Last week after months of negotiations with America, Netenyahu the Israeli Prime Minister made the historic step of announcing that Israel would stop all new building of private properties in the West Bank area of Israel.
These American - Israeli negotiations when they began earlier this year, were a promise by Obama's team that through this decision by Israel, the Palestinian and Arab neighbours of Israel would also make some compromise as a prelude to full these negotiations. However, sadly the American's have been unable to persuade the Arab world to start accepting that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish State.
Even so, Benjamin Netenyahu has said he is a man that wants to achieve peace and so last week made the corrageous decision to halt all new developments in the West Bank. I say corrageous because in doing this he is Israel's first Prime Minister to stop Jews from being allowed to build in their homeland. In doing so he has gone against the ideology of most in his Likud Party, as well as those of other right-wing parties and so could put his Government at risk.
However, this decision was made because as Israel has always shown it is willing to compromise to make peace. Israel agreed to compromise in 1947 when it agreed to a tiny state. It then agreed in 1999, 2000 and 2008 to give back all of the West Bank to a Palestinian State.
This week just like each on many previous occassions the Palestinian's have said they do not want to accept to negotiate for peace with Israel, and have said they will not negotiate unless Israel agrees to give up all it's land and Jerusalem. I just hope that the rumors that instead of peace the Palestinians are talking about a new Intifadah war are wrong.
Meanwhile, while the American's have welcomed Netenyahu's decision as a historic step, the Eurpean Union have shown they have no wish to support Israel. Next week, the Eurpean Foreign Minister's will discuss a policy, which according to a Jerusalem Post article the British Government is supporting, to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State.
How are European's able to accept Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State, before it has even become a state or even been negotiated in a peace treaty with Israel. This is even more concerning in light of the fact that despite Jerusalem being the capital of Israel since the Declaration of Israel in 1948 (even before the 6 Day War); Jerusalem has never been recognised as Israel's capital by European States.
When will European Union like its Palestinian friends start to recognise that Israel does have a right to exist as a Jewish homeland, with Jerusalem as it's capial and push the Arab world to negotiate a peace with Israel?
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