TEL AVIV - Shortly after he "defeated" United States President Barack Obama (to quote prominent Israeli analyst Aluf Benn) and forced him to retract a settlement construction freeze demand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started to back off. "I am prepared to immediately sit privately for direct, continuous negotiations with Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas] until white smoke emerges," Netanyahu proclaimed on Saturday.
In recent days, moreover, Netanyahu advanced two other controversial claims: that he had agreed to an extension of the settlement construction moratorium, and that he had supported the "two states for two peoples" formula for over 15 years. The latter claim, in particular, drew an angry response from Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni: "Nobody believes you because you say different things in different forums."
And Conrad, ( I knew that last post woud ferette you out ) So you too are not Jewish, (or so you say at least) what, may I ask is your incentive(no, not monetary we both know you are well paid for what you do here) ,..so, what IS your true motivation for being here. And please, no one word answers
Antjo, They are useing a new method whereas they post in unison, in an attempt to create a fiegned "crowd of support" for there fieble stance, then when we show up they cut and run.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held discussions in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday as part of renewed efforts aimed at reviving the stalled direct peace talks with the Palestinians. Netanyahu's Egyptian trip to discuss the stalled peace process with Mubarak comes days after the Egyptian President publicly blamed Israel for the failure of the US-mediated peace talks and urged the international community to make sincere efforts to advance the stalled peace negotiations.
Springnight, Don't let their condescending insults ge to you. It jst feeds their frenzy. We both see the situation in the proper perspective. These folks are crazed in their support of Israel yet almost all of the won't admit to even being Jewish. It's just part of their method of intimidation. They hope by Pack attacks you'll leave the thread.
A report in the Israeli press earlier in the week said the US administration was exasperated with Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister and head of the Labour Party, for not being able to deliver on promises he had reportedly made the US. Little credence has been given to that report in Washington where a State Department spokesman on Monday characterised it as "more about political mischief than substance". But it suggests that the focus, for Israelis and Palestinians at least, has moved from pushing forward negotiations to avoiding blame for their collapse.
On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, explicitly fingered the Palestinians while also suggesting that it was the US administration that withdrew a settlement moratorium package he had otherwise been prepared to push through his hardline cabinet.
Analysts say the problems lie deeper and a new approach by all parties is necessary. If any blame is to be apportioned, most say Mr Netanyahu must be held largely responsible, not least for being unable or unwilling to present any constructive suggestions of his own.
"The only explanation for the collapse is that Netanyahu was not interested," said Yaron Ezrahi, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "His positions are much more extreme right than he lets the world know and the rest is theatre.
Mahdi Abdul Hadi, the head of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, said: "Any message that came to the doorstep of Netanyahu from Washington, Cairo, Ramallah or any place in Europe found a shut door. Netanyahu was closed to any initiatives or proposals."
Even in Washington, analysts say Mr Netanyahu must shoulder a large part of the responsibility for the failure.
Analysts say the Israeli premier's reluctance to accept the Palestinian and US demand for a temporary construction freeze on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem showed that he is still opposed to making territorial concessions. They added that Mr Netanyahu preferred to cater to the pro-settler, ultranationalist parties that make up the majority of his ruling coalition so that he can stay in power.
A video of a male Israeli soldier bellydancing around a bound and blindfolded female prisoner has been received with disgust among Palestinians and in the Middle East.
The video provoked an angry response from the Palestinians on Tuesday.
The clip, which came to light after it was screened on Israel's private Channel 10 television late on Monday, shows a soldier gyrating to rhythmic drumbeat of an Arabic track as the woman, who is wearing a headscarf, huddles against a wall, her hands bound in front of her and her eyes bound with a white cloth.
The soldier, who is wearing sunglasses and smiling broadly, repeatedly brushes up close to the woman who has a Hebrew speech bubble coming out of her mouth reading "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is greatest".
JERUSALEM - Israeli soldiers fatally shot an unarmed Palestinian man who approached them at a West Bank checkpoint Sunday. The army said he had been holding a bottle and was shot according to the military's rules of engagement.
The shooting underscored simmering tensions in the West Bank as peace efforts remain at an impasse.
Palestinian witnesses and a military spokeswoman gave differing accounts of the incident, which the Israeli army said was under investigation. The dead man was identified as Ahmad Maslamani, 24, a farm laborer who worked at nearby Israeli settlements.
The shooting occurred at an army checkpoint on a road linking the West Bank city of Nablus to the Jordan Valley. Palestinian witnesses said travelers pass through the checkpoint by first crossing a turnstile and then going through a metal detector.
Abdallah Sbeitan, a farmer who was at the scene, said in a telephone interview that Maslamani had passed through the metal detector, emptying his pockets, and then mistakenly turned left instead of right to leave the checkpoint area. "A female soldier starting screaming, and soldiers, one behind her and another near a concrete barrier, opened fire from about five meters away," Sbeitan said.
No investigation of decision-makers for Operation Cast Lead: B’Tselem has raised serious concerns over Israel’s policy and actions in Operation Cast Lead, in which at least 759 Palestinians not taking part in hostilities were killed. Two years later, Israel has indicted soldiers in only three incidents regarding harm to the civilian population (one for killing a person, another for using a child as a human shield, and the third for stealing a credit card). The political echelon and senior military commanders have not been held accountable for their responsibility in setting the policy that led to extensive loss of life and limb and property damage during the operation. Israel reported that more than 40 investigations have been opened. Some of them were opened a year and a half after the operation ended, and the Judge Advocate General’s Office has not revealed how many have been closed
Increase in West Bank house demolitions (not including East Jerusalem): Israel restricts Palestinian construction in Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the West Bank, leaving Palestinians living there with no option but to build without a permit. This year, up to 20 December, the army demolished 82 houses of Palestinians in the West Bank (compared to 28 houses in 2009), leaving 445 persons homeless, 204 of them minors. Most of the demolitions took place in the Jordan Valley, part of efforts to push Palestinians out of this area.
Continuing construction of the Separation Barrier: Israel has completed 61.4 percent of the Barrier and 8.4 percent are currently under construction. The total length of the Barrier is 707 kilometers, more than twice the length of the Green Line. 85 percent of the route runs through the West Bank, causing harm to some 400,000 Palestinians
Drop in number of fatalities: As of 30 November, Israeli security forces killed 67 Palestinians (12 in the West Bank and 55 in the Gaza Strip), eight of them minors. At least 24 of the persons killed were not participating in hostilities, 39 were killed while engaged in hostilities, and in the case of two fatalities, B'Tselem does not know if the person killed participated in hostilities. Two of the Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip were the object of a targeted killing. The number of Palestinians killed by security forces in the West Bank was lower than in previous years. In addition, Israeli civilians killed two Palestinians
Ttom, my inspiration for posting here is to bring awareness to this horrible situation. You say your not Jewish, Al says he's not Jewish, Conrad says he's not Jewish. The only one of you that will admit to their being Jewish is Wow. Yet you argue with the commitment of Netanyahu's inner circle. Quite a paradox, don't you think. I will continue to post here. Ttom , I will answer your posts. (If you don't propose rediculous solutions that give Israel everything and the Palestine s nothing)
Is this a "cause" as you say, yes. Have I made any "friends" , yes. Is "making friends" a priorty? No.
This year, Israel continued its actions aimed at separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. These actions include placing restrictions on Palestinians from the West Bank wishing to enter the city. The Jerusalem Municipality has continued to advance plans to expand Israeli neighborhoods built in East Jerusalem, and settler organizations have been expanding settlement enclaves in Palestinian neighborhoods, among them Sheikh Jarrah, Ras al-‘Amud, and a-Tur. Construction of new sections of the Separation Barrier have led to the detachment of residents of the village Sheikh Sa’ed from the center of their life in Jerusalem, and is expected to sever the residents of the village al-Walaja from their farmland, which provides their primary income. Until 20 December, Israel demolished, or forced Palestinians to demolish, 17 houses of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, leaving 135 persons homeless, including 66 minors.
About half a million Israelis now live in 236 settlements: 124 authorized settlements, 100 unauthorized outposts, and 12 neighborhoods on land that Israel annexed to Jerusalem. The transfer of 43 percent of the area of the West Bank to control of the settlements has prevented the development of Palestinian communities, especially those in the Jordan Valley and in the southern Hebron hills. Israeli control of land, along with its control of the Israeli-Palestinian joint water sources prevents the development of Palestinian agriculture, the major sector in the Palestinian economy. Following the partial moratorium on building in settlements in the West Bank, in September, construction work was renewed in 63 settlements, in which 1,629 housing units are now being built, according to the figures of Peace Now. The establishment of settlements is prohibited under international law, and their continued existence and expansion in the West Bank severely violates Palestinians’ rights to property, freedom of movement, livelihood, self-determination, and other rights
SilverBirch Forum Posts (3,158)
Al didn't see any statement from that page that indicated weather or not you were Jewish 
Palestinian Statehood at Last
Nope.