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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel to build new homes in occupied West Bank |
| 2008-06-02 |
| JERUSALEM - Israel announced plans on Sunday to build hundreds of new homes in an area of the occupied West Bank the Israeli government considers part of Jerusalem, despite US and Palestinian calls to halt settlement expansion. The announcement came two days before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sets off for Washington for a three-day visit where he will meet US President George W. Bush. Housing Minister Zeev Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build an additional 763 housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 housing units at Har Homa, an area Palestinians refer to as Jabal Abu Ghneim. Last month Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build 286 new homes in the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit, near Jerusalem. Both sites are located on lands captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, and were incorporated into the municipal borders of Jerusalem in an act not recognised internationally. Olmert later praised the housing plan at a meeting of his Kadima faction. ‘We need to continue to strengthen Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel. This government is committed to it, it has been since its first day. It has lived up to its commitment and will continue to add and expand,’ Olmert said. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 Serbish? |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-06-02 23:19 |
| #11 Paul is gonna be pissed our new troll exhausted the exclamation point quota this week |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-06-02 21:11 |
| #10 Thravick Black6008 clearly is not a native English speaker. Likely not American either, as only a non-American or a highly educated American Progressive would care about the rest of the world's antisemitism... and an American Progressive would both know to capitalize names whether nouns or adjectives, and would use them correctly, along with commas and exclamation points. Not to mention having more than a vague idea of the name of the book written by the Jews, which is so happily shared by the Christians (see how I did that, dear Thravick Black6008?). |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-06-02 20:44 |
| #9 All jokes aside, this sounds like a thug magnet, bait them into attacking the house, which is loaded with armed soldiers, and has a mined perimeter. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-06-02 17:23 |
| #8 Oooo, a new Can we Something tells me you don't pay taxes, TB - American or otherwise. And it's the |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-06-02 16:19 |
| #7 This proves the terrorist religion of jews have never intended to make peace!!! The jewish religion is one of the most hateful and racist religions on earth!! Jewish is a religion it is NOT a people, race, culture, or ethnic group!! It is just a terrorist religion that uses a book they wrote to justify the murder of women and children to steal everything the Palestinians own!! Some day America will wake up and realize why so many races and cultures hate the jewish religion and will stop using my tax dollars to support killers!!! |
| Posted by: Thravick Black6008 2008-06-02 15:59 |
| #6 to clarify - Pisgat Zeev is old, Har Homa I think was vacant land until about 4 or 5 years ago. I doubt they are specifically designated for Gaza ex-settlers, but I really dont know. the main point though, is that to Israelis these are not in the same category as WB settlements. Now I understand to Pals that they are - but thats mainly a negotiating stance, I think - so that when the PA allows Israel to keep Jewish neighborhoods in East Jer, they can wave it as a concession, in exchange for which they will expect the evacuation of Ariel and Kiryat Arba. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-06-02 14:48 |
| #5 As liberalhawk says, this is merely the expansion of current communities in the Jerusalem metropolitan area -- most likely to house those removed from the Gaza Strip -- not building new communities deep in West Bank territory. This was long since planned for and announced. It's just Reuters trying to cause trouble for Israel, not real news. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-06-02 11:17 |
| #4 cause this ISNT the West Bank. These are places within the city limits of Jerusalem, a few miles from the city center. While "middle Israel" will support giving up settlements deep in the West Bank, and they MAY agree to a division of Jerusalem, its going to be VERY hard for any govt of Israel to pass a withdrawl from Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev. Note, even the deep in the West Bank settlements, which I consider strategically and politically untenable, arent exactly hellholes. They are often built on hilltops with a far more attractive climate than Tel Aviv, with space for single family homes, etc. Yes theres a degree of danger, but there was in the development of Israel itself, and some people are okay with the risks of the frontier, if not actually desirious of it. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-06-02 09:56 |
| #3 I can understand Arabs wanting to live in Israel, but not Israelis wanting to live in the West Bank. Why go to a hell-hole that's going to be the center of the next peace negotiations with a fair chance that you will be evicted at some point in the next few years? I am fiercely pro-Israel but it frustrates me when they act near-sighted and unstrategically. |
| Posted by: John in Tokyo 2008-06-02 08:39 |
| #2 Der Judennnnn! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-06-02 07:57 |
| #1 Arabs live in Israel, therefore Jews can live in the West Bank (which was last held by Jordan). End of story. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2008-06-02 04:57 |