The Hollywood Liberal

Israel Deals Peace Process Another Blow
The Israeli Interior Ministry has approved the construction of 900 housing units, four or five bedrooms each, on annexed Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said any settlement deal with the U.S. would not include Jerusalem. It’s another setback for the Obama administration, which has tried to revive the peace process while having to deal with a conservative, expansionist Israeli government and a divided and discredited Palestinian Authority. The White House has been trying for a full stoppage of new settlement construction, a basic precondition of restarting negotiations, but Netanyahu’s government has only been willing to agree to a partial freeze, excluding Jerusalem and the “natural growth” of existing settlements.  —PZS BBC: Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. Israeli media reported earlier that the government had rejected a request from Washington to freeze the construction work at Gilo. US President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is said to have made the request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in London on Monday. Read more READ THE WHOLE ITEM

The Israeli Interior Ministry has approved the construction of 900 housing units, four or five bedrooms each, on annexed Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said any settlement deal with the U.S. would not include Jerusalem.

It’s another setback for the Obama administration, which has tried to revive the peace process while having to deal with a conservative, expansionist Israeli government and a divided and discredited Palestinian Authority.

The White House has been trying for a full stoppage of new settlement construction, a basic precondition of restarting negotiations, but Netanyahu’s government has only been willing to agree to a partial freeze, excluding Jerusalem and the “natural growth” of existing settlements.? —PZS

BBC:

Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Israeli media reported earlier that the government had rejected a request from Washington to freeze the construction work at Gilo.

US President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is said to have made the request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in London on Monday.

Read more

READ THE WHOLE ITEM

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• November 17, 2009 Israel Deals Peace Process Another Blow
• November 17, 2009 ‘Colbert Report’: Deep Presidential Bowing (in Bed)
• November 16, 2009 Peace Sign

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From the November 17 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s military superiors repeatedly ignored or rebuffed his efforts to open criminal prosecutions of soldiers he claimed had confessed to war crimes during psychiatric counseling, according to investigative reports circulated among federal law enforcement officials. This story just keeps getting worse and worse.

And Obama will not provide witnesses for the Fort Hood hearing. Obama does not Congress to conduct any kind of investigation. He wants to let the military examination of this go through. He doesn’t want a political show trial, he said.

Fact: Obama said Congress “should” investigate, but noted that “[t]here is an ongoing [military and federal] investigation”

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