That Community Has a Name: Migron

From today's London Times editorial:-

Israel: landlocked

If Israel is serious about peace, it must get serious about settlements

Five Palestinian landowners are suing the Israeli Government to recover income that they claim to have lost because a Jewish settlement prevents them from farming their land...it is the first to highlight so awkwardly the economic impact on Palestinians of settlement building; the harm that this does to the standing of moderate Palestinians seeking a two-state solution;...

...Israel has long since been unable to count on European support for any aspect of its dealings with the Palestinians. But it needs the backing of the US as the region's irreplaceable peacebroker, and that backing cannot be unqualified as long as so-called wildcat outposts continue to spring up on Palestinian land: a freeze on such settlements was agreed in principle at the 2007 Annapolis summit.

...The Palestinians, of course, have given Israel no reason to grapple with the difficult issue of the settlements. They have been occasional partners in the peace process, if not openly and violently hostile to it. In some places, the Israel Defence Forces have sought to rein in egregious new settlements. The withdrawal from Gaza showed that the country was willing to make unilateral sacrifices in the interests of peace...A formal moratorium on new settlements is therefore in Israel's long-term national interest. Properly enforced, it would constitute a major step along the dog-eared “road map” towards peace.

My comments:

a. If not for Peace Now, the local Pals. wouldn't have done anything and in fact, only a small part of the land Migron sits on is actually provable private Arab property.

b. for centuries, the villagers of Burqa have not tilled Migron area because it is untillable. It is useless for agrarian purposes. Other areas are planted but not Migron hill. It is too rocky with little topsoil.

c. the European stance is one of gross immorality ever since the Venice Declaration and the refusal to allow American planes to land for refuelling during the Yom Kippur war.

d. the American position can change so the Brits need not worry about that.

e. "settlement freeze" is a non-starter unless the writer would wish Israel to freeze Arab communities within Israel.

f. "violently hostile" is a nice phrase but I prefer terror.