The Israeli government announced the construction of 1600 new homes in annexed Arab East Jerusalem just as US Vice-President Joe Biden was visiting the country. It was an affront to Biden, who’s trying to mediate in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and a slap in the face for the Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Construction of Israeli homes and settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is internationally condemned and violates the spirit of agreements that Israel has pledged to uphold. Does that mean the guiding idea of Israel and a Palestinian state coexisting in peace is thereby invalidated? In the current situation, Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas refuses to join Israel at the negotiating table.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the latest events a “severe setback” for efforts at resolving the Mideast conflict peacefully. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policy illegal. The rhetoric is escalating and Israel is facing questions asking whether the Jewish State is still interested at all in a negotiated solution to the conflict.

What do you think – Israeli Settlement Policy – Is There A Will For Peace?
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