Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel over $8 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.

Friday, August 28, 2009

ANALYSIS - Settlement Freeze: Is that what is really needed for two-state solution?


IMEMC
The talk about Israel freezing its illegal settlement activities in the West Bank is not new, however, it is sometimes highlighted and sometimes hidden in the drawers of the politicians....

...232 settlements have been built since 1996, immediately after the signing of the Oslo accords...

... Israel claims that certain outposts are illegal and that they have been erected without the authorization of the government. In fact, Israel sometimes removes some of these outposts as an attempt to show the world that it is removing what it describes as “illegal settlements.” This serves to divert international attention away from the fact that all settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal and are a grave violation of international law. This includes those settlements that Israel describes as cities or neighborhoods of Jerusalem such as Ma'ale Adomim, Gilo, Ariel, and Gush Etzion as well as the entire settlement ring around Jerusalem...

... The wall, as routed by Israel, shrinks the West Bank by half and disconnects the North form the South giving Israel control over more than 90 percent of the ground water in the West Bank. According to this structure, the Palestinian State will be completely confined inside Israel. Full story