NETANYAHU BLAIMES IRAN FOR BULGARIA BOMBING. WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?

Israel's prime minister Netanyahu says that Iran is behind the bombing of a bus of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria.  How he knows this is a mystery;  he has not produced any evidence.


It is unfair to blame Iran unless there is clear and convincing evidence.  So far, there is none.


Perhaps Bibi just wants to take the spotlight off his approval of more settlements in the occupied West Bank.  Under international law, if one country, Israel, seizes land from another, Palestine, through a military conflict, the victor, Israel, must give it back.  The war occurred in 1967.  So far Israel refuses to give it back.


Israel is flouting this principle of international law, figuring that it can get away with it.  Iran happens to be an easy diversion.

NETANYAHU UNBELIEVABLY CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS DO NOT "HARM" PALESTINIANS

Israel's prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, claims that building 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem would in no way "harm Palestinians," Matthew Weaver and Daniel Nasaw report for The Guardian today.

"Speaking to Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said the construction of homes for Jews in the city's eastern sector "in no way" hurts Palestinians. His comments came after an admission by the Israeli ambassador to Washington that Israel's relations with the US are at their worst for 35 years."

I guess Netanyahu means that building settlements on someone else's land is not as destructive as exploding white phosphorous in the streets or shooting missiles at someone's roof.

But if you were Palestinian and you had your land seized during the 1967 War, and then you saw Israelis building settlements on your land and moving in, I think that you would feel the pain.

ISRAEL CONTINUES NEW SETTLEMENTS ON PALESTINIAN LAND

The government of Israel under prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to approve new settlements on occupied Palestinian land every month. Today the BBC reports that Israel has approved 900 new homes in East Jerusalem. Remember this is land seized by Israel during the 1967 War. International law is clear that such settlements are illegal: all land seized during armed conflicts must be returned to the losing side, otherwise every nation would have carte blanche to start a war with a weaker neighbor, seize land by military force, then keep it.

The BBC reports:

"The Israeli interior ministry has approved planning applications for 900 new housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

"The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967 and annexed to the Jerusalem municipality."

So in the battle between U.S. president Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Netanyahu about Israeli settlements, it is clear who is winning: Netanyahu. Obama seems powerless to stop the ongoing settlements. And there can be no peace with the Palestinians when Israel is holding their rightful land and continues to expand its settlements on their patrimony.

Reports the BBC:

"The BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says Tuesday's announcement represents by far the largest batch of planning approvals for building on occupied territory since Mr Netanyahu became prime minister.

"The 900 housing units, which will be built in the form of 4-5 bedroom apartments, will account for a significant expansion of Gilo. The interior ministry said construction work would be unlikely to start for another three or four years once the plans gained final authorisation.

"A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the planning approval was "yet another step that shows and proves Israel is not ready for peace".

""This step will ruin every single attempt - European or American - to preserve the peace process," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said."

ISRAEL EVICTS NINE PALESTINIAN FAMILIES TODAY IN EAST JERUSALEM

Why must the Israeli government approve the eviction of nine Palestinian families from occupied East Jerusalem? Almost immediately after the eviction, Jewish families moved in. Is there any better example of "ethnic cleansing"?

The BBC reports:

""Israeli police have evicted nine Palestinian families living in two houses in occupied East Jerusalem.

"Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately. The US has urged Israel to abandon plans for a building project in the area."

This portion of Jerusalem was seized during the 1967 War. International law prevents the victor, in this case Israel, from annexing the territory and considering it its own. Land seized during an armed conflict must be returned to the defeated peoples. So far Israel refuses to return the land to the Palestinians from whom it was taken. Now Israel is evicting Palestinians who live there.

Reports the BBC:

"The evictions were quickly condemned by the United Nations.

""I deplore today's totally unacceptable actions by Israel," the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H Serry said. "These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.

""These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace," Mr Perry said.

"Palestinian negotiator Saed Erakat said: "Tonight, while these new settlers from abroad will be accommodating themselves and their belongings in these Palestinian houses, 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep.""

OLMERT SPEAKS TO AIPAC, IRAN IS "ENEMY"

Israel's prime minister was in Washington, D.C., last night talking to that neo-con Israeli-American lobby, AIPAC. Condi Rice was also there with her own talk.

Both of them agreed Iran was the enemy. So they proceeded to demonize Iran, calling it a grave threat to peace and security.

Where have we heard this before?

Back in 2001-2002, Condi Rice was among the most vocal, calling Iraq a grave and imminent danger, saying that the U.S. could not allow "the smoking gun" to turn into a "mushroom cloud." That Saddam Hussein had WMD, that he was intent on acquiring nuclear weapons, that he had a stockpile of germ agents. All of which proved to be so much hot air and disproved speculation.

