Liberman: Palestinians torpedoing peace talks

Foreign minister adds that Israel will not agree to further conditions in order to continue negotiations

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday blamed the Palestinians for the longstanding deadlock in the peace talks that began last July, rejecting Ramallah’s preconditions for extending the American-moderated negotiations past April.

“The Palestinians are the ones torpedoing the talks by setting conditions,” he said in an interview with Israel Radio, adding that “Israel would not agree to any further conditions for the continuation of talks.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he would only continue peace negotiations past the April deadline if Israel agreed to freeze construction in West Bank settlements and free additional prisoners.

Liberman’s statement came amid increased American pressure to reach an interim agreement. US President Barack Obama this week addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply in aninterview with Bloomberg, saying that the US would not be able to defend Israel from the fallout if peace talks failed.

Liberman is scheduled to travel to Rome later on Thursday to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The meeting with Kerry comes in the aftermath of Netanyahu’s US visit and meeting with Obama and the Israeli seizure of an illicit Iranian arms shipment Wednesday.

The US has said that the seizure will not affect nuclear talks with Iran going forward, even though the US also had plans to intercept the shipment.

“We continue to have enormous issues with Iran, its sponsorship of terrorist organizations, its bad behavior in the region that manifests itself in many ways. And we continue to take all the necessary steps to address those challenges. But it’s entirely appropriate to continue to pursue the possibility of reaching a resolution on the nuclear program,” White House Spokesman Jay Carney continued.

Carney confirmed earlier reports that there had been very close coordination between the US and Israel regarding the vessel, through both military and intelligence channels as well as coordination between respective national security advisers.

Also on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released its first statement on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where pro-Russian forces have taken control of the Crimean Peninsula.

“Israel is following with great concern the events in Ukraine, is anxious for peace for all its citizens, and hopes that the situation will not escalate to a loss of human life. Israel hopes the crisis in Ukraine will be handled through diplomatic means and will be resolved peacefully,” the ministry said in a statement.

It did not elaborate on whether it was referring to the takeover of the Crimea peninsula by Russian-backed troops.

Liberman, who immigrated to Israel from Moldova, a former Soviet Union territory, has made efforts in the past to bring Jerusalem closer to Moscow. In 2011, Liberman appeared with Russian President Vladimir Putin days after a contested election, drawing criticism.

Times of Israel 

A BRIBE TOO MANY: Obama to Netanyahu on peace: 'If not now, when?' WHAT A CHEEK

This is a disgusting example of how the world has ended up. The US Administrstion is basically BRIBING Israel and 'assuming' that it just must be Israel's fault if the peace talks fail. And even if it's obvious it isn't Israel's fault , Israel will still take the blame and have to concide if it is to be 'accepted' 

Ahead of meeting with Netanyahu, Obama hints US will be unable to protect Israel from "international fallout" if peace process fails, settlement building continues.

America’s ability to “manage the international fallout is going to be limited” if Israel does not strike a peace deal with the Palestinians and there is “continued aggressive settlement construction,” US President Barack Obama said in an interview published on the eve of hisMonday meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Washington’s inability to manage this fallout will have consequences, Obama said in the interview with Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Goldberg that appeared Sunday.

Asked whether Israel’s settlement policy will impact on the way the US will deal with Israel and Palestinian-related questions at the UN, or on US aid to Israel, Obama said that America’s commitment to Israel’s security “is not subject to periodic policy differences. That’s a rock-solid commitment and it’s one that I’ve upheld proudly throughout my tenure.”“In today’s world, where power is much more diffuse, where the threats that any state or peoples face can come from non-state actors and asymmetrical threats, and where international cooperation is needed in order to deal with those threats, the absence of international goodwill makes you less safe,” Obama said. “The condemnation of the international community can translate into a lack of cooperation when it comes to key security interests. It means reduced influence for us, the United States, in issues that are of interest to Israel. It’s survivable, but it is not preferable.”

He said that the “affection that Americans feel for Israel,” as well as the bond and bipartisan support will not be affected. “So it is not realistic nor is it my desire or expectation that the core commitments we have with Israel change during the remainder of my administration or the next administration.”

Obama, who said US Secretary of State John Kerry reports to him almost weekly about the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and occasionally asks for direction, stopped short of saying that the current diplomatic efforts were “the last chance” for a peace deal.

But, he said, “with each successive year, the window is closing for a peace deal that both the Israelis can accept and the Palestinians can accept.”

He said this was partly because of changes in demographics, partly because of the settlement policy and partly because of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s age.

“We do not know what a successor to Abbas will look like,” Obama said.

Obama, who has had a famously rocky relationship with Netanyahu, said the prime minister was smart, tough, a great communicator and a “very skilled politician.”

“And I take him at his word when he says that he sees the necessity of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think he genuinely believes that,” Obama said, adding that he believes Netanyahu needed to “seize the moment.”

