IDF: Dramatic increase in Gaza terror in January

Over 28 rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza this month, says IDF Spokesperson's Office.

There was a dramatic increase in terror activity from Gaza in January, according a press release from the IDF Spokesperson's Office put out on Friday.

Fourteen rockets landed in southern Israel, and five were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system as they were approaching the area surrounding Ashkelon, the statement said.

The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes at three suspected terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip before dawn on Friday, an IDF spokesman said.

Seven Palestinians were injured in the strikes, reported Palestinian news agency Ma'an."In response to the rocket fire at Israel, IAF aircraft targeted overnight a terror activity site and a weapon manufacturing facility in the northern Gaza strip and a weapon storage facility in the southern Gaza Strip," the IDF said. "Direct hits were confirmed."

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, currently on a business trip in Germany, released a statement on the airstrikes.

"We will not tolerate rocket fire towards Israel or any attempt to return to the situation before Operation Pillar of Defense," he said.

The defense minister stressed that Israel holds Hamas responsible to everything that happens in the Gaza Strip, and that the organization will pay the price for any rocket shooting or terror attacks against Israel.

Earlier in January, the IAF struck and killed Islamic Jihad terrorist Ahmed Sa'ad and PLO terrorist Ahmed Za'anin, both of whom "were extensively involved" in the planning and carrying out of rocket attacks on southern Israel as well as other attacks on IDF soldiers, an IDF spokesperson said.

Three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found next to the Gaza security fence in the last month alone. The IEDs were detonated with the aim of harming IDF soldiers in the area safeguarding Israeli communities close to the border, an IDF spokesperson said.

"Israelis cannot be held at the mercy of these hideous terrorists operating from Hamas Gaza Strip," the spokesperson continued. "The bases of Gaza terrorism and its industry of death will not be immune while our citizens are being attacked. It is our responsibility, right and obligation to defend Israel from Gaza-based aggression."

SOMEONE SPEAKS SENSE ABOUT KERRYS MOTIVATION : Jewish Home MK implies Kerry guided by anti-Semitism

Moti Yogev says top US diplomat has ‘anti-Israel foundations,’ pressure on Israel has undertones of Jew-hatred

Jewish Home party MK insinuated on Thursday morning that US Secretary of State John Kerry was at least partially motivated by anti-Semitism in his efforts to forge a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) is maneuvering under the obsessive and unprofessional pressures that might also bear an undertone of anti-Semitism on Kerry’s part,” MK Moti Yogev told Israel Radio.

He has an anti-Israel foundations in that he does not come to compromise, but instead comes with unequivocal answers about shrinking the Land of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state,” Yogev added. “The members of my faction also think that he is not a fair broker and he is not fit to mediate here because his positions are predetermined.”

Yogev also lambasted Netanyahu in the interview, saying that “there is no circus performer like the prime minister in his maneuverings.”

The comments come in the wake of a public spat this week between Netanyahu and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett, revolving around Bennett’s reaction to a statement by an official close to Netanyahu – first reported by The Times of Israel – to the effect that the prime minister was insisting that West Bank settlers be given the choice to remain in their homes under Palestinian rule.

Bennett had said on Tuesday that leaving settlers in a Palestinian state was unthinkable because, among other reasons, it would represent a reversal of Zionism and the settlers would would be killed by their Palestinian neighbors. In an apparent thinly veiled reference to Netanyahu, he added that history “won’t forgive” an Israeli leader who relinquishes parts of the Land of Israel under a peace deal.

Bennett was forced to issue a semi-apology after Netanyahu threatened to fire Bennett if he failed to produce it.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Thursday that Bennett was right to apologize. “One may disagree with the prime minister, and one may argue with him, but one cannot lash out at the prime minister.

“There was never any intention to leave Israeli residents under Palestinian rule, he asserted. Analysts and critics had said that Netanyahu’s statement about leaving settlers in a future Palestine may have been a ruse meant to elicit a strong public reaction from the Palestinians.

