Israel Palestine peace talks: Why now? Could the current volatile situation of the Middle-East be the reason for the peace talks? Source: FNOTW: FREE NEWS OF THE WORLD For over half a century, the relations of Israel and her neighbors have its ups and downs; but mostly downs. Dedication for peace talks have been weak over the years. However, the past years have seen a big turn in Middle-East politics and governments. The Arab Spring have toppled governments and gave rise to violent revolutions. Violence spread through the Arab nations, with the Libyan government removed. Syria have been drowned in a civil war against the Assad regime which have left up to 100,000 dead. Egypts army coupe and Turkeys protest have brought large unrests to the largest nations in the Middle-East. The unstable political scene have not only put Israel on high alert. Israels acceptance of preconditions (which allowed the talks to begin) came as a shock to the world. Both Israel and Palestine recognize that they have much to lose in the spreading fires of unrest, which could be the reasons for restarting of talks. Egypt crisis and Hamas Palestine is divided geographically and politically. Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas an Islamism group listed as a terrorist organization by Israel and the USA. The internationally recognized Palestinian government is the State of Palestine, which have control over the West Bank. Hamas poses as a threat to the stability by both Israel and the PA. Egyptian President Morsi who was removed from power last month and his political party are supporters of the Hamas organization in Gaza. Without Morsi, Hamas influence and support have drastically decreased. Hence, opportunity to remove Hamas from power arises something which Israel and the PA view as a beneficial. Militarization and weapons Weapons have flooded into Syria and Libya ever since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011. Uncontrolled flow of weapons in these countries are posing a threat to the security and stability of the surrounding nations. Weapons falling into the hands of extremists will be likely if tensions between Palestinians and Israel worsens. Lebanon a country bordering Syria have already experience many death tolls and unrest as a spillover effect of the Syrian civil war where extremist groups such as Hezbollah become more significant and powerful. No sides favor extremists gaining grounds in the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The peace talks now is a sign from both sides that shows determination to prevent Palestine becoming another Syria. World pressure Another explanation for why the peace talks resumed is that international pressure for peace talks have mounted. Incidents such as the Gaza flotilla raid and the recognition of Palestine in the United Nations General Assembly as a non-member state. The heightened international attention have put pressure for talks. Neither side want to be held responsible for holding up negotiations. John Kerrys efforts also showed that the USA is committed in using this opportunity to regain their reputation in the Middle-East. Source: FNOTW: FREE NEWS OF THE WORLD
In addition please publish this Subject: Some comments about being Jewish #1" Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world." • Winston Churchill _____________________________________ #2 "The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the religious source, spring, and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions." • Leo Tolstoy _____________________________________ #3 "It was in vain that we locked them up for several hundred years behind the walls of the Ghetto. No sooner were their prison gates unbarred than they easily caught up with us, even on those paths which we opened up without their aid." •A. A. Leroy Beaulieu, French publicist, 1842 _____________________________________ #4 "The Jew gave us the Outside and the Inside - our outlook and our inner life. We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact - new, adventure, surprise, unique, individual, person, vocation, time, history, future, freedom, progress, spirit, faith, hope, justice - are the gifts of the Jews." • Thomas Cahill, Irish Author _____________________________________ #5 "One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man who has not learned to think as though he were a Jew can hardly be said to have learned to think at all." • William Rees-Mogg, former Editor-in-Chief for The Times of London and a member of the House of Lords ____________________________________ #6 "It is certain that in certain parts of the world we can see a peculiar people, separated from the other peoples of the world and this is called the Jewish people... This people is not only of remarkable antiquity but has also lasted for a singular long time... For whereas the people of Greece and Italy, of Sparta, Athens and Rome and others who came so much later have perished so long ago, these still exist, despite the efforts of so many powerful kings who have tried a hundred times to wipe them out, as their historians testify, and as can easily be judged by the natural order of things over such a long spell of years. They have always been preserved, however, and their preservation was foretold... My encounter with this people amazes me..." • Blaise Pascal, French Mathematician _____________________________________ #7 "The Jewish vision became the prototype for many similar grand designs for humanity, both divine