...While it may be considered humane in some quarters (Kelly Tranter) to altruistically beat our collective chests for the billions who suffer inordinately in the world; in this article the cause of the Palestinians appears again as the flavour of the month and fails dismally to paint a complete picture.

...There is no right and wrong side in this conflict, but when the best available recourse to justice for the Palestinians themselves is to present an evil little psychopathic “Arafat” as their mentor, one would have to wonder firstly about their collective ability and secondly about the Palestinian national “psyche” !

...I think you should simply allow yourself to “grow up” somewhat, and wisen up to the political realities of this small country Australia, and its imperatives which I personally consider should be led by loyalty (not "by the nose" as your article suggests) to our primary allies, significantly the US.

Diver Dan does not speak for all Australians. He has obviously been diving too deep for too long.

That Australia is an American pawn is obvious to the world. Our political leadership (I use the word 'leadership' loosely) has been bum-kissing the U.S. with the same fervor that it once used on Britain.

We support one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever seen (Israel) and leave the Palestinians to suffer while mouthing platitudes about wanting them to have an independent State.

We also support the most brutal imperial regimes the world has ever seen (the U.S.) with the same devotion, never criticizing, never refusing to enter into its endless wars, its killing of millions, never caring about the cost in Australian lives.

Great article, Kellie! It will hopefully wake a few Australians up.

David G:

...But you fail to address Arafat and his string of terrorist acts and associations, and you fail to address the need for loyalty to our allies. Being allied is a mutual exchange with mutual obligations, its a simple concept really!

...I am sure Kelly Tranter is a very sweet girl no doubt, and I just love women who wear their heart on their sleeve, but she epitomizes that female quality of sentiment so distant and difficult for the normal bloke to understand..."blind impracticality".

A good article Kellie. Read Michael Brissendens new book,'American Story', for a broad picture of where the US is and where it is likely to be in 30 years. Why would we want to be tied to a failing,unreliable and dishonest 'super power'?

Diver Dan come out of the wood work and show us just how red your neck is. You are a bully. Diver Dan - deep sea prawn?

Bruce Haigh

...Well Bruce, I don’t sip Latte or beer. I drink the cool waters deeply from the well of reality though.

Diver Dan, you conveniently forget that that the state of Israel was established because of the terrorist activities of the Zionists who are currently represented by Benjamin Netanyahu.

David

Very good article Kellie. Are you aware that Australia was once more out of step with world opinion this Monday just past? The UN General Assembly voted on a resolution urging Israel to join the non-proliferation treaty and submit itself to IAEA inspections.

The vote was 174 in favour; 6 against and 6 abstentions. The 6 against were Israel, the US, Canada and the three colonies Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.

The 6 abstentions were Australia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India, Ivory Coast, and Panama.

What possible intellectual, moral or ethical basis is there for Australia to abstain? I suggest there is none. The only reason that is apparent is ritual obeisance and cowardice. Significantly, the mainstream media are ignoring this vote.

Kelli,
You and the other posters on this thread that think the Aus astain last week at the UN had anything to do supporting Palestine are dreadfully wrong.

The only thing was to try to gain some support from muslims in some electorates in view of an election this coming year.

Nothing more, nothing less. Such is the moprality of Labor politicians.

David G:

“…one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever seen (Israel)…”
“…the most brutal imperial regimes the world has ever seen (the U.S.)…”

Wow. One of the most brutal! This is serious stuff. I take it you’ve done the research? Iran – no, Syria – no, North Korea – no, Hamas’s rule – no, Israel and the US – YES.

Can you post some evidence of this research? I suspect there is none, it is nothing but the usual rhetoric that we have come to expect from you.

VK3AUU:

“you conveniently forget that that the state of Israel was established because of the terrorist activities of the Zionists”

You are claiming 2 things in this sentence: 1) all Zionists were indeed terrorists, and 2) the reason the state of Israel was established was because of terrorists activities.

The answer to both this claims is a resounding NO. Unless you have some evidence that I am not aware of.

...I hate being the one to alert James O’Neill to the truth that he has “transposed” reality here. Surely JO’N, if Australia were to act like a “sheep”, (as the shrill-call indicates), abstaining from a group of 174 yes votes against six no votes makes Australia the “Tall Poppy”.

...It is not cowardly to be aligned as the tall poppy; it is surely an act of originality and bravery to do so! (24hr post limit).

