Netanyahu, Lieberman 'struck secret deal for West Bank construction'

[ProgressiveMuslim]

By Haaretz Service

Tags: West Bank, Israel News, E1

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a secret deal with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman for highly contentious construction on West Bank land known as E1, Army Radio reported Wednesday.

A source close to the negotiations between the pair told Army Radio that the plan had been agreed upon even though it did not appear in the official document detailing the coalition deal between Yisrael Beiteinu and Netanyahu's Likud.

The plan is for the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim to build 3000 new housing units on the territory, which stretches between it and Jerusalem, the source was quoted as saying.
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Construction in the area is particularly sensitive because it would create contiguity between the settlement and the capital, which in turn would prevent Palestinian construction between East Jerusalem and Ramallah.

This would also make it difficult to reach agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on the question of permanent borders.

For this reason, the United States has strongly opposed this sort of Israeli construction for more than a decade. Israeli governments have avoided construction in this area, mostly because of U.S. pressure.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1073771.html

[dipsydoodle]

1. There was a post elsewhere on DU

yesterday which refered to recent access to the archived Ottoman lease which are held in Ankora. These apparently help substantiate that instances of fraud have occured in claiming land in the Gaza strip. I can't find that post - anyone know where it is ?

[bemildred]

2. My pleasure:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=435974

[dipsydoodle]

3. Thank you

Much appreciated. I didn't think of searching Editorials.......doh.

[rateyes]

4. Some things never change. nt

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. WHY??? Can someone who loves Israel answer this basic question?

Why do the Israelis have to spread further into Arab land? There is empty land WEST of Jerusalem. Why not settle there?

[Kurska]

6. I'm not a settler, don't support em either, but maybe I can try to answer your question.

I'd say that settlers are so intent on settling in the west bank in an attempt to secure what they see as land that is "Traditionally jewish" and that jews have a long history of inhabiting, they want that land aswell as the land of modern Israel.

You'd find that most Israeli's don't support the settlers and that there is such demographic unbalance between jews and arabs in the west bank that any hope of settlers achieving any sort population domination over Arabs in the area is in of itself hopeless. Impossibility has never dissuaded religious fanatics before though...

[Douglas Carpenter]

7. they certainly cannot become a majority in the West Bank

but the settlements and support infrastructure that maintains them already takes up 42% of the West Bank - according to B'tsellem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. http://www.btselem.org/English/Maps/Index.asp With settlements and their infrastructure surrounding Jerusalem on the East and cutting through the West Bank at numerous points and occupying the Jordan Valley - thus dissecting the West Bank into mulitple parts and cutting it off from East Jerusalem and access to the border with Jordan - and of course all the road infrastructure that interlinks the settlements with the Israeli state and with each other - this all makes a viable and contiguous Palestinian state a physical impossibility - given that no conceivable Israeli government can remove enough settlements and their infrastructure to make a viable and contiguous Palestinian state with enough unimpeded movement for economic viability even physically possible.

Of course as time marches on, the permanence of these settlements which now have roughly half a million settlers and growing becomes more established along with their vast infrastructure designed to permanently weave them into the State of Israel. Thus the two-state solution is rapidly becoming unthinkable as the end of the two-state approach is reaching or some believe has already reached a point of no return - as a solid Arab majority emerges between the Jordan and the Sea - .


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/728a69d4-12b1-11dc-a475-000b5df10621,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F728a69d4-12b1-11dc-a475-000b5df10621.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2Fdiscuss%2Fdu


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/11/world/middleeast/11road.html?_r=5&pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=22948d4799a34065&ex=1187496000&emc=eta1&oref=&oref=login

[ProgressiveMuslim]

8. Why do decent Israelis allow it? Do they not see this is the lynchpin of the conflict? nt

[Kurska]

9. I'd say theres two views on settlements amoung rational israelis

Long view- The settlements are going to have to come down eventually and at current make it hard for the Palestinians to develop a functional peaceful state and shouldn't be encouraged
Short view- At present the Settlements weaken the ability for the Palestinians to make any sort of real war against the Israel and could be considered "A first line of defense" Against aggression. They soak up alot of terrorist attacks and help keep the israeli heartland relatively secure.

I'd say the settlements are like the Golan heights, right now Israel holding it may make peace less likely, but they also provide important defensive buffers for the jewish state.

That is just my view as a mainstream zionist, there are very much Reform Zionist who insist on the west bank being jewish and that settlements should be encourage, but even Likud only encourage settlements under the table, coming right out and saying anything along the lines of what the settlers proclaim would be international suicide.