Arab party seethes over campaign video
I'm sure that most of you recall the name of
terror supporting MK
Hanin Zoabi. Once again, she's running for the Knesset. And Likud MK Danny Danon has released a video to try to stop her. The video is in Hebrew, but there's a link below with some of it translated into English.
Let's go to the videotape.
Zoabi's Balad party has vowed to file a complaint with the police over Danon's video, calling it incitement. More
here.
Labels: Balad, Danny Danon, Hanin Zoabi, Knesset elections 2015
Deri for Finance Minister?
Prime Minister Netanyahu was so desperate to avoid elections that on Saturday night he offered Shas' Aryeh Deri the finance ministry and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman a
one-year rotation as Prime Minister, according to Maariv's Ben Caspit (link in Hebrew).
Netanyahu had good reason for avoiding elections.
While the Right continues to lead in every poll of Right v. Left, polls have also shown that Netanyahu has become extremely unpopular with roughly 65% of Israeli voters hoping to see him replaced.
On Wednesday night, Labor party leader Yitzchak Herzog and egomaniac Tzipi Livni agreed to join forces in the Labor party and to rotate (two years each) as Prime Minister if they win.
The Right's victory in terms of numbers is not a sure thing. Haredi publications have indicated that they would prefer to go into a coalition with Labor over a coalition with Jewish Home party's Naftali Bennett, with whom they say they will not set. This would make it much harder for Prime Minister Netanyahu to form a coalition even if his party is the largest party in the election (which the polls indicate it may not be).
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has spent this week trying to advance the Likud primary from its scheduled January 6 date to
December 31 in order to avoid a challenge from former Education Minister Gidon Saar. Netanyahu will still be facing Moshe Feiglin and Danny Danon, both of whom are to his right. Saar is ideologically closer to Netanyahu.
Hmmm.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Gidon Saar, Knesset elections 2015, Likud party, Moshe Feiglin, Tzipi Livni, Yitzchak Herzog
Poll: IDF won Operation Protective Edge, Israel lost, Right would overwhelmingly win election
A poll by the Jerusalem Post and Maariv has found that 61% of Israelis agree with the proposition that the IDF won Operation Protective Edge...
but Israel lost.
Sixty-one percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the IDF had won while Israel had lost, while 32% percent disagreed and 7% did not have an opinion.
Respondents expressed frustration with the cease-fire that ended the operation with Hamas still in power in the Gaza Strip. Fifty-eight percent said the IDF should have been allowed to continue the operation in order to degrade the terrorist organization’s military abilities and called the truce a mistake that wastes the achievements of the Israeli armed forces.
Thirty-three percent said the cease-fire was a correct step that could lead toward a diplomatic solution to the Palestinian conflict via PA President Mahmoud Abbas and moderate Arab states like Egypt, and 9% had no opinion.
While a Channel 2 poll broadcasted on Wednesday found that only 32% of Israelis were satisfied with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, he fared better in the Post’s survey.
Nearly half of the respondents, 49%, said they were satisfied with Netanyahu’s performance, 26% said it was mediocre, 20% called it bad, and 5% had no opinion.
...
When asked which party they would vote for if an election were held now, respondents went overwhelmingly with the Right. According to the poll, the Right would win 84 of the 120 Knesset seats, up from its current 61.
The Likud would win 32 mandates, Bayit Yehudi 18, Yisrael Beytenu 17, Labor 12, United Torah Judaism 10, Yesh Atid nine, Shas seven, Meretz six and Arab parties nine.
Notice that the Tzippi Livni party - which Netanyahu fawned over in the aftermath of the last elections - disappeared.
Unless there's enough discontent in the Likud to make the coalition uncontrollable, there won't be new elections now. There is no way Netanyahu wants to head a coalition of the Right like that. Yes, I know, just yesterday I wrote that there would be new elections within six months. Those two assessments don't contradict each other. I believe that there is enough discontent in the Likud and people like Danny Dannon and Moshe Feiglin will rock the boat.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Israeli polls, Moshe Feiglin, Operation Protective Edge
MK: 'Obama talked to Netanyahu like he was the leader of the Taliban;' Reporter insists transcript authentic
MK Danny Danon, whom Prime Minister Netanyahu
fired as Deputy Defense Minister two weeks ago, has told Newsmax TV that President Obama talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday 'like he was the leader of the Taliban.'
