Can one blame the Palestinians when they say they will only negotiate with the Israelis on certian terms - given the background of Israel's actions as detailed by The Washington Post in a piece "Israel built, planned 9,000 homes on war-won land":
"Since capturing the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, Israel has built homes for about 470,000 Israelis there, including some 190,000 who moved to east Jerusalem.
From January 2006 to January 2009, roughly the period of the Olmert government, Israel built some 5,100 homes in West Bank settlements and issued bids for another 500 housing units there, said Hagit Ofran of Peace Now. Another 560 structures, including stone houses and mobile homes, were erected in dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts, Ofran said.
In the Palestinian-claimed areas of Jerusalem, the Olmert government issued bids for 2,400 homes for Israelis, she said. About one-third of the city's 750,000 residents are Palestinians.
In the latest project for Israelis, construction has begun on 62 apartments, in three buildings of up to eight stories, in the Palestinian neighborhood of Zawahra in east Jerusalem, Seidemann said Monday."
As Palestinian PM Abbas has, more than fairly, said:
"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Monday that a settlement freeze is a prerequisite for resuming peace talks with Israel. Abbas' year of negotiations with Olmert ended inconclusively.
Abbas also rejected Israeli demands that Palestinians not only recognize the state of Israel _ as Abbas and others have _ but recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
"Name yourself, it's not my business," he said. "All I know is that there is the state of Israel, in the borders of 1967, not one centimeter more, not one centimeter less. Anything else, I don't accept."
"Since capturing the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, Israel has built homes for about 470,000 Israelis there, including some 190,000 who moved to east Jerusalem.
From January 2006 to January 2009, roughly the period of the Olmert government, Israel built some 5,100 homes in West Bank settlements and issued bids for another 500 housing units there, said Hagit Ofran of Peace Now. Another 560 structures, including stone houses and mobile homes, were erected in dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts, Ofran said.
In the Palestinian-claimed areas of Jerusalem, the Olmert government issued bids for 2,400 homes for Israelis, she said. About one-third of the city's 750,000 residents are Palestinians.
In the latest project for Israelis, construction has begun on 62 apartments, in three buildings of up to eight stories, in the Palestinian neighborhood of Zawahra in east Jerusalem, Seidemann said Monday."
As Palestinian PM Abbas has, more than fairly, said:
"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Monday that a settlement freeze is a prerequisite for resuming peace talks with Israel. Abbas' year of negotiations with Olmert ended inconclusively.
Abbas also rejected Israeli demands that Palestinians not only recognize the state of Israel _ as Abbas and others have _ but recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
"Name yourself, it's not my business," he said. "All I know is that there is the state of Israel, in the borders of 1967, not one centimeter more, not one centimeter less. Anything else, I don't accept."
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