Israel - Conservative Friends are not helping - Oborne

Peter Oborne has written an interesting piece in the Daily Telegraph. This concerns the influence that Israeli politicians have in the Conservative Party, and the negative consequences that will build up if the UK government doesn't speak truthfully to the Jewish State. The cowardice at the heart of our relationship with Israel

According to Oborne, present Israeli policy in settlement development and expansion in the West Bank will ultimately lead to disaster, where it is forced to accept a one state solution instead of a two state solution. As a consequence, Israel will either no longer be a Jewish state, because Palestinians and Arabs will form a majority, or it will be forced to treat Palestinians as second class citizens in an apartheid-like situation. 

Israel to build 3000 more homes - in defiance of UN

The State of Israel is to build another 3,000 homes in East Jerusalem in response to UN recognition of Palestine as an observer non-member state observer non-member state.

The BBC report suggests the plan will effectively cut the West Bank into two. This is really a provocative act and a snub to the UN. The BBC says that "An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the new units would be built between Jerusalem and the settlement of Maaleh Adumim. Plans to build settlements in the area, known as E1, are strongly opposed by Palestinians, who say the development will cut the West Bank in two, preventing the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state." There are now 500,000 Israeli settlers living in the Palestinian areas.