Not like this is really news.
"During talks, Israel sold land to settlers at low rates" by Diaa Hadid, Associated Press / November 8, 2010
JERUSALEM — A string of Israeli governments has helped cement the Jewish presence in Arab areas of Jerusalem by selling or leasing property to settler groups at bargain prices, court documents released yesterday show.
Yup, it's OFFICIAL POLICY!
The establishment of these Jewish enclaves appears meant to make partition of Jerusalem along ethnic lines — generally seen as a key aspect of any peace deal — exceedingly difficult....
Translation: there will not be peace and Israel will keep stealing land.
A key sticking point is a hilltop in the Old City, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque sits on the ruins of the biblical Jewish temples. Both sides claim the site.
Related: Banging Their Head Against the Western Wall
The future of the rest of the Old City and its surroundings is just as contentious.
The Old City is divided into four quarters — Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian — but in past years, populations mixed. In 1948, during the war that followed Israel’s creation, Jordan captured the Old City and expelled its Jews.
Israel took back the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war, annexed it, and reestablished the Jewish Quarter, where today about 4,000 Jews live alongside about 30,000 Palestinians in the rest of the old areas. The annexation has not been internationally recognized.
But so what? Israel can flout international law with impunity.
Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, including the Old City, as the capital of the state they hope to establish. Palestinian negotiators have said they will not compromise over Jerusalem. Formulas have been put forward to divide the city ethnically, placing Jewish neighborhoods in Israel and Arab sections in the new Palestinian state.
But over the years, ultranationalist Israeli settler groups have been buying up buildings outside the Jewish Quarter.
As opposed to Islamic militants, Zionist militants are "ultranationalist Israeli settler groups."
Almost makes 'em sound good, doesn't it?
The documents released yesterday show how the Israeli government has been helping them with bargain land prices....
State-supported terrorism.
The documents on the Jerusalem property transfers were released to antisettlement activist Dror Etkes after a three-year court battle with the Israel Land Administration, which oversees almost all the country’s land.
Etkes wanted the government agency to detail its deals with two shadowy settler groups, Elad and Ateret Cohanim, which have helped move Jews into Arab sections of East Jerusalem.
Some of the properties passed on to the settler groups once belonged to Jews but fell into state hands. Arab families had since built on the land but were evicted from the properties when settler groups seized control....
Did they VIOLENTLY SEIZE CONTROL like Hamas?
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So that was going on during the month of Middle East peace. huh?
Here is what happened after:
"Israel to go ahead with East Jerusalem housing; Plan announced as Netanyahu visits US leaders" by Amy Teibel, Associated Press / November 9, 2010
JERUSALEM — The Israeli government is moving ahead with plans to build nearly 1,300 apartments in disputed East Jerusalem, an official said yesterday, drawing a harsh US response just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United States for meetings with American leaders.
The plan drew renewed attention to Israeli settlement policies just as Washington was pressing Israel to curb construction in a bid to get stalled peace talks back on track....
And then we get Wikileaks that never mention them (or the attack on the aid flotilla)!
The announcement risked setting off another Israeli run-in with Vice President Joe Biden, who met with Netanyahu Sunday in New Orleans. Israel infuriated Biden earlier this year by announcing other construction plans in East Jerusalem while the vice president was visiting....
Related: Israel Biden Their Time on Iran
Yeah, he looks real upset.
Netanyahu’s talks with Biden, and later this week with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are aimed at finding a compromise to restart the talks.
He comes to talk to these guys while Obama is in India?
Obama is definitely a one-term president.
Clinton has said that the settlements are a secondary issue that would be solved automatically if the two sides agree on borders.
That is why Clinton was embarrassed by the Wikileaks. You can't talk like that to Israel!
News of the new building plans came from Israel’s Interior Ministry, which is controlled by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party. It was not known whether Netanyahu was told ahead of time....
Yeah, he doesn't even know what is going on in his own government. That's great.
