Israeli Government Minister: 'Thank God Obama is leaving office'
Israel's Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev (Likud), who by the way is a former IDF spokesperson, told Army Radio on Sunday "
Thank God Obama is leaving office."
In an interview with Army Radio on Sunday, Regev said "thank God that Obama is finishing his term."
"In Obama's world view we have moved closer to peace, but during
his term we have just gotten further from it," she said, adding that
"there have been more and more terror attacks in Berlin, Orlando and
yesterday in Turkey, what does any of this have to do with the [Israeli]
settlements?"
"It just cannot be the case that this is the way
the President of the United States, who thank God is finishing his term,
treats the State of Israel, as the weak link in the Middle East," she
stated.
All I can say is... Amen.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Miri Regev
New NY Times Jerusalem bureau chief's first column portrays Israel as repressive
For those of you who thought Jodi Rudoren was difficult, you may yet find yourself pining for her return. Meet Peter Baker, the New York Times' new Jerusalem bureau chief, whose first column is, to put it mildly,
troubling.
Baker's
first story went all over the map, mixing religion, politics and freedom of expression in a dishonest effort to portray Israel as a repressive society, and Culture Minister Miri Regev (who, as far as I know, is secular) as a religious fascist.
This is from the first link.
More substantively problematic was the incomplete and deceptive
framing of Minister Regev’s efforts related to taxpayer funding of
cultural events. Readers might assume her actions as characterized by
Baker compel Orwellian public expressions of fealty to the state.
But the "Loyalty in Culture" legislation seeks to remove public
funding for extreme anti-Israel projects. It permits a retroactive
reduction in the budget for "actions against the principles of the
state." Among these are cultural events that entail: "Denying the
existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state;
incitement to racism, violence, and terror; support for an armed
struggle or terror act by a hostile country or terror organization
against the State of Israel; marking Independence Day as a day of
mourning; an act of vandalism or physical degradation that dishonors the
country’s flag or state emblem."
The Minister is calling for what she terms "freedom in funding" along
with freedom of expression. She and those who support passage of the
law believe Israel is free not to fund cultural events that promote
terror, incite racism, denigrate Independence Day and so on.
That makes perfect sense to this Republican. Let the Arabs mourn their 'naqba' all they want, but why does the State of Israel have to pay for it? The answer is, we shouldn't. And it's not like the Times doesn't know it.
In a related story from January 2016, another Times piece
cited criticism of Regev’s initiatives but, importantly, also provided a
balancing counter-voice. Reporter Steve Erlanger wrote:
"... Mr. Leibler, The Jerusalem Post columnist, defended Ms.
Regev and Mr. Bennett as trying to ‘restore a climate that nurtures love
of Israel and promotes pride in Jewish heritage’ after years when
‘far-leftists, postmodernists and even post-Zionists took over the
Education Ministry.’"
That’s a piece of information that readers deserve to have. Readers
must hope that going forward they will get some sense of the full
context – even if the reporter’s default viewpoint is to fault Israel.
If this is the foot on which Baker has chosen to get off, one has to wonder how much objectivity we can expect from him going forward.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: CAMERA, Israeli culture, Jodi Rudoren, Miri Regev, naqba, New York Times, Peter Baker
Netanyahu to offer Likud MK (Benny Begin?) Ambassadorship to the United States - UPDATED UNITED NATIONS
The tweet above in Hebrew comes from a Knesset Channel correspondent, who claims that Prime Minister Netanyahu will offer Ron Dermer's position as Ambassador to the United States to a Likud MK, in order to allow another MK into the Knesset, and 'dilute the list of disappointed' candidates.
Some of you might recall that the Obama administration named
replacing Dermer as the price of reconciliation for Netanyahu with Washington.
The comments to the tweet include much speculation that the MK in question is Miri Regev, who served as IDF spokesperson before becoming an MK, but whose English language skills may or may not be up to snuff. She was number 5 on the Likud list. Another MK mentioned in Gilad Erdan, but given that he was a minister in the last government, that seems hard to believe.
I don't know who is number 31 on the Likud list (you can find the first 30
here). But my bet is that it's Benny Begin. His English is fluent. He's number 11 on the Likud list - probably not in line for a senior ministry. He's an elder statesman already. He didn't want to run for the Knesset - Netanyahu begged him to run because he wanted him on the list. And it would be very difficult for the Obama administration to reject the man whose father signed the Camp David accords.
