What am I missing here? - UPDATED: US TO BACK PALESTINIAN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION?
The tweet is from the inimitable Matt Lee quoting the State Department spokesperson.
What am I missing here? Isn't assuming that the outcome of the negotiations will be a 'Palestinian state' - whether on the 1949 armistice lines or on the 1949 armistice lines with 'mutually agreed adjustments' - prejudging them?
Can anyone help me out here?
UPDATE 10:16 PM
And yet....
You don't think they're threatening Israel do you?
Labels: negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, State Department obsession with Israel, United Nations Security Council
And again: Abu Bluff threatens to dissolve 'Palestinian Authority'
'
Moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen says he's ready to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu anytime, anywhere. But he has also set a whole slew of preconditions for extending the 'talks' deadline. And he apparently missed the decision to
walk back the threat to
dissolve the 'Palestinian Authority.' In a Tuesday conversation with Israeli reporters, he
threatened dissolution once again.
Abbas said that Israel would have to assume authority over the
Palestinians if it were to continue its current policy toward the
Palestinian Authority.
Abbas seemed to be reiterating his reported
threat to dissolve the Palestinian Authority in the event that peace
talks fail, even as chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was quoted
Tuesday as saying that the PA leadership had no intention of dismantling
the Ramallah government.
The comments came as Israeli and
Palestinian negotiating teams were meeting in Jerusalem Tuesday
afternoon in an effort to come up with a package that would extend the
negotiations beyond next week's deadline.
Good guy and bad guy?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat, US foreign aid
Pass the popcorn: Israel sanctioning 'Palestinians'
Israel announced Thursday evening that it is
sanctioning the 'Palestinian Authority' for applying to join fifteen agencies at the United Nations.
According to Kol Yisrael radio, these measures include a
suspension of high-level contacts between ministers and CEOs, and any
contacts with the PA will now be led by the Coordinator of Government
Activities in Judea and Samaria, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.
It was also decided to freeze the implementation of 3G cellular
technology in PA-assigned areas and stop the transfer into Gaza of
communications equipment belonging to the PA cellular phone company
Watania. Another punitive measure is a freeze on promotion master plans
for new communities in Area C.
Israel is looking into further sanctions on the PA, according to Kol Yisrael.
You have to wonder when we are going to stop providing them with water and electricity and when we are going to start withholding the VAT receipts (the latter could actually happen) to pay some of their debts to our government and utilities.
In the meantime, the 'Palestinians' have set
new conditions for the resumption of 'negotiations,' which likely ensure that the 'negotiations' are over.
The new Palestinian conditions include Israeli recognition of the
pre-1967 lines as the future borders of a Palestinian state with east
Jerusalem as its capital and the release of 1,200 Palestinian prisoners,
the officials said.
The Palestinians are now demanding that Israel release three senior
prisoners: Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Sa’adat and Fuad Shobaki.
The
new conditions also include a complete cessation of settlement
construction, PA sovereignty over Area C in the West Bank, a halt of
Israeli military operations in PA-controlled territories and “reunion”
permits for 15,000 Palestinians.
Other conditions include
reopening the border crossings and lifting the blockade on the Gaza
Strip, as well as the return of Palestinian gunmen who were deported to
the Gaza Strip and Europe after they seeking shelter in the Nativity
Church in Bethlehem.
The new conditions were announced during a meeting of Fatah leaders with Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat in Ramallah.
Good luck with that....
Labels: Israel Electric Corporation, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat, toothless sanctions, United Nations
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
Danon threatens to resign if more terrorists are released
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) told a group of mothers of terror victims on Wednesday that he has
threatened to resign from the government if the fourth release of 'Palestinian' terrorists goes through as scheduled on March 28.
Danon sent the threat to Netanyahu and revealed it in a meeting with mothers of terror victims in the Knesset.
"I believe that by working together, we can stop the unnecessary release
of terrorists and prevent it," Danon told the mothers. "There is no
reason to release these murderers. If there will be a fourth round, I
won't sit in the government anymore."
Arutz Sheva
adds:
"In the last few weeks,” said Danon, “the mask has been removed from
the face of Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], and it Is clear that nothing will
come of the negotiations. I will not sit in a government that releases
terrorists in exchange for Tzipi Livni's fantasies,” he declared. “There
is a limit to how much we can pay like suckers, in return for the
smiles of Livni and Erekat.”
Justice Minister Livni is the head of the Israeli negotiating team in
talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), while Saeb Erekat heads the
PA delegation.
