Israel legalizes another three outposts.

[Sir Pignans]

Netanyahu has legalized another three outposts in the west bank:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17824007
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomac...posts-1.426382

Now this just seems ridiculous to me, Israel does make some steps attempting to remove settlers, but then it throws stuff like this. I personally think that should Israel continue with this behaviour more extremist Palestinian factions, such as the radical wing of Hamas (which recently won a victory in Gaza with the election of Haniyeh) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the upcoming planned Palestinian elections.

I just don't understand why Israel insists on the need to repeatedly shoot itself in the foot.

[Vanoi]

Netanyahu has legalized another three outposts in the west bank:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17824007
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomac...posts-1.426382

Now this just seems ridiculous to me, Israel does make some steps attempting to remove settlers, but then it throws stuff like this. I personally think that should Israel continue with this behaviour more extremist Palestinian factions, such as the radical wing of Hamas (which recently won a victory in Gaza with the election of Haniyeh) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the upcoming planned Palestinian elections.

I just don't understand why Israel insists on the need to repeatedly shoot itself in the foot.

And Israel continues to violate the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Nothing new here.

[Grouchio]

I really do wonder why most americans haven't looked past "It's okay for Isreal to be displacing others! They suffered the Holocaust!" Well let me tell you this:
(As quoted from Bertrand Russell, 1967)

"The development of the crisis in the Middle East is both dangerous and instructive. For over 20 years Israel has expanded by force of arms. After every stage in this expansion Israel has appealed to “reason” and has suggested “negotiations”. This is the traditional role of the imperial power, because it wishes to consolidate with the least difficulty what it has already taken by violence. Every new conquest becomes the new basis of the proposed negotiation from strength, which ignores the injustice of the previous aggression. The aggression committed by Israel must be condemned, not only because no state has the right to annexe foreign territory, but because every expansion is an experiment to discover how much more aggression the world will tolerate.

The refugees who surround Palestine in their hundreds of thousands were described recently by the Washington journalist I.F. Stone as “the moral millstone around the neck of world Jewry.” Many of the refugees are now well into the third decade of their precarious existence in temporary settlements. The tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was “given” by a foreign Power to another people for the creation of a new State. The result was that many hundreds of thousands of innocent people were made permanently homeless. With every new conflict their number have increased. How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict. No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate? A permanent just settlement of the refugees in their homeland is an essential ingredient of any genuine settlement in the Middle East.

We are frequently told that we must sympathize with Israel because of the suffering of the Jews in Europe at the hands of the Nazis. I see in this suggestion no reason to perpetuate any suffering. What Israel is doing today cannot be condoned, and to invoke the horrors of the past to justify those of the present is gross hypocrisy. Not only does Israel condemn a vast number. of refugees to misery; not only are many Arabs under occupation condemned to military rule; but also Israel condemns the Arab nations only recently emerging from colonial status, to continued impoverishment as military demands take precedence over national development.

All who want to see an end to bloodshed in the Middle East must ensure that any settlement does not contain the seeds of future conflict. Justice requires that the first step towards a settlement must be an Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied in June, 1967. A new world campaign is needed to help bring justice to the long-suffering people of the Middle East."

[Prosaic Visitant]

I really do wonder why most americans haven't looked past "It's okay for Isreal to be displacing others! They suffered the Holocaust!" Well let me tell you this:
(As quoted from Bertrand Russell, 1967)

"The development of the crisis in the Middle East is both dangerous and instructive. For over 20 years Israel has expanded by force of arms. After every stage in this expansion Israel has appealed to “reason” and has suggested “negotiations”. This is the traditional role of the imperial power, because it wishes to consolidate with the least difficulty what it has already taken by violence. Every new conquest becomes the new basis of the proposed negotiation from strength, which ignores the injustice of the previous aggression. The aggression committed by Israel must be condemned, not only because no state has the right to annexe foreign territory, but because every expansion is an experiment to discover how much more aggression the world will tolerate.

The refugees who surround Palestine in their hundreds of thousands were described recently by the Washington journalist I.F. Stone as “the moral millstone around the neck of world Jewry.” Many of the refugees are now well into the third decade of their precarious existence in temporary settlements. The tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was “given” by a foreign Power to another people for the creation of a new State. The result was that many hundreds of thousands of innocent people were made permanently homeless. With every new conflict their number have increased. How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict. No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate? A permanent just settlement of the refugees in their homeland is an essential ingredient of any genuine settlement in the Middle East.

