If the 'talks' are over, why are we still making 'gestures'?
The 'talks' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' would officially have ended today in any event, barring an extension, but it appears that the Israeli government may not yet have gotten the message. Hamas is claiming that Israel is about to turn over the bodies of several suicide terrorist bombers according to the terror organization, including the body of Izz al-Din al-Masri, the perpetrator of the August 2001 massacre at Sbarro's Pizza in Jerusalem. It goes without saying that any body turned over to Hamas will receive a
hero's burial.
Hamas media sources were cited by Israel Radio on Tuesday that Israel
plans to transfer the remains of Izz al-Din al-Masri, the suicide
bomber who detonated himself in a Jerusalem Sbarro restaurant in 2001,
to the Palestinian Authority. The attack resulted in the death of 19
people.
According to the report, the funeral is to be held in al-Masri's home village in the West Bank.
Israel is also reportedly in the process of handing over the bodies
of brothers Abdel and Imad Audallah. The brothers were leaders in
Hamas's military wing and were killed by Israeli security forces
outside of Hebron in 2008.
A large funeral procession has been planned by the family honoring the Audallah brothers as martyrs' near Ramallah.
Israel began to exhume the remains of a number of Palestinian terrorists to return them to their families for burial early in January, 2014.
So far no denial from the Israeli government. The terrorists' bodies ought to be doused in pig fat and burned publicly or thrown into the sea wrapped in pig fat. What kind of morons run this country anyway?
Labels: gestures, Hamas, Palestinian terrorists, Sbarro terror attack
Netanyahu's office tells Times they're 'deeply disappointed' with Kerry comments
An anonymous official in the Prime Minister's office has told the New York Times that Israel is '
deeply disappointed' with Secretary of State John FN Kerry's comments
blaming Israel for the 'peace talks' collapsing. This is from the first link.
“Secretary
Kerry,” the official in Mr. Netanyahu’s office said, “knows that it was
the Palestinians who said ‘no’ to continued direct talks with Israel in
November; who said ‘no’ to his proposed framework for final status
talks; who said ‘no’ to even discussing recognition of Israel as the
nation-state of the Jewish people; who said ‘no’ to a meeting with Kerry
himself; and who said ‘no’ to an extension of the talks.”
He
added, “At the same time, in the understandings reached prior to the
talks, Israel did not commit to any limitation on construction.
Therefore, the Palestinian claim that building in Jerusalem, Israel’s
capital, was a violation of the understandings is contrary to the facts.
Both the American negotiating team and the Palestinians know full well
that Israel made no such commitment.”
He could have added that both the 'Palestinians' and the Americans knew full well that Israel never committed to including 'Israeli Arabs' in the fourth terrorist release.
A
Palestinian official close to the negotiations, who also spoke on the
condition of anonymity because of the delicate diplomatic situation,
said in response that Israel was “undermining the American role in the
peace process.” The Palestinian side, he said, “never raised any issue
that is not already an Israeli obligation.”
Israel
is obliged to stop settlement activity, the Palestinian official said,
because it is considered illegal under international law. The Obama
administration has described the settlements as “illegitimate.”
Israel has never accepted the notion that 'settlement activity' is illegal under international law, and no President other than Carter and Obama (modern history's two greatest failures) has called the 'settlements' illegitimate.
Israel’s
failure to release the fourth batch of prisoners, the Palestinian
official added, violated an American-brokered agreement. As for
extending the talks, he said, Israel has so far “clearly shown no
interest” in trying to reach an agreement establishing a Palestinian
state alongside Israel.
It was the 'Palestinians' who insisted that the fourth group of terrorists include 'Israeli Arabs.' Israel never agreed to that, and if Kerry told the 'Palestinians' otherwise,
he lied. The 'Palestinians' then threatened to cut off talks if Israel didn't release 'Israeli Arabs' as part of the fourth terrorist release. So why release more murderers and then have the talks cut off anyway.
Not to mention that the 'Palestinians' never negotiated in good faith and never tired of telling the media that they were only continuing the talks to get the terrorists released.
While the details of the negotiations have been kept secret at Mr.
Kerry’s insistence, little progress appeared to have been made, with the
sides stuck over fundamental issues like borders, security, the future
of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and Israel’s demand for
Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
The 'negotiations' have not gone anywhere anyway. And that was predicted by many (including me) from the outset. We ought to be more than disappointed by Kerry's comments. But did anyone really expect this administration to place the blame anyplace else?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Ouch! Time to wake up John!
CBS's Ben Stein PWN's US Secretary of State John FN Kerry for his handling of the 'peace process.'
Let's go to the videotape.
Transcript
here.