On Wednesday, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said that Kerry’s pending framework for Israeli-Palestinian peace would include a shared capital in Jerusalem and recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

The “Kerry Plan,” as he called it, would also include land swaps based on the 1967 lines, security arrangements in the Jordan Valley, and no “right of return” to Israel for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

The two sides began a nine-month track of US-backed peace negotiations in July but so far there has been little visible progress, with the Palestinians warning that after the deadline, they could take legal action in the international courts against Israel over its settlement expansion on land they want for their future state.

Times if Israel 

'170,000 Rockets Aimed at Israel':: Israel's Chief of Military Intelligence presents the magnitude of Israel's struggle to defend itself.

Israel's Chief of Military Intelligence, Major General Aviv Kohavi, painted a clear and graphic picture of what Israel faces on a daily basis on Wednesday: a constant barrage of terrorist threats. 

"Israel is surrounded by 360 degrees of actual enemies," Kohavi stated, in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) quoted byWalla!. 

"We call this period in time the "Era of Fire", in light of the amount of missiles and rockets we face as a constant threat. There are about 170,000 rockets and missiles that threaten Israel," Kochavi said.

"The fighting in Syria, as well as operation 'Pillar of Defense', has resulted in a slight decrease.  However, it will increase again," he added. "For the first time the enemy now has the ability to hit Israeli cities hard."
Kohavi issued a new term to describe Israel's enemies: "paramilitary terrorist groups." 

"We cannot continue to call Hezbollah a terror group," Kohavi maintained. "They have over 100,000 rockets and missiles, some of them advanced. The same can be said of Hamas. The line between a terror organization and a military organization continues to blur." 

"Today, Israel is threatened with warheads that contain half a ton of explosives - but also warheads that contain 900 kilograms of explosives," Kohavi explained. "Our enemies are working on procuring weapons systems in the air and on the sea to break through our Air Force and Navy. IAF pilots can no longer move freely toward their targets and have to dodge missiles that threaten them." 

Kohavi also related to Syria, which has been caught in an all-out Islamic holy war since 2011. According to the Major General, the security threat is enormous: over 30,000 global jihad terrorists are concentrated there, and many are in training camps to bring terrorism abroad. 

"Syria has become a magnet for terrorists in Europe, America, Asia and North Africa," he noted. "The terror will not stay there, but will spill over into sleeper camps in Lebanon and Sinai and infect the entire region." 
Jihadists have been slowly crossing the border into Turkey, Kohavi stated, "where they are a threat to Europe. The distance between Syria and Turkey is not far."

"We are talking about extremists clinging to extremist ideologies - anti-Western and anti-Modern ideologies," he continued. "We are talking about exceptional cruelty and brutality close to our borders." 

In addition, Kohavi warned that Iran's nuclear program remains an imminent threat. "Iran's nuclear program continues," he stated. "It is just waiting on Iranian leaders to decide whether or not to produce one bomb, or more." 

Kohavi does remain slightly optimistic, however, about threats closer to Israel's borders. "The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza are under great distress right now," he said. "This is a serious opportunity for the State of Israel."  

Kochavi also referred to cyberspace and the threats against Israel launched on that front. 
"Last year, there were dozens of attacks carried out on Israel's security systems and hundreds of attacks on state institutions," he said. "The field of cyberwarfare has only just begun." 

"Cyber​​warfare, in my humble opinion, will soon emerge as a more important discovery than gunpowder," he stated. "The ability to use cyberspace is unlimited - and that's not just ametaphor. In the past we gathered the same intelligence with 40 people that we can now do with four." 

Arutz 7

Obama has made it possible for Israel to strike Iran

I called a hardheaded realist, a Harvard trained PhD who has been watching the Middle East professionally for decades, to ask him about Obama's Iran deal.  This is what he told me.

It's done.  Iran will get a bomb.

They want a bomb and they will not be denied unless somebody stops them.  Obama does not want to stop them.  He does not want a friendly regime in Iran.  He wants Iran as a counterforce to America and Israel.  Obama is not a Muslim, but he is a radical.  He sees the U.S. and Israel as imperialistic and oppressive.  He doesn't like the U.S. military.  He'd cut it to nothing if he could get away with it.

