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Rice: Jewish housing plan undermines peace talks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080614/..._ca_st_pe/rice
JERUSALEM - The United States took Israel to task Saturday for a planned expansion of Jewish homes in the portion of Jerusalem that Palestinians claim for the capital of a future state.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said such moves undermine the U.S.-backed peace talks.
Rice, while making what has become nearly a monthly trip to assess the negotiations, said Israeli housing expansions are a recurring problem. In particular, she says she will discuss the latest announcement of 1,300 new homes in east Jerusalem with every Israeli official she sees.
With peace talks under way, Rice said, now is a time to build confidence on both sides. "This is simply not helpful to building confidence," she told reporters before arriving in the Israeli capital.
An aide to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that Abbas will insist that Rice pressure Israel to stop the construction. At the same time, an Israeli government spokesman said that Israel was looking forward to "constructive talks" with Rice.
Israel has committed to halt all settlement activity. But the country insists it has the right to build housing for Jews in east Jerusalem because it annexed that sector of the city shortly after capturing it in the 1967 Mideast war.
Israel's announcement on Friday brought to more than 3,000 the number of homes Israel has approved for construction on land that Palestinians claim since the renewal of the U.S.-supported peace talks late last year.
"We firmly condemn this project, which reveals the Israeli government's intention to destroy peace," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
The fate of Jerusalem, site of shrines sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians hope to make east Jerusalem the capital of their future state and say continued Israeli construction there makes it difficult to persuade ordinary Palestinians to support peace talks and not violence.
The future of the city recently became an issue in the U.S. presidential election, when Democrat Barack Obama alarmed Palestinians and Arab-Americans by saying Jerusalem should be Israel's capital and remain undivided. He did not initially mention the Arab claim.
Rice and other U.S. officials have publicly scolded Israel over housing before, but her frustration was evident Saturday. Over the year and a half that Rice has been making regular peace missions, there has been a pattern of provocative Israeli housing announcements just before or just after her visit.
"Unfortunately there have been a few whether I'm coming or not," Rice told reporters. Her clipped tone and arched brows revealed annoyance. "Look, it's a problem, and it's a problem that we're going to address with the Israelis," she said.
Although Israeli authorities say the announcements are not related, Palestinians say the timing is clearly meant to placate hard-liners in Israel who oppose the land concessions that would be inevitable if the U.S.-sponsored peace process ever bore fruit.
President Bush predicted Saturday that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement is possible by year's end.
A total of 270,000 Jews live in the West Bank, and an additional 180,000 live in east Jerusalem.
Privately, the Palestinians acknowledge that Israel will hold on to much of the disputed land where Jews live, and are prepared to trade it for equal amounts of Israeli territory. But they say the reports of continued construction weaken support in the Palestinian street for Abbas' administration.
Abbas briefly called off peace talks over the construction earlier this year.
Rice also said Israel has not fully honored its pledge to make practical improvements in the daily lives of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where as a security precaution the Israeli military restricts Palestinian movement and controls details of ordinary life.
There are a few small success stories, such as demonstration projects in which Palestinian security forces are operating with some autonomy, Rice said.
"But it's not enough, and there certainly and clearly needs to be more," she said. "I understand the security considerations as well as anyone but the obligation was undertaken to improve the lives of the Palestinians, and we're going to have to work very hard if we're going to make that true in a broader sense."
The Force is With Me
The welfare state of Israel is not slightly interested in peace .. not the slightest. They intend to keep building "settlements" and continue to create reasons to oppress the Palestinian people as long as the US contunues to do nothing.
If we were honest about "fighting terrorism" we'd do something about Isreal's.
As long as Washington, DC remains Israeli occupied territory, nothing will change.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
U. S. NAVY Veteran
The United States took Israel to task Saturday for a planned expansion of Jewish homes in the portion of Jerusalem that Palestinians claim for the capital of a future state.
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Really?....and I guess that if Osama sets his sights on a few acres in Washington DC for a future mosque, we should refrain from developing that particular acreage too...just in case.
Same logic....
Put blame where it belongs
ATF decided it could not regulate bump stocks during the Obama administration.
It that time," the NRA wrote in a statement. "The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations."
The ATF and Obama admin. ignored the NRA recommendations.
Worst gambler ever
QFTOriginally Posted by blackascoal
People tend to forget that Israel is not one of our states. But Israel does indeed wield more influence over DC than any one of our states, or many of them combined.
Israel is strong, they can stand on their own two feet. We don't need to place them ahead of ourselves in every fucking respect.
Israel can do their own thing. I don't want any Americans to die for that country, no do I want American money funding its wars, nor do I want American built missiles landing in neighborhoods in Lebanon. Only idiots and hacks can't see the magnitude of the problems our ass licking of Israel causes us.
Would you want YOUR kid to die in a war to protect Israel, or to make sure they can keep occupying foreign Palestinian lands? If so, send them off, but don't expect me to.
The Force is With Me
well said.
AMERICAN HISTORY ITSELF IS A TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE, ALONG WITH THE COURGE AND SACRIFICES OF CONSCIOUS WHITE AMERICANS, LIKE VIOLA LIUZZO, EVERETT DIRKSEN, AND MANY OTHERS, HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED TOGETHER FOR OUR FREEDOM, AND FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
In America, rights are are not determined by what is just, fair, equitable, honest, nor by what Jesus would do. Rights are determined ONLY by what you can DEMAND.
Verified User
The problem here arrises because the US does nothing about the fact that US born citizens are making claims that they are Israeli citizens as well. You are not supposed to have an alliegence to another soveriegn in this country. When Johnathon Pollard betrayed the US he said he felt compelled to put the "interests of my state" ahead of his own. Some Jewish Americans feel compelled to work in the US for the interest of their "second country". Rabbi Meir Kahane also said that he was a "dual citizen" and as a US Citizen served in the Knesset. Can you imagine if Farahkan said that he was a citizen of the US and Iran? Worse yet if he served in the Iranian Legislature? The collective heads of the Right in this country would explode. I have no problem with people feeling that their interests lay in Israel and that they feel a need to act in Israels best interest EVEN if that runs counter to the US. Just pack your shit, and move.
Last edited by Socrtease; 06-15-2008 at 10:17 AM.
Terminator
What....
and where pray tell is your outrage over Russias skud missles and Chinas Bottle rockets landing in Jewish/Israeli territory?..at least admit they are as guilty...
Worst gambler ever
Fine, they're guilty. Now lets stop making Israel's wars our own.and where pray tell is your outrage over Russias skud missles and Chinas Bottle rockets landing in Jewish/Israeli territory?..at least admit they are as guilty...
Satisfied?
Terminator
No....!
Israel's anti-terrorist war is our war also...did you miss something in the past...like the Twin Towers Assault(twice)...or many other examples over the last several decades...The Cole incident etc?
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