and man made The Jews, therefore, stand at the center of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose." • Paul Johnson, American Historian _____________________________________ #8 "As long as the world lasts, all who want to make progress in righteousness will come to Israel for inspiration as to the people who had the sense for righteousness most glowing and strongest." • Matthew Arnold, British poet and critic _____________________________________ #9 "Indeed it is difficult for all other nations of the world to live in the presence of the Jews. It is irritating and most uncomfortable. The Jews embarrass the world as they have done things which are beyond the imaginable. They have become moral strangers since the day their forefather, Abraham, introduced the world to high ethical standards and to the fear of Heaven. They brought the world the Ten Commandments, which many nations prefer to defy. They violated the rules of history by staying alive, totally at odds with common sense and historical evidence. They outlived all their former enemies, including vast empires such as the Romans and the Greeks. They angered the world with their return to their homeland after 2000 years of exile and after the murder of six million of their brothers and sisters. They aggravated mankind by building, in the wink of an eye, a democratic State which others were not able to create in even hundreds of years. They built living monuments such as the duty to be holy and the privilege to serve one's fellow men. They had their hands in every human progressive endeavor, whether in science, medicine, psychology or any other discipline, while totally out of proportion to their actual numbers. They gave the world the Bible and even their "s avi or." Jews taught the world not to accept the world as it is, but to transform it, yet only a few nations wanted to listen. Moreover, the Jews introduced the world to one God, yet only a minority wanted to draw the moral consequences. So the nations of the world realize that they would have been lost without the Jews... And while their subconscious tries to remind them of how much of Western civilization is framed in terms of concepts first articulated by the Jews, they do anything to suppress it. They deny that Jews remind them of a higher purpose of life and the need to be honorable, and do anything to escape its consequences. It is simply too much to handle for them, too embarrassing to admit, and above all, too difficult to live by. So the nations of the world decided once again to go out of 'their' way in order to find a stick to hit the Jews. The goal: to prove that Jews are as immoral and guilty of massacre and genocide as some of they themselves are. All this in order to hide and justify their own failure to even protest when six million Jews were brought to the slaughterhouses of Auschwitz and Dachau; so as to wipe out the moral conscience of which the Jews remind them, and they found a stick. Nothing could be more gratifying for them than to find the Jews in a struggle with another people (who are completely terrorized by their own leaders) against whom the Jews, against their best wishes, have to defend themselves in order to survive. With great satisfaction, the world allows and initiates the rewriting of history so as to fuel the rage of yet another people against the Jews. This in spite of the fact that the nations understand very well that peace between the parties could have come a long time ago, if only the Jews would have had a fair chance. Instead, they happily jumped on the wagon of hate so as to justify their jealousy of the Jews and their incompetence to deal with their own moral issues. When Jews look at the bizarre play taking place in The Hague , they can only smile as this artificial game once more proves how the world paradoxically admits the Jews uniqueness. It is in their need to undermine the Jews that they actually raise them. The study of history of Europe during the past centuries teaches us one uniform lesson: That the nations which received and in any way dealt fairly and mercifully with the Jew have prospered; and that the nations that have tortured and oppressed them have written out their own curse." • Olive Schreiner, South African novelist and social activist _____________________________________ #10 "If there is any honor in all the world that I should like, it would be to be an honorary Jewish citizen." • A.L Rowse, authority on Shakespeare
hello, quite many interesting quotes, thank! I think it is worth to post it on FNOTW as an article if you are interested. Israel Palestine talks: Continuing in Jerusalem Bringing the negotiations home Both Israeli and Palestinian representatives at the US brokered peace talk have decided to continue the talks in Jerusalem on 14 of August. The move of location to Jerusalem is in fact a commitment by both sides that they are committed taking a step forward in resolving conflict. The home coming of peace talks can be seen as a symbol of recognition that the conflict can only be resolved by confronting the issues directly and locally. International efforts to broker peace deals have not been very successful in the recent years. Jerusalem is claimed by both sides as their capital. Palestine demands East Jerusalem to be Palestine’s capital, but Israel refuse to separate the city in two. The talks in Jerusalem means both sides understand that their futures are tied, and that the dream capital of both countries will probably be shared.
