U.S Strongly Condemns 'Accelerated, Systematic' Settlement Activity by Israel

[Purveyor]

Source: Haaretz

State Department says recent construction announcements by Israel 'continued a pattern of provocative and counterproductive actions.'

Barak Ravid Jul 28, 2016 6:04 PM

The U.S. State Department published Thursday an exceptionally strong condemnation of a string of decisions by the Israeli government in recent weeks to expand construction in the West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem.
State Department spokesman John Kirby claimed that the U.S. has identified an "acceleration" of construction in the settlements and accused Israel of "a pattern of provocative and counterproductive action ... that systematically undermines the prospects for a two-state solution."

The statement come in the wake of a number of recent Israeli announcements of plans to advance construction projects in the West Bank. On Wednesday, a tender for 320 new housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem was published; on Monday, a plan to build 770 housing units in the Gilo neighborhood, also past the Green Line, was announced, as well as plans to build more than 500 new units in Ma'ale Adumim and 42 in Kiryat Arba.

The string of announcements has sparked American anger, especially due to the fact the first were made only two days after the Quartet report on the stalemate in the peace process. The report severally criticized Israeli settlement construction, however the Americans exerted pressure on the Quartet to balance the report and make sure it also condemns the Palestinians for incitement and violence against Israelis. The U.S. joins a number of other nations and organizations who denounced Israel's construction, like the EU, the UN, the U.K., Germany, France, Turkey and Japan.

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.733981

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Secret Memo Shows Israel Used Security Claims To Grab Settlement Lands

By i24news
Published: 07/28/2016 - 07:20pm, updated: 08:10pm

A secret document written in 1970 and revealed on Thursday in Israeli daily Haaretz sheds light on the origins of the country's settlement enterprise.

The memo summarizing a meeting held in then-defense minister Moshe Dayan outlines a strategy of annexing land intended for settlement construction into military zones, supposedly for security reasons.

✕According to Haaretz, sources say the method of using military orders to seize land for construction was an open secret in 1970s Israel. The alleged goal was to avoid the appearance of circumventing international law, as construction of civilian structures would have raised the question of whether Israel was building on occupied territory.

Those involved knew that claims of security necessity were false, said the newspaper. A number of settlements were developed this way, until a High Court of Justice ruling in 1979 brought an end to the practice.

MORE...

http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/politics/121251-160728-secret-memo-shows-israel-used-security-claims-to-grab-settlement-lands

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.733746 (paywall)

[guillaumeb]

1. All talk. There is never any action and the Israelis know that.

They have been lying about the settlements. But unless or until the US cuts off the massive subsidies the Israelis will continue stealing land.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. I do not like Netanyahoo. . . nt

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

3. Stop funding the apartheid state then.

There is no special relationship between the USA and Israel worth a damn.

The relationship is built on the collective backs of the Palestinian people and the theft of its future.

Oh, let's not forget the guilt as well.

[6chars]

4. What are the odds Gilo ends up in a Palestinian state?

I am guessing after enough BDS, Israel will force all of the Jews living in Jerusalem on the East side of the green line to vacate their homes and will then donate the homes they built to friendly Arab families. The Jews will then go back to Algiers and Cairo and Baghdad and Aden etc.

[geek tragedy]

5. there will be no Palestinian state.

that's the purpose, and inevitable result, of such construction results.

Jews aren't going anywhere. Neither are the Palestinians. Cohabitation in a single state will be difficult but permanent.

[David__77]

6. One unitary state?

I have difficulty envisioning the creation of a Palestinian state. I also have difficulty envisioning a single, unitary state in which the population of Jews and Arabs live together, with a somewhat cohesive citizenry.

[geek tragedy]

7. a binational state is inevitable, though it will be a long time in the making nt

[David__77]

9. Whatever happens, I hope it will be in peace and friendship.

What a testament to the power of humanity that would be!

[Mosby]

13. that's not very likely IMO

What's a lot more likely is Jordan annexing part of the WB in exchange for subsidies. The rest will be annexed by Israel.

Think I'm crazy, just wait until abbas dies and a full scale civil war breaks out. You know Dahlan is sitting in the UAE just waiting for a chance to take over.

[geek tragedy]

14. yeah good luck with that nt

[Mosby]

15. Luck has nothing to do with it

The world has moved on.

Terrorism.

Climate Change.

Civil wars.

Globalism.

Poverty.

Pandemics.

The Palestinians missed their opportunity years ago.

[geek tragedy]

16. the WB is Israel's problem, Jordan's not going to take it off their hands.

They'd be crazy to do so. That would mean the end of the Hashemite dynasty.


So, Israel either unilaterally disgorges it, cuts a deal with the Palestinians, or does a slow walk towards a binational state.

