Israel: Palestinians use settlements as excuse to avoid peace talks

"Israel’s foreign minister said Friday he believes the U.S. and Israel will resolve their differences over Jewish settlements, and accused the Palestinians of using the issue to avoid peace talks."

Perhaps so, but I question how much Israel is actually willing to talk. I mean, the whole time people were asking Israel to stop its MASSIVE overkill offensive last year they refused to let up and 'talk'. While Palestinians may be ignoring/avoiding the talks, Israel's idea of talk tends to be 'WE talk, you listen (and nod)'.

I do hope all issues can be resolved, and do agree Palestinians need to get to the table (obviously), but if there's one group that's as stubborn as anyone else it's the Israelis. They've had carte blanche for too long, and now they won't even listen to the country that's supported and sustained them -- the US.

hear, hear

The Israelis have long been for negotiations. It's the Palestinians who have been unreasonable. They could go to the tables tomorrow and start negotiating and the settlement topic could also be part of it. But no rocketing the other side constantly is more important than negotiating. How's that for overkill? I guess you reap what you sow.

smithinjapan: Palestinians may be ignoring/avoiding the talks

Agreed.

Sorry bushlover, negotiations mean two sides compromising. Israel doesn't compromise and they don't back down.

Four years ago Israel removed all settlements from Gaza. Qassam rockets have continued to be launched at Israel from Gaza, the last one a week ago. Yet there's still the delusion by the leftists that if Israel gives up its settlements there will be peace. Since the Muslim Arabs are incapable of actually producing anything, all they can do is blame others for their misery knowing there are dupes who will buy it.

smith: now they won't even listen to the country that's supported and sustained them -- the US.

Good. The sooner Israel realizes Obama isn't a friend the better.

In the year 70AD the historic "Holocaust Temple" in Jerusalem was demolished by a fed up Roman Army on the orders of Rome and the whole 600,000 Jewish population in Israel was then slaughtered. That ended Jewish occupation in Palestine for effectively almost two thousand years. In the nineteenth century, the only Jews in Palestine were enough to support old orthodox Jews who returned to their ancient holy land to die. Even at the end of WW1 there was only 56,000 amongst an Arab population of over 1 million. Failing to get a Jewish homeland in Australia and several other places in the forties, Judism eventually had to accept part of Palestine as a last choice. Then it seems they resurrected the word "Holocaust" from the destroyed "Holocaust Temple" of 70AD to describe the more recent slaughter committed by the Nazi's and claimed 6 million died - 10 times that of the original slaughter. I don't know if the number is true or not, but I accept it was a lot more than the original 600,000 of 70AD. That is not the real issue here.

I cannot imagine that it was envisaged by the new UN in 1948 that in granting a small Jewish homeland in Palestine in a tiny arid almost waterless sector of Palestine, with few natural assets, it would become the focus of perpetual Jewish violent conflict with the 1 million plus existing Arab inhabitants and neighbors, a source of major instability in the region, and be flooded by seven million Jews with over the next four decades. Tiny arid Israel is now bulging at the sides, yet in am act of blind folly, it still calls for the world's remaining 7 million Jews to also immigrate to Israel.

But for the Jews in the real and sensible Jewish "promised land", the United States of America, artificially propping them up, Israel and its anxious population could not economically survive and never will.

Israel needs the extra space and the underground water in the West Bank or it runs out of water. They are literally stealing it from the Palestinians leaving the Palestinians virtually nothing to drink but contaminated remnants. It is not that a few Jewish settlers slipped over the boundary into the Westbank in error, it has been Israeli state policy in contempt of numerous UN resolutions not to, to relocate the hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers living there and it continues at a massive rate. Dispossession of Arabs is therefore State policy.

It was the fraudulent 1967 War against Egypt that became the ruse to expand into Arab lands, and it alone was the cause of the radicalism of Islam throughout the Middle East that followed; at the expense of the West as a whole. The later Arab terrorist tactics of lethal car-bombings and the mass carnage they deliver, was copied from the same tactics the Jewish settler groups visited on the UN sanctioned British administration of Palestine in the forties.

Of course the Palestinians should no longer negotiate, when it is obvious the Israeli's are applying the "Phylosophy of Gradualism" to keep expanding. The adopt the same irritating selfish behavior that upset the Romans to their detriment in 70AD. The Torah has chapters on how you should treat your slaves, and that is where the Palestinians will finish up if the keep just copping it.

Negotiations must be on the basis of utmost good faith. It seems President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton can see through the deception. The world would have been a better and safer place if the the UN had never approved a Jewish homeland there. The promise land for the Jews is the Christian West.