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"Israel defends construction plans in East Jerusalem; Prime minister denies any links to peace process" by Ian Deitch, Associated Press / November 10, 2010
JERUSALEM — Israel hotly defended its new construction plans for disputed East Jerusalem against criticism from President Obama, Palestinians, and the European Union, insisting yesterday that it never agreed to halt the building....
And then we get Wikileaks that embarrass them all. Hmmmmmmmm!
Settlers say openly that their goal is to prevent creation of a Palestinian state....
But it is Hamas that wants to destroy Israel.
See: What's Going On in Gaza?
Sigh.
In a statement, settler leaders accused Obama of hypocrisy, adding that his criticism showed he is “out of touch with the reality of facts on the ground.’’
So am I. I read the Boston Globe every day.
These people hate our president and yet they still accept the aid checks, huh?
Ever notice every time a Zionist hurls an accusation against someone it is conduct of which they themselves are guilty?
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Also see: Palestinians seek a top UN meeting
And LOOK who has a DEAL for the criminal Zionist regime (sigh):
"US offers incentives to Israel, envoys say
JERUSALEM — The United States has offered Israel an incentive package to reinstate a moratorium on West Bank settlement building in an effort to revive stalled peace talks with the Palestinians, diplomatic sources said late yesterday. The incentive package also includes US commitments to fight international resolutions critical of Israel (AP)."
Yeah, they have to be BRIBED to do the RIGHT THING!
"Israel considers US proposal on settlements; 90-day freeze aims to restart the peace talks" by Ethan Bronner, New York Times / November 15, 2010
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in public remarks that the US offer, involving military hardware and diplomatic support, came during his meeting Thursday in New York with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and its details were still being negotiated....
While Obama was in India. He's done after one term.
The details that have been made public so far include 20 fighter jets as well as American promises to oppose any Palestinian attempt to obtain international recognition of statehood in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza without Israeli agreement.
Would that the world had done that to Israel back in 1948.
The United States would veto a United Nations Security Council resolution along those lines and actively work against similar resolutions in forums where it does not have a veto....
We will BE YOUR SLAVE if you continue with the CHARADE!
Israeli officials said the planes, worth some $3 billion, were part of an American commitment to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge....
Then why are they hollering wolf all the time?
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You know WHO is forking over that $3 BILLION, right taxpayers?
"Israel looks to build support for US deal; Proposal offers jets in exchange for building halt" by Josef Federman, Associated Press / November 16, 2010
JERUSALEM —Israeli officials say the plan includes an unprecedented gift of 20 stealth warplanes to Israel....
It appeared increasingly unlikely, however, that both sides, wary of upsetting President Obama, would risk turning down the package....
And then the AmeriKan media is left with egg on its face.
The highlights include giving Israel 20 F-35 stealth jets, worth about $3 billion — in addition to 20 of the next-generation warplanes Israel has already ordered for purchase.
Purchased with YOUR TAX DOLLARS, American!
And THAT is why Congress continues to fund the F-35 engine program the Pentagon wants cut!
It would mark the first time the United States gave warplanes to Israel without payment, defense officials and diplomats said.
And when they do pay it is with U.S. taxpayer dollars in the form of aid.
Also in the deal are American guarantees that the United States would veto anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations. With the Palestinians threatening to take their case to the UN if peace talks fail, this protection could be critical for Israel down the road.
While the United States routinely vetoes resolutions critical of Israel, American vetoes are not automatic, and some Israelis were uncertain Obama would back their nation at the Security Council....
And that is why he will either be out after one-term, have his presidency ruined by the press, or will be assassinated.
What the web cut from printed article I'm looking at on the desk:
In Paris, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised the emerging deal. He noted that the warplanes, expected to be capable of reaching Iran undetected by radar, would help Israel maintain its "qualitative edge."
Yeah, we ALL KNOW that ATTACK is COMING!
Israel considers its regional enemy Iran an existential threat because it is convinced Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, despite Tehran's denials.