We'll have to pull our troops and our aircraft carriers out of the Persian Gulf.  We'll lose our ability to protect Middle Eastern oil.  The Gulf Arabs will have to cooperate with Iran.  So will Europe; they depend on that oil.

The Iranians want the ascendance of Shia Islam.  People don't remember, but when Ayatollah Khomeini took over, he sent Revolutionary Guards to Saudi Arabia and they seized Mecca.  French paratroopers had to go in secretly and get them out.  The Saudis couldn't do it themselves.

The Iranians want to take over Mecca and Medina.  They want to take over the Arab world.  With their nuclear weapons they will pressure Israel.  They don't need to bomb them.  They will test a nuclear bomb, they will send in missiles, they will issue threats, they will strangle them economically.  Israel's high tech people will leave.  They can do start-ups in Silicon Valley just as easily as in Israel; the weather is just as nice.  Investments in Israel will dry up.

The deal is indeed terrible. Obama has been changing the rules of the game - he went from Iran not having the ability to make a bomb, which had been our policy, to Iran not actually making a complete bomb. 

Once you've mastered enrichment, and Iran has, creating enough highly enriched uranium is just a choice; there are no technical hurdles left.  They have thousands of centrifuges that can enrich uranium in a few months, starting from zero.  Whether they have stocks on hand enriched to 5% or 20% is totally irrelevant. 

Iran will have an unarmed bomb on the shelf ready to go. Loading the bomb takes a short time - who will know when they do that?  Bombs are not that big, especially ones meant to be loaded on missiles. So who will even know where it is?...

http://www.americanthinker.com

Obama’s Brother joins Hamas, says ‘Jerusalem is ours; We are Coming’

No surprises here, but again the same question, how did Obama get to be President of America??

Walid Shoebat and Ben Barrack

While in Sanaa, Yemein in 2010, President Barack Obama’s brother Malik Obama was at an event billed as the Orphans Development Fund (ODF) Conference. It’s quite the ironic title considering a group photo Malik is in that he has posted to his website. In the photo, he can be seen wearing a Hamas scarf (keffiyeh) that bears a well-known Palestinian slogan – ‘Jerusalem is ours – WE ARE COMING!’ It also includes a map of Palestine that says, ‘From the River to the Sea!’ In other words, Malik is saying, THERE IS NO ISRAEL.

Scarf translated: Jerusalem is ours – WE ARE COMING!

Here is the full photo:

Malik: Expressing support for Hamas at an ‘orphan’ conference.

Here is Malik Obama’s boss (Malik works for him officially in his capacity as IDO Executive Secretary), Suar al-Dahab during a visit to Gaza last year at a Hamas event with the group’s Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Notice he’s wearing a similar keffiyeh at a conference entitled, ‘Aiding Jerusalem and Gaza”:

Malik’s boss, Suar al-Dahab, wearing a similar keffiyeh in Gaza.

Here is Malik in 2010, with al-Dahab in Khartoum, Sudan during the Islamic Da’wa Organization (IDO) conference, presided over by Sudan’s terrorist leader Omar al-Bashir, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and is wanted for crimes against humanity:

Malik Obama and Suar al-Dahab.

Like British politician George Galloway, Malik is comfortable associating with those who support the message emblazoned on these scarfs:

British politician George Galloway and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh with similar scarfs.

Galloway and Haniyeh, wearing and surrounded by keffiyehs.

Just in case we’re told that Malik was conned into wearing such a hateful and racist symbol like Swedish King Carl Gustaf and his wife Queen Sylvia were, consider a few things. Carl and Sylvia quickly took the keffiyeh’s off after having them placed on them by an opportunist and distanced themselves from the message.

Malik is a much different story.

Swedish King Carl Gustaf and Queen Sylvia: deceived into wearing hateful keffiyehs.

Malik reads and speaks fluent Arabic as do many in his family, like cousin Musa Ismail Obama and uncle Sayyid, who’ve been to at least one prominent Wahhabist university in Saudi Arabia. Barack recited the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer with a ‘first-rate accent’ according to the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof.