Excellent.
Labels: gestures, Israel's right to exist, John Kerry, Jonathan Pollard, Middle East peace process, unilateral concessions
Abu Mazen tells Kerry to beg
Khaled Abu Toameh writes that '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is
waiting for US Secretary of State John FN Kerry to beg him to come back to the 'peace talks.'
Abbas dispatched Erekat to the meeting to see what the Americans and
Israelis are prepared to offer him in return for suspending this bid.
So far, however, Abbas does not seem to be satisfied with what his
emissary, Erekat, heard from Indyk and Livni. Abbas is therefore
expected to step up pressure on the two parties in the coming days and
weeks, if he can, in the hope of extracting as many concessions as
possible.
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership have concluded that
the Obama Administration is prepared to do almost anything to show some
kind of a "victory" in the peace process between Palestinians and
Israelis. Palestinian demands have therefore continued to increase
almost every day.
Realizing how desperate Kerry is to achieve an extension of the
talks, Abbas decided that this was the right time to set new conditions,
such as the release of jailed Fatah militia leader Marwan Barghouti and
Ahmed Sa'adat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine. Barghouti is in prison for his role in
terrorist attacks against Israelis during the second intifada. Sa'adat
is serving a lengthy prison term for his role in the assassination of
Israel's Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
As Kerry increased his pressure on the Palestinians to agree to an
extension, Abbas added two more conditions: the release of hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners and a complete cessation of construction in
settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Abbas has also made it clear
that his decision to join international organizations and treaties does
not mean that he is interested in a "clash" with the U.S.
Administration.
Abbas is right. Of course he does not want a "clash" with President
Barack Obama and Kerry.
Rather, Abbas wants the two men to continue
begging him not to walk out of the peace process and turn their entire
Middle East policy into another blunder. He wants them to exert pressure
on the Israeli government to accept both his old and new demands.
Abbas apparently thinks he is moving in the right direction, and that
Obama and Kerry have no choice but to accept his demands and intensify
U.S. pressure on Israel. Abbas does not want totally to walk out of the
peace talks at this stage. He feels that he can still extract further
concessions from the Israelis and Americans, and that his decision to
join 15 international organizations and treaties has left the U.S.
Administration in a state of panic that the peace talks might fail. Now
he is waiting to see what price Obama and Kerry are willing to pay to
avoid that scenario.
Charles Krauthammer writes that the problem is that US policy was based on
wishful thinking in the first place.
Instead of trying to stave off the U.N. bid with the release of
Palestinian terrorists and an American spy, perhaps the administration
could simply stop fighting Congress, which developed a far more
effective method. Under law, any U.N. agency that recognizes “Palestine” has its U.S. funds cut off.
The Obama administration keeps trying to restore funding for UNESCO,
which in 2011 defied the U.S.
by recognizing Palestine. What kind of signal is this to the rest of the
world? Financial sanctions are precisely the kind of pressure that can
support diplomacy. Yet this administration seems intent on removing
sanctions that might thwart Palestinian moves toward unilateral
statehood, the latest Palestinian strategy for getting land without
offering peace.
Well yeah. But most agencies don't get enough US money to make a difference all by itself.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Barack Hussein Obama, gestures, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, unilateral concessions
It's come to this: Kerry throws in the towel
US Secretary of State John FN Kerry has apparently
thrown in the towel on talks between Israel and the 'Palestinians.'
"You can facilitate, you can push, you can nudge, but the parties
themselves have to make fundamental decisions to compromise," Kerry said
in Algiers at the start of a trip to North Africa on Thursday.
"The leaders have to lead, and they have to be able to see a moment
when it's there," he added, showing signs of frustration after his
months-long peace efforts appeared to be in tatters.
He said talks were facing a "critical moment".
Negotiating teams from the US, Israel and the PA met late Wednesday
to try to chart a path forward after both sides took steps Washington has criticized as "unhelpful."
"There's an old saying, 'You can lead a horse to water but you can't
make it drink,'" Kerry said at the Algerian foreign ministry.
"Now's the time to drink; the leaders need to know that."
He added that the United States remained committed to the talks, and
said that after the trilateral meeting on Wednesday discussions would
continue.
Kerry did say, however, that there had been progress in overnight talks
between Israeli and PA negotiators, which stretched until 4:00 am (0100
GMT), but stressed that "there is still a gap and that gap needs to
close fairly soon."
But Maan reports that the lengthy session between Israeli negotiations chief Tzipi Livni and 'Palestinian' chief
negotiator bottle washer Saeb Erekat was '
heated.'
Palestinian sources told Ma'an that the nine-hour meeting with US
Special Envoy Martin Indyk was attended by PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat,
Head of Palestinian intelligence Majid Faraj, and Israeli negotiators
Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho.
The sources described the meeting
as a "fierce political battle", with Martin Indyk struggling to control
heated exchanges between both sides.
Erekat reportedly told the
Israeli side that "we are here to negotiate in the name of the
UN-recognized State of Palestine, not in the name of a Palestinian
Authority whose inputs and outputs are controlled by Israel."
Israeli negotiators responded by threatening to put "endless" sanctions on the Palestinians, the sources said.
During the heated exchanges, US special envoy Martin Indyk reiterated his support for Israel's security.
Majid
Faraj responded by stressing that the Palestinians were there for
"political, not security" talks and to negotiate about Jerusalem as the
future capital of an independent Palestinian state.
Erekat
responded to Israeli threats of sanctions by saying the PLO would go
after Israeli officials as "war criminals" in international
institutions.
...
"Since Israel failed to release the last group of prisoners, the State
of Palestine is no longer obliged to postpone its rights to accede to
multilateral treaties and conventions," the PLO said in a statement
Wednesday.
"Despite the escalation of oppressive Israeli policies
such as the killing of Palestinian civilians, settlement construction,
raids on vulnerable communities, arbitrary arrests and detentions, home
demolitions and the removal of residency rights, we remained committed
to the negotiations process and supported US efforts," it added.
What needs to be said - but is not being said enough - is that the real reason these 'talks' are falling apart is because Israel has done nothing but give and the 'Palestinians' have done nothing but receive. That's why Israel refused to release the fourth batch of terrorists. It decided it would rather let the talks blow up now than have them - inevitably - blow up in a month, after the precedent of releasing 'Israeli Arabs' on the 'Palestinian Authority's say-so had been set.
Do I get to say 'I told you so' yet?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Israeli Arab, John Kerry, Martin Indyk, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, Saeb Erekat, Tzipi Livni, unilateral concessions
Of course: The 'Palestinians' say it's blackmail so Israel sweetens the deal
It goes without saying.
The 'Palestinians' rejected as '
blackmail' an Israeli
proposal to release 420 terrorists to be chosen by Israel and partially freeze 'settlement' construction in exchange for the 'Palestinians' continuing talks and the United States releasing
hostage Jonathan Pollard from confinement.
So Israel has
sweetened the deal.
A reported American offer revealed to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday,
by which Jonathan Pollard would be released in exchange for over 400
Israeli-held Arab terrorists, including arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti,
was sharply denounced by Judea and Samaria's Yesha Council.
Yes, that's right. Lifer x 5 Marwan Barghouti (the cockroach in the middle) is now part of the deal.
In response to the plans, Yesha Council released a statement on
Tuesday afternoon, declaring "the submission to Arab blackmail and
American bribery through the use of Pollard is a disgrace. Freezing
building and freeing murderers is not a new patent."
"The government of Israel has already frozen (building) and released
murderers several times, but the Palestinian leadership isn't interested
in peace, but rather steps up its demands and requests more and more
murderers," noted the statement.
Yesha Council strongly denounced the "extortion," calling on
government ministers to oppose the "shameful deal," and in doing so "not
to submit to American pressure and bribery."
The statement clarified the Council's ardent desire for Pollard's
release, but noted "making the joy of the day of his release dependent
on the mourning of the bereaved families whose loved ones' murderers are
released is an unforgivable act."
"The Palestinians are extorting, the Americans are bribing, and the
one paying the price is the government of Israel in the name of us, the
citizens," concluded the council.
The 'Palestinians' agree. They are proud of their successful blackmail.
Let's go to the videotape.
But there's more to it than that. The 'Palestinians' aren't at the table to make peace. They're at the table to
release terrorists.
Senior PA leader Nabil
Shaath explained already in November and again in December 2013, that
the reason the PA has not "stopped negotiations," is because the PA
wants to first fulfill its goal of having all the prisoners Israel
arrested before the Oslo Accords released.
Israel
agreed to release the 104 terrorists from prison because it was the
Palestinian Authority's precondition for starting negotiations at all.
But Fatah's spokesman calling the release of the prisoners "blackmail,"
together with Shaath's statement that they are just waiting for the
prisoners to be released before they stop the negotiations, indicates that for the PA, the current round of peace talks may have been a charade.
Israel has already released 78 of the prisoners, and has not yet announced if it will release the remaining 26.
