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U.S. Pressure Over Jerusalem Shows a Continued Misread of Israel

[Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon - The U.S. government's continued misreading and misunderstanding of the Israeli public was evident again in its objection to a plan to build 900 new housing units in Gilo, one of the large new neighborhoods built in Israel's capital following the Six-Day War. Gilo is not some far-flung settlement overlooking Nablus, nor part of a settlement bloc, or in an Arab neighborhood. Many Israelis are clearly dismayed that the U.S. now seems to be considering the post-1967 neighborhoods in Jerusalem as settlements. Pressing a construction freeze in those areas was widely viewed by the public as an unreasonable demand, especially when it was not accompanied by any demands on the Arabs or Palestinians. The irony is that this has come at a time when it looked as if Obama understood that his much touted outreach to the Arab and Muslim world had to be accompanied by some kind of dialogue with Israel.
2009-11-19 06:00:00
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