“When I have a conversation with Bibi, that’s the essence of my conversation: If not now, when? And if not you, Mr. Prime Minister, then who? How does this get resolved?” he said.

More so than Obama, Kerry – in an interview Sunday with NBC’s Meet the Press – placed more of the burden for moving the process forward on Abbas.

He said that the Netanyahu- Obama meeting was not going to be a “showdown or anything.”

Responding to a question about whether this was “a moment of truth” for Netanyahu, Kerry replied that “everybody has to act.”

“He’s been very courageous,” Kerry said of Netanyahu, whom he will meet Monday morning before Netanyahu meets Obama. “And he’s made tough decisions with respect to entering into these negotiations and some of the things that he’s indicated he’s willing to do in the negotiations.

“It’s also up to Abbas. The Palestinians need to decide whether or not they’re prepared to compromise,” he said, “whether or not they’re willing to do some of the things necessary.”

Kerry, who had what has been widely reported as two difficult meeting with Abbas in Paris two weeks ago, said “this is not a burden exclusive to one party or the other.”

In addition to meeting Obama and Kerry on Monday, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Vice President Joe Biden as well as the House and Senate leadership.

Before leaving for his five-day trip to the US, during which he will speak to the annualAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and spend two days in California, Netanyahu said that Israel has successfully withstood strong pressure over the last few years, and will continue to do so.

“I am leaving for an important trip to the US,” Netanyahu said before boarding the plane. “I will meet President Obama, and we will discuss Iran and the diplomatic process. I will stand firm on Israel’s vital interests, first and foremost security.”

In recent years, Netanyahu said, “Israel has come under various pressures, and we deflected them in the face of the unprecedented storm and unrest in the region. We maintained stability and security. That is what has been and what will be.”

Jerusalem post

WE DON'T TRUST YOU: Right-wing MKs skeptical, hostile at meeting with US envoy

Coalition and opposition lawmakers tell Dan Shapiro that US had not been supportive of Israel when there were differences of opinion.

"We don't trust you" was the message right-wing MKs had for US Ambassador Dan Shapiro, at a spirited meeting at the Knesset Tuesday with lawmakers to discuss the peace process.

 

A recording of the meeting obtained by Army Radio reveals angry lawmakers expressing their displeasure at the direction of the current US-led negotiations with the Palestinians.

 

"There will be an American document with ideas from both sides, but it has not yet been presented," Shapiro told the MKs. Secretary of State John Kerry has been shuttling between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for months to discuss key elements for a final deal.

  

Shapiro also hinted that the framework agreement would not be ready by April, the agreed-upon end date for the talks.

 

But veteran Likud MK Reuven Rivlin accused the Americans of siding with the Palestinians, saying that the US statement of principles could not be viewed as impartial, or document about which Israel could express its reservations. 

 

"Maybe we will need more time, I hope that it will be possible to extend the initial period (of talks), but the aim is to build a framework agreement so that the sides can move ahead with the negotiations, even if they do have reservations."

 

According to the ambassador, there is at least one central issue on which President Barack Obama is on the same page as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – the latter's long-standing demand for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

 

"The end to the conflict is an end to all claims and (includes) the mutual recognition of the nation state of the Jewish people and the nation state of the Palestinian people," Shapiro said.

 

This, however, did not mollify the MKs, who have been openly skeptical of the direction of the talks.

 

"Why should we believe you?" asked MK David Rotem of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party, "When have you ever seen the US support Israel when there have been differences of opinion?"

 

In response, Shapiro reminded Rotem that even between good friends there could be differences of opinion. "So why should I trust you?" Rotem shot back.

 

As the meeting moved on to other subjects, all those present demanded the release of Jonathan Pollard, the American Jewish naval analyst jailed for spying for Israel.

Shapiro said the prison sentence was a judicial and not political issue, an explanation which angered Bayit Yehudi MK Orit Struck. 

"You can't use such unintelligent arguments," Struck said. "Ultimately, you can – but know that we aren’t buying it."

Ynetnews

PA being as uncompromising as usual: " No Palestinian state without east Jerusalem as its capital"

No Palestinian state without east Jerusalem as its capital, no recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, says Abbas spokesman.

The Palestinian Authority won’t accept anyframework agreement that does not accept the Palestinian and Arab positions, which are based on international legitimacy, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Thursday.

Abu Rudaineh’s remarks came as PA President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Paris for the second time in 24 hours to discuss the latter’s proposed framework agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Kerry had set nine months for the two sides to complete the peace talks. PLO Ambassador to France Hayel Fahoum said that Kerry proposed extending the peace talks with Israel for several months.

The deadline expires in late April.

Fahoum told the Voice of Palestine radio station that Abbas did not oppose the idea of extending the peace talks, on condition that real progress is achieved.

