Kerry versus Rabin on Israel’s security
Given his warm praise of Rabin and Rabin’s perspectives on the parameters of a genuine, durable peace, one would expect any blueprint from the Secretary of State to incorporate what Rabin defined as areas vital for Israel’s defense.The Israel-Palestinian Negotiation and the American mediation: The Jerusalem case
Rabin, like the authors of UN Security Council Resolution 242 – still the foundation stone of Israeli-Arab peace negotiations – recognized that Israel’s pre-1967 armistice lines left the nation too vulnerable to future aggression. He insisted Israel must hold onto a significant portion of the West Bank to block traditional invasion routes and to protect both Jerusalem and the low-lying coastal plain, the latter home to some 70% of the nation’s population. In his last speech in the Knesset before his assassination, Rabin declared:
Now John Kerry tries again with the clumsiness of an elephant in a porcelain shop to bring the parties to conclude an agreement, while the issues raised for the “solution” are not the real issues. The US continues to see the subject matter with its wrong mistaken mirror image, as if the “occupation” of the 1967 territories, and the Palestinian refugee issue of 1948, and the Issue of Jerusalem as the capital of the newborn Palestinian state, are the main obstacles to conclude the peace agreement. The US continues to stumble as if she has the formula that brings the parties not only to the negotiation table, not only to a peace agreement, but to peace relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Moreover, the US continues to believe that by reaching this end, most of the issues in the Middle East are solved, and harmony and tranquility reigns over the region.Language and Lenses: “West Bank” versus “Judaea and Samaria”
Until the Arab-Muslim world gives up its Koranically-based hatred and disdain for the Jewish people, it will be impossible to have any faith that a “Palestinian” state on historically Jewish land will be anything other than a terrorist state devoted to the annihilation of the Jewish state, if not the Jewish people.
Whatever the eventual outcome of this long-standing Arab-Muslim war against the Jews of the Middle East, it should be obvious to Jewish people that denying our own history in that region cannot be a benefit to our people.
It is one thing to give away Jewish land, but it is another thing entirely to give away Jewish history. The former, in my view, might be acceptable if the recipients were kindly disposed toward their Jewish neighbors in acceptance.
The latter is an abomination. (h/t Bob Knot)
Netanyahu: Time for Abbas to Stop Celebrating with Terrorists
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday evening that the arrests of the 14 terrorists who were behind the bombing of a Bat Yam bus is proof that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is directly involved in planning and carrying out terror attacks.Liberman: Interim peace accord would leave key issues unresolved
One of the terrorists was a member of the PA security forces. The other detainees were members of the Islamic Jihad and Bedouin Arabs.
"This is further evidence of the PA’s direct involvement in terrorism. It’s time that [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas stop celebrating with freed murderers and lead his people to the path of peace," said Netanyahu.
During a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Jerusalem, Liberman cited the Palestinian refugees as an example of such an issue, and said nearly three million refugees would need to be integrated into the Palestinian state, a scenario that could lead to unrest.Removing IDF from the Jordan Valley Would Destabilize Jordan
“It is likely that, after an agreement is reached, some other countries in the region will want to transfer the Palestinian refugees who currently reside in their territory,” he said, according to Channel 2 News.
“That would mean that, to the 800,000 Palestinians who live in the Palestinian Authority today, about three million refugees will be added, and this may make the humanitarian situation there very difficult. This will bring frustration, violence and a security deterioration.”
One of the biggest behind-the-scenes fans of Israel retaining control of this strategic location is none other than the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.'Jordan Should Be Involved in PA-Israel Negotiations'
Last month, the Israeli daily Maariv reported that Jordan has been urging Kerry to support Israel’s demand for a permanent IDF presence in the valley under any deal with the Palestinians. Three months earlier, the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh quoted a senior Jordanian official’s response when asked in a closed briefing how Amman viewed the possibility of Palestinians replacing Israel along the Jordan border:
“May God forbid!” the official retorted. “We have repeatedly made it clear to the Israeli side that we will not agree to the presence of a third party at our border.”(h/t NormanF)
Walla! reports Friday that former Prime Minister Marouf al-Bahit stated to Al-Hayyat, a London-based Arabic-language news source, that Jordan's involvement in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) is critical.Khaled Abu Toameh: We’ll ignore a ‘worthless’ framework deal, says PLO
The reason: the lack of a strong Arab leadership - and the Arab world's preoccupation with its own internal crises.
Abed Rabbo said that Kerry was now asking the Palestinians to agree to negotiations with Israel over a new accord, which, he claimed, gives the Israelis control over the Jordan Valley and restricts Palestinian sovereignty over Palestinian territories.Kerry cites Vietnam as example for Israel in remarks
Abed Rabbo said that the only way to achieve a breakthrough is by drawing full borders between a Palestinian state and Israel, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines – including east Jerusalem.
A reminder of what happened in Vietnam:Protesters rally outside Kerry's hotel for Pollard's release
#1. A peace agreement was engineered by then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
#2. Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
#3. The agreement fails.
#4. South Vietnam falls as American forces retreat.
#5. The "boat people" - a flood of refugees from South Vietnam fleeing for their lives.
Now what is the message to Israel?
