It is amazing that Haaretz can have two articles running one so close to each other that show such extreme hypocrisy.

In one article (there has been more than one over the past few days) Haaretz blasts the "right-leanign" mayor of Jerusalem for planning to build a park in East Jerusalem and for his plan to evict 22 resident families of illegal buildings in order to build the park (a park that both Arabs and Jews will benefit from). Today there is added criticism that Barkat is destroying the peace process with a plan to increase Jewish presence in East Jerusalem and help the Jewish enclaves grow.

Haaretz also has been running articles, notably a very harsh one yesterday, about how horrible it is that Israel is building a sewage line to a yishuv in Samaria. There were some legal issues with the sewage processing line, and eminent domain had to be used to lay the line. The State says that the line is not just for this one yishuv (Ofra), but the local Arab villages will also be hooked up to it. Haaretz though criticizes the State for building a sewage line because it will destroy the chances for peace.

At the same time, Haaretz never misses an opportunity to demand Israel raze Jewish buildings, whether legal or illegal, in Arab areas. The "settlers" need to be evicted. Their houses must be destroyed. It is always the Jews who are the obstacle to peace, and it is always the illegal Arab houses that must be ignored so as not to harm chances for peace.

If illegal housing should be destroyed, it should be so in Arab areas as well. If some people are obstacles and it is ok to move them, then it should be ok to determine that other people are obstacles as well and it should be ok to move them. If a region needs a sewer line, it should be ok for the State to build the line, so that local residents won't need to be living with overflowing sewage in their playgrounds and yards.