Fahoum said that Kerry still hasn’t presented Abbas with a draft of a framework agreement. He said that the discussions focused on “certain ideas.”

Abu Rudanieh, reiterated Abbas’s “firm and permanent” position regarding any agreement with Israel, saying there would be no Palestinian state without east Jerusalem as its capital and no recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Abbas’s positions, that all settlements are illegitimate, that a Palestinian state should be established on the pre-1967 lines, that all Palestinians be released from Israeli prisons and that the issue of the refugees be solved in a just way, were also restated.

Abu Rudaineh said that Abbas clearly relayed his position to Kerry during their discussions in Paris.

A PA official in Ramallah said that Abbas had sent two letters to US President Barack Obama since last December, outlining the Palestinian position regarding a peace agreement with Israel The official said that Abbas made it clear in his letters that the issue of the refugees should be solved on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 194, while granting them the right to choose whether they want to return to Israel, live in the pre-1967 lines, stay where they are today, move to another country or receive compensation.

Abbas’s letters to Obama said that Israel must withdraw from all the “1967 occupied territories in line with UN [Security Council] Resolution 242.” He also demanded the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 181, with the possibility of land swaps.

Abbas also insisted that east Jerusalem become the capital of a Palestinian state and that no settlements remain in a future Palestinian state, the official said.

Abbas did not rule out the possibility that a third party would be deployed to maintain security for Palestinians and Israelis.

Jerusalem post

GOOD IDEA FOR ALL OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES : Ministers to vote on taking away benefits from terrorists with Israeli citizenship

The benefits removed would include unemployment payments and other stipends from the National Insurance Institute.

The ministerial committee on legislation is to vote Sunday on a bill that would take away benefits from terrorists with Israeli citizenship who leave prison early.

The legislation, sponsored by coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud), is timely because Israeli- Arabs are expected to be included at the end of next month in final round of prisoners being released by Israel to the Palestinian Authority as a gesture in the diplomatic process.

Related:

• 26 Palestinian prisoners released, head home to celebrations

The benefits removed would include unemployment payments and other stipends from the National Insurance Institute.

“We should not tolerate the absurd situation in which terrorists who are released before their sentence is completed receive benefits from the state,” Levin said. “This includes terrorists set free in deals and diplomatic agreements.”

The Almagor organization, which represents terror victims and their families, is to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in an attempt to persuade him to refuse to release terrorists who are Israeli citizens. The organization also wrote US Secretary of State John Kerry.

In an attempt to reach out to Israelis, Kerry’s Jewish brother Cameron penned a column that was translated into Hebrew and printed in Yediot Aharonot on Friday in which he explained the secretary of state’s commitment to Israel’s security.

Cameron Kerry recalled his brother’s first trip to Israel 30 years ago along with Jewish leaders from Boston. He remembered his brother’s amazement at how small the country is.

“His determination to reach peace in the Middle East was impacted by his deep understanding of the need to guarantee the security of Israel as the home of the Jewish people,” Kerry wrote. “That was what led him to understand that Israel’s long-term security requires a two-state solution.

Due to security, demographic and geographic realities, Israel cannot continue the occupation of the West Bank and remain both Jewish and Democratic.”

NO WAY! Palestinian Authority is demanding that even the Western Wall

Not satisfied to win control of "Muslim" holy sites alone, the Palestinian Authority is demanding that even the Western Wall, globally reocognized as Judaism's holiest site, must come under its sovereignty as part of any peace deal with Israel.

"Every piece of land Israel occupied in 1967 belongs to the Palestinian state. The Buraq Wall, too, will be under Palestinian sovereignty," Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habash said in an interview with Israel's Channel 10 News.

Al-Habash went on to assert that under Palestinian sovereignty, freedom of religion would be protected and Jews would be permitted to continue praying at the site without fear of persecution.

Buraq Wall, the term used by Al-Habash to denote the Western Wall, is the Muslim term for the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount. In its later years, Islam claimed that this was the place where the Prophet Mohammed tied his magical horse Al-Buraq after being transported from Mecca to Jerusalem.

In a 2008 interview with Azzam Khatib, then-director of the Islamic Trust (or Waqf) that safeguards the mosques that sit atop the Temple Mount, we were told that when the Muslims first arrived in Jerusalem 1,400 years ago, the Temple Mount area was barren, and no hard evidence of previous structures remained.

"When the Muslims came here they never found any standing building or any culture still alive, so they never threatened any standing building," said the Waqf director. "We are not going to entertain theories about buildings that may or may not have been here before."

Always a fount of contradiction, the Muslim officials later negated their own claims that the Temple Mount was empty in A.D. 600 with their stories of Muhammad's midnight visit to the Al Aksa Mosque that today towers over the southern end of the raised compound.

Pointing to the massive western retaining wall, which if the Muslim officials are to be believed should also not have existed 1,400 years ago, a Waqf guide pointed out for us the exact spot where Al-Buraq was supposedly secured.