In my opinion the fifth column palestinians which live in east Jerusalem and suck milk & honey from the Israeli social security should be "disconnected" from Israel. YES, the border should be in the middle. BUT !!!!!!!!!! In return, all Arabs in east Jerusalem should return their Blue I.D's plus in return Israel will remove the wall in front of the Arabs in the triangle area ( so the triangle Muslim area will be 100% Palestinian ). That is my opinion, but i know it will not happen because Jordan will be Palestine..
Here is what 'FLAME' suggest. How unrealistic are current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations? Let us count the reasons: 12 so far, and growing. Dear Friend of FLAME: We at FLAME are no fans of the current John Kerry-led peace talks that launched in Washington, DC last week and are set to resume tomorrow in Jerusalem. Not only are the talks unrealistic, but in their likelihood of failure they're actually dangerous to Israel. Above all, if the peace talks fail, Israel, not John Kerry, is likely to be blamed by the "international community"---despite all evidence that it is the Palestinians who are most resisting peace. Thus the failure of the talks will be a PR disaster for Israel. Worse, during the futile negotiations, Israel will likely be strong-armed to make concessions that play into the Palestinian game plan: Keep delaying a peace agreement, while at each stage of the negotiations wring more territory and more unfair terms out of Israel, while intensifying the international delegitimization campaign against the Jewish state. Let's be clear: The majority of Jews and Arabs---and those of us at FLAME for that matter---want peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The problem arises when we try to define peace. Peace to Hamas, Hizbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood means an Islamist caliphate ruling the entire region and expelling the Jews. Peace to the Palestinian faux-president Mahmoud Abbas (serving unelected for four years) seems to mean 1) turning over the eastern part of Israel's capital Jerusalem (including the Western Wall) to the Palestinian Authority; 2) granting immigration into Israel of up to five million descendants of refugees who fled Israel in 1948; and 3) the expulsion of all Jews from a future Palestinian state, though hundreds of thousands of Israelis currently live to the east of the 1948 armistice lines. Peace to most Israeli politicians, on the other hand, means none of those things---to the contrary---but it does mean above all creating reliable long-term security for the Jewish state. That would mean a substantial permanent Israeli military presence, at a minimum, along the Jordanian border, deep in the territories claimed by the Palestinians. American diplomats apparently believe that these details can be surmounted. But even if these issues can be wrestled to the ground---a huge IF---there remain countless other obstacles to a peace deal. This week's FLAME Hotline feature---actually two short articles---enumerate the 12 most glaring reasons we should be prepared for the likelihood the talks will fail and, by extension, we should be ready and able to speak out against unrealistic concessions forced on Israel by the U.S. To understand why current peace talks are futile and why Israel must stand its ground, please review these two brief articles---by Jeffrey Goldberg and Noah Beck---then pass them along to friends and colleagues. Thanks for your support of FLAME and of Israel! Best regards, Jim Sinkinson Vice President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME) P.S. The Palestinians and the EU harp endlessly on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria as an obstacle to peace talks, when the real problem is Arab unwillingness to negotiate an agreement that addresses those settlements. That's why we at FLAME have been debunking the myth of Israeli settlements for years. Our latest ad---"Israeli Settlements: Are They a Threat to Middle East Peace?"---has recently run in media reaching 10 million readers. I hope you'll review this outspoken position paper and pass it on to your friends, members of your congregation and colleagues. If you agree that FLAME's bold brand of public relations on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support our publication of such outspoken messages. Please consider giving donation now, as you're able---with $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To donate online, just go to http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html. Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that Israel gets the support it needs---from the U.S. Congress, from President Obama, and from the American people. Seven Reasons Kerry's Mideast Talks Are Delusional By Jeffrey Goldberg, Bloomberg, July 31, 2013 Here's what John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday at a news conference in Washington, in the presence of the lead Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators: "The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues, and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict, ending the claims. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months." Just to be clear, this is what will need to happen by next April, in time for the White House signing ceremony: 1. Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam, will have to be divided in a way that doesn't cause a global religious war. A Palestinian capital will have to be established in the eastern half of the city, and the world's Muslims must agree to the continued control over much of the Old City, including and especially the Western Wall, by Israel. For their part, the Israelis must agree to cede permanent control of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, to Muslim religious authorities. That or the parties must agree to international control over the so-called Holy Basin, which contains the most important sites of monotheism. 