Without getting personal, Netanyahu hits back at Obama
Publicly savaged by President Barack Obama for his settlement policies on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday opted for a firmly non-personal response in a warmly received address to the AIPAC conference here. He argued extensively for several positions directly at odds with those held by the president, but did so without the direct targeting that Obama had employed in his incendiary Bloomberg conversation published two days earlier.No standing O for Obama
Obama, in the lengthy interview with Jeffrey Goldberg that was released precisely as Netanyahu was flying in to meet with him, had chosen to assail the prime minister for overseeing “aggressive settlement construction,” indicated that Netanyahu’s positions on the Palestinian conflict were threatening Israel’s wellbeing, and warned that the US would find it increasingly difficult to defend Israel from the international consequences.
Netanyahu, having since joined the president in their latest public dialogue of the deaf at the White House on Monday, opted to tell AIPAC Tuesday morning that he had held “very good meetings” with Obama and other senior American leaders (the only time he named Obama in the speech), insisted that he was ready to conclude “a historic peace” with the Palestinians, and hailed the uniquely “precious alliance” between the United States and Israel.
He also chose to heap praise on Secretary of State John Kerry, who must have been deeply dismayed by the president’s decision to so openly question the policies of a prime minister he has spent months gradually trying to win over, cosset and reassure.
Citing two anonymous high-ranking sources in DC, one Israeli, and one American, the paper maintains that the US State Department is furious with President Barack Obama for his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg on Sunday — a move they say was deliberately done behind Secretary of State John Kerry’s back and threatens to derail peace talks.Obama’s Settlement Construction Lie
“The interview Obama gave, unbeknownst to Kerry, in which he launched a personal attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a way that departs from any acceptable formulation, undermines Kerry’s sincere efforts,” an unnamed official told the paper.
The second source stressed that Kerry’s primary concern regarding the interview is that it “damaged Netanyahu’s and the Israeli public’s trust in the US efforts [to broker a peace agreement].”
According to Obama, “we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time.” But in reality, as a simple glance at the annual data published by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reveals, there has been less settlement construction during Benjamin Netanyahu’s five years as Israeli premier (2009-13) than under any of his recent predecessors.
During those five years, housing starts in the settlements averaged 1,443 a year (all data is from the charts here, here and here plus this news report). That’s less than the 1,702 a year they averaged under Ehud Olmert in 2006-08, who is nevertheless internationally acclaimed as a peacemaker (having made the Palestinians an offer so generous that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice couldn’t believe she was hearing it). It’s also less than the 1,652 per year they averaged under Ariel Sharon in 2001-05, who is similarly lauded internationally as a peacemaker (for having left Gaza); the fact that even Sharon out-built Netanyahu is particularly remarkable, because his term coincided with the second intifada, when demand for housing in the settlements plummeted. And it’s far less than under Ehud Barak, who is also internationally acclaimed as a peacemaker (for his generous offer at Camp David in 2000): One single year under Barak, 2000, produced more housing starts in the settlements (4,683) than the entire first four years of Netanyahu’s term (4,679).
Netanyahu to Abbas: No excuses, recognize Jewish state now
Delivering the confab’s keynote address, Netanyahu called on Abbas to quit making excuses over the key Israeli demand. During the speech, he also rejected the idea of international peacekeepers in the Jordan Valley, and made a case for upping pressure on Iran, saying any Iranian nuclear capability would be a threat to the whole world.Netanyahu ‘wasting time,’ PA says of AIPAC speech
“It’s time for the Palestinians stop denying history,” he said. “Just as Israel is prepared to recognize a Palestinian state, the Palestinians must be prepared to recognize a Jewish state.”
Such a recognition would send a message to Palestinians, he said, “to abandon the possibility of flooding Israel with refugees or amputating parts of the Negev or Galilee.”
“Recognize the Jewish state. No excuses, no delays. It’s time,” he urged, directly addressing Abbas.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told the official Palestinian Wafa news agency Tuesday that Netanyahu was “wasting time” by demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.The Independent Headline That Sums Up the Bias
“Netanyahu’s continued demand [to recognize] a Jewish state is a waste of time and [an attempt] to avoid a just and comprehensive peace agreement,” the news agency quoted Abu Rudeineh as saying.
The spokesman reportedly added that Palestinians and Arabs reject the demand, which is only aimed at “thwarting the American efforts and the negotiations” led by US Secretary of State John Kerry
So, according to The Independent, simply recognizing the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state is “impossible” for Mahmoud Abbas. And what’s more, according to The Independent, Netanyahu is clearly the spoiler in the talks for making the demand.A struggle over Arab Israeli terrorists, as final release looms
Just another example of how media bias is allowed to present peace talks as a one-way street where Israel is the only driver. Palestinians are portrayed as powerless passengers on the journey with no responsibility for the bumps on the road.
Cpl. Avraham Bromberg was heading back from his army base in the Golan Heights to his home in Zichron Yaakov on November 26, 1980, when a number of men jumped him. Bromberg struggled with his attackers, but was overpowered and shot in the head, his weapon stolen. He was found on the roadside and died in hospital two days later.Sheikh Raed Salah gets 8 months for incitement
Sentenced to life in prison in early 1983, Karim Younis from the Arab town of ‘Aara in central Israel is now the longest serving security prisoner in an Israeli jail. He carried out the attack on Bromberg as a member of the Fatah movement.
Younis is one of 14 Arab Israelis convicted of terrorism before the signing of the Oslo Accords in September 1993. According to an understanding reached between the Palestinians and Israel and brokered by the United States ahead of the current round of negotiations, all 104 pre-Oslo security prisoners still held in Israeli jails are to be released by the end of March, when the last of four release phases is to be realized.
Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in prison with another eight months as a suspended sentence for incitement to violence, over a 2007 sermon in which he called for violent measures in support of the Palestinian cause.Arch Hamas terrorist wanted since 1998 nabbed by elite IDF unit
The charges related to a speech Salah made to hundreds of his followers and foreign media outlets in East Jerusalem. “Now they must fulfill their obligation to assist the Palestinian people,” Salah stated then. “Now it is their duty to initiate an Islamic intifada from sea to sea, in support of the holy Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque.” (h/t Bob Knot)
Soldiers from the elite undercover Duvdevan unit, together with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), arrested Ayoub al-Kawasma in Hebron, security sources said. There were no exchanges of fire or other violence during the arrest operation.Bnei Brak Stabber Previously Attempted Bombing
Kawasma was a senior member of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank in the 1990s, security sources added. He was wanted for his role in a number of terrorist attacks, but vanished in 1998.
He resurfaced in 2010, and was arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces. A little over a week ago, for reasons unknown, the PA released Kawsama from prison, leading the IDF to begin planning his arrest.
The terrorist has been identified as Fahdi Alrouda, 28, of the town of Bir Zeit, outside Ramallah.IDF shoots 2 terrorists planting bomb on Syrian border
Alrouda attacked a 31-year-old Jewish man near a gas station at the Geha junction. The victim suffered moderate injuries in the attack.
The Bir Zeit man confessed to the attack, and told investigators that he carried out the stabbing in revenge for the death of a wanted terrorist several days earlier. The terrorist was killed after holing up inside a building in Bir Zeit.
Shin Bet investigators noted that Alrouda has a history of involvement in terrorism, and previously served jail time in Israel for attacks on IDF soldiers and for involvement in an attempted suicide bombing.
They noted that his path to Tel Aviv indicates, yet again, the need to deal with weak points in the Judea and Samaria security barrier.
IDF forces spotted two terrorists trying to plant explosives on the Israel-Syria border in the northern Golan Heights early Wednesday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s office.Hezbollah Blamed for Deadly Bombing in Bahrain
Soldiers opened fire at the suspects, and identified direct hits.
The militants belonged to an organization affiliated with Lebanese Shi’ite terror group and political party Hezbollah, the IDF said.
According to NOW Lebanon, the Deputy-Chairman of Dubai Police and Public Security Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said that a Hezbollah-trained operative perpetrated the blast on Monday that killed three police officers outside Bahrain’s Manama.Abbas representative calls murderer of mother and children "a brave, heroic fighter"
“The criminal who carried out the operation to assassinate the Emirati martyr, First Lieutenant Tareq Mohammed al-Shehhi, used to go to Lebanon and was given explosives training by Hezbollah,” Khalfan charged in a message on Twitter.
The Palestinian Authority recently held a military funeral for terrorist killer Sarhan Sarhan, who murdered a mother and her two children and two other Israelis in Kibbutz Metzer in 2003. Israel recently transferred his remains to the PA.PA TV broadcasts funeral of "noble" terrorist who killed 8
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas sent a representative who glorified the murderer of children as "a brave, heroic fighter." The official PA daily reported that "at the end of the burial ceremonies, Tulkarem District Governor Abdullah Kamil delivered a eulogy and farewell speech on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas":
"We part today from a brave, heroic fighter who fell defending Palestine, its land, its people and the land of Jerusalem."
Analysis: Hamas not afraid of Egypt ban
As a result, many Egyptians are today convinced that Hamas is directly responsible for terrorist attacks against their soldiers and civilians.Teaching That Jews Have Rights Would Violate Palestinian Rights (satire)
Tuesday’s court decision is yet another nail in the coffin of Hamas- Egypt relations. Today, the Egyptians have no influence whatsoever on Hamas, which they consider a hostile movement and a threat to their national security.
The Egyptians will no longer be able to act as mediators when and if Hamas and Israel engage in another round of violence. Nor will the Egyptians be able to serve as mediators between Hamas and Fatah, which means an end to the Palestinians’ dream of achieving unity between the two rival parties.
Meanwhile, Fatah leaders seem to be the only ones who view the court decision as a positive step. In Ramallah, several senior Fatah officials did not hide their deep satisfaction with the anti-Hamas decision and expressed hope that it would shorten Hamas’s days in power in Gaza.
In the end, however, we decided to accommodate Hamas’s protests, because ultimately, it’s not so much about teaching Palestinians about universal human rights as it is about teaching them that their rights trump anyone else’s. After all, that’s why they get their own UN agency. Civil society and competence in self-administration are for other cultures, not for the Palestinians. A healthy sense of victimhood is crucial for the Palestinian cultural and historical narrative, and denying that would strike at the very heart of Palestinian culture.Will Syria’s Chemical Weapons Arsenal Be Eliminated?
In practical terms, teaching them to respect others would also undermine the raison d’etre of this organization. There are literally tens of thousands of pockets that the UNRWA budget lines, and it would go against the very essence of this agency to see the Palestinians of Gaza develop any sort of independent responsibility or agency. They need us, and we need them to need us.
Just as long as everyone keeps blaming Israel, we’re good.
Efforts to dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons capability are running months behind schedule because the Syrian president is playing games with international inspectors. Moreover, it is far from clear that the 1,300 tons of chemical warfare agents and precursor chemicals declared by Assad when he signed the Chemical Weapons Convention represent the full amount he possesses. Furthermore, even if Assad abides by the commitment to completely jettison his chemical weapons, Syria’s equally dangerous biological weapon stocks will remain.Chemical weapons used in Syria appear to come from army stockpile, UN says
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the international body overseeing efforts to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, announced on February 10 that a third batch of banned materials had been shipped out of Syria, destined for destruction abroad. The material was transferred to a Norwegian cargo vessel and accompanied by a multi-nation naval escort. Reportedly, the three shipments represent just 11 percent of the country’s declared chemical arsenal.
Chemical weapons used in two incidents in Syria last year appear to come from the stockpiles of the Syrian military, United Nations human rights investigators said on Wednesday in a report that went beyond previous findings.An Inside Perspective on the IDF Field Hospital at the Syrian Border
The team of independent experts, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, said that chemical agents used in the Damascus suburb of al-Ghouta on Aug. 21 and in Khan al-Assad near Aleppo in March 2013 bore "the same unique hallmarks".
As we gazed at the gray line marking the border with Syria, Sasha told us about her first patient, an elderly man with abdominal gunshot wounds that would have been fatal had he not sought treatment from the Israelis. Though the field hospital is outfitted with surgical, orthopedic, and anesthesia units, after initial treatment he still needed to be transported to the intensive care unit in a hospital in Safed.Iranian general: Obama’s threats are ‘the joke of the year’
“He was so terrified, he would not look at us,” she said. “He would only look at the ceiling, and he refused to talk. After several days, he started to open up. My Arabic is only medical, so I couldn’t talk about much, but I tried to reassure him. Eventually we brought him back to the border, at a different spot from where he came into Israel. … I remember him well, because he was my first patient.”
“I can understand their terror,” Sasha continued. “After all the propaganda they have heard against Israel, suddenly they are dropped among soldiers, all dressed in green uniforms, with flak vests and helmets and weapons—even the doctors. No wonder they are terrified,” she added.
President Barack Obama is a “low-IQ US president,” whose threat to launch a military offensive should nuclear talks fail is an oft-cited punchline in the Islamic Republic, particularly among children, an Iranian general said on Tuesday.Iranian Military Receives New Ballistic Missiles, Official Threatens the US
“The low-IQ US president and his country’s Secretary of State John Kerry speak of the effectiveness of ‘the US options on the table’ on Iran while this phrase is mocked at and has become a joke among the Iranian nation, especially the children,” General Masoud Jazayeri said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Minister admits Iran cannot block Facebook forever
Iran will not be able to keep up forever its ban on legal access to Internet hubs such as Facebook, which has four million Iranian users, Culture Minister Ali Janati said Sunday.Farzaneh Moradi, A 26 Year Old Woman, Was Hanged for Murdering Husband She Was Forced to Marry at 15
Such remarks by an Iranian official would have been unimaginable before President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, took office in August with a vow for more freedom.
"Farzaneh (Razieh) Moradi (26) was hanged in the prison of Isfahan this morning- She was convicted of murdering her husband, to whom she had been married to at the age of 15. Farzaneh's daughter is 10 year old and has not seen her mother since she was arrested six years ago...Farzaneh Moradi, was convicted of murdering her husband six years ago. At the beginning she confessed to the murder but later she said that it was another man identified as Saeed who had committed the murder. However, the court didn't accept the new explanation and sentenced her to death (qisas, retribution in kind). According to the Iranian law, the only way to save her life was if the family of the offended pardoned her."