Netanyahu regrets 'timing' of E. J'lem housing announcement

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told cabinet ministers yesterday that the timing of the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee's announcement of a plan to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem - which was issued on the same day U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in the region to help jumpstart peace talks with the Palestinians - was "a serious mishap ... that should not have happened."

Israel apologized for embarrassing Biden with the timing of its announcement, but made clear it has no intention of reversing its plan. In a meeting of the diplomatic-security cabinet yesterday, the prime minister emphasized that Jerusalem does not fall within the purview of the government's declared 10-month freeze on construction in West Bank settlements.

Responding to criticism from Labor Party ministers in his cabinet, Netanyahu said it was the timing of the announcement, rather than the actual intent to build more units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, which was the most problematic aspect of the incident.

The controversy in the wake of the announcement has overshadowed Biden's visit, which had been billed as an effort by the Obama administration to improve its tense relations with the Netanyahu government just ahead of the planned U.S.-mediated proximity talks with the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu yesterday issued a directive to his ministers requiring that his bureau be apprised of any fresh planning and construction initiatives slated for politically sensitive areas like East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Unnecessary damage

While yesterday's cabinet session was initially scheduled to discuss the annual intelligence assessment, the Labor Party ministers used it as an opportunity to criticize both the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee and the minister responsible for overseeing it - Interior Minister Eli Yishai.

One minister who had attended the meeting told Haaretz that Defense Minister Ehud Barak was sternly critical of the move, which he said caused unnecessary damage to the imminent negotiations with the Palestinians.

"Israel acted and has for many months been acting to create trust between the two sides in order to launch negotiations, and it would be prudent if our actual steps would take this into account," Barak said.

His Labor colleagues also voiced their displeasure, particularly with Yishai for trying to "throw a monkey wrench into the diplomatic process."

"These incidents do not strengthen our hold on Jerusalem," Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog said.

Yishai responded to the criticism by claiming that he had been caught unawares by the planning committee's intent to announce the building plans. The Shas minister added that the announced plans were not tantamount to final approval to begin construction.

Biden urged both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, to refrain from any actions that will inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks.

"Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin ... profitable negotiations," Biden said after meeting with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah yesterday.

Capping a day of meetings with Palestinian leaders, Biden told his hosts that the United States is still committed to brokering a final peace deal - something that has eluded American leaders for decades.

While Barak condemned the announcement of the construction plan, Haaretz has learned that an Israel Defense Forces representative had been present during the planning committee meeting in which the housing initiative was approved.

The representative, who serves in the General Staff's Planning Branch, took an active role in the specifics of the project. Barak aides responded by saying that the IDF representative present at the committee meeting was the only one who had objected to the plan's issuance, and that she insisted that the plan's implementation be delayed by 30 days so as to allow an appeal of the decision.