Israel Punishes Palestinians With New Settlements

Breaking from NYT is report on Israel, following last night's UN vote on Palestinian state, approving controversial settlement that will likely wreck any chance for a "two-state solution."  Classic Israeli action.   Of course, Susan Rice and Obama team will firwt say, "we warned you," and blame the Palestinians.  Even though the U.S. has long opposed this settlement.  Watch for U.S. bluster now and then doing nothing about it, as per usual.   Here's key Haaretz article.   NYT below:

The prime minister’s office refused to comment on whether the settlement expansion — first reported on Twitter by a reporter for the Israeli daily Haaretz — was punishment for the Palestinians’ success in obtaining nonmember observer state status at the United Nations, but it was widely seen as such. The United States, one of only eight countries that stood with Israel in voting against the Palestinians’ upgrade, has for two decades vigorously opposed construction in E1, a 3,000-acre expanse of hilly parkland where a police station was opened in 2008.