MJ Rosenberg at TPM:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu believes that President Obama has
already blinked…. There is no other way to interpret Netanyahu's dismissal of the settlement issue in his interview with RAI TV in Italy.
Settlements? "I think that the more we spend time arguing about this,
the more we waste time instead of moving towards peace," he said…
Netanyahu believes that President Obama has gone as far as he
intends to go and that he need only dig in to win. Is he right?.. As
Obama said about Iran, the whole world is watching. [Not that anyone asked about it at the press conference today] If the
administration flinches, it will be noticed. And our credibility in the
Middle East will go back to where it was before Jan. 20.
Oh and hey look at this: Israel proceeding with another 240 homes in a settlement south of Ramallah, defying the U.S., and further circumscribing the movements of Palestinian farmers. (Thanks to Susie Kneedler.)
I don't get the argument of the so called settlements? If you are trying to say that allowing Jewish growth prejudges the border issue then Arab growth prejudges it as well. If you are trying to say that the size of the Jewish community is an impediment to peace then the size of the Arab community is also an impediment. To say that it was Arab land and they have a right to be there PREJUDGES and ignores the reality that land is either owned or it is governed. The Jewish communities are not built on top of Arab owned land and what little of it was gave compensation. So what is the argument? From where I stand this looks a lot like bigotry and the sort of appeasement that worked out so well in the 1930s.
Why don't any reporters ask Obama about the new settlements or Netanyahu's apparent contempt for the US position? Don't they think this is an important issue? Are they afraid they will put their jobs in jeopardy by merely asking about the settlements? What?
240? Rosenberg:
http://uncensored.co.nz/2009/06/23/israel-threate... here we go again…… Oh lord, will Obama be publicly emasculated before our eyes by the Israeli rattlesnakes like all those who came before him?
Rosenberg is wrong in his analysis on Obama "blinking". That is that Netanyahu is posturing, hoping. Obama is more confident than to get caught up in petty fighting. Netanyahu this morning announced a "temporary" halt to settlement construction. Compromise is a LOT of blinking.
el Aviv (UNN) Israel has denied a report that it authorised the construction of 300 new homes at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank despite U.S.'s call to freeze expansion of the Jewish settlements. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that Israel intends to build 60 new settlements at the first stage and to reach this figure to 240 within a several months in the territory of the West Bank near the administrative city Ramallah. These steps will be taken despite Washington's demand to stop expansion of the Jewish settlements which hinders a peace process in the region. Another side Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has refused from the demand of the U.S. and international mediators to freeze the settlement construction./UNN 24th Jun 2009, 03:14 am.
Migrants from Israel and abroad (USA) comprise a large part of the settlers; the construction is being done by Palestinian laborers–a unit goes for half of a comparable unit in Israel: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM...
Here's a sample of the "natural growth" standard Israel applies to Palestinians: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1094927.html
Latest news: Israel now asks Obama to accept a temporary freeze, except for some settlement work underway, as meeting Obama's request for a full freeze or end to settlement activity–Israel wants to reach a viable "formula" with the US, it says: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095226.html Note the assumption in this latest chess move is that any freeze is not permanent; Israel thinks Obama will just haggle over how many months any freeze will last. Israel: 6 months tops, Obama, 9 months? It also appears N is avoiding Mitchell.
Netanyahu says debate over settlements 'a waste of time': http://bit.ly/umPO9 about 23 hours ago from Twitter
Netanyahu's offer is similar to Hamas' Hudna offer. Could be temporary as the first step to permanence. Or, it could be temporary as a ploy.
I misread the Haaretz article. No announcement of freeze to settlement construction, only the conditional ploy that Citizen referred to above. Netanyahu is wily. I hope Obama has more resolve.
off topic: Here is yet another lose end from the AIPAC spy case. It is absolutely shocking that the witness tampering investigation went nowhere. /snark DOJ: AIPAC case witness was asked to 'fake…suicide' http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0609/D...
Obama need only add the IDF to the list of terrorist organizations to neutralize Netanyahu. Then the FBI can start arresting the major Zionist donors, and the DOJ can start prosecuting those contributing to Zionist organizations. Netanyahu would sing a much different tune once Saban, Adelson, the Bronfmans, the Krafts, Peretz, Steinhardt, Dershowitz, et. al. are all heading off to 65 years of imprisonment and all their assets have been seized: [Khaleej Times] US Charities Paying for Sending Aid to Palestinians.
off topic: How much do you want to bet this is on Palestinian land that will soon be seized for 'state' purposes, if it hasn't already? Note that the author refers to the location as the 'Jordan Valley', avoiding informing the reader that the site is in the eastern part of the West Bank. Underground Cave Dating From The Year 1 AD http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Underground_Cav...
RE: "Netanyahu thinks he's pinned Obama on settlements" *** TELL OBAMA "FREEZE MEANS FREEZE" *** FROM J STREET: Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of a full settlement freeze, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said…that President Obama "wants to see a stop to settlements – not some settlements, not outposts, not natural-growth exceptions." This is exactly the sort of leadership we need from the President and Secretary of State if we are going to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the only way to truly secure Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic homeland. Please send the President a message telling him you support his "Freeze means Freeze" approach to Israeli settlements. * TO SEND MESSAGE - http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/2747/t/3251/pet...
*** SETTLEMENT FREEZE NOW *** FROM 'Americans for Peace Now' (APN): Settlement freeze now. "No shticks. No tricks." We need you to send a message of encouragement to Secretary Clinton. Tell her that she and President Obama are right in calling for a settlement freeze and that they shouldn't take 'No' for an answer. Please print a letter and mail it to Secretary Clinton. TO PRINT LETTER - http://capwiz.com/peacenow/issues/alert/?alertid=...
Israel will accept billions of free money regularly and a wide array of special sweetheart deals from USA because Israel is so entitled, no matter the state of the USA economy, or whether it's in the USA interest, but Israel will not be told what to do by Obama: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/netany...
Why is this not discussed on USA mainstream TV? Iran is all over it. But nothing on this heavy investment by US dollars and lives? Obama? He's got MItchell one one side and Dennis Ross on the other, with Hillary willing to go either way. Obama stuck his neck out very feebly, by merely demanding in Cairo public a freeze on settlements, not even any uprooting…. I want to puke. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast...