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| John Kerry’s warning that Israel could become an “apartheid state” if it doesn’t reach a peace deal with the Palestinians has set off an uproar in Israel and angered Israel’s allies in Washington. Kerry was forced to backtrack from his comments, but he voiced an opinion that is frequently heard in Israel itself and tapped into a debate that has become increasingly heated in recent years. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File) |
"... CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Settlers
are considered Israeli civilians and subject to Israeli law, which
tends to be more lenient and focus on rehabilitation. Palestinians are
subject to Israeli military law, which provides fewer protections and
tougher penalties for defendants. Israel says it cannot enforce Israeli
law on the Palestinian population because that would be tantamount to
annexation. Instead, it says the status of the West Bank must be
determined through peace talks.
LAND:
Under interim peace accords reached in the 1990s, the Palestinians were
granted full or partial control over day-to-day affairs in major
population centers that are home to roughly 95 percent of the West
Bank's Palestinians. Yet this territory comprises just 40 percent of the
West Bank, and the Palestinian-run region is divided into pockets.
In contrast, 60 percent of the
West Bank — areas home to all Jewish settlements, army bases and nature
reserves — remains under full Israeli control. An estimated 180,000
Palestinians live in Israeli-controlled areas.
MOVEMENT:
Israeli settlers can travel freely in and out of Israel and pass
quickly through military checkpoints set up to protect their
communities. Palestinians need permits to enter Israel, as well as
Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, and must pass through Israeli-controlled
border crossings to enter neighboring Jordan. Businesses in settlements
can bring in merchandise freely from Israel, but all imports to
Palestinian-run areas pass through Israeli control, sometimes meaning
delays, though Israeli authorities rarely outright block them.
Movement
within the West Bank is also largely kept separate. Israel lay down
well-maintained, high-speed roads to serve settlements and connect them
to each other and Israel. Palestinians are not expressly barred from
using these roads, but the highways usually bypass Palestinian
communities. Many of the roads connecting Palestinian areas are decrepit
and in poor condition. In times of conflict, Israel also puts up
military checkpoints that can slow — or halt — movement between
Palestinian towns.
VOTING:
Israeli settlers are permitted to vote in Israeli elections, although
they do not live in sovereign Israeli territory and Israel does not
permit absentee voting for citizens living abroad. Palestinians are not
permitted to vote in Israeli elections. They do have their own elections
for the Palestinian Authority parliament and presidency. The powers of
these bodies, however, are limited and the Palestinians have not held
legislative or presidential elections for years.
PLANNING: Israeli settlements
routinely grow as part of organized master plans. Palestinians living in
territory under full Israeli control face great restrictions. It is
virtually impossible for them to receive building permits, and
demolitions of illegally built structures are common, according to the
Israeli advocacy group Bimkom.
Palestinians
are generally free to develop areas in the West Bank under their
control. But the fragmented geography, with Palestinian-run regions
separated by areas of Israeli control, makes it difficult to build
large-scale projects such as roads or infrastructure.
WATER:
Israel controls the "Mountain Aquifer," the West Bank's primary source
of drinking water, and apportions water to the Palestinians. Under the
nearly 20-year-old interim peace accords, Israel was permitted to use 80
percent of the aquifer's resources, while the Palestinians got 20
percent. The aquifer stretches into Israel.
This
agreement was supposed to be revised after five years. But after two
decades of failed peace efforts, the terms remain in place. Israel has
granted some increases in allocations, but the system has not kept up
with Palestinian growth and development needs.
Israelis
consume more than three times the amount of water that Palestinians do
per capita, roughly 240 liters (63 gallons) per person each day in
Israel, compared to 70 liters (18 gallons) a day in the West Bank,
according to the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth
Middle East.
Settlements have
access to Israel's modern water carrier, and settler farmers enjoy
generous subsidies, while Palestinian communities, even major cities,
suffer from frequent shortages. Some villages in Israeli-controlled
areas have no access to water, forcing residents to collect rainwater or
rely on tanker trucks in warmer weather, according to the human rights
group B'tselem...."
[AS
ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO
READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP
SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and
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DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE &
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http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-apartheid-comments-tap-israeli-debate-184204332.html
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