Saturday, May 30, 2009

Abbas Wants US to Oust Netanyahu

Curt Here...

The article posted below details how Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to deal with the problem that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become to the worlds desire for a two state solution in Israel. His solution is simple, wait it out.

Abbas has made it clear that there will not be any peace nor will their be any progress towards a two state solution as long as Netanyahu is in power. So he anticipates that the US and others will gradually increase the pressure on the Israeli leader until he is forced out of office.

I really don't anticipate this happening. I don't see the Israel people forcing Netanyahu out of office because I believe the Jewish people are starting to recognize the very dangerous position they are in. But this article should not be ignored as it is obvious that the world including Israel's long time ally the United States is moving towards the direction of forcing Israel to accept a two state solution.

The line in the sand has been drawn by Netanyahu and by the Abbas. Israel will not agree to a two state solution as long as the Palestinians refuse to acknowledge that Israel has the right to exist. The Palestinians will never publicly state that Israel has the right to exist, because of their radical Muslim beliefs. So something has to give, the world will have to take sides, and I believe that the world will side with the Palestinians.

The only way to peace and security in the Middle East will be to force Israel to agree to a two state solution. Yes all the nations of the world are gathering against Israel. It is just a matter of time.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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PA official: Abbas wants US to oust Netanyahu

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not resume negotiations with Israel unless the Netanyahu government agrees to a complete settlement freeze and publicly accepts a two-state solution, Abbas has told The Washington Post in an interview.

And since he does not believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will lift his opposition on these issues, Abbas and his leadership expect American pressure to gradually force Netanyahu out of office, the paper reported on Friday. "It will take a couple of years," it quoted one of Abbas's officials as saying.

Abbas was interviewed the day before his Thursday meeting at the White House with US President Barack Obama.

Setting out what the newspaper called "a hardline position," the Palestinian leader conditioned a resumption of talks with Israel on Netanyahu's agreement to a halt in all settlement building - a demand being repeatedly stressed by Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other senior US officials - and formal Israeli government acceptance of Palestinian statehood.

Abbas added that he would not even assist Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, in trying to encourage Arab states to begin warming relations with Israel until Israel accepted these conditions. "We can't talk to the Arabs until Israel agrees to freeze settlements and recognizes the two-state solution," Abbas was quoted saying. "Until then we can't talk to anyone."

However, The Washington Post went on, "Abbas and his team fully expect that Netanyahu will never agree to the full settlement freeze - if he did, his center-right coalition would almost certainly collapse. So they plan to sit back and watch while US pressure slowly squeezes the Israeli prime minister from office. 'It will take a couple of years,' one official breezily predicted."

Abbas, the article continued, "rejects the notion that he should make any comparable concession - such as recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, which would imply renunciation of any large-scale resettlement of refugees."

Abbas intends to remain passive, he told the paper. "I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements… Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life."

Abbas also told The Washington Post that former prime minister Ehud Olmert accepted the principle of a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees and offered to resettle thousands of Palestinians in Israel. And he said Olmert proposed a Palestinian state on 97 percent of the West Bank, and showed him its contours on a map.

Abbas said he turned down Olmert's peace offer because "the gaps were too wide."

"What's interesting about Abbas's hardline position," wrote The Washington Post's Jackson Diehl, who conducted the interview along with a colleague, "is what it says about the message that Obama's first Middle East steps have sent to Palestinians and Arab governments." While the Bush administration placed the onus for change in the Middle East on the Palestinians, Diehl wrote, the Obama administration had shifted the focus to Israel.

The upshot, wrote Diehl, is that "in the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian."

The Palestinians, under Bush, knew that "until they put an end to terrorism, established a democratic government and accepted the basic parameters for a settlement, the United States was not going to expect major concessions from Israel," wrote Diehl.

But Obama, with his repeated demands for a settlement freeze, "has revived a long-dormant Palestinian fantasy: that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees, while Arabs passively watch and applaud."

As Abbas told his interviewers, "The Americans are the leaders of the world… They can use their weight with anyone around the world. Two years ago they used their weight on us. Now they should tell the Israelis, 'You have to comply with the conditions.'"

Diehl wrote that Netanyahu and the Likud party had not reconciled themselves "to the idea that Israel will have to give up most of the West Bank and evacuate tens of thousands of settlers" for a permanent accord. "But Palestinians remain a long way from swallowing reality as well. Setting aside Hamas and its insistence that Israel must be liquidated, Abbas - usually described as the most moderate of Palestinian leaders - last year helped doom Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, by rejecting a generous outline for Palestinian statehood."