[Mosby]

17. The Hashemites control is not based on demographics

Like it or not Israel has and will continue to have the upper hand in the Israeli/Arab conflict, I think they will be able to maintain the "occupation" of the WB into the foreseeable future. That puts the onus on the Palestinians to move the process forward and they have given no indication that they are willing to do that, in fact Abbas has been throwing up as many roadblocks as he can, including this "all or nothing" negotiating approach that he currently espouses. When his reign ends there is no telling what might happen, but we do know that there are several competing Fatah factions as I mentioned in an earlier post, including Dahlan, who is basically a rich thug financed by gulf oil.

Jordan is already 50-55% Palestinian and the rest Bedouin, plus some small indigenous groups. It was part of the Mandate and supposed to be part of the Palestinian homeland until the British decided to give it to the Hashemites as a consolation prize when they lost their war against the House of Saud. More significantly in my opinion, Jordan is an extremely poor country, they have a GDP of about 34 billion which is the lowest in the ME, even Lebanon is at 44 billion with 4.4 million people compared to Jordan's 6.5. Jordan also has the highest refugee population in the ME outside of Iraq and in practical terms that means there are already billions of dollars flowing into Jordan for refugee support, this has probably created thousands of jobs in Jordan and if this was extended to the major population centers in the WB could create tens of thousands of jobs in the long term not to mention that the Palestinians would finally be part of a country that they could contribute to and see success.

[geek tragedy]

19. the Palestinians do not see themselves as Jordanians and the Hashemites

would be overthrown within a decade if they tried to annex the WB. Same motive for not annexing as the Israelis have.

Israel can obviously maintain the the apartheid state it's erected in the West Bank for hundreds of years.

But, at some point, that will mean the one-state solution.

Jordan is not going to bail the Israelis out.

[King_David]

18. They won't have a choice

But it's more probable than a single state.
Gaza reabsorbed to Egypt.
West Bank reabsorbed to Jordan.
You may not like it but that's what will happen.
Jerusalem will be Jewish Israel.

[geek tragedy]

20. Jordan most certainly has the ability to refuse to annex or occupy the West Bank.

the Israelis can't just hand the Palestinians off like they're a used lawnmower.

[King_David]

21. Jordan will cooperate

And merging with Arab Muslim state is way more likely than a Jewish- Muslim merger .

And Jordan once annexed the West Bank - not too long ago.

As I said not everyone will be happy but that is what's going to happen.

[geek tragedy]

22. I know the Israelis would love for that to happen.

But that's not enough to cause it to happen.

the Jordanian government isn't in the tank for Israel the way Congress is

[King_David]

23. Jordan will cooperate

If the USA decides it , and we will.

[geek tragedy]

24. lol, so the plan is for the US to obey Israel, and for the Jordanians to obey the US

cool story

[King_David]

25. As I said , not everyone will be happy

But it will happen.
A Jewish Independent state will persist.
That's called reality.

[geek tragedy]

26. that's your hope, but that doesn't mean it has to happen that way.

nation states rise and fall all the time

the future does not obey any religion or nationalist ideology

[King_David]

27. It's not anyone's "hope"

It's just what is going to happen.

[geek tragedy]

29. Would that include East Jerusalem?

Or are you actually suggesting the Jordanians would bail the Israeis out without getting sovereignty over Al Aqsa and the Arab neighborhoods?

Maybe they can call the new state Fantasyland with a unicorn as its national symbol.

[King_David]

30. Good luck with your particular hopes...

But they ain't gonna happen .

[geek tragedy]

31. I have no hope for that part of the world.

Only expectations.

[Mosby]

28. The current Palestinian situation isn't sustainable

Last edited Sat Jul 30, 2016, 12:59 AM - Edit history (1)

450,000 original "refugees" in 1948 are now 5.5 MILLION.

Total Palestinian population is now 11.5 million, compare that to the Israeli population of 8 million.

The UNRWA claims there are 430,000 Palestinians living in the refugee camp of Yarmouk in Lebanon, but in reality maybe 250,000 live there, The rest? They live in Europe and the ME and when a Palestinian living outside "Palestine" has children - every one becomes a Palestinian refugee.

It's an exponential function, in just a couple years the Palestinian population will pass 20 million.

The whole situation is ridiculous and should have been dealt with decades ago like every other post WWII issue.

[Scalded Nun]

8. Just stop paying them to do this shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crunchy Frog]

11. Never going to happen, and Israel knows it.

Ironic in that it's these "Israel friendly" policies that will make a single state an inevitability.

[JesterCS]

10. AKA now now Israel, be nice...

How can anyone defend Israel, when their actions are ubiquitous and hardly becoming of a humane and civil society. Not that the other side is any less guilty, but Israel should be the bigger country and stop acting like the Middle east's elite rulers

[lsewpershad]

12. What will it take

for America to understand that "strongly condemn" is not enough.... or is US condemnation just a smoke screen.