Jonesy

Whatever. How would you like it if you were sitting in your house, minding your own business, and a bunch of mother-fuckers came in, kicked out or killed you and your family, and if you tried to get your house back or even make some kind of compromise, the assholes tried to kill you?

In fact, i'm certain I lived in your house at some point in history. You have 5 minutes to leave or you will die.

kblair7

My best friend is staying in WB ironically, and she has a blog actually I will try to find the URL, but she went to a rally involving the wall and the IDF starting shooting tear-gas into them. All they were doing was talking and gathering....the IDF then decided that people running away was a threat so they shot rubber bullets into a crowd of 50 people, mostly students. Most Israelis don't agree with the policy of brutalizing the Palestinians. I don't care how you justify it, what they are doing like building a wall though a village...that's really going to convince people of their peaceful intentions .

DRS112

Why not? It worked so well in Berlin

BillCosby

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

kblair7

wha?

I'm confused, are you calling me a loser?

BillCosby

????loZer....????

Is that a loZer smiley????

I thought it was a grinning smiley pointing up to the nice post from you.........

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

DRS112

lol...seriously? I've seen you use it a few times when I thought you agreed with me...I remember thinking

yeah I only use it in two circumstances...one when I'm joking around with somebody or two when somebody is being a loser....

If you look the smiley makes an L in front of his face....

hotair

The UN charter forbids the UN, and/or any member of the UN, from interfering with the internal affairs of any sovereign nation. Like it or not, Israel is a sovereign nation. Thus the UN’s interference in Israel’s settlement rebuilding program is by definition, illegal! Despite this, Israel has been willing to suspend rebuilding operations pending negotiations.

This creates two misconceptions.
1.) Many people have misinterpreted Israel’s acceptance as some sort of an agreement, on Israel’s behave, to end all future development.
2.) That Israel has somehow relinquished its claims to the land in question.

At the heart of these two misconceptions is the erroneous belief that Israel is willingly cooperating with the UN. There are many people who are failing to realize the difference between acceptance, and compliance. Israel is a very small country, and unlike its Arab neighbors, Israel does not control any globally dependent resources. In other words, Israel has no leverage to ignore the UN, even though the UN’s mandates are illegal.

Additionally: By caving into the UN’s illegal demands, Israel demonstrates their willingness to bend over back-wards to help produce a peaceful solution to the situation. So that even before any negotiations have started, Israel has already made a very significant concession. A concession, that many people (particularly the Arabs) seem to be ignoring.

Few people are able to truly respect the depth of this concession. These settlements in question, are the ‘birth place’ of Israel. The original settlements constitute the very foundation of what Israel is today (a sovereign nation). This is the reason why these settlements were targeted for destruction under the Jordanian occupation of the territory. This is the reason why the region is still so hotly contested today. Which is why there is so much pressure within Israel to rebuild these settlements. These settlements are where Israel started from.

To put it another way, using the ‘building’ analogy. A building cannot stand without a foundation. If you destroy a buildings foundation, then the entire building must collapse.

All of which seems to be creating some confusion. Israel’s acceptance of this UN mandate, is dependent on negotiations producing favorable results. Yet, to date, despite all of Israel’s concessions, things just keep getting worse. The longer that the negotiation process goes on, the worse that things are getting. The worse that things get, the harder it is for the Israeli government to continue to justify its acceptance of these UN demands.

The result of this reality, is what we are seeing in Israel today. The Israeli government, as with any democracy, has a responsibility to the people of Israel. It is answerable to the people of Israel, and thus is compelled to respond to internal pressure. Likewise the UN is compelled (by it’s own charter) to respect this developing situation within Israel.

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So long, and thanks for all of the fish!!!

hotair

Not having been with your friend, I cannot speak as to the conditions you describe.

Having said that . . . I can say that: In my misspent youth I have been in the middle of a number of riots. Chicago (1968). Selma, Al.. . . . It might be easier to just say that I missed out on Kent State. Which probably explains why I am still alive today.

Then, during a short career in criminal law enforcement. I found myself, on a number of occasions, on the other side as it were.

Having personally witnessed riots from both sides, I have some experience with these events. Police (any police) almost never respond with the force that you describe, without some provocation. Just because your friend may not have been provoking the police, does not necessarily mean that no one else was.

When a very small number of police, are given the responsibility to try to manage a significantly larger mob, there is very little room for mistakes.

Additionally: We are talking about a region off the world, where people like to play with things that go boom!!! Large crowds (especially an unruly mob) tend to attract these people, like a corpse attracts flies. Yet, the police have the responsibility of protecting these people, even from themselves.

So, as I said at the beginning here, I am in no position to second guess the decisions that were made. I would only add that: You are in no better a position than I am!!! Since there will be a complete investigation it to the event, I for one am perfectly content to let them determine if the police response was appropriate or not.

When you speak of most people, you might want to check the political polling data. The Likud party is on the rise. A vote of no confidence in the parliament today, would put them in control of a majority government.

Personally, I think that a Likud majority government (without any coalition partners) says a lot more about what the ‘people’ of Israel really want.

Then again . . . Wanting something, and needing it, are two separate, and completely different matters. Even if no one wants the wall (in particular), the cost of maintaining the IDF in the West Bank is threatening to bankrupt the government. The wall is not a question of want. It is a matter of fiscal necessity.

The government cannot afford to maintain the military presents indefinitely. The PA refuses to accept responsibility for governing its people. The suicide bombings cannot be allowed to resume again. To date, the wall is the only viable solution that meets all of the requirements.

It is like paying taxes. You do not have to like it . . . You just have to do it!!!

We do not live in a perfect world!!!

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So long, and thanks for all of the fish!!!

BillCosby

Well my bad I guess..... I was not aware ppl took it as that............

I apologize to all that may have thought that............

I was using it as an agreement/smile pointing to a made point I like or agreed w/..............

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror