The Crisis in the Peace Talks Was Pre-Planned by the Palestinians
Although Abbas repeats the mantra of a “peaceful struggle” in tandem with the diplomatic campaign, in practice terror continues, including attempts to murder both Israeli civilians and security forces. Furthermore, the PA signals unequivocal support for terror by demanding the immediate release of all the Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their role in terror attacks and the murder of Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings. These terrorists are treated as heroes by the PA, which also provides them a very generous basket of economic and social benefits; their average salary while in prison is even higher than that of members of the security forces.Respond Firmly to Palestinian Blackmail
The PA revealed its true face when it officially requested the Islamic terrorist organizations, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to participate in a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, which is supposed to elect a new Palestinian leadership to serve as a temporary government of the Palestinian state. The PA does not view Hamas and Islamic Jihad as terrorist organizations but, rather, as legitimate political groups that can be part of the Palestinian government.
The PA is preparing the ground in stages for de facto international recognition of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines that is under “Israeli occupation,” and all that will remain is the official declaration of the state’s establishment.
The demand for full Palestinian sovereignty along the 1967 lines also entails Palestinian control over the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, with likely major implications for the stability of the Hashemite Kingdom, which has a Palestinian demographic majority. Paradoxically, Israel’s accommodation under the presence circumstances of the Palestinian demand for sovereignty over the border with Jordan would likely prompt U.S., European, and, of course, Jordanian pressures on Israel to avoid such a transfer of authority and maintain its military presence in the West Bank.
Unilateral measures and threats should be answered in kind. After all, Israel is the stronger party and can inflict much greater pain on the Palestinians than the PA can inflict upon Israel. Perhaps the PA needs to be reminded of this. Raw power politics is what everybody understands in the Middle East. In this region, fear is a better political currency than compassion and fairness.Peace process peters out
The Palestinian threats to challenge Israel at the UN and in international organizations are empty. Nothing can change the reality on the ground without the acquiescence of Israel. For example, the acceptance of Palestine by UNESCO did not change the lives of the Palestinians one iota. Israel should also stop fearing Palestinian accusations at the International Criminal Court. Regular concessions to the Palestinians for not taking this course of action expose Israel to continuous blackmail. It is time to call the Palestinian's bluff and make the PA face the consequences.
Hopefully, Israel's government will kick the habit of paying the Palestinians for their participation in sham peace talks. Rather it is high time to remind the Palestinians that decisions in Jerusalem, to a large extent, determine their fate, and that only real negotiations and compromise with Israel can give them the state they desire. (h/t Bob Knot)
Blessed are the peacemakers. But don't confuse peacemakers with peace processors. The latter think they can persuade the lion to lie down with the lamb. The former are realistic enough to grasp how perilous that is unless the lion has just had a big dinner and a couple of stiff drinks.
Sad to say, Secretary of State John Kerry has proven to be a peace processor, one loath to acknowledge that the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks have come to a very dead end. Actually, they never moved off the starting blocks.
‘Israeli punitive measures will topple the PA’
Israeli punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority will lead to its collapse, a senior Fatah official said on Wednesday.Peace talks can continue past April 29, says Abbas
Azzam Al-Ahmad said Israel and the US together would be responsible if the PA is toppled, and for the ramifications of such an eventuality, Israel Radio reported.
In an interview with the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq al-Awsat, the Palestinian leader said the extension of the talks must be aimed at the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.State Department Scrambles to Correct Coverage of Kerry Testimony
A senior member of the PLO, however, denied the reports that Abbas agreed to extend talks with Israel. Wasel Abu-Youssef was quoted by Maariv saying that the Palestinian leadership had not yet met to deliberate on the matter and that there were conditions posed to the Israelis on which an extension of talks depended.
Initial media coverage had largely echoed the descriptions provided by a quickly published article in Israel’s left-leaning Haaretz, which stated that Kerry had placed the blame for failed peace talks on Israel (Haaretz subsequently changed the subhead of that article to gesture toward criticism of its coverage, shifting from “Secretary of state says Israel did not release prisoners on time, approved construction in Jerusalem and ‘poof’ we found ourselves where we are” to “U.S. officials later try to play down Kerry’s comments, saying he did not engage in a blame game and that both sides took ‘unhelpful steps’”).Kerry, Liberman present united front at DC meeting
Any timeline that holds Israel responsible for the breakdown in talks would be taken in many quarters as strained. Conveying Kerry’s Congressional statements, for instance, the Los Angeles Times tersely noted that “the announcement on the housing units came as the Palestinians were refusing to agree to continue the peace talks.”
A day after US Secretary of State John Kerry blamed Israel for the ongoing crisis in peace talks, he and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met in Washington Wednesday, and put up a collegial front during a joint press appearance.'There Has Never Been a Palestinian State - That's a Lie'
Liberman said to Kerry, “We know and everybody in Israel knows that you are really a very close friend, reliable friend.” The top American diplomat stood by his side, nodding.
