Jewish settlements on Palestinian land would abort the implementation of the ‘roadmap’, warned an expert

By Yasser Al Banna, IOL Palestine Correspondent

WEST BANK, June 9 (IslamOnline.net) – The Jewish settlements on Palestinian land represents a main obstacle to implementing the “roadmap” plan to peace and establishing a Geographically-contiguous Palestinian state by 2005, a prominent Palestinian expert on settlements said on Sunday, June 8.

“Seeing an end to the Jewish settlement activities that had begun after the 1967 Middle East war still far-fetching given facts in the ground,” Khalil Al-Tufkagi told IslamOnline.net.

Tufkagi said that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s expression of his intention to make “painful” concessions by dismantling Jewish settlement outposts is nothing but a “ a trick and a lie” given that he himself was the champion of settlements.

“Sharon had ordered these outposts to be built and even allowed Jews to seize control of Palestinian hilltops for the purpose in 1996,” Tufkagi said.

The Israeli Premier had pledged in his statement delivered at the conclusion of Al-Aqba summit last week to dismantle some “unauthorized outposts in the West Bank, but did not say how many, arousing concerns that his promise would only apply to a handful of settlements.

Consecutive Israeli governments began settlement activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the 1967 victory. The settlements were then surrounded by a security fence to prevent Geographic and demographic expansion of Palestinian areas.

The Palestinian expert put at 106 the number of settlement outposts that were built without the “authorization” of Israeli governments.

“Fifty nine settlements were built when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took over, 57 appeared when his successor Ehud Barak came to power, and 14 others when Sharon took over,” he said.

Al-Tufkagi said some 226,000 settlers now live in 154 government-backed settlements in the West Bank, plus those living in the randomly-built outposts (caravans).

“These settlements make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible, as they cut off the West Bank with main roads dividing its areas by broad streets,” he added.

So Sharon’s statements in the Aqaba summit on disbanding the settlements, as required under the U.S.-backed “roadmap” are still far away from being “serious”, he explained.

“The Israeli government even deceive the international community by claiming that the ‘natural expansion’ of settlements could not be halted,” said Tufkagi, noting this expansion equals building new settlements.

“In addition, Jewish settlers have a real power of influence on the Israeli official decision, so they would not allow any one to tamper with their strategies which are given priorities by the Zionist movement.

Upon Sharon’s Aqaba statements, more than 40,000 settlers took to the streets in protest with vows to stand firm against any steps to dismantle their settlements.

Even Palestinian President Yasser Arafat vocalized his doubts over Sharon’s pledges.

"Until now, Sharon has done nothing on the ground, What does it mean if Sharon removes one caravan and after that tells us he has removed a settlement?” said Arafat, who has been confined by Israeli occupation forces to his Ramallah presidential headquarters.