Friday, April 25, 2014
Caroline Glick: Time for consequences
It’s hard not to admire Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s brazenness.Khaled Abu Toameh: What Is Abbas Trying to Achieve?
Two weeks ago, Abbas signed on to 15 international agreements that among other things require the PA to respect human rights and punish war criminals.
And this week, he signed a unity deal with two genocidal terror groups all of whose leaders are war criminals. Every leader of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two parties that signed the deal with the PLO, are war criminals. Under the Geneva Conventions, which Abbas signed onto just a couple of weeks ago, he is required to put them on trial, for their war crimes.
Here it is worth noting that under the Geneva Conventions, every single rocket launch from Gaza into Israeli territory is a separate war crime.
Abbas seems to be enjoying that each time he does something dramatic, the U.S. launches another big diplomatic offensive to try to convince him to backtrack. Abbas wants his people and the Arabs to see him as a hero who can stand up to the Americans.Netanyahu: Palestinian Pact with Hamas Killed Peace Talks
Abbas's biggest fear is that the U.S. will cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and work toward isolating him, as the Bush Administration did to Yasser Arafat in 2002. He is aware that neither the Europeans nor the Russians nor the Chinese will be able to replace American sponsorship.
Abbas is now waiting to see what the Americans will offer him for rescinding his plan to join forces with Hamas. When this happens, Abbas will most probably come up with new demands and conditions, as he has done all these past weeks.
Netanyahu issued a strong warning to those hoping for renewed talks between the Israelis and Palestinians while Hamas is still involved, telling Mitchell “We will not sit and negotiate with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas in which Hamas has effective share of power.”
The Israeli prime minister expressed his disappointment with the Palestinian unity pact, saying “[They] have taken a giant leap backward and embraced the very people who call for the eradication of the Jewish state. That’s incompatible with peace. He can’t think he can have both. He made a terrible decision for peace and his own people…”
Abu Mazen Says NO to Peace
Waiting for the Palestinian Godot
Have we opened our eyes? Of course not. Again, we blamed Netanyahu and Likud, and believed that in 2014, Abu Mazen wouldn’t dare to say no, not to John Kerry. Whoops, surprise: In his own sophisticated, polite way, Abbas has said no in recent months to both Kerry and Barack Obama. Again, the Palestinian president’s position is clear and consistent: The Palestinians must not be required to make concessions. It’s a complicated game – squeezing more and more compromises out of the Israelis, without the Palestinians granting a single real, compromise of their own.Top Palestinian negotiator: Hamas is not a terror group
Take heed: Twenty years of fruitless talks have led to nothing. There is no document that contains any real Palestinian concession with Abbas’ signature. None. There never was, and there never will be.
During the 17 years that have gone by since Beilin took that document out of his safe, he’s gotten divorced, remarried, and had grandchildren. I also divorced, remarried, and brought (more) children into the world. Time passes and the experiences we’ve accumulated have taught both Beilin and me more than a few things. But many others haven’t learned a thing. They’re still allowing Abbas to make fools of them, as they wait for the Palestinian Godot, who will never show up. (h/t Herb Glatter)
Erekat made the comments after Israel suspended peace talks on Thursday in light of this week’s signing of a unity agreement between the two rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas. The Israeli government said it would not negotiate with a Palestinian leadership that included a Hamas component, since “Hamas is a terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of Israel.”'Mahmoud Abbas Saved Israel From Israel'
Erekat, in his Friday interview, countered that “Hamas is not and will never be a terrorist organization to us.”
Israel needs to thank Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for making a unity deal with Hamas, analyst and Attorney Yoram Sheftel told Arutz Sheva on Friday.Lauder to ‘Post’: World now knows Abbas doesn’t want peace
"The reconciliation agreement between the head of the Fatah murderers Abbas and the head of the Hamas murderers (Ismail) Haniyeh saved us. Without this reconciliation agreement, who knows what kind of situation we would have entered?" said Sheftel.
Sheftel notes that in the last seven years there have been at least four declarations of unity between Abbas's Fatah movement and Hamas, but nothing came of them.
"But this time, the timing of the declaration comes to signal that Abbas doesn't really have any intentions of holding sane peace talks with Israel, and that his goal is just to extort more and more concessions and terrorist releases from jail," argued Sheftel.
The international community now sees and understands that the Palestinian Authority does not want peace, World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.Hamas wins, Abbas loses
The philanthropist and former American ambassador was responding to the cessation of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority following the PA’s announcement of a reconciliation deal with Hamas earlier this week.
“This is one of the times when people realize what’s really happening and there is no question about it,” Lauder said. “How can Israel negotiate with an organization that wants its destruction?” Lauder, who is well connected with many world leaders, said the overwhelming sentiment among his contacts was support for Israel.
