At least Israel and Iran can agree on something. Obama and Kerry are unreliable liars.
For the last two weeks, the lame duck Obama administration has been trying to depict itself as totally passive in allowing UN Security Council Resolution 2334, condemning Israeli 'settlements' in Jerusalem (among other things), to pass.
Last week, Israel Radio reported on an Egyptian newspaper report that put out a transcript of what was said to be a White House meeting with 'Palestinian negotiators.' Now, MEMRI has translated that report into English. It's devastating. Among other things not previously reported, the 'Palestinians' asked that Obama cancel the designation of the PLO as a terrorist organization, and insisted that the 'Palestinian leadership' be allowed to move freely in the United States. Look for Obama to issue executive orders on these issues in the next two weeks.
On December 27, the Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Sabi',
which is close to Egyptian intelligence services, published an exposé
of the minutes of the secret talks. According to the report, by Ahmed
Gomaa, the Palestinian delegation included PLO Executive Committee
secretary and negotiating team leader Saeb Erekat; Palestinian general
intelligence chief Majid Faraj; Husam Zomlot, strategic affairs advisor
to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud 'Abbas; Palestinian Foreign
Ministry official Dr. Majed Bamya; Palestinian negotiations department
official Azem Bishara; Palestinian intelligence international relations
department chief Nasser 'Adwa; and head of the PLO delegation to
Washington Ma'an Erekat.
The report gave the details of the
Palestinian delegation's schedule during the visit, noting that "the
Palestinian side began its meetings on December 12, when Saeb Erekat and
Majid Faraj met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The next day,
the two met with National Security Advisor Susan Rice. The entire
delegation met with an American team that included four representatives
of the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, for a six-hour
political-strategic meeting. Majid Faraj concluded his visit with a
lengthy meeting with the CIA chief."
According to the report, the
minutes of the "top secret" meeting of Kerry, Rice, Erekat, and Faraj
reveals U.S.-Palestinian coordination leading up to the UN Security
Council vote on Resolution 2334 regarding Israel's settlements, which
was adopted December 23. It states that the sides "agreed to cooperate
in drafting a resolution on the settlements" and that the U.S.
representative in the Security Council was "empowered" to coordinate
with the Palestinian UN representative on the resolution.
The meeting also, according to the
report, was aimed at coordinating Kerry's attendance at the upcoming
international Paris Conference set for January 15, 2017, in order to
promote a further international move regarding the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Kerry, it said, offered to propose his ideas for a permanent
arrangement "provided that they are supported by the Palestinian side."
At
the meeting, Rice pointed out the "danger" of the incoming Trump
administration's policies, the report stated, adding that both she and
Kerry had advised President 'Abbas to make no preliminary moves that
might provoke the new administration. Rice even offered to help arrange a
meeting between the Palestinian delegation and a representative from
the Trump team, by enlisting the help of World Jewish Congress president
Ronald Lauder.
Also at the meeting, Erekat warned
that if the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, the Palestinians would
call to expel U.S. Embassies from Arab and Muslim capitals, the report
said.
The report added that Kerry and
Rice had fulsomely praised 'Abbas's policies and how he handled matters,
and harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
saying that he "aims to destroy the two-state solution." ... U.S.
Representative To The Security Council Coordinated With Palestinian UN
Representative On The Issue Of The Resolution Condemning The Settlements
According to the Al-Youm Al-Sabi' report, "the minutes of the
meeting – which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and
National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and on the Palestinian side by PLO
Executive Committee Secretary and negotiations team leader Saeb Erekat,
and head of Palestinian general intelligence Maj,-Gen. Majid Faraj –
reveals that the sides agreed to collaborate regarding a resolution on
the settlements." According to the report, "during the meeting, the
American side focused on coordination of positions between Washington
and Ramallah regarding the resolution on the settlements, which was
brought to a vote in the Security Council and adopted several days
ago..."
The report stated that "the minutes of the meeting reveal
American-Palestinian coordination regarding the resolution on the
settlements" and that Kerry and Rice stressed that "they were willing to
cooperate with a balanced resolution, and that Washington's UN mission
was authorized to discuss this matter with the Palestinian
representative to the UN, Ambassador Riyad Mansour." It continued: "The
U.S.'s representative to the Security Council coordinated with the
Palestinian ambassador on the issue of the resolution condemning the
settlements."
Coordinating Kerry's Attendance At International Conference In France
The delegation also attempted to coordinate Kerry's attendance at the
Paris Conference, which will take place January 15, 2017, to promote a
further international move for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
according to the report. "As for the French initiative, U.S. Secretary
of State John Kerry said that he could not attend [the conference if it
were to be held] December 21-22, but stressed that he could [attend it
if it were to be held] after January 9. The Palestinian delegation
stressed that 'Abbas had contacted the French side, and that it had
expressed its willingness to postpone the international conference [in
Paris] so that the American secretary of state could attend."
Possibility Of Kerry Presenting His Ideas For Permanent Solution
According to the report, "Kerry raised the
possibility of presenting ideas for a permanent solution, provided that
they are supported by the Palestinian side... and this refers to
principles that have already been raised as part of the Framework
Agreement.[3]
He also proposed that the Palestinian delegation travel to Saudi Arabia
to discuss these points, but according to the minutes, he did not
contact the Saudis on this matter. [Additionally,] according to the
minutes of the meeting, National Security Advisor Susan Rice rejected,
and ridiculed, the offer to propose ideas, arguing that the [incoming]
administration of Republican President Donald Trump will completely
oppose them."
Rice "Stressed The Danger Posed By The Trump Administration"
Rice, the report stated, "stressed the
danger posed by the Trump administration, which could take a position
different from that of all American administrations since 1967 on the
issue of Palestine and Israel. She emphasized that she took seriously
statements about moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the Trump
administration's view of the settlements."
Kerry and Rice "advised Palestinian
President Mahmoud 'Abbas to not take any preliminary steps that could
provoke the Trump administration, such as dismantling the PA, turning to
the International Criminal Court, or ending security coordination with
Israel," said the report, adding: "They [also] stressed the need to
avoid military action or martyrdom [attacks], as these would greatly
jeopardize the Palestinian position.
