EAST JERUSALEM IS CAPITAL OF PALESTINE

It’s official in Europe, East Jerusalem WILL BE the capital of Palestine. And to celebrate the fact that the EU stood up to Israel I give you you're very own DIY celebration confetti kit above. Use it at will. So happy I live here where people are more level headed and not totally under the Israeli lobby control. Before the vote the Mayor of “Jerusalem”, but let’s make that the Mayor of WEST Jerusalem, which is accurate, tried his best arm twisting tactics to sway the vote:

link Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Monday sent an official letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, in which he insisted that Jerusalem remain united "as the eternal capital of the State of Israel."

Too bad, so sad, you loose, and here is his response upon loosing:

link Barkat: the ministers' decision is a real threat to the future of Jerusalem

The “real” threat is the fact that people are no longer going to stand for the illegal expansion of Israel. And now they have been told, in no uncertain terms, that East Jerusalem is not up for an Israeli land grab. Now here’s what the Palestinians had to say:

link Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad praised the EU foreign ministers' announcement that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel and a Palestinian state.

"The time has come that the leaders in Israel understand that there is no benefit in continued manipulations, bypassing UN resolutions, and continued coercive policies in the territories. Israel is not above the law and is not the only player in the area," he said.

EU STATEMENT ON EAST JERUSALEM

LATEST UPDATES ON THE EU VOTE
Today’s the day the EU discuss East Jerusalem and as expected Israel is arm twisting and already having some success in lessening the critical language in the document. But I have to say, fair play to England for supporting the the first document:

link Senior Israeli officials said several sections of the document relating to other aspects of the peace process, and which Israel also deemed problematic, have already been softened.

And again, as expected the US Israeli lapdogs are doing what they are told. How embarrassing for Americans, the sad fact that the rest of the world can see first hand the extent of Israeli control within America. How sad that the great United States of America cannot ever make a statement against Israel's actions, no matter how bad they are. Decent Americans must be so ashamed:

link US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, sent a letter to foreign ministers of the European Union calling on them to reject a proposition to recognize east Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state.

So this is where we were yesterday:

link But a fierce debate is still raging on the Jerusalem question, with Britain backing Sweden's proposal and Germany, Italy and France opposing it.

The Swedish draft states bluntly that East Jerusalem will be "the capital of Palestine." An alternative being pushed by France would instead declare Jerusalem the future capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. That wording also fails to satisfy Israel, but is nevertheless deemed a significant improvement over the Swedish version.

As of yesterday, according to both Israeli officials and European diplomats, both sides were refusing to compromise. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, for instance, said yesterday that all European countries view East Jerusalem as occupied territory, and "if it's occupied - then it doesn't belong to Israel." Therefore, he argued, the European Union should adopt Sweden's proposal.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini countered that it would be a mistake for the EU to try to decide Jerusalem's fate unilaterally. This, he said, is an issue Israel and the Palestinians must resolve through negotiations.

But Reuters reported last night that the ministers have agreed to consider a new draft today with significantly softer language. This draft merely asserts that in order to achieve real peace, a way must be found to make Jerusalem the capital of two states.

One issue on which Israel did manage to get the Swedish draft changed is the settlement freeze. The original proposal merely "noted" Israel's announcement of a 10-month construction freeze. But due to pressure from several EU countries, the proposal now "welcomes" this development.

And here are the latest reports from today, again no decision has been taken yet, that will happen later today, but here is how things stand today so far:

LINK 'Viable state'
Israel captured the area in the 1967 Six Day War, immediately annexed it and claims all of the city as its eternal capital. But the annexation has not been internationally recognised.

first draft of a statement drawn up by the Sweden ahead of an EU leaders summit later this week spoke in favour of "a viable state of Palestine comprising the West Bank and Gaza and with East Jerusalem as its capital."

But a later version of the draft text is believed to drop the explicit reference to east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

"A way must be found, through negotiations, to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," a revised text, seen by the AFP news agency, said.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said: "It [the later draft] was watered down in a way that is apparently, for the time being, not acceptable for the Palestinians.

"Originally the draft will have said that East Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state, that is a clear formulation that says on the 1967 borders East Jerusalem would be the capital of the Palestinian state.

"Now apparently they are calling for sharing East Jerusalem as two capitals of two states, now that would give Israel the leeway to redraw East Jerusalem as it wishes, which means we're back at square one."

Most EU ministers appeared supportive of the latest draft, but some said the declaration should not antagonise the situation and risk undermining efforts to restart peace talks.

Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's foreign minister, asked "why Israel does not accept that Palestine consists of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem".
"The Israelis have a right to live in Israel, the Palestinians have a right to live in Palestine," he said.

