...Peace Now is using satellite photos to track the growth of settlements and to show where building is going on without permits or in defiance of court orders to stop. B’Tselem, an Israeli human-rights organisation, has given small video cameras to Palestinians who suffer frequent attacks from extremist settlers...Also new is a shift in emphasis: turning the settlements from a political issue, which seems to have little traction with a cynical public, into a legal one. “We’re not saying that Israel shouldn’t have settlements,” says Dror Etkes, who headed the Peace Now anti-settlement project. “Go settle on the moon if you want to. Just show us that you are applying your own laws in what you’re doing.” Using the database he compiled, he is now working with B’Tselem and another group, Yesh Din. They plan to pepper the court system with dozens of cases of illegal building.
And as I commented there:
The legality of the Jewish communities has always been an issue but now, certain key officials in the state prosecutor's office have become more willing to allow Peace Now and/or Yesh Din the benefit of a court case. The problem with this, other than proving illegality of the technical sense, is that there are many more illegal structures in the Arab sector, whether in Israel of the administered territories.
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God, you never tire of this silly argument, do you? "I stole but he stole even more!" What the hell do illegal structures of Arabs to do with illegal structures of Jews? Each case to its own. You also forgot to mention that the state discriminates against Arabs (and Druze and Bedoin) in Israel re building permits, infrastructure and education money etc. For illegal Arab structures in the "administered territories", well, since there is no law for Arabs in any real sense there, I'd not mention it at all if I were you.
By the way, regarding the water issue we discussed, I'd like to hear what you think of this piece. Not hysterical, not even remotely anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli or any other such nonsense one could try to attach to it: mere facts. Rebuttal?
This at the beginning is ridiculous: "Under Olmert's plan, Israel aims to keep the two main Palestinian West Bank aquifers: the lower Jordan River basin in the east, and the eastern mountain aquifer, trapped behind Israel's wall in the west. This will force Palestinians to depend on Israel for water, preserving the status quo, a dramatically unjust division of water resources."
And if we don't keep it we're dependent on a bunch of crooks, thieves and killers who already have tried their utmost to thirst us out and salinize the Gaza water and dig unauthorized wells in Judea and Samaria. You really are taken in by them or, or, hate Jews?
Dr. Bar Or is a friend and I will try to get you facts. In the meantime, to see how serious the entire issue is, check this: http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=News%5El4091&enZone=e_news
You can read Hebrew, so go here for the official office. I understand that we give the Arab residents of Yesha water because they don't have enough on their own.
Of course it is a serious issue! As I already said before, it may well be the water and resources issue that is at the heart of this conflict under the surface. So, Dr. Bar On thinks the situation is dire. So do many other people, regardless of their political leaning. Does it justify depriving Palestinians of their water? Are you saying "we don't have enough for ourselves, so, get lost"? I would like to hear what Dr. Bar On thinks needs to be done to fix the injustice with regards the water distribution between Jewish Israelis and the Palestinians.
The second link you sent has almost no relevant info.
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