Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:52 AM

Israel approves another 1,200 settlement units around Jerusalem

Source: Guardian

Israel has given the green light for the fast-track development of a further 1,200 settlement units around Jerusalem. It brings the total number of new approvals to 5,500 in just over a week, the largest wave of proposed expansion in recent memory.

The latest plan, which would see almost 1,000 new apartments built over Jerusalem's green line in Gilo, comes as the Israeli media is reporting mounting pressure on the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to drop his commitment to a two-state solution from his platform for re-election in January.

.......

With some critics of Israeli settlement policy arguing that the latest approvals mark the death knell for the two-state solution, it has emerged that some members of Netanyahu's own party are also pushing for him to remove his commitment to a future Palestinian state from his election platform.

"Dividing the land will bring about Israel's destruction," one senior Likud official told the newspaper. "We've said that in the past and we say it today. How does this sit with recognising a Palestinian state?"

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/25/israel-approves-settlement-units-jerusalem

14 replies, 1542 views

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14 replies	Author	Time	Post
Israel approves another 1,200 settlement units around Jerusalem (Original post)	Redfairen	Dec 2012	OP
And happy holidays.	PDJane	Dec 2012	#1
"Israel is not doing the right things, nor will they until forced to."	oberliner	Dec 2012	#10
Stop building illegal settlements.	PDJane	Dec 2012	#14
This is certain to guarantee peace and tranquility in the new year.	Orrex	Dec 2012	#2
Israelis have much better skills in some areas than with relationships	Maineman	Dec 2012	#3
So you oppose the many countries with Islam as their state religion I assume.	former9thward	Dec 2012	#4
I object to state religions, period.	PDJane	Dec 2012	#6
It is not a lie.	former9thward	Dec 2012	#7
Yeah, it is.	PDJane	Dec 2012	#9
Can you really believe what you are typing?	oberliner	Dec 2012	#11
Yeah, I can. Because that's the reason for the state of Israel;	PDJane	Dec 2012	#13
The existence of Israel is so far a blip in the history of the Middle East.	Comrade Grumpy	Dec 2012	#5
Yes, of course we know that the name Israel was on no ME maps before 1947. LOL nt	humblebum	Dec 2012	#8
Largest illegal expansion in "memory", and yet ...	mallard	Dec 2012	#12

Response to Redfairen (Original post)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:57 AM

PDJane (8,791 posts)

1. And happy holidays.

I hate the thought of this; Israel is not doing the right things, nor will they until forced to.

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Response to PDJane (Reply #1)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:54 PM

oberliner (22,116 posts)

10. "Israel is not doing the right things, nor will they until forced to."

Forced to?

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Response to oberliner (Reply #10)

Wed Dec 26, 2012, 07:08 PM

PDJane (8,791 posts)

14. Stop building illegal settlements.

Stop confiscating tax money and the water table. Stop killing and maiming children, and stop blaming their greed on the Palestinians.

Israel is the aggressor, boys and girls. Always has been.

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Response to Redfairen (Original post)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 11:42 AM

Orrex (36,421 posts)

2. This is certain to guarantee peace and tranquility in the new year.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Response to Redfairen (Original post)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 12:13 PM

Maineman (584 posts)

3. Israelis have much better skills in some areas than with relationships

We should not support any religion based state.

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Response to Maineman (Reply #3)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 01:06 PM

former9thward (6,370 posts)

4. So you oppose the many countries with Islam as their state religion I assume.

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Response to former9thward (Reply #4)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 08:45 PM

PDJane (8,791 posts)

6. I object to state religions, period.

I don't care whose religion. The real objection with Israel is the claim that they are the only democracy in the middle east. That's a lie. Israel is not a democracy. It is a religious state, and you can't be both.

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Response to PDJane (Reply #6)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 08:52 PM

former9thward (6,370 posts)

7. It is not a lie.

And it is certainly not a "religious state" although many Orthodox Jews wish it was. Any religion is free to practice in Israel and all three of the major monotheistic religions have holy sites in Israel. It is the democracy in the Middle East with no one in second place.

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Response to former9thward (Reply #7)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:25 PM

PDJane (8,791 posts)

9. Yeah, it is.

You can excuse it six ways to Sunday, you can talk about free votes, but it is a theocracy, not a democracy. Hell, even Stalin held 'free votes.'

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Response to PDJane (Reply #9)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:55 PM

oberliner (22,116 posts)

11. Can you really believe what you are typing?

A theocracy?

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Response to oberliner (Reply #11)

Wed Dec 26, 2012, 07:05 PM

PDJane (8,791 posts)

13. Yeah, I can. Because that's the reason for the state of Israel;

to have a Jewish State called Israel. It is a mostly theocratic state, and it has to be; there is no other way to continue a war of aggression and confiscation for more than 40 years.

You can call it a democracy, but it isn't. You can talk about how inclusive it is, but it isn't. And Netanyahu made his usual 'we're better than the arabs' speech for Christmas, too. It's nonsense.

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Response to Redfairen (Original post)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 01:09 PM

Comrade Grumpy (3,358 posts)

5. The existence of Israel is so far a blip in the history of the Middle East.

The Israelis must think moves like this will ensure its longevity, but they could have the opposite effect.

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Response to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #5)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 09:20 PM

humblebum (5,881 posts)

8. Yes, of course we know that the name Israel was on no ME maps before 1947. LOL nt

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Response to Redfairen (Original post)

Tue Dec 25, 2012, 10:40 PM

mallard (489 posts)

12. Largest illegal expansion in "memory", and yet ...

... Israel loyalists posting here are still as vicious as ever in guarding against any suggestion that these expansions indicate Israel might suffer consequences for being in the wrong. That a total lack of moral authority is at issue doesn't apply, nor do ethnic and religious biases which don't exist in the ME's only 'democracy'.

That a Palestinian solution remains ever illusive is completely displaced in the process. Zionism apparently thrives through unresolved conflict.

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