Israel today 

BRING IT ON : Rightwing ministers, MKs protest: There will be only one state - ISRAEL

In show of force, MKs, ministers from Right lead thousands strong march in West Bank to tell PM he does not have mandate to divide land or Jerusalem. 'There will be only one state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River,' minister says

Rightists ministers and Knesset members led a march together with thousands in support of Israel's right to live and build in the West Bank.

The march was held in Ma'ale Adumim and, according to the organizers, called on the government to block international pressure onIsrael with an adequate Zionist response.

The march continued for 4 km until the until the line marking the E-1 area, where the demonstrated gathered to send Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu a message according to which he does not have support for dividing Jerusalem or giving up land. They called on him to "stop groveling before the world's demands."

 

 

Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) said before the gathering that "the masses marching here represent the absolute majority of the people unwilling to bow and surrender to threats and demands. They understand that from Mevaseret to Ma'ale Adumim, together with all of Judea and Samaria, are an integral part of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) and Eretz Yisrael belongs to the people of Israel."

 

Ariel further said that "there are those, unfortunately, that think that if we grovel and appease the world it will bring us peace. But it must be said clearly: We are here to stay. There will be only one state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River."

 

Marching into the night in E1 (Photo: Eli Mendlebaum)

Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin (Likud ) said "we are here today to tell the world that this is our land, and we have a right to build here. (Netanyahu) once said that 'we want continuity from the greater Jerusalem area from west to east, and the Palestinians want continuity from north to south, someone will have to come out victories.' The prime minister was right. It's us or them, and we're going to win."

 

He further added that "We are committed to the citizens of Israel who voted for us, not to world nations."

 

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon spoke during the gathering and said "we are telling the prime minister, the Likud is not a contractor for (Justice Minister and chief negotiator) Tzipi Livniand (Meretz Chairwoman) Zehava Gal-On.

 

"During his first tenure, Netanyahu built in the Har Homa area, like now, then the Americans pressured and threatened us, and the Palestinians threatened as well, and today there are 6,000 units there, like there will be here."

 

Photo: Eli Mendlebaum

 

 

Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin said "we are here because this is our land, we are because of our legal historical, religious and national right, and no one will uproot us. No one will prevent us from turning this land into a fruitful and blooming place were Jews can live and raise their children for generations. I say this with certainty: There are hardships and obstacles along the way, but we will overcome. The truth will win."

 

The son of former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir and Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beiteinu) said "I come to politics to promote and strengthen the settlement, and to remove the doubts regarding our way."

The gathering was also attended by MK Tzipi Hotoveli (Likud), Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, MK Miri Regev and MK Ofir Okunis.

Ynet news

Jordan Valley settlers fear for future -Ordinary families fear for their lives

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, is striking fear into the hearts of settlers in the Jordan Valley, 40 years after the first Jewish settlers arrived.

As one settler puts it “We are going to be guinea pigs for a peace process that may or may not work. My fear is that afterwards, he is going to return to his nice life in Washington while we end up with all the problems and all the missiles that will land in Tel Aviv.

Against a picturesque backdrop of mountain peaks and soaring palm trees, Lesley Elbaz uses a word common among fellow Jewish settlers to describe her rural idyll in the Jordan Valley: heaven.

“This is the way of life we wanted for our children,” said Mrs Elbaz, 41, a mother of four who converted to Judaism after emigrating to Israel from her native London. “We have raised a family. We have a beautiful date plantation. We grow everything in the garden that we can eat. To leave here would break our hearts.”

But, 40 years after the first Jewish settlers arrived in this arid part of the occupied West Bank to establish farming communities that have burgeoned into flourishing businesses, inhabitants fear that their modern-day Eden is under threat from John Kerry, the US secretary of state.

Mr Kerry, who has made a peace accord betweenIsrael and the Palestinians his diplomatic priority, is expected soon in Jerusalem for his 11th visit in less than a year, aiming to push forward negotiations largely brought about by his intensive shuttle diplomacy. The five-month talks have shown little sign of progress over familiar issues such as borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

But those traditional stumbling blocks have been overshadowed by Mr Kerry’s proposals for a compromise over the Jordan Valley – a strip of land 75 miles long and nine miles wide abutting the River Jordan. The area is home to 4,500 settlers and 60,000 Palestinians, most of whom live in the oasis city of Jericho.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister insists that Israeli troops must remain indefinitely after any peace agreement. Israel’s military planners say the territory gives the country “strategic depth” against possible invasion.

The Palestinians have rejected the demand, arguing that an Israeli military presence would undermine their future state’s sovereignty by surrendering control of their eastern borders.

Mr Kerry has provoked Israeli anger by suggesting a compromise that might entail the installation of hi-tech monitoring equipment, perhaps with provision for Israeli troops to remain for a limited period after any agreement.

