Israel is close to reaching a deal with the United States that will accommodate the so-called "natural growth" of settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, the Israeli ambassador to Washington has told Al Jazeera.
Michael Oren said on Tuesday that the US had agreed with Israel to a temporary halt to settlement building activity in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem, rather than a total freeze.
"The agreement was a time-limited halt - or a pause, if you will - to the settlement construction, that would allow for a certain amount of what we would call 'certain life growth' in the territories," Oren said.
Snip
Sometimes the only option for Analysis viz the Mid East is total despair. To limit a Likud government to "natural growth" viz the settlement is to impose no limits at all. This is a favorite con of Likud governments going all the way back to Menachem Begin. It is a loophole that the Israeli government will drive untold number of moving vans through. Sweet Baby Jesus on a Pogo Stick what is Obama thinking?
Michael Oren said on Tuesday that the US had agreed with Israel to a temporary halt to settlement building activity in the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem, rather than a total freeze.
"The agreement was a time-limited halt - or a pause, if you will - to the settlement construction, that would allow for a certain amount of what we would call 'certain life growth' in the territories," Oren said.
Snip
Sometimes the only option for Analysis viz the Mid East is total despair. To limit a Likud government to "natural growth" viz the settlement is to impose no limits at all. This is a favorite con of Likud governments going all the way back to Menachem Begin. It is a loophole that the Israeli government will drive untold number of moving vans through. Sweet Baby Jesus on a Pogo Stick what is Obama thinking?
2 comments:
I hadn't heard of this "natural growth" thing before, but it seems like one of those fuzzy barriers that world leaders looking for an easy solution grab onto, and leaders looking to do things they're not supposed to because they know they can get away with more now.
Then again, this is an administration that was shocked to find out that health insurance companies are greedy, and will take advantage of any leeway they have and then ask for more.
Cujo359,
The "natural growth" shell game is a old ploy of both Labour and Likud. It allows existing settlements, which by the way are already illegal by Israeli law, to further expand. Thus a settlement of 2500 is allowed to "naturally" expand to 3000. Did we mention that the settlement it self is demonstrably illegal by Israel law?
It is like allowing a man who robbed a 7-eleven store of all its beer to also steal some chips and dips because, you know beer,chips and dips "naturally" go together.
A serious settlement freeze is just that, not allowing the Israeli government to add one more apartment, not one more settler to the occupied territories.
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