Musa Obama and Sayyid Obama at Umm al-Qura University.

The keffiyeh (or scarf) doesn’t just say, ‘Al Aqsa is ours and is not their temple’. It also says ‘Innana Qadimun’, which translates to mean ‘We are marching forward’. This famous battle command which is a reference to the prophecy that some day the Muslim world will march on Jerusalem and then the trees and stones will cry out, ‘here is a Jew hiding behind me… come O Muslim, come and kill him’.

Here is Khansa, the Mother of the Resistance movement, donning the keffiyeh:

Khansa, mother of the Resistance movement, dons the keffiyeh.

This is a photo of Khansa sandwiched between Haniyeh (L) and Hamas leader Khalid Mash’al, who is donning the keffiyeh in this picture:

Khansa between Hamas Prime Minister and Hamas leader Khalid Mash’al.

Those who see this as a matter of guilt by association run into some major problems. President Barack Obama and Malik are much closer than is being admitted publicly. In an interview published in GQ Magazinelast July, Malik took offense at the characterization of him and the president as being merely ‘half’ brothers:

“Everyone’s referring to us as half, quarter,…step, things like that,” he says, displeased even by the taste of those words. “I think that’s like weights and measures. This didn’t even occur to us until he became president, until he gained prominence. And now we’re sort of like celebrities.

“But this is a streak of ignorance,” he adds. “Here in Africa we don’t think of each other as ‘half’ this or that. In an extended family, someone is your brother even if he is just in your clan. So I…am Obama.”

A photo of Malik as best man at Barack’s wedding tends to back up the claim:

Malik best man at Barack’s wedding.

So do photos of Malik visiting Barack at the White House on more than one occasion:

Barack and Malik in the Oval Office.

In the same GQ interview, Malik insists that he and his brother (the word ‘half’ left out in deference to Malik) are indeed close:

Ask Malik how often he and his brother talk nowadays and he boasts that it’s about once a year, as though that’s proof of their intimate bond. “Of course we’re close!” Malik says, just a bit too loudly. “I’m the one who brought him here to Kogelo in 1988! I thought it was important for him to come home and see from whence his family came—you know, his roots.”

OBAMA LIED ABOUT HIS FAMILY
As for Barack’s take on the relationship with his brother, well, he doesn’t say much about it but Barack has a history of dishonesty when it comes to being forthcoming about how close he is to his family. Late last year, Barack had to admit that he’d stayed with his uncle Onyango during the former’s days at Harvard. Prior to the admission, the American public had been told that Barack never met his uncle. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney put forth a very unbelievable explanation for the inconsistency.

Onyango Obama: Barack lied about knowing him.

Another Obama brother – Mark Ndesanjo Obama – accused the President of lying about their relationship as well, after Barack said the two had only met one time,presumably during the President’s visit to China in late 2009. Ndesdanjo insists they met several times, dating back to the 1980′s, during an interview with Laura Ingraham, via National Review:

“I heard that after the meeting we had in Beijing and I can tell you I was floored by it — I don’t know why he said it,” Ndesandjo said to Laura Ingraham, adding that he had met the president several times over the years and still isn’t sure what his motivation was for making the claim. “I think he was being president and was not being my brother,” Ndesandjo said.

Ok, so according to Barack, he only met his brother Mark once and that meeting was in China, right?

Barack and brother Mark Ndesanjo Obama met in China in 2009.

If Barack only met Mark once (in China), how does he explain this photo of Mark in the White House ten months earlier, half-way around the world during Barack’s inauguration (Mark is circled and Malik is on the far left)?

Mark Ndesandjo Obama at White House for Barack’s inauguration in 2009.

The point here is that Barack cannot be trusted to issue a full disclosure when it comes to the relationships he has with his family members.

Once again, this leads us to his relationship with Malik. How is it that Malik received 501(c)(3) status for his Barack H. Obama Foundation in less than 30 days and had it illegally backdated 38 months by Lois Lerner? If Barack had anything to do with it, history says he might be lying if he denies it. In order to come full circle here, Malik’s foundation is tied to a State Sponsor of Terrorism in Sudan.

