Tiananmen Square, Egg Wash and Tank Man: Reflections after 25 years

AP Photo/Jeff Widener, courtesy The Atlantic‘s terrific photo essay ‘Tiananmen Square, Then and Now‘

by Ruki 

- on 06/05/2014 

In 2009, Canadian author Denise Chong published a book called “Egg on Mao: The Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship”. The main subject of the book is a friend of mine, exiled Chinese dissident Lu Decheng. Our friendship was when I was a free man and he was in a Thai prison. We have not met for around eight years, but I look forward to see him someday. This is a modest attempt to introduce Lu to my other friends & colleagues, to remember the 1989 prodemocracy movement in China and appreciate the spirit and courage of Lu and many other dissidents, especially students, who did what they believed in and paid heavy prices.

Tiananmen Square, Egg Wash and Tank Man Reflections After 25 Years by Thavam Ratna

Ways To Move Forward In Negotiation

By Rajiva Wijesinha -June 5, 2014

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

I was pleased that Laksiri Fernando had picked up on my publication of documentation with regard to the negotiations between the government and the TNA way back in 2011. I suspect he is right in saying that some might think this is betrayal, given that even my efforts to defend the Secretary of Defence against Sarath Fonseka’s allegations in 2009 were described as betrayal. But this was by those such as Wimal Weerawans who wanted to take political advantage of those allegations and therefore did not mind insinuating that they were true.

However I trust that those concerned with political reconciliation and long term peace, as Prof Fernando is, will realize that these notes are meant to make clear how easy it would be to reach a consensus with the TNA. But this needs negotiations to be conducted in good faith, and systematically, with appreciation of what the other side might fear. It is also important to move swiftly on whatever is agreed, as Nimal Siripala de Silva tried to do in 2011 with regard to the Concurrent List, only to be rebuffed by G L Pieris., even though we had obtained the President’s agreement to proceed.

To illustrate what I mean, I will look at the question of a Senate, which seems to have been a priority only for the President and me on the government side. To go into the history of that proposal, when I was appointed to head the Peace Secretariat in 2007, I should perhaps have participated actively in the discussions of the All Party Representatives Conference, which SCOPP hosted. But the Chairman, Prof Tissa Vitharna, thought that someone new should not be involved, so I stayed away. My main contribution was to cut down on the food bill, which had been enormous when I took over, largely because the practice previously had been to stuff up the delegates while waiting for the proceedings to start. This took for ever given prevailing standards of punctuality, and with the orders being placed beforehand, much went to waste when hardly anyone turned up.

But apart from tactfully getting Prof Vitharna’s agreement to cut down on the food, I did have one serious discussion with him, which was to suggest that he introduce the idea of a Second Chamber. This was not entirely to his liking, given the animosity of the Old Left to the Senate that they had abolished in the seventies, but I managed in time to convince him that Senate based on Provinces (rather than being a rubber stamp similar in constitution to the main House of Parliament) could play a useful role.                          Read More

Lanka lost Google office due to Basil!

 Thursday, 05 June 2014 

Plans by the company that owns Google, the world renowned internet search engine, to open a regional office in Sri Lanka had not materialized due to certain persons demanding commissions from the project, National Unity Front leader Asath Salley told the media yesterday (04).

“Now look…. Foreigners come to this country, bring foreign exchange with them, to do some investment. If commissions are demanded from them, will they remain in this country? Now, this Google company… if that company comes to this country, how many millions of advantage will this country gain? How many of our children will get jobs? Three Americans came and discussed to open a branch in Lanka.

After discussing everything, he asked, “very good, well done. well, how much will I get from this?” Those respectable company owners got up and left the country, saying, “Why should I give you money. You should give me money for coming here.”

Those coming from Tuticorin and China and hanging around pavements are the ones who do projects in Lanka. Lanka has now become a Chinese colony,” said Mr. Salley.

Upon making inquiries, we found that it was with economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa that the Google company representatives had held discussions to open a branch in Sri Lanka. Notorious for obtaining commissions from foreign investors, minister Basil Rajapaksa is referred to by both ruling and opposition members as ‘Mr. Ten Per Cent.’