"Despite my opposition in the past,” Danon explained. “we released
terrorists in exchange for sitting around the negotiating table, in the
hope that this would lead to Palestinian concessions.
But the
Palestinians have us wrapped around their little finger and are proud of
it. They take advantage of our sincere desire for peace, while uttering
threats of boycotts, in order to release terrorists from jail. I will
stop assisting this.”
MK Danon said that he has sent a letter to the prime minister,
demanding to cancel the final release of terrorists that is planned for
next week. The PA published the names of 30 terrorists who it says are
to be freed. It includes 14 Arab citizens of Israel and four residents
of east Jerusalem.
Minister Naftali Bennett said that no Israeli Arabs will be released.
"Now that it is clear to everyone that there is no advance in
the negotiations – all there is is the firing of missiles [from Gaza]
and an escalation by Abu Mazen on his side – I think it is time for the
Cabinet to discuss the matter of the fourth tranche in order to try and find the logic [in a release] when Abu Mazen is already saying – 'I just want the terrorists and then I will derail the negotiations.'”
"So, we will give him terrorists just so he can derail the negotiations? What is the logic in this?”
Danon was number 9 on
Likud - Beiteinu's Knesset list in the last election, and despite his not being in Netanyahu's court (to put it mildly), Danon is considered an up and coming star. Hmmm.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorists, Saeb Erekat, Tzipi Livni
Abu Bluff defiantly sticking to 'principles'
Ahead of his meeting on Monday with US President Hussein Obama, '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is
sticking to his 'principles.'
Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said that Abbas plans to speak
with Obama on all issues related to the realization of a two-state
solution and the establishment of a just and balanced peace that will
result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state whose
capital is Jerusalem.
Abu Rudeineh stated that the visit to Washington is taking place
during a sensitive time period and under circumstances of change in the
Arab world, stressing that PA Chairman intends to stick to the
“fundamental Palestinian principles”.
In a speech he gave to the Revolutionary Council of Fatah this past
Wednesday, Abbas said that the Palestinian Arabs are steadfast in their
positions that eastern Jerusalem will be the capital of Palestine, and
that Israelis will remain in the Palestinian state after Israel
withdraws to the pre-1967 borders.
On the issue of the “Palestinian refugees”, Abbas said in his speech
that every refugee who wishes to return to the State of Israel will be
allowed to do so, and declared that all refugees, without exception,
will receive compensation.
The remarks are not surprising, as Abbas has consistently said that unless all his preconditions are met, there will be no peace with Israel.
In a recent appearance
broadcast by PA TV, Abbas clearly stated: no Jewish communities will
remain in the PA, and 5 million “refugees” worldwide, “from Canada to
Japan” – including all of the descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in
1948 – will have the right to “return” to Israel.
It's clear there's not going to be 'peace' in our lifetimes, and that's fine. The bigger issue is what will happen when this 'negotiation' charade ends.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Barack Hussein Obama, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian refugees, right of return, two-state solution
Terrorists throw grenade at Israeli school bus; Israel prepares to release more terrorists
The world has gone mad.
As
terror attacks increase in Judea and Samaria, Israel is preparing to
release another 26 'Palestinian' murderers. And the response of the so-called 'Right' in Netanyahu's cabinet? They're proposing a
bill to prevent the release of terrorists.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud Beytenu) worked to convince ministers to vote against the prisoner release planned for next week.
"The attempt to harm innocent children shows that the Palestinian
Authority doesn't want to talk peace; it wants to make war," Deputy
Education Minister Avi Wortzman (Bayit Yehudi) said.
Wortzman
called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to "do the right thing" and
vote for the Bayit Yehudi's bill against prisoner releases.
The
deputy minister's remarks came after an improvised explosive device was
thrown at an Israeli school bus transporting students Friday morning
near the village of Yaabud, not far from Jenin. No injuries or damage
were reported.
Similarly, MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi) said
"incitement against Israel in the Palestinian Authority is increasing,
as are terror attacks."
"There is no good reason to free
terrorists and murderers with blood on their hands. It's immoral and
hurts Israel's security," Yogev added.
On Sunday, The Ministerial
Committee for Legislation is scheduled to vote on a bill proposed by the
Bayit Yehudi and coalition chairman Yariv Levine (Likud Beytenu)
prohibiting prisoner releases.
Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) and the Likud MK's who claim to oppose the 'two-state solution' (which is most of them) were to threaten to leave the coalition, and be willing to act on that threat, there's a good chance that Netanyahu would stop this collective suicide.