As we’ve said before, Lois Lerner should be granted immunity and compelled to testify about why she granted tax exempt status to a man who is tied to terrorism and just so happens to be the brother of the President of the United States.

Lerner: Granted Malik Obama’s foundation illegal tax exempt status.

If Osama bin Laden’s driver was convicted of material support for terrorism, shouldn’t Malik be brought up on charges of supporting Omar al-Bashir, a world-renowned terrorist? After all, the Egyptian government wants Malik Obama to appear for questioning about this.

Malik Obama’s Barack H. Obama Foundation (BHOF) raises money and likely provides material support to terrorists.PLEASE DONATE TO RESCUE CHRISTIANS TO SAVE CHRISTIAN LIVES from terrorists who are in solidarity with Hamas.

Lois Lerner: Signature at bottom of Malik Obama’s tax-exempt approval letter.

by Shoebat Foundation on January 28, 2014 in Blog,General

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Kerry's Peace Plan: Divide Jerusalem, Recognize Jewish State

US Secretary of State John Kerry is about to bring over six months of frantic shuttle diplomacy to a climax by presenting a firm American proposal for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

That according to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who is close to the Obama Administration.

"After letting the two sides fruitlessly butt heads for six months, [Kerry's] now planning to present a U.S. framework that will lay out what Washington considers the core concessions Israelis and Palestinians need to make for a fair, lasting deal," Friedman wrote on Tuesday.

As the columnist explains it, the US plan sees Israel withdrawing from Judea and Samaria in stages, but not from 100 percent of the territory. Large Jewish settlement blocs would be left intact and under Israeli sovereignty, and Israel would compensate by surrendering some of its territory to the Palestinian Authority.

Jerusalem would be divided, and the eastern half recognized as the capital of "Palestine." Speaking of recognition, Israel would be explicitly acknowledged as the nation state of the Jewish people.

The proposal does not allow for the mass entry of so-called "Palestinian refugees" into Israel.

For those familiar with the conflict, as Friedman purports to be, the proposal and his support for it are baffling.

How many times does Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have to reject the notions of recognizing a Jewish state or relinquishing a Palestinian "right of return" before America will take him at his word?

Abbas has staked his political legacy on achieving a "right of return" for Palestinians to Israel-proper, and has been so adamant about never calling Israel a "Jewish state" that it is somewhat unreasonable for anyone to expect him to change his mind now.

And those aren't the only insurmountable obstacles.

Kerry and Friedman seem to be forgetting about Hamas, which on Tuesday issued a statement that it would never accept a two-state solution or give up even "one inch of the land of Palestine," which the group considers to include the entirety of the Land of Israel.

Nor can Hamas' extreme positions be ignored, as the group has demonstrated its ability to win Palestinian elections and ascend to the highest positions of power, be it through democratic processes or force of arms.

There is also the matter of Israeli Arabs who would become Palestinian citizens as part of the proposed land swaps. Almost to a man, Israeli Arabs and their representatives in the Knesset have rejected such an outcome.

Last but not least, Israeli Jews have made it abundantly clear in surveys carried out over the past two decades that they will not accept the re-division of their ancient and sacred capital. Any prime minister who agrees to such a concession is very likely to be voted from power before he or she has a chance to actually implement the agreement.

Why Kerry or Friedman believe that this latest proposal will lead to any different results than those that came before it is beyond me.

Israel today 

ADL Chairman: US Position on Pollard Reflects Anti-Semitic MythsAbraham Foxman says that Obama's refusal to release Pollard is aneffort 'to scare the American Jewish community.'

Jonathan Pollard

Yehuda Glick

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Chairman Abraham Foxman was quoted by Maariv Tuesday as having called the US's refusal to release Jonathan Pollard as a form of "revenge" against the American Jewish community. 

According to the daily, Foxman revealed in a Tablet interview that his personal views on the Pollard case have changed overthe years, after US officials in the last government publicly stated that the Israeli spy's punishment is "unjust." 

