With revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East, Israel is under mounting pressure to make a far-reaching offer to the Palestinians or face a United Nations vote welcoming the State of Palestine as a member whose territory includes all of the West Bank,Gaza and East Jerusalem.Or how statements like
“We want to generate pressure on Israel to make it feel isolated and help it understand that there can be no talks without a stop to settlements,” said Nabil Shaath, who leads the foreign affairs department of Fatah, the main party of the Palestinian Authority.....are nothing new.
Or how the PA's goals, in gaining membership in the UN and then accusing Israel of "occupying land belonging to a fellow UN member", don't make Israelis blink an eye. Since when has the UN had any real influence over Israeli policy? Operation Cast Lead, the Mavi Marmara incident last year, strikes on Gaza in retaliation for rockets into southern Israel: Israel clearly makes its decisions regardless of the United Nations' disapproving frowns and incessant banging of the gavel.
Let's not forget, after all, that it's a conglomerate of countries that includes Qaddafi's Libya, Egypt, Syria, North Korea; an organization which has invited Ahmadinejad to speak, and in heat of the turmoil of the Egyptian revolution, only found time to convene over Israel's imperialistic settlements.
But let us turn to this most artfully shot image:
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| Palestinians prayed near Israeli soldiers on Friday. They were protesting land confiscation in the village of Qusra, near Nablus. Is this really the only type of protests that goes on? Peaceful prayer, in prostration? Oh yes, the image is beautiful, compelling. Kudos to you, NYTimes photographer, on excelling artistically. But let's not kid ourselves. You craft a pretty bedtime story (not unlike that of Miral), but your educated readers? They're rolling their eyes.  |