"They praised the substantial efforts of
the Palestinian security apparatuses, specifically Palestinian [general]
intelligence, led by Majid Faraj, as part of what they called 'the
struggle against terrorism.' [The two] maintained that
Palestinian-American collaboration in this area is among the closest of
all the coordination between American apparatuses and security forces in
the region."
Rice Offered To Organize Meeting Between Ronald Lauder And Palestinian Delegation
"According to the minutes of the meeting,
Susan Rice asked whether the Palestinian delegation could meet with a
representative from Donald Trump's team. She clarified that she could
request intervention and could organize this by means of World Jewish
Congress President Ronald Lauder. Saeb Erekat responded that he had
already asked but that Lauder could not. He added: 'We were told that
they were still organizing the new administration, and that once they
were done, they would officially meet with the Palestinian side.'"
Erekat: If U.S. Embassy Is Moved To Jerusalem, We Will Call To Expel U.S. Embassies From Arab And Muslim Countries
"When Susan Rice asked what the
Palestinian response would be if the U.S. Embassy was moved to
Jerusalem, or if a new settlement bloc was annexed, Erekat responded:
'We will directly and immediately join 16 international organizations,
withdraw the PLO's recognition of Israel, and cut back our security,
political, and economic ties with the Israeli occupation regime, and we
will hold it fully responsible for the PA's collapse. Furthermore, we
will [call] on the Arab and Islamic peoples to expel U.S. Embassies from
their capitals.' Rice answered Erekat by saying: 'It seems that future
matters could be very complicated, and we are all apprehensive about
sitting down with Erekat because of his absolute knowledge of these
matters, and because of his memory and his sincerity.' She expressed the
American side's respect and friendship for Erekat, and apologized for
yelling at him in March 2014."
"The Palestinian Delegation Officially Demanded That The Law... Designating The PLO A Terrorist Organization Be Rescinded"
According to the report, "the Palestinian
side officially demanded that the 1987 U.S. law designating the PLO a
terrorist organization be rescinded.[4]
Furthermore, both sides agreed to establish a bilateral commission to
examine visa requests from Palestinians and entry and movement visas for
Palestinian leadership in the U.S."
More good news: Trump to designate Hamas' parent a terrorist group
For those who don't recognize his name, Eric Trager is a fellow of the Washington Institute, a respected Washington think tank that researches the Middle East, and the author of 'Arab Fall: How the Muslim Brotherhood Won and Lost Egypt in 891 Days'.
This morning, he quotes Trump adviser Walid Phares as saying that President Elect Donald Trump intends to designate Hamas' parent group, the Muslim Brotherhood, a terror organization.
For those who read Arabic (I don't), you can find the full story here. (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).
Being a designated terrorist organization would severely restrict the Muslim Brotherhood's ability to operate in the US and abroad and is a step that is way overdue, but would never happen under an Obama administration. If this turns out to be true, it's great news.
US designates Hamas Television founder a global terrorist
It's certainly taken long enough, but the United States has designated Fathi Hammad, the founder of Hamas' al-Aqsa Television station, as a global terrorist.
The United States on Friday added a senior Hamas
official, the Islamist group's former interior minister Fathi Hammad, to
its "global terrorist" list.
Hamas, the Palestinian party controlling the Gaza Strip,
has already itself been proscribed by the United States as a "foreign
terrorist organization."
Under the new designation, U.S. citizens and companies
will be banned from doing business with Hammad and any property he holds
in areas under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen.
According to the U.S. State Department, which issued the
designation, as interior minister Hammad used his position to
"coordinate terrorist cells."
The statement also said Hammad founded al-Aqsa TV, "with
programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters
and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood."
The Ex-Im bank provides government loan guarantees to a handful of
major corporations — coincidentally, major political donors — that allow
them to sell goods to foreign countries without worrying about whether
or not they’ll actually get paid. If a country should fail in its
obligations, Uncle Sam will make the debts good. The American taxpayer
ends up on the hook for the cost of expanding corporate business in
suspect nations with wobbly economies. Yet the small number of
corporations who benefit from the Ex-Im bank are all quite wealthy, and
capable of obtaining loan guarantees privately through insurance. The
taxpayer is made to do what the market is ready to do just because it
saves these corporations money.
One country where the Ex-Im bank has not operated in recent years is
Iran. This is because of the American sanctions that will be rejected
as a part of approving the Iran Deal. The Congressional Research
Service has recently published a document detailing the ways in which
the Ex-Im bank will be freed to undertake loan guarantees with Iran.
The CRS piece was written by one of their research specialists in
foreign policy legislation, Dianne Rennack. The complete report can be
viewed at the end of this post.
...
According to the report, restrictions on the Ex-Im bank working with
Iran are going to be released by the repeal of a number of executive
orders (E.O.). E.O. 13590 prohibits the Ex-Im bank from entering into
relationships with individuals named personally in the sanctions, such
as Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s unconventional warfare program. The Iran deal will repeal this order.
E.O. 13622 authorizes sanctions on foreign financial organizations
associated with Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism. That will also
be repealed under the deal.
E.O. 13628 freezes money and property owned by named human rights
violators. Under the deal, their property will be returned to them, and
loan guarantees from the Ex-Im bank will also become available to them.
Finally, the repeal of E.O. 13645 will allow loan guarantees related
to Iran’s oil industry. Petroleum companies will be able to fund their
operations in Iran without worrying about whether Iran will pay them,
because the American taxpayer will.
...
Iran has announced that is planning to buy 80 to 90 Boeing and Airbus aircraft every year. Boeing is one of the corporations that benefits from the Ex-Im bank, and it has held the threat of moving its business offshore over the head of the Congress during debates about the bank. Humanitarian safety concerns
about Iran’s aging aircraft have already impelled the United States to
waive restrictions on sales of repair parts for older aircraft. The
Senate might permit Iran being allowed to buy new commercial aircraft on
the same basis. Having those aircraft financed not by Iran but by the
American taxpayer, however, will remain controversial.
