From Ian:
***
Is there any basis for comparing Northern Cyprus to the situation with the West
Bank? "A number of glaring differences stand out. First, Israel entered the West
Bank in a war of self-defense in 1967 when it faced an Arab war coalition that
was massing forces along its borders. In contrast, the circumstances of the
Turkish invasion were very different. Turkey did not face imminent attack from
Cyprus, but rather was concerned with intercommunal tensions in Cyprus. Second,
there was no established sovereignty in the West Bank in 1967 that Israel
violated; there was no Palestinian state while Jordan's claim to sovereignty
was rejected by most of the international community except for Britain and
Pakistan. Moreover, there were earlier Jewish rights under the British Mandate,
which never expired. Looking at the Cypriot case, prior to the Turkish
invasion in 1974, the Republic of Cyprus was the undisputed sovereign over the
entire island, including the area of Northern Cyprus."
'The UN upgrade resolution has neither created a Palestinian state nor granted
any kind of statehood to the Palestinians "Thus, any references in
all of the many UN resolutions to “occupied Palestinian territories” are
nothing more than an irresponsible prejudgment of an issue that has been agreed
between the Palestinians and Israel to be settled in negotiations between
the two nations. It is indicative of nothing more than wishful thinking on the
part of those states voting in favor of it. Such resolutions have not
determined and cannot determine the sovereignty of the areas in question or the
state or authority to which such areas belong."
“Hamas could take over the Palestinian Authority any day, which is why we need
solidified defense agreements and a diplomatic accord that ensures the
recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, and a [Palestinian]
declaration of the end of the conflict,” Netanyahu said Jan. 3.
The Temple Mount is not in our hands. The Muslim wakf continues to damage
antiquities and archeological artifacts as authorities remain helpless to
prevent it. Entire Jewish, Muslim and Christian histories are being brutally
dumped in garbage sites.
100,000 join anniversary celebration in Hamas-controlled Strip, signaling
growing detente between Palestinian rivals
"Father Nadaf believes Israel serves as an anchor for its Christian
minority and cares for its security, and from this he derives his
commitment towards Israel. Since his excommunication from the Council, which is
headed by Dr. Azmi Hakim, a member of the Israeli Communist party, he has been
forced to move around with bodyguards."
"Every January, people around the world take stock of themselves and
resolve to improve in the new year, vowing to break bad habits and form good
ones. In 2013, CAMERA would like news media to do the same and we suggest the
following 13 for '13..."
The Islamic Jihad terrorist group vows to fight Jews if they return to Egypt in
the wake of remarks by Muslim Brotherhood official. "The Islamic Jihad
terrorist group has vowed to fight Jews if they return to Egypt, saying they
deserve to be killed, the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported
Thursday."
Bilateral trade between China and Israel totalled $8 billion (5 billion pounds)
in 2011, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry. "Chinese have invested $3
billion in Israeli companies to date. The biggest investment was the $1.4
billion acquisition of 60 percent of MA Industries, the world's largest maker
of generic crop protection chemicals, by China National Chemical Corp
(ChemChina) in late 2011."