Friday, February 12, 2016

[ePalestine] BROOKINGS: No unilateral Israeli path to two states (by Sam Bahour)

The Brookings Institution

SERIES: Markaz: Debating Israeli-Palestinian futures

No unilateral Israeli path to two states

Sam Bahour
February 12, 2016



The composition and track record of the current Israeli government leads Palestinians to expect very little from Israel in the way of advancing peace. After five decades of military occupation, and repeated failures of two decades of bilateral negotiations based on the Oslo Accords, there is a clear need for new ideas. But the proposals offered by Amos Yadlin's post last month, "Two states, four paths for achieving them," do not accord with basic realities on the Palestinian side, and as such do not offer a viable pathway to a two-state outcome.

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Thursday, February 04, 2016

[ePalestine] Plain Dealer: Israel 'feeling heat' over settlement businesses (By Sam Bahour and Edward E. Thompson)

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Israel 'feeling heat' over settlement businesses

By Sam Bahour and Edward E. Thompson (Opinion)

February 04, 2016

west-bank-settlement-mishor-adumim-112210.jpg
In this Nov. 22, 2010, photo, Palestinian women collect scrap timber in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone near the Jewish West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim. Palestinian advocates contend that multinational companies will need to face "clear legal and moral liabilities" for operating in Israeli settlements. (Associated Press)

The consequences of Israeli occupation and anti-Palestinian discrimination for Israel's economy are now coming faster than ever. Like so many previous military occupations, Israel is starting to feel the heat of the international community. However, this heat is not of the political kind that Israel has become accustomed to deflecting, but rather the economic kind that has a mystical way of invoking action from the political echelon. For everyone's sake, let's hope the message is arriving loud and clear: It's time for Israel to end its nearly 50-year occupation and allow Palestinians to live in freedom in an independent state.

The latest thoughtful criticism of Israel's actions is a 162-page report titled "Occupation, Inc.: How Settlement Businesses Contribute to Israel's Violations of Palestinian Rights." Issued by the reputable, international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), the report documents how settlement businesses facilitate the growth and operations of Israel's settlement enterprise, an enterprise deemed illegal by every country in the world, except Israel. These settlement businesses depend on and contribute to the Israeli authorities' unlawful confiscation of Palestinian land and other resources.

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