The idea provoked an embarrassing diplomatic spat last month when Moshe Ya’alon, the Israeli defence minister, attacked Mr Kerry as “obsessive” and “messianic” and dismissed his Jordan Valley plan as “not worth the paper it was written on”. The sentiments are supported by settlers, most of whom say they came to the area for economic rather than religious or ideological reasons.

Many fear Mr Kerry’s pursuit of an agreement will result in them being forced from their homes while leaving Israel vulnerable to attack from jihadist groups that they say would flood into the vacuum if Israeli forces departed.

“I think John Kerry is a problem for us Israelis,” said Kooki Elbaz, 44, the husband of Lesley, whose plantation sits less than a mile from the frontier with Jordan. “We are going to be guinea pigs for a peace process that may or may not work. My fear is that afterwards, he is going to return to his nice life in Washington while we end up with all the problems and all the missiles that will land in Tel Aviv.

“The horrible truth is that until no Jew lives in Israel, there will never be peace around here. After you give them the 1967 borders [a key Palestinian demand], they will want Akko, Haifa and Tel Aviv [cities in present-day Israel].

“Despite all that, if the government tells me to move tomorrow, I will go and give peace a chance.”

The chances of Mr Netanyahu’s government giving such an order in the near future seem remote.

In December, a cabinet committee backed a bill tabled in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, proposing formally to annex the Jordan Valley. Mr Netanyahu is expected to kill the legislation – fearing that it would lead to Israel being blamed for the collapse of the peace talks. But the pressure from within his Likud party to stand up to Mr Kerry is intensifying.

The Yesha (Settlers) Council has further upped the ante by taking out newspaper advertisements that quoted former Israeli prime ministers – including Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon and Menachem Begin – on the area’s importance.

David Elhiani, the Likud mayor of Jordan Valley regional council, which administers the area’s 21 settlements, said: “Look at how hypocritical the Americans are. Obama says Israel has the right to defend itself, but he is talking about defence against Iran. When it comes to the solution to the Palestinian problem, it’s, 'I will tell you how to defend yourselves’. They should honour us that we are their only friends in the Middle East.”

Despite such indignation, settlers such as Mrs Elbaz say their forced evacuation would be as much of a blow to Palestinians, several thousand of whom work in the local Israeli agricultural businesses.

“What happens to those workers when we are not here?” she asked.

“We buy from their shops, they buy from us. We teach them farming and a way of life.”

Telegraph 

25 facts and 25 points worth considering

Much of the media cover the so called peace process and portray it either as Israel being the bad guy or even as both sides kind of being 'equals' when in reality Israel is a modern civilised democratic country while the Palestinian camp is a barbaric, backward and bloodstained. The PA and Hamas want the same thing -PERIOD! And Gaza, the shining example of what happens when Israel is forced to give up its land, is a warning of what is to come if any further land is stolen from the Jewish people. 

Please share this as a warning to what is Kerry's intentions and what he is planning on an even larger scale. The rocket attacks on Israel WILL increase massively if further Jewish land is lost and the blame lies not on Israelis for handing their land over, but instead thousands of miles away in a White House dominered by the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Here are 25 facts about Hamas and 25 things worth considering while the present 'peace talks' are underway :

1. Hamas takes its name from an acronym that means “Islamic Resistance Movement” in Arabic.

2. Hamas refuses to recognize the State of Israel’s right to exist as an independent, sovereign nation, and is totally opposed to any agreement or arrangement that would recognize its right to exist. At the beginning of its charter there is a quotation attributed to Hassan Al-Bana, the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder, that “Israel will arise and continue to exist until Islam wipes it out, as it wiped out what went before.”

3. Hamas is committed to jihad. Its charter stresses the importance of jihad (holy war) as the main means for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to achieve its goals: An uncompromising jihad must be waged against Israel. Jihad is the personal duty of every Muslim.

4. Hamas is an anti-Semitic organization. According to its charter, the Jewish people have only negative traits and are presented as planning to take over the world. The charter uses myths taken from classical European and Islamic-based anti-Semitism.

5. The Hamas Charter includes anti-Semitic myths taken from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (mentioned in Article 32) regarding Jewish control of the media, the film industry and education (Articles 17 and 22). The myths are constantly repeated to represent the Jews as responsible for the French and Russian revolutions and for all world and local wars: “No war takes place anywhere without the Jews’ being behind it” (Article 22). The charter demonizes the Jews and describes them as brutally behaving like Nazis toward women and children (Article 29).

6. Hamas is the local Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which recently took control of the Egyptian government.

7. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan.

8. Although members of the international community have proposed treating the political and military wings of Hamas as separate entities, the Hamas infrastructure places the political wing at the command of the military wing. As Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin stated in 1988: “We can not separate the wing from the body. If we do so, the body will not be able to fly. Hamas is one body.”

