|
State Dept: Israeli construction in Jerusalem cannot prejudge outcome of final status talks
 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)--Following is the Middle East portion of a press briefing Monday by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley (pictured at left)
QUESTION: Do – Israel apparently rejected a new demand from the U.S. to stop a settlement project in East Jerusalem. Can you confirm that? Can you confirm that U.S. tried to stop this project and that it was rejected?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I think there have been – this is not a new issue. There have been issues revolving construction in East Jerusalem have come up a number of times. I believe they came up when some of you might have been with the Secretary in the region back in February. We have made our views to – known to Israel. Our views are not new either, that this kind of construction is the type of thing that should be – is the type of issue that should be subject to permanent status negotiations, and that we are concerned that unilateral actions taken by the Israelis or the Palestinians cannot prejudge the outcome of these negotiations. That’s one of the reasons why we’re working hard through George Mitchell and others to create conditions so that you can have a resumption of negotiations that would lead the parties to address these final status issues. George Mitchell will be traveling to the region later this week. His itinerary is still not completely set, but he will be traveling to talk to Israeli officials, Palestinian officials, others in the region. I think he’s got a speech scheduled in Bahrain later this week, where I think he’ll have the opportunity to express once again our gratitude to Sheikh Salman for his message last week.
QUESTION: Can you confirm – excuse me --
QUESTION: *Has he had* any conversations with Ambassador Pickering about this meeting last week with Hamas leaders?
MR. CROWLEY: I think Ambassador Pickering is a private citizen. I’m not aware that we’ve had – we had any contact with him before or after that meeting.
QUESTION: Can we go back to settlements? Can you confirm that the Israel ambassador in Washington was summoned to the State Department on Friday?
MR. CROWLEY: We’ve had conversations with the Israeli ambassador recently on this and other subjects.
QUESTION: Well, can you clarify when that meeting actually was?
MR. CROWLEY: Last week sometime, I think.
QUESTION: Last week; not over the weekend?
MR. CROWLEY: No.
QUESTION: Friday --
MR. CROWLEY: Not to my knowledge.
QUESTION: And he met with who?
MR. CROWLEY: He met with a number of high-level officials, not the Secretary.
QUESTION: Deputy?
MR. CROWLEY: A number of high-level officials.
ZOA: Prohibiting Jews from living in East Jerusalem is racist
 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has applauded the recent statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the Obama Administration’s demand that Israel not proceed with a project to build 20 residential apartments in eastern Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Jerusalem is a united city in which Jews may live wherever they chose and that this is not subject to negotiation or appeal.
In Sunday’s Israeli Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “I would like to re-emphasize that the united Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel. Our sovereignty over it cannot be challenged; this means – inter alia – that residents of Jerusalem may purchase apartments in all parts of the city. This has been the policy of all Israeli governments and I would like to say that it is indeed being implemented because in recent years hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods and in the western part of the city have been purchased by – or rented to – Arab residents and we did not interfere. This says that there is no ban on Arabs buying apartments in the western part of the city and there is no ban on Jews buying or building apartments in the eastern part of the city. This is the policy of an open city, an undivided city that has no separation according to religion or national affiliation. We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and purchase in all parts of Jerusalem. I can only describe to myself what would happen if someone would propose that Jews could not live in certain neighborhoods in New York, London, Paris or Rome. There would certainly be a major international outcry. Accordingly, we cannot agree to such a decree in Jerusalem. This has been the policy of Israeli governments over the years and it is also the policy of our Government” (‘PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting,’ Prime Minister’s Office [Jerusalem], July 19, 2009).
Meanwhile, Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin has also told the Cabinet that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its security services are engaged in widespread efforts to keep Palestinians from selling land in Jerusalem to Jews. He also said that Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi of Qatar has allocated $21 million to Hamas activists to buy buildings and establish infrastructure in Jerusalem.
The Obama Administration’s objections to the Jewish construction project were first voiced by senior State Department officials at a meeting with Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren last Thursday, in response to a request by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The officials complained that the construction would change the neighborhood's demographic balance and harm its Palestinian residents. Oren responded that the land in question was privately owned, and the project has received all the necessary permits from the Jerusalem municipality.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein (above left) said, “The ZOA is appalled that the Obama administration is backing Palestinian demands for preventing Jews from building in and moving to eastern Jerusalem. We are also concerned at the blatant inconsistency of the Obama Administration’s approach. Last year, when campaigning for the presidency, Barack Obama called for Jerusalem to remain the undivided capital of Israel. The next day, he retracted that statement, but then insisted that the issue of Jerusalem was one for final status talks between Israel and the PA. Now, however, he is not even adhering to that watered-down position: instead, he is weighing in on the matter on behalf of the racist Palestinian demand that Jews be barred from moving into eastern Jerusalem, a territory the PA claims for itself and wishes to see part of a judenrein Palestinian state.