Just my humble speculation....
UPDATE 2:56 PM
Thanks to commenter Hutzpan for pointing out that there was a typo in the
English language tweet from which I found this story, and that the MK is being offered the Ambassadorship to the United Nations and not to the United States.
So you can change the first paragraph above to read as follows:
The tweet above in Hebrew comes from a Knesset Channel correspondent,
who claims that Prime Minister Netanyahu will offer Ron Prosor's
position as Ambassador to the United Nations to a Likud MK, in order to
allow another MK into the Knesset, and 'dilute the list of disappointed'
candidates.
And then you can delete the second paragraph and delete the last sentence of the fourth paragraph.
I still think it's Begin.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Gilad Erdan, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, John Kerry, Miri Regev, Ron Dermer
Likud MK: After the elections, we'll call him President Chickensh*t
Here in Israel, our politicians are really paranoid about interfering in other countries' elections (something the
Democratic party in the US has
never hesitated to do). So
this statement from Likud MK Miri Regev is probably about as big a blast against President Obama's chickensh*t comments as you're likely to get before next Tuesday.
"With all due respect for Obama, who is he to hand out grades to the
prime minister?” – Regev asked rhetorically in an interview with Arutz Sheva. “The utterances exhibit chutzpah, are unacceptable and constitute intervention in Israel's affairs by President Obama.
She added: "With all due respect to Obama, and I recognize the
importance of our relationship with the Americans, but to say that
Netanyahu has no courage and to compare him to other leaders? We do not
want to say what we think of Obama out of respect and because of the
elections.”
"Jews will build homes everywhere in the Land of Israel, including
eastern Jerusalem, and the Arabs can also live anywhere in the state of
Israel,” she said, regarding a major point of contention between the US
and Israel.
Next Wednesday morning, we may see more politicians referring to Chickensh*t Obama.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, midterm elections, Miri Regev
A snake in the grass and her Zionist relative
I've written before about
Mohammed Zoabi, who is related to 'Israeli Arab' MK Hanin Zoabi, the traitor who was a
passenger on the Mavi Marmara. Mohammed, who is a Muslim Zionist, has put out a video in which he calls the 'Palestinian Authority' the biggest terrorist.
Let's go to the videotape.
Cousin Hanin was
unhappy about the video.
“I am happy to see that Israeli hasbara [public diplomacy] is in such a
dire state that it needs a stupid boy with a twisted identity who
feels a continuous need to apologize to his strong masters,” Haneen
Zoabi told Ynet.
“The Israeli desire to highlight this delusional case shows the state’s
need for legitimacy, even if it comes from a questionable direction.”
Citing an incitement campaign being waged against Mohammad Zoabi in the
wake of the video – including by his lawmaker relative – coalition
chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud) wrote a letter to Public Security
Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Likud Beytenu) demanding that he
guarantee the teen’s safety.
Police have
arrested three relatives of young Zoabi for threatening him.
In the meantime, Cousin Hanin has
praised the kidnapping.
MK Hanin Zoabi (United Arab List) argued that the three kidnappers
responsible for the abduction of three teenage yeshiva students are "not
terrorists" on Radio Tel Aviv Tuesday morning, in an inflammatory interview which also saw her denigrate Arab Zionist and distant relative Mohammed Zoabi.
...
MK Zoabi initially denied that she knew the brave teenager well
during Tuesday's radio interview, but then proceeded to insult him based
on what she did know.
"He's from a divorced family," she sniffed. "His mother now lives in Nazareth Illit, where he studies at a Jewish school."
"He's sleazy," she continued. "He's distorted his identity."
Zoabi then claimed that, in her "humble opinion," the kidnappers are not terrorists.
"It is strange that people who are under the Occupation and living
the high life ignore the reality that Israel kidnaps Palestinian Arabs
and jails them every day," she fired.
"They are not terrorists, I do not agree with you! They have seen no
other way to change their reality and they have to resort to these
measures until Israel sobers up a bit and feels the suffering of
others."
