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Netanyahu continues moving the goalposts – announces new settlement bloc Israel must keep in deal with Palestinians

(Image: Mondoweiss. Inspiration: The Dersh)
(Image: Mondoweiss. Inspiration: The Dersh)

Netanyahu adds another settlement bloc to the list of parts of Palestine that Israel plans to keep. And then there’s the Jordan Valley and so on.

Haaretz reports:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded that Israel retain a fourth settlement bloc in addition to three it has already demanded in negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been working to hammer out a framework peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The settlement bloc in question is in the vicinity of Beit El, adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank. Israel has already laid claim to three other settlement blocs – Ariel, Gush Etzion and Ma’aleh Adumim. Settlement blocs refer to areas in the West Bank where the majority of Jewish communities are located.

Palestinians fiercely oppose the latest Israeli request, according to an Israeli source who has been briefed by the Americans.

Netanyahu wants to annex the four blocs but, according to the Israeli source, at this stage opposes compensating the Palestinians with a land swap of equal size and quality. The prime minister did, however, raise the possibility of buying some of the land on which the settlement blocs rest from the Palestinians and compensating them for other parts with land that is in Israel proper.

The notion that Israel can determine unilaterally which “settlement blocs” it will keep in any agreement with the Palestinians is yet another invented Israeli fact on the ground.

Any land that is now part of Palestine (in the occupied Palestinian territory, i.e., beyond the 1967 green line) is subject to discussion with the Palestinians in negotiations and potentially could be part of “mutually agreed-upon” land swaps.

Nowhere has Israel been given the right to determine unilaterally what it will “keep.” Indeed, even George Bush’s (in)famous letter acknowledging that there will be territorial changes based on realities on the ground also states that any such changes/swaps will be subject to negotiations with the Palestinians.

Sometimes, it looks as if Israel, with its endless colonial provocations, is begging to be hit with boycott, divestment, and sanctions. And it deserves to get them.

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“The notion that Israel can determine unilaterally which “settlement blocs” it will keep in any agreement with the Palestinians is yet another invented Israeli fact on the ground.”

Well, “fact on the ground” is one of those wonderful-awful analogies that have been over-stretched quite a bit. Israel’s ability to push the USA around is apparently a fact (or quasi-fact) but diplomacy is not what we (or I) think of as “on the ground”.

Anyway, point taken — whatever else it is, it is an Israeli invention. And as to whether Abbas will accede to this — as to other — demands, time will tell. And what “the Palestinians” will do (and who the Palestinian actors who will assume the mantel of “The Palestinians” will turn out to be!) IF Abbas accedes to ANY Israeli proposal — also remains to be seen.

I think the clock will simply run out, the Palestinians will (routinely) be accused of being the spoilers, and then — EU will cut back funds, stop projects, increase BDS-like behaviors and MAYBE Abbas will go to ICC. If he dares. He does not have an “iron rice bowl”, his “people” depend on Israel to continue such largess as it may be pleased to continue. And Arafat died under mysterious circumstances. (As did JFK.)

It’s a tough world. And I bet Abbas is ignoring climate change just like most world leaders. Other things on his mind I suppose.

If you remove the word “CHUTZPAH” from the top of the poster, I think there’s enough room there to fit the words “ZIO-SUPREMACIST ASSHOLE”.

From what I have read Netanyahu’s justification for annexing Beit El and its environs is that it is a “Jewish heritage site.” Beit El is according to Jewish biblical legend the place where Jacob dreamed about the ladder to heaven. There is a rumor that Kerry bought into this, but it is only a rumor. What bullshit!!

One thing about the ploy of “Jewish heritage sites” is that it is also being used as a reason to annex much of the Hebron area and to maintain an Israeli presence in the city of Hebron and at the Ibrahimi Mosque. The PM mentioned Hebron and Beit El as heritage sites that he wants to keep at a Likud party meeting a week or two ago, as reported in the linked article.

Netanyahu went to Jordan today and apparently told Abdullah about wanting Beit El. There is no report on how the Jordanian King reacted. BB was in Amman to update the King on the I-P negotiations. Jordan is very concerned about having a say in any settlement agreement, especially concerning Palestinian refugee that live in the Kingdom. Also, Jordanian officials have recently expressed concern over rumors about a secret back channel between BB and Abbas which they fear will ignore Jordanian interests. The Israeli far right also has expressed the same fear and worry about its interests.

The talk about wanting the heritage sites, the trip to Jordan, the “tonguelashing” (this is how it was described in the Hebrew press) that Ya’alon gave Kerry, the Knesset resolutions meant to block negotiations, all signal that the Kerry talks may actually lead to an agreement. Why else would there be such a fuss.

If there is an agreement I doubt that it will be a final status deal, but it could lead to significant changes on the ground. Although Kerry and the Palestinians both say that there will be no temporary deal, it seems to me that a temporary deal is the only one possible.

Whether that could be good for the Palestinians is an open question.

My feeling is that the biggest obstacle to a deal is Israeli intransigence on the issue of Jerusalem. The Israelis must agree to giving the Palestinians Arab East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state and work out some solution to the Haram a Sharif/Temple Mount/Holy Basin sovereignty issue.

And one more thing. If JStreet’s main interest was getting the 2SS as they claim, they would be out there talking about assuring Palestinian claims in Jerusalem now. They told their membership that they agreed with a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. But they won’t remind people of that now because JStreet is a lot more Obama, Democratic Party and “liberal Zionism” than the 2SS which they claim is there main goal.

“Jewish heritage site”? Um… What about the many, many Muslim (and Palestinian, and Christian) heritage sites inside the ’48 borders of Israel?

Oh, right. Only the Jewish religious claim to the land actually matters, for some reason which has still never been made clear to me. Christians, Muslims, Baha’i, Samaritans, and others also have religious and historical ties to the Holy Land. Why do only the Jewish ones matter?

For some reason, that photo of Netanyahu reminds me of Mike Myers playing Dr. Evil.
Go figure!