While most people support a two states solution, Israelis included, the Palestinians do not accept co-existence with the state of Israel. The Palestinians should have a state only when they accept the existence of the state of Israel. No state should support the admission to the UN of a state that does not recognise the right of existence of another member state.

Dr. Ottensooser
Woollahra

Nice article. I find it extremely shameful that Australia toes the American line and blindly supports Israel in it ongoing brutality against the Palestinians attempts to prevent any possibility of a two state solution. The Israeli actions since the vote only prove their true motives and positions. i.e expanding their settlement enterprise in order to cut the West bank in half and cut it off from East Jerusalem.
Banjo explains that the abstention was not due to any moral urges but rather "was to try to gain some support from muslims in some electorates in view of an election this coming year." I'm sure he's correct.
Well at least they are taking into account the opinions of Australian citizens on this matter, Muslim or not. It is a shame that more non-Muslim Australians wont condemn the government for their intransigence on this issue.
Its a terrible thing that Israel is able to dictate American foreign policy, but the fact that they seem to be able to dictate ours as well is truly worrying. Perhaps we should be taking a leaf out of New Zealand's book and stand on our own two feet, basing our foreign policies on what is right rather than what America or Israel tells us to do.

Dr O: Check your history instead of parroting the Tel Aviv talking points. The Palestinians long ago (Oslo) accepted the right of the state of Israel to exist, as long as "Israel" was, as demanded by Resolution 242 of the UN General Assembly, in accordance with the pre-1967 boundaries.

What we have witnessed, ever since the 1947 UN resolution creating the state of Israel, is the progressive theft of Palestinian land, and in the case of the Golan Heights, annexed in 1981, of Syrian territory.

The Israeli government talks about the "peace process" but I am far from the first to note that this process is wholly one as defined by them. It does not really envisage an independent Palestine state and those who persist in thinking that a two state solution is ever within their purview are simply deluded.

Even the ineffectual Ban Ki-Moon said that the latest settlement plan was the death knell of the two state solution. Of course there are the ritual noises of condemnation about those settlement plans. It won't make a blind bit of difference to the Israelis, any more than widespread condemnation, UN resolutions or the findings of the World Court have deterred them from earlier settlement building encroaching ever more onto Palestinian land.

Their arrogance and intransigence will ultimately lead to the destruction of the Zionist state. They will only have themselves to blame.

David,

I suggest you polish up on your knowledge. The historical fact is that Israel was created by a vote in the UN in May 1948. This information is historical,not hysterical as your source seems to be. Also, your suggestion that Netanyahu is a terrorist or a representative of them probably comes from the same source. Do yourself a favour (and us). Make up your own mind, once you've read the facts.

The UN vote was not for the creation of a new state called Palestine. It was not a vote for peace. It was a vote to abandon the Oslo Accords, since Oslo stipulated that neither side take unilateral action, and the request for observer status is a very blatant unilateral action. If the Palestinians ever want statehood, they should pay close attention to the formula that was agreed in 1967, namely land for peace. Over 2,000 missiles this year alone is not peace.

Dannyg says "since Oslo stipulated that neither side take unilateral action, and the request for observer status is a very blatant unilateral action."
Isn't the constant building and expanding of settlements unilateral actions? I'm quite certain the Palestinians never agreed to them.
"Over 2,000 missiles this year alone is not peace."
How many missiles have the Israelis fired into the Palestinian territories this year? Certainly many more than two thousand. Or were these Israeli missiles peaceful ones? What about the military occupation, the checkpoints, the home demolitions, the assassinations? Are these all peaceful actions too?
At least I can understand the rationale for violence from the Palestinians. They are the ones under occupation and occupation always results in violence by those being occupied.
I also understand the Israeli violence and desire to take more and more of the little that remains to the Palestinians. Unfortunately this desire appears to be based upon a notion of racial supremacy where the only important ones are Jews. The Arabs are seen as simply animals to be shot or corralled into tiny enclaves where they won't cause problems for the chosen people.

Israel was created via pressure from the Rothschild Family the most powerful banking family on the planet.The Rothschilds refuse to allow media intrusion into how powerful they really are.The pin-up boys like Bill Gates are paupers by comparision.

Abama and the Zionists don't get on.Upon the re-election of Obama,he not only sacked General Petraeus the CIA head, but 30 other military and Govt officials who supported the Zionist agenda of attacking Iran under the lie of them developing nukes.

