Netanyahu halts plans to build 24,000 more settler homes

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Reuters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered on Tuesday a reassessment of plans to build nearly 24,000 settler homes, saying he feared an international outcry that would divert attention from Israel's lobbying against a nuclear deal with Iran.

The right-wing Israeli leader announced the reversal in the face of stiff U.S. opposition to settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Palestinian anger that threatens three-month-old peace talks brokered by Washington.

Before news of Netanyahu's change of course, President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the Palestinian leadership to hold "an urgent emergency meeting in the coming hours, with all options on the table," the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity on occupied land Palestinians seek for a state, said the Housing Ministry had issued tenders late last month for drawing up construction plans, but that no building work was imminent.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/us-israel-palestinians-settlements-idUSBRE9AB17O20131112

[ReRe]

1. Bibi blinked!

... Hey, Beeb, you should have thought before you opened your big mouth and swallowed your leg.

[mallard]

3. He's going to hold off on screwing the Palestinians for a while ...

... so's to shift focus back onto screwing Iran instead. Doesn't mean a thing about the 24,000 unit land grab in the long run. In a gamble using this fake and totally illegitimate bargaining chip, Netanyahu will probably succeed in showing the world how little choice remains but to do what these wonderful Israelis demand. French foreign minister Fabius was certainly right there for him to nix the latest deal with Iran to ease sanctions. Collective punishment only goes one way, apparently. Imagine if Israel were treated that way!

Double standards are a key part of the 'formula'.

[Scootaloo]

2. Will Kerry be sending mr. Bibbles some new shorts? n/t

[bravenak]

4. Wonders never cease.nt

[pansypoo53219]

5. just delayed i am sure.

[rpannier]

6. Wonder how much this had to do with his meeting with Kerry and the phone call with Obama

Maybe his supporters among the Democrats also reminded him that he's going to have to give some too

[AtheistCrusader]

7. For now.

And there is tremendous diplomatic damage anyway.

I don't suppose they already started clearing people off that land, did they? Yeah, they probably did.

[azurnoir]

8. The headline is *cough* a bit inaccurate as the first line shows

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered on Tuesday a reassessment of plans to build nearly 24,000 settler homes, saying he feared an international outcry that would divert attention from Israel's lobbying against a nuclear deal with Iran.

That's not exactly a halt, it's at best a temporary hold

[karynnj]

9. Agreed - and why Kerry's full comments deserve more press than they got

You need to provide the security for Israel and you need to provide certainties about certain things, what happens with refugees, how you deal with the land.

The Palestinians need to know that they will have a real state, not a Swiss cheese, but a state that is contiguous, that allows them the opportunity to be able to have their sovereignty respected.

http://www.israelpolicyforum.org/blog/john-kerry-interview-israels-channel-2-news


I found this looking at twitter.com - it is more detailed than any other source that I have seen. Most of what I have seen is the outrage of the far right wing of Netanyahu's right wing party - some of which wrote that God gave Israel "Judea and Sumaria".

This is the strongest position I have seen anyone within any American administration. I like his rejection of a Palestine that is "swiss cheese". However, a deputy defense minister last week complained that we should not speak of Israeli settlers in teh West Bank, but of Palestinian enclaves within Israel - figuratively annexing the West Bank into Israel.

One danger is that Netanyahu might be alienating the best of the young Jewish population. Many have joined groups like Jewish Voice for peace and are a large portion of the BDS boycott of Israeli products made in the West Bank. Strong as Kerry's words are as heard in Israel and even the US, many of those young people would hear the comments as too mild.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. VNN is an anti-Semitic hate site.

It is a branch of "Veteran's Today" and features anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers and revisionists.

Buyer Beware: Veterans Today and its Anti-Israel Agenda is from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

[karynnj]

12. I am well aware of that - and of the fact that Times of Israel is RW

I can't find a full account of Kerry's words elsewhere. What has been printed in good Israeli sources is excerpts of this - and from following Kerry closely for years - I see nothing here that does not sound like him.