Other MK's were
outraged by Zoabi's behavior.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) slammed MK Hanin
Zoabi in a Facebook post Tuesday, after the Israeli Arab MK justified the kidnapping of three yeshiva students by Hamas terrorists.
"Not only are the kidnappers terrorists; Hanin Zoabi is a terrorist," Liberman said.
He called for harsh judgement to be meted upon the MK. "The fate of the kidnappers and the fate of Zoabi, an inciter, should be the same."
...
"Expel her to Gaza and remove her diplomatic immunity," MK Miri Regev
(Likud) stated Tuesday. "This is a betrayal. She identified herself
with terrorists on the Mavi Marmara and now she identifies herself with the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped our three boys."
"I was not surprised to hear this," Regev added, "How can a traitor
like her blame them? She does not belong to us, but to Gaza."
MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) argued that Zoabi's statement breaks all
boundaries, and vowed to work diligently to see Zoabi expelled from the
Knesset permanently.
"Her position on the terrorists is closer to them than to us, she
should be with them instead of in the Israeli Knesset," Yogev said.
Don't hold your breath waiting for her to be expelled. It won't happen.
Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, Hamas, Hanin Zoabi, IHH, Israeli Arabs are a fifth column, Israeli Knesset, kidnapping, Mavi Marmara, Miri Regev
Hypocrisy: US asks Israel not to release murderers of Americans, only murderers of Israelis
MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) told a Knesset Interior committee hearing considering terrorist releases on Wednesday that the United States asked that Israel
not release any terrorists who have the blood of American citizens on their hands. But releasing terrorists with Israeli blood on their hands is not only okay with Obama-Kerry - it's encouraged and even forced.
"A crazy situation is taking place in which terrorists enter prison with
the understanding that it is only a matter of time until American
pressure will lead to their release," MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud Beytenu)
said.
According to Feiglin, the US asked that Israel not release anyone who
killed American citizens. The Likud Beytenu MK called for the government
to reject the request.
As a potential 'beneficiary' of such a policy, I must ask: Is American Jewish blood redder than Israeli Jewish blood?
Substantively, the three members of the committee who remained in the room after an argument between committee chair Miri Regev (Likud) and MK Bassel Ghattas (Balad) voted to call on Prime Minister Netanyahu not to go through with the release of 'Israeli Arabs' - or at least to release 'Jewish terrorists' if the 'Israeli Arabs' are released.
The three MKs that remained in the room – Regev, Feiglin and MK David
Tsur (Hatnua) – voted that they call on Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu not to release Jewish or Arab security prisoners, but if
Israeli Arabs are freed, then Jews should be, as well.
"We freed
terrorists three times and didn't move forward in negotiations. There is
still terror from Gaza and Abbas does not recognize the State of Israel
as the Jewish State. We need to stop negotiations," the committee
chairwoman said.
Regev also said Netanyahu should not connect the
release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard to the release of Palestinian
terrorists.
"We should teach the Americans what national honor
means. They don't release one spy and we don't need to release
murderers," Regev posited. "The comparison between freeing Pollard and
freeing terrorists is not constructive. Pollard should have been
released long ago."
The committee meeting was originally called to
discuss criteria for choosing which prisoners are released, but the
Prime Minister's Office refused to give information on the process and
Prison Services had yet to receive a list of who is set to be freed this
weekend, but said it would include Israeli Arabs.
Regev criticized the PMO for "disrespecting the committee and the
Knesset" and said she plans to propose a bill that will not allow the
government to release security prisoners without authorization from the
Knesset.
I believe that there is supposed to be a separate authorization required for the release of 'Israeli Arabs' anyway. If yes, then the Knesset will have a chance to say its piece.
Labels: gestures, hypocrisy, Israeli Arabs are a fifth column, Miri Regev, Moshe Feiglin, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Likud ministers: Jordan Valley more important than Jerusalem
The ability of this country's legislative body to ignore the voters' wishes - an outgrowth of the system of voting for a party rather than a person - never ceases to amaze me.
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation rejected a bill proposed by Regev (Likud) that would require 61 MK's to vote in favor before negotiations on Jerusalem could begin. Not a single Likud minister voted in favor. Only two Jewish Home ministers (Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel and Pensioners' Affairs Minister Uri Orbach) voted in favor.
No other ministers voted in favor.