We are frequently told that we must sympathize with Israel because of the suffering of the Jews in Europe at the hands of the Nazis. I see in this suggestion no reason to perpetuate any suffering. What Israel is doing today cannot be condoned, and to invoke the horrors of the past to justify those of the present is gross hypocrisy. Not only does Israel condemn a vast number. of refugees to misery; not only are many Arabs under occupation condemned to military rule; but also Israel condemns the Arab nations only recently emerging from colonial status, to continued impoverishment as military demands take precedence over national development.

All who want to see an end to bloodshed in the Middle East must ensure that any settlement does not contain the seeds of future conflict. Justice requires that the first step towards a settlement must be an Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied in June, 1967. A new world campaign is needed to help bring justice to the long-suffering people of the Middle East."

But does anyone actually use the line of thinking "Jews suffered in WWII, ergo Jews can do what they wish in the Levant"?

Seriously, because I'm yet to see/meet anyone who employs this logic.

[Sadreddine]

Agreed, but the western masses keep falling in the holocaust card trap. As long as the 'west' (particularly the US) is zionist controlled/sympathizer we won't see the situation improve.

The zionist regime knows it can get away with practically anything, the guard dog keeps sniffing its behind no matter what. Maybe with some useless, 'save the face' barking now and then.

[motiv-8]

Agreed, but the western masses keep falling in the holocaust card trap.

No they don't. The word "Holocaust" rarely appears in discussion of Israel in the West anymore, and especially America. The justification for support of Israel in America is based on two things -- religious kinship and a perceived "special and unique relationship" between Israel and the United States.

[Sadreddine]

No they don't. The word "Holocaust" rarely appears in discussion of Israel in the West anymore, and especially America.

Really?

http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-a...st-be-stopped/

http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/11/kr...ond-holocaust/

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2012/0...-against-iran/

Just to cite a few cases. It is basic knowledge that the 'tensions with Iran' have increased exponentially the overuse of the holocaust in western politics. And yes, specially and particularly in the US.

a perceived "special and unique relationship" between Israel and the United States.

Apart from the evangelist, neocon and zionist lobbies' political power and influence, can you explain how this 'special and unique relationship' has developed and what does it entail? I think you can give us a good summary. I'm genuinely interested in your opinion about this tricky issue.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Ugh. ing colonisation.

[Diglytron]

Nothing to see here. Move on. Seen this many times before, and im just 17, Isreal is buzy with their ocupying the Palastine Lands since 1970.

[Tiberios]

Not surprised at all. This is really getting out of hand and has been for quite some time.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Like Azoth said, nothing new here. Israel wants peace but they wont stop building outposts. So the peace they want is one in which the Palestinians submit,

[fkizz]

Israel is like that spoiled child, that parents to solve the problem of the child being spoiled try to spoil it even more, and let it do whatever crap it wants, hoping that one day said child will have a sudden magical change for the good of everyone.

[Treize]

I have lost hope for them, sooner or later things are going to end up very bad for them and many people will die because of it.

[Stario]

“War, war never changes...” <(-_-)>

[Facupay]

Israel disregarding everything and being an element of instability? Business as usual.

[Condottiere 40K]

Israeli regime is playing Total War, just not virtually. Their calculations show that as long as America has their back, the Europeans remain paralyzed and the Arabs powerless, they'll eventually be able to regain most of what they imagine was their ancestral homeland, even if the means are rather questionable in nature.

[Trey]

Obviously the Palestinians want to kill the Jews. That's why the Israelis always move in next door on their land.

[motiv-8]

Obviously the Palestinians want to kill the Jews. That's why the Israelis always move in next door on their land.

Well, you see, the continued rocket bombardment from the Gaza Strip means that Israel must expand its borders in the West Bank in order to better secure itself from rocket bombardment from the the Gaza Strip. It's all highly technical, military-related matters. I don't think you'd understand.

[Justice and Mercy]

Fine with me.

With any luck the Israelis might conquer Syria too.

[Blaze86420]

Fine with me.

With any luck the Israelis might conquer Syria too.

Of course it is, you've shown your tendencies for cultural supremacy many times before.