Despite the Hype, E1 Doesn’t Cut West Bank in Two
December 2, 2012 16:51 by Pesach BensonThe patch of land the world’s fixated on today is roughly 4.5 square miles adjacent to Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. There’s no fancy name to the place. It’s simply known by the bureaucratic moniker, E1.
After the UN General Assembly unilaterally boosted the Palestinians to non-member observer state and a Mahmoud Abbas speech that piqued Israeli officials, Jerusalem responded by dusting off old plans to develop E1. We’re talking about 3,000 housing units.
Settlement activity’s a divisive issue, even among Israelis. But let’s get one thing clear.
Developing E1 doesn’t divide the West Bank in two. It doesn’t wreck the contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Even if Israel does move forward with these plans (and this isn’t the first time over the years that E1 bureaucracy made news and was then put on hold), the remaining land available to the Palestinians will still leave them with territorial contiguity.
The Palestinian waistline — between Maale Adumim and the Dead Sea, is roughly 15 km wide. That’s a corridor no different than the Israeli waistline. Indeed, that has never caused a problem of Israeli territorial contiguity.
And yet today’s papers repeat and reinforce the same Palestinian hype. Among the culprits:
• Los Angeles Times correspondent Ed Sanders:
The hillside development, known as E-1, would connect the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim with East Jerusalem, cutting off access between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
• AFP:
Palestinians bitterly oppose the E1 project, as it effectively cuts the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and makes the creation of a viable Palestinian state highly problematic.
(To its credit, AFP produced a decent map, though I wonder how many people saw it).
• BBC (which included a vague map):
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.
• New York Times bureau chief Jodi Rudoren writes:
Construction in E1, in West Bank territory that Israel captured in the 1967 war, would connect the large Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem, dividing the West Bank in two.
I have an extra bone to pick with the NYT. Their headline played up the inaccurate division, then produced a map that didn’t show E1 in the context of the West Bank. An accurate map would’ve contradicted the sexy headline and allowed readers to judge for themselves:
• Daily Telegraph reporter Robert Tait:
Reports said some of the new homes would be built in a disputed area known as E1, between the Maale Adumim settlement and east Jerusalem, dividing the northern and southern part of the West Bank.
• Washington Post correspondent Joel Greenberg:
Critics said planned building near Jerusalem would cut links between the northern and southern West Bank, seriously damaging prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
What a load of hooey.
Public debate about settlement activity is heated enough. Big Media hyperbole doesn’t benefit anyone.
Ruedi
8:48 pm
Dec 02, 2012
I agree with you that the reporting is very shoddy at best and implying the cutting in two of the West Bank is a introducing a new lie. From here (Canada) and even after my visit in Israel in 2011 it is unfortunately not entirely clear how people move on roads around those settlements. The maps that are available are quite useless. When I have to explain such facts I wish I had a good map. Here in Canada the Prime Minister says that he is the friend of Israel. Yet Canadians are heavily influenced by what they hear (since they do not travel themselves) and unwilling to take a stand.
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Susan
9:12 pm
Dec 02, 2012
I find that Canadians are like Americans, only (even) nicer, so it stands to reason that they are even more susceptible to the “Poor Palestinian victims” propaganda that Americans are – & thus even more shocked when their leaders side with Israel. Rather than think “Hey, maybe they know something we don’t”, they (anyone, not just Canadians or Americans) then assume there’s some evil conspiracy… It is both sad & frightening to watch this unfold and grow, for *decades* now, wondering where it will all end…
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m
6:41 pm
Dec 03, 2012
I’m Canadian and we are NOT like Americans. We are for the most part, supportive of Israel and I’m not just speaking of Jewish of Christian Canadians.
Israel needs to build faster and more than ever before. It is obvious that regardless what Israel has given up means nothing to the leftist morons that love to support a cause, that cause du jour being palis. So Israel may as well finally consider itself first.
I wonder how any of the left would feel about us carving off a pice of land for palis for “homeland”? And Canada has a lot of land….