Now the focus is on Iran. "We must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon!"

Consider that there is no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapon or is trying to make one. Although, if it did, I could understand completely as a nuclear weapon might be the only deterrent to Bush's war machine attacking and invading Iran in the same way as it did to Iraq. Consider how Bush treads softly around North Korea which does indeed have nuclear weapons.

But nevertheless there is no proof Iran has or wants nuclear weapons. Iran's supreme religious leader came out just yesterday with a denial, saying that any intelligent nation has no need or want for nuclear bombs.

Yet the drumbeat towards attacking Iran continues, and the "coalition of the willing" consists of those reactionary Israeli government leaders like Ehud Olmert and his co-patriots who continue to build Israeli settlements on land taken from the Palestinians during the 1967 War and the neo-cons and reactionaries here in the U.S. like Bill Kristol, Elliot Abrams and the other AIPAC members, as well as key members of the Bush cabinet such as Rice and VP Dick Cheney.

Imagine what a war with Iran would do to Middle East peace and stability. There would be fallout for the next 500 years. There would be enmity between Americans and Iranians for at least that long. Consider what the Fall of Constantinople did to the relations between Greeks and Turks. After more 600 years, they still hate one another for what happened. We could expect the same between the East and West over Iran, maybe lasting even longer.

We need to talk with Iran, not demonize it and its people. We need to get rid of Cheney and Rice and Bush and their militaristic hegemony and imperialism. Instead of starting a war with Iran, we need to sit down with the Iranians and treat them with respect and dignity. That is the way to beginning to solve the so far intractable problems for the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East.

GOVT. OF ISRAEL PLANS TO BUILD NEW HOUSING IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, REJECTS TALKS WITH HAMAS

Today we see another proposal by the Israel government to increase housing units in the Occupied Territories. Also Israeli Prime Minister Olmert turns down a proposal for talks with Hamas.

The Washington Post carries a report by Mark Lavie of the AP:

"Israel's prime minister pledged Sunday to continue attacking Gaza militants, ruling out truce negotiations with Hamas amid widespread skepticism about the Islamic group's ability to halt rocket attacks.

"An Israeli cabinet minister, meanwhile, angered moderate Palestinians with another plan for new Jewish housing in a disputed part of Jerusalem, complicating renewed peace talks.

"There have been almost daily reports of truce feelers from the embattled Islamic Hamas regime in Gaza, and Israeli defense officials have said they are examining the proposals.

"But at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected negotiations with Hamas because it has rebuffed international demands that it recognize Israel, renounce violence and endorse past peace accords."

There can be no peace in Palestine if Israel does not sit down and talk with Hamas. The fact that Hamas does not "recognize Israel" is a bogus reason on the part of Israeli authorities for rejecting talks. Hamas de facto recognizes Israel by asking for negotiations, that is all that really matters.

As to renouncing violence, both sides must renounce violence. That of course means Hamas must stop the rocket attacks into Israeli towns. Hamas must also prevent suicide bombers from doing their dirty work in Israel and against Israelis. But it also means Israel must stop its tanks making incursions into Gaza, its helicopters strafing and killing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and its targeted assassinations of Palestinian and Hamas leaders.

And both sides must endorse past peace accords. When Israel announces new housing settlements in the Occupied Territories, i.e., land acquired by Israel from Palestine during the 1967 War, this violates Resolution 242 (1967) and Resolution 465 (1980) of the United Nations, "emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war . . . " and being "deeply concerned over the practices of the Israeli authorities in implemeneting [their] settlement policy in the occupied Arbab territories, including Jerusalem, and its consequences for the lcoal Atab and Palestinian polulation."

Writes AP reporter Lavie:

"At Mideast conference hosted by President Bush last month in Annapolis, Md., Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks for the first time in seven years.

"But disputes over Israeli construction in Jerusalem have harmed the atmosphere. Just before the talks restarted, Israel announced a plan to build 307 apartments in Har Homa in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed.

"The international community never recognized Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem, and Palestinians claim the area as the capital of the state they want to create.

"On Sunday Rafi Eitan, minister for Jerusalem affairs, confirmed that the Construction Ministry's proposed budget for 2008 includes 500 new apartments for Har Homa, as well as 240 new apartments in Maaleh Adumim, a major West Bank settlement just outside Jerusalem."

Israel must stop this illegal annexation by inhabitation of Occupied Territories. The Palestinians will never forget that Israel has seized their land and has brought in Israeli settlers and populated their territories with Israeli citizens.

We need a new administration in the U.S. to get involved and insist on the cessation of violence by both Hamas and Israel and in accordance with U.N resolutions 242 and 465 the return of Palestinian land and territories seized by Israel through its military victories.