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip:
Weasel Zippers)
Meanwhile, Channel 1 news anchor Oren Nahari, who on Tuesday night
released a transcript of the phone call between Obama and Netanyahu from Sunday, is
sticking to his story.
Oren Nahari explained tonight on Israel Television Mabat News that the American source of the Netanyahu-Obama conversation he reported last night was the source of the warning that President Obama would act if 1,000 die in Gaza.
Nahari insists that the report of the Netanyahu-Obama conversation is correct.
Here's the radio report from July 19 claiming that Obama would insist on an immediate cease fire if casualties in Gaza reached 1,000. A transcript in English follows. The report is seemingly correct. Nahari was the reporter who made the report.
Let's go to the videotape.
"A senior source in the American Administration says that if the number of dead among the Palestinians in Gaza reaches 1,000 President Obama will demand that Israel immediately ceases fire- in a conversation with our correspondent Oren Nahari." Israel Radio News bulletin 14:00 19 July 2014
Hmmm.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Gaza, Hamas, Israel Radio, Operation Protective Edge, Taliban
MK's deliver withering criticism of Kerry
Some of the
criticism of US Secretary of State John FN Kerry from Israeli MK's is positively withering. They say that the United States harmed Israel's interests.
“America harmed its allies in Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority by ignoring their demands and coming to the table with a plan that was not approved or even semi-approved by any of them," said Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beytenu). "Maybe it’s because they have a problem with the regime in Egypt and they thought that by going through Turkey and Qatar, they’d be seen as an honest broker. But instead, they lost the allies that they had and didn’t get any new ones. Kerry lost credibility in the eyes of everyone, and the president ended up undermining him.”
Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely said Israel must reject Obama’s cease-fire proposal, which she said only serves the interests of Hamas. She said the government of Israel must change the rules of the game in the Gaza Strip and defeat Hamas.
Her Likud colleague Danny Danon called upon Obama and his government to "cease firing at Israel."
"We need to withstand the exorbitant pressure that is put on us and deal with the interests of Israel," he said. "Would America cease fire on al-Qaida when it is being attacked? John Kerry is disconnected from reality and ignores the security concerns of Israel.”
MK Eli Yishai (Shas) said “The security of the citizens of Israel must come before our relations with the United States." He said that although Israel owed much to America, "that obligation cannot come at the expense of Israel’s future.”
The criticism of America's handling of the cease-fire proposal also came from the Left side of the political map.
“America has displayed a shameful lack of elementary understanding of how the Middle East works," said Hatnua faction chairman Meir Sheetrit, who ran for president last month. "No matter what America says, it is forbidden to end the war as long as there is a threat of tunnels and rockets. I hope our friends in the US and Europe won’t get in the way by insisting on an immediate ceasefire. The free world must support Israel, not weaken it, and I hope our friends in the US give us their backing.”
MK Nachman Shai (Labor) said Obama’s demand to stop the fighting prevents Israel from maximizing its military and public diplomacy achievements. He said he doubted America's ability to demilitarize Gaza and prevent future war there.
But there were also voices on the Left praising the US and attacking Netanyahu and his government.
Wow. I cannot remember the United States coming under attack by an ally like this. And I cannot remember the United States attacking an ally like this either. The attacks on Kerry are well-deserved.
Messianic? This is beyond Messianic.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Danny Danon, Eli Yishai, John Kerry, Nachman Shai, Operation Protective Edge, Tzipi Hotovely
Breaking: Netanyahu and Yaalon fire Danny Danon
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Boogie Yaalon have
fired Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon.
Danon had been highly critical of Netanyahu's security policies, often attacking the prime minister from the Right.
Netanyahu reportedly wrote in his decision to fire Danon, "At a time
that the Israeli government and the IDF are at the height of a military
campaign, it cannot be that the deputy defense minister attacks the
leadership of the state."
Earlier on Tuesday, after the security
cabinet decided to accept an Egyptian-initiated ceasefire to end the
current round of hostilities with Gaza, Danon stated that the truce was
"a slap in the face to all the residents of Israel, especially those in
the south who were willing to pay a heavy price for significant
achievements in the war on Hamas."