And Obama-Kerry are the 'Palestinians' willing lackeys. I hope they share Arafat's fate.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, gestures, John Kerry, Jonathan Pollard, Marwan Barghouti, Middle East peace process, Nabil Sha'ath, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Jodi loves terrorists
Jodi Rudoren writes an incredible puff piece
humanizing a 'Palestinian' murderer who was released as part of the 'peace talks.' The terrorist murdered a 72-year old Holocaust survivor in cold blood in 1993. A few highlights and comments.
Demonized
as terrorists by Israelis and lionized as freedom fighters by
Palestinians, prisoners like Mr. Salah have become a flash point in the
troubled peace talks, whose continuation hinges on whether a promised fourth group is let go in the coming days. Amid the charged debate,
these middle-aged men — 69 of them convicted of murder, 54 escaping
life sentences — have begun to rebuild disrupted lives. They are earning
their first driver’s licenses, leveraging $50,000 grants from the
Palestinian Authority to build apartments or start businesses, searching
for wives and struggling to start families.
Mr.
Salah was flush with more than $100,000 saved from the Palestinian
Authority’s monthly payments to prisoners’ families. He remodeled and
refurnished his mother’s home. He bulldozed the rocky slope out back and
built a 2,400-square-foot pen for livestock. He invested in a Nablus
money-changing storefront in December, and, last month, bought his first
car, a silver 2007 Kia Pride.
But
he still wakes at 5 a.m., as he had to for the prison count. He makes
coffee in an electric kettle like the one he had in his cell. The day
before his wedding, Mr. Salah and one of his brothers got threatening
phone calls from a man who gave his name as Moshe and spoke in Hebrew.
“He
told me, ‘I will kill him, kill his wife, and shoot you and all his
family,’ ” said the brother, Muhammad. “He told me, ‘I know where you
live, in Burqa, and Burqa is next to Sebastia.’ ”
If
Charles Manson is ever released from prison, will the Times do a story about his difficulties in adjusting to life outside prison? With the Times, one can never be 100% sure, but somehow I doubt it.
Hearing
about Mr. Salah’s new life was unsettling for Ms. Harris [the daughter of Salah's victim, 72-year old Israel Tenenbaum HY"D - May God Avenge his blood. CiJ], who is 56 and
works as a special-education teacher. “If he was an anonymous
character, it would be easier,” she said.
But
while most Israelis — and certainly most victims’ relatives — oppose
the prisoner releases, Ms. Harris said of her family, “If it advances
the peace process, we all support even the release of this murderer.”
And it's this kind of insanity that drives just enough of a wedge in Israeli society to allow terrorists to be released. You're willing to let your father's murderer be released if it 'advances the peace process' - whatever that means. I haven't seen anything that advanced the 'peace process' - certainly not in the last 20 years. Why do we continue to fool ourselves?
The only good news here is that Salah - who is still only 47 - says he won't participate in the next intifada.
“I’m away from the conflict now,” he said. “I’ve paid the tax in full.
If tomorrow there is a third intifada, I’ll sit on this couch, and watch
it on TV.”
Let's see if he sticks to that one.
Releasing terrorists from prison is insane. Even if they don't go back to their former lives, the message being sent to future generations of terrorists is not one that Israel can abide.
And as to the Times, it's long past time for them to stop lionizing murderers.
Labels: gestures, Jodi Rudoren, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Surreal: Abu Bluff offers to extend talks to end of 2014 in exchange for 1,000 terrorists of his choosing
The Times of Israel reports that '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen has offered to extend the 'talks' with Israel through the end of 2014 in exchange for the
release of 1,000 'Palestinian' terrorists of his choosing.
On Saturday, The Times of Israel learned from a
Palestinian source that Jerusalem, backed by Washington, offered to
release 400 more prisoners of Israel’s choosing, in addition to a fourth
and final group of longtime terrorism convicts who were set to go free
this weekend – on the condition that the Palestinian Authority agrees to
prolong the ongoing negotiations beyond the April 29 deadline.
However, on Sunday, the Palestinian leadership
rejected the offer and presented a counteroffer of its own to American
mediators – that Israel release 1,000 more prisoners, of the Palestinian
Authority’s choosing. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
also demanded that Israel freeze settlement construction and transfer
some Area C regions to the Palestinian Authority’s control.
In exchange, peace talks would be extended until the end of 2014.
Although the Palestinian leadership rejected
Israel’s offer, which was an attempt to at least partially fill Abbas’s
prerequisites for the extension of talks, the Palestinian Authority was
holding intensive talks Sunday to discuss the matter further.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, who
has resigned several times since peace talks started up again in July
under US mediation, said Sunday that he was still holding secret talks
with Jerusalem and Washington, far from the public eye.
...
Saturday’s
offer had stipulated that Israel would determine which additional 400
security prisoners would go free, Palestinian sources said. The demand
was rejected by the Palestinian leadership, which insisted on
determining which prisoners would be freed.
Israel is said to be holding close to 5,000 Palestinian security prisoners.
Netanyahu has all the backbone of a pretzel soaked in warm water overnight, but I do not see his own party - let alone Jewish Home - going along with this.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, Saeb Erekat, unilateral concessions
'Palestinians': Israel to release 4th trache of terrorists within 48 hours, no additional concessions
'Palestinian' news site al-Quds is reporting that Israel will
release the 4th tranche of 26 'Palestinian' terrorists by Tuesday evening without the 'Palestinians' making additional concessions to Israel. If that is true, the names of the terrorists to be released would have to be posted on the Prisons' Authority website on Sunday evening.
"It seems that the efforts paid off and there will be a release of
the prisoners," the unnamed source said to be familiar with the
negotiating process told the Palestinian news site.
Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that haggling on the issue could go on for "a number of days."
Speaking
at a meeting of Likud ministers, Netanyahu said that Israel would not
make a deal to free the prisoners "without a clear benefit for Israel in
return." He acknowledged that negotiations to come to an agreement
could potentially "blow up."
...
Saeb Erekat, the PLO’s chief negotiator, said that both sides are
still negotiating the scale and composition of the prisoner release,
though he added that the Palestinians did not see any linkage between
the release and the continuation of the negotiations.
Nonetheless,
Palestinian sources in Ramallah told Israel Radio that there would be
no discussion of future negotiations without the fourth installment of
the prisoner release, which should include Israeli Arabs. The Israeli
government has so far refused to consider freeing Israeli citizens
convicted of terrorist acts.
On Saturday, the United States charged Israel with
violating the terms of the original agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinians at the start of talks nine months ago regarding terrorist releases.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, Saeb Erekat, unilateral concessions
Netanyahu: No terrorist release without 'clear benefit' to Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu told a meeting of Likud ministers on Sunday that Israel will not release any more terrorists without a '
clear benefit.'
Speaking at a meeting of Likud ministers, Netanyahu said that Israel
would not make a deal to free the prisoners "without a clear benefit for
Israel in return." He acknowledged that negotiations to come to an
agreement could potentially "blow up."
Israel said it is willing to release a fourth batch of convicted Palestinian terrorists,
but not if the Palestinians say that they will end the negotiations
directly after the release, a highly-placed Israeli official said
Saturday night.
The official, familiar with the negotiations, said
“Israel wants to see the continuation of the peace talks with the
Palestinians, and is willing to implement the fourth release of
convicted terrorists. But the Palestinians are making that very
difficult when they say that immediately following the release, they
will end the talks.”
...
An Israeli official said that the Palestinians also did not live up to
their commitments under the framework, including to engage in serious
and good faith negotiations.
Meanwhile, '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is trying to get Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti onto the list of terrorists to be released. Barghouti is serving five life sentences for murder.
The wife of Marwan Barghouti, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah party
who is serving five life sentences for planning numerous terror attacks
against Israelis, stated Sunday that Palestinian Authority Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas is campaigning for the terrorist's release.
Barghouti has been named as a possible successor
for Abbas, who is under increasing pressure in the political sphere to
both sign an agreement with Israel and ascertain Palestinian nationalist
rights.
Barghouti is one of the PA's most dangerous terrorists, according to experts, and he has threatened Israel with
a third intifada, albeit an unarmed one from his jail cell. He declared
that “would not give up and I claim that the right of return is a
sacred right of the Palestinians.”
Someone please find Netanyahu's backbone quickly so that there will actually be a chance that he sticks to that demand.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Marwan Barghouti, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Report: Israel refusing to release last tranche of terrorists
The 'Palestinians' are reporting that Israel has
refused to release the fourth and final tranche of terrorists on Saturday night as scheduled.
"The Israeli government has informed us through the American mediator
that it will not abide with its commitment to release the fourth batch
of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 29," PA
official Jibril Rajoub told AFP.
"Israel has refused to commit to the names that were agreed upon
of prisoners held by Israel since before the 1993 Oslo agreements,"
added Rajoub, calling the move a "slap in the face of the US
administration and its efforts."
Rajoub reiterated PA threats to take unilateral moves for
recognition at the UN next week, in breach of conditions of the peace
talks, due to the release not occurring. "Not releasing the prisoners
will mark the beginning of the efforts in the international community to
challenge the legality of the occupation," threatened the PA official.
Israel has already released 78 of the 104 terrorists it committed to release. The talks have gone nowhere, and the 'Palestinians' are continuing them only to gain the release of additional terrorists.
Israel Radio reported early this morning that the release would be delayed because under the procedure fixed by the Supreme Court, the names have to be released 48 hours in advance - not including the Sabbath - in order to allow the families of the terrorists' victims to appeal the release. The appeal is pro forma anyway - none have ever been granted - but the government must still comply with the procedure. As of this morning, no names had been released by the Prisons Service.
Anyone could have foreseen this result. But of course Obama and Kerry didn't.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, gestures, Jibril Rajoub, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, Supreme Court, terror victims, unilateral concessions
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
PA 'foreign minister' says 'framework agreement' to be non-binding, 'Palestinians' will apply to UN anyway
'Palestinian Authority' 'foreign minister' Riyad Al-Maliki, told an Arab newspaper that any 'framework agreement' to be signed with Israel would be non-binding. The 'Palestinians' intend to
apply for membership at the United Nations and with its constituent agencies immediately upon the end of the 'negotiating period' at the end of April.
Speaking to pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat at the sidelines of the
Arab League conference n Kuwait, Maliki criticized the US-brokered
talks, which are set to expire at the end of next month, and reiterated
the PA's opposition to extending the length of the negotiation process.
"We are committed, along with the US administration, to the nine-month period which ends on April 29," he said.
"When the nine months end,
if there is something that justifies extra time, it will be discussed on
the level of the Palestinian leadership and then our Arab brothers will
be consulted about the issue before any decision is taken... Any
amendment to the negotiation formula requires confirmation from the Arab
side."
One crucial condition for
extending talks, said Maliki, was a full construction freeze in all
Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
"If not linked with halting
settlement activity, extending the negotiations will be a cover for the
Israeli side to swallow Palestinian territory," he insisted.
His comments echo claims made by a source close to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who
revealed yesterday
that Abbas was willing to extend talks in exchange for a building
freeze in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as additional
terrorist releases.
Maliki reiterated that
expectations vis-a-vis the outcome of talks were low, having moved from
hopes of a permanent "peace agreement" to a mere "framework agreement".
That would be a humiliating failure for the Obama administration, and
particularly Secretary of State John Kerry, having declared its aim to
impose a comprehensive agreement within nine months.
Asked how the PA would move forward following the termination of
talks at the end of April, Maliki confirmed it would take unilateral
steps "including making requests to join international organizations".
And for this they want Israel to release more terrorists and impose a construction freeze? God forbid....
Labels: gestures, Middle East peace process, unilateral concessions
Abu Bluff asks US to help free Barghouti, Saadat
Earlier this week, I reported that '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen planned to
demand the release of murderers Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat in exchange for an extension of the 'peace talks.' Reuters is now
confirming that demand was made.
A Palestinian official said Abbas had written
to the United States asking them to bring about the release of ill
prisoners, female inmates and minors, as well as Barghouti and two other
high-profile leaders - Ahmed Sa'adat and Fouad Al-Shobaki.
"The
president renewed his demand during the recent meetings in Washington,"
said Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian Prisoner Club,
referring to Abbas's trip to Washington this week to discuss the shaky
peace process with President Barack Obama.
An
Israeli court sentenced Barghouti to five life sentences and 40 years
in jail in 2004, finding him guilty of orchestrating ambushes and
suicide attacks during the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, that was
raging at the time.
Saadat was the planner and leader of the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Zeevi HY"D (May God Avenge his blood). Shobaki was the financier of the Karine A weapons ship that convinced then-President George W. Bush to break off all negotiations with Yasser Arafat. Israel has held them since
2006. Before that, they were held in a '
prison' that was monitored by Britain.
The second picture is (left to right) Saadat, Barghouti and their good friend, the
child murderer Samir al-Kuntar. Kuntar was released in 2008 in
exchange for two black boxes containing the
mutilated remains of kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev HY"D (May God Avenge their blood).
Labels: Abu Mazen, Ahmed Saadat, Barack Hussein Obama, Fouad al-Shobaki, gestures, Marwan Barghouti, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, Samir al-Kuntar, unilateral concessions
They should have been buried at sea wrapped in pigskin a long time ago
They should have been buried at sea, wrapped in pigskins (and fed to sharks) a long time ago. Instead, 'Palestinian' media are reporting that Israel is to return the bodies of two 'Palestinian' suicide bombers from the last decade for
heroes' burials.
According to Israel Radio, the Palestinians anticipate that Israel will
transfer the remains of Fatah operative Ayat al-Akhras, the woman who
set off an explosive device attached to her body as she stood at the
entrance to a supermarket in the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood of
Jerusalem on March 29, 2002. Three Israelis were killed in the attack.
