To claim Gilo belongs to Arabs is a daylight robbery of Jewish property

Gilo has been a residential suburb of Jerusalem since 1971. The land was purchased by Jews before World War II.

The land of Gilo in Jerusalem was purchased by Jews before World War II

The suburb of Gilo is very different from the so-called Jewish outpost in Judea and Samaria, whom the Arabs and International media calls «The West Bank». Gilo is not in East Jerusalem as widely reported, but in southwest Jerusalem within the municipal borders.

It is a Jerusalem neighborhood with a population of around 40,000. The ground was bought by Jews before WWII and settled in 1971. There is no inference whatsoever that it rests on private Arab land.

Source: The Jerusalem Post.

My comment:

To claim that Jews can not build in Gilo is not only racism against the Jewish people. Its also a daylight robbery of Jewish properties.

The Arabs have always been jealous of the Zionist Jews, that returned to Eretz Israel. In modern time, the great return home to Israel started around 1895. The Jews that returned home purchased land, wherever there was a owner to be traced in this massive wasteland.

The Jews purchased sand dunes, and rocky soil.

When the Jews liberated the so called West Bank from Islamic occupation in 1967, Jews also came home to the Mountains of Zion. They gave the local Arabs the job of constructing houses. The Arabs had a saying:

«Good the Zionist are building such beautiful houses. Because one day we will just take the key´s from them, and declare these houses as Palestinians properties».

In plain English: This is theft and robbery, promoted by Islam as a struggle for independence.

Why has Gilo first developed in 1971?

Because from 1948 to 1967, East Jerusalem was occupied by Islamic forces. The Kingdom of Jordan did not give Jews access to their properties in the suburbs. The Islamic occupation was the real Apartheid.

Please step away from the edge of the cliff…

I WROTE IN in my last post about the serious danger posed if the US and European leader nations were to get sucked into the Palestinian plan for a unilateral declaration of statehood. I am somewhat relieved at this point to observe that the world has so far responded with an admirable measure of sanity in this matter.

Rather than offer a lot of comments here (especially considering that these things are still in a major state of flux), I’ll just make a few remarks on some of the more recent news items in this regard.

First, I applaud the government of Israel for publicly stating a warning that  an attempt to circumvent commitments made by all sides since 1967 will jeopardize what little stability currently exists in the region.  Several responsible media have reported this; here is a link to the Jerusalem Post: PM warns PA against unilateral moves.

Following that statement up with some particulars (they may only be a beginning, but they do give you some idea that Israel is not just blowing smoke), Jerusalem has indicated a willingness to annex some areas if need be, and to proceed with building in others.

Members of the US Congress and even the Obama administration have also wisely begun to speak out against this insanity.  Here are two of several articles reporting this: Palestinians under world pressure not to declare state unilaterally (Haartez); US senator: Palestinian declaration will lead to chaos (Ynet).

And, most recently, even the European Union appears to be coming to its senses.

At least for now.  The whole scene is constantly changing, and Abu Mazen has already tried to make a comeback statement (as indeed he must), but at least it looks for the moment that the world at large is not quite ready to hitch a ride in the hand basket to hell. Literally.

Maybe we can breathe a little, but that doesn’t mean we can quit watching. And, not to spoil the fun, but we still need to keep a keen eye on Iran.

As Scarlett said – tomorrow is another day.

 

lineman

Secret deal for a Palestinian state? Run up the flag if you wish – but be prepared to run for cover.

NOT EVERYONE IS AWARE of this, but there has been a plan at work since August of this year to build a de facto Palestinian state in areas currently controlled by Israel. 

When I first read of this, I thought it was just somebody’s odd idea, and we’ll see how it goes. Many of the particulars – building infrastructure, making improvements in the economy, supporting civil institutions – have been part of the Israeli plan for creating a viable Palestinian society from the “bottom up”  for quite some time now.  I would be getting off the track of this post to list the details here on how the Israeli administration of the West Bank has already created a significantly higher standard of living for the Arab population, partly due to the basic altruism inherent in the Jewish culture, but also largely out of the practical sense that building a good next door neighbor is really the surest path to peace. (Come to think of it, that topic alone needs to be addressed more fully than I am allowing myself space to do here. As with most of Israel’s efforts to achieve peace, the international media have done their best to obscure the facts. I encourage the reader to look into some of the details in places like this, or here.  Alongside of this is the observation I made earlier  that a recent Harvard study found a majority of Arabs who are currently living within Israel’s boundaries would, if given the choice, prefer to remain under Israeli authority, thank you very much.)