2. The Jews who live in Hebron, Judaism's second-holiest city, must be made to leave, because the city will be part of Palestine. Or the Palestinian Authority must be convinced to grant them citizenship. The stated position of the Palestinian Authority is that Palestine will be empty of Israelis. 3. The descendants of the Palestinians who either fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab attack on the fledgling Jewish state must be told that they aren't moving to Israel. The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, must also survive the inevitable attempts on his life if he agrees to give up the Palestinian claim of "return." Also, the Palestinians will have to agree never to lodge claims against Israel again. 4. A plan must be formulated to remove anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 Israelis from the settlements on the far side of the West Bank security barrier. Among these settlers are thousands of fanatics who sympathized with the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister, for negotiating with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Also, Israel will have to stop building new settlements and thickening others. The current Israeli government is possibly the most pro-settler one in the country's history, and a good percentage of the Israeli officer corps, the soldiers who would have to remove Jews from settlements, lives in settlements. 5. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must be persuaded to trust each other. As Avi Issacharoff writes in the Times of Israel, "Abbas believes Netanyahu is unwilling to make peace, while Netanyahu believes Abbas is unable to. Both are sending out pessimistic vibes, giving those around them the feeling that nothing much will come of all this. This can be seen in their decision to send representatives to Washington instead of holding a high-level summit." 6. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, where almost half the future citizens of Palestine live, must either dissolve itself or be dissolved by force or change its ideology in such a way as to conform to the Palestinian Authority's vision of compromise. If Hamas refuses to change, then Israel and the Palestinian Authority must have an effective plan to counter the mass acts of terrorism that often come during periods of heightened hopes for peace. 7. Hezbollah and Iran must be convinced not to start a war designed to interrupt the peace process. Also, Iran must be stopped from going nuclear, which would further destabilize an already destabilized Middle East. Also, Egypt must not collapse, the Syrian civil war must not spill over into the Israeli-Palestinian arena, Lebanon must remain a unitary state and Jordan must stay under control of the Hashemite monarchy. I'm sure I'm missing some things. I'll mention those later, whatever they are. I actually admire Kerry's chutzpah a great deal. It's important, for the sake of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, that a compromise is constructed in a way that prevents further bloodshed. I just hope that there's a secret Plan B -- some sort of interim arrangement that could forestall further tragedy even in the absence of a permanent accord. Because if there isn't, and Kerry's negotiations fail, then the situation next year may be even unhappier than it is now. The Five Flaws of Kerry's Mideast Peace Process By Noah Beck, The Algemeiner, August 1, 2013 1) No Palestinian reciprocity at the outset. Israel agreed to release 104 convicted terrorists just to get the Palestinians to talk peace. Would the U.S. agree to release 104 Guantanamo prisoners for talks with anyone? Israel will undoubtedly be blamed if negotiations fail, so it's unlikely that fair judgment by the international community motivated the release. Perhaps it was the price that Israel had to pay for a U.S. promise to prevent Iranian nukes and/or support Israel's efforts to stop them. If so, is the U.S. good for its word (despite Obama's repeated demonstrations that his Mideast "red lines" are meaningless)? Whatever the explanation for Israel's good-faith opening, there were plenty of ways for the Palestinians to reciprocate: removing anti-Israel incitement from their textbooks and/or official media, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, promising to "freeze" their anti-Israel diplomatic offensives, etc. But Secretary of State John Kerry preferred to establish that Palestinian reciprocity is optional: if Israel isn't volunteering what the Palestinians demand, they need only threaten to leave the talks and Kerry will compel the Israelis to comply. 2) No Palestinian good faith. The Palestinians will be represented by Saeb Erekat and Mohammad Shtayyeh. Shtayyeh's Facebook page displays a map of Israel's internationally recognized borders, plus the West Bank and Gaza – all emblazoned with the Arabic letters for "Palestine." So the person entrusted with negotiating a "two-state solution" openly admits that his Mideast map has room for only a Palestinian state. Just as alarming, during a recent sermon attended by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and broadcast on Palestinian television, Religious Endowments Minister Mahmoud al-Habbash compared the PA's decision to negotiate with Israel to the Prophet Muhammad's Treaty of Hudaibiya (in the year 628 CE): "in less than two years, based on this treaty, the Prophet returned and conquered Mecca. This is the example. It is the model." 