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| At Campaign Stop, Netanyahu Admits Jerusalem Settlement Was Strategic | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Monday that he had authorized construction of a Jerusalem neighborhood on land captured in the 1967 war to block the Palestinians from expanding Bethlehem, and to prevent a “Hamastan” from sprouting in the hills nearby. | JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Monday that he had authorized construction of a Jerusalem neighborhood on land captured in the 1967 war to block the Palestinians from expanding Bethlehem, and to prevent a “Hamastan” from sprouting in the hills nearby. |
| Campaigning a day before what is expected to be a tight election, Mr. Netanyahu stood next to maps of the neighborhood, Har Homa. One showed it empty in 1997, before he approved building there, and another showed the area today, with roughly 4,000 apartments built and 2,000 more under construction or planned. | Campaigning a day before what is expected to be a tight election, Mr. Netanyahu stood next to maps of the neighborhood, Har Homa. One showed it empty in 1997, before he approved building there, and another showed the area today, with roughly 4,000 apartments built and 2,000 more under construction or planned. |
| “It was a way of stopping Bethlehem from moving toward Jerusalem,” Mr. Netanyahu said of the construction. “This neighborhood, exactly because it stops the continuation of the Palestinians,” he added, “I saw the potential was really great.” | “It was a way of stopping Bethlehem from moving toward Jerusalem,” Mr. Netanyahu said of the construction. “This neighborhood, exactly because it stops the continuation of the Palestinians,” he added, “I saw the potential was really great.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu has long heralded Israel’s right to build anywhere in Jerusalem, but he generally says that his expansion of settlements — which most world leaders consider illegal — do not materially affect the map for a potential two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians. His acknowledgment that Har Homa was intended to disrupt Palestinian development between Bethlehem and Jerusalem — which the Palestinians see as their future capital — came as he sought to win back votes for his Likud Party and to take them from more conservative factions that oppose a Palestinian state. | Mr. Netanyahu has long heralded Israel’s right to build anywhere in Jerusalem, but he generally says that his expansion of settlements — which most world leaders consider illegal — do not materially affect the map for a potential two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians. His acknowledgment that Har Homa was intended to disrupt Palestinian development between Bethlehem and Jerusalem — which the Palestinians see as their future capital — came as he sought to win back votes for his Likud Party and to take them from more conservative factions that oppose a Palestinian state. |
| Palestinians and their international supporters staged huge protests against Har Homa in the 1990s, precisely because of its location at Jerusalem’s southern edge, arguing that preventing a connection between Bethlehem and the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem threatened the viability of a future Palestinian state. | Palestinians and their international supporters staged huge protests against Har Homa in the 1990s, precisely because of its location at Jerusalem’s southern edge, arguing that preventing a connection between Bethlehem and the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem threatened the viability of a future Palestinian state. |
| “He has confirmed verbally for the first time what we have denounced for years,” said Xavier Abu Eid, a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. “That Har Homa is not about an innocent ‘Jerusalem neighborhood’ on occupied land, but about splitting occupied East Jerusalem from Bethlehem.” | “He has confirmed verbally for the first time what we have denounced for years,” said Xavier Abu Eid, a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. “That Har Homa is not about an innocent ‘Jerusalem neighborhood’ on occupied land, but about splitting occupied East Jerusalem from Bethlehem.” |
| Har Homa, one of about a dozen Jewish areas on land that was occupied by Jordan before 1967 and annexed into Jerusalem by Israel after the war, is home to 25,000 people today. Most were drawn not by ideology but by the large apartments, parks and playgrounds, stunning views and lower prices than in the city center. | Har Homa, one of about a dozen Jewish areas on land that was occupied by Jordan before 1967 and annexed into Jerusalem by Israel after the war, is home to 25,000 people today. Most were drawn not by ideology but by the large apartments, parks and playgrounds, stunning views and lower prices than in the city center. |
| Mr. Netanyahu’s visit gave him a chance to appeal to pro-settlement voters and to rebut criticism about his government’s handling of Israel’s housing crisis. Polls show that most voters are far more concerned about high apartment prices than about security issues, and he said that Har Homa was “the solution for young couples who need a place to live.” | Mr. Netanyahu’s visit gave him a chance to appeal to pro-settlement voters and to rebut criticism about his government’s handling of Israel’s housing crisis. Polls show that most voters are far more concerned about high apartment prices than about security issues, and he said that Har Homa was “the solution for young couples who need a place to live.” |
