WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
Posted on 02/20/2005 6:18:16 PM PST by Alouette
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet began charting Israel's future borders in a historic session Sunday, giving final approval to a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a revised route for the West Bank separation barrier that would move Israel's border closer to that of its original frontier.
With the vote, an Israeli government agreed for the first time since capturing the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war to dismantle some of the dozens of Jewish settlements it has built there. However, approving the route of the barrier, Israel acted unilaterally on what was to be a key issue in peace talks with the Palestinians, and signaled it will keep a chunk of prime West Bank land close to Jerusalem, including two large Jewish settlement blocs.
While the Palestinians have balked at Israel's go-it-alone approach, they avoid declaring the moves a deal-breaker in a reinvigorated peace process.
"Israel is creating facts on the ground in the West Bank," Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said. "Sharon wants payback in the West Bank for the disengagement from Gaza, particularly Jerusalem."
The Gaza withdrawal won approval from 17 Cabinet ministers, including eight from the moderate Labor Party, while five ministers from Sharon's ruling Likud Party voted against it.
Sharon, a former settler patron, said the dismantling of 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank is vital for Israel's security. He later signed an order requiring some 9,000 settlers to leave their homes in these areas by July 20 or face removal by force.
"Israel has taken a step that will be decisive for its future ... the right one to ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state," he told American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. He said the vote proved Israel's readiness to take "painful steps ... to make peace."
The easy endorsement appeared to be the final political defeat for withdrawal opponents, including the powerful Jewish settler lobby. The pullout could still be derailed if Sharon fails to get his 2005 budget passed by parliament by the end of March.
"This is a historic decision, but we are facing a very difficult period," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said of expected settler confrontations with troops.
Pinchas Wallerstein, a leader of the council of Jewish settlements, called on supporters to begin "an aggressive and strong struggle," but to avoid violent confrontations with Israeli troops.
The militant Hamas group, meanwhile, claimed victory. Musher al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, called the Israeli pullout "a result of the heroic resistance of our people."
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Cabinet thousands of troops would take part in dismantling the settlements in a four-stage withdrawal. The Cabinet has not decided in which order the settlements will be removed.
In an equally momentous vote, Cabinet ministers approved the final route of the 425-mile separation barrier, but encompassing more than 6 percent of West Bank land, including the large Jewish settlement blocs of Gush Etzion and Maaleh Adumim, both near Jerusalem.
Construction of the West Bank barrier began in 2002 and is one-third complete. Israel said it needed a shield against Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen. The Palestinians denounced the barrier as a land grab, saying Israel could have built it on its land. Last year, the world court said in a nonbinding opinion that the construction of the barrier is illegal and should stop.
The route originally proposed by army planners would have sliced off nearly one-fifth of the West Bank, but large segments were struck down by Israel's Supreme Court as causing too much hardship for Palestinians.
By a vote of 20-1 with one abstention, the Cabinet approved the revised path that is closer to Israel's pre-1967 boundary with the West Bank. But in the Jerusalem area the new route dips deep into the West Bank, a path that could undercut the Palestinians' attempt to establish their future capital in the eastern sector of the city, abutting the West Bank.
Several Cabinet ministers acknowledged that while the barrier might have been conceived as a temporary defense against Palestinian attacks, it also would help determine final borders.
"The route of the fence is significant in terms of future negotiations over Israel's borders," Livni said.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told the German news magazine Der Spiegel that Israel must dismantle all settlements and halt construction of the barrier. "What right does Israel have to build settlements on our land?" Abbas said.
Sharon has said he has U.S. blessing for holding on to large West Bank settlement blocs in a future peace deal. Last year, President Bush affirmed to Sharon in a letter that "new realities" in the West Bank, meaning concentrations of Israeli settlers, could not be overlooked in drawing future borders.
"The American letter to Sharon is unacceptable because it pre-empts solutions for a final phase we haven't reached yet," Abbas told Der Spiegel, saying Bush cannot determine the Palestinians' fate.
In other developments Sunday:
Israel announced it would free 500 prisoners on Monday, in accordance with agreements reached at an Israeli-Palestinian summit earlier this month.
Israeli troops killed one Palestinian and wounded another on suspicion they tried to smuggle arms from Egypt to Gaza. A third man was arrested for interrogation, the army said.
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
Now, lets see here... The PA, PLO, & Hizbollocks say that they want a Palestinian homeland & peace. A homeland requires land. The Isralis are pulling out. Now the terrorists are claiming Israel is "going it alone."
This should prove to the rational person that the PA, et al DO NOT want peace, they want Israel destroyed.
He has NO idea just HOW difficult it's going to be. Those people are NEVER going to be satisfied unless they drive Israel off the land.
The 4387 verse of the same song sung by the Palestinians over decades of "wishful" peace endeavors.
PERIOD!
Wow, is she shrewd. </SARCASM>
It will never be enough for the terrorists. Ariel Sharon seems to be intent on national suicide
Waiting for someone to reply for the gazillionth time that this was done just to prove to everyone that the terrorists/palestinians do not want peace and now Sharon will not bargain with them anymore.
The PA had their chance to negotiate every detail. As a matter of fact, they were offered most of what they wanted, but Arafat thought an intifada would be more fun. I guess that intifada became a lot less fun once the IDF showed up with bulldozers, tanks, and helicopter gunships.
Whatever it is that the PA wanted is rapidly becoming irrelevant to Israel. When Sharon abandons the indefensible outposts and withdraws from the territories that he's willing to cede, there will be a de facto border. And Sharon's borders will be the starting point for any new negotiations, not some line that existed in 1967.
I love where Abbas says "What right does Israel have to build settlements on our land?"---
Hm--as far as I know, there is no Palestine, yet!!!
