Will Israel's pledge to remove settlements activate talks?
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The Israeli government on Monday announced that it will remove all Israeli settlements on the West Bank built on private Palestinian land.
Despite the government's promises, local analysts doubt its feasibility without an outside push to resume direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Moreover, the political stability within Israel could be affected as some coalition partners are considered pro-settlement.
Domestic doubts
The statement was made in response to a court petition by the Israeli non-governmental organization Peace Now, which demands that the government puts into action demolition orders already issued for six illegal outposts.
The announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing a trip to the United States in the coming month to reveal a new peace plan with the Palestinians.
At a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Netanyahu is expected to give a speech labeled as "Bar-Ilan 2," which is named after one he gave at the Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv in 2009. During that speech, then newly-elected prime minister announced his support for the two-state solution.
The international community sees all Israeli settlements built on the West Bank as illegal. Israel, however, differentiates between those built on private or "state" Palestinian land. What will happen to settlement built on the latter is still under consideration, according to the statement.
Without some headway in the peace talks, "there is no reason it (demolition of settlements) will happen," said Prof. Michal Shamir from the department of political science at Tel Aviv University.
As to the timing of the announcement, Shamir attributes it to legal procedure. "The government needed to give a reply to the court," he said.
"There's still plenty of time before the end of this year. Who knows what can happen," Shamir added.
Direct negotiations have been in hiatus since last September when a ten-month Israeli freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank ended. Despite intensive U.S. efforts to revive the peace process, Israel has refused to extend the moratorium, which was implemented in 2009 under the pressure from President Barack Obama's administration.
On the other hand, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to return to the negotiation table while settlement construction is ongoing.
When Israel-Palestinian peace talks started in Madrid during the early 1990s, dealing with Jewish settlement wasn't high on the agenda. However, the issue has gained increasing attention as settlements continue to expand. Palestinians have been arguing that the settlement building is corroding about the land of their future state.
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