Housing Minister Uri Ariel surprised French parliamentarians Monday when he declared that "Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] knew about the construction in Judea and Samaria -- it was coordinated with him, and his protest was also coordinated." Ariel made the remarks during a trip to France, where he met with a number of MPs including those belonging to the Union for a Popular Movement party and the former French housing minister. Asked to explain the reason behind Israel's renewed construction in Judea and Samaria, Ariel responded that a housing shortage due to insufficient building had caused prices to rise, creating a need for new housing units. He added that his principle goal was to provide as many homes as possible for all sectors of the Israeli population, including the Arab and Druze sectors. Ariel further explained to the French parliamentarians that new construction was necessary across all of Israel, including in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem. He added, however, that there, the construction was on a much lesser scale than anywhere else in the country. The housing minister insisted that Abbas was fully aware of the construction in Judea and Samaria from the outset and that "the Americans coordinated it with him, and his protest was essentially a pre-coordinated show." One French MP replied, saying" I do not know how you can divide Jerusalem." Ariel attacked the European Union proposal to boycott products produced beyond the Green Line, saying that it harms negotiations by encouraging the Palestinians to hold out for Israeli concessions rather than attempt to reach a settlement. He went on to accuse the European Union of interfering in Israeli affairs while leaving Syria by the wayside. He called it a "distortion of human morality. It is unacceptable that the European Union and [EU] Foreign Affairs Chief [Catherine] Ashton prefer to deal with Israel and not Syria." Ariel also asked the MPs to block European initiatives to ban circumcision and kosher slaughter. He explained that the issues concern millions of religious people worldwide, including Muslims, and therefore may not be prohibited by law. Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, Ariel told the French not to ease sanctions against the Islamic Republic. "There is no other place in the world in which the leadership openly calls for the destruction of Israel."
