Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Palestinian Statehood Application Moves Amid Israeli Settlement Expansion

The symbolic push for Palestinian statehood moved forward today at the United Nations, but just days after Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered his suspect speech for peace he approved settlement expansion that even Israel's only friend shook its head at.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's application was sent to the UN Security Council's  admissions committee today for review. The application will be discussed Friday by all 15 members of the UN Security Council.

Palestinians, meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank and Arab sections of Jerusalem were outraged by Netanyahu's decision to build 1,100 homes in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood that was seized by Israel in 1967.

The Palestinian Authority suggested it was evidence of the insincere call for peace the hawkish right-wing Israeli leader made Frioodat at the UN. 

The Israeli government ignored the complaints.

"Gilo is not a settlement nor an outpost. It is a neighborhood in the very heart of Jerusalem about five minutes from the centre of town," Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was an unhelpful move to expand the Jewish settlements. The U.S. has emerged as Isreal's only real friend in the effort to block the move for Palestinain statehood.

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