Olmert's offer "was more generous to the Palestinians than either that of Bush or Bill Clinton," wrote Diehl. "It's almost impossible to imagine Obama, or any Israeli government, going further."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243346501041&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Friday, May 22, 2009

Bibi Rejects Obama's 'UN Flag at Kotel'; Star of David to Remain

Curt Here...

Netanyahu is really standing up to the pressure for peace and a two state solution from leaders around the world. The article posted below shows that Netanyahu is very serious about defending Israel's right to maintain not only it's current borders, but to also maintain control over the Temple Mount. He said "the flag that flies over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.”

I also find it very interesting that this article shows that Netanyahu is putting out a big effort to appeal to the Israeli religious community as this speech was given at Mercaz HaRav yeshiva (Which is commonly regarded as the flagship of national-religious yeshivas(Rabbinical Academy)) and it was made in the presence of Israel’s two chief rabbis. He said that "it is important for me to stay in warm communication with you." Are we seeing movement towards an Israeli Prime Minister being okay with the resumption of sacrifices and the building of a Temple? Way to early to tell, but definitely something to watch.

After years of Israeli leaders bending to international pressure, I have to admit this is quite refreshing. Having said that, it really does make me wonder how long the EU and the rest of the world will put up with it.

Things are really starting to shape up for next year.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Bibi Rejects Obama's 'UN Flag at Kotel'; Star of David to Remain

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said the president put forward the proposal during his visit to the White House last month.

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, "The flag that flies over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.”

Between 1949 and 1967, the religious sites in the City, as well as all of Judea and Samaria, had been under the control of Jordan, which forbid entry of Jews to the Western Wall (Kotel) and other holy places, as well as barring Christians from churches. Israel immediately opened all holy sites to all religions after the entire city was re-united in 1967, returning the Old City to Israeli sovereignty after nearly 2,000 years.

In his short but enthusiastic speech at the yeshiva, where an Arab terrorist slaughtered eight young students slightly more than a year ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu repeated his “Undivided Jerusalem” message.

The packed study hall of the yeshiva interrupted Prime Minister Netanyahu’s short speech several times with applause. The first clap of hands was in response to the statement that Israel’s capital “never will be divided again.” Jerusalem Day marks the day in the Six Day War upon which the Israel Defense Forces liberated the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem from Jordanian rule.

In an attempt to appeal to the national-religious community after years of neglect from a prime minister, Netanyahu said, “It is important for me to stay in warm communication with you. The connection with Jerusalem unites all sectors of the people, secular and religious, as one."

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had kept a very close relation with Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav when he was mayor of Jerusalem and attended annual Jerusalem Day ceremonies there, but he became more distant from religious institutions after he followed former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his new Kadima party.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s vow on Jerusalem was made in the presence of Israel’s two chief rabbis, Likud Knesset Member and former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, and Jewish Home party chairman MK Rabbi Daniel Hershkowitz.

It was the second time during the day he promised to keep the city united, having stated earlier in the day that “Jerusalem was always ours, will always be ours, and will never again be divided.” His speech was delivered at Ammunition Hill in memory of soldiers who fell in the Six-Day War in 1967.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131506

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Netanyahu: Jerusalem Will Never Be Divided Again

Curt Here...

Today in a state ceremony to mark Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Jerusalem will never be divide again and will always remain the capital of Israel.

These words of course run highly contrary to the intense international pressure that Netanyahu has been receiving for a peace treaty with the Arab nations and two state solution with the Palestinians. The two state solution includes a divided Jerusalem with the Palestinians receiving East Jerusalem as their capital.

As I stated in my last blog entry a two state solution or at least progress towards one is a requirement of the ENP agreement that Israel made with the EU. With the leadership of Israel being very clear on their position, I think we can expect the international pressure on Israel to rapidly increase and with the mid term review of the ENP coming in June-July 2010 we may have the mechanism in place where the EU feels like they have the right to force Israel to accept a two state solution.

Already today, Egypt's FM stated that Israel should be forced to accept a two state solution. This is the first time I have heard this from an international leader and I would suspect that this will only increase.

With President Obama scheduled to unveil a new peace plan on June 4th, Israel will soon find themselves standing alone on their desire to keep Jerusalem united under an Israeli flag.

Hang on it is going to get interesting.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Netanyahu: Jerusalem will never be divided again

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday that all of Jerusalem would always remain under Israeli sovereignty, in comments likely to spark consternation among Palestinians who hope to make the city the capital of a future state.

