Discovering MENA and other thoughts

One of the major obstacles that stand in the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis is the issue of Israeli settlements, colonies built in a territory that, according to Resolution 181 adopted in 1947 by the UN General Assembly and subsequent texts belongs to a (painfully still inexistent) Palestinian state. According to estimates, today about half a million Jews live as settlers in the more than 140 illegal settlements (so declared by the International Court of Justice) set up by Israel in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Great account on Al-Monitor about the dilemma certain Israeli settlers face. "A military-political earthquake shook the land, at the height of which the settlers became the spearhead of Israeli national policy, both in the domestic arena and on the international front. [...] the "big bang" occurred immediately following the 1967 Six-Day War. [...] In those days of burning messianic fervor, Stern found himself in the minority among his friends. Only a few remained behind, while a surging wave of ecstatic religious youths, driven by intoxicating mystical passion, rushed to settle in the "promised land." As a child raised on the ideal of the sanctity of the land of Israel, Stern found himself in a dilemma. He had to make up his mind which side to take, now that the Greater Land of Israel was under Israeli control".

Do you know where a product you usually consume has been produced? Within the EU borders, you usually do. According to European legislation, the origin of many products has to be specified.  But... what about the products with the label "Made in Israel"? That is a much more complicated issue, for these may have been manufactured in Tel Aviv, in Hebron, or in the Israeli Settlement of   Ariel .  European regulation lay down for which products it is required (notably fresh fruit and vegetables and a few other food products such as honey, olive oil and wine, as well as cosmetics) and for which it is not. Moreover, labelling is the responsibility of the merchant and not the producer. And merchants are often unaware of the issue of the settlements, as a result of which they fail to label these products correctly. This is going to change. After months of procrastination, several EU Foreign Ministers have asked the HR Catherine Ashton to move forward with plans whereby co...

Eliaz Cohen is a resident of the nearby settlement of Kfar Etzion, located between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank . He is well-known thanks to its verses and several media outlets have dubbed him " the settler poet ". He is a bearded yarmulke-clad faithful Jewish who cannot imagine a life outside its settlement and thus ran for a post in the Yesha Council ( political arm of the Jewish residents of Yesha/West Bank ) but who has, at the same time, helped many Palestinians to get Israeli permits to build new houses in scattered towns throughout the West Bank.    It all started when he learnt about the inadequate living conditions in the neighbouring village of Hirbat Zachariah, where overpopulation stifles growth and survival, and where the majority of teenagers have to emigrate from . He is not a staunch supporter of the one "state solution", but believes peace requires mutual recognition of everybody's right to the same land: "it i...