This does not mean that that Obama does not support the neo-con agenda of a Western New World Order.ie Global Governance by banksters.
Obama and his supporters now want to control the planet in more subversive ways that won't immediately mean an nuke war with Russia and China.

The election of Obama was a big slap in the face for the Zionists because they through AIPAC poured millions into the Romney campaign who would have supported and attack on Iran which China and Russia warned them against.

Norman Fikilstein on Hard Talk says that 80% of US Jews voted for Obama which was against the Zionist lobby's agenda of their Middle East Wars of Imperialism.

Note that an oil pipeline now links Iraq with Israel.Saddham Hussein a US created dictator got out of control.He started trading oil in EUROs thus undermining the US $.Oil still supports the US $ but as China rises,the Renimbi will become the global currency thus pushing the Western Oligarchs towards WW3 beacuse we have no industrial productivity to back up our present posturing.

Rhys Jones said "Isn't the constant building and expanding of settlements unilateral actions? I'm quite certain the Palestinians never agreed to them." Wrong and wrong again. Neither the Declaration of Principles (DOP) of September 13, 1993 nor the Interim Agreement ("Oslo 2") of September 28, 1995 contains any provisions prohibiting or restricting the establishment or expansion of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Israel in fact withdrew from Gaza and was rewarded with violence. But of course if the Palestinians resort to violence, it must be justified.

Dear James,

<<The UN General Assembly voted on a resolution urging Israel to join the non-proliferation treaty and submit itself to IAEA inspections.>>

A treaty is a form of AGREEment.

Obviously Israel does not agree to join that treaty.

174 states believe that it is right to force others to agree, even if they don't.

If they succeeded, then the nuclear non-proliferation piece-of-paper would stop being an agreement, freely signed by those who so believe. It would stop holding any moral authority.

So Australia was one of 12 countries who did not accept the concept of coercion and the turning of the NNPT into a joke.

That's a good reason for being proud of being out of step with world opinion.

(please note that I have not commented on what Israel does or doesn't - only on the morality of the actions of Australia on that specific matter)

Notice that no one will debate the reality of Global Political Chessboard that I've painted in my last post.

We are headed in the direction of nuclear war with China and Russia because our Oligarchs are out of control and have delusional dreams of controling the planet.

Tinkering with pseudo-realities postulated by our corporate,puppet media,will not save us.

Dear Dannyg,

Why don't you show us where the “Declaration of Principles (DOP) of September 13, 1993” or “the Interim Agreement ("Oslo 2") of September 28, 1995 contains any provisions prohibiting or restricting the establishment” of Palestine as an observer state at the UN?

A very good article by Kellie Tranter, clearly illuminating the hypocrisy of both Aus and Israel (as well as the U.S.) in the matter of pursuing a 'two state solution' and the rights of the Palestinians to independence and self-determination.

On at least two occasions the Israeli government got close to agreeing to a separate Palestinian state, and on both occasions the Israelis voted the government out and Netanyahu in. It is obvious that Benjamin Netanyahu is intent on whittling away as much Palestinian territory as possible, with ever more 'pioneering' Israeli settlements and ever more dis-empowerment of the Palestinians. In the absence of overwhelming international pressure there can be no 'two state solution' - but rather only an increasingly apartheid, oppressed and second-rate existence for all remaining Palestinians and Arab-Israelis, squeezed ever tighter into ever diminished territories - with the ultimate objective of forcing all non-Jews to quit a 'Greater Israel' altogether.

I have no objection to the right of Israelis to have a 'home state', after all the abuse they have suffered at the hands of so many, in so many quarters, and for so many centuries, but it is a bit rich that they must now cause so many to suffer so much because of the insistence of some in their midst on a grander vision, and potentially a 'grandiose' vision at that.

The international community, including Aus, should be pushing very hard indeed for an immediate embargo on new settlements, for a permanent ceasefire (including an embargo on political 'assassinations'), and for the immediate re-commencement of peace talks leading to an early adoption of a viable two-state solution - including third-party arbitration to ensure categorically that this desired solution is accomplished, no ifs or buts. All else short of this is abrogation, cop-out, and the very worst form of 'head in the sand' mentality and clear moral turpitude.

Aus abstention in the latest UN vote was a virtual 'no' vote, and thus an absolute disgrace.

Where's hope for a 'civilised' world? Christopher Hitchens posed: 'Religion poisons everything'. Is Hitchens' view prophetic and final?