"United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," Netanyahu said at a state ceremony to mark Jerusalem Day.

Netanyahu said he had made the same declaration during his recent visit to Washington, where he met with United States President Barack Obama over the peace process and Iran's nuclear program.

Jerusalem Day celebrates the conquest of the city during the 1967 Six Day War, before which Jordan controlled east Jerusalem, while Israel had the western section. Shortly after the war, Israel annexed east Jerusalem.

"Only under Israeli sovereignty will united Jerusalem ensure the freedom of religion and freedom of access for the three religions to the holy places," Netanyahu added.

The ceremony took place at Ammunition Hill in east Jerusalem, site of one of the bloodiest battles in the city in the 1967 war, situated now in a Jewish neighborhood.

Palestinians: Netanyahu's comments invite 'eternal' conflict

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said later Thursday that Netanyahu's position on Jerusalem was a setback to the goal of a two-state solution, which is strongly supported by the Obama administration.

"Mr. Netanyahu, by saying that, he's saying the state of conflict will be eternal," Erekat said.

In his speech, Netanyahu echoed remarks made by President Shimon Peres, who said earlier at the ceremony that, "Israel will never have another capital other than Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will never be the capital of another people."

Peres stressed that Jerusalem was and remained Israel's capital, and spoke of the days before the Six Day war when Jews had limited access to the Old City.

"When Jerusalem was in non-Jewish hands, the Jews weren't allowed to pray at the holy sites; but under Jewish control, it is open to all faiths, and all prayers," he said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1087232.html

Egypt FM: Israel should be forced to accept two-state solution

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/ShowTickers.jhtml

Monday, May 18, 2009

Obama Presses Two-State Solution in U.S.-Israel Talks

Curt Here...

Today President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today at the White House for their first face to face talks since both leaders came into office. During their meeting President Obama pressured Netanyahu to commit to a two state solution with the Palestinians.

As I suspected Netanyahu failed to commit to this idea, mainly because in the past the Palestinian people and the terrorist organization Hamas, have failed to recognize that Israel has the right to exist. Hamas has repeatedly stated their desire to wipe Israel of the face of the earth and there really are no signs that this mindset has changed. Netanyahu is right to not negotiate towards a two state solution until at the very least the Palestinians agree to let Israel live peacefully without fear of annihilation.

This of course does not look like it is going to happen anytime soon and it is the major problem that many world leaders have tried to solve over the past 60 years. Which brings me to where I think we might be today. Keep in mind that the following is just my opinion and of course I could be wrong.

If the ENP is the 7 year covenant as described in Daniel 9 than I suspect the following could occur. With the existing ENP agreement between the EU, and Israel already 2 1/2 years into the 7 year set time frame, and with a mid term review scheduled for June-July of 2010, I think we might have the agreement in place that forces Israel to finally make a decision on the whole two state solution discussion. You see, part of the ENP agreement is that Israel is required to make progress towards a two state solution by the mid-point of the 7 year agreement.

I suspect that Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu will not agree to two state solution by next summer nor will they make significant progress towards this goal. Even though they will be under intense international pressure, Netanyahu recognizes the danger a two state solution is towards the future existance of his country. This will force the EU to act. With the approval of the UN, US and the rest of the world the EU will try to forcefully make Israel abide to their ENP agreement. This I believe will then snowball into the end time events that we see described in the Bible. The last 3 1/2 years and the Great Tribulation will start soon after.

If the ENP is the foretold covenant then we will also see the global economic situation continue to deteriorate, so at or soon after the mid-point the AC will have the ability to control who buys or sells.

Like I said earlier this could all be wrong, as only God knows all of the details of His Son's return. The ENP could very well not be the agreement that is described in the Bible, but as of right now I see nothing to disqualify it. But with time quickly running out on the ENP being the foretold covenant we should know pretty soon if the ENP has prophetic implications, and if it does not I will be here to say it.

One thing is for sure, there are signs all around us of our Saviour's soon return. What a great day that will be.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Obama presses two-state solution in U.S.-Israel talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday pressed a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict but failed to win a commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back Palestinian statehood.

In their first White House talks, Obama also urged Netanyahu to freeze Jewish settlement building but sought to reassure Israelis wary about his overtures to Iran that he would not wait indefinitely for diplomatic progress toward curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The two leaders tried to paper over their differences as Obama waded into the thicket of Middle East diplomacy four months after taking office, but the divisions were hard to ignore between Israel and its superpower ally.