Danon has challenged
Netanyahu's leadership of the Likud over the past year as head of the
party's Central Committee. Despite his removal from his position as a
deputy minister, Danon will remain a Likud MK and chairman of the Likud
Central Committee.
Once again Netanyahu cowers before the Left and treats the Right with a heavy hand. His time to go will come.
This has nothing to do with Operation Protective Edge. This is Netanyahu taking the opportunity to do what he's wanted to do for a long time anyway.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Moshe Yaalon
Hamas gets its blackout
Remember six years ago when Hamas got caught holding a cabinet meeting during a 'blackout' when it was
broad daylight outside (look closely at the curtains)? Well, now much of Gaza really is plunged into darkness and it's their own doing. A 'Palestinian' rocket gone astray knocked out Gaza's power station on Sunday and Prime Minister Netanyahu has now ordered The Israel Electric Corporation (a government company)
not to fix it.
Seventy thousand Gazans from Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah were in
the dark Sunday night after a Hamas rocket hit the power line that
supplies electricity to those places. It's not clear when Israel
Electric Company workers will be able to repair the system, but they are
apparently in no rush to do so. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has
asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to
restore power to the affected sector in Gaza, an operation that could
take hours.
As Operation Protective Edge enters its seventh day, many Israelis are demanding that the country take
more aggressive action against Hamas in order to put a halt to the
seemingly endless missile attacks from Gaza. One suggestion that has
come up numerous times – including from MKs and Ministers like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon – is cutting off electricity to Gaza,which
Israel is still supplying. The Hamas missile, which hit one of the high
tension wires that move power from Israel to Gaza, apparently made that
a moot point, at least partially.
The Palestinian Authority currently owes the Israel Electric Company
NIS 1.5 billion ($525 million) in unpaid bills for electricity. An
examination of that debt by business daily Globes shows that the relative amount owed by Gaza was NIS 220 million ($62 million).
Last month, the IEC filed a petition with the High Court demanding to
be allowed to shut off electricity to the Palestinian Authority until
the debt was paid – or to allow the IEC to seize customs and aid
payments collected on behalf of the PA to pay off its debt. That case is
still pending.
Meanwhile, the IEC is still supplying electricity to Gaza, under orders from the government.
Not anymore it isn't. At least for now.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Gaza electricity supply, Hamas rockets, Israel Electric Corporation, Operation Protective Edge
An immoral choice
Claiming that the 'good' terrorists of the PLO are in charge anyway, US Secretary of State John FN Kerry vowed to
work with the newly declared Hamas-Fatah unity government.
"Based on what we know now, we intend to work with this government,"
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. "We will
continue to evaluate the composition and policies of the new
government, and if needed, we will recalibrate our approach."
Ministers in the new administration, whom Abbas has said would be politically unaffiliated, took the oath of office in a televised ceremony in Ramallah.
Psaki said the Obama administration has no intention of cutting off aid
to the Palestinian Authority, which amounts to roughly $500 million a
year-- pivotal funding for the cash-strapped organization.
The ministers in the government "appear to be technocratic," she said,
adding that the US "will be judging this government by its actions."
US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu by phone moments before Psaki's announcement.
...
US financial aid to the Palestinian Authority through 2014 has already
been appropriated by the US Congress, but not obligated; the State
Department must approve requests for how the funds are spent, and the
PA must file those requests.
Funding for 2015 has not yet been drafted, and already, members of the appropriations committees on Capitol Hill are suggesting a cut in aid because of the deal.
Knesset Member and Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon called recognition of and aid to the new 'government' a
moral dilemma.
"You cannot play a game with this, the same way you cannot hide the
fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization," Danon said. "You look at
the wording of the law, it says its not a Hamas appointment but the
involvement of Hamas. And its a moral decision today that the
administration has to make, whether they believe the unity government
is bad and whether they will follow the law."
I would say that the choice that the Obama-Kerry administration made today was an immoral one, because it brings another terror organization in out of the cold. Danon seems to agree.
Danon said the Palestinian Authority would not collapse if the US
cut aid, as the administration has suggested; they have other sources
of funding, the minister said. But "it will make it harder for them,"
he added.
"Very clearly," Danon added, appropriations law from
the US Congress stipulates that, "if there is a unity government with
Hamas, no funding shall be transferred to the PA." Danon also took
meetings at the Pentagon during his visit to Washington.