9. Hamas’s first ever suicide bombing took place on April 16, 1993 when a suicide bomber detonated the car in which he was driving at the Mehola Junction near Beit El.

10. On January 27, 2002, the first female Palestinian suicide bomber, Wafa Idris, blew herself up on Jaffa Street in the heart of downtown Jerusalem, killing one person and injuring about 100 more. Hamas claimed responsibility.

11. Hamas has been responsible for many appalling acts of terror including the suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, in the midst of the Passover holiday seder with 250 guests. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in which 30 people were killed and 140 injured – 20 seriously.

12. In December 2011, Hamas “celebrated” its 24th anniversary, boasting that it had killed 1365 “Zionist soldiers” since 1987. Hamas does not differentiate between Israeli soldiers and civilians.

13. Hamas won a four year term at the head of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 but remains in office indefinitely.

14. In June 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip through a violent coup, killing numerous Palestinians, some by pushing them off of tall buildings in Gaza. The Red Cross estimated that at least 118 people were killed and more than 550 wounded during the fighting in the week up to June 15.

15. Hamas members use Palestinian children as human shields when carrying out attacks on Israeli soldiers.

16. On April 16, 2001, Hamas launched its first rocket into Israel from Gaza.

17. Since the beginning of 2012, over 1,800 rocket hits have been identified in Israeli territory.

18. Hamas deliberately targets Israeli civilians, firing rockets indiscriminately while hiding among its own civilian population – a “double war crime.”

19. Hamas is a Sunni group while it’s primary patron over the years has been the Shi’ite Iran.

20. Iran aids and supports Hamas in the following ways: by transferring enormous sums of money to the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip and to the Hamas movement; by training Hamas operatives in military skills in Iran; by smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip, including the long-range rockets recently used to attack Israeli cities; by transmitting technical-operational know-how used to manufacture and improve the weapons in Hamas’s possession, including increasing the destructive power of the IEDs and homemade rockets used to attack Israel.

21. Hamas’s annual budget was estimated to be some $70 million according to the Council of Foreign Relations.

22. Hamas routinely misinforms its followers. This week, Khaled Meshal falsely claimed to the Palestinian public that Hamas had destroyed Ehud Barak’s home in Tel Aviv. In reality, Israel destroyed the home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

23. Although Hamas has complained of product shortages in the Gaza Strip, it has focused on smuggling thousands of rockets into the area.

24. Hamas and Fatah have been holding reconciliation talks intermittently since 2008, but have yet to reach a sustainable agreement.

25. “Palestine from the river to the sea, north to south is our land. Not an inch can be conceded. The liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine is a duty, a right and a goal. Holy war and armed resistance are the real and right path to liberation and recovery of rights.” – Khaled Meshal speaking at this week’s Hamas 25 anniversary “celebrations.”

Hamas is not interested in peace or compromise with Israel – the facts speak for themselves.

Candidly speaking: Friends of Israel must speak up now

Our ability to cope with failed peace efforts, however, should not preclude us from presenting our positions with strength.

US Secretary of State John Kerry no longer pretends to be even-handed in overseeing the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

His most recent move was to indirectly threaten Israel with boycotts if it refuses to accede to additional demands on issues of borders and security.

Despite the fact that he represents our closest ally, Kerry is demanding compromises from us that could impact on our very survival. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon rightly responded that a European boycott is preferable to rocket attacks on Ben-Gurion Airport.

Kerry has put no comparable pressure on the Palestinians.

He has not insisted that they deviate from positions that he knows are unacceptable to any Israeli government.

He has failed to even publicly condemn their ongoing incitement. By selectively pointing the gun at Israel’s head, Kerry has reinforced the belief that the Palestinians can only benefit by remaining intransigent.

Although Kerry is aware that Congress and the American public would vigorously oppose any initiative that threatened Israel with sanctions, this has not prevented him from encouraging European countries, including Germany, to do so. Kerry is capitalizing on European anti-Israelism, which is proliferating at an alarming rate, as demonstrated by a recent opinion poll indicating that nearly half the citizens of the EU believe that Israel is engaged in a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.

Incredibly, in a recent communiqué about International Holocaust Commemoration Day, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton could not even bring herself to mention the Jews.

Israel’s political leaders are contributing to this situation.

President Shimon Peres told the Americans that the Palestinians need not concede to Israel’s central demand for recognition as a Jewish state – one of the government’s crucial demands which the Obama administration had already taken on board. Such behavior by a president does not merely represent a major breach of his constitutional limitations but under the circumstances can only be considered unconscionable.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennet provided a bonanza for global anti-Israel entities seeking to portray Israel as the obstacle to peace by publicly bickering over whether Israelis could live under Palestinian jurisdiction – a currently utterly unrealistic scenario.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni have both made histrionic remarks about the potential economic impact of a European boycott should the peace talks fail, providing grist for the mills of the global BDS movement’s propaganda.