But enough of all that.  I’m writing this post now because an article in Ha’aretz caught my eye a few days ago that mentioned a “secret understanding” between Palestinian Authority PM Salam Fayyad and the Obama administration to grant diplomatic recognition to this new state whenever Fayyad should give the signal, and for the UN and possibly several European nations (not to mention the 57 Arab States) to follow suit.

Now that would create a whole new ball game.  Under the previously presented scenario, you have what on the surface appears to be a useful plan to build up the Palestinian society to the point where they could at some point actually be ready for statehood, but according to this new revelation, we may be witnessing an end run around every diplomatic principle having to do with the validity of the State of Israel up until now, including UN Security Council Resolution 242 and the Oslo Accords – agreements to which Israel has diligently adhered, often to its own disadvantage.  Even the jurisdictional authority of Mr. Fayyad rests under the auspices of Oslo, which he is simultaneously violating and undermining through his efforts.  Sounds like a hair-brained scheme, doesn’t it? Yes – except that it already has substantial backing, financial and otherwise, from the UN as well as from the US, the Quartet, and other European leaders.  (If it sounds like I’m making all this up – and don’t I wish I were! – I refer the reader to the thoroughly documented analysis by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs which can be seen here.)

So, where would this scheme leave Israel if it is brought to completion? Well, for one thing, it would effectively release Israel from the obligations and commitments it has honorably kept since 1967. It would leave Israel free and unconstrained to defend itself against all comers, hell or high water.  Does Israel really have nukes? I don’t suppose there would be any reason not to pull out all the stops if it comes to this. This is a scary thought, but perhaps we’ll soon see the playing out of what the prophet Joel said:

“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, for my people and my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they shared out my land.”

I must admit that I find that idea scary mostly because I belong to one of those nations that will be severely judged according to this prophecy.

Oh, and there is one other factor which, astoundingly enough, is naively ignored by the Palestinian plan: the very real and serious threat of a nuclear Iran.  Iran has said many times that (in effect) it doesn’t give a flip about what happens to itself or any other nations, as long as it can make an Israel-sized hole in the crust of the earth.

Be careful, gentlemen, be very careful – you’re getting awfully close to the edge of the cliff.

 

lineman, awaiting the snap.

Clinton confirms: Netanyahu-Abbas 1-0. Jewish settlers to stay

Jewish settlers can stay. But their future will be a matter of negotiations. This is the new view of the Obama Administration, expressed by Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton has been able to convince the Obama administration to give Israel an important fresh breath of air.

The Arab Palestinian leadership seems to have been taken by surprise. «President Abbas rejected the offer because the understandings are completely unacceptable», explains Saeb Erekat. He is the chief Arab Palestinian negotiator.

Stopping construction in the settlements «has never been a precondition, it has always been an in issue within the negotiations», Clinton said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Source: Jerusalem Post.

My comment:

President Barack Hussein Obama started his term in office by taking Jewish security interest head on. Now, the new US Administration has taken a step in the direction of Jerusalem.

Israel can not compromise on her security. To ask the Jewish nation to leave Judea and Samaria, is like telling Jews that Zionism is a failure. That the land of Zion is not theirs, but belongs to a bunch of Islamic liars that tries to falsify both history and present facts.

The truth is that the majority of Arab Palestinians are envious of Israeli Arabs, who did stay when the «Zionist regime» was established in 1948. All sensible people in Israel, would like to be governed by committed Zionists. Simply because of their human, democratic and inclusive attitudes.

Look what Zionist Israel have achieved within 60 years of her existence. An compare it to the societies in the Arab World.

Its a 10-0 victory for the Jewish nation. And who are behind this?

A divine hand called God of the Bible. Without His protection, there would not have been an Israel and a Jewish people today.