It sounds like the cow has fled the barn for 2014, but with the 2015 budget and midterm elections coming up, I doubt Congress will appropriate money for these creeps for next year.
Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take until
Mr. Hamdullah gets invited to Washington? I'd say invitation goes out November 5 and carries a date in early December.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Danny Danon, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Jen Psaki, John Kerry, Rami Hamdullah, US foreign aid
Deputy Defense Minister Dannon: Stop the 'talks'!
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon is urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to
stop the 'talks' with the 'Palestinian Authority' over extending the 'talks' beyond April 29 in light of the 'Palestinians' refusal to condemn Monday's terror attack.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon told Israel Radio on Wednesday that
Netanyahu should order Israeli negotiators not to meet with their
Palestinian counterparts – as they are scheduled to do later on in the
evening – until the Palestinian Authority officially issues a
condemnation of the killing.
“Palestinian incitement continues, so there’s no place for more
talks,” Danon said. “We need to stop folding and begging [before the
Palestinians].”
The deputy defense minister, who is leading the
hawkish opposition to Netanyahu from within the ruling Likud faction,
repeated his threat to tender his resignation in the event that Israel
frees additional Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorist acts.
Danon criticized the United States for its “double standard” in pressuring Israel to free Palestinian terrorists.
Israeli-Palestinian
contacts to extend negotiations past their April 29 deadline continue,
despite Monday evening’s terrorist attack that killed a police officer
on his way with his family to a Seder in Kiryat Arba.
The negotiations were to continue on Wednesday, even as Netanyahu held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the murder.
Meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged 'restraint' and said that the United States disagrees with a
New York Times call to give up on the Middle East.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Jen Psaki, Middle East peace process, New York Times, Palestinian terrorism, Palestinian terrorists
Danon fires right back at Netanyahu
In an earlier post, I reported that Prime Minister Netayahu has
threatened to fire Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon if Danon does not
resign over the release next week of another 26 'Palestinian' terrorists. But Danon is not backing down and has issued another threat: He says that he will
oust Netanyahu as head of the Likud if Netanyahu signs US Secretary of State John FN Kerry's 'framework agreement.'
Speaking Thursday in an interview with Army Radio, Danon said that US
Secretary of State John Kerry's yet-to-be publicly released framework
agreement can not be accepted by the head of the right-wing faction.
"This framework would mean the abandonment of the Jordan Valley, a
return to the 67 lines and the division of Jerusalem," Danon stated.
"We
are a democratic faction and their will be a race for the leadership
when we get to that point. However, as someone who knows the hearts of
Likud members, we will not support a framework that brings us in line
with the positions of [Justice Minister] Tzipi Livni."
If there were a fair vote of the Likud's membership, my guess is that in this case Danon would win. But Netanyahu has
played dirty before. Danon
should have been a minister and not just a deputy. And the younger generation is
much more right wing than Netanyahu's generation.
Pass the popcorn. One of them could end up starting his own party.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Likud Central Committee, Likud party, Likud Young Generation
Netanyahu claims he'll fire Danon if he doesn't resign
On Wednesday, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon
threatened to resign if more 'Palestinian' terrorists are released on schedule next week. On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office says that
Danon will be fired unless he resigns.
If Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon does not follow through with
his threat and resigns, he will be fired, sources close to Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday evening.
The comments came after Danon, who met with bereaved mothers earlier Wednesday, said he would resign unless the fourth tranche of the release of terrorist murderers is cancelled.
...
Responding to Danon’s threats, sources close to Netanyahu told Channel 2 News that “enough was enough”.
"We're tired of his cheap politics,” they said, adding, “You do not
threaten the prime minister. Danon is threatening to resign because he
has already received information about the letter of dismissal that the
prime minister is preparing for him."
Danon's associates, unfazed by Netanyahu’s threats, said in response,
"This is not the first time that we have been threatened with dismissal
over the past year.”