I'm tired of hypocritical Israel hollering wolf, aren't you?
Some 300,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements, in addition to nearly 200,000 others in east Jerusalem....
And how many Palestinians live there?
Settler leaders and their Parliament supporters say Israel must retain these territories, citing security grounds and religious claims.
Support for that position among Israelis has been dropping over the years, and polls show that more than half are prepared to relinquish control of much of the West Bank for peace.
Looks as if the ORDINARY ISRAELI JEW is TIRED of WAR, too!!
I can see why the Zionist-controlled media would want to excise that.
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Also see: Israel's Neo-Cons
Related: Israel puts off a vote on talks
What do you mean there may be no deal?
"Israel says Jerusalem building to go on; Still haggling with US over moratorium" by Amy Teibel, Associated Press / November 19, 2010
JERUSALEM — Israel insisted yesterday it would keep building homes in disputed east Jerusalem, threatening to hold up a US-proposed settlement construction moratorium designed to renew deadlocked Mideast peacemaking.
The contours of the moratorium deal, as presented by Israeli officials after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from the United States last week, had appeared to be clearly agreed upon.
Washington, they said, had agreed to exclude the eastern sector of the holy city from the 90-day moratorium and there would be no further demands for construction curbs in the West Bank when the latest moratorium expired.
All that MONEY for a 90-day NOTHING?!!!
Yesterday, however, a day after Netanyahu said a deal was imminent, the United States still had not sent a promised letter detailing the understandings on the proposed moratorium.
In Washington, a senior Obama administration official said the United States and Israel were still “haggling’’ over details of the written assurances....
Ever notice Israel always haggles with every one and nothing ever gets done?
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, said it was not clear when the letter might be completed.
Never?
In a speech yesterday, Netanyahu suggested agreement was neither imminent nor inevitable....
But I bet they still get the planes and protection.
To entice the Israelis to sign on to the deal, the United States has proposed a package of incentives including a gift of 20 next-generation stealth fighter planes and US pledges to veto anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations, Israeli officials have said.
But Netanyahu is having trouble winning support for the plan even from his coalition allies.
The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, which can make or break the deal, says it will let it go through only if Israel receives written assurances from the United States that the building restrictions exclude Jerusalem.
Related: US proposal aims to revive peace talks
It's in the mail then?
"Abbas says halt to settlements essential; Requires inclusion of East Jerusalem" by Isabel Kershner, New York Times / November 22, 2010
"Isabel Kershner.... is an Israeli citizen.... possible family ties to the Israeli military"
Oh, one of the tough guys of the AmeriKan MSM.
JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said yesterday that Netanyahu was still waiting for a letter from the Americans spelling out the details of those benefits, including the amount of a US subsidy to Israel to buy 20 advanced American fighter aircraft....
That's how they pay for everything.
Netanyahu also faces strong opposition within his own conservative Likud Party for any further settlement moratorium. Thousands of opponents, mainly schoolchildren bused in from the settlements, demonstrated against the 90-day freeze outside the prime minister’s office yesterday....
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And why not throw another monkey-wrench into the prospects?
"Israel adopts referendum bill that could hinder peace effort; Measure makes it more difficult to cede territory" by Josef Federman, Associated Press / November 23, 2010
JERUSALEM — Lawmakers passed a bill yesterday that could complicate peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria by making it very difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals....
Kind of an IN-YOUR-FACE MOVE, isn't it?
There was no comment from Syria, which lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the 1967 war and wants it back as the price for peace. Talk of withdrawal is hugely unpopular in Israel, where the heights, which overlook northern Israel, are considered a strategic asset....
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Related: Olmert criticizes haggling over settlement-freeze deal
Who cares what a thieving war criminal says?
Also see: East Jerusalem housing gets initial OK
That's a DEAL-BREAKER!
Update: Israel’s plan for 625 homes criticized
Looks like that letter finally arrived.