And those of you who voted for President Soetro have something else of which you can be ashamed.
ICYMI: US has taken Iran and Hezbullah off terror list
Thanks to Jack W for the image.
In case you missed it, the United States has removed Iran and Hezbullah from the terror list.
An annual report delivered recently to the US Senate by James Clapper,
the director of National Intelligence, removed Iran and Hezbollah from
its list of terrorism threats, after years in which they featured in
similar reports.
The unclassified version of the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Communities, dated February 26, 2015 (PDF),
noted Iran’s efforts to combat Sunni extremists, including those of the
ultra-radical Islamic State group, who were perceived to constitute the
preeminent terrorist threat to American interests worldwide.
In describing Iran’s regional role, the report
noted the Islamic Republic’s “intentions to dampen sectarianism, build
responsive partners, and deescalate tensions with Saudi Arabia,” but
cautioned that “Iranian leaders—particularly within the security
services—are pursuing policies with negative secondary consequences for
regional stability and potentially for Iran.
“Iran’s actions to protect and empower Shia communities are fueling growing fears and sectarian responses,” it said.
...
The Shiite Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is funded and mentored by
Tehran, has been fighting the Islamic State, independently of the
American-led campaign, both in Syria and Iraq.
This is all about 'interests' - Obama begging for a nuclear deal and the 'help' being given to the West in the fight against Islamic State, which has become the Obama administration's new al-Qaeda. In the Obama administration's simple view of the world, there is no such thing as Islamic terrorism - only one group of 'bad guys' that can be defeated by removing their leader.
"(The EU) Council has decided to appeal the judgment regarding Hamas
remaining on the EU terrorist list," EU spokeswoman Susanne Kiefer said
on Twitter.
But that doesn't mean that this month's events in Paris have made the Europeans any wiser about confronting terrorist threats.
Meanwhile, the European Union is calling for an anti-terror alliance
with Arab countries to boost cooperation and information-sharing in the
wake of deadly attacks and arrests across Europe.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday "we need to strengthen our way of cooperating together."
She spoke to reporters ahead of talks with EU
foreign ministers in Brussels, to be attended by Arab League Secretary
General Nabil Al-Araby.
The foreign ministers' meeting will prepare in part for a summit of EU leaders in February focused on terrorism.
Ah yes, Federica Mogherini, the woman whose pleasure in life would be the existence of a 'Palestinian state.'
Under cross examination by counsel for the plaintiffs Mark Werbner, Bishara’s tone changed from gregarious to acrimonious. A heated exchange took place when Werbner asserted that Bishara had released funds from a bank account belonging to senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan.
“You gave this terrorist $8,000, the man who moves weapons and explosives,” Werbner stated. “You had no other choice than to give this terrorist $8,000?” “My concern was to get rid of the account,” Bishara explained, having admitted he knew Hamdan was on the US terrorist blacklist at the time. “There was simply no way” to close the account without a court order or Hamdan being designated a terrorist by Lebanon, he said.
Defense lawyers say the so-called “Beirut account” was first brought to the bank’s attention in 2004 by this lawsuit. After waiting five or six months to find another solution, Bishara said, the Arab Bank ultimately cut a check to Hamdan and closed the account.
This fund transfer has burdened the bank’s main defense, which was that most transfers were made to those who were not on any US watch list at the time.
Of course there was 'another solution.' They could have gotten the court order. Or they could have held the money.
Here's hoping that Arab Bank is barred from using the US banking system. Other countries' banks have been threatened for far less harmful actions.
"I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in multiple numbers in the face of a goodwill effort to offer a ceasefire,
in which Egypt and Israel worked together, that the international
community strongly supports," Kerry told reporters in Vienna on Tuesday
morning.
Kerry said that Hamas is "purposely playing politics" by
continuing the rocket fire, using innocent lives as "human shields...
against the laws of war." "And that is why they are a terrorist
organization," Kerry added.
The secretary is ready to fly back to
the region at any moment, he said, and is declining to do so now in
the hopes that Egypt's effort to broker a ceasefire itself will bear
fruit. But the US fears the potential for an even greater escalation of
violence, he said.
"Perhaps reason could prevail" within Hamas, Kerry continued, "if the political wing could deal with the military wing."
There is no difference between the 'political wing' and the 'military wing.' One is in DamascusQatar, while the other is in Gaza. But they are both terror organizations.
And if even John FN Kerry recognizes that Hamas is a terror organization why are they pressuring the Israeli government to 'negotiate' with it?
Encouraging restraint from both the Israeli government— livid over the
finding of the bodies of the missing on Monday, vowing to exact justice
on the perpetrators— and from the Palestinian leadership, some of whom
are calling the trial an Israeli conspiracy, and all of whom are bracing
for reprisal, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told
reporters that the US is intimate with intelligence on the case, in part
since one of the dead teenagers was American.
"Many indications" suggest the murders constitute a terrorist attack,
Harf said. "I'm not saying they're responsible," she said. "But they
were involved."
Back in the early '70's I had this comedy political record by David Frye called
"Richard Nixon, a Fantasy." (Okay, I probably still have it). There's a
line in there where Nixon says "I take full responsibility for what
happened. [long pause] But not the blame. People who take the blame lose
their jobs. People who take responsibility don't."
Hamas may be responsible but they're not to blame?
NGO report ties Oxfam to designated terror organization
A newly-released report by Shurat HaDin, an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO), accuses Oxfam, a British NGO that is supported by a number of sovereign governments around the world, of having ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has been designated a terror organization in the United States, Britain and the European Union. Oxfam loudly fired actress Scarlett Johansson as their spokesperson in January after Johansson took a position as spokesperson for SodaStream, an Israeli company that maintains a factory in Maaleh Adumim, which is in Judea.
For both political and propaganda reasons,
many terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas have
operated social service branches since their inception. The
PFLP has done the same for decades.