Israel will also hand over the body of Islamic Jihad terrorist Daoud Abu
Sway, the young Palestinian who detonated explosives attached to his
body as he was standing near the David Citadel hotel in Jerusalem on
December 5, 2001. Three bystanders were wounded in the attack.
Israel's government really needs its collective heads examined.
Labels: Arab-Muslim blood lust, gestures, Palestinian suicide bombers, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Video: Freed 'Palestinian' terrorist describes how he murdered two Jewish students
I guess this is my night for murderers describing their dastardly deeds. If you clicked through the link in the previous post, the article included a blow-by-blow description of the
murder of Daniel Pearl HY"D (May God Avenge his blood). This post includes a video of Issa Abd Rabbo, a 'Palestinian' terrorist murderer who was released in order to convince the 'Palestinians' to come to the 'negotiating' table, describing how he murdered two Jewish students in 1984. Abd Rabbo's hand was lifted by '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen on his release from prison, and Abu Mazen described Abd Rabbo as - what else? - a hero.
Let's go to the videotape.
Palestinian Media Watch
reports:
Mahmoud Abbas and other PA leaders have called all the released terrorist murderers "heroes," on numerous occasions.
Palestinian Media Watch recently reported that released murderer Asrar
Samrin, who was released with Abd Rabbo, told PA TV that none of the
prisoners regret their actions: "There is no Palestinian who did
something for the homeland and his nation who will regret it. We don't
regret what we did and we will not regret what we did."
Read the whole thing. Labels: Abu Mazen, gestures, Middle East peace process, murder, Palestinian incitement, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
More outrageous bribes to keep the 'Palestinians' at the table
JPost is reporting that Israel is to
return the remains of 'dozens' of 'Palestinian' terrorists in order to keep the 'Palestinians' at the 'negotiating' table.
The remains of 36 Palestinians currently buried in Israel in unmarked
graves will be returned to the Palestinian Authority on Sunday,
according to a report in the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
The report cited Salim Khillah, a spokesman for the Committee to
Retrieve Palestinian Remains from Israeli custody, said that Israel was
returning the remains as a gesture to the Palestinians to continue with
the current round of peace talks.
Despite Khilla's claim that the
move was an Israeli gesture of good will, a spokesman for the Israeli
NGO Hamoked (The Center for the Defense of the Individual) told Ma'an
that the delivery of the remains was a result of a petition that the NGO
filed to the Supreme Court demanding that the remains of all the
Palestinians be returned.
Khalil said the remains of one of the
deceased, Majdi Abd al-Jawad Khanfar, will be returned on Sunday at 8
p.m. to the Taibeh checkpoint following which a military funeral is set
to be held in his West Bank village.
According to the report,
al-Jawad Khanfar was killed in 2002 after he and another member of
Fatah's military wing attacked and killed an Israeli soldier at a West
Bank checkpoint.
They should all be wrapped in pig skin and buried in lead coffins at sea. Either that or thrown to sharks.
Labels: gestures, Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, unilateral concessions
Netanyahu prepares to give away the store
For those who remember the
Why, Why, Wye agreement, it's happening again. Our Prime Minister is already preparing us for his accepting an agreement that '
no one' will like.
Netanyahu told the Likud MKs that there will be
elements inside the American declaration of principles that Israel will not
like, and there will be elements that the Palestinians will not
like.
Government officials said that if this particular track toward
extending the negotiations beyond the late April deadline bears fruit, then both
Israel and the Palestinians are expected to say that the positions reflected in
the document are American positions – not necessarily ones they accept – but
that they will continue to negotiate based on the American
document.
Among the issues expected to be difficult for Israel to swallow
is a declaration that the endgame is a Palestinian state based on the 1967
lines, with minor land swaps. And among the bitter pills for the Palestinians is
expected to be a formula recognizing Israel as the nation state of the Jewish
people, and making clear that the Palestinian refugees are to be absorbed in the
future Palestinian state.
Netanyahu told the MKs he was using his
meetings with Kerry to persuade him that Israel must maintain settlement blocs
and areas of national and strategic importance, and that he was succeeding in
persuading Kerry to accept many of Israel’s positions.
“There is an
understanding about Israel’s need to keep settlement blocs and areas of
historical significance like Hebron and Beit El,” sources close to Netanyahu
quoted him as saying following the closed-door meeting.
Right-wing MKs
received an impression from Netanyahu that he had no problem giving up
uninhabited land and was ready to give up settlements that are not in blocs or
nationally or strategically important.
Following questioning by MKs Tzipi
Hotovely and Moshe Feiglin, Netanyahu said he disagreed with them about
annexation in the West Bank.
