Israel Settlement Building Booms After Freeze

New York Times:

In the three months since Israel ended its settlement construction freeze in the West Bank, causing the Palestinians to withdraw from peace talks, a settlement-building boom has begun, especially in more remote communities that are least likely to be part of Israel after any two-state peace deal.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[Thelonius]

02:23 PM on 12/27/2010

Food for thought:
On December 19, 2010, Human Rights Watch issued a comprehens­ive report on Israel's practices in the occupied West Bank.

EXCERPT: (Quoting Carroll Bogert, deputy executive director of Human Rights Watch.)

“Palestini­ans face systematic discrimina­tion merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin, depriving them of electricit­y, water, schools, and access to roads, while nearby Jewish settlers enjoy all of these state-prov­ided benefits. While Israeli settlement­s flourish, Palestinia­ns under Israeli control live in a time warp – not just separate, not just unequal, but sometimes even pushed off their lands and out of their homes”

[Saco A]

07:03 PM on 12/27/2010

You mean the once again biased report by an NGO that once bravely stood against oppression and today is politically hijacked and even its former president slams it for it?

http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-plank/former-human-rights-watch-prez-enough-the-israel-obsession

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/human_rights_watch_hrw_

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=3181

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=3177

[Debussey Clidela]

08:15 PM on 12/24/2010

Jesus was a Palestinian.
Jesus was a Jew.
Palestine belongs to The Jews.
They can build wherever they like.

This, according to the Palestinian Authority itself.
Case. Closed.

[Gerontion]

02:00 AM on 12/25/2010

They can and do. But it would help if they didn't. Even US agrees on this. Palestine belongs to Palestinians whatever their religion

[Thelonius]

02:24 PM on 12/27/2010

Ah yes, more "pearls of wisdom" from a classic Islamaphobe.

[NextYearLions]

10:35 AM on 12/24/2010

Good old Left Wing rag NYT article.

[lbsaltzman]

10:47 PM on 12/23/2010

I see it the other way around. Settlements, ethnic cleansing and Israeli murderous ways are causing radical responses from the Palestinians. If Israel wants peace, they need to end the occupation and withdraw from occupied Palestine. They also need to end the siege of Gaza.

[MIKEinNYC]

09:29 PM on 12/23/2010

If I'm the Palestinians I'd say "let them build". I just wouldn't compromise my principals in regard to the return of my land.

This way, when I get it back and I get my own state the land in question will have all of this nice new infrastructure.

As far as the Jewish settlers go, let them stay. They'll become Palestinians. Jewish Palestinians. Israel has Arabs, Palestine can have Jews. It's the same thing.

[Magic 62]

10:48 PM on 12/23/2010

Israelis destroyed the homes they built in Gaza when they pulled out.

[Gerontion]

10:55 PM on 12/23/2010

I doubt whether settlers would accept a similar status to that which Israeli Arabs 'enjoy' in Israel.

[lbsaltzman]

09:43 AM on 12/24/2010

Israeli-Palestinians suffer from rampant discrimination. And why would Palestinians in the West Bank feel kindly towards settlers who live in new buildings on land stolen from Palestnians.

[Solemar]

08:43 PM on 12/23/2010

Shame on you Israel.

[fairwayhill]

03:45 PM on 12/23/2010

Palestine belongs to the Palestinians.

[Paulo1]

05:57 PM on 12/23/2010

Actually, historically it belongs to whatever empire happens to occupy it at the time.

Egypt had it for a while, then the Babylonians, the Assryians, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ummayads, the Abbasids, Crusaders, the Turks, the British. About the only ones with a weak claim to the area are the Jews, their attempts at kingdoms lasted far shorted lengths of times than anyone else. Personnally I would like to give the area back to the Hittites. They could use a bit of land,

[MSROADKILL612]

06:13 AM on 02/08/2011

Where can i learn hittite? You would think it was good land given the disputes over it. Its not. God knows how they grow anything on it.

[omobob]

06:06 PM on 12/23/2010

Wonderful. except not one neighboring Arab nation agrees. Not Egypt, not Syria, not Lebanon and not Jordan. Neither does saudi arabia. All those countries allied against Israel in the 6 day war have said little to give the palestinians any encouragement. No one wants to officially take on the responsibility for the refugees once Israel closes its borders and expels the palestinians.

[Magic 62]

09:27 PM on 12/23/2010

Only Egypt, Jordan and Syria were involved in the 6 day war, and it stated with surprise attack by Israel. Now, all are dictatorships, and minus Syria that seems to aiding Hamas (Which negates your argument as all) are US client states, and Egypt and Jordan are paid by US to stay at peace with Israel. Anyway, eventually Jews and Palestinians will end up living together and this experiment in neo-colonialism will end.

[Saco A]

03:13 PM on 12/23/2010

Looks like the Palestinians should have done something during the 10 months of the freeze, instead of doing nothing and believing they achieved something without giving anything.

This is the price of Palestinian arrogance and wishful thinking and the whole region is paying the price.

[Magic 62]

06:13 PM on 12/23/2010

What freeze? So called natural expansion continued. Also, the only people who will pay for their arrogance will be Israelis who by making a 2 state solution impossible, their Jewish state will end up being a Majority Arab Muslim/Christian state in less than a generation.

