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Reader's feedback published on 17/04/2010
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Agence France Presse
“Israeli ‘apartheid’ targets two-state deal – Erakat”
April 15, 2010

The amendment to a previous order broadens the definition of infiltrators who can be expelled from the West Bank to include anyone who does not hold a permit, without specifying what type of document is needed. Seven Israeli rights groups said earlier that the military order was worded so broadly such as theoretically allowing the military to empty the West Bank of almost all its Palestinian inhabitants.
Israel vows it will never give back the Old City of Jerusalem, which it conquered in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Palestinians, the 1.2 billion-strong Muslim world, the Vatican, Europe, and the UN insist the Old City return to Muslim-Christian rule as capital of Palestine.
Israel refuses any right of return to Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes in 1948 and 1967, though it welcomed 1 million Russians and still keeps its doors open for new immigrants. Israel also says it will never force 180,000 Jewish settlers on the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan to leave.
End of story? Not necessarily. The president of the United States has the power to break this impasse. In 1956, Israel, in collusion with France and Britain, invaded Egypt and seized Sinai. When Israel refused to withdraw at war end, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered Israel to vacate Sinai or face the cut-off of all US aid and an end to the tax-deductible status of contributions to Israel. Israel vacated Sinai.
Israel has received $180 billion in aid from the US since 1948. Every year, US taxpayers give Israel $5 billion in open and hidden aid. Egypt is paid $2 billion annually not to confront Israel. Israel’s military is dependent on US equipment and technology. Only the oft-used US veto prevents Israel from facing UN sanctions over its refusal to pull out from the West Bank and the Old City.
Please remember the plight of the poor Palestinian people in your daily prayers.

Ted Rudow III, MA
Menlo Park, California, US

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