De-development Israeli style

[Classical_Liberal]

The Oslo Agreement stipulation on the telecom sector is very clear. Any operator must be licensed by the Palestinian Authority if they desire to sell their services to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Not only are all of the Israeli cellular companies illegally operating in Palestinian areas without licenses, but the Israeli government is encouraging them by disrupting the ability of the Palestinians to develop their own telecommunications networks and refusing to take action against these Israeli operators for violating agreements. The result is that these Israeli commercial interests are fully aligned with Israeli political concerns and the military occupation works in tandem with policies aimed at de-developing the Palestinian economy.


During this most recent four-year spike of Israeli military aggression, Israel refuses to allow the Palestinian cellular operator to import desperately needed equipment. Since all Palestinian imports must pass through Israeli ports, Israel has repeatedly used the infamous, all encompassing blanket excuse of 'security concerns' to delay or prohibit Palestinian imports. While the same equipment that is destined for Palestine is being held up at Israeli ports for 'security checks', Israel allows it to be freely imported by Israeli operators.


Furthermore, Israeli cellular operators have installed a comprehensive network covering the entire Palestinian area. These firms place their equipment inside the illegal Israeli settlements, under the pretext of serving the settlers, but in reality position their equipment and provide it with excess capacity to cover every Palestinian community. This is easily done given that the settlements are usually located on the hilltops next to Palestinian population centers and are well protected by Israel's military occupation forces.


Furthermore, besides placing towers and equipment in settlements - and recently on contiguous Palestinian lands - these Israeli companies have flooded the Palestinian marketplace with pre-paid scratch cards to market their services. Capitalizing on the inability of the Palestinian Authority to regulate its market, the Israeli companies continue to dump their services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The pricing schemes for these illegal services are structured in a way that directly threatens the Palestinian operators' ability to survive. Faced with four illegal operators working without licenses and without any type of regulation - commercial, environmental, or otherwise - the Palestinian operator competes against tremendous odds............

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=60661

[IA_Seth]

1. Yet another

example of how things aren't working as agreed to. And another example of how many "little things" are being done to undermine the Palestinian's ability to live.

[Gimel]

2. Ah, yes,

things would have been much different if it wasn't for the Intifada. By the way, Oslo is dead. Can't run it up the flag-pole much longer.

[IA_Seth]

3. Oslo

Oslo is dead, so we might as well abandon all thoughts discussed there right? We might as well say ah well, let the Israeli companies come in and clean house now that Oslo is dead.

Oslo is dead? But are rights and a viable way of life dead as well?

[Classical_Liberal]

4. The intifada is hardly a justification for greed, and monopolism.

.

[Gimel]

5. Actually

i didn't read that Oslo objected to Israeli companies selling to Israelis. There seems to be a difference here.

Well, Oslo also called for an end to the armed conflict, and we see where that went.

It must have something to do with why the settlers didn't want to put their communication into the hands of the Palestinians.

[Classical_Liberal]

6. Oslo also called for a freeze to the settlements.

The settlers have no right to be there, under and Israeli government or drive Palestinian businesses in to the ground.

The whole settler enterprise is designed to take advantage of Palestinians to begin with. They do it not because it would put their communication in the hand of Palestinians, but because their political philosophy is based on a dehumanizing sort of graft to begin with.

[Gimel]

7. As I said

Oslo has been dead for a long time now.

The settlers have as much sight to the land of their ancestors as do the Palestinians.

[Classical_Liberal]

8. They have the Israeli part of it to live in

If they want to live in the Palestinian part they do it under Palestinian government, or create a secular multiculti state, in which case they don't have a right to move Palestinians out so they can move in. The bantustan plan will result in a degradation of the Israeli standard of living, because the citizens of the EU and the Asian countries which Israel trades with won't tolerate it.

[Gimel]

9. The Hamas

Do they comply with the PA government? I think not. There is no PA rule of law. Therefore compliance is not a question here. The government is neither democratic or representative of the population. Were settlers invited to vote fot the President of the PA?

[number6]

10. more than just land theft, everthing theft ....

:(

[Gimel]

11. They miss

those swamps and have nostalgia for the 18th century. Kiss it good-by folks.

[number6]

12. ???

:shrug: