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Powell
Slams Israeli Wall, PA Seeks U.N. Resolution
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"The
draft resolution would make the point that the separation wall is
illegal and should be stopped," said Kidwa
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GAZA
CITY, October 4 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As Washington
stepped up criticism of the latest Israeli decisions, the Palestinians
vowed to table a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council,
demanding Israel stop construction of the second phase of the separation
wall and expansion of settlements built on occupied Palestinian
territories.
"The
draft resolution would make the point that the separation wall is
illegal and should be stopped," Haaretz reported
Saturday, October 4, quoted Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Nasser
al-Kidwa.
He
added he would further ask Arab nations Monday, October 6, to boost the
move and request an emergency Security Council meeting to debate it.
Israel
announced
Thursday, October 2, a tender to build some 660 settlements in the
occupied Palestinian West Bank, one day after
deciding to erect the one-billion-dollar second phase of the separation wall.
"We
were hoping the Americans would be able to stop these activities, but
this doesn't seem to be the case," lamented the Palestinian
diplomat.
The
600km-long wall will cut occupied Jerusalem off from the rest of the
West Bank.
It
will eventually snake some 900 kilometers (540 miles) along the West
Bank and leave even larger swathes of its territory on the Israeli side
and could cost up to $2.2 million a kilometer or a total of $1.8
billion.
The
first phase of the barrier was completed in July in the northern West
Bank, but further construction has been delayed by differences
between Israel and Washington over the wall's route.
A
U.N. report underlined Tuesday, September 30, that the separation wall
marked illegal annexation
of Palestinian territory and must be condemned by the world community.
Unsatisfactory
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"If
you want to put a fence on something that is a recognized border,
the green line, then put a fence on your property line," said
Powell
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In
a related development, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed as
not satisfactory Israeli attempt to leave gaps in the second phase of
the separation wall.
"The
gaps in and of themselves do not satisfy me. The question is what
becomes of the gaps in due course," Powell told The
Washington Post.
Powell
said the U.S. administration is yet to decide what kind of action it
will take in view of the Israeli wall and settlements decisions.
"We
have not yet come to a conclusion about what to do and what our action
should be," Powell said, adding that officials "are examining
the fence, where it's going, how it's going, the settlements and what
our obligations are under the law with respect to these matters."
"We
have made it clear that the fence . . . is a problem," Powell told
the American daily, outlining the argument the administration has made
to the Israelis.
President
George W. Bush had previously described the wall as "a
problem" obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state.
However,
he dropped
the term four days later when Sharon was visiting him in the White
House.
"If
you want to put a fence on something that is a recognized border, the
green line, then put a fence on your property line. But the more you
intrude in Palestinian areas and the more it looks like it could be
contiguous intrusion around large sections of Palestinian land that
would prejudge subsequent negotiations as to what a Palestinian state
may look like, that's a problem," Powell stressed.
Among
the questions U.S. officials are examining is whether construction costs
associated with the fence project can be deducted from $9 billion in
loan guarantees for Israel.
U.S.
officials have indicated they plan to deduct from the loans what they
estimate Israel spends on settlements in Palestinian territory, as
allowed by law.
'Unhelpful'
The
U.S. State Department further stepped up its criticism of Israel's
decision to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, calling the move
"unhelpful" and one that would likely be penalized.
The
State Department said the move would complicate efforts to move ahead on
the so-called "roadmap" for peace and that U.S. diplomats had
conveyed Washington's dim view of the ongoing construction of
settlements to Israeli officials.
"We've
said before, and I'll say again today, that we think that continuing
settlement activity is unhelpful in terms of the process of movement on
peace… We've made clear our views to the Israelis," spokesman
Richard Boucher told reporters.
He
asserted the expansion of three settlements would be taken into account
as Washington decides how much to deduct from U.S. loan guarantees
promised to Israel.
"We
also have decisions to make on loan guarantees and deductions and we'll
have to take into account the settlement activity that does occur as we
make those decisions," Boucher said.
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