"It is in the interests not only of the Palestinians but also the Israelis, the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution," Obama told reporters with Netanyahu sitting beside him.

Netanyahu, who heads a new right-leaning Israeli coalition, reiterated that he supported self-government for the Palestinians but made no mention of a state, a position underscoring a rare rift in U.S.-Israeli relations.

"I did not say two states for two peoples," Netanyahu said later at a solo briefing with reporters.

"We need to deliberate to clarify this. Does it mean a Hamas state? I hope not. So how do I ensure it's not a Hamas state, an entity that threatens Israel security? I think that's a fundamental question," Netanyahu said.

Hamas Islamists, who have rejected Western calls to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace accords, took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, leaving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas governing essentially only in the West Bank.

NETANYAHU DISAPPOINTS PALESTINIANS

Nabil Abu Rdainah, senior aide to Abbas, lauded Obama's commitment to a two-state solution, the cornerstone of U.S. Mideast policy, but called Netanyahu's words "disappointing."

For more click the link... http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSTRE54H0P520090518

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Jordan king to Netanyahu: Israel must accept Palestinian state

Curt Here...

The amount of pressure by world leaders being applied towards new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasing by the day. So far this week we have had the Pope who has been in the Holy Land these past few days call for a "just and lasting peace" that includes a two state solution.

Today the King of Jordan has told Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel must accept a Palestinian state. He called on Israel to immediately commit to this reality. He also called on Netanyahu to declare his acceptance of the Arab peace plan.

Next stop for Netanyahu will be the US and a meeting with President Barak Obama, where the message will surely be the same. He will meet with President Obama next Monday May 18th in Washington D.C.

At some point Netanyahu will have to respond to all of these demands from leaders from across the globe. I suspect that the world will not like his response.

We shall soon see.

Stay Tuned.

Curt

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Pope calls for Palestinian state

Pope Benedict XVI has offered his support for the Palestinians' right to a homeland as he continues his Middle East tour in the West Bank.

Speaking in a Bethlehem refugee camp, he said he understood frustrations that their "legitimate aspirations" for a Palestinian state were unfulfilled.

Standing beside him, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to embrace peace.

Earlier, the pontiff said he prayed for a lifting of Israel's embargo on Gaza.

The BBC's Tim Franks said that the Pope used the stark backdrop of a Palestinian refugee camp to deliver one of his strongest expressions of support for the Palestinians.

Standing in the shadow of Israel's separation wall in the Aida refugee camp, which houses refugees from Israel's creation in 1948, the Pope called the barrier a symbol of "stalemate" between Israel and the Palestinians.

"In a world where more and more borders are being opened up - to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges - it is tragic to see walls still being erected," he said.

He told the refugees that his heart went out to families divided by detention and restrictions on freedom of movement, a reference to Israeli military control of the West Bank.

"It is understandable that you often feel frustrated. Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian state, remain unfulfilled."

He added: "Although walls can be easily built, we all know that they do not last forever. They can be taken down. First, though, it is necessary to remove the walls that we build around our hearts."

For more click the link.....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8047134.stm

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Jordan king to Netanyahu: Israel must accept Palestinian state

Jordan's king pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to immediately commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state, as the monarch pursued a sweeping resolution of the Muslim world's conflicts with Israel.

King Abdullah II made the comments during a meeting in the Red Sea city of Aqaba with Netanyahu, who made an unannounced, lightning visit to neighboring Jordan. He urged the Israeli leader to immediately declare his acceptance of the Arab peace initiative and to take necessary steps to move forward toward a solution, according to a royal palace communique.

The statement did not give Netanyahu's response, and a spokesman for the Israeli leader was not immediately available for comment.

The monarch, who has been seeking to lay the groundwork for restarting Israel-Arab peace efforts, called on Netanyahu to halt West Bank settlement building and refrain from actions that would change the facts on the ground. He also urged the prime minister to lift checkpoints in the Palestinian territory and the blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Additionally, Abdullah said an Arab initiative presented a historic opportunity to reach a comprehensive peace deal in the Middle East.

The Arab peace plan would offer Israel relations with the 23 Arab League members in exchange for its withdrawal from land it captured in the 1967 Six Day War, a just solution for Palestinian refugees and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The king, whose lobbying has been in step with the Obama administration's efforts to link progress on Israel-Arab peacemaking to progress on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, said there is consensus in the international community that there is no alternative to the two-state solution.

