This article was originally published by Bitterlemons and is republished with permission.

Palestinian farmers and international peace activists protest the confiscation of land by Israeli settlers on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Kafr al-Labad near Tulkarem. (Mouid Ashqar, Maan Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had no qualms about challenging US President Barack Obama's new administration over settlement construction. In spite of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's summons to the State Department, where he was told that the construction of 20 housing units atop the Shepherd Hotel in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah must stop, on July 11 Netanyahu said there would be no limits on Jewish construction anywhere in "unified Jerusalem".

"I would like to reemphasize that united Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel. Our sovereignty over it cannot be challenged," he added.

Although Israeli settlement efforts are now focused in the Sheikh Jarrah area, there are plans to build settlement enclaves in other parts of occupied Jerusalem such as the 110 units and police headquarters in Ras Alamoud (Maale David). In the nearby area of Maale Zetim where 50 units are already being built, there are further plans to construct 60 more units.

Near the Palestinian parliament building in Abu Dis, there are plans to build 300 units, while near the headquarters of the former British High Commission at the entrance to Jabal al-Mukaber there is a project to build 300 luxury settlement homes. Forty units have already being sold there to American Jews from Miami. In the same area, construction plans have started on 60 other units. This is not to mention settlement activities in Silwan where 70 Jewish families already live in an enclave called the City of David. There are other such enclaves in the Old City. All in all, there are approximately 180,000 settlers living in East Jerusalem, mostly in the 15 settlements established since the occupation of the city in 1967.

Netanyahu's position is not new. It is in line with the policy of the former Likud leader Menachem Begin, commander of the terrorist Irgun militia gang and prime minister from 1977 to 1983, who proclaimed in 1948 that, "the partition of Palestine is illegal. It will never be recognized. Jerusalem was and will forever be our capital. Eretz Israel will be restored to the people of Israel. All of it. And forever."

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Yet under international law, East Jerusalem is considered part of the occupied territories, which means that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable and Israel has no claim to East Jerusalem by virtue of having taken military control of it. In addition, the international community has rejected Israel's claim to both West and East Jerusalem as its "eternal undivided capital'' and has consistently denounced Israeli attempts to change the status of the city.

Moreover, the Oslo accords, which were signed between the PLO and Israel on September 13, 1993, stipulate that both parties should avoid actions that preempt final status negotiations. The roadmap, which was mediated in 2002 by former US President George W. Bush and enjoys worldwide support, obligates Israel to freeze its settlement activities.

Nevertheless, immediately after the resumption of the final status negotiations in Annapolis in September 2007, Israel announced plans to build 307 units in the Har Homa settlement and 440 units in East Talpiot. In 2008, Israel's Ministry of Housing and the Israel Land Administration published plans to build 5,431 settlement units in Givat Hamatos, Pisgat Zeev, Ramot, Neve Yaacov and Har Homa--all Jerusalem settlements.

In other words, Jerusalem settlement construction is a key pillar of Israeli policy regardless of its legal status and the position of the international community. At the same time, it is completely unacceptable to any Palestinian, even the most "moderate", because it will sever the heart, Jerusalem, from any future Palestinian state.

Israel's settlement policy also shows that the country does not want to enact the formula of land for peace. This is clearly illustrated by Israel's rejection of the Arab initiative, in which all the members of the Arab League accepted to recognize Israel and establish normal diplomatic relations on condition that Israel ends its occupation of the Arab and Palestinian territories that began in 1967, including East Jerusalem. The current government also insists on maintaining its settlement policy for fear that any freeze on settlement construction might lead to its collapse or prevent the population growth of settlers living in the occupied city.

And what about the Palestinians in Jerusalem? They need 2,000 housing units annually to accommodate their own population growth rate but in 2008, were issued only 18 Israeli construction permits, according to Deputy Mayor for East Jerusalem Affairs Yakir Segev. These permits include one for building retaining walls for a Muslim cemetery as part of a project funded by the Turkish government. This is not to mention that there are over 20,000 outstanding demolition orders against Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, according to municipality statistics, which means that some 100,000 Palestinians are under permanent threat of displacement.

If Israel's policy in occupied East Jerusalem continues, which it most likely will, there is no prospect for peace in this troubled region. Settlements in East Jerusalem are no mere "obstacles to peace", as previous US administrations have called them. They are incompatible with peace.

Lessons from previous negotiations have taught us that both sides will not able to reach an agreement without third party intervention. Moreover, in order to clear the way for peace, Israel must honor its obligations under the roadmap by halting all settlement activity, including and particularly in Jerusalem, in order to reach a two-state solution, the only internationally accepted resolution to this conflict. If a two-state solution cannot be reached, the only other morally acceptable solution is a one-state solution with equal rights for all its citizens regardless of religion, race or sex.

It is now up to the international community, led by the Obama administration, to decide whether to allow this rightwing Israeli government to dictate its conditions to the world, or if the world will have the final say over ending this conflict by ending the occupation and enabling Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination.

© Bitterlemons.org

Mousa Qous is a journalist with al-Quds newspaper.