I especially liked it when the Israels expanded by giving Gaza back.

Palestinian: Israelis use settlements as excuse to avoid peace talks

Word games, I just love them, don't you?

The new Israeli government appears to have lost the word Diplomacy from their lips. Peace will only be won by diplomacy, but no one wants to use it....

Israel never gave Gaza back. Israel controls air space, borders and have turned Gaza into world´s biggest open air prison.

"Israel controls air space, borders..."

That's probably why Israel still exists.

Helter_Skelter: "Good. The sooner Israel realizes Obama isn't a friend the better."

Obama is more than a friend, he's just not willing to roll over on the rest of the world to give Israel anything and everything they want while turning a blind eye to their crimes against humanity. A friend who allows you to commit mass murder and even supports you for it is not a real friend. Obama is harsher on Israel than your last president, but that doesn't mean he does not support them. Clearly he does. More importantly, he supports BOTH sides in certain elements of their struggles, and is for a truce and good relations.

Just because some clearly want war and possibly even an end to Muslims (you've said things along those lines before, and you clearly express your hate for Islam every chance you get), but that doesn't mean the majority of the world follow such insanity.

SuperLib: That was a lousy cut-and-paste even by lousy cut-and-paste standards.

smith,

I mean, the whole time people were asking Israel to stop its MASSIVE overkill offensive last year they refused to let up and 'talk'.

As you know, those were different Palestinians (Hamas). Israel still does not seem particularly interested in talking to them as it happens and neither does Hamas. Here, however, we are talking about Abbas and the PA. That is quite a different situation and I think both sides should at least talk to each other. Then they both have to figure out how to get Hamas to the table.

maksonoil: world´s biggest open air prison.

And for good reason: Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Tanzim, PFLP, Al Aqsa,...

smith: A friend who allows you to commit mass murder ...

In the same way the US committed "mass murder" of the Nazis during WWII. You must be upset Roosevelt didn't consider BOTH sides. What is it with the left and their alliance with Jihadists?

So what are the solutions to those that say the Islamic religion can only bring hate, violence and destruction where ever they go? They must see the only solution as eradication or not allowing anyone to practice the Muslim religion? At the very least they have always maintained a constant disenfranchisement with the rest of the civilized world is required.

They want you to believe that peace between Israel and Palestine is impossible. All they ever say is that Muslims are bent on world domination. They must be afraid to tell us what they believe is the solution.

They are telling you that Capitalism doesn't work when the income gap keeps widening.

They won't give in to Western values of Freedom, because, Freedom, is a false ideology coming primarily from a country that has the largest prison system in the world, is responsible for not only environmental pollution, but pollution to the mind.

The mind of the Westerner has been polluted with selfishness, ignorance, and apathy towards the oppressed.

Its time to for us to wake up from the "Western Dream". Because it is over.

Israel was started on a bad premise. It was born out of Jewish terrorism against the UN sanctioned British administration of Palestine. Israel was not the Zionists first choice of a Jewish homeland. A section of northern Australia was their first choice, but it was rejected by Australia as were requests to other countries. So they got a bit of arid waterless land where Jews lived two thousand years before, but not in the interim, and had to displace the Palestinian Arabs that had two thousand years of continuous occupation. They stole the Palestinians land, they are now stealing all their precious water via the Israeli military occupied West bank. Gaza is a concentration camp on any measure. There are another 300,000 Palestinian long term refugees in camps in northern Israel.

Does Israel get on with its neighbors? No! Is Israel are viable economic entity? No! Is Israel at permanent threat of nuclear attack from a hostile neighbor? Yes! If all Jews lived in Israel today, would it mean the whole culture would be at risk of mass destruction and oblivion? Yes!. Has Israel proved to be the new promised land for Jewish safety, and peace? No!

Do the Western protestant countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain offer the best prospect of a realistic promised land to the Jews, where they will mic and live in peace, economically advance and can practice their religion freely and they will be defended by their neighbors? Yes!

The whole Zionist campaign over the past 130 years has been an exercise in stupidity. Historically, Jews in Palestine have an ancient history of being slaughtered by invaders. But then, they always seem have a need to prove their Jewishness and continuously tell the world, how we all hate them. The place should be abandoned by Jews and given back to the Arabs if even a modicum of commonsense was to prevail. Then we might at last get this tiny little irrelevant country of the front pages of our papers everyday and improve the prospects of peace in the world.

Moderator: No history lessons please. Focus your comments on what is in the story.

Sarge..."That's probably why Israel still exists." Do you mean Israel has no right to exist?

hear, hear