Oxfam has strong connections to two of these organizations:
The Union of Health Workers Committees (UHWC), which
provides medical services; and the Union of Agricultural
Workers Committees (UAWC), which deals with land ownership and agricultural issues. The UHWC and the UAWC deny
any connections to the PFLP. In the past, however, both have
acknowledged that they were founded as part of the PFLP and
share personnel with the terrorist group. There is, we believe,
conclusive evidence that they remain branches of their parent
organization, despite attempts to conceal these ties.
Oxfam’s connections to UHWC and UAWC have been publicly
acknowledged by the NGO. Oxfam has described both groups
as “partners” in its activities in both Gaza and the West Bank,
and proudly stated that Oxfam works “very closely” with them.
This closeness was recently reaffirmed by the signing of a new
agreement under which Oxfam pledged to continue funding
the UHWC. Oxfam has also issued many press releases and
calls for action that endorse both groups and even solicit
publicity for them.
A press release issued in 2008, for example, cited “Al-Awda
hospital in Jabaliya, run by
Oxfam’s partner,
the Union of
Health
Work Committees” (emphasis ours). More recently, a 2012
“media
advisory” regarding health issues in Gaza stated, “Oxfam’s
partner
UAWC is working to get emergency assistance to
those most at
risk. UAWC is available for interviews in English” (emphasis ours).
...
The group acknowledges 17 individual branches, coordinated
by the organization’s International Secretariat. Its branches
“are based in: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany,
Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Quebec, Spain and the United
States” as well as “advocacy offices” in “Brussels, Geneva, New
York, Washington DC and Brasilia.”
Since 1942, Oxfam has risen from a small, single-issue
organization to one of the largest, wealthiest, and most
influential NGOs in the world. According to its
2013 annual
report
, Oxfam enjoyed revenues last year of almost a
billion
Euros, the lion’s share of which comes from “institutional
fundraising,” the UN, the EU, and other governments. Although
it bills itself as a charity and often requests personal donations
,
only 40 percent of its revenue comes from “public fundraising.”
...
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian nationalist organization based on communist ideology.
It has engaged in terrorism since its inception. Formed in 1967
following the Six Day War, it quickly became one of the largest
parties in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and
has attracted both violently militant terrorists and a strong
intellectual following among both Arabs and the European
extreme Left. Throughout its history, it has consistently
rejected Israel’s right to exist and advocated its replacement
with an Arab state. Although it has sporadically supported negotiations with Israel, it
currently opposes talks or a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
By the way, I had forgotten, but Scarlett Johansson was not the first spokesperson fired by Oxfam for ties to a company in Israel. That honor goes to Sex in the City's Kirstin Davis.
And the picture at the top of this post? It's an Oxfam billboard from the baggage claim area at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC. Haven't been there recently, but a friend snapped the picture last week.
Saudi Arabian paper Al-Watan, which cited an unnamed source, wrote that the GCC views Hezbollah as a
monolithic organization and “does not differentiate between Hezbollah’s military
and political wings.”
In light of the council’s decision not to separate
Hezbollah into distinct parts, the source said the GCC’s sanctions are slated to
be “more comprehensive than the EU’s decision.”
According to Al-Watan,
lines of diplomatic communication took place “between the GCC and some European
and international countries in a bid to clamp down on Hezbollah and its
members.”
The six GCC members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates. They are already “studying” counterterrorism methods
for cracking down on Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia has deported supporters of
Hezbollah from its territory, while Bahrain declared the organization to be a
terrorist entity in April, making it the first Arab country to outlaw the
Lebanese-based group.
Only the Europeans insist on maintaining a difference between Hezullah's 'military' and 'political' wings.
Slapping
a U.N. terror designation on Hezbollah will be no easy task: Washington would
have to make a big push for the United Nations to seriously consider acting.
But nobody can know whether it's possible -- so far, the United States has
barely raised the issue. It has limited itself to the occasional grumble, such as
Acting Permanent Representative Rosemary DiCarlo's comment at the
Security Council on July 23 that "Iranian and Hezbollah-backed fighters and
advisers" have supported the Syrian regime's assault on its own people. U.S.
diplomats have been unwilling to comment publicly on this omission, and a
spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations declined to comment for this
article.
The
United States may be reluctant to campaign for sanctions on Hezbollah for fear
that such a bid would not get past veto-wielding Security Council members Russia
and China. Witness China's continued business dealings with Iran, Russia's backroom
dilution of the recent condemnation alluding to Hezbollah, as well as both
nations' refusal to allow U.N. sanctions on Syria.
But
the free world invests billions of dollars in the United Nations every year --
not to mention its credibility in the name of promoting international peace and
security. Should the U.N. Security Council prove simply too craven or morally
crooked to take actions against Hezbollah, there would still be benefits to
airing the case against the "Party of God." This is surely a debate worth
having at the United Nations -- and soon.
Having the UN designate Hezbullah a terror organization is a dream - a dream that is quite unlikely to come true. Weinthal and Rosett hint at one reason why.
The
global body has thus far limited itself to doling out ineffective wrist slaps
and euphemisms in addressing Hezbollah's global terrorist reach. In a typical
example, the U.N. Security Council on July 10 called for "all
Lebanese parties" to refrain from involvement in the Syrian crisis -- a bland
reference to Hezbollah's murderous role. (According to Reuters, the reference
to Hezbollah was watered down due to objections from Russia.)
But it's more than just Russia and China. Even the Europeans could only bring themselves to cut off Hezbullah's 'military wing' and not its 'political wing' as if the two were somehow distinguishable. The Security Council has other members. The current members include Azerbaijan, Argentina, Morocco, Pakistan, Rwanda and Togo, all of whose votes I would count as less than certain. Not to mention France itself which might not be willing to go further than it has gone already. And then, there are the quid pro quos that might be demanded as part of such a vote. For example, is it really hard to envision the UN saying that they will only designate Hezbullah a terror organization if Israel is designated a terror supporting state?
