Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I'm sure Oren was a lot more diplomatic than I would have been: US Summons Envoy Oren over 'Unacceptable' Evictions of Arabs
The U.S. State Department has summoned Israel Ambassador Michael Oren over "unacceptable" and "provocative" evictions of Arabs from Jewish-owned homes in the Sheikh Jarreh neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem. In a possible effort to try to lower the heat on Israel, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffery Feltman, instead of Secretary Hillary Clinton, summoned Oren.
The U.S., like most of the Western world, does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem neighborhoods, including the Old City and the Western Wall (Kotel), that were restored to the Jewish State in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Secretary Clinton earlier this week charged that the evictions of Arabs are "deeply regrettable" and violate Israeli obligations of the American Roadmap plan, although she did not cite any specific reference in the Roadmap to removing illegal residents. Israel has previously expelled thousands of Jews from homes which they owned in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, but these areas also are not recognized by the U.S. as part of Israel.
The State Department did not reply to Oren's statement that the homes where Arabs were evicted are owned by Jews, who bought them during the British Mandate before the War for Independence in 1948. Arabs claim they bought the properties in 1958 during the Jordanian occupation...
...Oren was not the only envoy to be summoned over the evictions. Sweden, which currently serves as the rotating president of the European Union, rebuked Israeli Ambassador Benny Dagan. In return, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Israel...
For more, see Omri's excellent post: Mind-Blowing Hypocrisy: US Leads Int'l Attacks On Israel For Evicting Illegal Palestinian Squatters From East J'lem After Igniting Crisis Over Legal Jewish Residents
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, p.44
Well, Oren might have suggested the U.S. move its consulate from East Jerusalem to a Palestinian locale in the West Bank, such as Ramallah. As others have noted, if they expect Israel to deal with such a culture in the form of a neighboring state - effectively a terrorist reichlet - then the U.S. consulate which deems itself in the service of Palestinians should be willing to lead by example.
For the sake of those who might be sensitive to such matters, I perhaps should caution that the video link above is brief footage, together with descriptive narrative, of the Ramallah lynching of two Israeli soldiers.