The Story of a Meditating Sri Lankan Man

by Mahesan Niranjan 

- on 06/04/2014 

The other day, on the banks of the Diyawanna waterfront close to the Sri Lankan Parliament, I noticed a man sitting in meditation. What a surprise? He is none other than my drinking partner from Bridgetown — the Sri Lankan Tamil fellow Sivapuranam Thevaram. I wondered what the thoughts of this meditating man were. Forgive me for this experiment, for it is oxymoronic to try and guess what a meditating fellow is thinking. After all, meditation is about controlling the wandering mind, isn’t it? But on the banks of the newly paved Diyawanna, five years since the end of the brutal war our country suffered, now in our march towards turning ourselves into a knowledge hub and becoming a wonder of Asia, some conventions have been suspended.

The Story of a Meditating Sri Lankan Man by Thavam Ratna

Jayalalithaa wants Indian-sponsored resolution on SL
 June 5, 2014 
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, in a strongly-worded 28-page memorandum submitted to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday (3), requested India to sponsor a resolution at the United Nations against Sri Lanka.
 
Under the title 'Sri Lankan Tamil Issue' she said in the memo there were very strong sentiments amongst Tamils in Tamil Nadu on a range of issues relating to India's relations with the present regime in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the final stages of the civil war.
 
 
The memo said the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has already passed four Resolutions condemning the continuing discrimination against the Tamil minorities in Sri Lanka and violation of their human rights. "The resolution should also provide for holding a referendum amongst Tamils in Sri Lanka and displaced Sri Lankan Tamils across the world for formation of a separate Tamil Eelam," the memo said.
She also called for the protection of the 'Traditional Fishing Rights of Indian Fishermen in the Palk Bay' and ensuring of their safety and security.
 
 
"I had written 41 times in the last three years to the then Prime Minister on the 76 incidents of apprehension and 67 incidents of attacks on or harassment of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy. These incidents have caused great unrest amongst the fishermen community of Tamil Nadu. Such incidents are a national issue as any attack on an innocent Indian is an attack on India. But the previous government did not take up the matter forcefully.
 
 
"Although our fishermen, in an accommodative frame of mind, have come forward for talks between the fishermen of the two countries, the second round of talks held in Colombo on 12 May 2014 failed without any agreement due to the obduracy of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry officials," she had said.

On the retrieval of Kachchatheevu and the restoration of 'traditional fishing rights' of Tamil Nadu fishermen she had quoted that Kachchatheevu, a small island of approximately 28 acres in the Palk Straits off Rameswaram, was originally under the ownership of the Raja of Ramanathapuram for which there is sufficient documentary proof.
 
 
In 1991, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a resolution seeking the retrieval of the Kachchatheevu Island and the sea area adjacent to it to India.
"However, Kachchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka without a constitutional amendment and hence the ceding is unlawful and not valid," the memo said.
 
 
Jayalalithaa also called for Long Liners to reduce the pressure of bottom-trawling boats in the Palk Bay, which will cost Rs 975 crores over three years and asked for assistance for a Mid Sea Fish Processing Park. Under this project, which will cost approximately Rs 5.80 crores, a 'Carrier Mother Vessel' will be stationed at mid-sea, and will support and supply 'Baby Vessels' involved in commercial fishing in the deep seas. This will add value to the fish caught in the deep seas and also reduce the pressure of fishing in the shallow waters of Palk Bay, the memorandum read.

Devolution dilemma!

Thursday 05th June 2014

• Opposition Leader asks what assurances President Rajapaksa gave new Indian Premier Modi on national issue during recent talks
• GL says constitutional issues were not discussed at length
• Insists devolution of police powers is not acceptable

By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent
Power devolution and the issue of national reconciliation came into the spotlight yesterday in Parliament when Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe asked to hear the Government’s current position as articulated to new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Making a statement under Section 23 (2) of the Standing Orders, Wickremesinghe wanted the Government to explain the action it intended to take.
“On 26 May 2014, President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The next day, bilateral talks were held between the two sides. The media reported that during the meeting, President Rajapaksa had explained the steps taken by the Sri Lankan Government to achieve national reconciliation,” he said.
Highlighting a statement made by Indian Ministry of External Affairs Secretary Sujata Singh during a media briefing, Wickremesinghe said:
“She has stated that they have highlighted the importance of the wellbeing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and urged President Rajapaksa that the 13th Amendment be implemented and stated that it is important to go beyond it. So we are hopeful that this request coming from the Indian Prime Minister will be heeded and that Sri Lanka will take appropriate action as required.”