The problem with the UN - and with the billions of dollars that are sunk into it every year - is not that it won't declare Hezbullah a terror organization or even that it cannot define terrorism. The rot goes far deeper than any individual UN decision. The only way to change it would be for the US and other civilized countries to threaten to withdraw if the UN cannot get its act together, and to be willing to follow through on that threat. So far, there is no sign of that happening, and it's unlikely to happen at least so long as the current administration is in power in Washington.
Hamas leader claims to have met with Obama administration officials about removing their terror label
Hamas leader Ghazi Hammad has told 'Palestinian' media that 'top American representatives' were present at a meeting held two weeks ago with European officials about removing Hamas' designation as a terror organization.
The officials discussed removing Hamas from the list of designated
terrorist organizations, but that "these contacts have not yet reached
the level of decision-makers," Hamad said in a Sky News Arabia report translated by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. The alleged meeting has not yet been reported in Western media.
I have video of Hamad's interview in Arabic. I'm going to post it on the off chance that someone who reads this blog speaks Arabic and will have something to add. I also have a summarized Google translation of it from Quds Net that I will post after the video.
[Hamad said] “held a series of meetings in a
number of Arab capitals with European officials and Americans, most
recently about two weeks ago, and was speaking it is no longer any legal justification and political survival of the Hamas terror list, “but said that” these contacts have not yet reached the level of decision-makers.”
During a meeting with a number of journalists in Gaza, said Hamad, the
decline of the relationship between Hamas and Tehran “significantly”,
against the backdrop of the movement’s position in support of the Syrian
people in their intifada Current against President Bashar al-Assad.
said: “The relationship with Iran is difficult and dropped a lot,” but
he expressed the hope “not up the relationship with Iran to the stage of
estrangement.” and renewed Hamad position of the Gaza government of
non-interference in the affairs of Egypt, saying: “Although The presence
of the Muslim Brotherhood in power, we did not seek at all to intervene
in the affairs of Egypt in any way, however we are exposed to a smear
campaign big.
” and added that his government has “information and data are many, and
documents confirm who was behind the pumping media, both on the
Palestinian level or Egyptian, “adding that” none of the Egyptian
officials did not provide evidence of the involvement of Hamas in
security issues in Egypt. ” also rejected Hamas media reports in Egypt
recently on the possible role of the movement in the internal affairs of
Egypt, especially in the face of protests Egyptian opposition scheduled
for June 30. denied Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, the validity of
such reports and confirmed that the movement “has not and will not be a
party to the internal political affairs of Egypt, and they stand by
Egypt Political with all its components.
Obama has still not given up on bringing Hamas in from the cold. What could go wrong?
A Bulgarian representative to the European Union said Wednesday that
investigators have discovered that a Hezbollah operative was the owner
of a printer used to produce fake documents that facilitated the July 19
bombing of a bus filled with Israeli tourists in Burgas. Five Israelis
and their Bulgarian driver were killed in the attack.
The disclosure was made at a meeting of the CP931 working group,
according to an EU diplomat who was present. The group is charged with
determining whether the European Union will blacklist Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization.
“The Bulgarians put new evidence on the table during this meeting,”
the diplomat said. “Their representative said the printer had been sold
to someone from Hezbollah.”
The meeting was the second session convened at the request of
Britain, which regards Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist entity
and last month cited the Burgas attack in a motion to have the British
position adopted by the European Union.
The British position is gutless and ineffective. There is no split between a 'political' and a 'military' wing of Hezbullah, and allowing the 'political' wing to continue to operate will mean that the terror group raises millions of dollars in Europe.
It seems that there are several European countries who are afraid to designate Hezbullah a terrorist organization. Some of them could even be counted among Israel's friends.
Poland and the Czech Republic expressed “reservations” about
blacklisting Hezbollah at a discussion in Brussels earlier this month,
JTA has learned.
Both Poland and the Czech Republic are considered
more supportive of Israel than Western European nations that supported
blacklisting Hezbollah, the source said.
...
Joining Poland and the Czech Republic — both traditional Israeli allies in Europe — was Finland, the source said. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Austria is opposed, while The Jerusalem Post, quoting unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Ireland was also against. The Irish embassy declined to comment .
On the other hand, some countries that we thought were opposed to designating Hezbullah are now said to be in favor.
Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France support blacklisting Hezbollah, the
source said. It has long been believed that France was blocking such a
move out of concern that it would diminish European influence in
Lebanon, a former French colony.
Decisions in the EU are made by consensus. I find it hard to believe they're going to get one on this.
Ireland is reportedly blocking efforts inside the European Union to
formally blacklist Hezbollah as a terror organization. Britain recently
initiated procedures to add the Iran-backed terror group to the E.U.
blacklist, after Bulgarian officials linked Hezbollah to the July 2012
Burgas bombing that killed six civilians and a Cypriot court convicted a
confessed Hezbollah member on terrorism-related charges. The U.S. has
repeatedly called upon the E.U. to follow its example and ban the group,
which has established deep roots on the Continent.
Even as Hezbollah's reach is seen in South America and Syria the European Union refuses to sanction the terror group operating within its borders.
But when it comes to Israel, the world is more intent on preparring a
final solution. In the farcically named UN Human Rights Council, 67
nations and organizations heartily approved the report of asylum
escapee, Richard Falk, condemning Israel. In a just world someone like
Falk would issue his statements from behind the walls of an institution,
but in the topsy-turvey world of the UN he is a respected "Special
Rapporteur." Naturally, in this venue he received support from even the world's worst rights abusers. Look at how they piled on.
During the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur, speakers
condemned Israel’s persistent refusal to cooperate with the Special
Rapporteur and expressed concerns at the persistence of settlement
activities and human rights violations, including restrictions on
movement, arrests and harassment of Palestinians, and the particular
effects on children. They highlighted the need to put an end to impunity
for human rights violations. Speakers regretted the deterioration of
the situation in Gaza due to the ongoing blockade and the loss of
civilian lives. Some delegations echoed the proposal of the Special
Rapporteur to investigate the activities of businesses connected with
Israeli settlement activity. Others complained about the unbalanced
mandate of the Special Rapporteur and the presence of political
considerations in his report. Mr. Falk was accused of being
anti-Semitic.