I'm really glad that threat came from Netanyahu's office and not from Netanyahu himself. You see, Netanyahu firing Danon would be a mistake of
biblical proportions. Two weeks ago, Netanyahu himself admitted that he has
lost control of the Likud. Dannon is one of the young, up and coming stars to whom Netanyahu has lost control. Danon is far more popular in the Likud than is Netanyahu. Danon is far more in line with the mainstream thinking of the Likud membership than is Netanyahu. Firing Danon would be a foolish act of hubris.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Likud party, Likud Young Generation, Palestinian terrorists
Danon threatens to resign if more terrorists are released
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) told a group of mothers of terror victims on Wednesday that he has
threatened to resign from the government if the fourth release of 'Palestinian' terrorists goes through as scheduled on March 28.
Danon sent the threat to Netanyahu and revealed it in a meeting with mothers of terror victims in the Knesset.
"I believe that by working together, we can stop the unnecessary release
of terrorists and prevent it," Danon told the mothers. "There is no
reason to release these murderers. If there will be a fourth round, I
won't sit in the government anymore."
Arutz Sheva
adds:
"In the last few weeks,” said Danon, “the mask has been removed from
the face of Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], and it Is clear that nothing will
come of the negotiations. I will not sit in a government that releases
terrorists in exchange for Tzipi Livni's fantasies,” he declared. “There
is a limit to how much we can pay like suckers, in return for the
smiles of Livni and Erekat.”
Justice Minister Livni is the head of the Israeli negotiating team in
talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), while Saeb Erekat heads the
PA delegation.
"Despite my opposition in the past,” Danon explained. “we released
terrorists in exchange for sitting around the negotiating table, in the
hope that this would lead to Palestinian concessions.
But the
Palestinians have us wrapped around their little finger and are proud of
it. They take advantage of our sincere desire for peace, while uttering
threats of boycotts, in order to release terrorists from jail. I will
stop assisting this.”
MK Danon said that he has sent a letter to the prime minister,
demanding to cancel the final release of terrorists that is planned for
next week. The PA published the names of 30 terrorists who it says are
to be freed. It includes 14 Arab citizens of Israel and four residents
of east Jerusalem.
Minister Naftali Bennett said that no Israeli Arabs will be released.
"Now that it is clear to everyone that there is no advance in
the negotiations – all there is is the firing of missiles [from Gaza]
and an escalation by Abu Mazen on his side – I think it is time for the
Cabinet to discuss the matter of the fourth tranche in order to try and find the logic [in a release] when Abu Mazen is already saying – 'I just want the terrorists and then I will derail the negotiations.'”
"So, we will give him terrorists just so he can derail the negotiations? What is the logic in this?”
Danon was number 9 on
Likud - Beiteinu's Knesset list in the last election, and despite his not being in Netanyahu's court (to put it mildly), Danon is considered an up and coming star. Hmmm.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorists, Saeb Erekat, Tzipi Livni
Netanyahu to form new party?
From London Heathrow, awaiting take off....
Prime Minister Netanyahu moved a step closer to leaving the Likud and forming his own party on Monday as the Tel Aviv district court ruled that
he cannot prevent items from coming to a vote before the Likud's Central Committee.
The Likud's law committee had ruled
that the power to convene the party's central committee could be taken
away from the party leader and given to the head of the central
committee, hawkish Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon. When an
internal Likud court overruled the law committee, Danon took Netanyahu
to the external court.
Judge Dafna Avnieli ruled in Danon's favor and forced Netanyahu's
lawyers, who work for the party, to pay Danon NIS 40,000 in legal bills.
In her ruling, she criticized Netanyahu for trying to paralyze the
party's institutions.
The significance of the ruling is that Danon
will now be able to convene the central committee next month for votes
on key issues Netanyahu opposes, including opposing territorial
concessions and preventing a merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor
Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party.
And Netanyahu may be on his way out.. except that you have to wonder how many MK's will follow.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Likud Central Committee, Likud party
Jews rally for housing in E1 (between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim)
Today is a (short) travel day, but it's snowing here in Boston and I have to work for a few hours so posting may be light. Or if I get stuck in an airport or use the WiFi on the plane it may not be so light....
For weeks now, I've been seeing signs about a rally in E1 - the area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim in which the Obama administration
prevented Israeli construction several months ago. The rally is on Thursday, and Deputy Defense Minister and MK Danny Danon (Likud) says
Washington is watching.
There is no doubt that Washington will be watching, Danon told Arutz
Sheva. “It is important that the Americans observe the events, and that
they realize that there are limits to what a government led by the
national camp can do,” he said.
