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At last?

There can be little doubt that the only way in which Israel might reign in the continued building and development of settlements in the West Bank or behaves at least humanely towards the Gazans, will be when the world stops ignoring what is happening in the occupied territories - now ongoing for 41 years - and brings pressure to bear on Israel.

Perhaps there is a small glimmer of light coming from the British. Haaretz reports:

"The British government is stepping up measures against settlements in the West Bank in an effort to stop their further expansion.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently instructed the Foreign Office to issue a warning to British citizens against the purchase of houses and real estate in the settlements.

Other measures recently imposed by London on West Bank settlements include tying the upgrade of relations between the European Union and Israel to the cessation of construction in the settlements in the West Bank and putting special labels on products denoting that they were made in West Bank settlements."

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