by Stephen Lendman

Silvan Shalom

So-called Israeli/Palestinian peace talks are farcical when held - the greatest hoax in modern times, dead on arrival every time.

Netanyahu deplores peace. He opposes Palestinian self-determination. So does his new chief negotiator - hardline Likudnik Silvan Shalom.

He's interior minister and deputy prime minister. Appointing him peace negotiator underscores Netanyahu's contempt for Palestinian rights.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke downplayed what demands outrage saying "(w)e continue to believe that a two-state solution in vital." "It is not a secret that the new Israeli government includes cabinet members who do not necessarily believe in that premise." In 2012, Shalom said Likud officials "are all against a Palestinian state. There is no question about it."

They urge continued settlement construction on stolen Palestinian land. PA officials blasted his appointment - a willful affront, a clear rejection of peace and Palestinian statehood.

A dismissive Obama administration statement reflects longstanding one-sided US support for Israel.

Palestinian officials say there's no point in meeting with Shalom unless he accepts Palestinian statehood within June 1967 borders.

Putting him in charge of talks shows no change in racist/ruthless business as usual. An unnamed Israeli official said Netanyahu "charged (him) with conducting in his name the negotiations with the Palestinians."

He lied claiming his "appointment indicates the desire of the prime minister and Israel to have negotiations with the Palestinians, in contrast to the accusations that Israel refuses peace, and in contrast to the Palestinian claims that they cannot avoid unilateral actions in order to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state."

There are no serious talks - not earlier, now or ahead. Israel doesn't negotiate. It demands.

It's all take and no give. Chances for agreeing to Palestinian statehood are zero - except perhaps one day in meaningless name only.

Naftali Bennett is Netanyahu's main coalition partner. He's zealously pro-settlers.

He opposes Palestinian statehood. His Jewish Home party platform states Jerusalem "is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the state of Israeli solely, and will not be divided." Likudniks endorse the same lawless policy.

Bennett wants status quo extremism hardened. He wants non-Jews excluded from Israel. He's against hiring "foreigners."

He calls them "infiltrators," a "time bomb." He criticizes all forms of "excessive activism" - code language for opposing doing the right thing.

He endorses hardline governance. He's against giving Arabs equal rights. He believes they should be "water carriers and wood hewers," biblical racist terminology.

He's responsible for Judaizing the Negev - meaning dispossessing Bedouins. "I've killed many Arabs in my life. There's no problem with that," he said. He believes murdering Palestinians is morally right.

Hardcore Zionists believe no less. They infest Israel's coalition regime - racists, belligerents, murderers, child torturers.

This year marks the 67th anniversary of ongoing Nakba. The catastrophe never ended.

Institutionalized racism, forced displacement, land and resources theft, homes demolished, self-determination denied, mass incarceration, no right of return, wars at Israel's discretion, a permanent state of suffering, and multiple daily breaches of fundamental international laws continue.

Israel's most extremist government in history assures greater than ever ruthlessness.

As long as Western leaders able to make a difference do nothing, Palestinian rights will continue to be denied. Liberation is an illusion. It remains a distant dream.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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