Ambitious!

Whatever the parameters of the settlement "freeze" ultimately agreed upon between Israel and the Obama administration, it is certain that the first to feel its effects will be the companies that build in the West Bank, where 2,500 units are currently in various stages of construction... Construction is one of Israel's largest and most central business sectors. The companies that build in the West Bank and stand to lose from a settlement freeze are some of the country's biggest and most well-known construction firms... with apartments selling for more than NIS 1 million and little hope for full government compensation, many of the companies are looking at possible losses of tens of millions of shekels. In an economy that is slowly emerging from a housing recession, a settlement freeze may mean smaller companies will go out of business.

Maybe some of those Israeli companies could shift their work to Gaza and the West Bank, given that the Obama administration is pouring over a billion dollars into those regions. Since the "tough love" approach to Israel and the "suck up" approach to the Palestinians is going to bring peace to the region, I'm sure that even Gaza's genocidal lunatics will be more than willing to hire Jews.

Anyway, the US and Israel have apparently worked out a deal settlements. The rumors are that Obama will only renege on some of the binding assurances that Bush gave to Sharon in exchange for Israel's disengagement. No word yet on whether that means Israel gets to take back some of the Gaza Strip.

References:
* Analysis: The financial fallout from a settlement freeze [JPost]
* Mere Rhetoric: Savages: Hamas Broadcasts Cartoon Mocking Shalit (UPDATED And BUMPED: Obama Wants Another $400m Next Year, Full Text Of Waxman Email Added) [MR]
* Adorable! Palestinian Kindergarteners Graduate, Do "Victory Dance" Around IDF Bodies. [MR]
* US, Israel settlement deal emerging [JPost]
* Abrams: Of Course There Was A Bush-Sharon Agreement On Settlements [MR]

Previously:
* State Dept. Banning Pro-Israel Obama Officials From Speaking Out
* Obama: We Must Achieve Peace By Forcing Israel To Give Up Jerusalem And Open Its Borders
* Israeli Officials: Hey, It's Almost As If Obama's Trying To Detonate The US-Israeli Relationship