Tuesday, November 10, 2009
| Published: | 11.10.09 |
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said at the end of his meetings in Washington before flying back to Israel, "Prime Minister Netanyahu and my visit was very important. We are leaving no stone unturned in the effort to reignite negotiations."
Barak added, "During my meeting at the Pentagon and our meeting at the White House, we again were met by President Obama in an environment attentive to Israel's defense needs." (Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington)
Monday, November 9, 2009
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Speech at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly Excerpt
My goal is not negotiations for negotiations sake. My goal is to reach a peace treaty, and soon.
But to get a peace agreement, we must start negotiating. Let’s stop talking about negotiations. Let’s start moving.
This past June at Bar-Ilan University, I put forward a vision of peace that has united the vast majority of Israelis.
In this vision of two states for two peoples, a demilitarized Palestinian state would recognize the Jewish state.
Now, what do I mean by a Jewish state? It is a state in which all individuals and all minorities have equal individual rights. Yet our national symbols, language and culture spring from the heritage of the Jewish people. And most important, any Jew from anywhere in the world has a right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Terrorist weapons ship intercepted
Iran's History of Weapons Smuggling
04 November 09 by Hillel Fendel
(Israelnationalnews.com) The interception of the terrorist weapons ship near Cyprus - believed to be an Iranian shipment to Hizbullah – is just another one in a long series of similar attempted deliveries over the past several years.
In December 2001, the Karine-A ship was loaded in Iran with weapons and ammunition destined for Gaza. The ship took off for Egypt, where it planned to unload its cargo into fishing boats that would chug over to the Gaza coast. Israel intercepted the shipment on January 3, 2002, finding 83 specially-coated cases for sea-smuggling purposes, configurable to float at various distances below the ocean surface.
Included in the shipment were 107mm and 122mm Katyusha rockets (capable of reaching major Israeli cities), 120mm mortars, Sager and LAW anti-tank missiles, explosives, anti-tank mines, scuba gear, AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons. The vessel was manned by 13 PLO personnel and at least one person identified with the Lebanese Hizbullah terrorist organization.
Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler also reports on the following:
* In December 2003, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard operated an airlift of weapons to Hizbullah via Syria, under cover of humanitarian aid to the earthquake-ravaged Iranian city of Bam.
* In May 2007, Turkey discovered another Iranian airlift of mortar shells, light weapons, ammunition and rocket launchers, headed for Hizbullah.
* In January of this year, an Iranian shipment of arms was intercepted in Cyprus, including anti-tank shells, artillery shells, mortar shells, and more.
* Last month (October 2009), the Indian Hansa ship, flying a German flag, departed from Iran to Egypt. Suspicious German authorities ordered the ship not to dock in Egypt, but rather in Malta, where they found bullets and industrial equipment for the manufacture of weapons that had apparently been bound for Syria.
www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
House of Representatives passes H.R. 867 on November 3, 2009.
The vote: 344 to 36, with 20 voting 'Present' and 30 not voting
Bill calls on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the “Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” in forums like the U.N.
Click here for the final text of House Resolution 867
Click here for the Roll Call on House Resolution 867
Resource: UN Watch
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Dominant Palestinian view remains *the* obstacle to peace
desire to win a total victory and wipe Israel off the map. The back-up
stance is that any peace agreement must not block the continued pursuit
of that goal. And the back-up position to that is to reject strong
security guarantees, recognition of ...Israel as a Jewish state, an
unmilitarized Palestinian state, settlement of Palestinian refugees in
Palestine, territorial compromise or exchanges, and indeed any
concession whatsoever." -- Barry Rubin
And Now the Truth Becomes Clear: Hilary Clinton Announces that the Palestinians are the Obstacles to Peace
By Barry Rubin Monday, November 2, 2009 rubinreports.blogspot.com
Yesterday I discussed the significance of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s praise for Israel’s policy during her trip to Jerusalem, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had offered unprecedented concessions to get peace talks started again.
We don’t know what the plan is though there are hints that Israel agreed to stop all construction on the West Bank once the 3,000 apartment units now being constructed were completed and that this would have no effect on construction in east Jerusalem. This is indeed a major concession on Netanyahu’s part and once again puts the lie to the claim that he is inflexible or hard line (though no doubt we will still daily see this in media coverage).