The world doesn’t care about Palestine

While world governments debate and Arab leaders express fake compassion, Palestinians can't sort own rivalries to help the people

THE ARAB STATES vigorously protest Israel’s actions against Palestinians – both in Gaza and in the West Bank. Just today, Bahraini Parliament announced new legislation, demanding “whoever holds any communication or official talks with Israeli officials or travels to Israel” to be fined or jailed. Jordanian King Abdullah warned Israel should not to “incite violence” in Jerusalem. The United Nations accepts anti-Israel resolutions monthly, pledging additional help to starving Palestinians, through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. They all look at Israel with righteous anger in hearts and eyes; they all demand Israel to change its ways.

As far as the Palestinians go – and we’re talking regular folk here – is that everyone around pledge help and demand actions. As in pledge, instead of actually encouraging growth and implementing solutions. For example: after Israel’s operation Cast Lead, the Arab states pledged over $1 billion in aid to Gaza – which is good news for Gazans. The bad news is, however, that the money never actually reached the people, due to Fatah and Hamas’ inability to come to terms with each other, and Arab states’ inability to work out a system under which the people would be aided. For now, Gazans rely on 85 or more trucks crossing daily into Gaza from Israel. So the money is there – it’s just that none of those sheikhs and politicians can be bothered enough to actually work out a solution.

More of the same goes towards the UN, the UNHCR, UNRWA and myriad other bodies intended to investigate, propose, deliver conclusions, then investigate the conclusions, then propose new conclusions on conclusions… The game hurts my head, but worst of all – it hurts the stomachs of Palestinian children. UNRWA, for instance, been doing a great job at supporting Palestinians. However, as your grandfather used to say – “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. And yes, it is a cliché, but a correct one for this situation. Of course, you could blame the evil Israelis for UNRWA’s impotence in actually restoring infrastructure for Palestinians and set up a prosperous society, but what about Jordan? Or Lebanon? Despite decades of living under fellow Arabs’ rule, Palestinians – under the umbrella of Relief Agency’s refugee camps – been living in poverty and congestion, many times in conditions far worse than their fellow brothers in West Bank or even Gaza. Despite UNRWA’s inept efforts, inhabitants of those camps are usually denied citizenships or basic rights in these countries. No evil Israelis there – just good old Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters.

Much like the rest of the world, Arab brothers would not bother with real efforts to help Palestinian people. If in Gaza you could blame Israeli (and Egyptian) blockade, the West Bank is another matter. Yes, it is prospering now and even sees some businessmen from abroad set up shops in cities like Ramallah. Yet, there is little to none support on government level. If pledging money is too expensive for King Abdullah of Jordan, maybe he at least could spare few city planners, to turn some grey sidewalks into tree-laden beauties? Lah, ya hibibi?

Palestinian politics is obviously partially to blame. The politicians of Palestine are no different from politicians everywhere – they care first and foremost about themselves and about the grip they have on the people and their wallets. Headlines on UN reports screaming your ears deaf about deteriorating situation in Gaza (it’s been strongly deteriorating for past four years, how low can it get?!), yet, both Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh can’t work out even a basic plan of cooperation, leaving their people to suffer. I can understand the contention between the two: one is secular and somewhat West-alligned; the other is religious conservative, pro-Arab and mostly pro-war. Yet, if the situation in Gaza and West Bank is so grace, couldn’t you lads please sit down together and work out at least some way of helping the people? Yes, we know, people are unimportant, what is important is the electorate – during pre-election campaigns, both certainly do care about the population. Both Fatah and Hamas surely learned the best out of Western politics – care before, forget after.

Human Rights Groups, international activists, non-profit organizations, official bodies, Ministers, Presidents, governments and international communities around the world – all seem to passionately care for Palestinian issue (while ignoring mass butchery in regions less covered by the press). Yet, when it comes to dissecting the conflict into smaller parts and finding a realistic solution to small, local problems – all fail to act. But the Palestinian issue is central for all – from Islamabad to London, from Washington to Tehran. Particularly when it allows the activists to feel good about themselves on comfortable couches and armchairs; when politicians can easily reroute attention in another direction, gaining cheap points by expressing fake compassion. This is modern politics – at its very best.