On August 9, 2013, while Palestinians delivered a letter to the USA complaining about Israel breaking a truce during the ongoing negotiations, Israeli Civil Administration published a list of new constructions approved in the West Bank at an ominous timing.
The last day of July 2013 saw the first formal meeting in Washington between the sides after the Israel-Palestine negotiations broke down in 2008. As custom during negotiations, the event took place amid an unofficial truce and thawing between the sides, to the extent that Netanyahu announced the release of over 100 Fatah Elders, term defining prisoners held by Israel since before the 1993 Oslo Agreements (see Ransom).
Other expected gestures included the freeze on the settlements expansion and foundation during the talks, as well as a stop in the Palestinian protests.
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Brigadier General Moti Almoz
Head of Israeli Civil Administration Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era  |
Nahal Shilo Nature Reserve, West Bank
Civil War World of Herman Melville  |
On July 24, the prisoners who are candidates to be released issued a special statement in which they threatened not to leave prison unless an external third party would oversee the release. "Should there be any manipulation on Israel's part we will take unexpected steps that will stop the entire peace process," they wrote.
They proved having used their time in jail wisely. Now they perfectly understand Israel's Politics of Ransom; it was just a matter of days until Israel raped the renewed talks.
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Israel's Newspeak
Days after the historical meeting, on August 4, 2013, the Israeli government published a list of over 600 settlements, 91 of them in the West Bank, which will be regarded as priority areas for development. This allows their denizens to receive subsidies and preferred loans from the Government (see Settlers' Skyscrapers). The new list includes three settlements—namely Bruchin, Sansana and Rehalim—were until recently defined as "illegal outposts"* by Israel itself.
In its own version of Orwell's Newspeak,** Israel says "Peace" while meaning "War." Yet, this was only a declarative event. It was followed by actions on the ground.
Numbers of New Buildings Approved by the Civil Administration—August 9, 2013
Shilo 112, Talmon 559, Gilgal 78, Kochav Yaakov 38, Almog 31, Alon Shvut 60 Background: Talmon Settlement
Did you know? Ransom
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The Civil Administration Attacks
Regular readers of this website know that Israel's Supreme Court is not shy of abusing the Rule of Law, to the extent that even a prominent member of Netanyahu's party recently said that Israeli Courts are corrupted.
The Court invariably supports the Government paying its salaries. For example, it systematically nullifies mixed marriages between Palestinians from Israel and those of the West Bank (1264 New Testimonies). Recently it even accepted obvious false testimony and was forced to a shameful change of mind after being caught red-handed (Settlers Give False Testimony to Supreme Court).
Considering this, its recent verdict condemning Brigadier General Moti Almoz, Head of the Israeli Civil Administration is striking and exemplifies the extreme conquest fanaticism of this body. The Civil Administration is the Israeli government organization ruling the West Bank. Established in 1981, it carries out the daily bureaucratic functions within the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. It is part of a larger entity known as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit in the Defense Ministry of Israel. In other words, they look like soldiers, but in fact are Ministry of Defense administrators.
On June 26, Brig. Gen. Almoz was found guilty of giving construction permits to settlers. The problem was that this time he had robbed lands not from Palestinians but from the Nahal Shilo Nature Reserve, which the State of Israel claims ownership on it. This show how fanatic the Civil Administration is.
After the Government published the new list of priority settlements, the Civil Administration decided to give new construction permits to several settlements just days before the next meeting between Israel and Palestine. Neither the Civil Administration nor the Israeli Government seem to consider the ongoing talks as deserving some respect.
Civil Administration
Photography and the American Civil War (Metropolitan Museum of Art)  |
The list includes Shilo with 112 houses, Talmon 559, Gilgal 78, Kochav Yaakov 38, Almog 31, and Alon Shvut 60.
The list is not random. The largest program is for Talmon, near Ariel. This is part of a long term plan to create a second corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (Last Secular Settler Dies). Almog is part of the West Bank bisection plan.+ The expansion of Gilgal is a great surprise, it will contribute to the physical separation between Palestine and Jordan.
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One day before this decision was published, chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, "Israel's latest settlement announcements were an indication of Israel's bad faith and lack of seriousness." Even a person so close to the negotiations has troubles keeping up with the pace of Israeli aggressions; the day after, Israel strengthened the Paletinian claim of it having bad faith.
In this sad reality, the wise words of the prisoners to be released must be listened carefully. A third party—obviously neither the USA nor the EU—must oversee any agreement reached. After all, Zionists have no God.++
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* The United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and most countries (Israel being the obvious exception) agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the West Bank. This Convention prevents an occupying power from transferring its own population into occupied territory. Thus, settlements and outposts are both illegal under international law; under Israeli law, settlements are legal and outposts are illegal. Yet, the Israeli government supports both, violating its own laws.
** Newspeak is the language imposed by the government in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The reduced language created is a tool to limit free thought; any critique of the party politics is defined "thoughtcrime." A key term in Newspeak is Doublethink. "The keyword here is blackwhite. Like so many Newspeak words, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. Doublethink is basically the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them." George Orwell, 1984
See Saying "Peace;" Meaning "War".
See Saying "Peace;" Meaning "War".
+ Israel's strategy is changing rapidly. For many years, the official viewpoint was "two countries for two peoples," attempting to create a two-states solution of the conflict with Palestine. Yet, three out of three Prime Ministers who attempted to sign a permanent agreement ended their terms violently. Rabin was assassinated with the Court-proven help from the Shin Beth secret police, Sharon suffered a sudden stroke and was clumsily evacuated to the hospital by ambulance during the rush hour while administered a wrong drug. Olmert was wrongly impeached. Lucky coincidences? The Shin Beth knows that this is not the case.
Israel was gaining time. During all this period, the settlements grew rapidly. In mid 2013, there are more than 500,000 Jewish settlers in over 100 settlements. In recent months, Israel is attempting to strike its coup de grâce on Palestine by planning a settlement in an area known as E1 (E1: Trashing Evil). This will create Jewish contiguity between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, where one of Israel's main industrial centers is located. Once this is achieved, the West Bank will be effectively bisected,* splitting the State of Palestine in three non-contiguous zones (Gaza would be the third). If the West Bank is bisected, Palestine would not be viable.
Israel was gaining time. During all this period, the settlements grew rapidly. In mid 2013, there are more than 500,000 Jewish settlers in over 100 settlements. In recent months, Israel is attempting to strike its coup de grâce on Palestine by planning a settlement in an area known as E1 (E1: Trashing Evil). This will create Jewish contiguity between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, where one of Israel's main industrial centers is located. Once this is achieved, the West Bank will be effectively bisected,* splitting the State of Palestine in three non-contiguous zones (Gaza would be the third). If the West Bank is bisected, Palestine would not be viable.
+ "Ein lahem Elohim!" is Hebrew for "They have no God!" This is said towards people (or individuals in the singular form, "ein lo elohim") who stops at nothing, that have no fear of God and will commit any atrocity.
If God means nothing to such a person, much less would state laws, which are mere commandments of men. In the Israeli reality, this often depicts secular Zionist civil servants and settlers.
If God means nothing to such a person, much less would state laws, which are mere commandments of men. In the Israeli reality, this often depicts secular Zionist civil servants and settlers.
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