Palestinians campaign to regain 'occupied' Latrun

[Mosby]

-snip-

In recent days the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Negotiations Affairs Department, the one headed by Saeb Erekat, launched a campaign under the headline “The Latrun Valley – an Integral Part of the State of Palestine.”

A document circulated by the negotiations department described the Latrun Valley as covering a 50-km. area close to the Green Line.

-snip-

One Israeli official was stunned by the Palestinian campaign over Latrun, saying it was as if the Palestinians were moving the goal line backwards.

Referring to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s push to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the official said, “It’s almost as if every time we move forward, or every time there is a prospect of moving forward, the Palestinians bring up an issue which they know is a game breaker.”

The Palestinian decision to make this an issue, the official continued, “raises concerns as to their seriousness.”

-snip-

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Palestinians-launch-campaign-to-regain-occupied-Latrun-315782

[azurnoir]

1. Latrun is located 25 kilometers (15 miles) inside of the West Bank

but was unilaterally annexed by Israel

Latrun (Hebrew: לטרון‎, Latrun; Arabic: اللطرون‎, al-Latrun) is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun Salient in the West Bank. Following the Six Day War, the Latrun Salient as a whole was annexed to Israel in a move not recognized by the international community. It overlooks the road to Jerusalem, located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrun

[aranthus]

5. No, it's right on the border.

It's 25 Klics West of Jerusalem, which means it's toward Israel proper, not in the heart of the West Bank. Here's a map of the area.

Latrun is the little salient jutting into Israel from the West Bank at the base of Jerusalem salient. It's the best place to choke off the road supplying Jerusalem. There's no way the Israelis are going to put their Capital at risk again, and the Palestinians know that.

[delrem]

6. It's in the West Bank. Enough said.

[azurnoir]

7. the link states the hilltop know as Latrun is 15 miles inside of the West Bank the Valley extends

from the border to that point at least so thanks for showing us how large an area we're speaking here

[aranthus]

8. No it doesn't.

It says that Larun is 25 kolometers WEST of Jerusalem. That's towards the coast. That means it is on the border of the West Bank and Israel. That is what is shown on the map I posted from Wikipedia. At most it's maybe 1-2 kilomweters from the border. You're completely misrepresenting what the link says.

[azurnoir]

9. your right about the link however the Latrun Salient is part of Palestine

nothing you can muster up changes that

[Scootaloo]

2. Israel shocked that Palestinians want to keep Palestine, film at eleven

"What about our entitlement?!" pled an anonymous official. "What about our wants and needs? Do these amalek bastards have any idea how much work it is to take their land from them? They have no respect!"

"It's absurd," agreed another anonymous source close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "I thought we and the Americans had settled this out, that whatever we want in the West Bank is ours... and then? And then the arabushim go and pull this, and well, it's just embarassing. They should know better!"

The two dozen other Israelis we approached for comment mostly agreed. Benjamin Aharoni, a bus driver from Baltimore in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot also believes it's a foolish move. "Look, I mean really, what right do they have to any part of Judea and Samaria, anyway? They're all immigrants you know, they came from Jordan." A passenger nearby who asked for anonymity agreed, "Theyshould be shot like any other trespasser."

But not all of the dozens of Israelis we interviewed agreed. "I don't blame them, Latrun is a nice place," says Schmuli ben-Zeev, an art history student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. But even he had reservations "Just because I understand doesn't mean we should cave to the Palestinians. If we give them Latrun, they're going to want the Jordan, and then they'll want Ariel... it's a slippery slope, and we need defensible borders."

Finding we had five minutes left for interviews, we called a Palestinian we met once when doing a report about the best toppings for falafel. Unfortunately he did not pick up.

[Mosby]

3. you're good at writing fiction.

Maybe you should consider it as a career.

[Scootaloo]

4. Already there (Well, trying)

Sad for you that there's no career in believing fiction, though.

Well, unless you go into the clergy I suppose.