Asking the Government to outline assurances given to the Indian Prime Minister during the meeting promising a political solution towards national reconciliation, Wickremesinghe said: “An earlier joint press statement issued by the two Governments on 17 May 2011, during the visit of Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs to New Delhi to discuss national reconciliation in Sri Lanka, stated that our External Affairs Minister had affirmed the commitment to ensuring expeditious and concrete progress. A devolution package building upon the 13th Amendment would contribute towards the necessary conditions for such reconciliation.”
In his response, Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris confirmed holding bilateral talks between the two countries immediately after the new Prime Minister took office.
The Minister said there were no in depth discussions on constitutional issues. “These talks straddled a wide range of topics including new Modi’s vision for SAARC and expanding economic relations between the two countries. References were also made to the Indian fishermen. It was not the case that there were detailed in-depth discussions on constitutional issues, but discussions at a friendly level. The President explained our position lucidly,” Minister Peiris said.
“We made it crystal clear that devolution of police power is not acceptable,” Peiris said though he did not give a reason.
He said the 13th Amendment was nothing new and had been part of Sri Lankan law for more than quarter of a century.
“During that period five different governments ruled this country but failed to establish it fully. Sri Lanka very clearly mentioned that it is necessary to obtain agreement from our people to establish it. The best solution we proposed was the Parliamentary Select Committee, which articulates different points of view to arrive at a conclusion,” said Minister Peiris.

Putting a price on water 

BY Ruwan Laknath-June 4, 2014 
    Jayakody
 
The government is attempting sell water to the farmers through the Irrigation Charter/Convention, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) alleged.
 
The Irrigation Charter/Convention, which was tabled at the Wayamba Provincial Council recently states that if any group or organization is maintaining or conserving any irrigation system, it could be purchased by any multinational or the operator may collect a fee for services rendered. 
Since an Irrigation Committee will come into being as a result, existing farmers’ organizations will be rendered faceless, the JVP alleged.
 
Maintenance fee
This Committee will draw up an annual maintenance fee estimated at 70% of the farmer’s harvest, the Marxist party alleged. However, the proposed Charter doesn’t specify such a percentage. 
Farmers will also be called upon to make additional contributions for the maintenance of irrigation systems. 
Currently, certain irrigation maintenance work, like the cleaning of canals and small dams are presently done voluntarily by the farmers themselves through farmer organizations to which they belong. 
Additionally, farmers also give a portion of their harvest as a goodwill gesture to the ‘wel widanes’ who are the operators of the sluice gates and canals.
 
JVP Wayamba Provincial Councillor Namal Karunaratne said, the promulgation of the Charter would result in the entire weight and burden of maintaining the irrigation systems falling on the shoulders of the farmers. 
Guilty
He alleged that in such a situation, if the farmer fails to comply with the tasks, then he will be asked to pay the equivalent amount of the labour which he failed to comply with, within 14 days, failing which he will be produced before a magistrate, and if found guilty will be fined Rs 50,000 or sentenced to six months in jail. 
Under the proposed Charter, all water sources (‘ela,’ canals, streams, ‘dola,’ rivers, ‘pathahak’- small abandoned reservoirs, ‘kadurak,’ ‘ovitak’ – meadows, water reserves, water bunds, embankments and tanks and ‘thavullak’) will be given a legal context, resulting in permission having to be first obtained from the authorities before making use of them.
 
No one will be allowed to block a stream or canal and obtain water, or to dig a well or build or even maintain one, without the permission of the Irrigation Committee proposed under the Charter, said Karunaratne.
Charged
Any activity, including farming, will charged for and if anyone violates the rules and regulations in place, he or she would be charged, he alleged. There is also a clause in the Charter saying that the Magistrate will have no right or power to query the evidence submitted, the JVP member claimed.  
 
“Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva will thus have unlimited power. Under the guise of the banner and label of protecting the environment, agriculture, conserving and managing water, the government, under the proposed Charter, will charge farmers for using water,” Karunaratne said.
In Bolivia, when water was being sold to Monsanto, an American company, people who protested were shot and had to sacrifice their lives to protect their rights to have free access to water. Although two thirds of our planet is water only 0.0003% of it is fit for human consumption. Therefore, most of the countries in the world have to import water. In Sri Lanka a litre of water is Rs 70 while the retail price of   500 millilitres of milk is Rs 70.
 