But don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. Our '
elected representatives' are far more concerned with their seats, and with their cars and other perks, than they are about actually doing what's best for the country. And besides, Obama and Kerry would cry if Israel didn't release the terrorists.
Woe unto the people of Israel!
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian terrorism, two-state solution, unilateral concessions
Nothing but bluster: 'We are not a rubber stamp'
It's amazing to think that this guy was once Binyamin Netanyahu's main Likud rival for the top spot. His
weakness compares only with Netanyahu's spinelessness.
Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom, who is a member of the ruling
Likud faction, told Israel Radio on Sunday that more attacks like the
incident in the Psagot settlement that left a nine-year-old girl lightly
wounded would prompt the government to reconsider its decision to free
Palestinians who served lengthy jail sentences for violent crimes
committed against Israelis.
...
"The ministerial committee is not a rubber stamp committee, and it
has the power to rescind the release of more prisoners," Shalom told
Israel Radio.
The minister said that the current Israeli
government would not adopt the motto of late premier Yitzhak Rabin, who
advocated negotiating with the Palestinians as if there were no
terrorism and fighting terrorism as if there were no negotiations.
How many more attacks will it take, Minister Shalom, before the government 'reconsiders' (note: not cancels but 'reconsiders') its decision? Or is it perhaps the fortuity that young Noam Glick was not killed that convinces you that the 'Palestinians' actually want peace, because if they didn't the terrorist could have gotten a better shot?
Netanyahu's spinelessness is matched only by the moronic behavior of his yes-men in the cabinet.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorists, Sylvan Shalom, unilateral concessions
MK's urge halt to negotiations, terrorist releases
In light of
Saturday night's terror attack on the Jewish village of Psagot, a number of Knesset members are calling for 'negotiations' with the 'Palestinians' and the release of terrorists from Israeli prisons to be
suspended.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon on Saturday urged Israeli peace
negotiators to rethink current talks with their Palestinian
counterparts, following the shooting of an Israeli child in the West
Bank.
He insisted that the Saturday shooting of a nine-year-old
girl in the settlement of Psagot proves "those who support terrorism"
can not be trusted partners in peace.
He then vowed to catch the
alleged Palestinian shooter, saying "If a person shoots a nine-year-old
girl, their blood is on their own head."
"We must put an end to hypocrisy of the Palestinian leadership," Danon added.
Meanwhile,
Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely said "The rise in
terrorist attacks requires Israel to stop negotiations".
"This is a
result of the Palestinian Authority's system of incitement and
two-faced policy. On the one hand, they say they want peace, and on the
other hand they incite against Israel."
According to Hotovely, "nothing has changed since Arafat; there was no partner and there is no partner for peace."
Knesset
Finance Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi) called the
terrorist attack "further proof that continuing negotiations with the
Palestinian Authority from a position of weakness brings more terror."
Slomiansky
called for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe
Ya'alon to form am aggressive policy to stop terror, and wished the
injured girl a speedy recovery.MK Yoni Shetboun (Bayit Yehudi) called
for a military operation "to bring back Israel's deterrence" after
recent terror attacks.
There are two problems here. One is that none of the critics is a minister, and the ministers who are opposed (if any) are afraid to speak up because they are afraid that Netanyahu will fire them
like Ariel Sharon did to ministers who opposed the Gaza expulsion. Second, if these MK's were serious, they would start absenting themselves from no confidence votes and make Netanyahu scramble for votes.
Someone please remind me again how many MK's from the 'Right' are in this government.....
Labels: Ariel Sharon, Binyamin Netanyahu, Gaza expulsion, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorism, Samaria, unilateral concessions
7 ministers send letter to Netanyahu asking for Knesset session on terrorist release
Buried in a story about Naftali Bennett's eulogy for murdered IDF soldier Gabriel Gal Kobi HY"D (May God Avenge his blood) on Monday was
this:
Bennett joined six other Knesset ministers in sending a letter to
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to convene the Knesset with the aim of
discussing the ongoing release of Palestinian prisoners as an integral
part of the continuing peace talks.
Other ministers who signed the
letter included Transportation Minister Israel Katz, who has recently
lashed verbal attacks in Netanyahu's direction and Senior Citizens
Minister Uri Orbach.
Bennett told mourners present at the funeral
that Israel must exact a price on terrorism to show Israel places value
on its soldiers lives.
"We must stop giving our enemies the
impression that Jewish blood has become the cheapest commodity in the
Middle East," Bennett declared. "Make no mistake about us. We will not
lay down our weapons. We will not blink."
