Israeli-Palestinian peace talks look less likely as settlers fret over freeze

Palestinians and their supporters see the expansion of Jewish areas in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as making a future Palestinian state unfeasible – turning the once largely Palestinian West Bank into a piece of Swiss cheese, especially around Jerusalem.

The Palestinian proposal is based on a March statement by the Quartet, which is composed of the US, and Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union. In addition to calling for a complete settlement freeze in the West Bank, the statement also asked Israel to refrain from home demolitions in East Jerusalem, noting that the international community does not recognize Israel’s annexation of that half of the city.

In the settlements, the adamant stand against a freeze stems from ideological and biblical arguments, such as Bohrer’s, to more practical considerations.

Hagit Sela, a school principal in Ofra, says her elementary school classes are taught in temporary mobile home containers until the freeze ends so the community can press on with plans for a permanent school. Acutely aware of friends and neighbors whose grown children are struggling to find homes as they start their own families, she added a floor in her house to create rental units for young couples – and says many people she knows did the same.

As a flock of grandchildren darts around her patio, which overlooks a distant Palestinian village, Mrs. Sela says she’s heard buzz about building plans that are about to be unfrozen. That leads her to believe the freeze is not likely to be extended next month.

Michel Finkelstein, a gregarious American who moved to Beit El in 1992, hopes so.

Pinning progress in peace talks on reducing settlements “is like saying all American problems are from illegal immigration,” she says, nevertheless tempering her expectations of the prime minister. “So far Bibi has been strong. He’s stood up. But we’ve learned our lesson [with Sharon].”

Braced for violent evacuations?

Israel’s evacuation of some 8,000 settlers from Gush Katif in southern Gaza five years ago is seen by some, like Ms. Finkelstein, as a warning of what may come if Netanyahu is pushed harder on West Bank settlements.

Residents such as Sela say they are law-abiding citizens and will obey, however reluctantly, any government order to leave their homes.

But the demolished remains of several homes on the nearby hilltop outpost of Amona, violently evacuated despite 3,000 protesters four years ago, is a reminder that the West Bank settlements are vulnerable as well.

Netanyahu “is all the time being pressured,” says Bohrer, echoing a common refrain heard during a recent stroll through both Ofra and Beit El. He doesn’t see himself and his fellow settlers as caught under the thumb of either American or Israeli leaders, saying that they will rely solely on biblical arguments – not security or political arguments or incentives – to defend their settlements.

“We’re not in a vise,” he says. “We’re in God’s hands.”

IN PICTURES: Israeli settlements

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