A group of leading Israeli businessmen, purporting to promote a non-partisan two-state policy together with Palestinian counterparts via a body called “Breaking the Impasse” also engaged in actions to weaken Israel’s negotiating position. While attending the Davos World Economic Forum, they distributed a petition calling for one-sided demands on Netanyahu to be flexible and accommodating to the Palestinians and warning of devastating repercussions to the Israeli economy if peace negotiations fail.

Like the panic-stricken politicians, these businesspeople are chanting empty mantras about the value of peace that cynically imply government warmongering and contribute nothing to the real challenge of negotiating a peace accord: how to come to an understanding with duplicitous partners who rule over a criminal society and are committed to the elimination of Jewish sovereignty.

Critics are entitled to differ with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s negotiating position. But what do they mean by “flexibility?” Does flexibility mean that Israel should agree to freeze all construction in the major settlement blocs, including Jerusalem, until an (unlikely) settlement is reached? Does flexibility mean we should accept the right of return of six million descendants of Arab refugees as a basis for negotiations? How should we interpret the Palestinians’ vicious incitement, sanctification of released murderers, and over recent weeks, the ghoulish depiction on Palestinian state TV of the released murderers’ detailed accounts of their monstrous acts? Is this what is expected of a genuine peace partner? Do the prime minister’s critics want Israel to be flexible in terms of security knowing that Hamas, which has resumed missile launches against us, could either merge with or assume control of the PA? Would the businessmen who pressure Netanyahu to be more accommodating, encourage him to entrust the security of our children and grandchildren to Kerry’s electronic fences or NATO forces rather than the IDF? Thankfully, the prime minister is fully aware of the risks that such “flexibility” represents. He therefore directs his negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state which provides for Israel’s security. He is juggling in this mad hatters’ game, seeking interim progress, and working to retain American support and to demonstrate to a hostile world our absolute commitment to peace – all while resisting the enormous pressure to capitulate on long-term security issues.

The results will not bring us closer to peace. Netanyahu’s government is poised to accept the forthcoming, non-binding US framework agreement with sufficient reservations to make it meaningless, yet enabling Kerry to demonstrate a “successful diplomatic coup.” The Palestinians are likely to follow suit. Both parties are likely to continue negotiations in the hope that they will be the ultimate winners in the blame game.

Our ability to cope with failed peace efforts, however, should not preclude us from presenting our positions with strength, unity and dignity during these negotiations.

As Defense Minister Ya’alon has aptly stated, “I am not ready to talk about [ceding] an inch of territory unless the PA accepts recognition of our right to exist as a nation-state of the Jewish people, giving up the right of return, and addressing our security needs... I hope we achieve this, if not, we will manage.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu must refrain from making independent statements that do not have cabinet approval, curtail the counterproductive flow of ministers’ inflammatory remarks, and insist that ministers support or remain silent on established positions. Discipline is essential.

The prime minister must also remain committed to working against anti-Israel forces seeking to delegitimize and demonize us by distorting our policies and objectives. To achieve this will require the more intensive support of friends of Israel throughout the world, especially in America, which Netanyahu has yet to fully capitalize on.

American Jewish leaders will have to review their approach. Over the years, AIPAC, the President’s Conference, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, ZOA and other committed Jewish bodies have displayed consistent devotion, loyalty and support for Israel. But today they face a dilemma. Their hitherto fully justified determination to maintain bipartisanship becomes counterproductive if it precludes them from standing up and confronting an administration which is clearly bullying Israel and not acting evenhandedly toward its only democratic ally in the region.

They can do so in a respectful manner. But when a US secretary of state indirectly encourages Europeans and others to pressure Israel with sanctions unless it makes further concessions, friends of Israel must protest publicly or this could develop into a tsunami and we will be abandoned.

Not surprisingly the traditionally outspoken ZOA immediately protested. But it was significant that ADL head Abe Foxman, hardly a hawk, sent Kerry an open letter bitterly criticizing his remarks, which he charged would be construed as “an incentive by Palestinians not to reach an agreement” and “as legitimizing boycott activity.” Israel’s supporters around the world should today unite and speak out.

The government and Diaspora leaders should initiate a Day of Global Solidarity with Israel in which Israelis, Americans and Israel supporters worldwide gather in Jerusalem to express their support for Israel’s commitment to peace, and condemn those seeking to force Israel to compromise on its basic security needs. We must demonstrate that a genuine peace can only be attained when both sides are committed to peace and treated fairly.

Jerusalem post 

'Kerry has declared war on God,' say hardline rabbis; warn of divine punishment

Rabbis warn Kerry to stop negotiations, "In order to avoid severe Heavenly punishment for everyone involved."

A group of rabbis, including the founder of Our Land of Israel party, wrote in an open to letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry that he had declared war against God through his current mediation efforts between Israel and Palestinian negotiators, and said he must cease such activities to avoid divine punishment.

