramallah. But freezing construction in the settlement blocs generally sends Palestinians a signal that Israel is ready to evacuate them.

Since Netanyahu had already implemented the construction freeze, Obama has little incentive to agree to the Israeli condition of a written American pledge to allow resumption of construction once the peace talks fail.