The very fact that Hamas and Fatah signed a deal strengthens Israel's demand for rigid and all-encompassing security arrangements to be set in place. The agreement will also allow Israel to claim Abbas is responsible for the handy work of Hamas and unruly terror organizations, and if he cannot control them he will prove that he lacks the capability to implement any agreement reached with Israel. Such a situation will undoubtedly be manipulated to the political benefit of the Israeli right.The Nazi parallel
So while it seems that the unity deal appears signed and ready to go, there is no certainty that Abbas will actually follow through. On the other hand, it’s safe to assume that Hamas will be more than willing to make good on its part of the bargain, should its minimal demands be met. It's fair to say that the implementation of the agreement hinges one thing - if Israel and the Palestinians reach a deal to extend talks.
In November 1969, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban gave an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel, and there made a statement that has gone down in history. Reduced to a sexy sound bite, however, his actual words have long been forgotten.Sorry, Israel Doomsayers, the Conflict Can Be Managed
According to friend and foe alike, Eban ostensibly referred to the 1967 borders (from which Israel was forced to fight for its survival in the Six-Day War) as the "Auschwitz borders."
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins Sunday evening, let us review what Eban actually told his German interviewer nearly 45 years ago:
But Cohen’s broader point about sustainability is one the doomsayers about Israel on the left need to come to terms with. By feeding the Palestinian fantasy about Israel running out of time to make peace, President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and their cheerleaders on the Jewish left are actually undermining the chances for peace. The notion that Israel is living on borrowed time has been a staple of Middle East commentary since its victory in 1967 and it is just as much of a fallacy today as it was then. Indeed, despite numerous problems, both domestic and foreign, Israel has become an economic and military powerhouse that cannot be wished away. While some toy with unrealistic notions about a one-state solution, most Israelis would prefer a two-state answer to their current predicament but sensibly understand that must be deferred until the Palestinians come to their senses and reject a concept of national identity that is not inextricably tied to a quest for Israel’s destruction. If and when they do, they will find that Israel is ready to deal with them. But until then, they will remain mired in their current dilemma while the Jewish state continues to wax stronger.'Israel Should Divide the PA into Emirates'
According to Dr. Keidar, Israel's answer to the unity pact should be to confiscate the PLO's weapons while it has a "legitimate reason to do so."Kerry: Israel, Palestinians must make ‘compromises’
"Israel should, first of all, confiscate all of the weapons which the Palestinian security organizations have here, especially the American weapons," he said. "These weapons can come into the hands of Hamas, especially if they win the elections [in the PA], which they have been trying to arrange."
"American weapons in the hands of Hamas is something which Israel should not tolerate," he stressed, noting that the time is right for Israel to do so, given that they have "good reason for why to confiscate" them. This way, he said, the unity pact could actually benefit Israel - not pose a danger, as several experts have stated.
Keidar then called for Israel to take a secondary, more radical step: dividing the PA into emirates, according to regional clans.
US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday urged Israel and the Palestinians to make the compromises needed to forge ahead with peace talks, admitting the negotiations had reached “a difficult point.”J Street: 'Israeli Decision to Suspend Talks is Premature'
“There’s always a way forward, but the leaders have to make the compromises to do that. We may see a way forward, but if they’re not willing to make the compromises necessary it becomes very elusive,” Kerry told reporters.
A day after Fatah and Hamas announced a unity agreement, J Street has released another press release attempting to frame the Israeli government as being at fault, this time for prematurely judging the Palestinian leadership. J Street identifies as"pro-Israel, pro-peace."J Street Finds Itself Marooned with Hamas
The press release stated that, "J Street believes the Israeli government’s decision to suspend peace talks with the Palestinians over the preliminary reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas is premature" and that "With five days left before the deadline for Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace initiative, all involved should be searching for purposeful actions to revive the troubled process, not accelerating its demise."
Hamas' charter calls for the annihilation of Jews and justifies violent Jihad against Israeli residents.
J Street also firmly asserted that "It is premature for either the Israeli government or the US Congress to take steps to punish the Palestinian Authority for this reconciliation agreement before the composition and policies of the new government are known. Suspending peace talks or American aid will hurt Israel's long-term security as much or more as it will hurt the Palestinians."
That’s the position J Street finds itself in again today when it urged Obama not to let the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement be an impediment to pursuing pressure on Israel. That put it at odds with an administration which considered the PA’s alliance with the Islamist terror movement both disappointing and troubling. The idea that Obama and Kerry would, as J Street urges, seize this moment to produce their own peace plan and demand Israel accept it is farcical. Instead of being able to use its influence in the Oval Office and the State Department, J Street is marooned with Hamas.Destroying Israel Is The Pro-Israel Thing To Do By Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street Executive Director (satire)
I’m pro-Israel. And I will do everything in my power – granted, currently pretty limited power – to bring Israel to its knees and bury it as a lasting idea. A sovereign Jewish state, secure in the historic homeland of its people? A noble idea, and therefore one worthy of voicing support for at the same time as working to undermine it.Arab League Backs Hamas-Fatah Unity Pact
Therefore, J Street calls upon the US government to fully endorse the developing unity deal between the Hamas and Fatah factions. If you can’t broker good-faith negotiations with murderous, genocidal, apartheid-loving, anti-Semitic terrorists, what’s the point of negotiations? I would also say I urge the Israeli government to continue the talks, but we all know I’m not really interested in anything the Israeli government does; it has already shown itself insufficiently committed to the goal of destroying itself. And AIPAC sold out to that point of view decades ago.