I'm not finding it now, but I have a vague recollection that one of the reasons for the terrorists being released in four stages was that each stage would have to be brought to the cabinet for approval. If that's the case, and if Bennett can bring it to the Knesset and thinks he can pass something there, why can't Bennett mobilize enough cabinet members to vote down the next phase of the release? Or is Bennett afraid that if he does it that way, Netanyahu will threaten to fire everyone and win?
I have never seen a more spineless collection of politicians than what we have in this country.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, gestures, Israeli Knesset, Naftali Bennett, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian terrorists, security cabinet
How is Israel helping Kenyan negotiators?
For the Hebrew-impaired, the Israeli is saying "We surrender to all your demands! Take our capital city. We will establish a state for you. We will free prisoners. What else do you want?"
The Kenyans are saying "shut up already."
Source.
Labels: humor, Islamic terrorism, Kenya, Nairobi, negotiations without preconditions, unilateral concessions
Land of Israel lobby says they won't vote if there's no building
The 35 members of the Land of Israel caucus, more than one quarter of the Knesset including many members of the coalition, say that
they won't vote in favor of any government bills unless construction continues in Judea and Samaria.
The Knesset's Land of Israel caucus, a predominantly right-wing lobby
of 35 MKs and public figures, threatened on Tuesday to halt support for
the government during Knesset votes if there is a freeze on settlement
construction.
With the slogan, "No building=No voting," the
members are also split over opposition to to negotiations with the
Palestinians in scheduled renewed talks led by US Secretary of State
John Kerry.
The caucus held an emergency summit over Kerry's announcement Friday
of new negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, a meeting
attended by MKs and mayors from West Bank settlements. The mayors
accused Netanyahu of merely paying "lip-service" to building new
settlement units.
Caucus chairman Yariv Levin (Likud) told the
meeting on Tuesday that the decision to release Palestinian prisoners
was incompatible with the Israeli demand for negotiations without
preconditions.
He said that there was no reason for the world to think that the release of
murderers advances peace, while building kindergartens harms it.
He
said that the caucus was not against negotiations in principle, but
that the process had to have set goals, namely, keeping all of the land
of Israel and its settlements under Israeli sovereignty while
maintaining security.
I don't recall how many of the 35 are coalition members, but this many MK's refusing to vote could lead to unexpected glitches in the government's efforts to legislate. If this threat becomes real, look for the opposition to turn as many votes as possible into 'no confidence' votes that could bring the government down (just about any vote in the Knesset can be declared a 'no confidence' vote).
What could go wrong?
Labels: Judea and Samaria construction, negotiations without preconditions, settlement freeze
If you're going to make us come to these talks, at least find an honest broker
Israelis strongly protested US Secretary of State John Kerry's choice of former Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk to be the US representative to the possibly upcoming 'negotiations.' Indyk is the co-chairman of the
New Israel Fund.
The NIF was infamously
found to have sponsored left-wing Israeli organizations that provided
92% of the Israel-based quotes which appeared in the Goldstone Report – a
United Nations report on Israel's "Cast Lead" counter-terrorism
operation which was slammed as one-sided and defamatory of Israel.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon has already sent a letter to
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opposing the appointment of Indyk as
a go-between in the talks.
“The former ambassador, Mr. Martin Indyk, is the Chair of the
International Council of the New Israel Fund which provides funding to
anti-Zionist organizations that accuse Israel of war crimes,” wrote
Danon in the letter.
“I request that you ask the American administration for an honest broker for these negotiations.”
The NIF's critics note that it funds organizations that encourage
legal proceedings against Israeli soldiers and officials in various
countries, and organizations that are active in the BDS movement and
Israel apartheid week.
Ronen Shoval, chairman of Im Tirzu - a grassroots Israel Zionist
movement - called on the US administration to replace Indyk, in favour
of a "more honest broker."
...
"The Israeli public is already deeply suspicious and sceptical about
these talks. Appointing someone from the New Israel Fund to such a
crucial position will make them lose faith entirely - they just won't
trust someone from the NIF," he added.
As long as they don't bring us
Rob Malley instead.
Labels: Goldstone Report, John Kerry, Martin Indyk, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, New Israel Fund, Robert Malley
Kerry spoke too soon?