Speaking in the discussion were Pakistan on behalf of the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union, Mauritania, Egypt, South
Africa, Algeria on behalf of the Arab Group, Indonesia, Iceland, Jordan,
Lebanon, Tunisia, Iran on behalf of the Non Aligned Movement, Iraq,
Qatar, Cuba, Ecuador, Angola, Venezuela, Kuwait, Chile, Morocco,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Syria, Algeria, Turkey,
Iran, Maldives, Zimbabwe, the United Nations Children’s Fund and
Malaysia.
No, you didn't misread. Syria - whose government has killed more than
80,000 over the past two years - and its patron, Iran (of the laughably
named "non-aligned movement) sit in judgment of Israel in this venue. In
the asylum that is the UN, this is hardly remarkable.
There were, however two speeches that weren't anti-Israel and were, instead, indictments of the "human rights" establishment.
Mr. Falk, in the first page of your report, you attack my NGO and ask
this Council to launch an investigation in order to shut us down.
Does your report allege a crime? No, you simply object to our words. We
are the only watchdog at the UN, and we report what you say. In
reprisal, you now seek to muzzle our voice, to avoid being held
accountable.
The real issue is whether your work, conducted under the banner of human
rights, actually exonerates and exculpates the perpetrators of
terrorism.
.@tomfriedman Earlier, Joseph was falsely accused; as Israel is now. Funny that you left that part out.
— David Gerstman (@soccerdhg) June 5, 2013
But I missed a major goof.
And the world for the most part would not begrudge Israel keeping its
forces on the Jordan River — as will be necessary given the instability
beyond — if it ceded most of the West Bank and Arab neighborhoods of
East Jerusalem.
Oh, and don't forget Friedman's other "if-then" fallacy here - that the
world would allow Israel to keep the Jordan Valley as a buffer if only
it would offer the Palestinian Arabs a state. Wasn't that already
offered and rejected?
The bolded phrase contradicts all of the Palestinian statements made
about Israel keeping any soldiers in the West Bank. In point of fact,
the Palestinians absolutely begrudge Israel a force on the Jordan.
Well, I do not know about the "world" but the Pals. would certainly not agree.
Friedman loves to pose as someone who understands simple truths that
those in power (especially in Israel) fail to appreciate. But here he
shows that he hasn't been paying attention to the past twenty years of
the peace process. Maybe in 1993 an Israeli presence in the Jordan
Valley was an accommodation would have made. It is no longer.
3) Soccer news
Despite efforts of anti-Israel activists to prevent it, Israel hosted
this year's UEFA (European soccer's governing body) under 21
championship. Israel did not advance in the tournament. However, the
Israeli team did win its final match in Jerusalem against England. Ofir Krieff, of the Israeli team, scored the game winning goal.
To score in the capital city, in my home town, in front of my home fans,
is a fantastic feeling. We did a really good job. The credit goes to
the team and not to me even though I scored. It's all thanks to the
great work of the staff and the players.
I think that we had a really good tournament overall. To win four points
against these kind of teams is a big achievement. We had some criticism
and it wasn't always right. This team has a lot of potential and we
proved it today against England which is nothing to take for granted.
When I scored I just thought that we had finally got the win after this
hard work. The credit goes to Guy [Luzon]. It was highly important to
finish with a good taste because of him and I'm happy that we gave him
this goodbye present. "I wanted to run over to him but afterwards I saw
nothing because everybody was all over me".
This is a 20-year-old, after all, from a world far removed from the one
he now inhabits as a professional footballer. Defender Twatha is from a
Bedouin family, born and brought up in Jisr az-Zarqa, a coastal town in
the north of Israel which did not even have a football pitch when he was
growing up.
"We have only 13,000 people in Jisr," the left-back explained to
UEFA.com. "Jisr is a very poor town and when I was young there was no
football there – not even a football field. I'm the youngest in my
family. My eldest brother studies medicine in Italy. My other brother
does the same but in Germany. My sister finished nursing school in
Jordan. My father is the school principal and my mum is also a teacher.
I'm the only one to have gone into professional sport."
That he ended up playing UEFA Champions League football for Maccabi
Haifa FC aged just 17 was the result, he says, of a serendipitous moment
seven years earlier – namely, a random phone call from a family friend.
"I tried gymnastics, tennis, karate, but only in the fifth grade did I
start playing football. I had some luck because I was in the car with my
dad one day when a friend of his saw a newspaper ad about a football
school and phoned him about it. I interrupted the call and told him I
wanted to go. Just a year later I moved to Maccabi Haifa."
It was here on the wooded slopes of Latrun on Tuesday that Saeb Erekat,
the chief Palestinian negotiator, chose to mark the anniversary of the
outbreak of the 1967 war and to call for an end of Israeli occupation.
“I am sure many of you are asking why is Saeb Erekat bringing you to
this point,” Mr. Erekat said to a group of diplomats and reporters as he
stood against a backdrop of green fields, a reservoir and an Israeli
settlement of red-roofed houses in the valley below.
“It is not because I want to demarcate the maps or finalize the
negotiations,” he said, referring to the intensive efforts of Secretary
of State John Kerry to get the Israelis and Palestinians to return to
peace talks. “I just want to stand here and say, ‘It is 46 years later.’
”
Control of Latrun was critical for control of the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and at the time, Arab forces had been poised to to attack Irael's narrow coastal corridor. Much as Erekat obfuscates the issue, control of Latrun was essential for Israel's survival.
The New York Times continues.
If nothing else, Mr. Erekat’s selection of Latrun spoke to the great
distance between Palestinians and Israelis. Many Israelis consider
Latrun to be an integral part of Israel. Drivers heading to either Tel
Aviv or Jerusalem speed across the unmarked armistice lines along the
main highway, slicing through several miles of West Bank territory and
designated stretches of buffer zone, oblivious to the area’s fraught
history.