An Arab League statement quoted its Secretary-General, Nabil al-Arabi, as telling Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Abbas in a phone conversation that the pan-Arab body welcomes the agreement.Camera: The Facts About Hamas
"This achievement [the agreement] will boost the Palestinian unity in the face of the serious challenges that face the Palestinian cause at this critical juncture," the statement quoted al-Arabi as telling Abbas in the conversation.
He further said, according to AFP, that the Arab League "fully supports Palestinian president Abbas in facing all the pressures applied on him by Israel."
From time to time, media outlets report on Hamas' willingness to observe a truce with Israel, usually touted as akin to a permanent or long-term peace agreement. But, this too is an outright fallacy. There has never been any genuine offer by Hamas to co-exist alongside a Jewish state in Israel. Their short-term truces, or "hudnas" are always predicated upon political expediency, and reject the concept of recognizing Israel, maintaining their "right to resistance until the occupation withdraws."10 Things You Need to Know About Hamas
Below are seven essential, unarguable facts about Hamas.
Israel suspended peace talks with the Palestinians yesterday in the wake of a unity deal between the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terror organization that currently rules the Gaza Strip. We offer the following reminders as to the nature of the latter group.CIF Watch: By Robert Tait’s reckoning, Palestinian unity with antisemitic extremists is a ‘boon for peace’
Imagine for a moment if Binyamin Netanyahu dismantled his current government coalition and entered into a partnership between Likud and an Israeli political party whose platform cited religious texts and conspiracy theories to incite its member to murder Muslims – a movement so extreme that their leaders have called for genocide.Secret Shin Bet Unit at The Front Lines of Israel's Cyber-War
Of course, there is no such Israeli political party. But, if there was, and such a coalition was formed, you can certainly bet that UK journalists wouldn’t be characterizing such an agreement as a ‘boon for peace’.
However, that’s exactly the term used by The Telegraph’s Jerusalem correspondent Robert Tait in characterizing the recent deal between Fatah and Hamas. His April 25th report,’Kerry reminded no peace deal can be struck without addressing Gaza‘, reads more like an op-ed than a straight news story, especially in the highlighted passages within the following paragraphs:
Channel 2 revealed Friday the existence of another party responsible for keeping Israel's cyberspace safe: a secret unit of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), or Shin Bet.Tiny Pacific nation sues 9 nuclear powers, including Israel
Tens of hackers work in S-74, the codename for the Shin Bet unit which protects Israeli cyberspace. For days, they will cluster around their computers, tracking the suspicious movements of "Anonymous" hacktivists around the world. Then, just moments before a hack will disrupt a system, they will strike - without anyone even knowing the Shin Bet was involved.
The tiny Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands is taking on the United States and the world's eight other nuclear-armed nations with an unprecedented lawsuit demanding that they meet their obligations toward disarmament and accusing them of "flagrant violations" of international law.Gazans set off border bomb in failed attack on IDF
The island group, which was used for dozens of U.S. nuclear tests after World War II, filed the lawsuit Thursday against each of the nine countries in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. It also filed a federal lawsuit against the United States in San Francisco, naming U.S. President Barack Obama, the departments and secretaries of defense and energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Meanwhile, figures for rocket attacks for 2014 confirm what residents of the South have been feeling for months, that a major upsurge in projectile attacks has occurred this year.Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation: Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV Broadcasts IDF Soldier Slaughter – ‘Our Harvest is Your Heads’
More than 100 rockets, most of them fired by Islamic Jihad in heavy salvos in March, were launched at Israel since the start of this year. In 2013, during the same period, from January to April 24, nine rocket attacks were reported.
On Wednesday, the Israel Air Force targeted one or more terrorists in northern Gaza involved in firing rockets, but the strike missed the target.
As leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah met Hamas in Gaza City on Wednesday to announce plans to unite, Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV broadcast its hatred of Israel.PMW: Hamas TV clip: "Our harvest is your heads"
Palestinian Media Watch on Thursday translated a chilling propaganda ad showing snipers slaughtering soldiers from the Israel Defense Force, then grabbing their dog tags, while a narrator says, “Our harvest is your heads.”
PMW also translated an article in official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that quoted Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh insisting that Hamas’ policy of kidnapping Israeli soldiers would continue under a unified government.
