HA! Even the suggestion now makes me laugh. Of course its apartheid. Israel doesn't really want a Palestinean state. They don't want to be at peace. They want to be the perennial victims of aggression, when really, it is they who are the aggressors.

 

Finally, the factions in Palestinean Territories have formed a coalition government and agreed to work together and stop the violence. Israel's first reaction- they do not recognize the government. Because this new government, days old, has not honored agreements signed over the last 50 years. They have not stopped the violence (days old remember- and the bloodshed between factions HAS ended). They have no recognized Israel's right to exist (the same Israel that bulldozes their homes, entire towns in fact; kidnaps their citizens, murders men and boys of military age, rapes and murders young girls, women, and old women, indiscriminately kills from helicopters and planes men and boys throwing rocks, destroys and occupies their most holy sites and generally occupies their territory in a fashion that can only be called apartheid- oh and for good measure builds and throws Palestineans in concentration camps- cuz they're allowed to! Remember WWII?)  They have not spoked out against violence and terror (although Abbas, the leader of Fatah has several times called for peace and the end of violence). This is what the Zionist supporters in DC don't want you to know. They want you to see a Muslim face and think terrorist, not civilian. Not a man trying to feed his family and keep them safe. Not a man without a country, thinking of the 5 generations before him without a country and wanting a homeland (not unlike the Jews of Europe and Asia previous to WWII) No, they want you to see an animal- a terrorist- a beast that will use any means to get what he wants. Sounds alot like how the South Africans (read Boers) wanted the world to see the black South Africans. Apratheid, my friends, is a familiar enemy. We need to fight it no matter what form it takes, or whom it takes the form in.

Full story below:

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GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Palestinian parliament members voted overwhelmingly to form a coalition government Saturday, the first forged between the rival Islamic Hamas and secular Fatah factions.

 

The unity government, approved by an 83 to 3 vote, was established after bloody fighting between the two groups killed more than 300 people in the past year.

 

Israel rejected the new government before it was even formed, objecting to remarks by hard-line Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and to the unity government's refusal to recognize Israel's existence and renounce terror.Watch why Palestinians consider unity 'good tidings' and Israel recoils

 

Almost immediately after the vote, Norway recognized the new government.

 

"Norway welcomes the formation of the Palestinian unity government," said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store. "It is essential that the unity government gains control of the security situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and that the rocket attacks on Israeli areas cease."

 

The Norwegian government will drop all sanctions against the Palestinians, a spokesman for the Norwegian Office of Foreign Affairs told CNN.

 

Haniya said resistance "is a legitimate right for the Palestinian people, a right that has been guaranteed by all international resolutions and conventions. It is the right of our people to defend themselves against the Israeli occupation."

 

Historically, Haniya's Hamas party's use of the term "occupation" does not only refer to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and, previously, Gaza. The group uses the term to characterize Israel's existence, contending that the Jewish state occupies Palestine.

 

Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, reiterated Israel's rejection of the Palestinian government on Saturday, citing Haniya's remarks and the Hamas-led government's rejection of three positions sought by Israel -- recognition of the Jewish state, renunciation of terror, and abiding by agreements signed with Israel in the past.

 

"Sadly, this new government not only does not accept the three international principles, but also in the presentation in the last hour today, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya openly and repeatedly called for the right of resistance, which clearly means terror and violence by the Palestinians against Israel," Eisin said.

"Israel will not recognize or deal with this government or its members."

Abbas rejects 'all sorts of violence'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Fatah movement who has met with Israeli officials, extended his "hand again for peace and equality" in his remarks to lawmakers.

 

"I would like to address the Israeli people and their government and their parties to say we are ready, we are prepared without any preconditions to go along the road of just peace by means of resuming negotiations between the government of Israel and the [Palestinian] leadership," Abbas said.

 

"We reject all sorts of violence and we look for an agreement, a solution that is based on negotiations," he said.

 

Palestinians hope a unity government will halt weeks of street clashes in Gaza and open the door to renewed international aid.

 

Although both factions agreed on a variety of terms, the new government's refusal to explicitly endorse Israel's right to exist may leave Western countries unwilling to embrace it.

Rice to visit Middle East next week

Next week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is slated to visit the Middle East to continue efforts for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

 

In addition to traveling to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Rice is expected to meet with moderate Arab states in the region as part of her renewed push for peace.

 

The United States and Israel have shown renewed interest in a past Arab peace plan that gives Israel recognition by Arab states in exchange for a Palestinian state, as a way to boost prospects for a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

 

However, Israel is wary of provisions in the deal which would enable Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, which Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has said "are against the concept of the two-state solution."

Source.

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