The reporter tells us the obvious, but leaves out something else that is
obvious. The Palestinians once again are seeking to "move the
goalposts." Erekat's press conference was apparently the first move in a
new campaign.
The 'Palestinians' have responded to US Secretary of State John FN
Kerry's pressure on Israel for concessions... by seeking even more
concessions. The 'Palestinians' are now seeking two of Israel's biggest
tourist attractions: Mini Israel and the Latrun tank museum. In fact,
they're seeking the whole area around Latrun...
A favored Palestinian official gives a press conference and a reporter
for the New York Times dutifully records his statements without
explaining what he is doing. She simply writes, "here's one more
Palestinian that needs to be addressed by Israel," and not "the
Palestinians keep changing their demands."
Jonathan Tobin comments:
Erekat’s candor is in a sense quite commendable. Latrun is a potent
symbol of the nature of the Israel that existed in those halcyon days
before the obstacle to peace was the presence of Jews in the West Bank
and in which a small state with indefensible borders and a capital that
could be isolated with ease stood on the precipice of destruction as
Arab armies began to mass on its borders. Erekat was sending a clear
message to Israelis that if they thought the PA would ever accept the
fact that the world had irrevocably changed in those 46 years they could
just keep dreaming.
As Erekat well knows there now exists a broad consensus within Israel
about the desirable nature of a two-state solution. That consensus
includes Prime Minister Netanyahu and most of the members of his
government. Indeed, even the Israeli right knows that if the
Palestinians ever offered a complete end to the conflict and recognized
the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders were drawn
they would find the majority ready to make painful territorial
sacrifices. But by laying down a marker on Latrun—a place that no
Israeli in his right mind would ever consider leaving—Erekat was making
it clear their real priority was not peace but an effort to merely
continue the conflict on more advantageous terms.
Indeed, reminding Israelis of the Israel that existed from 1949 to 1967
is not exactly the way to reassure his ostensible peace partners of the
PA’s good intentions. But of course what else can you expect of a peace
negotiator that has boycotted peace talks for the past four and a half
years?
Israel begged Jordan not to join the war. King Hussein convinced of
Egypt's early success against Israel joined in seeking to cut Israel in
half. western Jerusalem was bombarded. Israel did not decide "we will
dispossess the Palestinians" and seek war. War was forced on them and
they fought to survive. Erekat wishes for the world to forget that.
If the Six Day War hadn't happened... Would there be a Palestinian Arab state today on the West Bank and Gaza?
Perhaps that's something that Erekat ought to consider. If Jordan hadn't
attacked Israel in 1967, would he now be an international celebrity for
promoting Palestinian nationhood?
The rest of the New York Times article is a lament about how both sides
are being unreasonable and how this mutual stubbornness will sink Jonh Kerry's peace plan.
When it's one side that refused to negotiate and then changes the
parameters of negotiations isn't that the side that is uninterested in
peace?
Lieberman: EU failure to designate Hezbullah a terrorist group makes them irrelevant
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
chairman Avigdor Liberman said on Monday that Europe should not be allowed to interfere in Israel's diplomatic affairs, and would become irrelevant if it fails to designate Hezbullah a terrorist organization.
Speaking at a
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, Liberman called the EU
decision not to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations
"hypocrisy incarnate," which would "make the EU irrelevant, as far as
we're concerned, when it comes to dealing with the region."
"We
need to stop our dialog with the EU," Liberman declared at a press
briefing later Monday. "We have a continued dialog with Europe about
Lebanon, Sinai, Egypt; it's pointless."
According to Liberman, the EU makes demands of Israel in relation to peace talks, but does nothing in return.
"How
does Europe contribute to Israeli security? I keep saying we need to
cut them off. There are problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan and North
Korea. Why focus on the Palestinians? They need to broaden their
diplomatic horizons," he stated.
...
The Yisrael Beytenu leader also took issue with
countries separating Hezbollah's military and political wing, calling it
"pathetic and serving no basis in reality."
"Both the decisions
on the execution of terrorist of terrorist acts and political decisions,
like for example who will be on the list of candidates for the
Lebanese parliament, arrive from the same source, the mass murderer,
Hassan Nasrallah," Liberman wrote.
"The decision made by the EU
on the fourth of this month raises many questions," he added. "The most
important of which is about the readiness of the EU to combat terrorism
and how Israel can rely on European promises to guarantee its security."
...
Although
Liberman in his letter said the EU had taken a decision on June 4 not
to include Hezbollah on its terrorist list, an EU official said no final
decision was taken, and that a meeting last week on the matter in
Brussels was only a preliminary discussion.
The official said that another meeting on the matter will be held later this month.
I agree wholeheartedly with Liberman's sentiments, but unfortunately, cutting off all dialogue with Europe just isn't realistic.
The good news is that a Saudi newspaper is blasting Hezbullah as a terror organization
Last Sunday, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) did what the spineless Europeans have been unable to do: They declared Hezbullah a terror organization. And they did so, it should be noted, without the bogus distinction between the 'political' and 'military' wings on which the Europeans are still insisting.
That led to this editorial in the Saudi Gazette on Sunday. They might be saying something different in Arabic - although I suspect that they're not - because what's missing from this editorial is one small salient fact: The Saudis are the leaders of the Sunni Muslim world, while Hezbullah and Iran are Shiite, and Bashar al-Assad's Alawites are an offshoot of Shia Islam (although the Shia also regard the Alawi as heretics).
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah may, however, have now overreached
himself. Some wonder if he has not become a victim of his own propaganda
about a militant and victorious organization and really believes that
his forces are actually capable of turning the tide of defeat that is
engulfing the Assad regime. Not only this, but he clearly had little
idea of how, by throwing in its lot with the hated Assad, Hezbollah
would unmask itself in the Arab world as an Iranian cipher. Even the
leadership of Hamas, with which Hezbollah once had close relations,
recoiled in disgust when it threw in its lot with the Assad
dictatorship.
