U.S. 'partner' warns Mideast: Don't deal with Israel

JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Authority, once called a U.S. "peace partner" in the Mideast, has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic campaign to lobby Arab countries against accepting normalized ties with Israel, even if the acceptance is exchanged for a freeze on Jewish construction in the strategic West Bank, WND has learned.

The Obama administration has demanded a total halt to all construction of Jewish housing in the West Bank, including natural growth, or adding to existing communities to accommodate the needs of the population. Defense Minister Ehud Barak was in New York last week to meet with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell in an effort to agree on a compromise formula on settlement construction. Barak is slated for more meetings with Mitchell in Europe this week.

According to Jerusalem diplomatic sources, Barak proposed a limit on Israeli West Bank construction in exchange for Arab states beginning the process of "normalizing" relations with Israel in line with an Arab Initiative from 2002. That Initiative calls for normalized relations with the Arab world in exchange for extreme Israeli territorial concessions.

The PA, however, began lobbying key Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, against trading normalization with Israel for a halt to Jewish West Bank construction, according to a top PA source familiar with the campaign.

The source said the PA doesn't want any concessions from the Arab countries in exchange for limited Israeli construction activity. The source said the PA believes pressure from the Obama administration will be enough to halt Jewish constriction efforts in both the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The source implied Arab "normalization" should be used to extract something larger from Israel.

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Last week, WND quoted Nimer Hamad, senior political adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, claiming U.S. guarantees make him "confident" Israel will not be able to build in the West Bank.

"The guarantees we received from the U.S. make us confident all the talks about the 50 houses in Adam are only a piece of meat (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak threw to the settlers," Hamad said.

Hamad was referring to reports Barak's Defense Ministry approved the construction of 50 new homes in Adam, an existing West Bank community, as part of a wider plan to absorb residents slated to be evicted from an area called Migron.

"I am not excited about these reports. I am confident no single housing will actually be built outside an agreement between the Palestinians, the Americans and the Israelis," he said.

Obama's demand Israel halt all settlement activity, including natural growth, is an apparent abrogation of a deal made by President Bush to allow for natural growth. The deal was forged just prior to Israel's 2005 retreat from the Gaza Strip. It was confirmed by Sharon aide Dov Weissglas in 2005, and in a Wall Street Journal column last week by Elliott Abrams, a former deputy national security adviser to Bush who reportedly negotiated the arrangement. The deal was in line with an official letter from Bush the year before stating Israel cannot be expected to withdraw from the entire West Bank and that the Jewish state would retain major settlement blocs there.

The West Bank borders major Israeli cities and is within rocket firing range of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.

Military strategists long have estimated Israel must maintain the West Bank to defend itself from any ground invasion. Terrorist groups have warned if Israel withdraws, they will launch rockets from the West Bank into Israeli cities.

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