| The center-left Zionist Union alliance, Mr. Netanyahu’s main opponent, has emphasized pocketbook issues throughout the campaign. So have two centrist contenders, the Yesh Atid party of Yair Lapid, and Kulanu, headed by Moshe Kahlon, a former minister who quit Likud because of its failures on housing and other economic matters. | The center-left Zionist Union alliance, Mr. Netanyahu’s main opponent, has emphasized pocketbook issues throughout the campaign. So have two centrist contenders, the Yesh Atid party of Yair Lapid, and Kulanu, headed by Moshe Kahlon, a former minister who quit Likud because of its failures on housing and other economic matters. |
| With polls showing that Likud is trailing behind the Zionist Union, Mr. Netanyahu in recent days called on Mr. Kahlon’s supporters to “come home to the Likud,” and on Sunday, he promised to make the Kulanu leader finance minister. “Kahlon and I will know how to solve the housing problems together,” the Israeli leader said. | With polls showing that Likud is trailing behind the Zionist Union, Mr. Netanyahu in recent days called on Mr. Kahlon’s supporters to “come home to the Likud,” and on Sunday, he promised to make the Kulanu leader finance minister. “Kahlon and I will know how to solve the housing problems together,” the Israeli leader said. |
| Mr. Kahlon rebuffed the offer. He has not said whether he would recommend Mr. Netanyahu or Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union to be prime minister, and analysts see him as a crucial power broker in the formation of any coalition government. | Mr. Kahlon rebuffed the offer. He has not said whether he would recommend Mr. Netanyahu or Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union to be prime minister, and analysts see him as a crucial power broker in the formation of any coalition government. |
| Mr. Netanyahu has focused more on his right flank, appearing at a rally Sunday evening in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv that was organized by settlers. Many in the crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, had been bused in from the occupied West Bank, according to local news reports. At the rally, Mr. Netanyahu vowed that there would be “no withdrawals” from the West Bank and “no concessions” to the Palestinians. | Mr. Netanyahu has focused more on his right flank, appearing at a rally Sunday evening in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv that was organized by settlers. Many in the crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, had been bused in from the occupied West Bank, according to local news reports. At the rally, Mr. Netanyahu vowed that there would be “no withdrawals” from the West Bank and “no concessions” to the Palestinians. |
| In Har Homa on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu said that Mr. Herzog and his running mate, Tzipi Livni, had “condemned” some building initiatives in Jerusalem. (They have criticized the timing of announcements for inflaming tensions with the Palestinians and with Israel’s allies, but have agreed with Mr. Netanyahu that existing Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, including Har Homa, should not be uprooted.) | In Har Homa on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu said that Mr. Herzog and his running mate, Tzipi Livni, had “condemned” some building initiatives in Jerusalem. (They have criticized the timing of announcements for inflaming tensions with the Palestinians and with Israel’s allies, but have agreed with Mr. Netanyahu that existing Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, including Har Homa, should not be uprooted.) |
| Mr. Netanyahu said that Mr. Herzog would give East Jerusalem as a capital for the Palestinians. “Me and my friends in Likud, we won’t let that happen,” he added. | Mr. Netanyahu said that Mr. Herzog would give East Jerusalem as a capital for the Palestinians. “Me and my friends in Likud, we won’t let that happen,” he added. |
| “If Tzipi and Bougie make the government,” he continued, using Mr. Herzog’s nickname, “just over in that neighborhood over there would be Hamastan.” | “If Tzipi and Bougie make the government,” he continued, using Mr. Herzog’s nickname, “just over in that neighborhood over there would be Hamastan.” |
| “Hamastan” is a term used by many Israelis to sneer at the Gaza Strip, where the militant Palestinian faction Hamas has ruled since shortly after Israel withdrew its settlements in 2005. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies often warn that a new “Hamastan” would emerge in the West Bank if Palestinians were to gain full control of the territory. | “Hamastan” is a term used by many Israelis to sneer at the Gaza Strip, where the militant Palestinian faction Hamas has ruled since shortly after Israel withdrew its settlements in 2005. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies often warn that a new “Hamastan” would emerge in the West Bank if Palestinians were to gain full control of the territory. |
| After the political speeches on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu called over his host, Yaron Hakashorin, a father of four and a factory owner. | After the political speeches on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu called over his host, Yaron Hakashorin, a father of four and a factory owner. |
| “Do you want it to be that you’d have Hamastan over there on that mountaintop?” the prime minister asked, pointing to a hill between Har Homa and Bethlehem. Mr. Hakashorin shook his head. | “Do you want it to be that you’d have Hamastan over there on that mountaintop?” the prime minister asked, pointing to a hill between Har Homa and Bethlehem. Mr. Hakashorin shook his head. |
| “Then there is only one answer,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “You have to put the voting slip in for Likud.” | “Then there is only one answer,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “You have to put the voting slip in for Likud.” |