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Archive for the ‘Jerusalem’ Category

Israel?s Gas Diplomacy | Delta Define

deltadefine.alamedabiznet.biz4/28/12

Over much of South Sudan?s half-century struggle for independence, Israel almost single-handedly armed and supported the black African rebels against what was widely recognized as genocide and enslavement …

Israel Stand To Gain From S.Sudan | www.sosanews.com …

sosanews.com9/15/11

Israel Stand To Gain From S.Sudan. southsudan on AMpThu, 15 Sep 2011 08:40:51 +000040Thursday 17, 2007 — Leave a Comment. At a time of diplomatic turbulence, Israel's diplomatic ties with the world's newest nation, South Sudan, can …

Israel’s PM Minister Benyamin Netanyahu recognizes South Sudan.

"Yesterday, a new state was born, South Sudan and I hereby announce that Israel recognizes the Republic of South Sudan".

"We wish it success!".

"This is a peace-seeking country and we would be pleased to cooperate with it in order to ensure its development and its prosperity".

During the meeting however, Israel’s Interior Minister Eli Yishai said of the creation of South Sudan:

"It will make it easier for Israel to send back Sudanese refugees, and the government should hold diplomatic talks with the new country over the issue".

Israel had reportedly already established contact with government authorities in Sudan, and the two are said to have already cooperated on issues relating to agriculture, economics and security.

Tens of thousands of South Sudanese danced and cheered as their new country formally declared its independence on Saturday.

The independence of the state capped a hard-won separation from the north that also plunged the fractured region into a new period of uncertainty.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir was quoted in October as saying that he did not rule out:

"The establishment of good relations with Israel, including the opening of an Israeli Embassy in Juba, the country’s capital".

He was also quoted as saying that:

“Israel is the enemy of the Palestinians only, and not an enemy of the South".

The Blue Line and Green Line – Everything In … – Israel Seen News

israelseen.com9/18/11

By Michael J. Totten . Can a Jerusalem divided stand? As you walk the streets of Jerusalem's Old City, you may find it hard to believe that Israelis and.

Israeli-Lebanese border | The Travelling Rubberducks

www.travellingducks.com11/1/11

The Blue Line is a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. At the same time, …

Close to half a million Jews now live beyond those lines!

The Green Line

The term Green Line refers to the 1949 Armistice lines established between Israel and its neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The term Green Line itself derives from the green ink that was used to draw the line on the map during the talks that followed Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and the situation is now further complicated by the fact that Israel took control of more territory during the 1967 Six-Day War, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula.

The Blue Line

In March 1949 as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Palestine and handed over their positions to the Jordanian legion, three Israeli brigades took up what were considered to be threatening positions (known as Operation Shin-Tav-Shin) and the said operation allowed Israel to renegotiate a new cease fire line in the Wadi Ara area of the northern West Bank, after which the green line was redrawn in blue ink on the southern map.

Following the 1978 Camp David Accords which guaranteed:

a) Egyptian recognition of Israel.

b) The free passage of Israeli ships through the Suez Canal.

c) Recognition of the Strait of Tiran, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Taba-Rafah straits as international waterways.

Israel then returned the entire peninsular to Egypt (and a state of what only be called ‘non-war’ continues to exist) and since then has withdrawn from more than 40% of the West Bank, over 90% of the Gaza Strip and has now withdrawn from approximately 94% of the territory that it captured in 1967.

For more information about Israel’s supposed land grab.

The Israeli side of the Green Line presently encompasses 78.5% of what was Palestine in 1947 and although the line does not denote an official border it is largely used to differentiate between areas within the Israeli side of the Line, which are administered as part of the State of Israel, and the areas outside it, which are either administered by the Israeli military, or in agreements with the Palestinian National Authority.

As of November 2009, approximately 400,000 Israelis are now said to be living in the 168 officially recognized settlements in the West Bank, and a further 280,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, which is a separate issue.

How Can The Present Situation Be Resolved?

It first needs to be said that I see almost no possibility of a peace agreement between Israel and Fatah in the near future, and no possibility whatsoever with Hamas.

Having said the above however, the question needs to be asked, “What could be done with close to half a million Israelis now living in the West Bank, since Israel could neither forcibly remove nor absorb them?”.

A Possible Solution?

Both Israelis and Palestinian could be told that in the event of a possible transfer of land, or a land swap that residents of such lands would have to decide between moving to either Israeli or Palestinian governed areas, or remain where they are and accept the nationality of the governing body.

The above would not be as drastic as it first sounds for Israel or Fatah because both Israel and Fatah understand that major Israeli towns will remain under Israeli control.

The understanding would hopefully allow Israel to continue building whilst at the same time provide Fatah with the peace of mind that an end game was in sight and also planned for.

The Residents Of Umm al-Fahm

Umm al-Fahm is an Arab populated city in the Haifa District of Israel with a population of around 43,300 and although the residents enjoy the social benefits of being in Israel they are stridently anti-Israel and Israel would likely strive to have the border moved so that Umm al-Fahm would be in a Palestinian controlled area.