IPF Statement on the Jerusalem Planning Commission's Approval to Build in Gilo area

Israel Policy Forum shares the White Houses’s “dismay” at the approval by the Jerusalem Planning Committee to build in the Gilo area south of Jerusalem, and agrees completely with the White House statement on this issue. The proposed plan for Gilo goes beyond the recognized borders of that neighborhood and in fact represents expansion into the West Bank.

This is an ill-advised plan at the wrong time. With negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians ground to a halt, unilateral actions by either Israelis or Palestinians on issues that can only be resolved through negotiations serve to engender mistrust and animosity, and set the parties even further away from the goal of a two-state solution. Both Israelis and Palestinians should take steps that will advance prospects for a peace agreement, not set them back.

Now is the time for leadership. Sincere commitment and strong determination to resolve the conflict requires leaders from both sides setting their national interests ahead of political ones. IPF stands in support of the White House in its efforts to communicate this message to the parties as clearly as possible, and in its continued determination to achieve progress toward a sustainable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.