Last month, the committee voted in favor of a similar bill requiring a Knesset majority to authorize negotiations with respect to the Jordan Valley.
"It's unfortunate that Likud ministers forget that bills like this are
what brought us to the Knesset," Regev wrote on Facebook. "This
important bill deals with two significant, core issues, and should have
passed. Unfortunately, it was rejected and that is a great shame."
...
According to the bill, any talks on those matters that take place
without the Knesset’s authorization will not obligate any government
body.
Regev’s measure is one in a series of recent legislation
from the Right and Left that seek to tie the Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu’s hands when it comes to diplomatic moves.
MK Ya’acov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) drafted an initiative similar to Regev’s, meant to prevent the government from negotiating on Jerusalem without two-thirds of the Knesset’s approval.
The
Ministerial Committee for Legislation authorized it, but Livni and Yesh
Atid ministers appealed the vote. Litzman anyway brought the bill to
the plenum in December, and it was voted down, with Likud Beytenu and
Bayit Yehudi absenting themselves.
They call this democracy.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Miri Regev
You mean it was 'symbolic'?
Israel's Ministerial Legislative Committee voted 8-3 on Sunday to advance a bill to annex the Jordan Valley. Now, I've explained before
why the Jordan Valley is not going to be annexed in the foreseeable future (even though it ought to be along with the rest of Judea and Samaria. Still, I never thought until now that the bill was actually '
symbolic.'
In a show of support for the Jordan Valley which the Palestinians
claim should be an essential part of their state, the Ministerial
Legislative Committee voted 8 to 3 to annex it to Israel.
Justice
Minister Tizpi Livni (Hatenua) and three Yesh Atid politicians, Finance
Minister Yair Lapid, Health Minister Yael German and Science and
Technology Minister Yaakov Peri have all said they will appeal the vote.
Such
an appeal places the matter directly into the hands of Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu, a move which many believes effectively kills the
legislation, which can be revoted only with his approval.
The
bill, which was sponsored by MK Miri Regev (Likud) had the support of
ministers from her party as well as those from Yisrael Beiteinu and
Bayit Yehudi.
Livni and Lapid accused the ministers of attempting
to foil the peace talks with the Palestinians by supporting a bill that
had no chance of passing.
“This is an irresponsible bill and those who support it are irresponsible,” said Livni.
“It
is a proposal that harms the state of Israel and isolates it," she
said. “It is also designed to harm the government because this is a
matter of government policy and not [the subject] for a private bill,"
Livni said.
Does the Knesset still play a role in running this country? Or is it reduced to accepting the diktats of Netanyahu, Livni and Lapid?
Labels: annexation, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jordan Valley, Miri Regev, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid
Likud ministers want to annex Jordan Valley
A bill to annex the Jordan Valley is supported by all the Likud ministers other than Prime Minister Netanyahu, and may be brought before the Ministerial Legislation Committee where it is expected to pass.
But....
If Regev’s bill becomes law, Netanyahu would be unable to accept the American offer
to put the Jordan Valley and border crossings into Jordan under
Palestinian control, with IDF soldiers posted at the border and the US
providing additional security.
According to Regev’s office, all Likud ministers other than Netanyahu
support the bill and it has enough votes to be authorized by the
Ministerial Committee for Legislation.
However, Justice Minister
Tzipi Livni, who is leading negotiations with the Palestinian Authority,
is the chairwoman of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. She is
likely to try to block the bill, either by not bringing it to a vote or
submitting an appeal if it is approved.
Still, Likud ministers could push the legislation forward and demand that it be brought to a general ministerial vote.
Please let me remind you all what happened on Wednesday with a bill that would have required 80 MK's to approve negotiations over our 'undivided capital' (legally annexed since 1981). Although the bill had passed the Minister Legislation Committee twice (over Livni's objections), it
failed to pass a first reading in the Knesset with only one coalition MK (Feiglin) voting in favor. Does anyone really believe that a bill to annex the Jordan Valley is going to do any better?
Labels: annexation, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem, Jordan Valley, Likud party, Miri Regev, Tzipi Livni
Jewish prayer days and Muslim prayer days at the Temple Mount?
