Palestine.

I don't pretend to know much about it but to me it's good news that Palestine has been recognised by the UN as a state in it's own right. Maybe we'll now begin to see a more peaceful middle-east.

Re: Palestine.

Yes Alan, a very debatable one. Hamas is a terrorist organisation so the feelings are you have given them a open door. Others say well they are human beings and need more peace in the area.
They have given people around the World the same and I suppose some are terrorists in the same way but in different guises.

Re: Palestine.

As I see it Sandra, Hamas are terrorists to the Israelis but freedom fighters to the Palestinians. The aggression hasn't been one-sided.

Re: Palestine.

Hama were the democratically elected party in the Palestinian elections however Israel/USA refused to accept it and installed Abbas as a puppet president - there's far too much meddling in those parts by Westerners with little idea or appreciation of Arab sensibilities - hence the nightmare that is unfolding from the Western promoted 'Arab Spring'.

I find it childish/sour grapes that having voted against the promotion of Palestine (albeit just a minor improvement) the USA/Israel factions claim, "It won't change anything" - if that was so why were they so against it?

Re: Palestine.

Palestine = a can of worms with no easy solution ..

Re: Palestine.

My only grasp on this is that the Palestinians want Israel.
Israel has built the country up from nothing when Palestinians sat back and lived on aid and handouts from the Arab world.
When attacked, Israel retaliate hard and fast.

Re: Palestine.

Jan darlin' - the Palestinians, being Arabs were previously a nomadic tribe. Following the end of WW2, the Israelis occupied the land owned by the Palestinians and then, following the plebescite, treated the indigenous Palestinians as second class citizens in their own land, forcing them to live in refugee camps, camps which more than 60 years later still exist. Not content with that, the Israelis, then continue to steal and plunder even more land from the Palestinians and build vast housing complexes on land they do not own. All of this in contravention of International law and also contrary to umpteen numbers of United Nations Resolutions demanding the return of these lands to the Palestinians. It is Israel's failure to comply with International Law and defy the United Nations resolutions that is the cause of discontent by the Palestinians leading to bloodshed between them.

Re: Palestine.

That's exactly as I understand things Joe. The Palestinians are the ones who have been wronged and yet everyone sympathises with the Israelis. I see in today's news that Israel intend to build over a thousand more houses on Palestinian land- I suppose in the hope that when a settlement does finally arrive they will be allowed to keep the occupied land.

Re: Palestine.

Since the UK now lacks the military 'clout' to do much anymore, this is the diplomatic equivalent of 'sending in the gun boat'



Britain is considering withdrawing its ambassador to Israel over the country's settlement building plans, Sky sources say.

The Government is expected to decide later today how to respond to Israel's plan to allow settlement building in the controversial E1 area of East Jerusalem.

Sources have told Sky News that the Foreign Office is considering what action to take saying "all options are on the table".

This could include withdrawing the British ambassador to Israel and the suspension of trade agreements.

The Israeli Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, was formally summoned to the Foreign Office this morning where the Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, set out the UK's concerns.

Israel approved proposals to build 3,000 additional homes last week in a controversial plan that could effectively cut off Palestinians in East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Britain's diplomatic threat come after the settlement plans were slammed by the head of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon as an "almost fatal blow" to peace hopes.

Sources have said there is "an appetite for action" within the Foreign Office, which could also take the form of "revisiting" the EU's trade agreements with Israel.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We deplore the recent Israeli government decision to build 3,000 new housing units and unfreeze development in the E1 block. This threatens the viability of the two state solution."

He said: "Any decision about any other measure the UK might take will depend on the outcome of our discussions with the Israeli government and with international partners including the US and European Union."

Sam Kiley, Sky News' Middle East Correspondent, said: " What they are saying to Israel is that we are very angry about this, we are sincere we don't want to see any of these settlements continue to expand because, as Ban Ki-moon said yesterday, it will be a fatal blow to the peace process."

The UK could invoke human rights clauses in order to suspend the trade association agreements.

The E1 area of East Jerusalem is a 4.6 square mile area, which is largely uninhabited. Israel has been under pressure not to build homes there from the international community, especially the US.

This is because any settlement will effectively cut the West Bank in two and prevent a contiguous Palestinian state.

Israel has built 100 settlements since its occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank - development that is considered illegal under international law.

However, there was a moratorium on settlement building but this ended in 2010, bringing an end to peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The announcement of the new settler homes prompted stern responses from both the US and Britain, traditionally close allies of Israel.

Mr Netanyahu approved the proposals to build the 3,000 homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank just 24 hours after the UN agreed to officially recognise a Palestinian state, entitling the Palestinians to take part in UN debates.

The decision was opposed by the US and Britain abstained from the vote, with Mr Hague saying he could only back the move if the Palestinians agreed to return to peace talks immediately.

Matthew Gould was appointed as Britain's first Jewish ambassador to Israel in September 2010.

On taking up the post he said: "We come out determined to help build the strongest possible partnership between Britain and Israel, and to help ensure that Britain and Europe do everything they can to help the people of Israel move forward on the difficult path towards peace and lasting security."