Israeli parliament gives preliminary OK to settlement bill

The bill is being pushed hard by the religious nationalist Jewish Home Party and its leading ministers, Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked (ironically, Shaked, the Minister of Justice, is opposed in this effort by the people in her own ministry, who agree with the Attorney General). The factories produce serious air pollution from which Israelis and Palestinians in the area suffer.

Earlier, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that the bill would escalate conflict in the region.

Russia, which has enormous leverage over Israel at the moment given its role in Syria and its willingness to look the other way when Israel targets Hizbollah weapons shipments, is also unlikely to respond well to Israel formally ending a two-state policy. With the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Britain validated the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, despite Palestinian objection. The city of Jerusalem is especially contentious, both sides having named it as the ideal capital of their separate states.

As Mr. Trump is about to assume the presidency of the United States of America, we ask him to act on these articulated principles by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by standing firmly against the hateful and discriminatory rhetoric that is the underpinning of such anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations.

The worldwide community considers all Jewish settlements in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank to be illegal, whether they are authorised by the government or not.

The United States keeps an embassy in Tel Aviv because Israel annexed the eastern half of its capital, Jerusalem, after seizing it and other territories during a war in 1967.

“We can not create facts on the ground and embarrass the incoming administration”, he said. Netanyahu had sought to delay the legislation, apparently wary it may draw further USA censure and perhaps raise the chances of Barack Obama backing a United Nations resolution against settlements in the final days of his presidency.

How does Trump plan to fix things?

Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel and Palestinian resistance icon, has ended his 5 day hunger strike Friday upon request of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel. In a February town hall, he declared himself to be kind of “a neutral guy”, having previously suggested the onus of making a peace deal lay on Israel.

There is time for friends of Israel to try to convince the Prime Minister and the rest of his cabinet not to move forward with this bill.

“By all accounts the Arab world has been engaging with Israel more than it ever has”, Schanzer said.

Trump’s campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, and many of his close advisers hold hawkish, pro-Israel views.

Unlike the USA presidential race four years ago when Netanyahu was seen to favour republican Mitt Romney, Netanyahu stayed impartial throughout this campaign. We, the Americans, can only rebuke the sides.

The rabbis’ statement also addressed the question of USA policy in the United nations.

“Obama and his aides shouldn’t go seeking new adventures or pushing through policies that clearly don’t match Trump’s positions”, the Trump advisor told Politico.

“He boasts of being the great deal maker”, Dromi said of Trump.