Israel threatens unilateral moves against Palestinians

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu threatened the Palestinians on
Sunday with unilateral reprisals as the two sides
prepared for last-ditch talks with a US envoy on
salvaging teetering peace talks.
He said Israel would retaliate if the Palestinians
proceed with applications to adhere to 15
international treaties.
“These will only make a peace agreement more
distant,” he said of the applications the Palestinians
submitted on Tuesday.
“Any unilateral moves they take will be answered by
unilateral moves at our end.”
Netanyahu’s remarks, made at the beginning of the
weekly cabinet meeting, came as Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators prepared to meet US envoy
Martin Indyk in an attempt to save the peace
process from collapse.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, the driving force
behind the peace push, warned on Friday that there
were “limits” to the time and energy Washington
could devote to the talks process, as his appeals to
both sides to step back from the brink fell on deaf
ears.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected a
plea from Kerry to withdraw the treaty applications,
and Netanyahu ignored US appeals to refrain from
tit-for-tat moves, asking for a range of retaliatory
options to be drawn up.
Israel says Abbas’s move was a clear breach of the
commitments the Palestinians gave when the talks
were relaunched in July to pursue no other avenues
for recognition of their promised state.
The Palestinians say Israel had already reneged on
its own undertakings by failing to release a fourth
and final batch of prisoners last weekend, and that
the treaty move was their response.
“The Palestinians have much to lose from a
unilateral move. They will get a state only through
direct negotiations and not through empty
declarations or unilateral moves,” Netanyahu said
on Sunday.
“We are prepared to continue talks, but not at any
price.”
- ‘Facts on the ground’ -
Netanyahu noted the Palestinian application to the
international institutions came “the moment before
agreeing on the continuation of the talks” beyond
their April 29 deadline.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, general secretary of the
Palestine Liberation Organisation executive
committee, blamed the latest talks crisis on Israel
which “wants to extend the negotiations for ever” as
it creates “more facts on the ground”.
“Israel always implements unilateral steps,” he told
Voice of Palestine radio, saying the Palestinians
were already being punished by Israel.
Officials from Netanyahu down have been cautious
not to specify the exact nature of punitive measures
Israel might take.
The Knesset, or parliament, is due to meet on
Monday to debate the moribund peace process.
Meanwhile, media reported that Israel could prevent
Wataniya Palestine Telecom from laying down
cellphone infrastructure in the Hamas-ruled Gaza
Strip, and halt Palestinians from building in parts of
the West Bank.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, an outspoken
hardliner who opposes a Palestinian state, said
Israel must call on the International Criminal Court
to put certain Palestinian leaders on trial for war
crimes.
Shurat Hadin, a non-governmental organisation that
backs the families of Israeli killed in Palestinian
attacks, said it would lodge a complaint with the ICC
which is based in The Hague.
Human Rights Watch said Washington should back
the Palestinian bid to join international treaties, a
step which “could help create a better environment
for peace negotiations”.
“The US should press both the Palestinians and the
Israelis to better abide by human rights standards,”
said HRW’s deputy Middle East director Joe Stork.
Israel’s chief negotiator Tzipi Livni suggested that
Washington scale down its “intensive” involvement
in the process with the Palestinians, saying what
was needed were direct Palestinian-Israeli talks.
“Part of what took place in the past months was
primarily negotiations between us and the US, and
less with the Palestinians,” said Livni, who is also
justice minister.
“We need bilateral meetings between us, including
between the prime minister and Abu Mazen
(Abbas),” she said on Saturday.