US Secretary of State John Kerry may have spoken too soon when he announced on Friday night that 'negotiations' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' would be resuming. The 'Palestinians' say that they're not coming to the table until Israel agrees that the 'negotiations' will be 'based upon' the 1949 armistice lines, and Israel has
already rejected that demand.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat will not depart for preliminary
peace talks in Washington until his government receives assurances
regarding Israel’s readiness to negotiate a deal based on the 1967 lines
and a commitment to release prisoners who have been serving sentences
handed down before the signing of the Oslo Accords, the pan-Arab daily
newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday.
Erekat,
the veteran negotiator, is due to meet with Justice Minister Tzipi
Livni and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molho early
next week in the American capital to discuss the terms for renewing
talks.
A spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said
that Erekat would insist on establishing a framework for negotiations
that would eventually address key Palestinian demands before direct
talks with Israel resume, according to Israel Radio.
Do I hear a 7th John Kerry trip here next week?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Saeb Erekat, Tzipi Livni, Yitzchak Molho
Israeli officials opposed to having Martin Indyk as US representative to talks
Israel's Channel 10 reported on Monday night that Israeli officials are upset with Martin Indyk's role representing the US in talks between Israel and the 'Palestinians' due to his role with the Far Left New Israel Fund.
Background
here.
Also
here and
here.
Labels: Martin Indyk, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, New Israel Fund
With friends like this...
Meretz MK Esawi Frej has already decided that there is only one acceptable outcome to any 'negotiations' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' and there will be only one side and one party to blame if that outcome does not occur. You guessed it: A 'Palestinian' state is the outcome, and
Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu will be to blame for the 'explosion of violence' that will happen if there is no 'state.'
"I want to compliment the prime minister today - but the compliment
comes with an asterisk," Frej said in a press release. "After half a
year of tireless legwork by (US) Secretary of State (John) Kerry by
land, air and sea - we have succeeded to receive a declaration of
renewed negotiations."
However Frej warned that Netanyahu's past record in political
maneuvering implies that any current successes should be digested with a
grain of salt.
"The difficult decision is now closer than ever
Mr. Prime Minister," Frej addressed Netanyahu, "if you resort to your
delaying tactics again, I am afraid you will cause an explosion."
...
Frej expressed dire predictions should the renewed talks fail to
succeed, pointing a finger of responsibility at the prime minister.
"If
you do not make the right decision, and lead to an explosion, we will
all be hurt - it doesn't matter who you blame," Frej said, "even if you
succeed in blaming the Palestinians - the responsibility will ultimately
be yours."
Talk about raised expectations. If the likely result of these 'negotiations' is an explosion (and I agree with that part), why are we even going to the table? What Frej and the 'Palestinians' want us to do is to surrender. Why on earth would we want to do that?
Labels: Arab blame game, Binyamin Netanyahu, Meretz, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian state, two-state solution
Maybe we won't need that coalition crisis after all
Prime Minister Netanyahu may not have to deal with a coalition crisis after all. The 'Palestinians' may solve his problem by insisting that
Israel agree that 'negotiations' be based upon the
1967 borders 1949 armistice lines. That's a non-starter in this coalition.
Netanyahu says the new talks must be held
without "preconditions", especially regarding the borders of the state
Palestinians want to found in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza
Strip, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Though
it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Israel deems all of Jerusalem its
undivided capital - a status not accepted internationally - and wants to
keep swathes of West Bank settlements under any eventual peace accord.
Yet the Palestinians insist no negotiations can be held until all sides agree the pre-1967 borders would be their basis.
Abbas
spokesman Nabil Abu Rdaineh said Erekat had yet to be invited to
Washington. When he goes, Abu Rdaineh said, it would be first to
determine the framework of any future negotiations.
"If
they reach an agreement over the details, in accordance to the
Palestinian demands, then the launch of negotiations will be announced,"
Abu Rdaineh told Reuters on Monday.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian state, two-state solution
Hey John - It ain't over 'til it's over
A senior aide to '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is claiming that the 'Palestinians' have not yet agreed to sit down with the Israelis, and that they are awaiting 'clarifications' from US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Interior Minister Gideon Saar, who may not know a whole lot more about what was agreed than I do, is claiming that
Israel did not agree to negotiations based on the
1967 borders 1949 armistice lines, nor did it agree to a 'settlement freeze.
'
But the 'Palestinians' are claiming that they received a
written commitment from Kerry to negotiations based on the 1949 armistice lines. Of course, Saar's claim and the 'Palestinian' claim are not contradictory.
Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to resume peace talks with Israel only
after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gave him a letter guaranteeing
that the basis of the negotiations will be Israel's pre-1967 borders,
two senior Palestinian officials told the Associated Press on Saturday.