Once the wordl realizes terrorist don’t want land, they want ZERO Israel. Only then will they be happy & then they can concentrate of Christians.
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OhioRiver
9:44 pm
Dec 02, 2012
There will be continual “shoddy” reporting as we will see and the truth will be hard to discover by the average man/woman if they even care at all. Good article. Thanks!
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Australian Jews Respond to Ugly Cartoon | Blogs about Israel aggregation
10:09 pm
Dec 02, 2012
[...] housing units in eastern Jerusalem and a patch of land between the capital and Maale Adumim. But despite Big Media’s hype, E1 doesn’t cut the West Bank in [...]
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Sonia
10:21 pm
Dec 02, 2012
THANK YOU! What would those of us who care, support, and do battle, on behalf of Israel do without you! Your information is always accurate, and timely. What a gift!
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Josephine Bacon
7:48 am
Dec 03, 2012
The BBC’s LEAD news story today is Ban Ki-Moon pontificating that the new move to expand Jerusalem and the settlements will “wreck” the peace talks! What peace talks, I hear you cry. If Abbas were to really negotiate a peace treaty with Israel, on any terms whatsoever, he would quickly end up in a coffin like Anwar Sadat. And as for Ismail Haniyeh….! Make it up yourself. Every time Israel is mentioned, BBC news harps upon “illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank”. The BBC is institutionally antisemitic, especially the news department.
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Kate b
1:40 pm
Dec 03, 2012
I think that Honest Reporting should go with Israel’s representatives when they go to UK and France to ‘explain’ themselves, also take something from the Samaritans from Samaria and invite them all to a Chanukkah event in Judea, led by Mahmood Abbas……..of course!!!!
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Spook
3:12 pm
Dec 03, 2012
If cutting the liberated land (from sharia Law) is possible them a 4 state solution can be discussed! More desks at the UN…
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Harris Gaffin
5:41 pm
Dec 03, 2012
Every article is great. You can increase your influence by including a call to action with each story just like moveon.org does. In many case you do but the more the better. Every journalist who does not fact check should know they will get many angry responds for shoddy work.
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Frank Adam
6:40 pm
Dec 03, 2012
The cissie cry-babies should build a road or tunnel between E 1 and Mt Scopus. Even better if the time wasting posers built a railway track between Gaza and Taqumia below Hebron or even better a spiral Swiss tunnel to Hebron.
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Ruth
6:45 pm
Dec 03, 2012
Thanks for the excellent explanation.
As an Israeli I was absolutely appalled by the announcement concerning the plans to develop in this area, something which has been avoided since the first settlements were established after the 6 Day War. There is a reason for the fact that this area wasn’t developed and I can only assume that Netanyahu was under attack from extremists within his party and elsewhere because otherwise there is no logical reason for this decision.
My family has both right and left wing supporters but on Friday evening we were all in agreement – this was a ridiculous and stupid action taken by a group of so-called leaders who behaved like small children.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Bernard Geron
7:35 pm
Dec 03, 2012
By way of exception, fortunately or gladly, you may choose, it is Honest Reporting that uses deception. Building up Area E1 will indeed stymie contiguity between the two bulges of the West Bank. Whereas it is true that there still remains a 15 km wide corridor ON THE MAP, the topography makes it impassable. (In complete contradiction to the Netanya wasp waist which is in the flat coastal plain). In addition, there is a unique nature reserve of Wadi Kelt. The pals just lack the resources to build a high-way through this stark landscape. I wonder if the EU will ever make funds available for such a project. Pressuring Israel in giving up the E1-project is way more rewarding for these hypocrites
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Trotz der Hypes um E1: Das Westjordanland wird nicht durchtrennt « Medien BackSpin
8:06 pm
Dec 03, 2012
[...] HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 3. Dezember 2012 [...]
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Julius
11:25 pm
Dec 03, 2012
The question is not if the W-Bank is cut in half. The questions is if it is morally right to annex this part of the W-Bank. Does it help establish peace? Can Israel effort antagonizing the US and some of the Pro-Israel European countries? Should the Israeli government completely ignore the advise of the few supporting countries left?
