12/10 Links Pt1: Obama’s four-state solution, Iran Executed 529 people in 2013, Hamas renews Iranian ties

From Ian:

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Caroline Glick: Obama’s four-state solution

First we had a two-state solution when Jordan, with its overwhelming Palestinian majority, was carved out of the Jewish territory.
For the past 20 years, we have been told that we need a three-state solution with another Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
Since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, we have had two Palestinian states – in Gaza and Jordan. And yet, the Gazans who we are told are motivated by nationalist aspirations have refused to declare an independent Palestinian state in Gaza. And now Obama is talking about a four-state solution – three Palestines and one rump Israel.
The Palestinians’ refusal to ever view the areas under their control as the focus of their nationalist aspirations indicates that there is something awry in the international community’s assumption that the Palestinians are motivated by nationalist aspirations.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Isn't Kerry Listening to What the Radicals Are Saying?

Hamas and its Palestinian allies will in any case never accept Israel's right to exist. So even if Abbas today gets 100% of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem to establish a Palestinian state, Hamas, which represents a substantial part of the Palestinian population, will continue to fight to "liberate the rest of Palestine."
As Zahar stated, "Our battle is not outside Palestine. Rather, it is inside Palestine. Our program is to liberate Palestine."
Kerry needs to listen to these voices and take them into account as he continues to talk about a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. It is not enough to listen to what Abbas and chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat are telling him in English. Kerry needs to listen to what Hamas and other groups are saying in Arabic.

Palestinians reject US proposal for 10-year IDF presence in Jordan Valley

According to Kerry’s proposal, the Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley would include an “invisible” Israeli presence in the border crossings between the West Bank and Jordan and Israeli early warning stations on the eastward slopes of the West Bank highlands, the official said.
The 10-year period of Israeli military deployment would be used to train Palestinian forces to take over responsibility for the border, Kerry had said, according to Al-Ayyam.
On Sunday, Abbas met with the the American consul general in Jerusalem, Michael Ratney, and formally rejected the proposal, saying that the Palestinian position was “unequivocal”: no Israeli presence, though the Palestinians would tolerate a third-party military presence.

Guardian prejudice aside, Israel is helping Bedouins

Some of the usual suspects in the politically correct British company of Israel-bashers are at it again. This time, fifty public figures signed a letter in The Guardian on November 29, 2013 demanding that the British government protest what the letter called "forced displacement of Bedouin Palestinians" by Israel.
Not only should these automatic critics be ashamed of themselves for their insufferable ignorance and arrogance, but they are also espousing a politically reactionary, not progressive, point of view.
The letter was signed by "experts" on people, law, and conditions in the Negev in Israel, such as the actress Julie Christie, the film-makers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, and members of Parliament, including Jeremy Corbyn and Lady Jenny Tonge.
Many of the signers have long exhibited their acute criticism or hostility on many occasions, having signed statements about alleged violations of something or other by Israel. It is less clear their "expertise" extends to mastery of the intricacies of Ottoman Land Law in the Middle East.

'This is Attempted Murder'

The incident occurred at about 7:00 pm, on the Egged Ta'avurah line. Rabbi Zev Shandalov, a Chicago native and Torah teacher, witnessed the attack.
"We were on the tunnel between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim, when all of a sudden I heard a huge crash," he recounted. "A very large rock smashed through the exit door, right behind my head, just missing us."
Rabbi Shandalov emphasized that these were new buses; the line just switched from Egged, the mainstream branch of one of Israel's biggest public transportation providers, to the Egged Ta'avurah line for "peripheral" commutes. The glass shattered after being hit by an immense stone, weighing some 2-3 kilos, according to his estimation.
"One young girl on the bus was crying, because every time the driver went over a bump the glass would shatter a bit more and it sounded like we were being hit again," he continued. "I looked into the driver's rear-view mirror and he looked terrified, so I went up to him."

Romanticising rocks and stones: BBC on the first Intifada

The BBC’s romanticisation of stone-throwing through the use of language such as “unarmed”, “captured international attention” and “enduring picture” conceals the fact that stones and rocks are potentially weapons which can be lethal to human beings – whether soldiers or civilians. But that BBC backgrounder makes no mention whatsoever either of Israelis killed during the first Intifada or of the thousand or so Palestinians killed by other Palestinians during those years, stating:

“The Israeli Defence Forces responded and there was heavy loss of life among Palestinian civilians. More than 1,000 died in clashes which lasted until 1993.”

