The European Union is in crisis. There is Brexit. There is the attempted secession of Catalonia from Spain, there is the possibility that Germany’s Angela Merkel will be unseated as Chancellor by an opponent of Germany being a primary source of its funding.
But, not to worry. The EU has a cause it can rally around.
From David Rosenberg’s article at israelnationalnews.com:
The European Union rebuked Israel on Friday, condemning the Jewish state for the demolition of illegal Arab buildings and demanding Israel refrain from further demolitions.
In a statement released by the local Office of the European Union Representative, the EU slammed Israel over the planned eviction of Bedouin squatters who established illegal settlements in the northern Jordan Valley in eastern Israel over the past decade.
Ein al-Hilweh and Umm Jamal, home to an estimated 400 Bedouin squatters, were first established in the mid-2000s. The two illegal settlements, which have sprawled around roads and intersections, have hindered traffic in the area, and have been deemed a safety hazard.
In addition, the settlement of Umm Jamal has expanded to cover part of a nearby IDF firing range, interfering with IDF operations and endangering the squatters themselves.
Nevertheless, the EU ordered Israel to nix the planned demolition of the two illegal communities, as well as the planned eviction of squatters in Jabal al-Baba, an illegal settlement near the town of Maaleh Adumim. The EU local representative also demanded Israel end “settlement construction and expansion”.
“In line with its long standing position on this issue, and reiterating its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context, including demolitions and confiscations, evictions and forced transfers including of Bedouins, which all threaten the two-state solution, the EU calls upon the Israeli authorities to halt demolitions of Palestinian houses and property, in accordance with its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, and to cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, of designating land for exclusive Israeli use and of denying Palestinian development.”
You read this, and you don’t know whether to laugh or scream.
There is world terrorism. There are massacres every day. There is hunger. There is poverty. There are natural disasters. But…there is Israel removing illegal settlements, so let’s worry about that.
My favorite part is that this will “threaten the two-state solution”. WHAT two-state solution? Which of the two-state solutions Israel has offered over 70 years, all of which Palestinian Arabs have rejected, is being threatened?
And then we have the ever-popular “denying Palestinian development”. WHAT “Palestinian development”? The development of terror-tunnels that are built from Gaza to sovereign Israel, using money and resources that could have built infrastructure, instead of the crumbling mess which exists instead? The development of huge bank accounts for the corrupt frauds running the show in Gaza and Judea/Samaria (the west bank)?
When yasir arafat died he had accumulated close to a billion dollars. And current fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas is worth an estimated $100 million. Where does the European Union think they got that money? Does the EU think they were lucky at the track?
And then there is that old stand-by, the “occupied territories”. Occupied from WHO? Israel won Gaza from Egypt – and, in any event, gave it over to Palestinian Arabs a decade ago, every square inch of it. And Israel won Judea/Samaria from Jordan. “Palestinian Arabs” never controled any part of this land ever. That’s some occupation, let me tell you.
Now, let’s see if we can find a positive here. Can anyone list out the things that European leaders think Israel has done right over the years?
Or is it much easier to list out the criticisms at every turn, while rationalizing all but the most heinous activities in Palestinian Arab-dominated areas?
Heck, if Hitler could stabilize the German economy and Mussolini could make the trains run on time, Israel must have done something right. But you’d be hard-pressed to find the European Union citing it.
No, it’s much easier to placate/appease Palestinian Arabs by attacking Israel – while being sure to utilize the massive advances in medicine, technology, science and agriculture that come from the apparently-failed Jewish state.
Great cause celebre, guys. Very meaningful. Very productive.
But, look at the bright side. Maybe one day you’ll succeed in putting Israel in the dustbin of history. Then the world will be a much safer, more peaceful place…as can be seen by how safe and peaceful Israel’s enemies are within their own countries and among their own people.