Say what you will, but as of now, at least, Hezbullah still controls Lebanon, and I don't see any Arab countries riding to Lebanon's defense to fight Hezbullah. As to Hamas, did they really have a choice? Once it was clear that the Syrian conflict is Shiites v. Sunnis, could Sunni Hamas really throw in its lot with the Shiites of Iran and Hezbullah? Working together against Israel is one thing, but working together against Sunnis?
In recognizing that Hezbollah, for all its attempts to portray itself as
a responsible political movement, is in fact simply a terror group, the
GCC member states have taken a bold and decisive step. No longer will
Hezbollah be able to present itself convincingly as a champion of any
Arab cause. No longer will it be able to pretend that its men are dying
for the rest of the Arab world.
If only.... Hezbullah could win back the Arab world's sympathies really quickly by starting a war with Israel, God forbid. And they may be hoping to do just that with a presence in the Golan, leaving Israel to fight Bashar al-Assad's army rather than Hezbullah alone in Lebanon.
Over two-thirds of participants in a four-day online survey that
ended Tuesday believe that the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group
is the new enemy of Arabs and Muslims.
The one-question survey by Aljazeera.net asked: “Do you think Hezbollah has turned out to be an enemy of Arabs and Muslims?”
A total of 453,943 respondents (or 72.8%) said yes, compared to 169,605 (or 27.2%) who said no.
Almost half of the respondents (49.18%) were from Saudi Arabia. The
others were from Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman,
Yemen, Turkey, Jordan, the UAE, Palestine, Morocco, the UK, Germany,
France, the U.S., Canada and Australia.
The survey that closed Tuesday got underway last Saturday, when
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose militiamen are openly fighting
alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, told supporters
Assad’s war “is ours, and I promise you victory.”
In his televised weekend address to Hezbollah loyalists in Mashghara,
Nasrallah said his party would not let Assad fall to the U.S., Israel
and the (Sunni) Takfiris.
He said, “Syria is the linchpin and backbone of the Resistance” and
his party “cannot stand, arms folded, while its back is broken.”
Note - 'an enemy.' But all they have to do to get back in the Arab Muslim world's good graces is to go after the real enemies: Big Satan and Little Satin.
Yes, Hezbullah is paying a relatively high price for its involvement in Syria. But I suspect that Hezbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has done a much better job of planning than the Sunni Muslim world gives him credit for doing.
Yes, Hezbullah is a terror organization, but for reasons that have nothing to do with its geopolitical calculations.
Bulgaria said on Wednesday it only had an "indication" that Lebanon's
Hezbollah might have been behind a deadly bus bombing in July and that
this alone did not justify any European Union move to list it as a
terrorist group.
The new Socialist-led government backed away from charges by its center-right predecessor that
the Shi'ite Muslim militant group had carried out the attack that
killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver in the Black Sea
city of Burgas.
"It is important that the (EU) decision be based not only on the
bombing in Burgas because I think the evidence we have is not explicit,"
Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin, whose government took office last
week, told national state radio BNR.
"There is an indication that
it is possible (that Hezbollah was behind it) but we cannot take
decisions with important consequences for the EU based on indirect data.
"If we have enough serious proof from other cases, then we will not waver to back such a decision," Vigenin said.
You don't think the Bulgarians are afraid of being hung out to dry by the Americans and the rest of the Europeans do you?
We've heard a lot of noise over the past week about Britain, France and Germany - key countries in the European Union - finally being willing to ban Hezbullah as a designated terror organization. But only the 'military wing.' That's outrageous, says Benny Weinthal.
In short, Hezbollah is a monolithic terror entity. There is simply no
prudent way to take a cookie-cutter approach to its so-called political
and military wings. This is why the United States, Canada, Israel, and
the Netherlands have listed Hezbollah’s entire apparatus as a terror
entity. Separating Hezbollah into military and political wings, in fact,
sparked objection from one of the few voices in Europe that strongly
supports outlawing Hezbolla, British member of
parliament Michael McCann, who vehemently opposed the half-hearted listing in the House of Commons in early May.
“While
the last [British] government proscribed Hezbollah’s military wing, its
significant role in Lebanese politics is the often cited reason for why
the U.K. has not gone further and proscribed the whole organization,
which even its own leader says operates under a single command. The
misplaced belief that Hezbollah’s politicians are legitimate and
independent from its deadly terrorism is also behind the EU’s inaction,”
McCann said.
Europe being Europe, the major powers have
retreated to a stance of appeasement at a moment when Hezbollah is on
the ropes. The organization has suffered major combatant losses in its
bloody campaign to aid Syria’s Bashar Assad; the Washington Postreported that Syrian “opposition groups say that at least 28 Hezbollah members were among 90 people killed since Sunday.”
Their lifeline from Iran is being squeezed, too: David Cohen, the U.S. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, recently said
that “the sanctions on Iran are hurting Iran’s ability to support its
militias and malign activity around the world. It’s affecting their
ability to support Hezbollah for instance . . .”
European
powers refuse to confront the interplay between Hezbollah and its chief
financial sponsor, Iran’s radical clerical regime....
Back
to Europe: The vast network of Hezbollah operations in Europe is best
seen in Germany. The European Foundation for Democracy published a 2009
report titled ”Hizbullah’s Fund-raising Organization in Germany,”
showing that Orphans Project Lebanon
(Waisenkinderprojekt Libanon e.V.), situated in Göttingen, is “the
German branch of a Hizbullah suborganization” which “promotes suicide
bombings” and aims to obliterate Israel. This Hezbollah “charity” still
operates today.
Years of European inaction against Hezbollah were
part of the porous counterterrorism strategy that permitted Hezbollah
operatives to blow up an Israeli tour bus in Burgas, Bulgaria, last
July. That Hezbollah-Iran joint operation killed five Israelis and a
Bulgarian national, and injured 32 Israelis.
Related interview with Hezbullah #2, Naim Qassem, denying the military/political distinction, here.
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