Of course the use of rocks and stones to attack Israelis did not stop twenty years ago with the end of the first Intifada and such attacks still occur on an alarmingly regular basis. But like much of the international media, the BBC is now in its third decade of ignoring and downplaying of the potentially lethal aspects of stone-throwing and misleadingly presenting such attacks to its audiences as romantic ‘non-violent’ protest.

Meet the Ramahis, Family of 'Peace'

Following accusations by Wajdi al-Ramahi that his 14-year-old son Wajih was the victim of a "cold-blooded murder" at the hands of Israeli "soldiers [who] wanted to pass the time and shot at him," Ha'aretz today publishes a more balanced report examining the contradictory claims regarding the boy's killing in the Jalazun refugee camp Saturday.
Wajdi's claims that the soldiers shot his son "as if he were a bird" hark back to Chris Hedges' 2001 debunked incendiary charge in Harper's that Israeli soldiers "entice children like mice into a trap and murder them for sport." It is Amira Hass, a longtime critic of Israel, who surprisingly brings more balance to the story today describing the conflicting accounts about Wajih's activities before his was killed ("Accounts of Palestinian teen's death differ"). While his friends claim he was playing soccer before his death, eyewitness describes groups of children throwing stones at soldiers.

Egyptian Army Kills Terrorist Behind Eilat Rocket Attack

Egyptian sources said Monday night that Egyptian Army soldiers had eliminated Ibrahim Abu Atiyeh, a terrorist belonging to the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Beit al-Makdis terror group. Abu Atiyeh was a leader of the group, which has claimed responsibility for a recent rocket attack on Eilat in August. Abu Atiyeh was killed in a shootout with Egyptian soldiers in northern Sinai.

Iran’s Kayhan Newspaper Calls on Hezbollah to Kidnap, Murder IDF Soldiers

Iranian daily Kayhan called upon Lebanon’s Hezbollah to avenge the assassination of a senior official last week by carrying out a combined terror and kidnapping operation and murdering IDF soldiers, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
In an editorial, translated by MEMRI, Kayhan, which operates directly under the supervision of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, exhorted the Shiite political and terror organization that controls Southern Lebanon, to “carry out a surprise operation, in which it will kill a few soldiers from the Zionist regime’s armed forces and will take others captive.”

IDF Blog: Looking Hezbollah in the Eyes: Druze Soldiers Prepare for the Enemy

While Hezbollah enhances its attack capabilities, the IDF’s all-Druze battalion is preparing to counter a growing threat along the northern border. As they learn to battle Hezbollah terrorists – positioned just kilometers from Druze villages – the soldiers explain that they are just protecting home.
On the backdrop of Israel’s moutainous Galilee region, near the villages they call home, soldiers from the IDF’s Herev Battalion set out for an elite military exercise. As members of the IDF’s all-Druze battalion, they are some of the only IDF soldiers who carry out their missions in Arabic as well as Hebrew.

Hamas Announces Renewed Ties with Iran

Hamas has "resumed" relations with Iran after a temporary falling out over the Syrian conflict, according to AFP.
"Relations between Hamas and Iran have resumed," senior official Mahmud al-Zahar told reporters at a Monday news conference in Gaza.
Ties had been "affected by the Syria situation, and Hamas has withdrawn from Syria so that it can't be identified with this or that side," he said. "We've confirmed we are not interfering in the Syrian case, or in any other Arab country."

Report: Iran Has Executed 529 People in 2013

Iran has executed 529 people this year, including more 300 since President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in August, according to a tally compiled by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC).
The number of executions have significantly spiked since Rouhani took office, leading some to argue that this clashes with his image as a moderate reformer.
Iran now has the dubious honor of being the global leader per capita in executions, according to the IHRDC.

