Yesterday, in response to the UN vote to grant the request of the Palestinian Authority for observer nation status, Israel approved construction of 3000 apartment units in parts of Jerusalem and its suburbs that had been controlled by Jordan prior to 1967. This construction had been held up for years by Israel; supposedly, it was a gesture towards the Palestinians that could help lead to peace. This was not a surprising response to the Palestinians abrogating the Oslo accords that are the basis for all negotiations between Arab and Israeli since the early 1990s. Well, we got the next unsurprising response. The Obama Administration announced that it "reiterates" its "longstanding opposition to settlements and East Jerusalem construction".
Let me put this in context. Suppose that Mexico told the USA that we ought not build homes for Americans in Los Angeles since this was part of Mexico prior to 1848. Or suppose the British told India that it could not build homes for Indians in New Delhi because the British used to rule there until 1947. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. How can it be that America would actually tell the Israelis that they ought not build homes for Jewish citizens in that capital? But that is just what the Obama Administration response was.
And we have four more years of this.
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