Jerusalem road cuts through Palestinian village

[Jefferson23]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- The mechanical diggers start work soon after dawn, cutting through a leafy village on the outskirts of Jerusalem to build a six-lane highway that has become the latest focal point of Palestinian-Israeli discontent.

The road leads directly to Israeli settlements, built on occupied Palestinian land around the foothills of Bethlehem. When finished, it will allow the settlers to speed down to Israel's thriving coastal plains, unhindered by traffic lights or roundabouts.

Their gain is coming at the expense of Beit Safafa, home to some 10,000 people - a largely Palestinian neighborhood and a rare oasis of peace and calm in an often troubled region.

"Ever since the Israelis arrived, all they have done is take land away from the village. Now they are cutting it in two with their road," said 38-year-old Ala Salman, whose house rattles with the roar of diggers tearing up the nearby ground.

"Their aim is to force us all away."

remainder: http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=570389

[oberliner]

1. Palestinian village?

The Ma'an headline calls it a Palestinian village but the Reuters article calls it a "largely Palestinian neighborhood".

So is Beit Safafa a largely Palestinian neighborhood in Israel or what?

[Jefferson23]

2. Send Ma'an an e-mail, ask them. n/t

[oberliner]

3. Did you not notice the discrepancy?

Seems a little strange.

[holdencaufield]

4. Doesn't every village on the planet ...

... have a road down the middle of it? That's how people get in and out of the village. That is why they invented crosswalks.

[delrem]

5. this is a 6-lane highway meant to connect Israel with some settlements. nt

[holdencaufield]

6. There's this new invention -- check it out

[delrem]

7. And of course you've never heard of a thing called "a separation wall".

I really can't get into the minds of you folk who do this kind of stuff, or support doing this kind of stuff, to a whole people.

Frankly, I doubt you even try to justify it to yourself.

[holdencaufield]

8. Are you actually ...

... unclear about the differences between a road and a wall? That's pretty basic stuff.

I realize you live to attribute evil motivations to everything "those people" do -- but, this is a stretch, even for you. Highways are good things, they bring commerce.

[delrem]

11. You aren't actually

that ignorant. But you are that cruel.
You know exactly what Israeli only roads connecting Jewish only settlements in the West Bank are all about, and you promote it because it serves your narrow interests.
And to feel good about yourself you make jokes about it: "Doesn't every village on the planet have a road down the middle of it? That's how people get in and out of the village. That is why they invented crosswalks."
Here's a story about one such "good thing"
http://www.btselem.org/freedom_of_movement/road_443

Not that you care.

[Ken Burch]

17. Will the residents of this village be allowed to DRIVE on this road? n/t.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. Instead of building a highway for the settlers, they should be removing the settlements n/t

[oberliner]

13. It's not a settlement

And it's not a highway for the settlers.

This is Israel building a highway in Israel.

[delrem]

14. You didn't read the OP, did you. nt

[azurnoir]

16. and why once again is he(?) replying to someone

who has him on ignore? nothing like an unchallenged comment eh?

[King_David]

18. So what?

I was happy to see Oberliners reply there.

Even if she has him on ignore Oberliner can reply for the rest of us to see and enjoy.

Having someone on ignore does not mean that person should be silenced.

Especially not Oberliner's retorts as his opinion carries much weight in this forum.

[azurnoir]

19. why are you happy to watch oberlner reply to someone that he knows or should know has him on ignore

as I said once before repeatedly doing this is akin to using flash cards to prove one is right when quizzing a blind person, if they can not or do not answer then you win?

[King_David]

20. Oberliner corrected her post

And we are ALL better informed now.

[azurnoir]

21. well oberliner posted what is hoped will taken as fact when IMO indeed it is misleading

nonsense or at best a twisting of terms intended to confuse or something, but if that's what the goal is, have at it

[oberliner]

22. Not misleading. Not twisting anything.

The Reuters article says its a largely Palestinian neighborhood.

[azurnoir]

23. and the title says village and next you'll claim the occupants are Israeli citizens with exactly the

any other Israeli, but use whatever to coverup the obvious that pleases, it works for me

[azurnoir]

10. well a 6 lane hiway should make life more convenient for the village-oh wait.......

will the Palestinian villagers be able to use the the road, like actually drive from here to there on it?
or will this be an Israeli's only road?

next we'll be hearing about how the number of Palestinian villages is actually growing as a new village has been formed on one side of the hiway

[oberliner]

12. It's an Israeli village

It's a neighborhood in Israel that has a high Israeli Arab/Palestinian citizen of Israel population.

Anyone can use it.

[azurnoir]

15. ah ha ya okay whatever did you read the article

bvut perhaps just maybre possibly might someone passing through here might believe that

[Violet_Crumble]

24. I'm assuming they would be able to as they're in East Jerusalem...

But the highway leads to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and I thought Israel didn't allow Palestinians in East Jerusalem to just come and go to and from the West Bank like settlers and Israelis can...