“I think that in the situation we are in today, there is great
significance to an event like this,” he said. Senior political leaders
from the Knesset and the coalition will be present, he said, “and will
tell the Prime Minister that there are things we cannot agree to, and
one of those things is [dividing] Jerusalem.”
“I’m sure they will follow this event in Jerusalem and in Washington,
and it’s a good thing, too. The message needs to be heard loud and
clear,“ he said.
“The Prime Minister, too, who will sit down with President Obama next
month, needs to make it clear that he represents a certain population,
with certain values,” Danon continued. “With all due respect to the
pressure Obama applies, when it comes to matters like compromising on
Jerusalem and evacuating Jews, that is something that [Netanyahu] cannot
do even if he were to agree.
“I hope he doesn’t agree,” Danon added. “But even if he does, he
needs to realize that politically speaking, there are things that can’t
be done.”
I hope a lot of people show up. According to my
weather report, it's a warm and beautiful day in Jerusalem. The temperature is about 40 degrees warmer than here (which is 10 degrees warmer than it was here last night)....
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Boston, Danny Danon, E-1, East Jerusalem, Maaleh Adumim, snow
'Friends don't put ultimatums on the security of the state of Israel'
Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon blasted US Secretary of State John FN Kerry on Saturday night after Kerry threatened Israel with '
global boycotts' if the 'peace process' fails.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday threatened Israel that a
failure in the peace talks would lead to global boycotts and
delegitimization of the Jewish state. The warning comes as no surprise
to those familiar with reports earlier in the month, which revealed that
Kerry is orchestrating the European boycotts against Israel.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon responded to Kerry's threats of
boycotts, saying "we respect Secretary of State Kerry but will not hold
talks with a gun to our head. Friends don't put ultimatums on the
security of the state of Israel."
Speaking at a security council in Munchen, Germany, Kerry also
mentioned Defense Secretary Moshe Ya'alon's comments calling Kerry "messianic" and "obsessive" in trying to force Israel to submit to a peace deal, which would include massive territorial withdrawals and an Arab capital in Jerusalem.
"I'm a little surprised by the articles quoting statements on
obsession or a fanatical effort to try and achieve peace," remarked
Kerry. "We're just working hard, and I still am full of hope that our
efforts will succeed and bring a peace agreement."
At the same time that he rejected accusations of "fanaticism," Kerry
stated "we're working hard, because the consequences of failure are
unacceptable to us." Kerry's plan reportedly includes Israeli withdrawals along the 1949 Armistice lines.
Danon declared in response "we will make decisions that guard the
interests of the state of Israel. If we made choices based on the
various forecasts of boycotts, we wouldn't be here today. In the past we
saw that wherever the IDF wasn't present terror takes root."
Unfortunately, it's still a long time to 2017.... But Kerry is a disgrace.
Labels: Danny Danon, John Kerry
Bennett slams idea of leaving 'settlers' in 'Palestinian state'
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office has confirmed that he meant to say in Davos on Friday that Israel proposes
leaving Jewish towns and their inhabitants in a 'Palestinian state' as part of a 'peace agreement.' Jewish Home party leader
Naftali Bennett reacted on Sunday evening with fury.
Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) quickly shot down the idea in a Facebook post.
“The idea that Jewish communities will live under Palestinian
sovereignty, as expressed by the Prime Minister's Office, is a very
grave matter, and it reflects a panicked loss of values,” said Bennett.
"2,000 years of longing for the Land of Israel did not transpire so that
we could live under Abu Mazen's rule”
The idea “pulls the ground out from beneath our settlement of Tel Aviv” as well, he stated.
Bennett called on Netanyahu to immediately deny that the idea reflects his policy.
He wants Netanyahu to deny the truth? Maybe Bennett needs to wake up to reality. Saying that he's going to leave the revenants behind in a 'Palestinian state' has two huge advantages for Netanyahu and for his Leftist allies (like Yair Lapid whom Bennett helped bring into the government). First, he avoids the heart-rending scenes of the IDF forcibly expelling Jews from their homes. And second, he avoids having to pay 'compensation' when the revenants flee for their lives into a rump state of Israel.
