Netanyahu’s government tries to stave off east Jerusalem settler house evacuation

Netanyahu’s government tries to save settler house

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has stepped in to save a house built illegally by Jewish settlers in a volatile Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, complicating already troubled U.S. efforts to renew Mideast peacemaking.

The move is meant to skirt a court order to evacuate and seal the house, thus easing settler anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to slow Jewish settlement construction.

But it is likely to fuel new friction with the Palestinians, who hope to establish a future capital in that sector of the holy city.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel’s latest attempts to entrench its presence in east Jerusalem only further discourages peace efforts.

Israeli officials “know for sure that there will never be peace without east Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine,” Erekat said Tuesday. “By undermining this, they’re undermining the peace process.”

The latest controversy surrounds a seven-story building built by the ultranationalist settler group Ateret Cohanim in 2004 in the Silwan neighborhood. After years of legal battles, a court last July determined the structure was illegally built and ordered residents to leave.

Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat, who opposed the ruling, caved in last month and agreed to evacuate the building where eight families have been living under 24-hour government guard.

But the evacuation orders were abruptly canceled Monday after Netanyahu’s interior minister reportedly decided to give the house — named for Jonathan Pollard, the American Jew convicted of spying in the U.S. for Israel — retroactive approval.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s office did not return calls seeking comment, and Netanyahu’s office said he was not involved in the matter.

Jerusalem, with its key holy sites, is a main issue in stalemated peace talks. Washington’s Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, has been trying to break the deadlock for a year and recently proposed shuttle diplomacy through American mediators.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signaled Tuesday he was open to Mitchell’s proposal and that Palestinians “must keep the doors open and give him the opportunity” to restart the process.

In another part of Jerusalem, Palestinian youths on Tuesday threw rocks at police and burned tires and trash bins as city workers tried to repair rundown infrastructure and collect back taxes from residents of the Shuafat refugee camp. Police said nine Palestinians were arrested.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli troops confiscated computers, cameras and documents in a pre-dawn raid Monday at the office of a group coordinating Palestinian protests against Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, one of the group’s leaders, Jamal Jumaa, said Tuesday.

Israel’s military confirmed the raid on the office of the Stop The Wall group, claiming it is behind riots. Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists charged the army is trying to silence legitimate dissent.

Protests against the barrier have intensified recently, along with an Israeli crackdown, including the arrests of Palestinian and foreign activists. Israel says the barrier is meant to keep Palestinian attackers out, while the Palestinians complain it juts into their territory.

Associated Press Writer Karin Laub contributed to this report from Ramallah, West Bank.