3) No religious freedom in a future Palestinian state. Palestinians insist (ironically) that "peaceful coexistence" means no Jewish settlers in their state. But, on principle, why should Jews be banned from living in a future Palestinian state -- particularly when Muslims constitute over 17% of Israel's population? Will the future Palestinian state be as hostile to religious minorities as other Muslim majority states are? Unfortunately, recent history gives little reason to hope otherwise. Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning, Arab journalist reported the following about a year ago: According to the Greek Orthodox Church in the Gaza Strip, at least five Christians have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in recent weeks...Church leaders...accused a prominent Hamas man of being behind the kidnapping and forced conversion of a Christian woman, Huda Abu Daoud, and her three daughters. Radical Islam, and not checkpoints or a security fence, remains the main threat to defenseless Christians not only in the Palestinians territories, but in the entire Middle East as well. While Gaza is ruled by Islamists, the PA has also shown its hostility to Christians. On March 12, 2012, Algemeiner reported that "A week after Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told an [international] audience of Evangelical Protestants...that his government respected the rights of its Christian minorities, [PA] officials...informed Bethlehem pastor Rev. Naim Khoury that his church lacked the authority to function as a religious institution under the PA...[T]here is a sense among Christians in Bethlehem that anti-Christian animus has gotten worse in the city...Khoury said." A few weeks ago, Palestinians vandalized the Cave of the Patriarchs, Judaism's second holiest site. How safe will non-Muslim holy sites be if there is no more Israeli presence in the West Bank? Will a future peace agreement specifically guarantee protection of and Israeli access to Jewish holy sites? If Israel's presence in the West Bank has helped to moderate Muslim rule there, will Israel's complete departure mean that West Bank Christians can expect their persecution to worsen to Gazan levels (with abductions and forced conversions)? Palestinian insistence that their future West Bank state be "Judenrein" doesn't bode well for the indigenous Christians there (or for religious freedom). 4) No Palestinian mandate to negotiate peace. There are about 2.1 million Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and 1.7 million in the Gaza Strip. But Hamas-ruled Gaza vehemently opposes peace negotiations and denies Israel's right to exist. Islamic Jihad and Hamas recently lambasted PA leaders for meeting with Israelis to talk peace. The last time that the PA announced direct talks with Israel, Hamas announced plans to launch terrorist attacks at Israel, in coordination with 12 other Gaza terrorist organizations. And it's not even clear that West Bank Palestinians favor these talks. Last Sunday, they rallied against peace until PA police violently suppressed the protest. Human Rights Watch has urged the Palestinian government to investigate the police beatings. Moreover, Abbas himself has no legal mandate, as his term of political office expired long ago yet he continues to rule with no elections in sight. At best, the PA can deliver only half of any peace that it promises, which lets Palestinians have their cake and eat it too: the PA can extract painful territorial concessions from Israel at the negotiating table, while Hamas can continue terrorist attacks to achieve the one-state solution embraced on Facebook by PA "peace negotiator" Mohammad Shtayyeh. 5) Transferring the West Bank could be Israel's geostrategic undoing. Jordan could collapse any day from a flood of about 500,000 Syrian refugees (and growing daily); severe poverty; popular discontent over corruption, inequality, and lack of freedom; acute water shortages; and/or Muslim Brotherhood action to overthrow King Abdullah's monarchy. These factors make the Abdullah regime's survival increasingly uncertain. After Israel militarily withdraws from the West Bank, will Hamas topple the PA there as it did in Gaza (two years after Israel's 2005 Gaza withdrawal)? What if the Hamas-allied Muslim Brotherhood then takes over Jordan? If Jordanian-Palestinians -- the largest ethnic group in Jordan -- create a Palestinian state there (as advocated by this Jordanian-Palestinian writer), would Palestinians effectively have two states? The range and severity of threats to Israel from the combination of a post-Abdullah Jordan and a Palestinian West Bank state are considerable. Is it even possible to address these Israeli security concerns in a way that leaves Palestinian negotiators satisfied enough to sign a peace treaty? With so many inherent defects in the current peace talks, why would the U.S. push its most reliable Mideast ally (and the only Middle East democracy) into such perilous waters or inevitable blame? One explanation is the increasingly fashionable idea (promoted by Arab governments) that settlements are blocking a peace deal that would produce Mideast stability. But inconvenient facts completely contradict this idea: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen (etc.) would remain the same conflict-torn mess as they are now after any Israeli-Palestinian peace. Noah Beck is the author of "The Last Israelis," a submarine thriller about the Iranian nuclear threat and the doomsday scenario that it could produce.