This visit, however, is also seemingly a major turning point in both U.S. policy and public perceptions of the problem regarding the peace process.
At the center of this stands the Number One Paradox of the issue, in some ways of all Middle Eastern politics: Why is it that although the Palestinians complain that they are suffering from a horrible occupation and not having a state of their own they are not in any hurry to make a peace agreement, end the “occupation,” and get a state.
The main answer is that the dominant Palestinian view is still the desire to win a total victory and wipe Israel off the map. The back-up stance is that any peace agreement must not block the continued pursuit of that goal. And the back-up position to that is to reject strong security guarantees, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, an unmilitarized Palestinian state, settlement of Palestinian refugees in Palestine, territorial compromise or exchanges, and indeed any concession whatsoever.
There are two implications of this:
--The Palestinians are at fault for the failure to achieve peace.
--There isn’t going to be any Israel-Palestinian peace in the near- or even medium-term future.
If you understand the preceding 176 words then you understand the issue comprehensively.
The president of the United States has said that he wants talks resumed immediately and believes it possible to make a breakthrough. The Palestinian leadership is thwarting him on both points. In other words, they are responsible for the failure of a major U.S. policy.
Following Clinton’s visit, Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders have restated their refusal even to talk with Israel. They also claim that Netanyahu is refusing to discuss some issues in the talks, though the Israeli prime minister has simply not made such statements. In fact, as the Washington Post reported, November 1:
“The Palestinian position, if anything, appears to have hardened in recent days, leaving Israel to portray itself as the more willing partner.”
Well, Israel is the more willing partner, isn’t it? That’s the point that breaks the apparent paradox of suffering Palestinians yearning for peace but being thwarted by Israeli intransigence.
One point in the Post article, however, is just flat wrong:
“Israel promised to halt settlements under previous international agreements, and Palestinian officials say they want those promises fulfilled.”
In fact, at the time it signed the original peace process agreement—often called the Oslo accord—in 1993, that’s 16 years ago—Israel put forward its interpretation of the agreement. It said that there would be no new Jewish settlements and no geographical expansion of existing settlements. But Israel made it clear that it would continue to build apartments on existing settlements. That position was not challenged by the Palestinians at the time and it has never held up talks before now.
Indeed, another Washington Post article of November 1, this one by Howard Schneider, pointed out—though only indirectly—why things got even worse:
“However, Obama's election raised expectations among Palestinians and throughout the Arab states that the peace process would yield quicker results from an administration willing to openly criticize Israel and, it seemed, elevate Palestinian interests.”
More than that, it was the Obama Administration which called for a total freeze, distances itself from Israel, and took other steps leading the PA and Arab states to believe that by being intransigent they could get Washington to deliver Israel on their own terms. In other words, while everyone is being too polite to say so, the Obama Administration was responsible for the situation deteriorating.
Now both Egypt and Jordan have come out in support of the PA position, also setting themselves on a collision course with Washington, that there should be no talks at all until all construction on settlements stops without exception, including anything now being completed and all building in east Jerusalem. There is no chance Israel is going to agree to that; there is no chance the Obama Administration will demand it.
And so we have come to the point where it is becoming clear even to those who have been ruled by wishful thinking that there is not going to be any peace and that the Palestinian-Arab side is responsible for this situation.
It is quite probable--and this is extremely important to understand--that there is nothing the Obama Administration can say or do in order to make them change their mind. After all, this is the ideal position from the standpoint of the PA, Egypt, Jordan, and others. Refuse to support talks, reap benefits by showing their militancy, and be able to blame it on Israel.
After all his efforts and alleged popularity, Obama has absolutely zero credit and no leverage in the Arabic-speaking world.
How is this going to affect Obama Administration policy and thinking?
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan).
By VOA News 01 November 2009 excerpt
[U.S. Secretary of State Clinton]she called on Israelis and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations immediately and without preconditions.
The secretary of state said Israel has offered "unprecedented" limits on Jewish settlement expansion in response to Palestinian concerns about resuming peace talks. And both Clinton and Mr. Netanyahu said that Palestinians had never in the past demanded a settlement freeze as a condition for talks.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, responded to Clinton's comments late on Saturday and said there will be no change in the Palestinian position.