Israel plans West Bank settlement expansion amid policy shifts in Washington

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

JERUSALEM — Israel announced a bold plan on Tuesday to construct 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just two days after he spoke with President Trump.

The move appears to be a clear sign that the Israelis no longer fear American criticism of settlement construction, which is condemned by most of the world.

For eight years, Netanyahu and his right-wing allies bristled at the harsh condemnations of settlement growth by the Obama administration, which referred to the Israeli communities as “illegitimate” and “an obstacle to peace.”

Trump, however, has signaled a more accommodating stance toward Israel. He has called for moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, a city claimed as the capital of both Israel and a potential future Palestinian state. Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is a hard-line opponent of the two-state solution and a supporter of the settlement enterprise in the West Bank.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-plans-west-bank-settlement-expansion-amid-policy-shifts-in-washington/2017/01/24/a3899552-e243-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.7fe19779afd7#comments

[Bettie]

1. They want to push so that some Palestinian kid throws a rock

and gives them an excuse to ask Dear Orange Leader to help them murder every one of them.

[CajunBlazer]

3. Maybe you can answer the question I posed below.

[CajunBlazer]

2. Why is it that some American progressives support a far right wing Israli government

I have notice that here on DU it appears that no one wants to comment on articles like this one. The only thing I can figure is that either people are just not interested or some are afraid to upset other Democrats.

What's going on?

[Docreed2003]

4. I've noticed that as well...

As well as a group that will jump into any diary like this one to denounce anything related to Palestinians. It certainly is a strange phenomenon

[Bettie]

5. I don't support the far right wing Israeli government

but I know people who do and they justify it with WWII and atrocities and murder of Jews.

They seem to believe that this history makes anything they do now OK. Even if they kill every living person in Gaza and the West Bank, it is OK becasue WWII.

NOTE: This does not diminish what was done to people in WWII (Jews, homosexuals, the disabled, and many other groups), but it does not make what is happening to human beings at the hands of the current government of Israel OK.

[CajunBlazer]

6. I understand why far right Christian consrvatives suppot the Israeli government

They believe the they are hastening the second coming of Christ by fulfilling biblical prophesies - they're ate up with it - but I do not understand how progressives on this board can support Netanyahu's government.

[Bettie]

7. I don't either

The whole thing is a giant mess and an enormous humanitarian crisis.

[LittleBlue]

8. Because some progressives justify the murder of Jews

Go look at the Iron Dome thread in LBE. People incensed that Israel dares use missiles to intercept rockets aimed at Jewish children. There is a strong streak of antisemitism on DU, which, when I saw it, made me swing the other way. I used to be a pro-Palestinian, now I'm a staunch Zionist.