Netanyahu will likely hear a similar message when he meets President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday.

The U.S. says moderate Arab states such as Jordan will not join a united front against Tehran unless Israel moves vigorously on peacemaking.

While Netanyahu has been trying to forge cooperation with those nations to counter the threat from Iran and its regional proxies - Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip - he has pointedly refused to endorse Palestinian statehood.

Abdullah has recently warned that delaying a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians would be disastrous for both sides, and criticized Israel's failure to formulate a specific policy regarding West Bank settlements.

For more click the link...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1085493.html

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Netanyahu Prepares for Obama: Israel to Be Left Alone in World?

Curt Here...

This article posted below does a very nice job of summing up the diplomatic activity over the last couple of weeks between the US and Israel. It is just as I suspected maybe even worse. The new US administration has effectively in just a few short weeks radically changed the US's 60 year relationship with the nation of Israel.

The old US policy's would be to protect the nation of Israel at any cost against their radical Muslim neighbors. Today the new US policy's will leave Israel to face Iran and Hamas alone and at the same time these new policy's will back Israel into a corner. It appears as if the only way out, will be to accept some sort of peace agreement that includes a two state solution with the Palestinians.

How can you have peace with a group of people who want nothing more than to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth? Iran and Hamas to this day refuse to acknowledge that Israel has the right to exist. How does our new administration not see this?

Peace, peace there is no peace, until the Prince of Peace returns. I hope soon.

Stay tuned.

Curt

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Netanyahu Prepares for Obama: Israel to Be Left Alone in World?

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prepares for his visit to the United States next week, warnings abound that the Obama Administration’s policies will leave Israel to face Iran and Hamas alone.

The warnings are summed up in recent articles by the West’s two main pro-Israel female commentators: Melanie Phillips and Caroline Glick. Writing in the Spectator (United Kingdom) last week, Philips warns that “Obama is attempting to throw Israel under the Islamist bus.” She cites the report that Obama’s National Security Adviser told a European foreign minister that Obama will be ‘forceful’ with Israel, and plans to impose, with the EU and moderate Arab states, "a satisfactory endgame solution" upon Israel.

PA State: Evil and Stupid

“This is all not only evil,” Phillips says, “but exceptionally stupid… The Arab states are beside themselves with anxiety about Iran. They want it to be attacked and its nuclear programme stopped. They are desperately fearful that the Obama administration might have decided that it can live with a nuclear Iran… A Palestine state will be Iran, in the sense that it will be run by Hamas as a proxy for the Islamic Republic. The idea that a Palestine state will not compromise Israel’s security is ludicrous.”

American Jewry: Spineless

After expressing incredulity at the American demands for further Israeli concessions in the light of the utter failure of the Disengagement, Phillips writes that U.S. Jews are reacting “with a total absence of spine… Almost eighty per cent of American Jews voted for Obama despite the clear and present danger he posed to Israel. They did so because their liberal self-image was and is more important to them than the Jewish state whose existence and security cannot be allowed to jeopardise their standing with America’s elite.”

Netanyahu must therefore take Israel’s message to “the ordinary American people,” she concludes: “They do value and support Israel. They do understand that if Israel is thrown under that bus, the west is next. And it is they to whom Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu must now appeal, over the heads of the politicians and the media and certainly America’s Jews and everyone else. He must tell the American people the terrible truth, that America is now run by a man who is intent on sacrificing Israel for a reckless and amoral political strategy which will put America and the rest of the free world at risk.”

Glick: Obama Forcing Israel into Corner

Caroline Glick, writing in The Jerusalem Post, states that ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, “the Obama administration is ratcheting up its anti-Israel rhetoric and working feverishly to force Israel into a corner.”

She notes that quartet mediator Tony Blair has announced that within six weeks the US, EU, UN and Russia will unveil a new framework for establishing a Palestinian state, and that it is “being worked on at the highest level in the American administration."

Obama Humiliates Peres

Yet another milestone in the U.S. path towards abandoning Israel is the “humiliating reception” President Shimon Peres received from Obama. Visiting in Washington last week, “Peres was tasked with calming the waters ahead of Netanyahu's visit. It was hoped that he could introduce a more collegial tone to US-Israel relations.” However, the Obama government barred all media from covering the event, thus “transform[ing] what was supposed to be a friendly visit with a respected and friendly head of state into a back-door encounter with an unwanted guest, who was shooed in and shooed out of the White House without a sound.”

