A UFO or a miracle?

A probable UFO, descended over the historic Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Then suddenly, the UFO shot up into the sky at incredible speed and disappeared. 

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Haaetz: Palestinians demand immediate statehood to counter Israeli 'unilateralism'

Israel's plan to build new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank should be met by international recognition of a Palestinian state, the chief Palestinian negotiator said on Tuesday.

Raising the stakes in the deadlock over stalled peace talks, Saeb Erekat said it was clear from the latest announcement of building plans that Israel wants. Ereket stated: 

Israeli unilateralism is a call for immediate international recognition of the Palestinian state.

The world paid little attention when the late Yasser Arafat declared a Palestinian state in 1988. But political winds have shifted and Israel today is seriously concerned that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might win recognition.

Abbas has floated the idea of "going to the United Nations" to declare statehood as one option if peace talks collapse, but only after first seeking support from Washington.

Israel on Monday announced plans to build 1,300 new housing units on occupied land near Jerusalem.  Haaretz reported that a further 800 units were planned in the big settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank.

The building plans were made public as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the United States to discuss ways to revive Middle East peace talks that have stalled over the issue of settlement building.

The United States said it was "deeply disappointed" by Monday's news of the housing project which is "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties", State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected to raise the issue in a meeting with Netanyahu in New York on Thursday.

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in September almost as soon as they had begun. Netanyahu rebuffed Palestinian demands to extend a partial freeze on West Bank settlement building.

Noting that the controversial housing announcement was made while Netanyahu was in the United States, Crowley said:

It could very well be that somebody in Israel has made this known in order to embarrass the prime minister and to undermine the process.

Washington was outraged in March when settlement housing plans were announced with what looked like defiant timing as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Jerusalem.

Israeli Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said Monday's announcement was simply another procedural stage. She said:

It can take months or years from this point until building can actually begin.

The Palestinians dismissed this explanation

"Israel's settlement enterprise ... is nothing but a premeditated process to kill the possibility of an independent Palestinian state," Erekat said.

source: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-demand-immediate-statehood-to-counter-israeli-unilateralism-1.323796

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Israel remains the biggest impediment to peace in the Middle East

Thirty  years ago when Secular Human was in college in the west, he met some Saudi students. The Saudis believed that time was on the side of the Arabs. They stated that it might take 50 to 100 years to beat Israel, but it would eventually happen. Rightardia suggests the Saudis had a point.


Israel is an island of 6 million Jews in the middle of an Arab sea. It is a unifying issue among Arabs. It is also not a self-sufficient nation after 50 years of US foreign aid. Although it is the smallest of nations that the US provides aid to, it it is also the biggest beneficiary of US foreign and military aid.


If Israel is unwilling to stop settlements in the West bank and follow UN Accords, the US should freeze foreign and military aid until it comes back to the table. We need to start playing hard ball with Israel. It is the best interests of Israel if we do this in the long run.


Rightardia also likes the Pope Benedict's idea of making Jerusalem an international city rather than the capital of Israel. Again the Israelis are trying to be a player in situation that affects three of the world's religions.

The construction of illegal Israeli settlements is a major sticking point to restarting peace talks [AFP] Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has met the US special envoy to the Middle East in Jerusalem for talks on restarting stalled peace negotiations. Netanyahu held talks with George Mitchell on Tuesday, for a meeting that was expected to focus on reaching an agreement on freezing the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. But in advance of the talks, Netanyahu reaffirmed his position that Israel will not bow to US demands to completely halt the building of settlements. In remarks to a parliamentary committee on Monday, Netanyahu rejected calls to freeze all settlement construction, but said he would consider a temporary slow-down in the rate of building. 'Reducing scope' "They (Americans) asked us for a complete freeze and we told them that we will not do this," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by a parliamentary official. "I told the Americans we would consider reducing the scope of construction. "But there has to be a balance between the desire to make progress in political negotiations and the need to allow inhabitants of Judea and Samaria to continue to lead normal lives." Netanyahu was referring to areas of the occupied West Bank. A freeze on settlement building is one of the key Palestinian conditions for the resumption of peace talks. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has said that peace talks will not restart negotiations, on hold since December, until Israel freezes its settlement activity.  Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

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