Just wondering if I am the only Honest Reporting supporter who thinks this way?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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YairJ
5:35 am
Dec 04, 2012
This claim IS what this article is about. It doesn’t address those other questions.
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Despite the Hype, E1 Doesn’t Cut West Bank in Two « World Chaos
1:09 am
Dec 04, 2012
[...] The patch of land the world’s fixated on today is roughly 4.5 square miles adjacent to Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. There’s no fancy name to the place. It’s simply known by the bureaucratic moniker, E1. After the UN General Assembly unilaterally boosted the Palestinians to non-member observer state and a Mahmoud Abbas speech that piqued Israeli officials, Jerusalem responded by dusting off old plans to develop E1. We’re talking about 3,000 housing units Settlement activity’s a divisive issue, even among Israelis. But let’s get one thing clear.Full story HonestReporting [...]
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Eric
3:17 am
Dec 04, 2012
What seems to have been forgotten (or overlooked) by a lot of the comments is, THIS IS OUR LAND, by a) historically, and b) more recently by conquest. Show me throughout history where the victorious side hasn’t imposed it’s own terms on the vanquished. And Israel has been victorious multiple times over. Spare me the moralist judgements from the US, UK, Europe, Russia, ant the totally corrupt and useless UN. Israel is the victor and gets to set the terms. Israel did not ask for any of the wars, and in real life, there are no “do overs”. The Palestinians do have options: accept terms, move, or fight yet again …. And lose yet again. I’m sure everyone here knows the definition of insanity — repeating the same action but expecting a different result.
It’s easier to whine and cry rather than pick yourself up by your own bootstraps!
There’s a reason none of the other 20+ Arab countries want the Palestinians……
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rosy
9:54 pm
Dec 21, 2012
so if you want to keep judea and samaria five back the coastal plan between ashdod and ashkelon that was never ever “israelites”. you use religion in a selective way, while religion is a private matter between you and your god. as for the conquest, the law of the jungle is not frequently accepted in international law. a fascist approach is not the solution
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Roddy
5:34 am
Dec 04, 2012
I would avoid referring to Jewish communities/towns as “Israeli settlements” for several reasons. Doing so de-legitimizes them by making them sound like temporary, ad hoc, politically motivated encampments, akin to something the recent “Occupy Wall Street” movement would contrive. These are real, permanent, fully functional cities. They were created in good faith by citizens who are committed to developing these areas and improving the standard of living of everyone in the region. These communities have hospitals, schools, and utilities. These resources benefit adjacent Arab communities as well. Dismantling these communities would be foolish and inhumane.
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Murder and Mayhem in the Middle East – but it’s Israeli houses that upset the world | Anne's Opinions
7:01 am
Dec 04, 2012
[...] Honest Reporting adds (together with a useful map for comparison): E-1 Corridor at Maaleh Adumim compared to Israel’s waistline at Netanya [...]
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Lydia
10:57 am
Dec 04, 2012
Although I appreciate the clear depiction of the ‘waistline’ and how on the surface it appears NOT to cut the West Bank in two, I think if the E1 settlement map was superimposed on a ROAD map which shows key network connections between northern&southern areas of the West Bank, the case would become even clearer! any chance of HR creating one of these too? If it can be shown that enlargement of settlements (whatever people’s opinions on that…) doesn’t interrupt transport infrastructure the case would be more obvious.
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Media manipulation of thought and emotions | Richard's Watch
6:51 pm
Dec 04, 2012
[...] this local resident’s full statement here. Look at the above map! (details here); it is ‘much ado about nothing’, according to GW Bush’s deputy assistant Elliot [...]
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Root of the conflict is not settlements, but Israel’s very existence, Netanyahu says « World Chaos
8:56 am
Dec 05, 2012
[...] the Hype, E1 Doesn’t Cut West Bank in Two -HonestReporting Share this:TwitterFacebookGoogle +1LinkedInStumbleUponEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like [...]
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