Lies and waste

The U.S. administration has expressed sharply
worded reservations about an Israeli government
plan to build 152 housing units in the settlement
of Karnei Shomron. According to a report in
Haaretz yesterday, the American officials termed
the Israel decision a "provocation." Apparently
the Americans were particularly outraged by the
location of Karnei Shomron - deep inside Samaria
in the northern West Bank - and Israel's intention
to divert the planned security fence to encompass
the settlement and its Jewish neighborhoods in the
same area.



According to another report,
Washington is now demanding
"urgent" clarifications from
Israel about a Defense
Ministry decision, made
public this week, to grant
semi-official status to a
long list of illegal outposts
established in the West Bank
and Gaza. As a result of that
decision, those outposts will enjoy not only
security arrangements provided by the army, but
also a cornucopia of civil services provided by
various state agencies to residents of legal
settlements: education, electricity,
transportation, communications, and other
services.

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In the Israeli-American dialogue, once again the
possibility has been raised that the U.S. will
deduct from the loan guarantees it granted
Israel the sum being spent on the fence and on
settlements. But it seems that isn't enough to
deter the prime minister and a majority of his
ministers - just as the terrible economic
crisis is not enough to deter them from
continuing to pour huge sums of money into the
senseless settlement enterprise.

The recent string of decisions reflects the true
policy of the Sharon government - and not the
policy expressed in the sweet tidings the prime
minister delivered to a visiting delegation of
European parliamentarians or the American
diplomats who frequent the country. Sharon
tells those guests about his firm commitment to
the road map and his readiness - when the time
comes - to offer painful concessions for
peace.

Haaretz