SETTLING ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS

Palestinian officials have called on the Bush administration to clarify its position on the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It must.

Last week, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that it will solicit bids for the construction of 1,001 new subsidized apartments in the occupied territories. The announcement – seen by many as a political ploy as Mr. Sharon faces declining support for his party and his policies – came despite Israel’s acceptance of the U.S.-backed “Road Map” peace plan. That plan, now three years old, called for a moratorium on building in the occupied territories, land in the West Bank and Gaza Strip taken by Israel during the 1967 war that is now home to about 235,000 Israelis.

Compounding the Palestinian anger at the latest Sharon government move is the failure of U.S. officials to denounce it. In fact, one administration official told The New York Times that the U.S. failure to criticize Israel amounts to “a covert policy decision toward accepting natural growth.” The Road Map called for a freeze on all settlement construction, including that needed to account for natural growth, by birth or other means. In the past, U.S. officials have called settlement expansion violations of the peace plan.

The official quoted by the Times noted that the Bush administration does not want to compound Mr. Sharon’s political problems. Facing re-election, Mr. Sharon is losing the support of hardliners in his Likud party because he had previously committed to withdrawing Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. To remain in power, Mr. Sharon is working with the more liberal Labor Party to gain more support for his plan. Because he has committed to the withdrawal, some view the announcement of new construction bids as just a political ploy to win more support from hardliners.

This may be the case, but the United States needs to be more aggressive in determining what Mr. Sharon is really up to. An American team, including State Department officials, is to travel to Israel next month. One of their tasks is to examine settlement boundaries. Even if the new construction takes place within the boundaries of existing settlements this violates the Road Map.

The Palestinian government, still under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, has not been able to stop attacks by militant groups – another condition of the peace plan. However, Mr. Arafat made a rare apology last week for his leadership failings and members of his Fatah party have pledged to build a positive political framework to replace the lawlessness and corruption that was recently exposed.

Despite slow progress on the Palestinian end, Israel cannot be allowed to inflame the process by resuming settlement construction. The quicker the United States, Israel’s biggest backer, can provide clarity on this issue the better.