Will this increase or decrease the likelihood of terrorist actions in America, Europe and the rest of the world?

If you were a member of a family murdered in this conflict, would you be seeking revenge?

Should Tzipi Livni and Ehud Olmert, be tried for war crimes if or when this conflict comes to an end?

What will the price of oil be in 4 weeks time?

Umh!!

http://www.imemc.org/article/64642?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineNews+%28Palestine+News%29&utm_content=FeedBurner ://

Despite enormous pressures practiced by the United States and Israel, and all threats impose heavy financial sanctions besides the sanctions that are already in place, the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in the West Bank said that it will not void or alter the text of its UN application that will be voted on at the General Assembly this Thursday

Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that, after failing to convince President Mahmoud Abbas not to file the Palestinian bid, Tel Aviv and Washington conducted various attempts to convince the Palestinians to alter the text of their bid in order to ensure that, in the future, the Palestinians will never be able to head to the International Criminal Court to sue Israel for war crimes against the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian side even went ahead and distributed, on Tuesday morning, the final draft of the application that will be filed to the UN asking the International Community to recognize Palestine as a nonmember state at the United Nations, and to grant it an “Observer State” statue.

The U.S. and Israel tried to add two sections to the Palestinian bid, hoping to be able to change it so that the Palestinians can never sue Israel for its crimes, and can never have real sovereignty in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem under any future peace agreement.

But the P.A. remained determined on its stance, and told Tel Aviv and Washington that the Palestinians, as any other nation in this world, have the right to be represented among the International Community, and have the right to enjoy the legal status enjoyed by all independent nations.

An Israeli official, directly involved in the issue, claimed that the United States did not exert enough pressure on the P.A. an issue that enabled the Palestinians to remain determined to go ahead with their application.

Both the U.S. and Tel Aviv imposed harsh financial sanctions of the P.A. after it received a full member status at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other UN organizations, and claimed that the Palestinian applications are “unilateral moves that obstruct the efforts to achieve a final status peace agreement in the Middle East”.

The P.A repeatedly said that heading to the United Nations is not meant at isolating Israel, or to replace the peace process, and added that Israel’s ongoing violations, including invasions, attacks, assassinations, and the illegal construction and expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, in addition to the demolition and takeover of Arab homes, especially in Jerusalem, indicate the Israel is not really interested in a just and comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.

Was it considered or offered that Israel should have been sited and funded initially in and by Germany as that's where the original atrocities took place and not in the Middle East?

Stan

The Balfour declaration preceeded the second world war by a decade or so. Israel wasn't established as a 'compensation' for Nazi atrocities.

A cynical man might suggest that the purpose of earmarking the palestine region for a jewish state was that it gave all those jewish immigrants fleeing the russian pogroms a convenient place in which to seek refuge, far from the westernized countries who had enough problems to deal with without a huge wave of funny looking immigrants on their doorsteps. Perhaps the historical and biblical ties to israel were a convenient justification.

Thanks G,

Just had a look at The Balfour Declaration on Wiki and found this line which perhaps also goes some way to answering my question.

"In 1896, Theodor Herzl, a Jewish journalist living in Austria-Hungary, published Der Judenstaat ("The Jewish State"), in which he asserted that the only solution to the "Jewish Question" in Europe, including growing antisemitism, was through the establishment of a Jewish State. Political Zionism had just been born.[3] A year later, Herzl founded the Zionist Organization (ZO), which at its first congress, "called for the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law".

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration

That all appears to be in line with most of the accounts. There are also some accounts of how the Balfour agreement came to be. I have read quite a few descriptions of the events of around 1916. Quite a number describe the situation at the time where the UK and Europe were short of funds. A number of very rich individuals offered to bankroll the war effort in exchange for the Balfour agreement. There are quite a few references to it all. I will try and find some again.

if the un allow in PALESTINE .then the usa uk should pull out you can not have TERRORIST IN THE UN

"In 1896, Theodor Herzl, a Jewish journalist living in Austria-Hungary, published Der Judenstaat ("The Jewish State"), in which he asserted that the only solution to the "Jewish Question" in Europe, including growing antisemitism, was through the establishment of a Jewish State. Political Zionism had just been born.[3] A year later, Herzl founded the Zionist Organization (ZO), which at its first congress, "called for the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law".

Referring back, If the above is accepted then it appears that the Zionist Org's call's were given by Balfour. That then begs the question, was that proposition put to the entire population of Palestine at that time and put to a democratic vote before putting it back to the ZO?

If you really want to read then background to Balfour then follow the link below. It is a good historical account, but VERY long. It is written by an academic and does not seem obviously to have taken one side or other.

I like this quote
"one nation solemnly promised to a second nation the country of a third." More than that, the country was still part of the Empire of a fourth, namely Turkey."

http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v06/v06p389_John.html

Spain will now vote for Palestine and Austria is looking likely as well.

This is step forward. It will make it easier to avoid goods from the illegal settlements.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=293729

Israel registered a protest with the EU last week regarding a conference scheduled for Wednesday in Brussels about the possibility of labeling goods made in the settlements.

Rafi Schutz, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director-general for Europe, called the ambassadors of Denmark, Ireland and the EU to the ministry on November 19, in the midst of Operation Pillar of Defense, to protest the scheduled meeting, called an “informal technical workshop on settlement products and related policy issues.”

Denmark started the ball rolling on labeling goods in Europe that came from the settlements, following a decision in principle to do so that South Africa made earlier this year.

That decision has not yet been fully implemented; one of the issues holding it up has been how to label the goods. It was finally decided to label them “Made in Israeli Occupied Territory.”

if they join the un does that mean the lazy gaza people will have to work for a living instead of begging

LOL

Who can they beg from? There are only other Gaza people in Gaza and they cannot leave. It is difficult for prisoners to beg.

Thanks for the link H/S, I'll have a look later.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=293753

PA says it won't hesitate to use ICC against Israel

80%of palestians live on hand outs FACT

lets see the talks on tv live for all to hear and see that is the best way to fix the problem

Gaza has to live on handouts from foreign agencies because Israel stops Gaza from exporting anything. That means Gaza cannot earn anthing. Gaza not lazy hut Israel are tyrants.

SPAIN, NORWAY, FRANCE, AUSTRIA, DENMARK and SWITZERLAND: All announced Wednesday they would vote yes to Palestinian motion. The Swiss government called a change in status "both constructive and pragmatic."

China, India, most of South America and Africa will vote yes and probably Russia.

Very few will vote no. There are some who will abstain but that number is getting smaller by the hour.

Hopefully the vote will be tomorrow.

William Hague soon to announce UK's position on the vote in parliament after PMQs They won't vote yes. The most that can be hoped for would be an abstain.