Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) says he believes Israel needs to make concessions on settlements, but thinks they must be made in concert with some kind of concessions from the Palestinians at the same time.
Speaking at a program co-sponored by EMET: The Endowment for Middle East Truth and the Heritage Foundation , Engel also said, though, that "he would look with tremendous askance if any adminstration" failed to honor the Bush-Sharon 2004 understanding which permitted Israel to continue to build in large settlement blocs which it would be likely to keep in any peace deal. The Obama administration has signaled that it would not adhere to that informal agreement, but Engel said he would probably make his feelings on that issue privately to the administration.
"I don’t want Israel pressured into making unilateral concessions up front in return for nothing," said Engel, referring to settlements. "Palestinians need to do things simultaneously. I don’t mind if Israel makes concessions at the same time the Palestinians are making tangible concessions." Asked afterward what those might be on the Palestinian side, Engel suggested that reducing incitement against Jews and Israel could one area for the Palestinians to work on.
Elsewhere on the settlements issue, Rep. Gary Ackerman put out a statement Thursday expanding on what I reported earlier this week: While he believes settlers should be allowed to have babies, he essentially is backing President Obama up by supporting a freeze on all construction in settlements:
I do not believe in, and I do not support a settlement freeze that calls on Israeli families not to grow, get married, or forces them to throw away their grandparents. Telling people not to have children is unthinkable and inhumane. Real life is messy and the exigencies of any vibrant population need to be acknowledged and accommodated.
The real question is expanding, construction and building. I think it’s fair to say that the big blocks of settlements will probably wind up in Israel. But this question, like the other questions related to a final peace agreement, has to be resolved in negotiations between the parties. A freeze on settlement construction—not family life—will set the stage for those negotiations to begin in earnest.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) blasted Obama’s "pressure" on Israel in regard to settlements, although he doesn’t specfically mention the word settlements in his statement:
As Palestinian terror shows no sign of abating, President Obama’s insistence that it is in America’s best interest to pressure Israel sends the wrong message to the region. Where is the outrage at the Palestinians’ continued refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Where is the concern for their failure to root out the terrorists in their midst?
The full Ackerman and Cantor statements are after the jump:[[READMORE]]
First Ackerman:
ACKERMAN URGES FREEZE ON SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION, NOT GROWING FAMILIES
U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, issued the following statement on the subject of U.S.-Israel discussions on the subject of Israeli settlement activity:
“The most important thing to remember with all the talk right now about settlements is the strategic threat from Iran. It is the overarching threat to the region and to the interests of the United States. The most worrisome settlement is not in the West Bank and it’s not even Israeli: it’s the Iranian settlement in Gaza.
To bring together the kind of unified international pressure that stands a chance of pushing Iran to back down from its nuclear ambitions and its subversive activity, the United States needs to demonstrate it is capable of resolving conflict and providing regional security. And for the states in the Middle East, that means normalizing relations with Israel and the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It means statehood for the Palestinians and it means, at long last, real peace and real security for Israel.
The priority has to be on stopping Iran. And all terrorism. Whatever detracts from that goal has to be subordinated.
The growth of Israeli settlements, unfortunately, detracts from the goal. Palestinian violence destroys the goal. Stopping settlement construction won’t turn off a single Iranian centrifuge, it’s true. But it will demonstrate that the United States is driving the political agenda in the region and is serious about peace. That fact will help shore up the moderate Arab states—some of whom are weak, some of whom have been wavering—reinforce American leadership with our allies in Europe, and give hope to both Israelis and Palestinians that peace, not merely a peace process is in the offing.
I do not believe in, and I do not support a settlement freeze that calls on Israeli families not to grow, get married, or forces them to throw away their grandparents. Telling people not to have children is unthinkable and inhumane. Real life is messy and the exigencies of any vibrant population need to be acknowledged and accommodated.
The real question is expanding, construction and building. I think it’s fair to say that the big blocks of settlements will probably wind up in Israel. But this question, like the other questions related to a final peace agreement, has to be resolved in negotiations between the parties. A freeze on settlement construction—not family life—will set the stage for those negotiations to begin in earnest.”
Then Cantor:
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today issued the following statement after President Obama suggested that the Mideast peace process and our interests have been harmed by the failure of the United States to be “honest” with Israel, then that Iran might have a right to nuclear energy:
“As Palestinian terror shows no sign of abating, President Obama’s insistence that it is in America’s best interest to pressure Israel sends the wrong message to the region. Where is the outrage at the Palestinians’ continued refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Where is the concern for their failure to root out the terrorists in their midst?
“Palestinian terror and the refusal to recognize Israel stand directly in the way of peace, yet this is only one part of the process. It is misguided to assume that if we deal with the Israel-Palestinian question, somehow all the problems in the Middle East – including in Iran – will be solved.
“I strongly disagree with President Obama’s dangerous suggestion that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy. Iran forfeited any right to nuclear energy when it made the decision to illicitly enrich uranium to levels that can be used for nuclear weapons. Access to nuclear energy is an irreversible process, and the United States cannot trust the aspirations of the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terrorism.”
