Expanding the colony, one house at a time

After feigning interest in the ‘peace talks’ with the Palestinians, Israeli’s PM Whatayahoo gives Obama the finger and lets the West Bank colony expansion ban lapse on the eve of talks.

Hey Barack – the whole purpose of having a client state is to advance your agenda, not theirs!  Give Whatayahoo a call and have a very different discussion with him, remind him why he needs to renew the ban.

Bring it, IDF!

In other Israel-related news, do you figure Israel will shoot anybody on this aid ship?

*Update 9/28/10* Intercepted, nobody shot.

*Update 4:10P* What Juan Cole said.

“enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the area of responsibility.” AND “Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples [in the region]“

Uh – ya think?  More bluntly – our AIPAC-formulated Israel policy is the dead albatross around our neck that is dooming our Middle Eastern foreign policy.

“Expanding the settlements” in Jerusalem - the “natural growth” of existing settlements to provide homes for new family members – it all sounds so pleasant – but in crowded Jerusalem, one family’s expansion is another family’s eviction - it’s ethnic cleansing, one family at a time.

*Update* Palestinian leadership seems to be ackowledging the imminent death of the two state solution and are starting to talk again about becoming citizens of Israel – not a bad idea.  Dr Saeb Erekat, head of the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department:

“We are not short of options. If the two-state option is excluded, there is the option of a one-state, as happened in South Africa. The situation in the West Bank is worse than it was in South Africa.”

Israel, of course, immediately and automatically disputed the number of civilian dead.  The ultra-nationalist message of the country’s leaders, however, was undercut by direct testimony from members of the IDF, who are coming forward with tales of policy-driven slaughter of civilians, including unarmed women & children.

It’s hard to take the moral high ground after the US did all this and worse during the dark years of the Shrubya Iraqi fiasco.   However, now that we are under new management, I really hope (but sadly doubt)  Clinton will put some pressure on Israel to investigate their war crimes.