The 'Palestinian leadership' is notorious for saying in English what the Americans want to hear, and saying what they really think in Arabic. Now, Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to learn from them.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has promised not to evacuate West
Bank settlements. He made the comments Friday in Davos, Switzerland,
amid three separate meetings he held there with US Secretary of State
John Kerry on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
“I have no
intention of evacuating any settlement or uprooting any Israelis,”
Netanyahu said in Hebrew during a briefing for Israeli journalists on
the nine-month negotiating cycle, which ends in April.
His statement, which runs counter to the assumption that a
final-status agreement would involve the evacuation of settlements, was
not republished by the Prime Minister’s Office.
An Israeli
official cautioned on Saturday night not to equate territorial
concessions Israel might make to the Palestinians with statements about
settlement evacuations.
Netanyahu is “against uprooting settlements, but irrespective of where the final borders are going to be.
He thinks Jews should be allowed to live in a future Palestinian state,” the official said.
But of course, the 'Palestinians' will not allow Jews to live in a 'future Palestinian state.' Those Jews would - God Save us - be dead in no-time flat. What Netanyahu is apparently trying to do is to set up a situation which the revenants have long feared as the absolute worst-case scenario: The IDF pulls out of some or all of Judea and Samaria, and they are left to the tender mercies of the 'Palestinians.' No compensation and no way to move back into a rump state of Israel, with the values of their homes immediately declining to zero.
In case you have any doubt as to what's going on, listen to Israel's chief negotiatorbottle washer, Tzipi Livni.
“No one wants to evacuate settlements,” Livni said.
“Most of
the settlements are in blocs and the people there will stay in their
homes. About the rest [of the settlements], their fate will be
determined in the negotiations.”
It would not be possible, she added, to both maintain the isolated settlements and make peace.
On Sunday, I reported based on Israeli media that Israel was going to be allowed to participate in NATO exercises in exchange for Turkey obtaining Patriot missiles for deployment along its border with Syria. But the Turkish media is telling a different story, and according to that story, Israel will largely continue to be excluded from NATO activities at the Turks' behest (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
To solve the emerging rift between NATO
allies, Rasmussen introduced a new formula within the organization.
Israel joined the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative in 1995 with
Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and Egypt. Later on, Jordan and Algeria
were also accepted.
Tit-for-tat vetoes between NATO allies over the agreements for next
years exercises have prevented any cooperation that may assist in the
integration of NATO partner states, some of whom have experienced
dramatic shifts in the Arab Spring, further into the international
community.
Deciding that such a deadlock would harm NATO's reliability in the
eyes of its partners in the Mediterranean Dialogue group, Rasmussen has
begun a new initiative to limit Israeli participation in NATO exercises
to only dialogue programs such as seminars and workshops held by the
alliance, isolating it from military operations. Sources also added that
Israel would be barred from participating in workshops or seminars that
are to take place inside Turkey.
“The countries supporting Israel have realized Turkey's
determination, they see that their reprisal is of no use and it is only
slowing down NATO activities. And with the recent decision from the
secretary-general, Turkey has acquired what it wanted,” the diplomatic
sources claimed.
Turkey has also denied any link with the Patriot missiles, as was reported by Israeli media.
Turkey has denied a report in Haaretz that claimed that the UK is mediating a reconciliation between Turkey and Israel. This is from the first link (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
The report claimed British Prime Minister David Cameron had asked Netanyahu whether he wanted to deliver a message to Erdoğan ahead of a meeting between the former and Erdoğan in London on July 27. The daily did not report on the content of Netanyahu’s message, but confirmed that Cameron had delivered it.
However, a Turkish official denied the report, telling Today’s Zaman that “Israel already knows what it needs to do, and that is to apologize to Turkey. Mediation by another country is not required for that.”
Relations between the long-time allies in the Middle East deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American during the 2010 raid of an aid ship trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Turkey has sued Israel at international platforms and courts, demanding an official apology and compensation for the families of the victims.
Israel has rejected these demands and claims its soldiers acted in self-defense. Turkey has also expelled the Israeli envoy and cut military ties with Israel in protest of the Israeli refusal to apologize for the killings.
There are two inaccuracies here, which are repeated over and over again by the Turkish media. One is that 'all' Turkey wants is an apology and compensation. They've demanded much more than that.
Second, the article makes it sound like the problems between Israel and Turkey started with the Mavi Marmara. That's not true. The Mavi Marmara incident was orchestrated by Turkey to lead to a breakdown in relations with Israel.
So no, I don't expect a reconciliation anytime soon.
Peres in Davos offers 'Palestinians' a 'state' without 'negotiations'
At the World economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Israel's first astronaut, Shimon Peres, told the 'Palestinians' that they already have their 'state' and therefore there is no need for 'negotiations.'
During a discussion on the chances for peace in the Middle East, Peres praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad for their state-building efforts, including the establishment of an independent military force.
State-building is possible without negotiations, the president told the panel, which included Fayyad.
Peres has also decided that he is a Talmudic scholar.
According to the president, Israel has a historic duty to make peace with the Palestinians, in accordance with that he referred to as the Jewish tradition which does not allow Jews to rule over other people.
The solution, Peres said, was two states for two peoples.
Peres has obviously never learned the book of Joshua, where the Jewish people ruled over the people of Givon and made them tree cutters and water bearers.
Fayyad said during the discussion that state-building and negotiations were equally important. "The political process since the Oslo Accords wasn't focused enough," he said, adding that the international community should intervene in the process. "Look at us, we are struggling just to sit (at the negotiation table). It's time we recognize the process has failed," Fayyad said.
Peres disagreed, saying the process should focus on direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not a global issue.
The Oslo Accords did not call for a 'Palestinian state' (in fact, in his last Knesset speech before his assassination, Yitzchak Rabin promised again that there would not be one) and did not in any way restrict Israel's right to build in Area C.
Peres has never won an election in this country and it is doubtful that he could even be elected dog catcher. He has no right or authority to make commitments on Israel's behalf.
It's time to deal with reality as it is and not as Shimon Peres imagines it. What could go wrong?
Parts of World Economic Forum to move from Davos to Istanbul?
Remember the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009 in the middle of Operation Cast Lead? In case you've forgotten, let's go to the videotape.
The next time Erdogan storms out, it may be Istanbul and not Davos. In fact, Erdogan may throw everyone else out instead of storming out himself (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Cüneyd Zapsu said during a television program on Monday that first WEF meeting in İstanbul will be held from June 19-22. “This will not be a one-time thing,” Zapsu said, underscoring that the some of the annual meetings that are related to the region will be held in İstanbul in the following years as well.
Davos is remembered as the meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walked out of in 2009. During a session on Gaza, in which Erdoğan, Israeli President Shimon Peres, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa were panelists, Erdoğan stalked off the stage when a moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, cut off his remarks in response to an impassioned monologue by President Peres, who strongly defended Israel's offensive against Gaza.
When Ignatius tried to cut short Erdoğan's remarks, saying it was past time to adjourn for dinner, the Turkish prime minister answered in frustration: “One minute... one minute… one minute… Don't interrupt me. You are not allowing me to speak.” Erdoğan then directed harsh criticism at Peres about Israel's present and past policies against Gaza and walked off the stage when he was interrupted again, saying, “Davos is over for me from now on.”
The more obnoxious Erdogan acts, the more the world kowtows to him.
Former AKP Minister claims Israel cleared Meshaal's 2006 visit to Turkey
A former deputy Prime Minister from Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party is claiming that Israel asked Turkey to invite Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal to travel to Turkey in 2006 so that the Turks could act as a go-between for Israel and Hamas. In 2006, Israel and Turkey still had good relations, although the former minister, Abdüllatif Şener, regards this visit as the beginning of the end of those relations (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Abdüllatif Şener, a former AK Party deputy who resigned and established his own Turkey Party (TP), told Today's Zaman in an exclusive interview during an election rally in Sivas that the Hamas leader visited Turkey under an agreement between the Turkish and Israeli governments. “The official invitation was extended to Mashaal after a secret agreement was brokered between Turkey and Israel. I know for a fact that the visit was originally planned at the request of the Israelis,” he added. The Hamas leader's visit at the time provoked a public reaction from the Israeli side, which went so far as to compare this visit to one by terrorist Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader. Turkish authorities immediately denounced the comparison as “irresponsible and erroneous.”
Many regarded Mashaal’s visit as the start of worsening ties between the long-time allies, Turkey and Israel, and some even suggested that the ruling AK Party was changing its axis in foreign policy, siding with radical elements in the Middle East.
Şener argued that this was merely a public relations stunt to create the impression that Turkey was flexing its muscles against the Jewish state, despite the fact that the visit was planned in advance at Israel’s request. “The public bashing of Turkey over this visit was carefully planned to project Turkey’s image as a rising star to domestic and foreign audiences in the region,” he noted.
