EU blasts Jewish homes as 'obstacle to peace'
You just knew this was coming. It took a surprising nearly 24 hours, but the EU has blasted Israel's plans to construct 300 (count 'em) Jewish homes in
Beitar Ilit and Karnei Shomron as an '
obstacle to peace.'
"We reiterate that the EU considers that settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law, undermine trust between the parties and constitute an obstacle to peace," Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, was quoted as saying by AFP.
She added, "These actions run counter to the repeated efforts of the international community to achieving a peaceful solution to the conflict that will preserve Israels security and realize the Palestinians' right to statehood."
There is one - and only one - obstacle to peace: The Arab (including the 'Palestinians') refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state on what they consider Dar-al-Islam. And that obstacle is not going away in your lifetime or mine.
Labels: Arab denial of Jewish history, Beitar Ilit, Judea and Samaria construction, Karnei Shomron
Sending the 'Palestinians' a message
With Israel facing demonstrations against high housing prices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the government on Monday announced the issuance of tenders for the construction of 6,900 housing units in 38 cities and towns around the country, including 300 units in Judea and Samaria, mostly in Beitar Ilit and Karnei Shomron.
The reaction was predictable.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the continued construction in the settlements “prompts us to go to the UN and the Security Council to ask for recognition of a Palestinian state and full membership in the UN.”
Abu Rudaineh said that the decision to build new homes in the settlements in particular and the Israeli government’s policy regarding settlements in general was completely unacceptable “because all the settlements are illegitimate and must be removed.”
He urged the international community to assume responsibility by taking a clear position against the settlement policy, which, he added, harms not only Israeli-Arab peace, but also the entire world peace.
Meanwhile, a US State Department official on Monday also strongly criticized the announcement of the new West Bank housing tenders.
“We believe this kind of activity only reinforces the stalemate between the parties," the official said, noting America's longstanding opposition to settlement expansion. "It negates the very logic of peace and obstructs the ability of the parties to reach a negotiated solution based on two states for two peoples.”
Fatah also issued a strong condemnation of the plan to build new homes, accusing the Israeli government of destroying the peace process.
The Israeli decision to build in the settlements confirms the Palestinian Authority’s position about the need to go to go to the UN in September, Fatah said.
“Israel alone bears responsibility for the current impasse in the peace process because of its insistence on creating facts on the ground through settlements, land confiscation and the Judaization of Jerusalem,” the statement added.
It also warned that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policies would plunge the region into another cycle of violence and bloodshed.
There's a message here and underneath all the bluster, I'm not sure the 'Palestinians' got it, so I will explain it to you. The message is not in Beitar Ilit. Beitar Ilit is considered part of the Etzion bloc and is one of the 'settlement blocs' that Israel has said for the last seven years that it plans to keep as part of any 'final settlement.' The message is in the units in Karnei Shomron.
Karnei Shomron is outside the '
security fence.'
The message to the 'Palestinians' is that they are not the only ones with unilateral moves, and if they continue to press their luck at the United Nations, they could find themselves with nothing. That message is long overdue. Actions have consequences.
Labels: Beitar Ilit, Judea and Samaria construction, Karnei Shomron, security fence
US judge 'undefaults' the PLO, reopens lawsuit to contest
US Federal judge
Richard Leon has vacated a default judgment issued against the PLO, and will allow them to contest a lawsuit arising out of a February 2002
suicide bombing at a pizza shop in Karnei Shomron. The PLO had
ignored the lawsuit during the three years before the default judgment was entered.
This is something you don't see every day. In April 2005, after the defendants essentially stopped responding, a federal court issued a default judgment in favor of the victims of a February 2002 suicide bombing in the West Bank village of Karnei Shomron. Two American teenagers died in the bombing of the pizza parlor, and many others were injured.
The victims and family members sued Syria as well as the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority and others. By defaulting, the Palestinian organizations faced a judgment potentially exceeding $300 million. Now, though, they want a chance to contest the lawsuit.
In a decision made public Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said that though "the default was wilfull at the time, (the Palestinian organizations) clearly demonstrated their commitment to engaging in this litigation." Moreover, Leon noted, imposing a massive liability "on a struggling government, even if that government is not a recognized state, is not something this court takes lightly."
Since when is THAT a factor to be taken into account? And to vacate a default judgment SIX YEARS after the fact!?!
The problem is that I'm not even sure this order is appealable. I think they have to go to trial and bring it up on appeal. Simply outrageous!
The picture is of 15-year old
Keren Shatsky HY"D (may God avenge her blood). She was one of three teenagers who died in the bombing, and she was an American citizen. I assume her parents are among the plaintiffs.
I remember that bombing well - it was the night before son #4 child #7's circumcision, and I remember listening to the reports on the radio as I drove out to the mother and child convalescent home to pick up my wife and son.
Labels: default judgment, Karnei Shomron, Palestinian terrorism, PLO, Richard Leon
You just knew this was coming. It took a surprising nearly 24 hours, but the EU has blasted Israel's plans to construct 300 (count 'em) Jewish homes in Beitar Ilit and Karnei Shomron as an 'obstacle to peace.' 
