The Palestinians said the announcement of a tender for 22
new homes in the Neweh Dekalim settlement was a blow to the
peace "road map" and undermined efforts to rebuild trust after
34 months of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"This is a big challenge to everything the peace process
built," Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat said. "Israel still
insists on destroying the road map because they choose the
settlements over the peace."
In a further blow to cautious peace hopes fueled by a
recent lull in violence under a three-month truce announced by
Islamic militants, Israel and the Palestinians failed to agree
on a handover of two West Bank cities to the Palestinians.
A riot by Palestinian inmates at a jail in southern Israel,
put down by Israeli police using tear gas and water cannon,
also underscored the growing tensions as peace efforts stall.
Bush has met both the Israeli and Palestinian prime
ministers in Washington in the past week to try to press on
with the road map. He said on Wednesday: "I think we're making
pretty good progress in a short period of time."
But enthusiasm is fading in Israel and the Palestinian
Territories, where Israeli military and defense officials are
becoming increasingly gloomy.
"I instructed the military to be ready for another outbreak
of terror. This is inevitable and will be worse than what came
before, if the terror infrastructures are not dismantled,"
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a speech.
DISPUTE OVER SETTLEMENTS
The Israel Lands Authority said the Defense Ministry had
approved the issue of a tender to build 22 housing units in
Neveh Dekalim, one of about 150 Jewish settlements across the
West Bank and Gaza.
The road map calls for Israel to freeze "all settlement
activity" but the Israeli government says existing settlements
should be allowed "natural growth" within their boundaries.
The international community views all Jewish settlements on
occupied territory as illegal. Israel disputes this.
Mofaz and Palestinian Security Affairs Minister Mohammed
Dahlan had hoped to reach an agreement to hand over two West
Bank cities to the Palestinians during overnight talks.
A source close to Israel's government said Dahlan had asked
Mofaz to withdraw troops from Ramallah, base of Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) and one of the West Bank cities Israel
reoccupied last year after a wave of suicide bombings.
Mofaz offered instead to hand the cities of Jericho and
Qalqilya over to Palestinian security but Dahlan refused this.
The two ministers failed to make any progress on a release
of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a gesture the
Palestinians consider vital to progress on the road map.
The riot by Palestinian prisoners at a high security prison
in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon was not connected to
the Palestinian demands, but it will have alarmed Israeli
authorities who fear a prisoners rebellion over the issue.
Police used tear gas to break up the riot which began when
guards tried to search a cell after finding a map of the jail
on a prisoner, prompting fears of an escape. Twenty prisoners
and 15 prison guards suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Mistrust runs deep on several issues, including a barrier
which Israel is building in the West Bank. Israel says it is
needed to stop suicide bombers but the Palestinians say it
grabs territory they want for their independent state.
Israel says progress is possible only if the Palestinians
crack down on militants. The Palestinians have rejected the
calls, saying a crackdown would start civil war.
