Here is the opening of a recent story by the AP that ran in the Washington Post two days ago:
Israel gave the final go-ahead Thursday to build nearly 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements, saying the construction was a response to the formation of the Palestinian unity government backed by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The move triggered international criticism and deepened a rift between Israel and its Western allies. With Israel outraged at the world’s embrace of the unity government, Israel’s housing minister said the new construction was “just the beginning.”
That sounds like a big move by the Israelis, doesn't it. But it's not. About a third of the homes involved are just apartments in the city of Jerusalem. Another big batch are in suburbs of Jerusalem; they are located within five miles of Israel's parliament building. Still more of these homes are in large established Israeli cities that are widely agreed to be part of Israel in any final deal with the Palestinians. Thirty four homes, however, are in areas of the West Bank that are likely to be part of a Palestinian state. That's right; only two percent of these 1500 homes are likely to be affected should Israel and the Palestinians actually make a deal for peace.
The reality in Israel seems not to matter in the least to the reporters of the AP. They speak of "Jewish settlements", a description that calls to mind dusty little towns in the middle of Palestinian lands. In actual fact, however, they are just new homes being built for the burgeoning population of metropolitan Jerusalem. Imagine that the federal government came to an American city and built public housing; would that be suddenly called a "settlement"? That's the rough equivalent of what is happening in Israel with this announcement.
Israel gave the final go-ahead Thursday to build nearly 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements, saying the construction was a response to the formation of the Palestinian unity government backed by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The move triggered international criticism and deepened a rift between Israel and its Western allies. With Israel outraged at the world’s embrace of the unity government, Israel’s housing minister said the new construction was “just the beginning.”
That sounds like a big move by the Israelis, doesn't it. But it's not. About a third of the homes involved are just apartments in the city of Jerusalem. Another big batch are in suburbs of Jerusalem; they are located within five miles of Israel's parliament building. Still more of these homes are in large established Israeli cities that are widely agreed to be part of Israel in any final deal with the Palestinians. Thirty four homes, however, are in areas of the West Bank that are likely to be part of a Palestinian state. That's right; only two percent of these 1500 homes are likely to be affected should Israel and the Palestinians actually make a deal for peace.
The reality in Israel seems not to matter in the least to the reporters of the AP. They speak of "Jewish settlements", a description that calls to mind dusty little towns in the middle of Palestinian lands. In actual fact, however, they are just new homes being built for the burgeoning population of metropolitan Jerusalem. Imagine that the federal government came to an American city and built public housing; would that be suddenly called a "settlement"? That's the rough equivalent of what is happening in Israel with this announcement.
No comments:
Post a Comment