Maen Rashid Areikat: Obama is right to criticize Israeli settlements

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obama-is-right-to-criticize-israeli-settlements/2014/03/18/627d9b64-ae9b-11e3-b8b3-44b1d1cd4c1f_story.html

The Washington Post

Published: March 18

Letter to the Editor

Obama is right to criticize Israeli settlements

Elliott Abrams and Uri Sadot’s March 14 op-ed, “Undue criticism of Israel,” was problematic in three ways. First, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics’ figure of 2,534 housing units does represent a significant acceleration of Israeli settlement activity — an increase of 123 percent in 2013 compared with the previous year.

Second, the piece made the fallacious claim that past negotiations recognized the so-called settlement “blocs” as areas that will belong to Israel, for which Israel will provide compensation with land swaps. Palestinians never recognized the legitimacy of these unilaterally defined areas and reiterate that all settlements erected on land occupied in 1967 are illegal. The “blocs” are an invented Israeli category that attempts to impose a false sense of legitimacy on an illegal enterprise. Although Palestinians are open to the principle of minor land swaps (equal in value and size), the extent of such a deal is to be agreed upon during negotiations.

Finally, all settlements are illegal under international law. For example, U.N. Security Resolution 465 calls on Israel to “dismantle the existing settlements.” In addition, Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, ratified by Israel in 1951, states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Mr. Abrams and Mr. Sadot thus turned a blind eye to real facts and to the clear position of the international community.

Maen Rashid Areikat, Washington
The writer is the chief representative of the PLO delegation to the United States.