Good. I'm not usually in favor of a foreign country going against the wishes of the U.S. government but in this case, Secretary of State Rice is completely wrong, thus Israel has decided to go ahead with the expansion of building in the West Bank. The whole peace prospect in the Middle East is a sham and everyone knows it, from Israel to the PA to the U.S.
Now of course, the blogs and the MSM will be full of condemnations today by the palis - look for Abbas to call again for some million idiot march on the border of Israel or some threat to not be a nice guy anymore. Well, the hell with him. From the article:
The point is that Israel needs to just move ahead with its own plans and forget about Abbas - he has shown his true colors indeed the past six months. At the same time, the article makes mention of how Olmert continues to walk the tight rope in his own government and with that always comes the appearance of his wishy washy decision-making.
Here's the full story from AP.
Now of course, the blogs and the MSM will be full of condemnations today by the palis - look for Abbas to call again for some million idiot march on the border of Israel or some threat to not be a nice guy anymore. Well, the hell with him. From the article:
Israel announced plans to build 1,400 new apartments in the West Bank and disputed part of Jerusalem, despite warnings by Palestinians and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that they could hurt peace efforts between the two sides.
While the announcement Monday could further damage the standing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak moved on Tuesday to bolster the moderate leader, saying he will consider opening the Gaza Strip's crossings if Palestinian militants there stop bombarding Israel with rockets.
The point is that Israel needs to just move ahead with its own plans and forget about Abbas - he has shown his true colors indeed the past six months. At the same time, the article makes mention of how Olmert continues to walk the tight rope in his own government and with that always comes the appearance of his wishy washy decision-making.
Here's the full story from AP.
Israel to Build on Contested Land
Israel announced plans to build 1,400 new apartments in the West Bank and disputed part of Jerusalem, despite warnings by Palestinians and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that they could hurt peace efforts between the two sides.
While the announcement Monday could further damage the standing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak moved on Tuesday to bolster the moderate leader, saying he will consider opening the Gaza Strip's crossings if Palestinian militants there stop bombarding Israel with rockets.
The Israeli announcement on new construction came shortly after Rice wrapped up a two-day visit and left for Amman to meet Abbas. In the Jordanian capital, Rice said Israel should stop such construction projects, but to no avail.
The move reflects the political weakness of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who continues to support construction in disputed areas because it allows him to keep his fragile coalition intact _ though it does damage to Abbas' position.
Olmert insisted Israel is building only in places it intends to keep even after a peace treaty is signed.
At a U.S.-hosted peace conference in November, Israel and the Palestinians agreed to relaunch long-stalled talks and base negotiations on the 2003 "road map" peace plan. The U.S.-backed proposal calls on Israel to freeze all settlement activity and the Palestinians to rein in militants.
But Israel does not consider construction in east Jerusalem to be settlement activity because the Jewish state annexed it after capturing it in the 1967 Mideast war. The international community disagrees, however, because no one has recognized Israel's annexation.
East Jerusalem is home to 180,000 Jews who live in neighborhoods built after the war. An additional 270,000 Jews live in West Bank settlements, most of them in three major blocs.
Palestinians charge that the ongoing construction is sabotaging peace efforts. Although they tacitly agree that Israel will, in the end, retain some or all of these areas, the bulldozers, cranes and work crews are tangible evidence to Palestinians that peace negotiations are not helping their cause, further complicating Abbas' position.
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