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14 Feb 2011 11:07

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World: Palestinian situation looking pretty freaking messed-up right now

  • I can’t advocate accountability and transparency all my life and then comes the biggest breach in Palestinian national security – the stealing of the documents from my office – and let it be business as usual. What I want to do is plant the seeds for the future of Palestinian officials. When officials make mistakes, they are out.
  • Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat • Explaining why he left his office in the wake of the recent “Palestine Papers” scandal, which was rooted from a leak in his office. Erekat’s exit over the weekend is only one sign of an overwhelming instability that showed up in the wake of the Egyptian unrest. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad straight-up dissolved the cabinet and plans to replace them all within six weeks. The cabinet was long seen by many in the Fatah movement as dysfunctional, indluding Fayyad – and not even all the seats in the cabinet were actually filled with people. Is a fresh start what Palestine needs, at least politically? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2011 19:07

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World: Palestine fighting over itself over Egypt-inspired election plans

  • We call upon all parties to set aside their reservations and disagreements. Let us work together to hold elections and uphold the will of the Palestinian people. As for differences and disagreements, whether in political or security matters, we believe that these issues could be resolved by the coming elected Legislative Council.
  • A message from the Palestinian Authority • Announcing the country’s first elections since 2006, when Hamas gained a foothold, will take place in September. As with just about everything with the Islamist Hamas group, things are tense, and they’re fighting the decision to hold elections, saying that they need to come after a reconciliation period between Hamas and the Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is currently not a part of the Palestine Liberation Organization,  and want the group to be restructured to include them. The two groups – Hamas and Fatah – fought a brief civil war in 2007 and since then have controlled different parts of the already-tension-filled country. Also today, Saeb Erekat, one of Palestine’s chief negotiators with Israel, resigned in the wake of the recent “Palestine Papers” scandal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2010 12:01

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World: U.S. bribes Israel so they’ll stop building West Bank settlements

  • $3 billion the amount the U.S. will offer Israel – mostly in the form of security incentives and fighter jets
  • 90 days the amount of time Benny Netanyahu will enforce a freeze on most new construction in the West Bank source
  • » Clarification: There is some contingency going on here. The U.S. will dangle this carrot over Israel’s head to get them to stop the settlements for now, but it could still fall through if Israel doesn’t sign a peace agreement. So it’s kind of a raw deal, but it’s not that raw.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 10:19

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World: Israel approves more West Bank settlements, plays with fire

  • 1,200 number of homes Israel approved for building in East Jerusalem
  • 800 more homes were then approved for building in the West Bank
  • yes both Palestinians and the U.S. are extremely angry about all this source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Sep 2010 10:37

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World: Netanyahu to West Bank builders: Show some restraint!

We know how tempting building on this land is, guys, but you might want to hold off while we try to broker a peace deal. AGAIN. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2010 22:32

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Politics: Israel treats political scholar Noam Chomsky like a new iPad

  • The funny part is that he totally seems good natured about the whole thing. Chomsky, a lefty through and through who’s also Jewish, was blocked from entering the country with his daughter. He was supposed to give a speech at Bir Zeit University in the occupied West Bank. This guy has a lot of controversial opinions, sure, but we’re guessing Israel’s miffed that he’s not going to speak at one of their universities. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 11:06

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World: Israeli West Bank settlement drama partly an economic thang

  • Real estate prices on the west side of the fence are the lowest, security arrangements are better than on the east side and (offer) better access to the major cities allows settlers to work in Israel.
  • A analysis piece by the Tel Aviv Macro Centre for Political Economics • Regarding why settlement-building in the West Bank is still an ongoing thing, with 6,657 new structures since 2004 alone. While the U.S. and EU say that the buildings get in the way of peace talks (and have caused the country’s latest blow-up), it’s notable that the structures often have significant economic benefits (that have nothing to do with a land debate), too. “Israelis do not want to live beyond the separation barrier” splitting the east and west sides of the West Bank, the report also notes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 Mar 2010 10:15

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World: Israel learns building stuff on the West Bank unpopular with the U.S.

  • Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin … profitable negotiations.
  • Vice President Joe Biden (in tandem with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) • Regarding Israel’s decision to begin building Jewish settlements on the West Bank, which was great timing because Joe-boy just happened to be in town. Abbas wants Israel to reverse its decision. This is also bad because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put a halt to all housing starts for ten months back in November. For those playing at home, it hasn’t been ten months. And Netanyahu is pissed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Nov 2009 10:50

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World: Hillary Clinton: Not many friends among Palestinians right now

  • The Secretary of State and former first lady praised Israel for making “unprecedented” concessions on disputed settlements in the West Bank. source
  • This comment was unexpected, and the Palestinians completely disagree. Most critically, they accuse her of “back-pedaling.” Ouch. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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