U.S. Seeks to Assure Allies of Limited Iran Relief, as Evidence Mounts of Sanctions-Busting Feeding Frenzy

Reuters has documented how Iran is preparing to reassert itself in oil markets, and former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz have assessed that “the threatened reimposition and strengthening of sanctions… risks losing its edge.” Lastweek the Wall Street Journal cataloged a range of companies that are preparing to reenter Iran’s market. The Journal noted that while sanctions relief was only granted to a few sectors of the economy, “a much wider set of European and US companies – from pharmaceutical firms and medical-equipment makers to food companies and traders – also stands to regain lost Iranian trade as soon as relief measures are formally adopted next month.” The Journal describes the relief as coming from “the fine print of the deal,” and particularly emphasized that renewed contacts would stem from the desire of “executives [to] re-establish ties in the Middle East’s largest consumer market.”

Pro-Israel groups change tactics on Iran deal

In a conference call last week, Howard Kohr, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s executive director, advised pro-Israel activists and leaders not to confront the Obama administration directly over the “difference of strategy” between the United States and Israel on Iran. Instead, Kohr said to focus on passing new sanctions as a means of shaping a final deal.

Poll: American People Disapprove of Nuclear Deal with Iran

The poll shows that a majority of the country believes that Iranian leaders are not serious about addressing concerns about their country’s nuclear program.
In the survey, taken Tuesday through Sunday, 32 percent approve of the agreement and 43 percent disapprove. One in four either refuse to answer or say they didn’t know enough to have an opinion.
By more than 2-1, 62-29 percent, those who have heard something about the accord say Iranian leaders aren’t serious about addressing international concerns about their country’s nuclear program.

Ya’alon: Iran Building Terror Infrastructure in Central and South America

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said he believes Iran is building a terror infrastructure in Central and South America, using its embassies and local Shi’ite Muslim populations as bases.
“The Iranians use diplomatic mail [pouches] in order to transport bombs and weapons, and we know that there are states in South America, like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia, where the Iranians have terror bases, both in the embassies and among the local Shi’ite Muslim populations,” Ya’alon said in a meeting with Guatemalan President Otto Fernando Perez, the Times of Israelreported.
Ya’alon believes these bases can be used to attack Jewish or Israeli interests in the region, or to stage attacks inside of the U.S. similar to the foiled 2011 attack on a Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC.

Why Is the Obama Administration Courting Hezbollah?

While the U.S. the Netherlands, Israel, and Canada consider Hezbollah to be a monolithic terrorist organization, Britain maintains an entirely fictional distinction between the ‘political’ and ‘military’ wings of Hezbollah. This notion enables its officials to talk to representatives of the ‘political’ wing.
In Abdul Hussein’s article, he notes that the British channel of communication has only recently been revived. He quotes a diplomatic source explaining that the dialogue is “designed to keep pace with the changes in the region and the world, and the potential return of Iran to the international community.”
Another Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Anbaa, also noted that “relations between Hezbollah and the U.S. are developing positively.” The paper cited Lebanese opposition sources in support of this assertion.

Egypt's Women: Covered-up or Locked-up

The ancient Egyptians created a sophisticated civilization, particularly regarding the status of women. On women's rights, ancient Egyptian society was considerably more liberal and progressive than Athens and Rome. Ancient Egypt's eight female pharaohs and a number of influential queens led the country as it achieved astonishing feats in a wide range of fields that include engineering, fashion and astronomy. From the archaeological evidence of the art on the ancient temples, at least in the realm of law, it appears Egyptian women had achieved equality with men. Women could own land, divorce their husbands and represent themselves in court. Women also played a central role in the how their society was governed.
Those days are long gone. In today's Egypt, women, even when they just walk on the street, every day endure violence, aggression, and sexual harassment. Women are often discouraged from seeking justice, both by officials, who want to protect Egypt's reputation and by their own relatives, who want to protect their family's honor.

Can Israel and Qatar learn to be friends again?

Qatar is the richest country in the world, per capita, and also one of the most perplexing. And its complexity is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in its relationship with the Jewish state.
Qatar ordered its Israeli consulate and trade mission shuttered in January 2009, at the height of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, but on a recent visit to the Gulf nation, several locals said that in Qatar, in the case of Israel as in all things, nothing is ever quite as it seems.
When they shuttered their Israeli mission in 2009, “the Qataris probably reluctantly followed through on what was an Arab League position,” says Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center and a fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. “The Qataris still try to maintain relations with everyone in this region in that respect, even with the Israelis.”