Rabin and Peres adhered to that policy but managed to increase the number of Jewish settlers by 31 percent. Barak will have to decide almost immediately whether to continue work on two projects in East Jerusalem which, if they go forward, could torpedo peace talks with the Palestinians. The prime minister will also have to declare himself on the previous government s lastminute proposal to take land from five Palestinian villages in order to double the size of Ma ale Adumin, a settlement of 25,000 people just outside of Jerusalem. The plan would give Ma ale Adumin an area larger than Tel Aviv and complete the isolation of Palestinian communities from the city. Barak favors annexing large West Bank settlements to Israel but he is likely to put the proposal on hold.
Palestinian officials insist that all settlement activity be halted before peace talks can proceed.
During the final days of the Netanyahu government there were disturbing signs that Barak s rhetoric may differ from the former prime minister s more than his actions. In a June interview Barak said he hoped to make the peace of the brave with Syria, and he has also pledged to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanon within a year. But on June 24, only a few days after he said those words, Barak remained noticeably silent when Israel launched its heaviest bombing raid since 1996 against Lebanon. The attack destroyed power plants, bridges, and other facilities throughout the country, including Syrian-held territory, and blacked out Beirut for a week. At least nine Lebanese civilians were killed and 45 wounded.