Excellent letter in the Guardian by Chris Doyle: Trouble and shock in the West Bank

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]   

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/03/trouoble-and-shock-west-bank

Trouble and shock in the West Bank

A signpost in Giv'at HaMatos, centre of controversy over an Israeli settler housing project. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

A year ago I went with four MPs to a spot of land south of Jerusalem. It lies on the lands of the neighbouring Palestinian village of Beit Safafa. Nearby is one of the mega-Israeli settlements, Gilo. To the south is Bethlehem, where the wall imprisons the city of the birthplace of Christ. To the east is Har Homa, one of the most recent of the Jerusalem-area settlements. It is a thicket of concrete, designed to separate Jerusalem from Bethlehem and indeed from the southern West Bank. But only months before, this plot of land had been designated for a new Israeli settlement, Givat HaMatos.

Lowering down the last concrete slabs would complete the concrete curtain. Memorably, the Israeli guide stated coolly: “If Netanyahu wants to stab the Palestinian state in the heart, he can do it here.”

Last week, just days before Netanyahu was to see President Obama at the White House, final approval was given to Givat HaMatos. As an editorial in the Israeli paper, Ha’aretz stated this week, “nobody can seriously believe any longer that Netanyahu wants to resolve the conflict” (Report, 3 October). It’s time that European leaders wake up to that reality and did more than just issue statements of concern. Only tough concerted action against these illegal settlements will have any effect.

Chris Doyle
Director, Caabu

The Guardian, Friday 3 October 2014