Israel/Gaza

Why does this not surprise me?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... ?fb=native
'For months, Israeli diplomats worked to persuade EU governments to, at the least, abstain in the hope that the Jewish state would be able to deride a Palestinian victory as delivered by less than democratic regimes.

Israel's position was supported by [...] Tony Blair, envoy for the Quartet of the US, EU, Russia and the UN, which is attempting to kick-start peace talks.'

British foreign secretary, William Hague: "I am extremely concerned by reports that the Israeli cabinet plans to approve the building of 3,000 new housing units in illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and undermine trust between the parties. If implemented, these plans would alter the situation on the ground on a scale that makes the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, increasingly difficult to achieve.

They would undermine Israel's international reputation and create doubts about its stated commitment to achieving peace with the Palestinians. The UK strongly advises the Israeli government to reverse this decision. The window for a two-state solution is closing, and we need urgent efforts by the parties and by the international community to achieve a return to negotiations, not actions which will make that harder."

Meanwhile, one of six Palestinians who were shot by Israeli troops on Friday, while protesting at the Gaza Strip boundary fence died this morning, according to hospital officials. The 21-year-old man had been demonstrating near the southern town of Rafah.



Seems to me Israel has now been revealed for the dangerous rogue state that it is. Too many people now know the truth about this country, despite it's massive PR campaign and it's blanket support from the U.S. The U.S government's pretence at being an honest broker in this conflict has also now been exposed for the huge sham that it is. I predict a change in U.S policy now in order to prevent any greater embarrassment and isolation on the World stage.
Israel's days as an international pariah are numbered.

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

I have to say, the majority on this board seem VERY biased against Israel. How can you all say they would have built more settlements had the Palestinians looked for new status or not? Seems a bit presumptuous.

Israel's illegal settlement expansion hasn't stopped at any point in the past 45 years. It didn't stop during the Oslo peace accords - in flagrant breach of those agreements (in fact it escalated) - and it hasn't stopped at any time since.

"Just before midnight (Gaza time) Israel broke the ceasefire, firing at least one tank shell into an area of East Deir Al-Balah, Middle Gaza Strip. It injured 4, including 2 critically: one is brain dead; another lost a leg.

Since the 'ceasefire' was 'effectual', Israel has violated Palestinian airspace, waters, harassed, arrested, shot and killed Gazans. Israel systematically and consistently breaks these ceasefires.

Will the BBC report Israel's entirely unjustifiable ceasefire-breaking? Why does the world not understand who is the aggressor?"

even flow - question mark wrote:

When people can tell their children that there is more to life than hate and always being right, there just might be a chance for these two sides to get their acts together.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... us-support

The 'both-sides-are-awful' dismissal of Gaza ignores the key role of the US government

The temptation to wash one's hands of the whole conflict is understandable, but US support of Israel is a central force driving it all

Glenn Greenwald
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 21 November 2012


'...For years now, US financial, military and diplomatic support of Israel has been the central enabling force driving this endless conflict. The bombs Israel drops on Gazans, and the planes they use to drop them, and the weapons they use to occupy the West Bank and protect settlements are paid for, in substantial part, by the US taxpayer, and those actions are shielded from recrimination by the UN veto power aggressively wielded in Israel's favor by the US government.

...Just consider the actions of the US over the last week as violence in Gaza escalated. On Tuesday, the US vetoed a UN Security Council cease-fire resolution on the ground, in essence, that it was too balanced. The US State Department publicly attacked its Nato ally, Turkey, for condemning Israeli aggression. As always, the US Congress and the US Executive Branch are virtually unanimous in their full-throated, completely one-sided support for Israeli actions.

...If one wants to try to wash one's hands of this entire matter by declaring both sides equally culpable, that's fine. But doing so requires an acknowledgment that the US government is doing nothing of the sort. It is fueling, funding and feeding the Israeli war machine, and, with its own militaristic conduct, is legitimizing the premises of Israeli aggression.

This is exactly what I was referencing when I wrote on Saturday that one must stop pretending that the US is some sort of helpless, uninvolved party in this war between two distant, foreign entities. That is complete fiction. If an American citizen really wants to advocate for neutrality on the ground that both sides are equally horrible and they're sick of the whole conflict and wish it would all just go away, then the place to begin with that advocacy is US government policy which, as unpleasant as it might be to face, has long been, and remains more than ever, a key force that drives the bloodshed.'

Told ya! Britain, and no doubt the U.S, will now try and lessen the damage caused in the wake of the landslide vote at the U.N General Assembly in favour of Palestinian statehood, which left them isolated on the World stage.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012 ... settlement


UK may recall Israel ambassador over settlement plan

Foreign Office considers withdrawing diplomats after Israel authorised 3,000 new homes in the wake of UN vote on Palestine

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk
Monday 3 December 2012


Britain is considering tough diplomatic measures, including the possible recall of its ambassador to Tel Aviv, in response to Israel's announcement of settlement expansion. Its move followed the vote by the United Nations general assembly to recognise the Palestinian state.

The recall of the British ambassador would be a dramatic and unprecedented rebuke to the Israeli government, whose isolation was sharply illustrated by the overwhelming backing for the state of Palestine in New York last week. Only eight countries out of 193 rallied to Israel's side in opposing the move.

Britain is furious at Israel's decision to take punitive measures, including the authorisation of 3,000 new settler homes and the development of land east of Jerusalem known as E1 for settlement construction.

The development of E1 has been frozen for years under pressure from the US and EU. Western diplomats regard it as a "game-changer" as its development would close off East Jerusalem – the future capital of Palestine – from the West Bank.

Britain has demanded that Israel rescind the decision. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the settlement expansion plans "would represent an almost fatal blow to the remaining chances of securing a two-state solution".

The EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, said such expansion "may represent a strategic step undermining the prospects of a contiguous and viable Palestine with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both it and Israel".

The British Foreign Office has not reached a firm decision on its response, but it is understood to be considering a range of options, including the recall of its ambassador, Matthew Gould, and the consul general, Vincent Fean, for further discussions.

France is also considering similar action. Britain would be more inclined to forge ahead with such a dramatic diplomatic rebuke in co-ordination with other EU countries.

Other steps under consideration are sanctions against settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including tougher measures on the labelling of settlement produce exported to Europe, and the suspension of strategic dialogue meetings.

The UK and other EU countries had warned Israel against taking punitive action in response to the UN vote. A statement issued by the British embassy in Tel Aviv said: "The foreign secretary has consistently made it very clear that the UK would not support a strong reaction to Thursday's UNGA resolution that undermined the prospects for negotiations and efforts to build a strong foundation for the peace process. The recent Israeli government decision to build 3,000 new housing units threatens the two-state solution and makes progress through negotiations harder to achieve. We have called on the Israeli government to reconsider."

The Israeli cabinet unanimously rejected the UN vote at its weekly meeting on Sunday. It described the West Bank as "disputed territory" over which the Jewish people had "a natural right".

Israel's Channel 2 reported that Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's former chief of staff, had described the behaviour of the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, as "unfathomable".