[azurnoir]

25. ah so you too are saying this is not a bona fide village

that should gratify someone else who'ss been arguing that too but that is something you would not supposedly know because supposedly you have them on ignore

for myself the title says village period

[Violet_Crumble]

26. Huh? That made absolutely no sense n/t

[azurnoir]

27. well perhaps not to you because you claim to have the poster

I have been discussing this with on ignore, I'm sure your comment is greatly appreciated

[Violet_Crumble]

28. I answered the question you asked in yr post...

I don't know what the problem is, whether you don't like what I said in my reply or what, but I'm not interested in what someone I have on ignore has to say. That's why I've got them on ignore.

[azurnoir]

29. lol of course we've seen oh much today haven't we eta

IMO putting someone comment ignore denotes an weakness or inability to respond to that poster of course it could be called simple 'disinterest' if one wishes unlike mail ignore which is a very different message altogether, that just denotes no wish to privately communicate

[Violet_Crumble]

30. Unless I've read it wrong, Beit Safafa is very close to the 1949 Armistace Line...

And some of it straddles the line, so some people there are Israeli citizens and some aren't. Apart from opposing Israel building big-arse highways through East Jerusalem, the fact that it's being built to connect settlers in the West Bank to Israel is bad as well. If I gave the impression that I support this in any way, I mustn't have been clear enough, coz I don't...

[azurnoir]

31. some may be Israeli citizens but I'm guessing most are not

and seeing as how the hi-way was built to connect to settlements I'm thinking it is Israeli only, but what you seemed to be arguing is that Beit Safafa is not actually a village

[Violet_Crumble]

32. I don't give a shit if it's a village or a city....

I'm pretty sure I said nothing one way or the other because I care so little about that aspect of it...

[Violet_Crumble]

33. Well, go lecture away in Meta, coz I'm not sure why yr going on at me about it...

Here I was thinking that the I/P group was the place to talk about the I/P conflict, not go on about who's got who on ignore and attacking others for daring to have anyone on ignore. I'll make this clear. I have one person at DU on ignore. No weakness or inability to respond, but due to sheer creepiness in being nice to me by PM and then posting and getting abusive and accusing me of stalking and playing games. If I had everyone I disagreed with on ignore then I'd have a long ignore list.

[azurnoir]

34. wtf but my comment about was about I/P n/t

[Jefferson23]

35. Background on East Jerusalem

Updated:
8 Jul 2012

Since East Jerusalem was annexed in 1967, the government of Israel's primary goal in Jerusalem has been to create a demographic and geographic situation that will thwart any future attempt to challenge Israeli sovereignty over the city. To achieve this goal, the government has been taking actions to increase the number of Jews, and reduce the number of Palestinians, living in the city.

In 2010, the population of Jerusalem stood at 788,052: 504,179 Jews and others (63.9 percent) and 283,873 Palestinians (36 percent). About 59.6% percent of the residents live on land that was annexed in 1967 (39.3 percent of whom are Jews, and 60.7 percent Palestinians). With the Palestinians having a higher growth rate than the Jews, Israel has used various methods to achieve its goal:

Physically isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, in part by building the separation barrier;
Discriminating in land expropriation, planning, and building, and demolition of houses;
Revoking residency and social benefits of Palestinians who stay abroad for at least seven years, or who are unable to prove that their center of life is in Jerusalem;
Unfairly dividing the budget between the two parts of the city, with harmful effects on infrastructure and services in East Jerusalem.

Israel's policy gravely infringes the rights of residents of East Jerusalem and flagrantly breaches international law.

East Jerusalem is occupied territory. Therefore, it is subject, as is the rest of the West Bank, to the provisions of international humanitarian law that relate to occupied territory. The annexation of East Jerusalem breaches international law, which prohibits unilateral annexation. For this reason, the international community, including the United States, does not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem.

http://www.btselem.org/jerusalem


On edit to add:

Until 1967, Beit Safafa was divided between Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem and the Jordanian-controlled West Bank. Train tracks ran through it along the 1949 Armistice Lines. When Israel occupied East Jerusalem, Beit Safafa came entirely under Israeli rule and despite what Israeli governments will tell you, it was not united, but rather torn apart once again: most of its residents became permanent residents, but a minority in the northern part received Israeli citizenship, instantly giving the same neighborhood’s population very different political rights.

Beit Safafa, which has a population of just under 10,000, is now facing it’s third major bisection, this time by a highway being constructed by Israel that will literally cut through the neighborhood. Highway 4, or the Begin Highway, is a Jerusalem ring road intended to create one continuous stretch of highway from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of the city to the Givat Ze’ev settlement bloc in the north.

http://972mag.com/a-divided-palestinian-neighborhood-torn-in-two-by-an-israeli-highway/66978/