U.S., Britain, France and the U.N. Traveling To Israel To Force the Israelis To Stop Building Settlements On Their Own Land

As predictable as it is, western nations and the United (MUSLIM) Nations have voiced their disappointment and outrage at the idea that the Israelis have refused to extend their moratorium on settlement building - you remember, the settlement thing is what the Palestinians feel is the stumbling block to peace...until the Israelis agree to halt it and then the Palestinians come up with a new stumbling block.

But for the British, French and Americans to embarrass themselves this way is beyond the pale - we have the likes of France who is going through a huge dispute in their country about banning the burqa and deporting gypsies out of their country, but they are going to be all high and mighty and object to Israeli settlements on their own land? Bullshit is what this is and I won't even go down the path of what the Obama administration is going to make out of this.

I don't know about you folks, but I'm sick and bloody tired of America and the rest of the West insisting on telling the Israelis how to run their affairs - seems to me I didn't see any of these Western leaders traveling to Israel when that nation needed to bury the bodies of IDF soldiers Goldwasser and Regev. Seems to me there wasn't a peep said by these Western leaders when Israel had to bury the dead students of theirs after the seminary massacre. And the crowd was void of any Sarkozy or Obama when Israelis gathered in a cemetery to buy an infant killed in a market bombing.

The hypocrisy here stinks. Give me one damn day as President of the U.S.A. and let me issue the following statement:

Considering the daily struggle and battle that Israel confronts to protect her citizens and simply to survive, I am saying here and now that the United States fully supports the Israeli building of settlements on their own land. To think that a friend and ally of Israel would disrespect them in this matter and take the side of the Palestinians, is beyond the pale. If the Palestinian Authority is serious about Middle East peace, let them step up to the plate and denounce the Hamas charter, let them agree to the long and everlasting life of the Israeli nation and let them agree to present borders for a potential new state.

There, that wasn't hard. Why don't you try that one out, Barry?

Here's the article at The Jerusalem Post.

US joins condemnation of renewed settlement building


The United States and the UN joined a growing global condemnation of Israel's decision not to extend the building moratorium on Monday. Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherin Aston all issued condemnations of Israel for allowing the freeze to expire.

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley on Monday told reporters that the US was "disappointed, but we remain focused on our long-term objective and will be talking to the parties about the implications of the Israeli decision." He said the U.S. position in support of extending the freeze on settlements remained unchanged and praised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for not immediately walking out of the talks.

Crowley also announced that the Obama administration's special Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will return to the region on Tuesday to continue urgent efforts to break a deadlock in negotiations over Israeli settlements. Mitchell will hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials later in the week

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also expressed his disappointment that Israel had not decided to extend its policy of settlement restraint on Monday. Ban reiterated that "settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, and urged Israel to fulfill its roadmap obligation to freeze settlement activity."

Israel allowed the 10-month West Bank building moratorium to expire early Monday morning despite calls from world leaders to extend it and threats from the Palestinian Authority that they would leave the current peace talks if the freeze was not extended.

Earlier in the day, noting that Netanyahu had promised him to limit West Bank construction, French President Sarkozy expressed his regret that Israel did not extend the construction freeze.

British Foreign Secretary Hague also urged Israel to renew the building moratorium in the West Bank amid fears the expiry of the 10-month ban could "scupper Middle East peace efforts," according to Israel Radio on Monday.

Hague's statements reflected "widespread international concern" that the issue could derail the latest direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Ashton's "strongly regrets" the Israeli move and that "the position of the EU is very clear: settlements are illegal under international law, constitute and obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible," Ashton's spokesman told DPA on Monday.