Demonstrators rallied outside of visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry's hotel in Jerusalem Thursday evening, calling for the release from of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, who has been incarcerated in an American jail for the past 29 year.Jewish Home's New Film: 'American Bluff'
Jewish Home's secular branch recently produced a parody teaser trailer for a film entitled "American Bluff." The trailer, which borrows liberally from Marvel's 2012 film "The Avengers," can be seen here:
"The surreal American propositions about drones, sensors and warning stations to defend us are an insult to the intelligence," said Inbal Lieber, head of Jewish Home's secular branch.
IDF Blog: Security Forces Arrest the Executers of the Bat Yam Terror Attack
The ISA, in cooperation with the IDF and the Israeli Police, arrested the operatives who planned, prepared and executed the bus bombing in Bat Yam on December 22, 2013 which injured a security personal. The operatives were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror infrastructure in Bethlehem. In their investigations, the suspects confessed they planned to execute a devastating terror attack in Israel.IAF strikes Gaza in response to rocket fire
The explosive device used for the attack was prepared by the Ta’amri brothers. They used 2kg’s of improvised explosive material, included nails, screws and a cell phone activation system which could detonate the bomb from a distance.
“In response to rocket fire towards Israel, an IAF aircraft targeted a terror infrastructure site in the central Gaza Strip and three concealed rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement. Twitter users in the Gaza Strip reported at least four explosions.How the Palestinian Authority Fleeced the European Union
The Palestinian Authority, for example, receives funding through ENPI (the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument). Besides the PA, the Instrument provides funding to Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lybia, Moldova, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Ukraine. The total population of these countries is 284 million people and out of this number, Palestinians, including Gaza denizens, comprise 1.5 percent. But since Palestinians need the money much more than, say, Syrian refugees fleeing a civil war, the PA receives 20 percent of the total ENPI funding.Hamas leader says no to new war with Israel
This ridiculous amount is only 40 percent larger than the annual budget of Sydney, Australia, a city of roughly the same population. Where has this money gone?
During a ceremony with Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh stated that though his organization was prepared for any attack, it was not anticipating another Israeli operation in the strip.Report: Israel to Increase Electricity Supply to Gaza
“We are uninterested in a new war,” Haniyeh said. ”We are always ready for the renewal of hostility on the part of our enemies, but we do not live in fear of a new war.”
Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA) energy authority, Fathi Al-Sheikh Khalil, said Thursday he had received "encouraging information" that Israel has agreed to supply 100 additional megawatts of electricity to Gaza.Egypt Accuses Hamas of Attack that Killed 16
Mohamed Ibrahim, Egypt's Interior Minister, on Thursday accused Hamas of being involved in the bombing of police headquarters in Mansoura last Monday that killed 16.Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood Planned Attacks on Egyptian Christians Over Christmas
Ibrahim announced that seven suspects have been apprehended, including Muslim Brotherhood members. The minister further said the bombers received logistical support from Hamas, detailing Muslim Brotherhood connections with the Gazan terror group, reports Al-Ahram.
The attacks were planned for the Coptic Christian Christmas on Jan. 7. According to the report, Sinai terror groups were told to expect weapons and funds to arrive through Gaza’s smuggling tunnels “via three members of the Hamas military wing.” But Egyptian intelligence prevented the attacks by intercepting conversations between the Sinai and Gaza terrorist groups.US officials: Hezbollah upgrading its arsenal against Israel
The Shiite Lebanese group Hezbollah is smuggling advanced guided-missile systems into Lebanon in preparation for a future conflict with Israel, according to US officials.Up to 7,000 foreign jihadis fighting in Syria, new study finds
The group’s armament efforts have been hampered by at least five IDF air strikes against its smuggling routes and depots in Syria in 2013 alone. In response, the Lebanese group is attempting to smuggle weapons into Lebanon in pieces, believing that the piecemeal shipments, overseen by Iran’s Al-Quds force, are more difficult to spot and intercept, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Between 6,000 and 7,000 foreign fighters have arrived in Syria to take up arms with rebels against the Assad regime, with a large majority of them joining jihadi organizations, the Nusra Front being foremost among them, a study released Thursday said.Syrian Mufti's Aide Gives Army Permission to Rape
The Tel Aviv-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center that published the study is a part of the Israeli Intelligence and Heritage Commemoration Center, founded in the 1980s by leading members of the Israeli intelligence community.
On Thursday, Sheikh Abd al-Rahman Ali al-Dala, aid to the chief mufti of Syria, who is loyal to President Bashar Assad, gave an interview to Sham FM, a radio station that supports Assad.Turkish Security Forces Seize Syria Bound Weapons Truck
In the interview, Al-Dala said Syrian army soldiers have permission to "marry" unmarried and married women, sisters and mothers of the rebel fighters, without any official marriage agreement. He clarified that the rape is intended as a punishment for not reporting the rebels to the goverment forces.
Acting on a tipoff, security forces stopped the truck in the southern province of Hatay on the Syrian border, the local Hurriyet newspaper reported.
A significant quantity of ammunition and weapons were discovered in the truck, whose drivers claimed they were carrying aid on behalf of the pro-Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).
IHH is the same organization that was behind the 2010 flotilla aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza. It has been accused in the past of secretly funding the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.