Ergo, you don't have any land that Israel is putting settlements on---
This whole plan is dependent on the Palestinians finally coming to the conclusion that their future is more important than Israel's extinction---that is a lot for Sharon to bet his career, country, and his life on---
Just like Bush bet his candidacy, and young American lives on the War on Terror in Iraq, it is a mighty gamble--
I just have to pray to God that this will work, but I am not as optimistic as some, because I think some people are ignoring some of Abbas' most inflammatory rhetoric, while grasping at a few things he has said that for some reason gives them hope of peace---
Israel is making TERRIBLE errors.
EVEN if Israel is willing to give up these lands (Gaza and some of the WB/Fence line) .. they should not give it up Unilaterraly and NOT without Negotiation.
These are territories that could have been given to The Palestinains as the FINAL Lines..
NOW, instead, the Negotiation STARTS with these lines Israel has abandoned but could have got something for .. and could have made Abbas look good by getting them
Now.. after this Moronic/elementary Blunder.. Now what does Israel have to give?
And we Jews are supposed to be good Businessmen.
What does Israel NEED to give? The so-called Palestinians are still in no position to negotiate. But they don't get pre-1967, and they don't get Oslo again.
Israel can unilaterally establish a line that it is willing to live with (and believes the international community will tolerate) and put a wall on it. That line will become the de facto border. They don't need to discuss issues such as the right of return, because they just don't have to allow it to happen. Inside the wall is Israel, outside is Palestine. If the Palestinians are able to put together a real government, IT would be able to negotiate issues such as passage between Gaza and the West Bank as well as quality of life issues.
They are the final lines. That is whole point of disengagement.
 |
| 2/18-19/2005 | Clip No. 566 |
|
|
| Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah: Death to America | |
|
|
|
The following are excerpts from two speeches by Hizbullah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Al-Manar TV aired these speeches on February 18 and 19: Hassan Nasrallah: Israel is our enemy. This is an aggressive, illegal, and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land. its destiny is manifested in our motto: "Death to Israel." Crowd:Death to Israel Death to Israel Death to Israel Death to Israel Death to Israel Hassan Nasrallah: The American administration is behind Israel. I must clarify that when I say "America" I do not mean the American people, most of whom are distant and ignorant of what is going on in the world, and of what its government and army are doing in the world. Nevertheless, we consider the current administration an enemy of our (Islamic) nation and of the peoples of our nation, because it has always taken a position of aggression, of occupation, and of supporting Israel with weapons, airplanes, tanks, money, as well as political supprot, and unlimited protection. We consider it to be an enemy because it wants to humiliate our governments, our regimes, and our peoples. Because it is greatest plunderer our treasures, our oil, and our resources, while millions in our nation suffer unemployment, poverty, hunger, unmarriagability, ignorance, darkness, and so on. America… This American administration is an enemy. Our motto, which we are not afraid to repeat year after year, is: "death to America." Crowd: Death to America Death to America Death to America Death to America Death to America Death to America Hassan Nasrallah: Some people may wonder and say: "Is there no end to this hostility?" Yes, there is and an end. If the Zionists leave our lands and holy places and give them back to their owners, this conflict will come to an end. If America stops interfering in our countries' and nation's affairs, stops its aggression, stops its occupation, stops its plundering of our resources and treasures, we will have no problem with it. We don't want to go to Washington to fight America. We are defending our countries and our existence. Any rift, civil strife, disintegration, or dispersion in any Arab or Islamic country, or in the entire nation, serves our Zionist enemy and its plan of hegemony, and serves the Great Satan – the American administration, whose main concern is to control our oil, our treasures, our resources, and our markets. (They want us) to become millions of slaves who eat and drink but are living dead, devoid of honor, respect, and existence. How can death become joyous? How can death become happiness? When Al-hussein asked his nephew Al-Qassem, when he had not yet reached puberty: "How do you like the taste of death, son?" He answered that it was sweeter than honey. How can the foul taste of death become sweeter than honey? Only through conviction, ideology, and faith, through belief, and devotion. We do not want to live merely in order to eat, drink, and enjoy life's pleasures, and leave our homeland to Israel so it will slaughter it upon the alter of its aspirations, desires, hate, and historic vendettas. Therefore, we are not interested in our own personal security. On the contrary, each of us lives his days and nights hoping more than anything to be killed for the sake of Allah. The most honorable death is to be killed, as the Leader Imam Al-Khamenei said when 'Abbas (Musawi) was martyred. He said: "Congratulations to 'Abbas, congratulations to 'Abbas." The most honorable death is death by killing, and the most honorable killing and the most glorious martyrdom is when a man is killed for the sake of Allah, by the enemies of Allah, the murderers of the prophets (i.e. the Jews). |
|
"""They are the final lines. That is whole point of disengagement.""""
I'm saying they could have easily BEEN the Final Lines.
Now Abbas, in the eyes of his people, will have to accept an "Israeli Dictate" on those lines.
Israel could have made him look like a Hero getting that land back and sated the Arab Pride.
Now, instead, they will want to negotiate something.. anything.
They could have negotiated the 16% of the WB back to the 6% Israel has just given up to unilaterally.. (and all of Gaza) then they would have been happy.
Now they won't be.
The will feel they are being dictated to and never accept Lines they Would have accepted at the end of Negotiation.
Life is tough that way sometimes. Maybe they should have thought the whole intifada business over a little more carefully.
"This should prove to the rational person that the PA, et al DO NOT want peace, they want Israel destroyed."
I am uneasy to the max about gwb pushing Israel out of the land they won in a war they didn't star(1967). I don't think it's right and I am concerned that we will find ourselves on the "cursing" side of the "bless/curse" Israel outcome......... I read his remarks that palestine should be contiguous............
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.