“In this context, it is astounding that the State Department would tell Ambassador Oren that Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem would change the neighborhood’s demographic balance and harm its Palestinian residents. This is the sort of racist language that was once used here in America in support of a policy of excluding African-Americans
Go to the top of right column
|
|
from white neighborhoods. It is an especial disgrace that such an approach should have obtained the support of President Obama who, as our first African-American president, should have understood better than anyone the racist nature of such a position. It is not a position that the U.S. should be taking and we urge the Obama Administration to drop its support for it.”
“We also find it disturbing that the Obama Administration has had nothing to say about the fact that a terrorist movements like Hamas, funded by wealthy Islamist extremists like Sheikh Qaradawi, has been busily buying up apartments in eastern Jerusalem. However, when peaceful Jews seek to move into an apartment or build a home in eastern Jerusalem, or when a project to build a mere twenty apartments is approved by the Israeli government, the Obama Administration makes a point to protest and pressure Israel over the matter.”
Defense Secretary Gates confirms he'll visit Israel; says it is routine
 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)--Following is a partial transcript of a press conference U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held on Monday at the Defense Department. Initially, a Defense Department spokesman had refused to confirm the trip, leading to the joke below about a "secret visit."
SEC. GATES: Elizabeth?
Q In your upcoming talks with the Israelis, what is the message you're planning on delivering --
SEC. GATES: My secret visit. (Soft laughter.)
Q I just mentioned talks. (Soft laughter.) I didn't mention a visit.
SEC. GATES: This is -- since it's all over their newspapers, there's nothing particularly secret about it, I guess, at this point. But it is a routine visit, as far as I'm concerned. It has been probably at least two years since I have visited Israel. I have been in regular contact over the last long while, with my counterpart, Minister Barak. This is an -- I see this as a very routine visit to touch base with my counterpart and others in the Israeli government.
Q But on Iran, are you going to reassure the -- I mean, that will come up.
Will you be reassuring the Israelis? Will you be --
SEC. GATES: I think the only thing that I'm prepared to say about that is that I'm confident that subject will come up.
Waxman announces legislation to protect nation's drinking water
 WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey, along with Reps. Frank Pallone, Jan Schakowsky, Lois Capps, and John Sarbanes, on Monday introduced the Drinking Water System Security Act of 2009 with the support of the largest drinking water utilities and environmental and labor groups in the nation. This bill would require EPA to establish risk-based performance standards for community water systems serving more than 3,300 people and certain other public water systems with security risks.
“This important legislation will better help us protect and secure our nation from potential acts of terrorism against our nation’s drinking water facilities,” said Chairman Waxman. “We must protect workers and neighbors of drinking water facilities and ensure a safe and reliable drinking water supply. We are introducing this bill with the support of the largest water utilities as well as environmental and labor groups. This broad coalition shows that this bill provides a common-sense approach to securing America’s drinking water.”
“The consensus is clear: We must upgrade security at drinking water systems to ensure that a terrorist can’t poison the water or turn the chemicals used to disinfect our drinking water into a weapon of mass destruction,” said Rep. Markey.
Drinking water facilities often use or store chemicals that, if released, can form toxic clouds that endanger surrounding communities. Terrorists could also potentially steal chemicals from these facilities to create an improvised weapon of mass destruction. Drinking water facilities also face the unique threat of terrorists contaminating the drinking water supply, endangering the health of thousands or millions of people.
In 2006, as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security to issue chemical facility security regulations that exempted drinking water and wastewater facilities. The Drinking Water System Security Act authorizes EPA to strengthen security at drinking water systems in the United States under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The legislation would:
· Require EPA to assign covered water systems to one of four risk-based tiers, ranging from tier 1, the highest-risk systems, to tier 4, the lowest-risk of the covered water systems.
· Require covered water systems to identify vulnerabilities and develop site security plans to addresses those vulnerabilities and meet risk-based security standards, which vary by tier.
· Require all covered water systems with dangerous chemicals in amounts higher than federal thresholds to assess whether they can switch to safer chemicals or processes to reduce the consequences of an act of terrorism. Since the states implement the Safe Drinking Water Act everywhere but Wyoming and Washington, D.C., states have authority to require facilities in the two highest-risk tiers to switch to safer chemicals or processes if technologically and economically feasible, and if doing so will not result in unsafe drinking water.
· Require that covered water systems include employees in the development of security vulnerability assessments and site security plans and that they receive the training necessary to perform their duties under the plans.
· Require EPA to develop standards to protect security-related information while encouraging the proper sharing of this information among those with an official need to know. The bill would set criminal penalties for purposeful, unlawful disclosure of this protected information.
The legislation has key support from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), which has endorsed the bill. AMWA represents 190 member utilities, including the largest publicly owned drinking water systems in the United States that serve more than 125 million Americans.
Numerous environmental and labor groups also have endorsed the bill, including Clean Water Action, Earthjustice, The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, MI, Environment America, Environmental Health Fund, Environmental Health Strategy Center of Maine, Greenpeace, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), New Jersey Work Environment Council, OMB Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club, United Steelworkers, and U.S. PIRG.
|
