The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Israel set to extend its sovereignty into the West Bank > Comments

Israel set to extend its sovereignty into the West Bank : Comments

By David Singer, published 4/7/2012

A number of recent events means that Israel will take a closer hold of the West Bank.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All
To Yuyutsu

You incorrectly state:

"So much for all the Israelis who voted for their largest political party - Kadima, on the assumption and hope that if elected, it will rid Israel of the West-Bank, as originally stated in Kadima's election platform and propaganda."

The 2005 policy platform of Kadima stated:

"Jerusalem and large settlement blocks in the West Bank will be kept under Israeli control."

The 2009 policy platform stated:

"Favours keeping the 'major settlement blocks' (Ariel, Gush Etzion and Ma'alei Adumim) within the final borders of Israel."

If you have any information to the contrary to enable you to make the statement you did then please advise me as to the source.
Posted by david singer, Thursday, 5 July 2012 10:41:12 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Well I have found the wherewithal, and some mint gel for under the nose, and set to to dissect the carcass.

Let's investigate why Mr Singer has decided to prosecute Israel's supposed right for such an open and brazen grab for sovereignty over what remains of Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Indeed who is this committee that “has reportedly found that the West Bank is not under occupation rule”? A report that “will be a smack in the eye to the international community and many Non Governmental Organizations in Israel which have long held the view that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal in international law?

As Mr Singer has stated the committee, appointed by Netanyahu, was “Chaired by Retired Supreme Court Justice Edmund Levy and including District Court Judge Techiya Shapira and former Ambassador and Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor Allan Baker”. It found that because there had been no country granted recognised sovereignty over the West Bank then there was no occupation and therefore no restraints implied by the Geneva Fourth Convention applying to the territory.

This obviously flies in the face of international law, UN Resolutions, and common humanity, but nothing new in that. So why did Netanyahu go through the hoops? Purely because he wanted to be free of the admittedly slim restraints of the Sasson Report, “an official Israeli government report published on 8 March 2005 that concluded that Israeli state bodies had been discreetly diverting millions of shekels to build West Bank settlements and outposts that were illegal under Israeli law.”

Cont...
Posted by csteele, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 12:24:08 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Cont...

The Sasson Report was “commissioned by the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and was headed by the former head of the State Prosecution Criminal Department Talia Sasson.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasson_Report

It basically slapped the government over the wrist for aiding and abetting the construction of settlements on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Yet however anaemic it was it at least offered something for the Israeli NGO's such as Peace Now to fight for the return of private Palestinian properties with some small successes.

So Netanyahu whacks together this group to give him some legitimacy in ramping up settlement construction and get him around the Attorney General and recent Supreme Court rulings calling for illegal homes to be demolished. Talia Sasson had warned ““The government is not supposed to instruct the State Attorney’s Office but precisely the other way around,”

How did he ensure the report would support the illegal settlements? Easy, appoint to the chair the only Supreme Court Judge out of the eleven to oppose the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Justice Edmund Levy basically rewrote his minority position from 2005 and Netanyahu got exactly what he wanted.

By our Mr Singer can't help himself. Still banging on about “The decision by UNESCO last October to recognize and admit Palestine as its 195th member State effectively ended the claim that the Palestinian Arabs are homeless and stateless.” he effectively neuters Justice Levy's argument since it only flies if there is no sovereignty over the West Bank.

Sadly typical I'm afraid.
Posted by csteele, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 12:25:56 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy