Groups protest settlement fundraiser at New York hotel

Eight groups representing tens of thousands of people in the United States, Palestine and Israel have called on the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan to cancel the 17 November dinner for the Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund aiming to raise money for Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

Settlers Who Long to Leave the West Bank

Rimonim, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The vast majority of settlers vow never to leave the West Bank, but some see the occupation as wrong.

“I came here 25 years ago to live in the countryside and raise my family,” said David Avidan as he sat in a neighbor’s living room here one recent evening to discuss an exit strategy. “We wanted to resettle the whole land of Israel,” he added. “But now when I see how our soldiers treat Palestinians at the checkpoints, I am ashamed. I want us to get out of here. I want two states for two people. But I can’t get any money for my house and I can’t leave.”

Jews in Judea, Samaria Increased by 20 Percent in Olmert's Term

The number of Jews in Judea and Samaria grew by 20 percent from 250,000 when Ehud Olmert began his term as Prime Minister in April of 2006, to more than 300,000 in the Interior Ministry's official census in 2008, according to Yesha Council Director Pinchas Wallerstein.

For those of you who don't know - Judea and Samaria are the Jewish names for what is now commonly referred to as Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank).

More than one-third of settlements built on private Palestinian land

"More than one-third of Israel's 122 West Bank settlements were built on land confiscated from private Palestinian owners on security grounds, including some erected after the Israeli Supreme Court outlawed such seizures three decades ago, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday."

Palestinians sue for NIS 40 million for land taken by settlers

"Palestinian landowners on whose property the West Bank settlement of Homesh was constructed are demanding NIS 40 million in compensation and the right to access their land. The state is trying to reach an out-of-court compromise in order to avoid a precedent setting ruling."

Olmert: Presence of W. Bank outposts is a 'disgrace'

"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, speaking before the government on Sunday, said it was a disgrace that Israel hasn't taken action on unauthorized West Bank outposts, according to a participant in the meeting."

West Bank's Jewish 'outposts' dig in

"They can drag us away a hundred times and we'll come back," said Landesberg, 18, who like many religious Jews wears a yarmulke and long, curled sideburns. "And if the army wants to stay and guard it, then we win, because if the Israeli army is here, the land is being occupied by Jews."

Questions on Iran as Bush heads to Mideast

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a press conference after handing the annual budget bill to the parliament in Tehran on Monday.

"President Bush intends to use his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran, even as a recent U.S. intelligence report playing down Tehran's nuclear ambitions has left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran and questioning Washington's resolve, according to senior U.S. officials, diplomats and regional experts."

I'm sure the Palestinians will be pleased to hear Bush is in the region to pressure Iran. I'm sure they thought Bush was coming to pressure Israel to halt the wholesale slaughter of their defenseless and innocent men, women and children, stop the destruction of their homes and farms, force the removal of Israeli settlements and checkpoints, and stop the confiscation of their land.

Israel refuses to release report on settlements

"The report, whose preparation was kept secret, revealed that extensive building was carried out without permits on dozens of veteran settlements - not just outposts - often on privately owned Palestinian land. Spiegel's data came from the Civil Administration and other government agencies, as well as from photographic sorties carried out by civilian aircraft leased by the military establishment."

The Spiegel report would show Israeli's true intention ~ to steal Palestinian land and eventually "wipe Palestine off the map."

Just going to work, Palestinians and Israelis travel different roads

Palestinians board buses for the long, checkpoint-ridden commute to work.

"In the pre-dawn chill, Darwish sets his Muslim prayer rug on the floor facing Mecca. In the soft morning light, Steinmetz throws on his prayer shawl and turns toward Jerusalem. Then the lives of these West Bank neighbors diverge."

Sure does look and sound a lot like apartheid to me ~ you know what they say, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck...

Olmert: Israel fails to halt settlements

"Israel has failed to uphold its promise to halt building in settlements, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an unprecedented acknowledgement Friday ahead of President Bush's visit to prod Israel and the Palestinians toward a final accord."

Olmert merely states the obvious...

An Unholy Land Grab: The Story of a Palestinian Farm and Settlers

"They have now occupied strategically chosen areas through out the West Bank. Keddumim boasts of its own position on its website, saying its settlers have seized the tactical high ground overlooking routes from the Jordan towards Tel Aviv. In October this year the UN reported that over 38% of the West Bank is now occupied by Israeli settlements and by Israeli military areas. Since the West Bank and Gaza Strip only amount to 22% of the historical land of Palestine - it means that, in the current Two State negotiations, the Palestinians are expected to settle for just 13.2% of the land, despite having a population equivalent to Israel’s, or greater."

The Great Divide: Israel's forbidden road

"It runs straight through the heart of the occupied West Bank, but Palestinians are not permitted even to set foot on the asphalt their ancestors laid."

A bad investment

"The time is ripe for Israel to begin making repayments to the Palestinians, not to amass more bad debts in order to expand settlements."

Abbas wants Israeli settlement freeze at summit

"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will demand Israel commit to a freeze on all settlement construction at a peace summit Thursday, the first since the two sides agreed to resume peace talks at a U.S.-sponsored conference last month."

Israel freeze all settlement construction? Are you serious? Abbas, don't hold your breathe. Israel don't want peace, Israel want Palestine!

New Israeli settlement plans unveiled on eve of peace talks

Israeli right-wing activists dance with national flags on a hill outside the West Bank Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, 09 December 2007. Israel plans to enlarge two settlements in occupied Palestinian territory next year, officials said, casting yet another shadow over revived Middle East peace talks. (AFP/File/Menahem Kahana)

"Israel plans to enlarge two settlements in occupied Palestinian territory next year, a peace group said on Sunday, on the eve of the latest round of peace negotiations between the two sides."

Interesting how the Zionist Entity has convinced the world that Palestinians want to "wipe it off the map," when in reality it's Palestine that's disappearing.