You are possibly better informed on good coverage of Israel - within the Israeli press or internationally. I WOULD appreciate a better source if you know of one.

I think Kerry's words on that show are important - and obviously he is not anti-Semitic in the least. I do think they were very important in the context they occurred in. Netanyahu was absolutely trying to distort the Palestinian position in a way that would likely cause Abbas to lose credibility (and could actually put him at risk) by saying he agreed to waves of new settlements. Kerry was the person in the middle who knew both sides - and his statement is important.

It is NOT anti-Semitic to want a 2 state solution. It is also not anti-Semitic to agree with the high lighted paragraph. Kerry's comment referring to Swiss cheese should be seen in the context of a deputy defense minister saying that we should not speak of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, but of Palestinian enclaves in Israel. What he is describing is actually LESS than Swiss cheese - essentially Palestinians get the equivalent of the "holes".

I am Jewish and have been a member of J Street and Brit Tzedek before that.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. What does TOI have to do with anything?

You'd rather post an excerpt from an anti-Semitic site than a RW one?

I have no issue with what Kerry said as was obvious since I said nothing of the sort, nor did I say he was anti-Semitic. I also said nothing about being for a two-state solution being anti-Semitic; I am for two-states. I said nothing about the highlighted paragraph being anti-Semitic, I said the source you used was anti-Semitic. Just because you agree with the sentiment, doesn't change the nature of the source. I am a Jew too, and I find your choice in links offensive. Are there better sources with the entire speech other than on Holocaust revisionist sites? I am sure there are if one looks.

I was simply providing an FYI. Many people seem not to know the true nature of that site. Perhaps, to some, it really doesn't matter and if this is the case, how long before we can expect posts from Aryan Nation or the National Vanguard?

[karynnj]

14. I should have made the reference to Times of Israel more explict

It was the source of the main article on DU that spoke of Kerry's remarks. I never protested that source in a very highly regarded DU thread that received a large number of recommends.

When posted this - with great concern of the source - because it contained what purported to be the entire transcript I had looked for an alternative source - if only for greater credibility. I failed.

I looked again - and there is now a better source. http://www.israelpolicyforum.org/blog/john-kerry-interview-israels-channel-2-news I changed the link in the other post.

[Behind the Aegis]

15. OHH. I didn't see that bit. The source at the top is Rueters, so I wasn't getting your connection.

If TOI is the only place that printed the entire conversation then use it as the source. Try "Swiss cheese" and "Israel" in your search, you may find a better source. I find if I use an unusual word(s) in a search, then it helps narrow things down. The only other place I can think to look would be the SoS site as they sometimes reprint entire speeches (or they used to do so).

Again, my issue is not with the article said or didn't say.

[karynnj]

18. TOI did not cover it, but I have just found that Israelpolicyforum has added it

I had tried googling the entire first line of the highlight - and had failed. I also had looked at the State site. I do follow the State Department twitter feed - and had not seen anything. I saw the earlier one because I also had looked at "john Kerry" on twitter - to get all the things that mentioned him.

I have replaced the link in my post.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Here's the best source:

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/11/217314.htm

I thought you were talking about another interview, I didn't realize you were looking for a transcript. The above is directly from the State Department, including your excerpt.

ETA: Well, seems you found another source already. LOL! Well, now you have the transcript from the State Department too.

[karynnj]

19. Thanks - I HAD looked at the State Depatment site and missed this.

I am relieved the SD site has it - even though I missed it. It is a very good interview.

Thanks again.

[Behind the Aegis]

20. So you know, I found it by searching other sites.

I didn't find it initially at the SD site either.

[karynnj]

21. I've found it really hard to find things there - unless I had a link

to them. They really could make the site a lot better than it is - though the Secretary's words are only a small part of what they need there.

Thanks again.

[hugo_from_TN]

10. The settlements give Israel leverage for bargaining

That's why they will never take them off the table. Just like Iran will not take the enrichment facilities off the table. Bargaining.

[bobGandolf]

16. Thank God! n/t