Palestinian Statehood

Byrnzie

catefrances wrote:

usamamasan1 wrote:

1,100 new homes on their land. About time they start building again.

their land??? how do you figure that?

Apparently some Jews lived in the region 2000 years ago, so therefore these people from America and Russia, e.t.c, now have a claim to all of Palestine.
Just like how the Nazis tried to justify their claim to all of Europe.

catefrances

Byrnzie wrote:

catefrances wrote:

usamamasan1 wrote:

1,100 new homes on their land. About time they start building again.

their land??? how do you figure that?

Apparently some Jews lived in the region 2000 years ago, so therefore these people from America and Russia, e.t.c, now have a claim to all of Palestine.
Just like how the Nazis tried to justify their claim to all of Europe.

well based on that im going home to ireland. see y'all. :wave:

Commy

catefrances wrote:

well based on that im going home to ireland. see y'all. :wave:

ireland sounds nice.

Idris

-Israeli officials: Annex West Bank As Punishment

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, several right-wing factions in the Israeli Knesset argued that Israel should annex West Bank settlements as punishment for the recent Palestinian bid for United Nations membership.

The letter was signed by Likud chairman Ze’ev Elkin, Shas chairman Avraham Michaeli, Habayit Hayehudi chairman Uri Orbach, and the leader of the National Union faction Yaakov Katz.

The right-wing leaders urged Netanyahu to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, cut aid money, gradually annex the entirety all West Bank settlements, accelerate settlement construction, cancel PA officials’ VIP ID cards, and prohibit any Palestinian construction on Israeli Defense Force controlled land.

This kind of pressure has apparently manifested into policy already, as Tuesday also saw the announcement of a major new settlement expansion in Gilo, one of the “ring neighborhoods” created in territory conquered by the Israeli military in 1967, which will include 1,100 new housing units...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/ ... PQ20110927

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/09/27/isra ... i-leaders/

gimmesometruth27

Idris wrote:

-Israeli officials: Annex West Bank As Punishment

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, several right-wing factions in the Israeli Knesset argued that Israel should annex West Bank settlements as punishment for the recent Palestinian bid for United Nations membership.

The letter was signed by Likud chairman Ze’ev Elkin, Shas chairman Avraham Michaeli, Habayit Hayehudi chairman Uri Orbach, and the leader of the National Union faction Yaakov Katz.

The right-wing leaders urged Netanyahu to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, cut aid money, gradually annex the entirety all West Bank settlements, accelerate settlement construction, cancel PA officials’ VIP ID cards, and prohibit any Palestinian construction on Israeli Defense Force controlled land.

This kind of pressure has apparently manifested into policy already, as Tuesday also saw the announcement of a major new settlement expansion in Gilo, one of the “ring neighborhoods” created in territory conquered by the Israeli military in 1967, which will include 1,100 new housing units.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/ ... PQ20110927

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/09/27/isra ... i-leaders/

someone has to stop these people. :twisted: :twisted:

i have a bad feeling that this is going to start another war. 97% of the international community disagrees with settlement expansion, yet israel keeps doing it as a "fuck you" to the rest of the world..i have a feeling that this can only end badly. israel is not going to stop doing these things, so someone is going to have to make them stop.

how about someone do the completely symbolic step of sanctioning them at the un?

excuse me while i choke from laughter....

Idris

Well we know that Israel wants the entire land, we support Israel, we give them money, weapons..we even stroke their egos and rub their balls. "Special relationship" "will support Israel no matter what".

We need to stop doing these things for the Zionist State. We also need to ask why we do these thing for them, looking at AIPAC (Israeli Lobby). You can't become president without going to AIPAC and confessing your love for Israel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0zJtWLf1us

Why is that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ZIJdN05QE

and Obama? When directly asked about Israeli human rights violations by a Florida College student..He makes a joke about someone in the crowd (as someone posted), talks about how good Israel is, mentions Hammas and speaks highly of Netanyahu, but never answers the question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oniFAoHg ... re=related

Proved wrong once again, with this weeks latest developments regarding settlements and the UN meetings.

Byrnzie

How do Israel's apologists justify the occupation and the illegal racist settlements again? Oh yeah, they say the Jewish-only settlements from places like America and Russia are built for security reasons. (Because placing men, women, and children on the front line of an occupying power on land stolen from your avowed enemy is the way to ensure their security, right?)

Meanwhile...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/se ... an-economy

Israeli occupation hitting Palestinian economy, claims report

Economy minister Hasan Abu Libdeh says that Palestinians are prevented from achieving their potential



Harriet Sherwood in Ramallah
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 September 2011


Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza deprives the Palestinian economy of almost £4.4bn a year, equivalent to about 85% of the nominal gross domestic product of Palestine, according to a report published in Ramallah .

As well as its detrimental effect on the Palestinian economy, the "occupation enterprise" allows the state of Israel and commercial firms to profit from Palestinian natural resources and tourist potential, the report said.

"No matter what the Palestinian people achieve by our own efforts, the occupation prevents us achieving our potential as a free people in our own country," said Hasan Abu Libdeh, economy minister in the Palestinian Authority, introducing the report on Thursday. "It should be clear to the international community that one reason for Israel's refusal to act in good faith as a partner for peace is the profits it makes as an occupying power."

Without the occupation, the Palestinian economy would be almost twice as large as it is and would be able to reduce its dependence on donor funding from the international community, according to the report.

Compiled jointly by the economy ministry and the independent thinktank Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, the report was the first attempt to quantify the annual cost of the occupation to the Palestinian economy. "The total cost which we have been able to measure was $6.897bn in 2010, a staggering 84.9% of the total estimated Palestinian GDP," it said.

