In a refreshing change, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flatly on Wednesday that there will be no new freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.
In a press conference after his meeting Tuesday in Jordan with King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Ban had forcefully urged Netanyahu to reinstate an Israeli unilateral construction freeze in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria as a “goodwill gesture” to the Hamas-allied 'Palestinian' Authority, saying that such construction was “not helpful”. Ban did not specify for whom building hom,es was unhelpful, and needless to say, Ban had nothing to say about 'Palestinian' construction in the area.
Netanyahu refused to comply with Ban’s request, saying that any discussion regarding a renewed freeze on construction should occur as part of negotiations themselves rather than as a precondition to talks.
“This issue is part of the negotiations,” he told Ban. “It can’t be a precondition.”
In other good news, Israel gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a plan to build 600 new homes in Shiloh in Judea. Included are retroactive approvals for 100 previously constructed homes.
Shiloh, by the way was Israel's capitol for over 400 years.
The UN’s Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, called the Israeli announcement “deplorable” and said it “moves us further away from the goal of a two-state solution.”
*chuckle*
Let a thousand bulldozers bloom.
2 comments:
"Let a thousand bulldozers bloom." Agree wholeheartedly!! This is the land of the Jewish people by divine decree. As such, they should build on it.
If anyone should try and rip this from them, it should be understood that there will be dire consequences for that individual or individuals who would try such things. I'd suspect that there would be consequences to any Israeli who would try to negotiate any of this land away in exchange for "peace" or whatever. Now if Isrealis should choose to do this, this is their business between them and God. This is really not our business nor is it the business of the UN.
By the way a nation state cannot remain viable unless in the long run unless it has defensible borders and is willing and able to defend those borders. The proposed two state solution, as the UN, the US, and others seem to want to implement it right now would leave Israel virtually defenseless in a conventional sense.
This would mean Israel would be more likely to need to resort to the use of nuclear weapons at an earlier stage than at present should the need arise to defend their homeland. Ohter parties in the region would know this. As such, they are going to be much more likely to develop their own nuclear arsenals. Essentially the two state solution as currently proposed would lead to greater nuclear proliferation. This is something we claim to want to prevent!!
"Ban had nothing to say about Palestinian construction in the area". "Robert Serry called the Israeli announcement 'deplorable' and said it "moves us further away from the goal of a two state solution." These two statements are uttlerly ridiculous. We claim to want a two state solution yet nothing is said about Palestinian encroachments on disputed territory and nothing is said about Palestinian incitment agaisnt Jews or the rewarding of terrorist soldiers by the Pslestinian leadership.
If we truly want what we claim to want which is a viable two state solution, then the unconditional support of the Palestinians by the Americans, the EU, the UN and others must end. At the very least any aid and support for them must be based upon very stringent conditions much like the aid Israel receives from the US is. By either cutting this aid off or making it conditional this would place the parties on a more equal footing.
When the parties are on a more equal footing, the Palestinians are much more likely to feel the desire to enter into good faith negotiations with Israel to achieve the so called two state solution.
By making the statements that Mr. Ban and Mr. Sperry made these men are either lying, allowing themselves to directed by ideology rather than the facts of the situation, or both. In any event, not a good situation. When faced with such a sitution, Israel should, as you say, "let a thousand bulldozers bloom."
Hopefully there will be more like this.
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