"When Pollard's case first became public 28 years ago, there were those who believed that his punishment - life imprisonment - was rife with anti-Semitism," Foxman explained. "We at the ADL took the accusation very seriously, launched our own investigation, and concluded that no anti-Semitism was involved in the sentence whatsoever." 

"Calls to release the prisoner escalated, but they fell on deaf ears," Foxman continued, noting that by this time, there was no reason to continue holding Pollard. "It became clear to everyone that the US had nothing to gain from Pollard, that he had no new information from him that could advance American interests." 

"The fact that Pollard has shared information with US's ally Israel justifies punishment," he qualified, "but not such a long imprisonment, and the fact that information was passed to such a close ally garners the need for a more positive response to calls for his early release." 

Foxman went on to say that he does not want to compare the actions of Pollard as someone who "betrayed his country" with the recent revelations about wiretapping and surveillance carried out by US intelligence against Israeli leaders. "However, these discoveries add more context to the absurd ongoing revenge against one man," he noted. 

"Yes, I use that word (revenge) because that is what it seems like at this stage," he continued. "If it was only a vendetta against one man it was bad enough. But it has now become a campaign against the entire American Jewish community," Foxman accused. 

'Imprisonment of one person for so long who should have been released on humanitarian grounds symbolizes the American [government's] effort to scare the American Jewish community," Foxman stated, "and are based on anti-Semitic myths about American Jewry." 

Foxman may be referring to reports surfaced earlier this week that the administration of US President Barack Obama, as well as US Secretary of State John Kerry, have been "disappointed" in Jewish criticism of the US's policies toward Israel. Statements made by the two - if the report is true - suggest that the two have adopted a stance very close to the shrill charges of a "Jewish lobby" controlling Congress,  

Foxman also cited a Zionist Organization of America poll released Monday which shows that the American public largely supports Israel, and shows a distinct contrast between the will of US leaders and the will of the American people. 

Pollard has been subject of a high-profile campaign for his release, after being held in the US for more than 28 years on spying allegations. He was arrested by FBI agents in 1985 and held in jail since. 

While numerous efforts have been made to secure his release over the intervening decades, calls for his freedom have resurfaced since it was revealed last month that the US and UK have been spying on top Israeliofficials, including the Prime Minister. Pollard was arrested on charges far less serious, critics noted, and slammed the Obama administration for "hypocrisy." 

The calls for Pollard's release have gained so much support across partylines that over 106 MKs attended a special Knesset session to protest Obama's refusal to release the prisoner, and signed a petition urging the President to reconsider. 

Arutz 7
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THE KERRY STAB IN THE BACK FOR ISRAEL : The 'Kerry Plan': Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem, recognition of Jewish state

Thomas Friedman reveals "Kerry Plan," says Israel to compensate Palestinians for settlements kept, deal could cause Netanyahu to lose coalition.

The "Kerry Plan" is likely to be unveiled soon, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote on Tuesday in a column titled "Why Kerry is Scary." 

The “Kerry Plan,” writes Friedman, is expected to "call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines)."

Friedman also said that there will be "unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley."

According to Friedman, some settlements will remain under Israeli control and Israel will "compensate" Palestinians for the land. 

The plan will set east Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. It will also demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. 

The plan, Friedman continues, will not include any right of return for Palestinian refugees into Israel.

Friedman also claims that if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to agree to the terms of the "Kerry Plan," his coalition will collapse and Netanyahu will face many challenges. 

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kerry said during a speech that the US remained committed to the Israeli Palestinian peace process but that at end of the day it is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach an agreement on how to end the conflict. 

The US Secretary of State met with Netanyahu at the conference in a closed-door meeting. 
 
Kerry said in his speech that if the peace talks fail, the Palestinians risk losing their last chance for an independent state. He said for Israel, failure would mean that demographics would not allow Israel to remain a democratic and Jewish state.

Kerry stressed that the continuation of the status quo between the Israelis and Palestinians was not possible and that failure of the talks would empower extremists.  

Jerusalem post