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10 Oct, 2011

Israeli settlements a thorn – chinadaily.com.cn

When Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas formally presented the application to the world body on Friday, disregarding the strong opposition from Israel and the United States, opponents predicted that the move would ignite a new round of violence in a region beset by decades of bloodshed.

In the past week, however, the Palestinian response has been largely restrained. But now that Israel has moved boldly on the settlement issue, there is every reason to believe it will cause more bloodshed because it has touched a nerve on a very sensitive issue for Palestinians.

The US, Israel’s main ally, has repeatedly said the Palestinian’s bid for UN state membership could only be addressed through direct talks between the two rivals.

Given that the Palestinians have set the suspension of Jewish settlement-building as a precondition for talks, Israel’s latest move does not signal its sincere interest in restarting dialogue.

via Israeli settlements a thorn|Editorials|chinadaily.com.cn.