A Western official, however, later denied that the '67 lines would be the basis of negotiations.
The Palestinian officials, both of whom are
close to the Palestinian leader and privy to internal discussions, said
the U.S. letter also stipulated that both sides are to refrain from
taking any steps that would jeopardize the outcome of the talks. Israel
is not to issue new tenders for Jewish settlements in the West Bank,
while the Palestinians are not to pursue diplomatic action against
Israel at any international organizations, the officials said on
condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the
media.
The talks with Kerry were about to collapse,
and the letter came as a lifeline in the last-minute bargaining," one of
the Palestinian officials said.
But other PA officials were not so sure Abbas had received such a written guarantee.
"Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
is going to resume negotiations based on verbal promises. He has no
guarantees that a Palestinian state will be formed on the basis of the
1967 borders, that there will be a settlement freeze or that our
prisoners will be released," a senior official in Ramallah told Israel
Hayom on Saturday.
Arab media outlets meanwhile quoted an
official in the Palestinian Authority president's inner circle, who said
the return to peace talks was made possible only thanks to a plan,
delineated in a personal letter from Kerry to Abbas, which had Abbas and
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make significant concessions
regarding their preconditions, without having to announce them publicly.
Some reports even quoted senior Palestinian officials as saying that
the letter contained a guarantee from Kerry that the peace talks will be
based on the 1967 lines, something which Jerusalem has denied.
A senior Palestinian source also told i24News
that Kerry threatened to suspend aid unless the Palestinians agreed to
renewed talks with Israel.
And then there are the terrorists being held in Israeli prisons. Israeli media is reporting that 85 'Palestinians' will be released starting in 4-6 weeks. That includes all of the 'Palestinian' terrorists being held in Israeli prisons since before the 1993 Oslo Accords (the 119 number you hear bandied about includes Israeli Arabs and common criminals). These are people with
lots of blood on their hands, most of whom are serving multiple life sentences.
On the other hand, a 'Palestinian' minister has told the Associated Press that
Israel will release 350 'Palestinians' over the next several months. Again, no contradiction in terms.
What could go wrong?
Labels: 1949 armistice lines, Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, final status negotiations, John Kerry, negotiations without preconditions, Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian terrorists, settlement freeze
Minister: 'Abbas has less control over Palestinians than Assad has over Syria
I sure hope Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has a Twitter account, because the headline of this post would have made (and is making on my Twitter account)
a great tweet.
"Just as nobody would seriously consider giving Assad land in his
current situation, it is impossible to seriously think about
transferring the control of territories to the Palestinians," Katz said
prior to entering the weekly cabinet meeting.
Katz added that the Israeli public was skeptical about the
negotiations "because it sees the position of Abu Mazen [Abbas] and what
is happening in the region."
"There are 1.5 million Palestinians under Hamas control that oppose this peace process," Katz stated.
So Transportation Minister Katz is opposed to making 'gestures' and concessions to enter into talks with the 'Palestinians'? Err... no....
He said that despite the fact that he did not think the peace talks had a
good chance of yielding a realistic agreement, he still supported
entering negotiations to improve Israel's strategic position.
How will making more concessions that will just become the new starting line for the next round of 'negotiations' improve Israel's strategic position? What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions
Peres convinced Abu Mazen to keep 'settlers' for slaughter
Take this with a grain of salt, because it's the Sunday Times of London, but that newspaper is reporting that Shimon Peres convinced '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen to come to the 'peace' table, by convincing him that he could just
keep the 'settlers' in 'Palestine.' Oh, and by the way, the 'settlers' include people who live in 'east' Jerusalem (including yours truly).
A report in The Sunday Times on
Sunday said President Shimon Peres "paved the way" for the agreement
announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, for the
resumption of peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Citing unnamed Israeli and Palestinian sources, the Times
reported that Peres met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
in Amman for secret talks where Peres convinced him to accept that "West
Bank settlers and Jewish residents of East Jerusalem could remain in
their settlements but be subject to the Palestinian state."
According
to the sources, Peres pressured the Palestinian leader to accept this
condition "as the minimum that he needed to convince Netanyahu to give
his blessing to the talks."
Of course, they would insist on disarming us all if we were to stay in 'Palestine.' And of course, no IDF. How long do you think we'd last before we were all, God forbid, slaughtered? I'd say maybe a week.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Middle East peace process, negotiations without preconditions, Shimon Peres
