U.S. condemns Israeli plan for new construction beyond Green Line

[Poll_Blind]

Source: Haaretz

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Israel's decision to build 1,100 homes in Jerusalem's contested Gilo neighborhood, which lies beyond the Green Line, is counter-productive to reviving peace talks with the Palestinians.

"We believe that this morning's announcement by the government of Israel approving the construction of (1,100) housing units in East Jerusalem is counter-productive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," Clinton told reporters at a news conference.

--snip--

"The Israeli Prime Minister claims to have no preconditions, but with this decision is putting concrete preconditions on the ground," the Palestinian Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

" says there should be no unilateral steps, but there could be nothing more unilateral than a huge new round of settlement building on Palestinian land. The Israeli Prime Minister told the UN that he had come to tell the truth, but it is this decision which tells the truth.”

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-condemns-israeli-plan-for-new-construction-beyond-green-line-1.387055

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And there's the rub: The US is doing everything they can to stop the bid for Palestinian admission to the UN and yet the 20-year foot-dragging of the negotiation process is not serving the Palestinians while Israel not-so-slowly appropriates Palestinian land. More than this, the bid for UN recognition has caused the hardline conservative Israeli government to go into a kind of "overdrive" to grab as much as they can before any Palestinian statehood can be accepted by the UN. There is currently a bill in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) to annex the West Bank, entirely. It would dissolve the Oslo Accords and any and every agreement Israel has with the Palestinian government.

It is slated to be voted on in October.

PB

[AnOhioan]

1. Secretary Clinton wags her finger at Israel...Israel ignores gesture

[Poll_Blind]

2. That's all she really has permission to do.

:shrug:

Bill, being outside the administraiton, has the ability to call things the way they are: Bill Clinton: Netanyahu isn't interested in Mideast peace deal

PB

[AmericaIsGreat]

3. Same shit as always

They continue to build, we condemn it, they build, it's done.

Then they plan and start building somewhere else, we condemn it, they do it anyway, and nobody hears any more about it.

This shit is getting REALLY old.

[Martin Eden]

12. And, as always, we subsidize them no matter what.

Why should the Israelis change their behavior? Actions speak loudest, and words of condemnation mean nothing without consequences.

[Nihil]

13. Yep. 100% correct.

Token statement of "sadness" or "concern" issued (wink, wink)
followed by business as usual and zero follow-up.

:shrug:

[classysassy]

4. How to win the heart and minds of the Palestinian people

The old good cop bad cop routine.

[Hoosier Daddy]

5. "Condemns"?

I didn't see that word.

[fascisthunter]

6. idiots.... think they can just take land away from people

the Israeli government and those moving into these "new homes" are truly nutcase fanatics. The Israeli government and its loyal dumbasses don't want peace, they want the opposite.

[No Elephants]

10. "think?" Or "know?" Potato, potahto.

[AverageJoe90]

16. I could say the same for Hamas + the other jihadists and THEIR loyal dumbasses. n/t

[fascisthunter]

17. Afghanis are not stealing land from Israel, so no you couldn't

The Israel can do no wrong is OVER.

no more false equivalency... we see who the oppressers are and who the oppressed are.

[AverageJoe90]

18. I didn't say anything about Afghanis. Please read more carefully.

I was solely referring to the Palestinian jihadists and their followers, and not from any other nation, nor was I insinuating that all Palestinians are jihadists(in fact, I believe the opposite).

[fascisthunter]

19. yes, the jihadists are assholes

another extremist element fucking up peace for everyone, but I believe they are being empowered by Israel's land grab and the way they treat Palestinians in general.

[AverageJoe90]

20. Well, given that Israel DOES seem to be dominated by right-wingers.......

Unfortunately, there definitely is some truth to what you have said as there are dozens of cases of actual abuse of Palestinians in the Israeli prison system. I would like to hope, however, that this could come to a gradual stop once the centrists take control again like they once had, oh so long ago.

[frylock]

7. SSDD

condemns. fucking laughable.

[mazzarro]

14. Same Sh*t Different Day

This charade is so old that this so tragically laughable in any way one decides to look at it!
If this were to be any other country - the US and the West would have gone to war long time ago - citing all types of possible crimes and human catastrophe. And since oppressed people lacking natural resources to use to bargain for support cannot fight for their freedom without being condemned as terrorist, maybe lands should be donated in Canada, Australia and the US to the Palestinians and move them wholesale there - surely Israel would like that!

[IamK]

8. Barack called Netanyahu to his office and put Israel on double secret probation...

[DLnyc]

9. US needs to ignore Israel's request to veto

the Palestinian resolution. Just like Netanyahu has ignored (over and over and over) our demands that he freeze settlement building.

What kind of 'relationship' is it when we do exactly what they want, and they ignore our demands on a regular basis even to the point of direct insult?

[No Elephants]

11. Israel yearns for a two state solution

Suggests the U.S. Give the Palestinians Utah.

Salt Lake, Dead Sea. Potato, potahto.

[gratuitous]

15. Ooooh, "counter-productive"! That's tellin' 'em!

I hope the Secretary of State had Israel's permission to use such strong language.

[Selatius]

21. Because writing strongly worded letters to Israel is preferable to actually confronting this wrong.

The US won't go much beyond issued statements.