As some of you might recall, I don't ascend the Temple Mount, because my rabbis don't allow it, but in light of the fact that Jews are constantly being excluded, Likud MK and Knesset Interior Committee Chairwoman Miri Regev has proposed having
Jewish prayer days and Muslim prayer days on the Temple Mount, as is done with the Machpeila Cave in Hebron.
"We will allow Jews to visit the Mount, and we don't want to disturb
Muslims who are praying. Why doesn't the police decide that if Muslims
don't allow Jews to visit without disturbances, we'll have days for Jews
to access the Mount and days for Muslims," Regev suggested.
MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-Ta'al) said Jewish visitors disturb Muslim
worshipers, but the "occupation is temporary and the government in east
Jerusalem is temporary."
"The crusaders passed, the British passed, and so will the Israelis," he added.
Tibi
also warned that any change in the current situation on the Temple
Mount will be seen as "a declaration of war" and set off violence.
"You
need to use your judgment and think about whether you want to spark a
fire in the most sensitive place in the region. [Former prime minister]
Ariel Sharon's stupid surprise visit [in 2000] was enough to set off an
Intifada," he claimed.
Except that the intifada was planned and Sharon's visit didn't set it off....
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Ahmed Tibi, Miri Regev, Moshe Feiglin, Temple Mount
The one (Jewish) state solution: An idea that can be discussed in public
There was a conference in Hebron last Thursday, attended by more than 500 people, at which the only viable long-term solution to the Middle East dispute was discussed:
The one Jewish state solution.
It's an idea that until recently was not politically correct to discuss (and still isn't politically correct in some circles). But here in Israel, many people aren't just whispering it. They're saying it out loud. There’s nothing new about far-right groups holding events in which speakers fantasize about “Greater Israel.” But Thursday’s conference was different: It indicated that the idea of the one-state solution has become respectable within a larger segment of society, including the ranks of Israel’s ruling party.
[Likud MK Tzipi] Hotovely was right: For years, moderate right-wingers tiptoed around the question of what they envision for the future of the territories Israel captured in 1967. Only hardliners openly admitted what perhaps many others secretly desired, but knew to be politically too incorrect to openly demand.
...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on record saying that he does not want to rule over the Palestinians and is ready to accept a Palestinian state. But that no longer prevents some members of his party from openly demanding a one-state solution. MK Miri Regev, speaking on a recorded video clip, boasted that she recently founded the Knesset Lobby for the Application of Israeli Sovereignty over Judean and Samarian Communities. The Likud constitution requires the application of sovereignty over the settlements, she said.
“It’s time to change the discourse in the State of Israel about Judea and Samaria,” said MK Ze’ev Elkin, the chairman of the coalition, also in a prerecorded statement. “For 20 years, we talked about what to give and why. Now the time has come for an entirely different discourse. This is our land, and it’s our right to apply sovereignty over it. Regardless of the world’s opposition, it’s time to do in Judea and Samaria what we did in [East] Jerusalem and the Golan. It’s time to end this system in which the Palestinians take and take and we give and give.”
Most speakers focused on Israel’s right to The Land — all of it — and tried to reassure the audience that they need not fear the so-called demographic threat. Israel would not lose its Jewish majority if it annexed the West Bank and granted citizenship to the Arabs living there, nearly all the speakers promised.
...
Former Israeli ambassador Yoram Ettinger used his 15 minutes — the organizers strictly enforced every speaker’s time limit — for a slideshow in which he presented a lot of data ostensibly proving that there are a million fewer Palestinians in the West Bank than generally assumed. How come? Because the Palestinian officials dealing with statistics are either incompetent or lying, he said.
Ettinger’s graphs made it easier for subsequent speakers to dismiss the demographic argument against a one-state solution as left-wing demagoguery. Gershon Mesika, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, for instance, called the demographic threat a “big bluff.” Even most Arabs don’t believe the idea of two states for two people would work, he added.
And so the evening went by, with speaker after speaker preaching to the choir, rarely challenging the audience with provocative questions about, for example, Palestinian national aspirations. “This is not Arab land. This is the holy land of God,” said Hebron Rabbi Uzi Sharbaf, adding that it was “absolutely forbidden” by Jewish law to retreat from any centimeter of the Promised Land.
My guess is that if we actually annexed Judea and Samaria, a lot of the 'Palestinians' would leave (and whine about being refugees and demand international assistance). In any event, the idea ought to be publicly discussed, and if enough conferences like this take place, it will be discussed more and more.
