Israel OKs 1,600 Homes in East Jerusalem

(CBS/AP)  Israel approved the construction of 1,600 new homes for Jews in disputed east Jerusalem on Tuesday — a move that immediately clouded a visit by Vice President Joe Biden aimed at repairing strained ties and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.

The Interior Ministry announced the construction plans just as Biden was wrapping up a series of warm meetings with Israeli leaders. There was no immediate reaction from the vice president.

Relations between Israel and the Obama administration have been chilly precisely because of the settlement issue. The U.S., like the Palestinians and the rest of the international community, believe that Israeli settlements built on lands claimed by the Palestinians undermine peace prospects, and President Obama has been more outspoken on the issue than his predecessors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed calls from the White House to halt all settlement activity, agreeing only to a limited freeze that does not include east Jerusalem.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said the new homes would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a neighborhood for ultra-Orthodox Jews in east Jerusalem. She noted that there is a 60-day appeals period, indicating that the decision could yet be changed.

But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the move was destroying trust needed to go forward with the new round of indirect peace talks, which the two sides agreed this week would take place under the mediation of U.S. envoy George Mitchell.

"With such an announcement, how can you build trust? This is destroying our efforts to work with Mr. Mitchell," he said. "It's a really disastrous situation. I hope that this will be an eye-opener for all in the international community about the need to have the Israeli government stop such futile exercises."

The announcement cast a sudden shadow over the visit by Biden, aimed largely at repairing the relationship with Israel. Biden's public comments throughout the day had clearly been meant to calm Israeli concerns that Mr. Obama has been less friendly to the country than past U.S. leaders.

Biden told Israel Tuesday that the U.S. is willing to stand by those who will "take risks for peace." Biden told Netanyahu that he was confident Israel was prepared to take such risks.

The move also may have been the result of internal politics. A spokesman for Netanyahu said he was unaware of the announcement, raising the possibility that the Interior Ministry — run by a hardline religious party — had not coordinated the news with the Israeli leader or even tried to embarrass him.

[Clemsson]

Jerusalem is the capitol of Israel. Why is it anyone's business if they build homes there?

Absurd.

The whole "Palis want it for THEIR capitol" thing is laughable. La Raza wants California for Mexico.... that ain't gonna happen either.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by Brokennews March 9, 2010 4:21 PM EST
........................................
It's a scenario as old as man & in a philosophical / politically correct world it wouldn't be fair, but it's the reality. Heck, look at what happened to the Native Americans! Fair? No! But is it reality? Yes!

And consider if the world were fair? All the nasty things that happen to people in life happened to them because they deserved it!
============================================================
I think the Iranians have some nastiness planned.

[Brokennews]

Release the reins & take off the gloves!
Let them fight it out & the winner takes all!!
If Israel is defeated & disappears, so be it!
If Israel is the winner & seizes massive amount of land to settle, so be it!

It's a scenario as old as man & in a philosophical / politically correct world it wouldn't be fair, but it's the reality. Heck, look at what happened to the Native Americans! Fair? No! But is it reality? Yes!

And consider if the world were fair? All the nasty things that happen to people in life happened to them because they deserved it!

[colincolindale]

Is Israel a force for, or against, peace?

This is where we are today. A Middle East, still in turmoil, with the claimed recalcitrant and bellicose, nuclear Israel, at its centre ? both geographically and politically. Having bought peace with both Jordan and Egypt, on its eastern and western borders respectively, the Israeli state originally had visions of negotiating similar peace treaties with its remaining neighbors, Syria and Lebanon, to the north.

However, having killed over a thousand Lebanese and contaminated that land with illegal cluster bombs, and having seized the Golan Heights from Syria and bombed its military installations ? the current outlook is for war with these northern neighbors, not peace. And the outlook for its relations with Egypt and Jordan, is weakening although massive US aid just keeps the fragile peace ? for now. To this dismal picture one must add the huge, festering enclave of Gaza, where one and a half million Palestinians are confined like animals by the Israeli army, which has laid siege to its near-starving population. Just over a year ago, the IDF attacked the civilian population and killed over nine hundred men, women and child non-combatants. The UN is currently investigating alleged war crimes there.

Whenever the US government commences any move toward peace negotiations, the Israeli government immediately publishes an order authorizing the building of another few hundred illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank or in East Jerusalem. This deliberate kick in the teeth to the American government is a sign of the contempt that Israel holds for not only the international community but also for the United States of America that still gives it over $3 billion in aid, every year.

One might well ask how it can possibly act with such insolence. The answer lies in the fact that the US legislature is not representative of the American electorate, as a whole. The House of Representatives and the Senate are both beholden to the Israeli lobby ? although they are sworn to represent the interests of the States who voted for them.

And thereby hangs both the question and the answer. Is Israel a force for, or against peace?

[askagain]

Pure poppycock.

[babooph]

They have already gerrymandered the nation into a surgical nuclear target-good place to stay clear of....

[bradkt1]

Neither side has much of an incentive to make peace...which is just perfect for the extremists. If Israel moves toward peace by making any concessions, there will be more terrorists attacks to try to disrupt the peace process and they will probably succeed. If the Palestinians move toward peace by making any concessions, they will be denounced by Arab extremists as sellouts.

The U.S. Government won't take any significant action against Israel because the political balance of power is so fragile in the U.S. the other side could have the balance of political power tipped to them by Israel's supporters. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans want to be portrayed to the U.S. electorate as anti-Israel...especially during a time when we are at war with Islamic extremists.

I think that the Government of Israel has calculated that they have nothing to lose by doing this and something to gain...more Palestinian land. In addition, this is a way that politicians in Israel can show their electorate that they are standing up to any U.S. pressure to make any concessions.

There will be no peace in the Middle East until both sides finally believe that it is in their interests to actually make peace.

[tsigili]

Israel sees the truth.....that the Palestinians will not agree to peace. So, they are going about their business, on that basis. Anyone who doesn't like that, needs to look at the root cause....which is that the Palestinians do not want, nor will they accept, peace with Israel.

Stop faulting Israel....they have done much to try and make peace, in the mideast, but it takes 2 to tango.

[U_S_Drug_Addict]

how have they tried?
the illegal immigrants from europe keep taking their land.

[bigoldic]

Question. Was Israel defending themselves when they murdered over 800 civilians during the last conflict they had?
Another question, considering the peace negociations going on dont you think its quite inapropriate to declare this right before talks? I'm not saying Palestine is a country of saints but lets also declare that peace has never been and will never be a priority in Israel. If that was the case they would stop building in the west bank and respect Palestinian territory.

[U_S_Drug_Addict]

hope u broght Vaseline mr Biden..
youre gonna need it.

[jt92202]

Here we go again, talk until your face is red Mr Biden, nobody has been able to talk either side into peace what makes you think you can. Both sides are fanantics and think they are right and the other side is wrong, niether one of them want peace! They both let their religion decide their future and they see their future fighting to the death of themselves and their country! Maybe it's time to let them fight and may the most extreme win! Or maybe they should let their leaders have a dual and the last leader standing gets the land! These idea's are stupid I know but so is this situation, how much money has the US spent over the years on this? We can't afford to be throwing anymore money into this situation, they need to figure this out with their own money!!