Israel To Expand Settlements After Family Killing

[Purveyor]

Israel is to build hundreds of homes in West Bank settlements in response to the murder of five members of a Jewish settler family, including two children and a baby, believed to be the work of Palestinian militants. The events of the weekend are likely to further push back the prospects of renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The decision to approve 500 housing units was taken on Saturday night, less than 24 hours after the Fogel family were attacked with knives as they slept in their home in the isolated settlement of Itamar, deep in the West Bank. All five had their throats slit.

Thousands of people attended their funeral in Jerusalem on Sunday. Three children in the family survived.

The homes are to be built in the large settlement blocks which Israel expects to keep under any peace agreement with the Palestinians. It is the biggest tranche of construction announced since the end of the settlement freeze almost six months ago. Some members of the Israeli cabinet pushed for a more radical response to the family's murder. Interior minister Eli Yishai, of the pro-settlement, rightwing Shas party, said Israel should build "at least a thousand new homes for each person murdered".

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/13/israel-expand-settlements-family-killing

[Boswell]

1. sure, keep on stealing more

that should make everything happy-happy-joy-joy...

[azurnoir]

2. is this a surprise? Israel oked the settlement expansion

within 24hrs of the murders, it could seem that for the government this is more a propaganda milk cow than a human tragedy

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[oberliner]

4. Straight to the Nazi reference

Didn't take too long.

Edit to add: Actually it did take two days!