It's an end run around Israel!
"Impasse in Mideast negotiations threatens to become permanent" by Glenn Kessler, Washington Post | October 25, 2010
WASHINGTON — In perhaps the shortest round of peace negotiations in the history of their conflict, talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have ground to a halt and show little sign of resuming....
Related: The Month of Middle East Peace
Months over and he still lost big.
Pressure to restart the talks eased after the Arab League said it would wait a month — until Nov. 8 — before ending Abbas’s mandate for negotiations, thus pushing the issue beyond the US midterm elections. But if Republicans score big gains, some Israelis argue, that could limit Obama’s ability to pressure Israel to make concessions....
They got what they wanted -- as usual in AmeriKa.
Also see: Jewish Republicans Seen On Edge About Tea Party
Tea Party Refuses to Take the Pledge
What is that saying about being careful what you wished for?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday urged the Palestinians to avoid unilateral action and resume talks, a reflection of growing concern that the Palestinian leadership may be inching toward a “Plan B’’ in which they seek international recognition of an independent state without Israeli agreement.
Now that's chutzpah!
How dare an Israeli war criminal complain about unilateral action?
The talks stalled after Israel’s decision to resume full-fledged settlement building in the West Bank after a 10-month period of restrictions. The Palestinians say they cannot negotiate with Israel unless the curbs are renewed.
Amid the stalemate, the Palestinians have said they are considering sidestepping Israel by seeking UN Security Council recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
U.S. will veto it.
Update: US discourages Palestinian statehood declaration
We do whatever the master says!
At the start of the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to “honor their obligation to engage in direct negotiations.’’
When Israel starts honoring theirs.
He really can't see his own arrogance, can they? That's what makes a person an asshole.
“I think any attempt to circumvent it by going to international bodies isn’t realistic and won’t advance true peacemaking in any way,’’ Netanyahu said. “Peace will be achieved only through direct talks.’’
Israel would have peace if it wanted; what it wants is a piece Lebanon, a piece of Syria, and the whole of Palestine.
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As for the Palestinians, I say GO FOR IT!
The least that happens is USrael is shamed on the world stage.
"Abbas threatens to seek UN recognition" by Associated Press | October 26, 2010
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The Palestinian president said yesterday that Israel has been taking unilateral steps for decades by building settlements, so the Palestinians might take one of their own — asking the United Nations to recognize their independent state.
As well as periodically invading and killing people, and continuing a war-criminal siege.
President Mahmoud Abbas was replying to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who said the only path to peace is negotiations. The threat of unilateral action indicates the depth of the crisis....
Yup, Jews being threatened again, sigh.
You know, they remind me of a friend of mine who is an incessant whiner when he has it better than everyone else.
After a while you just tune out the guy.
One possibility would be asking the UN to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
It would be ABOUT TIME!
That would not dislodge the Israeli military from the West Bank, dismantle the 120 Jewish settlements there, or give Palestinians free access to East Jerusalem.
Translation: It will be ineffective like everything the U.N. does when it comes to Israel.
But it could isolate Israel and change the diplomatic equation.
Israel is already isolated when it comes to world opinion. Stopping the Gaza aid ship and killing people in an act of piracy opened a lot of people's eyes.
During a visit to Bethlehem yesterday, Abbas said Israel has been taking unilateral measures in the West Bank for decades.
Yeah, and we barely heard a peep out of the "world community."
That tells you WHO is pulling the strings right there.
Given that reality, Abbas said, Netanyahu should not lecture the Palestinians about a step they might take in the future, “which is to resort to the United Nations.’’
Yeah, but they are so good at it!
Btw, is that not how the state of Israel was imposed?
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"Israeli settlers protest construction holdup; Contend silent freeze imposed; 4,300 units await approval" by Amy Teibel, Associated Press | October 28, 2010
JERUSALEM — Jewish settlers accused their government yesterday of holding up construction of more than 4,000 apartments in large West Bank settlements, suggesting that Israel is quietly complying with US demands to reinstate a building moratorium that expired in late September....
BULL-oney!
Palestinian spokesman Ghassan Khatib called any drag on construction irrelevant because construction continues elsewhere at a pace that outstrips that of recent years.
