JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister on Sunday urged the Palestinians to avoid unilateral action and resume peace talks, a reflection of growing concern that the Palestinian leadership is inching toward a “Plan B” in which they seek international recognition of an independent state without Israeli agreement.
Talks have stalled, just weeks after their launch, after Israel’s decision to resume fullfledged settlement building in the West Bank after a 10-month period of restrictions. The Palestinians have said they cannot negotiate with Israel unless the curbs are renewed, and one senior Palestinian official on Sunday insisted on a total halt to construction.
As the stalemate drags on, the Palestinians have said they are considering sidestepping Israel by seeking U.N. Security Council recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem - territories the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
At the start of the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to “honor their obligation to engage in direct negotiations.”
“I think any attempt to circumvent it by going to international bodies isn’t realistic and won’t advance true peacemaking in any way,” Netanyahu said. “Peace will be achieved only through direct talks.”
Netanyahu said he was in close contact with U.S. mediators in an effort to revive the talks, which were launched with great fanfare at the White House on Sept. 2. He said he remained committed to reaching the outlines of a deal within one year, the target set by the White House.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected Netanyahu’s criticism, saying Israel is acting unilaterally through settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
“We don’t want to engage in unilateral action,” he said,calling on Netanyahu to “stop unilateral actions and engage as a partner in peace by stopping settlement activity.”
Palestinian government spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said Sunday that the Palestinians insist on a total halt in construction, implying that extending the slowdown that expired in late September is not enough. “There should be a total freeze of settlement activity in order for the negotiations to be resumed,” he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas isn’t expected to take any unilateral action before September 2011. But he already has instructed top aides to begin preparing for options other than a negotiated deal.
The chief alternative, Palestinian officials say, is to pursue U.N. Security Council recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
Also on Sunday, Israel said a meeting of Middle East bishops was hijacked by enemies of the Jewish state, after the gathering at the Vatican largely blamed Israel for conflict in the region.
In a communique at the end of their two-week meeting, the bishops demanded that Israel accept U.N. resolutions calling for an end to its occupation of Arab lands, and told Israel it shouldn’t use the Bible to justify “injustices” against the Palestinians.
“We express our disappointment that this important synod has become a forum for political attacks on Israel in the best history of Arab propaganda,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon of Israel said in a statement Sunday.
“The synod was hijacked by an anti-Israel majority,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military chief on Sunday staunchly defended his troops’ actions during a deadly raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla in May, saying commandos resorted to live fire only after they were shot at by protesters.
The May 31 clash at sea resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists, one a dual U.S.-Turkish citizen, and set off an international outcry that spurred Israel into significantly easing its blockade of Gaza.
The Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, was the first witness to be called to testify a second time before the official Israeli commission looking into the bloody raid.
Ashkenazi told the panel that an Israeli commando who rappelled down from a helicopter into a crowd of activists aboard the Mavi Marmara vessel was shot in the stomach. An Israeli forensic examination determined the bullet was not fired from an Israeli weapon,the army chief added, saying that provided proof that activists had their own firearms and were prepared to fight.
“This wasn’t a demonstration of peace activists,” said Ashkenazi, noting that those on board were “equipped and organized” with axes as well as gas masks.
The organizers of the flotilla, which was carrying activists and aid for Gaza, have said those on board the Mavi Marmara only acted in self-defense after they were attacked by Israeli forces in international waters.
A recent U.N.-commissioned report into the raid said there was “no evidence to suggest that any of the passengers used firearms or that any firearms were taken on board the ship.” It said that doctors on the vessel who examined three injured soldiers noted no firearm injuries, and that Israeli allegations of gunshot wounds to soldiers are “inconsistent and contradictory.” Information for this article was contributed by Alessandra Rizzo, Ian Deitch and Daniel Estrin of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 10/25/2010