According to Israeli officials, when the two later met privately, Kerry told Liberman that he does not blame Israel exclusively for the breakdown in negotiations with the Palestinians, but that during his testimony Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he was simply describing a timeline of events, and the natural difficulties that occurred in the course of complex and sensitive negotiations.
Responding to his interviewer's claim that "there has been Palestinian life in Jerusalem for thousands of years," he retorted: "You're talking about a Palestinian presence? Has there ever been a Palestinian state? Show me what its flag was, show me what its anthem was, show me who its leader is - show me anything that mentions the word 'Palestinians' more than 65 or 80 years ago.
"There has never been 'Palestinian state' - that's one of the big lies that they've managed to press forward. The reality is that it's been the Jewish land for 3,000 years, it's still our land."
New Israeli spy satellite enters orbit
A new Israeli spy satellite entered orbit early Thursday, the Defense Ministry said, boosting the Jewish state’s ability to monitor arch-foe Iran.Injured toddler’s hospital discharge sparks fury
The observation remote-sensing Ofek 10 satellite, launched into space on a Shavit rocket late Wednesday in cooperation with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, outdoes earlier models with its ability to “skip” from one target to another rather than simply “sweep” areas, ministry officials told reporters.
The mother of Adele Bitton, the 4-year-old who was critically injured in a stoning attack last year, responded furiously to the discharge notice she received for her daughter Tuesday from the Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center.Escalation on Gaza border: Shots fired at IDF troops
The written notice, signed by an attorney, indicated that the toddler coma patient’s treatment had concluded, and that she must therefore leave the hospital within 24 hours.
Adva Bitton appealed to the hospital to reconsider the decision, and turned to Health Minister Yael German and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett to pressure the hospital administration on her behalf. The ministers attempted to intervene, to no avail, she said, according to the Walla news portal.
There were two violent incidents on the southern part of the Gaza border on Thursday morning, the IDF said.Israel mulls withholding funds from PA equaling amount paid each month to prisoners
A group of 140 Palestinians crossed into a closed military zone on the border with Israel near Erez Crossing, ignoring IDF calls to leave.
Soldiers were fired at the legs of the suspects. Palestinian medial sources claimed two people were injured
by the shots.
A few hours later in the same area, shots were fired at an IDF force from within the territory.
Holding back the monthly tax revenues – or a part of them – is one option Israel is considering, the official said, in response to the PA ’s unilateral application last week to join 15 international conventions and treaties, a move that sent the diplomatic talks into a tailspin.Arab League pledges $100 million a month to PA
Israel transfers to the PA each month about NIS 400 million it collects for it in tax and duty revenue.
According to a document released from the Prime Minister’s Office, the PA transferred $153.5m. in 2012 to terrorists in Israeli prisons and to their families, as well as to families of deceased terrorists, including suicide bombers. This amounts to nearly 16 percent of all foreign aid to the PA .
The PA received $786m. in foreign aid in 2012, a substantial component of its $3.1 billion budget that year, the document said.
After blaming Israel for a crisis in the peace talks that has led Washington to evaluate its role in the negotiations, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Wednesday that the Arab League has promised a "financial safety net" of $100 million per month in the event that the Palestinians suffer from economic sanctions following the collapse of talks.PA official: Hitler could have learned from Israel about concentration and extermination camps
Under interim peace deals, Israel collects and transfers to the Palestinian Authority some $100 million a month in taxes on goods imported into the Palestinian territories. Israel has previously frozen the payments during times of heightened tensions.
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub: "Sir, we have nothing to lose. What's worse? Do you think we are living in Sweden and have something to lose? We are living under a racist and fascist occupation. I'm telling you, if Hitler had come [here], he would have learned from them how to oppress humans and learned from them about concentration camps, extermination camps." [Official PA TV, April 4, 2014]
‘On reconciliation, the ball is in Hamas’s court’
Preparing to leave for Gaza as the personal emissary of PA President Mahmoud Abbas to reconciliation talks with Hamas, Munib al-Masri was cautiously optimistic on Tuesday.From His Hiding Place, Nasrallah Gloats Over Assad’s Success
“We have no choice but to end the political divide,” the 80-year-old Palestinian industrialist told The Times of Israel in a lengthy interview conducted at his Nablus mansion, Beit Falasteen. “Even regarding negotiations, I can’t go negotiate when a large segment of Palestinian society, namely Hamas, is not represented.”
“For me, the most important thing is ending the divide and reconciling. It’s even more important than removing the occupation.”
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah boasted in an interview published Monday that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime was no longer in danger of being overthrown by opposition elements, as U.S. lawmakers moved to target the Iran-backed terror group over its critical support for Damascus:Report: Hezbollah facing economic crisis as funding from Iran cut
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose fighters have been supporting Assad inside Syria, also said that after three years of conflict the danger of the country fragmenting was receding.
“In my estimation, the phase of overthrowing the regime and overthrowing the state is over,” Nasrallah told Al-Safir newspaper, adding that he believed Assad would put himself forward for a third presidential term in a vote due by July.