"The majority of these costs do not have any relationship with security concerns but, rather, come from the heavy restrictions imposed on the Palestinians in the access to their own natural resources, many of which are exploited by Israel itself, including water, minerals, salts, stones and land.".

The report broke down the $6.9bn figure into components, including the blockade on Gaza ($1.9bn), water restrictions ($1.9bn), natural resource restrictions ($1.8bn), import and export limits ($288m), restrictions on movement ($184m) and tourism to the Dead Sea ($143m).

The occupation "imposes a myriad of restrictions on the Palestinian economy. It prevents Palestinians from accessing much of their land and from exploiting most of their natural resources; it isolates Palestinians from global markets, and fragments their territory into small, badly connected 'cantons'," the report said.

The blockade of Gaza placed severe restrictions on imports and exports, on which the economy was highly dependent. Electricity and water production was unable to meet demand from industry and agriculture owing to damaged infrastructure and a shortage of parts and materials. Shelling had destroyed physical assets and infrastructure.

Restrictions on the import to both the West Bank and Gaza of goods deemed as "dual use", such as chemicals and fertilisers which Israel says could be used in the manufacture of weapons, had severely affected manufacturing and agriculture.

Limits on movement for both goods and labour within the West Bank through roadblocks, checkpoints and diversionswere a critical economic constraint. The report compared the distance of direct routes between West Bank towns and cities and the routes Palestinians are required to take. For example, the distance between the city of Nablus in the north of the West Bank and al-Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley was 36 miles (58km) by the most direct route, but the route Palestinians were forced to take was 107 miles (173km), adding significantly to the time and cost of each journey.

Restrictions on Palestinian access to the Dead Sea meant a loss in income from the extraction of minerals and salts, and from tourism, from which Israel benefited economically. Dead Sea beauty and skin care products, manufactured and marketed by Israeli companies, were worth $150m (£96m) a year, the report said.

Israeli businesses also profited from mining and quarrying in the West Bank. West Bank water resources were diverted to Israeli settlements, industry and agriculture. Israel took 10 times as much water from the three West Bank aquifers as the Palestinians, the report said.

Around 2.5m trees, including olive groves, had been uprooted since 1967 for settlements, infrastructure and the separation barrier. The report estimated the average annual production of a mature olive tree at 70kg, worth around $1.1 per kilogram.

Palestinian farmers had lost land or could no longer access it. "Six hundred and twenty thousand settlers [in the West Bank and East Jerusalem] cultivate 64,000 dunams of land. Four million Palestinians in the West Bank only cultivate 100,000 dunams," said Abu Libdeh. One dunam is around 1,000 square metres.

"As we prepare for statehood we want to build a sustainable and viable Palestine which is economically feasible, environmentally sound and socially legitimate," he said. "With Israeli restrictions on access, mobility and resource availability, a viable Palestine is impossible. To make Palestine sustainable, the occupation has to end."

Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership said on Thursday there were "encouraging elements" in the statement issued by the Middle East Quartet last week in an attempt to get the parties to return to talks. "We call on Israel to announce its commitment to the principles and points of reference [the statement] identifies," said senior official Yasser Abed Rabbo, speaking after a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee.

"We consider the Quartet's reference to the obligations of the Palestinian and Israeli sides under the Road Map and the call to avoid provocative acts as a clear call for a definitive halt to settlement activity in all its forms, which is an encouraging sign."

The Israeli cabinet met on Tuesday to consider the statement but was unable to agree on a response.

Case study

Pal Karm Company for Cosmetics, located in Nablus, sells cosmetics and skin care products in the local market and exports to Israel. Glycerin is an essential raw material for the company. Israel has banned the entry of glycerin into the Palestinian Territory since mid-2007. Ever since then, the company has been unable to sell skin care products in the Israeli market because the Israeli health authorities require glycerin to be part of such products. The company estimates its losses at 30% of its sales in the Israeli market for this product.

gimmesometruth27

BASTARDS!!!!

US Congress blocks £128m in aid for Palestinians
Palestinian Authority accuses Congress of holding back aid to punish Mahmoud Abbas' bid for UN statehood

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oc ... lestinians

The Palestinian Authority has accused the US of "collective punishment", after the US Congress blocked $200m (£128m) in aid in response to President Mahmoud Abbas' bid for UN statehood.


The decision to freeze the payments was reportedly made by three congressional committees on 18 August, before Abbas' planned bid for statehood recognition at the UN the following month.


The funds, intended for food aid, health care, and infrastructure projects, were supposed to have been transferred within the US financial year, which ends today. The Obama administration is reportedly negotiating with congressional leaders to unlock the aid.


"It is another kind of collective punishment which is going to harm the needs of the public without making any positive contribution," Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib told the Independent.


"It is ironic to be punished for going to the United Nations."


USAid has already started scaling back its aid operations in the West Bank and Gaza, and there are fears it may be forced to end all humanitarian work and distribution of financial support to the Palestinian Authority by January.


There are also fears the move could lead to a security crisis in the Palestinian territories.


"Security co-operation with the Palestinians is excellent at the moment and we do not want to jeopardise that," a senior Israeli military official official told the Independent.


Republican Gary Ackerman, member of the House sub-committee on the Middle East and South Asia, told a meeting of representatives and leaders of Jewish organisations outside the UN headquarters on Monday that "there may need to be a total cut-off of all aid to the Palestinians for pursuing this course of action which is very dangerous and ill advised."


Former president Bill Clinton recently warned Congress to leave the issue of aid to the Obama administration. He said: "Everybody knows the US Congress is the most pro-Israel parliamentary body in the world. They don't have to demonstrate that."


A UN security council panel on admitting new members to the UN met to discuss the Palestinian bid for the first time on Friday. After the meeting, Lebanese UN ambassador Nawaf Salam said the committee unanimously agreed to hold further meetings next week.