life in spite of everything

From the Israeli Human Rights group B'Tselem:

Gaza, Sderot, Life in spite of everything. An interesting video letting the people speak for themselves.

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Let's hope that the following actually eventuates into something, and is just not more bluster whereby western nations murmur, Israel murmurs, and everything remains the same:
New government may face EU sanctions over two-state solution. What is at stake is the two-state solution, which seems almost impossible, anyway, considering how many illegal settlements there are in the occupied territories, and the settler only roads and apartheid wall that divides it up, but if the international community really got involved in ensuring it, it could work. However, according to the article, President Obama said: "The United States is committed to Israel's security, and that cannot be undermined." Which means no help will come from that quarter. Considering how much aid it gives to Israel, it might be foolish to think anything can change, but the whole world is not the United States.

Boycotts are apparently affecting 21% of the Israeli economy, and if sanctions really were enforced by Europe, then maybe the rest of the world would have to pull its head out of the sand.

The article about possible EU sanctions states:

One communique expressed the impression of one guest at the dinner, who spoke of an atmosphere of "ganging up on Israel," and that terms were imposed "on a government that had not yet been formed."

The message also indicated that several ministers spoke of the "need to teach Israel a lesson about its treatment of the Palestinians."

The Belgian foreign minister called for a renewed examination into Israel-EU ties, while at the same time evaluating the possibility of establishing ties with a Palestinian unity government composed of Hamas and Fatah.

The central issue discussed at the dinner was the future of Israel-EU relations. Many ministers demanded that Israel be presented with an ultimatum stating that an upgrade of those relations be carried out only with an Israeli government explicitly committing itself to the two-state solution.

Regarding that "ganging up on Israel" - I wonder why that would have occurred? Maybe because of Israel's behaviour? Perhaps? I also wonder if the Palestinians ever feel that the western international community is and has "ganged up" on them. No doubt.

After the dinner [Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg of the Czech Republic] told a Czech newspaper that a decision had been made to cancel a summit between the Israeli prime minister and EU leaders planned for late May or early June.

That is an excellent start. In the U.S., it seems that former (or maybe still current) Mossad members who have not always had the best intention of the U.S. at heart, and have been denied entry to the U.S. previously, are to get visas, anyway, because they are now part of the Israeli government.

Regarding the sanctions, if they were ever to come into place, wait for the calls of racism to echo long and loud.