It is Netanyahu - and not Bennett - who has learned the lessons of the Gaza expulsion. And in fact, Ehud Olmert would have done the same thing in 2006 had the Second Lebanon War not quashed his plans. It's a brilliant strategy. Despicably evil, but brilliant.
Others knew better than Bennett how to respond to Netanyahu.
Two hawkish Likud MKs also warned against Netanyahu's idea. Deputy
Minister of Transportation, MK Tzipi Hotovely, said that “a diplomatic
plan that relegates the Jewish settlement enterprise to Palestinian
sovereignty will not receive political backing in Likud. The commitment
not to uproot settlements is not enough. It is important that Israeli
sovereignty be maintained.”
Deputy Defense Minister MK Danny Danon rejected the plan and said:
“Whoever thinks that Jews will live under Palestinian control in Judea
and Samaria is invited to try and visit Gaza today and understand the
meaning of 'tolerance' in the Middle East.”
Danon added: “In areas where the military will not be present and
bear responsibility – no Jew will enjoy security. We will not abandon
the settlers behind enemy lines.”
The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel warned against implementing the idea and said that it will lead to a bloodbath.
“One of the basic civil rights is the right to life,” stated Forum
Director Nahi Eyal. “No one has a moral and legal right to hand over
responsibility for the security of Israel's citizens to Palestinian
policemen and murderers whom the government released from jail in recent
months.”
Well, yes. But you'd have to go back to the Shamir government (1990-92) to find the last government in this country in which moral and legal values were predominant.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Gaza expulsion, Judea and Samaria, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, revenants, Tzipi Hotovely
Terrorists throw grenade at Israeli school bus; Israel prepares to release more terrorists
The world has gone mad.
As
terror attacks increase in Judea and Samaria, Israel is preparing to
release another 26 'Palestinian' murderers. And the response of the so-called 'Right' in Netanyahu's cabinet? They're proposing a
bill to prevent the release of terrorists.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud Beytenu) worked to convince ministers to vote against the prisoner release planned for next week.
"The attempt to harm innocent children shows that the Palestinian
Authority doesn't want to talk peace; it wants to make war," Deputy
Education Minister Avi Wortzman (Bayit Yehudi) said.
Wortzman
called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to "do the right thing" and
vote for the Bayit Yehudi's bill against prisoner releases.
The
deputy minister's remarks came after an improvised explosive device was
thrown at an Israeli school bus transporting students Friday morning
near the village of Yaabud, not far from Jenin. No injuries or damage
were reported.
Similarly, MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi) said
"incitement against Israel in the Palestinian Authority is increasing,
as are terror attacks."
"There is no good reason to free
terrorists and murderers with blood on their hands. It's immoral and
hurts Israel's security," Yogev added.
On Sunday, The Ministerial
Committee for Legislation is scheduled to vote on a bill proposed by the
Bayit Yehudi and coalition chairman Yariv Levine (Likud Beytenu)
prohibiting prisoner releases.
Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) and the Likud MK's who claim to oppose the 'two-state solution' (which is most of them) were to threaten to leave the coalition, and be willing to act on that threat, there's a good chance that Netanyahu would stop this collective suicide.
But don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. Our '
elected representatives' are far more concerned with their seats, and with their cars and other perks, than they are about actually doing what's best for the country. And besides, Obama and Kerry would cry if Israel didn't release the terrorists.
Woe unto the people of Israel!
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian terrorism, two-state solution, unilateral concessions
Iran and North Korea respond to Netanyahu
Two countries felt that they needed to respond to Prime Minister Netanyahu's UN General Assembly speech: Iran and North Korea.
Anne Bayefsky reports:
North Korea called Israel “a cancer in the Middle East.”
The Iranian ambassador pounded his chest and then said Iran was guilty of nothing but a “smile attack.”
Ironically, the two made Netanyahu’s case for him. The threats of
antisemitism and of nuclear weapons in the hands of states sponsors of
terror are inextricably bound.
The Israeli Prime Minister pointed to a series of inconvenient facts
about Iranian intentions and actions that the Obama administration has
either rejected or ignored in its quest for peace in our time.
When the Iranian regime’s stooges chant “death to the Jews” they mean
it. Rouhani is “acceptable” inside Iran because he’s a loyal follower
of its Supreme Leader.
There was nothing democratic about Rouhani’s election, which came after 99% of candidates were banned from running.