The letter was sent by the Committee to Save the Land and People of Israel, founded by Rabbi Sholom Dov Wolpo, who also founded the Our Land of Israel party, as an activist group to oppose political accords with the Palestinians involving territorial concessions.

The rabbis argue that Kerry’s plans endangers Israeli Jews by bringing them within close range of potential rocket and missile fire from the West Bank should it be ceded by Israel to the Palestinians.“Your incessant efforts to expropriate integral parts of our Holy Land and hand them over to Abbas’s terrorist gang, amount to a declaration of war against the Creator and Ruler of the universe! For G-d awarded the entire Land of Israel to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in order that they bequeath it, as an everlasting inheritance, to their descendants, the Jewish people, until the end of all time,” the letter reads.

“If you continue on this destructive path, you will ensure your everlasting disgrace in Jewish history for bringing calamity upon the Jewish people,” continued the rabbis

“By the power of our Holy Torah, we admonish you to cease immediately all efforts to achieve these disastrous agreements – in order to avoid severe Heavenly punishment for everyone involved,” they threatened.

The letter was signed by Rabbi Wolpo, along with four other rabbis including Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder and Chairman of the Temple Institute; Rabbi Yigal Pizam, the Dean of a Yeshiva and a leader of the Chabad community in the Haifa neighborhood of Kiryat Shmuel; Rabbi Gedalya Axelrod, the emeritus head of the Haifa Rabbinic Court; and Rabbi Ben Tziyon Grossman from the town of Migdal Haemek.

Jeruselam post

Israeli PM to Abbas: It's absurd that we'll recognize you without you recognizing us

Lieberman says talks of boycott not threatening: We've dealt with boycotts for the length of all of our history

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas , saying "It is absurd to think that in an agreement in which we will recognize the nation-state of the Palestinian people they will not recognize the Jewish state."

Earlier Monday, Abbas gave an interview to the New York Times in which he rejected the possibility of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, and adumbrated the Palestinian position regarding US-brokered peace talks.

Abbas "was quoted as saying he would not be willing to accept the Jewish state and this is while he knows there will be no (peace) deal without recognition of (Israel as) the nation-state. It's absurd," Netanyahu said.

 

Regarding a possible economic boycott, Netanyahu said that "the same international forces pressuring Israel should be pressuring the Palestinian Authority and clarify what the ramifications of failing to reach a peace agreement would be for the Palestinians."

 

Netanyahu concluded that "no pressure will force us to give up Israel vital interests, primarily the safety of Israeli citizens."

 

Security has no price

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett commented on the threat of a potential economic boycott of Israel should peace talks fail.

 

"There is no price for our security and that of our children's. Not even a billion dollars will bring back a child killed by a Palestinian rocket."

 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been surprisingly quiet in recent days as the US and Israel have been verbally battling over the potential threat of a boycott on Israel should US-brokered peace talks fail.

 

Monday he broke his silence and warned Washington as well as leftist elements in Israel: Calm down, there is no need to be hysterical.

 

"For three days I have seen reports quoting a senior Foreign Ministry official claiming there is no way to stop the boycott, and that the political echelon is indecisive and afraid to cope.

 

I think I know who the official is, and there is a clear and concise plan on how to deal with the boycott in the Foreign Ministry. There is complete cooperation with all the relevant offices in regards to how to deal with the boycott. Within a month to a month and a half we will have clarified our approach."

 

History of boycotts

Lieberman was quick to note, as well, that this wasn't the first time Israel had to deal with something like this.

 

"There was a boycott in 1921 by the arabs and in 1945 the arab League decided to boycott all jewish business," he said. "Renault stopped dealing with Israel in 1959 because of a boycott and Arab pressure."

 

Lieberman also said that whoever remembers the French embargo in 1967 will also remember how Israel's military and aviation industries flourished during that period.

 

"The embargo had the opposite effect."

 

The oil embargo after the 1973 Yom Kippur Warwas also difficult, Lieberman said, but Israel survived.

 

"Only during the 1990s did we start getting Japanese cars," he said. "Other than Subaru, we didn't have any Japanese cars. And neither did we have Pepsi. We've dealt with boycotts for the length of all of our history."

 

Sailors take warning

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni spoke out against the criticism of Israel, in part in due to US Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks.

 

"Israelis or Americans who tell us to pay attention to security threats or other threats of isolation don't scare us, they're just defining the threats," she said. "If someone goes out to sea and his friend tells him there will be a storm he's not threatening him he's warning him because he's worried for him."

 

Livni also attacked the right, saying Kerry has only helped silence the calls for boycotts.

 

Abbas also said NATO troops, led by the Americans, should be responsible for the security of a future Palestinian state, he said in a New York Times interview. He also claimed that their deployment could be for an indefinite amount of time.

Jeruselam post