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?

i think all of us here, and in the public at large, tend to see this as pretty much just a two-sided conflict ..... however, a read of the background and actuality of the yemeni war of the early mid 60s reminds that things are rarely as they appear

Ahoy,

Yes, but the UN has be a level playing field and also back up by having teeth.

Also, it has to have a structure for making decisions, which the Security Council cannot veto "simply" by being members of that "committee", if the actions would seem to be against their specific interests, at that moment in time.

Again, the UN does should not be in the position of "being led by the nose" and there is something to be said for "those who pay the piper should call the tune".

However, as a body they should be able to see pass the garden gate when making decisions.

The problem is that so many said "statesmen" and international "wheelers" are really very little men and women and too much is invested in them. (There are some very "bright" ones as well.)


The UN has evolved and will continue to evolve, but too slowly for some to benefit.

HAMAS is the gaza equivalent of the BNP. It's the 1930's all over again. Anti semitism is again fashionable. Like Hitler and all before the justification is that 'the jews brought it on themselves'. Nothing changes.

Cynic
Hague also required a guarantee that Palestine would not use the ICC. I saw him give that statement just after PMQs yesterday.

not quite as simple as that! ..... just to be slightly pedantic, hamas and its allies aren't exactly anti-semitic (the arabs and their "cousins" are also of course semitic races) but more anti-israel and its existence

Here is the verbatim statement

http://m.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2012/11/28/william-hague-statement-in-full-on-palestine

We explained that while there is no question of the United Kingdom voting against the resolution, in order to vote for it we would need certain assurances or amendments.

The first is that the Palestinian Authority should indicate a clear commitment to return immediately to negotiations without preconditions.

This is the essential answer to the charge that by moving the resolution the Palestinians are taking a path away from negotiations.

Given the great difficulty in restarting negotiations in recent years, and the risk that some will see this resolution as a step that is inconsistent with such negotiations, this commitment is indispensable to us.

The second assurance relates to membership of other specialised UN agencies and action in the International Criminal Court.

Our country is a strong supporter across all parties of international justice and the International Criminal Court. We would ultimately like to see a Palestinian state represented throughout all the organs of the United Nations. However we judge that if the Palestinians were to build on this resolution by pursuing ICC jurisdiction over the occupied territories at this stage it could make a return to negotiations impossible. This is extremely important given that we see 2013 as a crucial year for the reasons I have described for the middle east peace process.

thanks - an interesting read ..... it's getting the sides to start meaningful negotiations would be be more than useful, but even then as in ireland, a mutually (un)acceptable conclusion will take several (many) years

What it means is that Palestine has to talk peace while Israel continues to steal the land that the discussions are about. Israel can continue to steal the land and oppress the Palestinians without being referred to the ICC.

Fat chance.

It would seem to be a case of, we will negotiate with you as long as you don't take our criminal record into consideration, or ask for the goods we have purloined off you to be returned.

HS ..... you're better than a sleeping pill at times ..... the ICC thing is almost a side issue, though should the palestinians pursue that prematurely, it will inevitably stop the chance of starting ANY meaningful negotiations or discussions towards peace

as i implied earlier this morning, there will be a massive amount of discussion and negotiation being conducted behind closed doors - as there were for ireland ..... the "face" for domestic consumption may well appear very different

It is not a question of the past. The Palestinians are more interested in Israel's behaviour from today onwards. There is one exception to that and it is the cause of the death of Yasser Arafat. The Palestinians have already indicated that Israeli involvement would mean recourse to the ICC.

yeah yeah yeah ..... you know all of course

As Palestine gets its vote, Israel announced the building of 3,000 new settlement units in Jerusalem and The West Bank. This is specifically against commitments given to Obama. Israel certainly knows how to inflame the situation. Not much chance of a return to the peace process now.

Settlers have been complaining today to the Israeli government that their status has been effectively changed to that of occupying a foreign state. They want Israel to annex all settlements to be part of Israel.

Once again Israel puts itself on the wrong side of history and world opinion.

groan groan, and not at you for once HS, for i assume that story is correct ..... i'm not sure whether or not building in jerusalem is particularly provocative, but west bank is just plain "rude" ...... i am sure it will not be in the too distant future that someone will punch israel on the nose, though through the wallet would be much the most effective

Cynic.

The BBC confirms the building of buildings.

"through the wallet would be much the most effective"

The sooner the better, as they are showing complete disregard of world opinion and decency and increasing alienation of the Israelis.

I hope in the coming Israeli election that the Netty is rejected, but perhaps I am again to optimistic.

But. sanctions are probably on the table, after resolution of the fiscal cliff.

Hope Obama has crampons on.

They are building in East Jerusalem, which is provocative as it is Palestinian territory. The specific area is known as E1.

Netenyahu is at his most popular. He seems to think he can do what he wants. The only hope is that he seriously annoys Obama and the larger world community.

With the new settlements and Israel's disregard for opinion must mean it is time for stronger methods. As a start Israel should be treated similarly to South Africa during the apartheid days. That would mean boycotts by most of the countries in the world and banning from all sporting and cultural events. No airlines to fly to Israel.

for my part, i would like to see the leaders of the uk jewish community standing up and voicing the opinion of their congregation, whether in favour of israel's actions (would assuredly hope not!) or in condemning them

this is no more than we expect(ed) of the muslim community in recent times and the catholic leaders in ireland

It gets worse.

At some stage there is going to be a hell of a backlash.

Israel Threatens To “Reoccupy’ West Bank

Israeli member of Knesset, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development and the development of the Negev and Galilee, Silvan Shalom, threatened that Israel would reoccupy the West Bank in response to the Palestinian bid at the United Nations General Assembly that won the Palestinians a nonmember observer state status.

During an interview with the Israeli Radio, Shalom, of the Likud Party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in the occupied West Bank, of violating the Oslo Agreement, and said that heading to the UN effectively “voided the peace deal, an issue that allows Israel to conduct unilateral moves”.

The Palestine News Network (PNN) has reported that Shalom threatened that Israel would enforce its military control on the entire West Bank, and would link the Ma'ale Adumim (the biggest settlement bloc in the West Bank) with occupied East Jerusalem by confiscating large areas of Palestinian lands.