Rouhani is no innocent; he was national security advisor while his regime murdered Israelis and Americans around the world.
After his appointment, the Iranian nuclear weapons program has
continued unabated. His rhetoric may be “soothing,” but there is no
substantial difference with his predecessor, Ahmadinejad.
In Netanyahu’s words: “I wish I could believe Rouhani, but I don't. Because facts are stubborn things.”
His problem, however, is that President Obama is even more stubborn.
Here's an interview with Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (unfortunately, it takes a few seconds for the sound to kick in).
Let's go to the videotape.
Labels: Anne Bayefsky, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Iranian nuclear threat, Israeli attack on Iran
Netanyahu angry at Elkin, tells him to take El Al
Prime Minister Netanyahu threw Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin off his charter flight to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, telling the Deputy Foreign Minister to
take El Al instead (Hat Tip:
Shy Guy).
Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu expressed his immense displeasure with Deputy Foreign Minister MK Zeev Elkin by removing him from his private flight to New York to the United Nations. MK Elkin was informed he could take a commercial El Al flight, according to a report by Israel Hayom.
According to the report, Elkin is being castigated for a speech he gave in opposition to Netanyahu at a Party (Likud) event ten days ago, and for a letter from other Deputy Ministers in which he had included his signature.
Israel Hayom adds:
Elkin, who lives beyond the
Green Line, is an increasingly vociferous and public opponent of the
two-state solution and the peace talks with the Palestinians, talks his
party boss has committed to.
"Eleven years ago, at the center of the Likud
party stood the question of whether we should allow the establishment of
a Palestinian state. The individual who led that discussion is today
prime minister. [Netanyahu] said, during that central and well-known
meeting, things that are still true to today. The Palestinians should
enjoy full rights, except for one right: the right to destroy the State
of Israel. An independent government, yes. A state, no. Such prophetic
words have been totally fulfilled," said Elkin.
Elkin is not the only right-wing Likud MK as
of late to criticize the prime minister for supporting renewed peace
talks with the Palestinians. Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon said
the prime minister would have "no place in Likud" should he sign a peace
deal with the Palestinians.
Now I understand why Netanyahu and Obama are getting along so well these days. They're both egomaniacs.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Zeev Elkin
A Palestinian state does not guarantee Israeli security. It is a recipe for Israel’s destruction.
Knesset members from Israel's Right
blasted President Hussein Obama's Tuesday United Nations speech, in which he called on Israel to make concessions to 'Palestinian' terrorists and claimed that a 'Palestinian state' would guarantee Israel's security.
“That is one of the worst statements by an American
president in history,” said Transportation Minister Israel Katz, who heads the
Likud’s governing secretariat. “Israel’s existence does not depend on anything,
especially not the Palestinians. The US helps Israel, but we have always known
to defend ourselves with our own force. We desire peace, but we will not take
unnecessary risks and we will not accept any solution that endangers our
existence.”
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon called upon Netanyahu to
resist pressure from Obama on the Palestinian issue, which he said he expects
will only increase with time.
He also criticized Obama’s outreach to Iran
in the speech.
“At a time when steely resolve is needed in dealing with
the Iranian nuclear issue, we are instead hearing of premature concessions,”
Danon said. “If this is the new policy of the US administration, then our
government must remain vigilant and ready for the possibility of huge American
pressure in the current talks with the Palestinians.”
...
Likud MK
Moshe Feiglin blamed what he did not like in Obama’s speech on Netanyahu and his
predecessors for accepting the creation of a Palestinian state. He said that
when Israel recognized a Palestinian people and its rights, it began a process
in which the right for there to be a Jewish state was delegitimized.
“The
truth is the land is either ours or theirs, so if we recognize another nation’s
right to our land, we lost our rights,” Feiglin said. “Obama is misleading
Israeli citizens. A Palestinian state does not guarantee Israeli
security. It is a recipe for Israel’s destruction.”
Obama is determined to bring about the extirpation of the Jewish state, God forbid. He must be opposed at every conceivable juncture - including on matters that are not directly connected to Israel - and politically destroyed.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Iranian nuclear threat, Moshe Feiglin, Obama's obsession with engaging Iran, Obama's obsession with Israel, Palestinian state, Yisrael Katz