The current peace negotiations are like all the rest...dog and pony shows. The Palis will demand '67 borders, Israel will never give up the majority of it's WB settlements nor agree to any substantive right of return for Pali refugees, but it will be another good opportunity to raid the treasuries of the international community and US taxpayers in particular. What's the old saying about doing the same failed things over and over?
Will not if you first, Palestinians in Jordan, remove the king out and take over your ONLY country...
I hope USA will not make the same mistake Europe is doing and be tolerant of illegal Muslim immigration...
This is the articlde of the best Journalist in Israel... Her name is Arlene Kushner and this is her latest article on the situation on the Peace process.. August 14, 2013 "Demented" That's the current state of affairs. Yesterday, the High Court -- totally as expected -- rejected the appeals of families of terror victims and said that the State had the right, for diplomatic reasons, to effect the release of the first 26 Palestinian Arab terrorists. And so, after midnight last night (the wee hours of Wednesday, the 14th) the arrangements were carried out by Prison Services, with some being bused to Ramallah and others to the Erez Crossing into Gaza. For obvious reasons, Hamas forbid its populace to have public celebrations over the releases. This would have been an acknowledgement that Abbas had achieved something in the lead up to negotiations, which they are dead set against. (More below on this.) For equally obvious reasons, the Palestinian Authority engaged in celebration as the prisoners were brought to the presidential compound. Israel had specifically requested that the welcome of the released be kept low key. But Israeli officials must have known they were blowin' in the wind when they made that request: Israel cannot prevent us from celebrating, PA officials retorted. There was music, and there were fireworks. PA officials were there along with families, offering welcome. Always and ever, please! keep in mind, and remind others, what sort of low life villains the Palestinian Authority is celebrating as heroes. ~~~~~~~~~~ An epiphany: That the bad guys, our enemies, should achieve a victory of sorts such as this is disheartening, and indeed sickening. But there is another way to look at it. That they welcome vile murderers as heroes throws into stark relief the evidence of what sort of people they are. See Abbas rejoicing with terrorists: Credit: Times of Israel So, I would suggest, we are able to look at them, do our own rejoicing because of the difference between them and ourselves, and thank Heaven for that difference. ~~~~~~~~~~ Even with the celebrations that were anticipated, once the names of the prisoners who were scheduled to be released had been announced, a note of discontent was also voiced in certain Palestinian Arab circles. That had to do with the fact that no Palestinian Arabs who hold Israel citizenship or Jerusalem residency were included. Kadoura Fares, director of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, referred to a "flaw" created by Israel's selection of the first group of prisoners. He said it would be discussed by PA officials, who would seek to have input in future selections. http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-...n-list-of-prisoners-slated-for-release-322840 The reason why no Israel Arab prisoners were released is obvious: The government was trying to avoid riling the Israeli populace any more than it already had -- and the release of Israeli citizens at the behest of Abbas would have been particularly contentious. I am hardly the only one who feels that -- as reprehensible as the release of any of the Palestinian Arab prisoners is -- the release of Israeli Arab citizens who acted in ways they perceived as doing battle on behalf of an enemy, at the intercession of that enemy, is especially offensive. It should fall exclusively to Israel to deal with her own citizens. Even now I ponder whether there is some way to stop their release from happening. With this issue we step into the very thorny territory of the disloyalty of increasing numbers of Arabs who are Israeli citizens -- who receive the rights and protections of Israel (and would not for anything opt to switch that for PA residency and the very dubious to non-existent rights and protections that would flow from this), and yet are prepared to identify with Israel's enemy. The fact is that in recent years Palestinian Arabs have deliberately prevailed upon Israeli Arab citizens to project loyalty to the PA "cause" rather than to Israel. This at the same time that we are accused of being "apartheid" by the PA. I am not suggesting that the PA prevails overtly upon Israeli Arabs to become terrorists, I am suggesting something more subtle. But that terrorist groups recruit among Israeli Arabs is unquestionably the case -- and they are more susceptible to recruitment if they already identify with the PA. ~~~~~~~~~~ I would shudder to think that PA authorities would have