Israeli minister rejects UK’s rebuke for construction beyond the Green Line
‘Our connection to Ariel is at least as strong as the UK’s connection to the Falkland Islands,’ says Gideon Sa’ar
Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar fired back at UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt on Saturday, referring to Burt’s Thursday statements in which the British minister harshly condemned Israel for its plans to expand construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and for conferring university status on a college in the West Bank city of Ariel. Sa’ar said Burt’s critique was “detached from reality.”
“Our connection to Ariel is at least as strong as the UK’s connection to the Falkland Islands,” said Sa’ar. “I do not accept the British condemnation…. The true impediment to peace is the Palestinians’ incitement and pro-terrorism education.”
“How can it be that a university is an impediment to peace, and when it was only a college peace was attainable?” retorted Sa’ar.
Speaking at a cultural event in Ness Ziona, Sa’ar praised the West Bank settlement’s university, calling it a “glorious institution, which hundreds of Arab students attend and which cooperates with British academic institutions on important studies.”
While international outcries following Israeli announcements of construction beyond the Green Line are a common occurrence, Burt took the unusual step of mentioning the Geneva Conventions in his criticism Thursday, likely implying that settlement expansion is considered a war crime under international law.
The critique is being seen by some as an intensification of rhetoric in response to Israel’s increasingly aggressive avowals to broaden its settlement enterprise.
In his statement, Burt said he and Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed “condemnation and deep disappointment” at the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee’s approval of 1,500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo. They also denounced recently announced plans for additional construction in the Givat Hamatos and Gilo neighborhoods, which are beyond the Green Line.
“These are further profoundly provocative actions that run contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention,” Burt stated. “By taking these steps, despite the international community repeatedly raising our profound concerns, the Israeli government is damaging Israel’s international reputation.”
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that an occupying power “shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” This is the basis for the position of international bodies, such as the United Nations and the European Union, to consider Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line illegal under international law.
Violations of the 1949 Geneva Convention are considered war crimes under international law. Israel is a party to the convention and therefore bound by its obligations.
According to pro-Israel advocate Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian justice minister and expert on international law, Burt’s evoking of the Geneva Convention marks a “gradual ratcheting up” of criticism in light of Israel’s increasingly assertive settlement policy. While international human right activists have in the past quoted the convention to incriminate Israel, Western government officials have generally refrained from mentioning it in relation to Israeli settlements.
“At first the settlements were unhelpful, then they became an obstacle to peace; from there they went to being illegal, from there to being contrary to international law, and now they are violating the Geneva Conventions,” Cotler told The Times of Israel. “It seems that this signifies a calibrated indictment reciprocal to the increasing affirmations of the Israeli government’s settlement policy.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor called the word choice “disappointing.”
“The Palestinian interpretation of the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the West Bank and to settlements therein is highly controversial and stands in contradiction with a great number of legal opinions by leading experts,” Palmor said. “It is therefore disappointing to see that a [UK Foreign Office] minister should adopt the contested Palestinian position hook, line and sinker, thus adding controversy where it is already in excess.”
Burt, a Conservative, also called on the Israeli government to “urgently” reverse its decision to upgrade the Ariel University Center to a full-fledged university. “Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement that is illegal according to international law. This decision will deepen the presence of the settlements in the Palestinian territories and will create another obstacle to peace,” he said.
The minister further said that the United Kingdom appreciates the Palestinian leadership’s “measured response” to Israel’s recent announcements and commended Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for publicly rejecting recent “inflammatory statements” by Hamas leaders.
Having received nonmember observer state status at the United Nations in late November, the Palestinians are said to be considering turning to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to denounce Israel for alleged war crimes relating to settlements.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government ministers have repeatedly vowed to keep building despite all pressure.
Raphael Ahren contributed to this report
The Times of Israel Community.