“The issue came up at the Cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked his foreign minister, Abdullah Gül [now Turkish president], to brief the ministers. We were told that the Hamas leader’s visit had been discussed with the Israeli government. Israel was very happy about the visit because Hamas had come to power in Gaza, and this man was one of the organization’s powerful leaders. Israel can’t contact Hamas directly because it sees Hamas as a terrorist organization. Our relationship with Hamas fits the Israelis’ plans in the sense that some Israeli demands can be conveyed to Hamas through Turkey. That is why we invited the Hamas leader to visit Turkey at the request of Israel, we were told,” Şener recalled.
I don't buy this story. First, most Israelis would probably say that there was nothing wrong with our relations with Turkey until Erdogan stormed out of Davos in front of Shimon Peres in December 2008.
Second, why on earth would Israel ask someone to negotiate with Hamas on our behalf? What was there to negotiate with Hamas? They had not kidnapped Gilad Shalit yet, we already knew that cease fires don't hold with them either. If we weren't going to talk to them, we weren't going to ask others to talk with them on our behalf either. So, no, I don't buy this story.
At a Davos panel on Iran's nuclear program, Council of Foreign Relations representative Richard Haas took a relatively hard line.
In the debate at the World Economic Forum, former top U.S. diplomat Richard Haass said there were no good options should diplomacy fail, but stood apart from the others in advocating force as a viable option. He sparred repeatedly with Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al-Faisal, who urged the United States to instead pressure Israel to quit its own reported nuclear weapons as a way of coaxing Iran to drop its suspected weapons program as well.
Haass replied that there was no time for this because of the speed of Iran's program — and rejected the assertion by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan that the program might be civilian, as Tehran has repeatedly claimed.
The Davos panel thus reflected the basic disagreement that divides world powers and bedevils diplomatic efforts: All seem to oppose Iran producing a nuclear weapon, but there are disagreements over whether to believe its protestations. And down the road lies the open question of whether war is worse than acquiesence.
Iran "is not interested in any serious way to produce electricity," said Haass, who is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an influential U.S. think tank. "Let's not kid ourselves: This is about a sustained Iranian commitment to either develop nuclear weapons or get 90 percent of the way there" — perhaps sufficing with a status as "a 'threshold nuclear weapons state' in the belief that they could derive most of the benefits (without) incurring most of the costs."
Most of the other panelists at the debate hosted by the Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel stressed that diplomacy should be the focus of current efforts.
"We should use every single opportunity to reach our goal on the diplomatic path," said German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.
Babacan argued that "there is a huge misunderstanding between the Western world and some in the (Middle East) and Iran. ... Marginalizing Iran more and more, or cornering them more and more ... is not going to give any kind of (solution)."
"The Iranians see diplomacy as a tactic to buy time," Haass countered. "I don't think it's going to work." Although he advocates tougher sanctions as a tactic, Haass said he feared an ultimate choice between two bad options: accepting a nuclear-armed Iran — or using military force to set back the Iranian program however possible, despite the risk of only partial success.
"I do believe that force is a serious option," he said, arguing that a nuclear Iran would place this region on a knife's edge. It would take the most dangerous, unstable part of the world and place it on steroids. This has tremendous consequences which we should not underestimate."
The real question is whether Haas speaks for the White House. But he's right: It will ultimately come down to a choice of stopping Iran militarily or accepting a nuclear Iran.
It's been nearly two years since Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threw a temper tantrum at an international conference in Davos, Switzerland, storming out in anger at Israeli President Shimon Peres (there's lots of video at that link for those who have forgotten). I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear that the whole thing was planned (Hat Tip: Daily Alert).
Meanwhile, Turks readily acknowledge how Erdogan’s temper tantrum at Davos last year, in which he berated Israeli president Shimon Peres, was anything but spontaneous. After Erdogan’s tantrum, thousands gathered at the Istanbul airport waving Palestinian flags to greet Erdogan at 3 a.m. Putting aside questions about how Turks magically find Palestinian flags at 3 a.m., an employee of a company doing work on the Istanbul metro related how he got word that, on the day of Erdogan’s Davos panel — but before it occurred — his company received word that the metro would be open until 4 a.m. that day, and would not close at midnight as normal. No explanation was given.
How long will it be until President Obama recognizes that Prime Minister Erdogan is no friend but rather seeks to translate incitement into political popularity?
Good question. How long will it take Israel to figure out the same thing?
By the way, that article also talks about "Valley of the Wolves, Palestine." I showed you the preview here. The movie is to be released in January.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