Alexander Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister, said the EU must affirm its stand
on the status of Jerusalem and insist that Israel must not resume settlement
building.

"The EU has very strong principles and we have to stick to those principles,'' he said.

"I think the negotiations, the peace process must simply start and this is a way forward."

ISRAEL PICKS A NEW FIGHT

Well, well, Israel is picking a fight with Europe. Why? Because the EU will be voting on declaring East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, which, it is. Ban Ki Moon of the United Nations says so:

link Jerusalem must be the capital of two States – Israel and Palestine – living side-by-side in peace and security, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all, if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today.

And even the Americans are “asking” Israel to stop building illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. Asking nicely is all Obama can do, because they dare not piss off the Israeli Lobby by saying more. Still, even the Americans surely know that East Jerusalem is not up for grabs by Zionists and that Palestinians will never agree to such a deal.

Whilst this may not pass within the EU, people still should not be disheartened, here’s why; Each one of these attempts to hold Israel accountable are very important, be it this one, or the many attempts to arrest and convict Zionist War Criminals and yes, even the Goldstone Report helps. You see, even if we loose out on them right now, with each attempt, Israel is once again “in the news” and NOT in a good way. They have to come out and fight each one, displaying strong arm tactics for the entire world to see. And this gives the world a perfect glimpse into how Israel operates, which in turn only further infuriates people who want to see Israel treated like any other country, in other words, “not special and above the law” So, back to today’s report about the Zionist Militia coming after Europe:

link A senior political source defined Monday Sweden's attempt to declare Jerusalem the capital of Palestine as an "underhanded move by Stockholm, a mere moment before its term as head of the European Union is over. We are making efforts to thwart this move at the highest diplomatic levels."

Sorry but I love the wording of this hasbara above. According to Israel someone in a position of power cannot make decisions if their term is ending soon? So does that mean that when Bush agreed to allow Israel to commit mass genocide in Gaza during the upcoming change over to the Obama Administration, does that count too? Was that “wrong and underhanded” as well? Of course it was, but it was fully legal, even though it was underhanded. I love how Israel attempts to dance around words. More:

The European Union's foreign ministers are scheduled to convene in Brussels later Monday, ahead of the EU meet scheduled to take place in the city on December 10. The agenda for the second day of the conference is said to include the Balkans, the Middle East peace process and Iran.

As part of the discussion about the Middle East, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is expected to put forward a pro-Palestinian motion which includes an article declaring east Jerusalem the capital of the future Palestinian state.

Sweden's new stance has enraged Israel: The Foreign Ministry launched extensive diplomatic efforts to counter the move, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have discussed the matter with their colleagues.

Shall I translate the above paragraph for you, sift through the hasbara? What this means is that they will begin calling on to the carpet every single EU member that they can arm twist in any way shape or form. Be it with-holding international contracts, schemes, money, support, donations, you name it. Anything Israel has in the pipes that can be withheld and used as a battering rod over the heads of certain countries and members. This is how they work, blackmail, like the mafia. And below we see what Israel wants to "change" in the statement, after removal of the offending issue of East Jerusalem. Why they want a "compliment" what a laugh it is:

link there has been heavy lobbying: "Israel is pushing for a text much shorter than the three-to-four-page Swedish draft, and one that would commend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's housing-start moratorium in the settlements and urge the Palestinians back to the negotiation table

More:

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon added that "the Europeans will not dictate the results of the (Israeli-Palestinian) peace process.

No, sadly we cannot do that, however, we CAN endorse the FACT that East Jerusalem IS an OCCUPIED area that BELONGS to PALESTINE and WILL ultimately BE the CAPITAL of ANY future PALESTINIAN STATE. Which, I hate to inform Israel of this, actually IS what the MAJORITY of the WORLD’S population SUPPORTS. Even if their blackmailed Governments don't. And we CAN do that much, if we choose to and our elected officials have the "chutzpah" to do it! Unfortunately for Israel it does not have the same amount of clout and control and blackmailing capabilities in Europe as it has in America. Thank GOD for that. More:

The Swedish initiative is dangerous and it may hinder the efforts to resume negotiations by radicalizing the Palestinian stand.

Yet more “silly” words from Israel. I’d like them to expand on that insanity regarding “radicalizing the Palestinian stand” should the EU endorse this position on East Jerusalem. As if Palestinians do not already hold the never ending belief and never wavering demand that East Jerusalem IS the Palestinian capital, only it is currently under illegal occupation. Seriously, Israel makes itself look stupid with such moronic statements. More:

"This initiative is also against the principles of the international community and the Quartet's decision calling on both sides to hold direct negotiations."

The “Quartet” does not “really” exist, it is not a “quartet” but rather an American controlled arm twisting posse that is merely a “replacement and extension” of Israel.