Much discussion on the topic of the Palestine/Israel conflict has been occurring on Capitol Hill and the Internet, and you probably won't hear about it on cable news and other common news sources.
An analysis of independent media sources and lobbying groups reveal the complexity of the situation, and the many view points related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Traditionally, the United States sides with Israel on political issues, but a political action committee and lobbying group called J Street demonstrates a point of view that is pro-Israel while still disagreeing with Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people. Public reaction to groups like J Street also reveal a strange tendency for Americans to label all speech against Palestinian occupation as Antisemitism.
The history of this conflict shows the lethality of the conflict, and the difficulty of getting Israel and Palestine to agree to, and maintain, peace with each other.
During the summer of 2009, President Obama began to persuade Israel to stop construction in Palestinian occupied land, now called Israeli settlements, so that Palestine would agree to peace talks with Israel. Also, in June 2009, the UN began to investigate war crimes committed by Israel's armed forces. By April 2010, the US is still getting Israel to agree to cease new construction, and the tension between Palestine and Israel continues to rise.
A UN human rights investigation last year revealed strong evidence of war crimes on both sides of the conflict. Then, on October 3, 2010, the New York Times reported that two Israeli soldiers were convicted of war crimes for using a young Palestinian boy as a human shield while searching for possible bombs in 2008.
One month later, CNN reports that the US is disappointed by Israel's decision to continue construction in "sensitive areas" of Israel. While Hilary Clinton hopes to continue peace talks, Israel's decision to continue construction will effectively end Palestine's willingness to participate in negotiations and peace talks.
J Street is urging President Obama to take action and make the creation of a separate Palestinian state a priority by collecting petition signatures, despite political opposition from capitol hill and synagogues.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian people are still treated as second class citizens, and it still takes hours for ambulances carrying Palestinian patients to reach a hospital.
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