Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners Wednesday but pledged to build thousands of new settler homes, just hours before a new round of peace talks that followed a three-year hiatus.
As Palestinians celebrated the release of a first batch of 104 prisoners, most of whom had been serving life for killing Israelis, Housing Minister Uri Ariel vowed to build thousands more settler homes in the West Bank.
“We will build thousands of homes in the coming year in Judaea and Samaria,” Ariel told public radio. “No one dictates where we can build... This is just the first course,” he added, hinting at more building to come.
His provocative remarks were made as the negotiating teams readied for their first direct talks in the region in nearly three years, following marathon efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry who managed to draw the two sides back to the table in Washington on July 30.
Although the overnight prisoner release was welcomed by the Palestinians, it did little to placate their anger after Israel announced plans to push on with 2,129 new settler homes – the vast majority in annexed east Jerusalem.
An initial announcement on Sunday of 1,187 new homes was followed a day later by the approval of another 942 units in east Jerusalem, infuriating the Palestinians who want the land for a future state.
“This settlement expansion is unprecedented,” senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo told AFP. “It threatens to make talks fail even before they’ve started.”
The last round of direct peace talks broke down just weeks after they were launched in September 2010 in a bitter row over settlements.
In a bid to defuse the growing crisis, Kerry phoned Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas late on Tuesday, a senior Palestinian official told AFP.
“We are waiting for the United States to take a clear stance on the escalating settlement building, which we consider the biggest obstacle that Israel is creating to stop serious talks from happening,” the source said.
So far, both sides have remained tightlipped over details of the talks which are reportedly to take place at Jerusalem’s prestigious King David hotel.
Commentators said the timing of the settlement announcements was aimed at appeasing hardliners in the rightwing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but was also something of a quid pro quo for the release of prisoners with Israeli blood on their hands.