any say in which prisoners were selected for each subsequent release -- if indeed all three projected releases are carried out. At the hearing before the High Court, when the families of victims were petitioning for the halt to the release, a representative of the State said that subsequent releases were conditional on the "peace talks." If the talks did not proceed, then there was an "option" to not release further prisoners. An "option"? Does this suggest that maybe talks will collapse and we'll continue with the releases anyway? (That would be what Abbas would demand, surely, claiming that it was Israel's fault that talks failed.) http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=11297 A different interpretation: Less than two weeks ago, Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni said release of further prisoners will depend upon the progress of the talks. No way to pin down Israeli intentions on this now. Diplomats have said that Netanyahu does intend to demand in the future that dangerous prisoners who are released be deported out of the area -- something Abbas has declared will not happen. ~~~~~~~~~~ What is greatly distressing, if true, with regard to those who were selected for the current release, is a report from Maariv: Apparently the responsible committee ignored recommendations of the Shin Bet (Israeli internal security), which had provided a list of 40 prisoners -- who represented the least security threat -- from which to select the 26. Some of those names were reportedly passed over and others substituted because they had more popularity in the Palestinian Arab street and thus might provide a bigger boost to the popularity of Abbas. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170865 I give credence to this is part because elsewhere I read that there had been some changes in the list before it was released. Heading that committee was Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon. And my immediate response was, Bogie? Even Bogie? He did vote for the prisoner release, which was a great disappointment. I know that he knows better, which makes it even more painful, if true, than if he actually believed peace with the PA was around the corner. (See his cynical assessment below.) Did the PA have input into the matter of which prisoners have the most street popularity? ~~~~~~~~~~ And so, as far as we know, "negotiations" did begin today here in Jerusalem, with the agenda, the place and the time kept secret. There is supposed to be a full media blackout as talks proceed, but I see this as exceedingly unlikely -- most particularly from the PA side. ~~~~~~~~~~ Moshe Ya'alon told reporters (emphasis added): "We set ourselves the goal of nine months in which we will try to reach something with the Palestinians. We've been trying for 20 years since Oslo, and for over 120 years of the conflict. The skepticism in the tone of my remarks is apparent, but we've decided to give it a chance." http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-...e-against-backdrop-of-prisoner-release-322973 ~~~~~~~~~ Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a Gaza-based Hamas official, has made it clear that Hamas will not be bound by any outcome of the negotiations. This is hardly a surprise. But we need to follow this further: Hamas officials are angry that "the PA has dealt the final blow to reconciliation talks." Thus, says Al-Zahar, Hamas needs to isolate Abbas and strip him of any authority to negotiate. http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-says-it-wont-be-bound-by-peace-negotiations/ Hamas intentions to undermine Abbas among his own people, and to destabilize the PA, represent yet other reasons not to negotiate with the PA. Abbas is without the backing to make his actions credible and is exceedingly vulnerable. A handful of prisoners that are popular on the street may have been released by Israel in an attempt to garner further support for him. But in the end that will be a very small matter that does not significantly alter the situation. The mere fact that there was concern about the need to strengthen Abbas speaks volumes. ~~~~~~~~~~ I note here that the talks presumably have begun in spite of the pronunciations of Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior PLO official. who was put out with the very recent announcement of an additional almost 800 apartments to be built in Jerusalem neighborhoods past the Green Line. Abed Rabbo said the approval of this building "could" (not "would") bring about the "collapse" of the talks: "This settlement expansion is unprecedented. It threatens to make talks fail even before they have started." Mere talk only -- the sort of carrying on that we might expect. What was more interesting to me was that almost immediately Kerry advised that no one should get too upset about this. Kerry? It was clear as it might be then that there had been an understanding between Kerry and Netanyahu. I can imagine Netanyahu telling Kerry that the only way he could pull off the prisoner release was if he made the right wing of