While the US State Department publicly insisted the official Obama Administration on the Israeli settlements had not changed, privately diplomats are saying that the adminstration has done a virtual 180, backing off pretty much all its demands with respect to Israel’s settlement activity.
At this point, the US had agreed to completely abandon complaints over Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967. Though the US will not publicly endorse the continued construction it will no longer ask Israel to freeze them.
About all they got was a dubious promise from the Netanyahu government to not issue new construction permits for settlements in the West Bank for nine months. Even this promise likely means little, as thousands of already approved construction projects will continue in the meantime and the Israeli government is already talking about an exit strategy from the program, even though it hasn’t officially halted the permits yet.
The Palestinian Authority has previously said it will not return to the peace talks without a halt to the settlement expansion, and in all likelihood a brief pause in new permits will likely not be sufficient to them. Since the Israelis are giving President Obama everything he is asking for at this point (which is to say, virtually nothing) this may result in the US returning to its familiar role of cheering Israel as a peacemaker while chastising the Palestinians.
Hey, what else is new! The Obama administration will turn out to be a Bush-like didsaster.
Hey, what else is new! The Obama administration will turn out to be a Bush-like disaster.
Looks likes Obama can match George W in the area of personal courage. Just another groveling toady.
Outrageous. Says it all. It has always been about territory. I reckon Obamas credit is shot already. Why isn't Media asking him directly why, why why? Why not stop giving money to Israel until it does the right thing? How can any of us turn our backs on human cruelty & HUGE injustice.
Make that deliberate & unnecessary & unimaginable human killing & cruelty! And, racism & discrimination & theft for the "disgustingly & decadently greedy". It's quite mad if Israel "Govt" normalised relations with Palestinians/Palestine "the peoples everywhere & real humans" could probably buy & own property anywhere. There is plenty of land in this world & food is relativity cheap for Israelies. To me this appears "supremacist racism".
Both Obama and Bush have subjugated US citizens to actions of the Israeli Govt. Moreover, who in the world believes the US to be an ethical and moral nation while continuing to subordinate the interests of its own US citizens to those of a nation that is a religious state, practices aparthied, will not proclaim exact state boundaries, and breaks international law. It must never be forgotten that Israel was established through acts of terrorism against the Palestinians. Christians, Muslims and Jews would at all times have access to the city of Jerusalem. Israel continued its plan to capture all of Jerusalem and was one of the reasons that Israel started the war of 1967. Obama will always be remembered as another hypocritical US leader. As for the Congesss, Buchanan is correct — Capitol Hill — is Israeli occupied territory! The US with a population of 300 million is being controlled by a country with less than a 5 million population using unprecedented corruption.
Mebe Obama shld stay on the Vineyard and keep Joe Bidet (cq) and Hillary with him.
What a lame bunch. They make Cheney look like Alexander
It needs to be pointed out – although I'm sure many of you are aware – that placing blame on Obama is neither here nor there. Obama of Amerika has advisors and outside forces, so we don't really need to compare Obama and Bush – we need to compare the root causes instead. And, we need to explore the options available to reverse decisions or rather, to enforce decisions that would most benefit the Palestinians as well as the Israeli's.
I think the real issue is not what lines in the sand Washington can pander to the world.
or even the slow strangling of Palestine.
but rather the fact that the arab world is in crisis and if any of america's war spill over in to wider conflicts (the worst thing in the world for Palestinians world be any kind of attack by iran on irsael, even retaliatory.)
the question at the moment is if the middle east falls apart not whether israel will control the west bank and gaza, but rather will it control Damascus amman, and beirut