[Saco A]

08:45 PM on 12/23/2010

For the past 62 years it is the Palestinians who are paying for their arrogance by denying the Jewish state and paying the price of being stateless. It seems they prefer this situation over maturing, growing up, and facing reality for the benefit of their own people.

Don't worry, your apocalyptic vision will not materialize.

[dannybuild]

08:59 PM on 12/23/2010

This is not true. Israel had the freeze in the hope that the Palestinians would make some steps towards a peace deal. That never eventuated and is the only card Israel has. The Palestinians on the other hand prefer to pretend that they are working towards peace whilst nothing but attacks against Israel happen in reality

[lonngfello]

02:30 PM on 12/23/2010

Is there anyone who still believes Israel wants peace before they take all the land?

[Paulo1]

05:59 PM on 12/23/2010

nope

[dannybuild]

09:01 PM on 12/23/2010

Israel wants peace far more than the Palestinians. The Palestinians simply want Israel to not exist and as soon as they chose peace over the killing of Isrealis, peace will come very quickly

[jake42]

09:34 PM on 12/23/2010

garbage. If Israel wanted peace it would accept the Saudi Plan and peace would come in a matter of days. Building illegal settlements is absolute proof that Israel would rather steal than have peace.

[lonngfello]

12:35 PM on 12/24/2010

If Israel wants peace, why do they continue to take land and bulldoze Palestinian homes with the use of military force? Why do they allow the settlers to act like terrorist while under the protection of the IDF? Why do they board Gaza aid ships in international waters and summarily execute humanitarian aid workers with point blank bullets in the back of the head?

Get real, you can't build your false arguements on facts and truth.

[Garvagh]

01:55 PM on 12/23/2010

More proof that Obama needs to tell Israel it cannot change the borders of Palestine by building more illegal housing for illegal Jewish colonists in the West Bank.

[Debussey Clidela]

09:52 PM on 12/23/2010

Palestine has no borders.
The 1967 "lines" are not borders.
The are Armistice Lines...and subject to change and/or dispute.

[Magic 62]

11:40 AM on 12/24/2010

The green line was determined by UN, same organization that Israel bases its legitimacy on.

[MSROADKILL612]

06:19 AM on 02/08/2011

They sure are it seems.

[Greg Mirsky]

01:21 PM on 12/23/2010

"The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Abba Eban

[JibberJabberwocky]

02:14 PM on 12/23/2010

"The settlers are making every effort available to them to ensure that the only solution that will ever be reached is a one-state solution." Me

[Greg Mirsky]

07:43 PM on 12/23/2010

One-state solution?!
Are you advocating transfer? OMG!

[fairwayhill]

03:46 PM on 12/23/2010

Palestine has been stolen from them. Palestinians never lost an opportunity to get Palestine back.

[LAThinker]

07:40 PM on 12/23/2010

And how successful would you say their efforts were? May be it is a time to try something different like negotiating?

[Greg Mirsky]

07:41 PM on 12/23/2010

Palestinians (Jews, Arabs, Bedouin, Druze, Armenians) are citizens of Israel. Arab state in Palestine was stolen by Egypt and Jordan. Go ask them!

[omobob]

01:14 PM on 12/23/2010

What a surprise. The Israelis are building in the West Bank again. Some day soon Bibi will close the borders and Israel will be a single Jewish State. Palestinians may either take the Lieberman loyalty oath (and live under suspicion of the Israeli Security) or face deportation. It is their avowed destiny and while i disagree with their tactics and methods, i believe them.

[Magic 62]

06:15 PM on 12/23/2010

You really believe that Israel can get away with deporting 4 million people?

[omobob]

11:59 PM on 12/23/2010

If there is an deadly attack by Hamas. If the Palestinians do not take the Lieberman loyalty oath, yes. The Isreali’s will have a pretext. The Palestinians have no benefactors among even neighboring Arabs Countries. None of the Arab States that fought Israel in the 6 day war have come forward to campion the Palestinian cause. A sad but undeniable fact. No one wants the Palestinian refugee problem, especially Israel.

[BcemXAHA]

11:27 AM on 12/24/2010

99% of the current problems that the Palestinians are dealing with is precisely because of how they are treated by the rest of the Arabs. The Arabs most certainly do not want them. And Israel might or might not, that would heavily depend on the actual Palestinians.

[Magic 62]

11:42 AM on 12/24/2010

No 110% of the problem is because of how Palestinians are treated by Israelis.

[omobob]

01:43 PM on 12/24/2010

Nope. 99% of the current problems that the Palestinians have are because of Israel.

[Chef Dracula]

01:10 PM on 12/23/2010

Really Huffpost?!! I'm censored for stating that MY tax dollars are paying for Israel's Apartheid? Shame on you.

[Saco A]

03:13 PM on 12/23/2010

They also pay for keeping the Palestinian refugees for political reasons.

[fairwayhill]

03:46 PM on 12/23/2010

Very well said. F&F.

[magedfoxx]

12:48 PM on 12/23/2010

meanwhile, bedouin village destroyed for the 9th time.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003434,00.html

[jollyelle]

12:48 PM on 12/23/2010

Wish Israel would share the 'map of peace' that the settlements won't affect with the rest of the world or is the USA just funding the state ad infinitum?