his government happy by approving building. And indeed, subsequently Kerry acknowledged that Netanyahu had told him forthrightly that since there was no agreement with regard to a building freeze there would be building. This is what he said yesterday (emphasis added): "Let me make it clear: The policy of the United States of America with respect to all settlements is that they are illegitimate, and we oppose settlements taking place at any time, not just the time of the peace process. But heres the but that said, Prime Minister Netanyahu was completely upfront with me and with President Abbas that he would be announcing some additional building that would take place in places that will not affect the peace map, that will not have any impact on the capacity to have a peace agreement. That means that it is building within the so-called blocs in areas that many people make a presumption obviously not some Palestinians or others will be part of Israel in the future. He has specifically agreed not to disturb what might be the potential for peace going forward. Now, we still believe it would be better not to be doing it, but there are realities within life in Israel that also have to be taken into account here going forward. http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213105.htm I note here that he says that Abbas was informed of this, and so we can assume that all the PA grandstanding is just that. What is more, that they lied when they said, as they did, that Kerry promised that there would be no building. Altogether, I find this an interesting state of affairs. Is Kerry starting to publicly indicate impatience with Abbas? ~~~~~~~~~~ What Kerry said here about the Israeli position represents it accurately. The prime minister's office is saying that building will take place only in blocs in Judea and Samaria or in neighborhoods in Jerusalem that we would be retaining in any negotiated agreement. The notion that our building in neighborhoods such as Gilo or Har Homa represents a threat to "the peace process" is beyond ridiculous, frankly. Of course Uri Ariel, Housing and Construction Minister, says: "No other nation on the planet accepts diktats from other countries on where it can build and where it can't. We're going to continue issuing tenders for apartments and we're going to build all over Israel, according to our citizens' needs." What I can report with certainty is Israeli delight at the prospect of housing being constructed, when there has been a shortage for some while. I've noted this before: the construction of housing in Israel so often carries political implications that are assumed to be paramount. But the bottom line is that people in Israel need places to live. We are, thank Heaven, a growing population. We have more children per couple than Jews anywhere else in the world. Our kids grow up, get married, and seek homes of their own. ~~~~~~~~~~ © Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution. If it is reproduced and emphasis is added, the fact that it has been added must be noted. See my website at www.arlenefromisrael.info Contact Arlene at akushner18@gmail.com This material is transmitted by Arlene only to persons who have requested it or agreed to receive it. If you are on the list and wish to be removed, contact Arlene and include your name in the text of the message.
The religious importance of Jerusalem to the Jews and Muslims is no less than that of their wives. Who is willing to share his wife with other people?
Well said. It looks like a small boy can see further than adult Ronstar. http://www.politicalforum.com/polit...rce-peaceful-settlement-5.html#post1062800893
You read the proof - http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/st...p/Migration_and_migrant_population_statistics We in Europe cry...
your link says nothing about illegal Muslim immigration to Europe. which means your claim remains a baseless lie.
You probably didn't read the link because it's long. Please read this MUSLIM LINK - http://islamineurope.blogspot.co.il/2007/05/number-of-muslims-in-europe.html In 2007 they counted 53.7 million Muslims in Europe , today there are probably 70 Millions. Even if only 1.5% are illegal it's more than a Million !! ( some officials say 50% are illegal ) Stop arguing and face the facts. Europians know the truth , why do you thing they began to vote for the respected Jean-Marie La-pen or other right wing parties ? The discussion is over.
You cannot argue with a wall even if you deliever pure facts. . Sorry. Be friends with Nazi lolo..\ Byeeeeee
No i do not. You are not open for other opinions and you are blind to facts you haven't heard before. Let's play your game - find me ONE wikipedia or other serious link that shows only 15% of Jordanians are Palestinians. Most articles shows they are 3 times more than you wrote up to 70-80% of Jordan's population. Hope to hear from you soon.
You call me a Nazi, do you, as you support the racist child-killers? Your Great Leader is dead, and your Nazi colony is doomed, so don't waste your time on footling silliness, Goebbels.