Abrogating 40 Years of Understanding

Another point raised by Glick and Eli Lake of The Washington Times: US Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller told the UN that Israel and others must adhere to the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty), thus effectively abrogating a 40-year-old US-Israeli understanding that the US would remain silent about Israel's nuclear program because it understood that it is defensive, not offensive in nature. The statement also erases “any distinction between nuclear weapons in the hands of US allies and democratic states and nuclear weapons in the hands of US enemies and terror states,” Glick wrote.

“The fact that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, all chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab world will disappear,” Glick continues, “is of no interest to Obama and his advisers. They do not care that the day after [Hamas said it was] suspending its attacks against Israel from Gaza, the Iranian-controlled terror regime took credit for several volleys of rockets shot against Israeli civilian targets from Gaza.”

“The operational significance of the administration's anti-Israel positions is that Israel will not be well served by adopting a more accommodating posture toward the Palestinians and Iran,” Glick concludes.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131277

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Peres: Israel Supports Two-State Solution, Iran Engagement

Curt Here...

After a couple of weeks of intense pressure from both the EU and the US to reignite the negotiations for peace in the Middle East it appears as if the new Israeli leadership has caved into the Western powers demands. According to Israeli President Shimon Peres Israel is on board with key elements of President Obama's agenda in the Middle East.

Peres said that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "will cooperate (with) the commitments of the previous (Israeli) government. The previous government accepted the road map (to Middle East peace). In the road map, you'll find the attitude to the two-state solution."

Netanyahu went on to say that he was ready to "start to negotiate right away" and does not want to "govern the Palestinian people."

In return for Israel agreeing to return to the negotiation table the US will continue to engage Iran and try to deter their nuclear ambitions, but the US has made it clear that if Israel does not meet it's obligations towards a two state solution with the Palestinians the US will not help them with Iran.

With friend like these who needs enemies.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Peres: Israel Supports Two-State Solution, Iran Engagement

Israel is on board with key elements of President Obama's agenda in the Middle East, Israeli President Shimon Peres told reporters Tuesday after meeting with Obama at the White House.

He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would support a two-state solution to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians and that if Obama wants to engage Iran, the Israelis are willing to back him.

"Mr. Netanyahu said he will cooperate (with) the commitments of the previous (Israeli) government. The previous government accepted the roadmap (to Middle East peace). In the roadmap, you'll find the attitude to the two-state solution," Peres said.

He said Netanyahu is ready to "start to negotiate right away" and does not want to "govern the Palestinian people."

The Tuesday sit-down was meant to lay the groundwork for a meeting later this month with Netanyahu which the U.S. president hopes will lead to a resumption of the Middle East peace process.

The White House released a statement Tuesday noting that Peres and Obama discussed issues "including the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East and Iran's nuclear program" and saying Obama looks forward to the meeting with Netanyahu.

Peres, more moderate than Netanyahu, had been downplaying the new Israeli leader's previous refusal to endorse the "two-state solution" that has been the foundation of U.S. policy since early in the Bush administration.

The push for a two-state solution was also at the heart of a political flap Tuesday over the tone the administration was taking with its top ally in the Middle East.

Sources say the White House is considering offering Israel greater assistance in deterring Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for movement toward a Palestinian state. Israeli media reported that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel even privately told members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the Iran issue hinged on peace talks with Palestinians.

But officials later said Emanuel's comments were not meant to pressure the Israelis. Sources said he told AIPAC members that America's Arab allies, in particular Jordan, would find it easier to support tougher sanctions on Iran if there were progress toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Jordan's population contains more Palestinian refugees than native Jordanians.

"This administration does not believe that ... there's an either-or option here," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. "I think it's a pretty obvious point that while we can make progress on one it will help on the other. But we can do both simultaneously."

One official said the White House believes a two-state solution can minimize the influence of Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon, in turn depriving Iran of influence in and around Israel.

Vice President Biden bluntly set the administration's terms in the road to Middle East peace, in a speech Tuesday to AIPAC.

Biden challenged Israel to back a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians and urged the Jewish state's new leadership to demonstrate its commitment to such a solution. Biden also said Netanyahu's government should stop constructing new Jewish settlements and ease restrictions on Palestinians.

"Israel has to work toward a two-state solution," Biden said. "You're not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement."

Meanwhile, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai also were in Washington, in the run-up to a three-way meeting with Obama on Wednesday.

Zardari and Karzai will meet first Wednesday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before heading to the White House.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/05/obama-meets-israeli-president-amid-flap-iran-comments/