“I know there are some of you who favor
annexing land together with the Palestinians, but I don’t want to control 1.5-2
million Palestinians and neither do most Israelis,” he said, according to
sources close to him who were in the meeting.
Netanyahu said that neither
a binational state nor a situation where the Palestinians do not have full
rights were acceptable.
He said a solution was needed, and that the
current negotiations were aimed at trying to find that
solution.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Palestinian refugees, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, unilateral concessions
Why a terrorist release and not a 'settlement freeze'
As was the case the previous two times, a lot of Israelis are questioning why our government chose to release terrorists from prison rather than agreeing to an easily reversible 'settlement freeze.'
Eugene Kontorovich might have the answer.
Not allowing Jews to build houses in most of
Jerusalem, in settlement blocs like Gush Etzion, Maale Adumim, and
elsewhere that would surely remain under Israel sovereignty sends one
message: we have absolutely no right to be here. We are trespassers. It
is one thing to say the Palestinians can have a state because of
demographic reasons, international pressure, and so forth. It is another
thing to say we are trespassers in the Old City of Jerusalem and
Hebron, where Jews lived until being expelled by Arab armies and mobs. A
settlement freeze in effect agrees to the 1967 lines as the basis for
negotiations–which even if it were a good idea, is a lot more than a
“gesture of good faith.” It is one thing to say these territories should
become Palestinian territory. It is another to say Israel took them
from the Palestinians, that they always were, as Abbas claims,
Palestinian territory.
Of course, the way the narrative of the peace process is structured,
Israel should not be surprised at the pay-to-play. And for this
situation, the tireless proponents of “peace” bear primary
responsibility. If, as the left argues, Israel needs peace more than the
Palestinians need it, no wonder the Palestinians will charge Israel
heavily for the privilege of giving them a state.
That is indeed why the Palestinian demands go far beyond the end of
occupation or having an independent state. The right of return? What
does that have to do with the end of occupation? A capital in Jerusalem,
which no Arab state has had? An end to Jewish control over the Holy
Basin? Nothing to do with an independent state. These are additional
political add-ons. Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley? Ditto; almost no
Arabs (or Jews) live there; control over it is a territorial demand
rather than an independence-related one.
Interestingly, the Labor Party, while favoring a two-state solution,
was until recently against icing the cake–against the division of
Jerusalem, ceding sovereignty over Jerusalem, and a right of return. Yet
in succeeding rounds of peace negotiations, they have accepted all
three in some form. This erosion of their position is natural. Once
peace is defined as an existential Israeli interest–once Israeli
politicians have resorted to the cheap tactic of threatening apartheid
and illegitimacy–there is nowhere back to go, only forward with endless
concessions.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: gestures, Middle East peace process, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, Palestinian terrorists, settlement freeze, unilateral concessions
Netanyahu gets tickled by a backbone
It's taken a long time - too long for my tastes - but it seems that Israel's Prime Minister might just be starting to discover that he has a backbone and that he can use it after all.
Israel's Channel 2 is reporting that the Prime Minister has informed the United States that
Israel will not release 'Israeli Arab' terrorists as a gesture to the 'Palestinians,' but that it will release them in exchange for Jonathan Pollard.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State John Kerry
that Israel would not release any Israeli-Arab prisoners in the fourth
and final release, Channel 2 reported on Monday night, citing an Israeli official.
Israel
has been reluctant to release those prisoners that, unlike the
Palestinian prisoners, live within the Green Line and have an Israeli
ID.
Netanyahu has reportedly asked the Shin Bet and the Israeli Prisons
Service to compile a list of other prisoners to replace the Israeli-Arab
prisoners already on the list.
The Prime Minister's Office,
however, said that Israel never committed itself at any stage to release
Israeli Arabs. A decision to do so would entail another cabinet vote.
Why should we have to 'replace' anyone we take off the list? Especially in light of the next line...
The official told Channel 2 that Israel felt "deceived" by Kerry, who
caved to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' demand to
increase the number of prisoners released from 82 to 104, and led him to
believe Israel would be willing to release prisoners with Israeli
citizenship.
Why didn't Netanyahu say so six months ago? And since when have we outsourced our negotiations to John FN Kerry?
And then there's this.
Netanyahu reportedly told Kerry that while Israel was not willing to
release Israeli-Arab prisoners as a gesture to the Palestinians, it
would be willing to release them as a gesture to the US, in return for
the release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard.
According to the report, Kerry has agreed to consider the proposal, but has yet to respond to it.
Pollard is not going to go for that.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Israeli Arabs are a fifth column, John Kerry, Jonathan Pollard, Palestinian terrorists