Some of you may be surprised to see me refer to the one Jewish state solution as the only viable long-term solution. Aside from the Jewish right to the entire land conveyed in the Bible, please allow me to explain why I believe that the one Jewish state solution is the only one that is viable in the long term.
1. The 'Palestinians' have proven that they will never make peace with a Jewish state.
2. The 'Palestinians' insist that a 'Palestinian state' be
Judenrein.
3. Therefore, anything other than a one Jewish state solution will result, God forbid, in a mass slaughter of Jews.
4. On the other hand, Israel's Jews have proven for the last 64 years that they are willing and able to allow an Arab minority to coexist among us.
Simple enough? Anyone who wants to disagree is invited to challenge those four assertions, with proof. That, I believe, is an impossible task.
Labels: annexation, demography, Hebron, Judea and Samaria, Miri Regev, one-state solution, Tzipi Hotovely, Yoram Ettinger, Zeev Elkin
AG closes case against Israelis on Mavi Marmara
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, citing 'evidentiary difficulties,' has closed the case against 'Israeli Arab' MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) and other Israelis who were on board the Mavi Marmara in May 2010.
Police had investigated suspicions that several Israeli citizens had participated in the flotilla and attempted to enter Gaza illegally, in contravention of the Disengagement Implementation Law. None of the Israelis were suspected of attacking the IDF soldiers who took over the flotilla, the ministry said in a press statement.
State prosecutors examined the police's findings and filed a report to Weinstein, however the attorney-general decided that the files should be closed due to 'significant evidentiary and legal difficulties both in proving the elements of the offenses and legal questions over the applicability of Israeli criminal law on foreign offenses', the statement said.
The Justice Ministry also emphasized that the attorney-general's decision only relates to those Israeli citizens suspected in connection with the flotilla and did not set any hard and fast rules for how any future investigations will be conducted.
MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad), who participated in the flotilla and was one of the Israelis under investigation, said Thursday she was "not surprised" at the decision to close the investigation files, including her own file.
"This proves what I said all along," Zoabi said. "My participation in the flotilla was a political act and entirely legal."
The Balad MK attacked Knesset members who "incited" against her for her participation in the flotilla, saying they owed her an apology. "I don't expect an apology, but at least they should do some soul searching on the issue."
Government watchdog NGO the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel slammed Weinstein's decision, however. "We sent out soldiers to risk their lives on the decks of the [flotilla ship] and when the court should deal with the flotilla organizers we see a shameful ineffectiveness," said Forum director attorney Nachi Eyal.
In an interview with Israel Radio shortly after the announcement, MK Miri Regev (Likud), a former IDF spokesperson, slammed Zoabi as a traitor and Weinstein for abandoning the IDF. She said she would file a complaint against Zoabi with the Knesset Ethics Committee. Zoabi already had her MK privileges suspended.
Labels: Hanin Zoabi, Mavi Marmara, Miri Regev
While Shalit rots, Hamas prisoners live in a country club
Three Knesset members from the lobby from Gilad Shalit went to visit Hamas terrorists imprisoned in Israel on Sunday and discovered - to their dismay - that the Hamas terrorists are living in a
country club atmosphere. Significantly, two of the three MK's are members of opposition parties.
The Hamas prisoners have "VIP conditions," [Miri] Regev [Likud. CiJ] told the Hebrew-language daily Maariv. “Their life in jail is really good. Their families visit every two weeks. They have a prison canteen, and Hamas gives each of them 350 shekels to spend each month.”
The three [the other two are Shaul Mofaz of Kadima and Eitan Cabel of Labor. CiJ] called to strip Hamas terrorists of their privileges, and treat them the way Hamas treats Shalit – with the exception of those basic rights outlined in international law, which, they said, Israel should continue to grant its prisoners despite Hamas' refusal to do the same.
“If we hit at their soft underbelly, their visits with their families and children, only then might Hamas improve Shalit's conditions,” Regev said.
But we've been talking about that for nearly five years, and thus far nothing has been done. Don't hold your breath waiting for anything to happen now.
Labels: Eitan Cabel, Gilad Shalit, Hamas prisoners, Miri Regev, Shaul Mofaz