Karunaratne, who is also All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation’s National Organizer, alleged, “The government is attempting to make water a commodity to which a price is attached. This Charter/Convention will bring global multinationals into our country. It is being instigated at the behest of the World Bank (WB). This decision was made on 10 February 2014 at a secret Ministerial Cabinet meeting No. 14-0194-504-026 through a ‘sandeshaya’ to get a US$ ($) 100 million WB loan. This was approved by the Cabinet under the guise of minimizing adverse environmental impacts, with the intention of the loan being to manage and control of the administration of water sources. The WB has said it’s against their policy to give water free, especially to farmers. The government will bring a Water Selling Act.”
 
MNCs having free run
This situation is similar to the scenario of who owns 90% of seedlings? Where Sri Lanka earlier owned about 3,000; however, at present the country has rights to only 75 seeds, with multinationals (MNCs) having a free run in the seeds market, the JVPer alleged.
 
Karunaratne further alleged, “The government and MNCs are grabbing the island’s land, water, seed and food resources. They will then buy labour for a song. The paradox is that in their own lands, farmers will soon become slave labourers. This is a death trap. It is also sad that the Opposition has not stood up against this.”   
Deputy Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister W.B. Ekanayake however said, “This accusation is a lie as if such a thing is to be done it must come in the form of an Act which must be approved by Parliament.” 
Ministry Secretary K.W. Ivan de Silva said, “It is not the government’s policy to charge money for water resources. The Central Government has never discussed such a thing, let alone having had taken such a decision.”

Striking Holcim workers in Sri Lanka occupy cement plants

Thursday 05 June 2014

Sri Lanka: Nearly 500 contract workers at two Holcim Lanka cement plants in the towns of Puttalam and Galle in Sri Lanka have been on strike since 19 May 2014 demanding job permanency, better wages and improved working conditions. The striking workers and their families are occupying the cement plant premises. The Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) called the strike.

The protesters at the Puttalam plant have blocked the main gate, halting the transport of cement. The company and contractors are trying to break the picket with the help of Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The government is determined to end the strike and has deployed police and the riot squad. The police are threatening to arrest union leaders and activists.

On 1 June 2014 the striking contract workers and their families at the Puttalam and Galle plants were attacked by hired thugs with swords and clubs, allegedly organised by the local ruling party politicians. At the Puttalam plant nine people, including an eight year old girl, were injured and sent to hospital. Four are still hospitalised. Protestors asked for police protection, who were present during the attack, but their appeals were allegedly refused. At the Galle plant one protester was injured.

The mother of the eight year old girl who was injured said that her daughter had been thrown to the ground by the thugs. "I'm afraid for my husband, who has been working for eight years as a contract worker. That's why we joined the protest."

Holcim established its Sri Lankan operations after the privatisation of the state-owned Puttalam Cement Corporation in 1996 under former president Chandrika Kumaratunga. After Holcim took over, the workforce was cut from 1500 to less than 900, with only 370 permanent workers. Some of the contract workers have worked for the company for more than 20 years. Keeping workers on contract basis is a means employed to deny the rights they would have as permanent employees and to subject them to harsher working conditions.

Workers in the production and transport sections are employed on a 12 hour shift system. Their basic monthly wage is less than US$115. In the loading section, six workers have to load 4500 cement bags during a 12 hour shift with the assistance of a conveyor belt. The workers on 'general duties' work nine hour shifts and are on daily wages of US$16.02.

Holcim Lanka dominates has more than 40% of the local market. In the recent period, it has increased the price of a 50kg bag of cement several times and profits have soared, even after paying the government's increased taxes.

Egypt: Journalism Is Not A Crime 

Against The State!

 by Nilantha Ilangamuwa

( June 5, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Journalism is not a crime in a country where democracy is functioning in its true meaning. But unfortunately there are few places on this planet where people enjoy the privilege to enjoy the freedom of expression. As a result of this, journalists suffer tremendous stress and live in chaotic situations because they practice of the responsibilities of their profession.

In Egypt over a hundred and fifty days have passed. The darkness of the society is prevailing even in the country’s court rooms where innocents are being prosecuting because they engaged in their profession.

In Egypt the authorities are trying their best to reason out their arbitrariness in arresting and detaining four journalists of Al Jazeera while falsely accusing them for given aid to the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned organisation. But a spokesman of Al Jazeera has categorically denied the accusation and clearly states, “The Egyptian authorities did not have a ‘shred of evidence’”. However, the authorities are confident of their impunity as it continues to detain the journalists who have now appeared in court for ninth time on 23 May.