“That’s why it doesn’t make any sense to consider that there is any kind of freeze or any kind of slowdown. We can say the opposite,’’ Khatib said.
As previously reported by the Associated Press, Israel has begun work on some 600 apartments across the West Bank since the 10-month moratorium expired — at least double the pace of the previous two years.
Making up for lost time.
That work has begun because all necessary approvals had already been obtained before the slowdown went into effect last November. Many of those apartments are being built in outlying settlements that are expected to be evacuated under any peace deal with the Palestinians.
That is why there NEVER WILL BE ANY DEAL!
Israel is NOT GOING to BUILD then EVACUATE!
Also see: Israel Intends to Keep All Settlements
Yeah, just overlook that.
The overwhelming majority of the apartments that Bennett referred to lie in large settlement blocks that Israel expects to hold onto in any peace deal.
And yet Netanyahu lectures the Palestinains about preconditions! What an asshole!
These blocks are located close to Israel proper, and Israel would presumably swap an equivalent amount of territory with the Palestinians....
Just wondering why we should presume that.
In violence yesterday, the Israeli military fired a tank shell at two Palestinian men who were approaching the security fence separating southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Welcome to the daily life of a Palestinian.
Also yesterday, Israel said it would begin building a barrier along its long desert border with Egypt next month. Thousands of people sneak into Israel or are smuggled across the largely unguarded border every year.
Related: Israel's Solution to Illegal Immigration
Yeah, it is OKAY to be an APARTHEID STATE of SUPREMACY if your a a Zionist Jew!
Otherwise you are a racist!
Yesterday, dozens of Jewish extremists hoisting Israeli flags marched through the Arab-Israeli town of Umm el-Fahm, chanting “death to terrorists’’ and touching off clashes between rock-hurling residents and police who quelled them with tear gas.
Notice it is never Zionist militants (as is the case with Hamas and Gaza; then they are Islamic militants)?
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"Israel, UN at odds over West Bank shrines" by Associated Press | October 30, 2010
JERUSALEM — A decision by the UN body in charge of preserving historical sites to define West Bank shrines sacred to both Jews and Muslims as Palestinian is “absurd,’’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said yesterday.
:-)
One of the sites, in the city of Hebron, has been a flashpoint for decades. Jews call it the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the Bible says the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were buried along with three of their wives.
Muslims call it al-Ibrahimi mosque, because Abraham is considered the father of Judaism and Islam.
Netanyahu issued a statement condemning the UNESCO decision, which was made last week.
“The attempt to detach the people of Israel from its heritage is absurd,’’ the statement said.
The same kind of absurdity as reading a Khazar usurper claim attachment to the land of Israel.
Hebron is a West Bank flashpoint because it is the only place where Jews live among Palestinians.
Really? Take a look around the area. It looks to me as if they are living among them all over the place.
WTF kind of "journalism" is this?
About 500 Israeli settlers live in enclaves near the disputed holy site.
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So who do you want guarding your holy site?
"Face lift planned for Church of the Nativity" by Associated Press | October 26, 2010
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The Palestinian government announced yesterday that it is planning an ambitious restoration project for the ancient church that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, an important Christian site that draws millions of visitors.
They are SO RESPECTFUL of OTHER RELIGIONS!
So unlike their Israeli neighbors that deny and oppress Palestinian Christains (yes, there are a few). That's why I view with great skepticism any Christian/Muslim tensions.
We simply HAVE NO BEEF with MUSLIMS -- but SOMEONE WANTS US at EACH OTHERS THROATS, cui bono?
The renovation of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity is expected to take several years and millions of dollars, according to Ziad Bandak, an official overseeing the restoration.
Bandak said this is the first comprehensive restoration project on the church since it was completed in the fourth century. He said the roof, pillars, and mosaics in the church all need work.
Wow. They don't build 'em like they used to.
“Rain leaking in has caused great damage to all of those, which led us to move quickly to repair the damage,’’ Bandak said, adding that the project would also aim to fix general wear and tear on the centuries-old church.
The Palestinian government has appealed to European and Arab nations to help fund the project, Bandak said....
Officials from the Latin, Greek, and Armenian churches could not be reached for comment. Their rivalries have often led to fistfights at the holy site.
What an UNCHRISTIAN thing to do!
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