Insignificant Israeli Decision

You have a clear view on the issue, don't you?

I don't know if you have picked up this story. It is likely you have not, since merely one day after having been posted as news on the BBC website, it already became quite burried down into the bowels of the BBC's archive. Their search engine does need improvement - that's for sure.

I looked for it - that's only one day after having read it and (eventually) found it: Likud allow settlement expansion.

Gah! I am biased... :/

Some background starting from the end of the ceasefire may be in place. -> Hamas declares a ceasefire on January 18th, 2009. They hardly have another option maybe, since the overmight of Israel is just too much. Israel accepts, follows and withdraws its troops before the US presidential inauguration January 20th (which is still a mystery to me as to why that was such a necessity).

Then, on day 26/01/2009 one week, one day after Hamas's declaration of a ceasefire, Israel announces the above decision: Likud - the leading party in Israel and poised to renew its term come the pending elections - announce that they allow settlement expansion. According to the peace treaty made up between the Palestinians, Israel and the US, settlement expansion is not part of the peace deal. Yet, when the fire's still hot on Gazan soil, Israel announces settlement expansion, while shaking hands with the special envoy to the Middle East: Sir Tony Blair.

That strikes odd to me. Settlement expansion, or rather the freeze of which was part of the original "Roadmap for Peace" enacted by the former President of the United States, Mr. George W. Bush. This link proves it (last bullet under phase 1) and so has this link and this (quite why they have been removed is a mystery, but the first link works as of now, so grab it while it's hot!).

That link unambiguously mentions as part of the actions Israel needs to "freeze all settlement activity". Kind of strange they are not doing this now, no?

Their decision to allow for settlement expansion, almost seems like a provocation to me...

But I am just the Sapient Citizen... are you?