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, the detainees have appeared in court from time to time. But the procedure is different when it comes to Abdullah Elshamy, who has been held separately without charge since August 14 last year. In fact, he has been on a hunger strike since January and accuses the authority of force feeding him.

Egypt is an attractive country because of the wonder of the ancient creations which have archeological value which entices tourists and scholars from around the world. However, it has drawn the attention of the international community because of the recent mass wave that arose through the sky of political reform in the name of Arab Spring. The people came to the street to fight for freedom and justice. 

Hundreds of unarmed civilians sacrificed themselves for the next generation of the country. Their remains were buried underneath the need for social change.

However, their souls seek justice from those who are playing the role of governance.

The people of Egypt, were able to boot out the neo-feudal system of the Mubarak clan and look for a new dawn in which human skills can play a genuine respectable role to protect the dignity of all citizen. But the dreams were shattered and replaced with another form of evilness to undermine the freedom of people. Within just a few weeks the country realized that the root causes of the problems which deteriorated the system were far bigger than Mubarak.

Apparently, Mubarak was not the disease but merely a symptom. Once the country was able to vanquish a symptom of the disease, then the disease mutated and looked for a way to spread itself about. Then the country sunk into a new form of chaos in which the newly installed government took advantage to crack down on dissidents, political reformists, and journalists despite investing in political reforms.

The real picture of the arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists from Al Jazeera has given a clear cut picture of the bitterness of what prevails in the post-Mubarak period in the country. This very fact has given us an opportunity to understand a society in which political ideological hijackers have robbed the country of an opportunity of a system change after the ousting of a tyrant.

This tendency is a common phenomenon in many countries, the Philippines after Marcos and post- Suharto in Indonesia are perhaps good examples in recent history. The situation is truly terrifying. Apparently it has created political dilemmas and pushed the entire society into the riddle of socio-political complicity. No one can deny the ancient Egyptian saying that goes, “We invited the bald man to keep us company; he uncovered his baldness and scared us.”

It is time for people of Egypt to raise their hands against the regime and support those journalists who have been denied the right to exercise, not only the basic outline of their profession, but also the universal rights of humanity. In this hour of celebrating a new winner of the recent election, the country may have the chance to enjoy what Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who claimed the handsome victory, promised. That was the restoration of stability and the economy after three years of turmoil. Let’s see how he is going to treat our colleagues who are behind bar on false charges and the other who is on a hunger strike against unjustness of the regime.

EXTERNAL LINK: Timeline: Al Jazeera’s challenges in Egypt

The life and awful death of a Tamil asylum seeker in Australia

Special report: Leo Seemanpillai was a hardworking 29-year-old plagued by the uncertainty of life in visa limbo, say friends 

Oliver Laughland-Thursday 5 June 2014

Leo Seemanpillai’s room has already been stripped bare, but a sheet of paper remains stuck to the door. “It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us,” runs the quote on it.

The Life and Awful Death of a Tamil Asylum Seeker in Australia by Thavam Ratna

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Wins Re-

Election

• BY MARY CASEY-JUNE 5, 2014

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a third term in office despite an over three-year civil war. 

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Wins Re-Election by Thavam Ratna

Suspected militants kill 42 in northeast Nigeria – police

BY LANRE OLA-MAIDUGURI Nigeria Thu Jun 5, 2014

(Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militants dressed as soldiers rounded up and killed at least 42 villagers in Nigeria’s northeast, the centre of an escalating insurgency increasingly targeting civilians, a police source said.

The assault in Bardari late on Wednesday came a day after officials and witnesses said raiders killed scores of people in three other villages in the Borno region, where Boko Haram insurgents first launched their campaign to carve out an Islamist state.

The gunmen in military uniform called the Bardari villagers together, then opened fire, the police source told Reuters. "The people couldn't identify them in time as terrorists."

The militants then fled, crossing a river and setting fire to houses in the neighbouring village of Kayamla, close to the regional capital Maiduguri, added the source.

Boko Haram has killed thousands since it started its revolt in Africa's largest oil-producing country in 2009 and grabbed world headlines in April when it abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in another part of Borno state.

The mass kidnapping has piled political pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan, who has accepted help from the United States and other foreign powers to try to free the girls.

(Writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

NEPAL: Council should exert strong pressure to bring a law that criminalises torture

ALRC-CWS-26-12-2014 June 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL  Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A joint written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Forum for Protection of People's Rights, Nepal (PPR Nepal) NEPAL: Council should exert strong pressure to bring a law that criminalises torture Torture is a grave violation of human rights. The prohibition of torture is a fundamental element of international law, enshrined in major international human rights instruments, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), 1984, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966.

NEPAL Council Should Exert Strong Pressure to Bring a Law That Criminalises Torture by Thavam Ratna

Moncton shooting: 3 RCMP officers dead, 2 wounded

RCMP searching for Justin Bourque, 24, and consider him 'armed and dangerous'

CBC News Posted: Jun 04, 2014

New Brunswick RCMP have confirmed that three officers were shot and killed and two other officers were wounded by a heavily armed gunman Wednesday evening in Moncton.

A police manhunt is still underway for Justin Bourque, 24. The RCMP sayBourque is considered "armed and dangerous."

• PHOTOS | Police manhunt for suspected gunman
• STORIFY | Twitter reacts to Moncton shooting
• On mobile? Web reaction to Moncton shooting

Moncton Shooting 3 RCMP Officers Dead, 2 Wounded by Thavam Ratna

Israel to build 1,500 more homes in settlements

Housing minister says plan for units in West Bank and east Jerusalem is in response to new Palestinian unity government

The Israeli justice minister, Tzipi Livni, said the announcement Israel is to build more settlement homes was a 'political mistake'. Photograph: Gil Cohen Magen/Reuters

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem

Thursday 5 June 2014

Israel's housing ministry has announced new plans for almost 1,500 new settlement housing units in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, described as a "fitting Zionist response" to the new Palestinian unitygovernment, backed by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The announcement by housing minister Uri Ariel was immediately condemned by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who accused Israel of planning a "major escalation" in response to the new unity government, and by the US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro.

"When Israel is spat upon, it has to do something about it," said Ariel, a far-right member of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Asked who had insulted Israel, he replied: "Our neighbours, and to a certain extent, the world."

The disclosure of the planned settlement construction was described by the justice minister, Tzipi Livni, as a political mistake. Livni was Israel's chief negotiator in the recently collapsed peace talks. She added that the move would "only distance us from the ability to recruit the world against Hamas."

The move comes amid the growing and bitter row between Israel and the US which, like the EU and UN, has vowed to continue working with the new Palestinian government.

That row in turn has sparked a round of loud recriminations in Israel itself, over Netanyahu's handling of the response to the formation of the new Palestinian government and over what has been seen in some quarters as a US betrayal.

The strongest criticism of Netanyahu came from opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog who accused the Israeli prime minister of overseeing "a complete collapse of Israeli foreign policy".

"Netanyahu talks and the world no longer listens," he added.

His comments came as Israeli anger at Washington continued to grow, with senior officials quoted anonymously in several Israeli media denouncing the US position.

"This isn't a failure of Israel diplomacy, it's a knife in the back," one senior official told Maariv.

Others accused the US secretary of state, John Kerry, of violating an understanding with Israel not to rush into recognising the Palestinian unity government.

Reports in Hebrew media claim Israeli officials in Washington have appealed directly to supporters in the US Congress to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority.

Galia Golan, who heads the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy compared the current problems between Israel and Washington to diplomatic low points in 1975 and 1991: "Netanyahu has been mistaken in his outlook with regard to the Obama administration all along. And it is a serious mistake. There is a view – we don't need them. But who else would back Israel the way that America has?

"And the risk is not that Washington pressures Israel but that it decides to do nothing and allows the European Union to pressure Israel further down the line."

Recent Israeli-US diplomatic relations have lurched between a series of disagreements about issues including US-led negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme and blame for collapse of the Middle East peace process.

There have been repeated warnings from senior western diplomats that Israel risks increasing international isolation if it cannot negotiate an end to decades of occupation of Palestinian land.

The heated diplomatic wrangling has come as the Australian government has announced it will no longer refer to east Jerusalem as "occupied territory".

During a senate hearing, which focused on the country's foreign policy in the Middle East, attorney general George Brandis, responding to questions, rejected use of the term "occupied", saying it predetermined an issue subject to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Most of the international community regards territory seized by Israel in the 1967 war as illegally occupied.