According to a report from the London paper Asharq Al-Awsat, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to fund Hezbollah through his separate budget, though the Iranian president stopped the government's flow of money to Hezbollah five months ago during the reorganization of Tehran's Foreign Ministry.Germany Uncovers and Bans Another Hezbollah “Charity”
Adding to Hezbollah's problems is close monitoring of funding sources by American and European countries, the report stated. For example, on Tuesday, Germany outlawed the Berlin-based fundraising group Orphaned Children Project-Lebanon because it was found to be transfering money to Hezbollah.
The sources in Lebanon said that "there are continuing American-European efforts to cut off the organization's funding."
Germany’s Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, announced that his ministry has banned a Hezbollah front organization that was acting as a charity to gather millions of dollars for Hezbollah’s Shahid Foundation, which opposes “Israel’s right to exist.”Attack on Syria-Lebanon border: A risk worth taking
AFP reported that Germany’s investigation has been ongoing since 2009.
De Maiziere said German investigators first started monitoring the charitable organization’s activities in 2009. The interior ministry said that the group had raised almost 3.3 million euros ($4.54 million) between 2007 and 2013, sending the funds to the so-called Shahid (Martyrs) Foundation in Lebanon.
That foundation is blacklisted by Germany for actively recruiting fighters for Hezbollah; investigators said that the orphans and widows they support were often relatives of suicide bombers. The foundation is also accused of seeking new recruits among the bereaved children.
The attack on a weapons convoy on the Lebanon- Syria border, which according to foreign reports was carried out by Israel, is the seventh such strike in the recent months and part of the ongoing battle against the smuggling of arms to terror organizations, led by Hezbollah.Israel always needs to be one-step ahead in case Assad perseveres
The Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis of evil is conducting an extensive system of smuggling weapons to terror groups in our region, so that they will direct them at Israel. The State of Israel has been fighting this arms smuggling for years in different arenas. It's enough to mention the takeover of the Karine A, Victoria and Francop vessels, the strikes in Sudan and the assassinations Israel has not assumed responsibility for, like the killing of senior Hamas member Mabhouh in Dubai – which were all aimed at damaging the smuggling system, which is mostly run by the Iranian al-Quds Force. (h/t Alexi)
Chuck Freilich, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a former deputy national security adviser in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday the fact that Assad is likely to remain in power means “he is the guy we will have to deal with in the long term.”Khamenei: Tehran’s ‘nuclear achievements are unstoppable’
“Israel can do nothing to influence the outcome and we should stay out,” asserted Freilich, adding that at this point “we shouldn’t engage with him as the slaughter is continuing.”
The only thing that Israel should discuss with the Syrian regime could be some kind of understanding to prevent disturbances on the Golan front, he said.
“The sad truth is that the alternative to Assad may be worse,” and unfortunately it appears that he is the only one that can prevent deterioration on the border and keep the jihadists at bay.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, remained defiant in the speech given on Iran’s National Day of Nuclear Technology, saying its program will continue.European Dual-Use Exports to Iran Continue Apace
“Our negotiators should not accept any coercive words from the other party,” Khamenei told Iranian nuclear scientists at a commemoration. “None of the country’s nuclear achievements can’t be stopped and no one has the right to bargain over it.”
For every dual-use related arrest and prosecution, however, many more illegal transfers are believed to remain undetected. This is due to a mix of bureaucratic and legal snafus and lax enforcement, as well as to the failure of many European governments to adequately understand the deceptive methods used to conceal the illegal trade in security-related goods to Iran, according to a recent study on penalties and prosecutions of dual-use offenses in Europe.Jennifer Rubin: To curb Iran, should we give Israel bunker busters?
A confidential U.N. Panel of Experts that was leaked to the media sums it up this way: "Iran continues to seek items for its prohibited activities from abroad by using multiple and increasingly complex procurement methods, including front companies, intermediaries, false documentation, and new routes. These require additional vigilance and expertise on the part of states in order to identify suspicious transactions."
We are quickly running out of options to halt Iran’s attainment of a nuclear weapons capability. In wasting years trying to “engage” Iran, then attempting to stall sanctions and recently rolling them back for virtually no tangible gain — all the while continually talking down the military threat — the president and his secretaries of state have systematically foiled our best options for peacefully dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons threat. Supplying Israel with bunker busters may be one of the few moves left to get the Iranians’ attention. And if that still fails and the president refuses to assume the responsibility as leader of the Free World, it will be up to Israel to act on behalf of the West.How Can Anyone Have ‘Iran Fatigue?’
For two years, I have been doing outreach work around the country for the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). While I have heard all kinds of responses over the years, I recently heard a new expression for the first time: “Iran fatigue.” One person told me: “Many people have been reading and hearing so much about Iran’s nuclear program that they don’t want to hear any more.”
Beyond my initial shock, I felt it was worth asking: who really suffers from “Iran fatigue” – and what does it actually mean?
There is no doubt that the families of the 140,000 dead Syrian civilians – and the two million Syrian refugees – are suffering from Iran fatigue. They know that were it not for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxy Hezbollah, the regime of Bashar al-Assad would have fallen years ago and spared the lives of thousands.