Netanyahu: It’s Time to Stop Negotiating about the Negotiations

Prime Minister Netanyahu [Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking in Poland] In the quest for peace, we share a common desire. Both Poland and Israel want peace. Everyone in Israel wants peace. I want peace.

To achieve peace, we must negotiate peace. This is why we both support the efforts of the American Secretary of State John Kerry to restart the peace negotiations. We want to see this American effort succeed. Israel is ready for the resumption of direct negotiations for peace without pre-conditions. I think it is time to stop squabbling over preconditions. I think it's time to stop negotiating about the negotiations. I think we have to start peace talks immediately.

My goal is to see a historic compromise that ends the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians once and for all. This will entail a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, with iron clad security arrangements for Israel—recognition, security, demilitarization. I believe that these are the elements for peace. I don't pose them as preconditions for negotiations. I look forward to enter those negotiations without preconditions without delay. I am ready for such a peace. I hope the Palestinians are ready too.

We both [Poland and Israel] agree on the importance of preventing Iran from attaining a nuclear weapons capability. We agree that the pressure on Iran must be significantly increased. Recently, as we just spoke, we have all seen what happens when a rogue regime enters the nuclear age. In East Asia, vis-à-vis North Korea, tough talk and sanctions were not enough. The same is true of Iran, which is much more dangerous than North Korea. To stop Iran's nuclear ambitions, sanctions alone will not be enough. They must be coupled with a credible military threat. The Iranian regime must understand that, one way or the other, it will be prevented from completing its nuclear weapons program.

And as for the so-called "elections" taking place in Iran this week—some election. They decide who the candidates are. That's an interesting concept but we're not going to adopt it. So as for these so-called elections taking place in Iran this week, well unfortunately, they will change nothing of significance.

This regime will continue to be led by one man, one ruler, who will continue Iran's quest for nuclear weapons. This is a regime that sponsors terrorism around the world, that actively participates in the murder in Syria, that is building ICBM's [intercontinental ballistic missiles] to reach Europe and America, and that seeks to control the energy markets of the world and the flow of Middle East oil. On top of all this, this is a regime that is building nuclear weapons with the express purpose to annihilate Israel's six million Jews.

We will not allow this to happen. We will never allow another Holocaust.

On Syria, both our countries are concerned about the terrible carnage occurring in that country. Israel is not a party to the internal conflict in Syria. But Israel will defend itself if attacked, and we reserve the right to act if our national security is threatened.

Poland and Israel agree that terrorism must be defeated. Recently we have seen terrorist operations on European soil. In Bulgaria, innocent tourists were murdered in a brutal attack initiated, planned and carried out by Hezbollah. In Cyprus, local authorities arrested a Hezbollah operative that was in the process of planning an identical attack. Hezbollah-Iranian terrorist activity is not limited to Europe. We see it across the globe—in the Middle East, in Africa, in Asia even in the United States of America.

Today, Europe faces the question of whether to officially define Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. What a question. If Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, I don't know what a terrorist organization is, but it's not just an Israeli problem. Hezbollah has murdered innocent civilians on European soil. And Europe cannot, must not, be indifferent to this.

Source

(Excerpt of Remarks by Prime Minister Netanyahu at Intergovernmental Consultations in Poland, June 12, 2013)

http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Speeches/Pages/speechpoland120613.aspx

Photo Credit

Ashernet

Palestinians Don’t Expect Much from New Government

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will swear in a new government tonight [June 6]. But incoming Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah does not seem to be the talk of the town.

“The Palestinian street is apathetic now—they replaced Salam Fayyad with another Prime Minister for personal reasons and not for national reasons,” Dia’ Bader, a 47-year-old father of three told The Media Line. After leading the government for the past six years, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is leaving. Fayyad is widely credited in the West for cracking down on corruption and helping build the infrastructure of a future independent state.

Hamdallah comes from academia and has no government experience. For the past 15 years, he served as the head of An-Najah University in Nablus, expanding the university’s research offerings and making it into the largest university in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria].

Palestinian analysts said Abbas’s choice of Hamdallah is aimed at making the Prime Minister’s post less prominent. “Choosing an academic means that the presidency institution wants to lessen the glamour of the Prime Minister’s post”, Professor Ahmed Rafiq Awad from Al-Quds University told The Media Line.

A Fatah official, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Media Line that Abbas wanted Fayyad out after disputes intensified between them.

The source added that the resignation of the Finance Minister Nabil Qassis played a role in the latest crisis between the two leaders. Abbas himself was in Fayyad’s shoes when he resigned as Prime Minster under the rule of late leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat was under pressure to appoint a prime minister as a part of reforms in 2003 and analysts believe this created a power struggle between the institutions of the presidency and the prime minister.

“I don’t think he can change much and I don’t expect our situation to improve”, Hanan Taha, a 50-year-old housewife told the Media Line. “I don’t like to talk politics”, she added. 23-year-old university student Wa’el Nazzal also agreed that the new Prime Minister will not bring change to Palestinians, “The Prime Minister’s post is confined by western polices so it doesn’t matter who is in the seat,” Nazzal said.

Bader, a private sector employee told The Media Line “If [US President Barack] Obama was our Prime Minister he wouldn’t be able to achieve anything, particularly in the economic sector, because there are many restrictions. Without a political solution, nothing will be achieved,” he said.

In a restaurant near the old city of Ramallah, Ola Abu Shusheh, an employee at the Paltel telecommunications company was dining with her friends when she told The Media Line she doesn’t care about politics. “The game is bigger than us and Hamdallah himself”, she said, adding “[Appointing] an academic who doesn’t have a political experience is not a wise decision.” 

Some worried that Hamdallah will not stand up to Abbas. “He’s a yes-man who will be an executive and not a prime minister”, said a Palestinian-American businessman who was dinning with group of American friends in Ramallah. The 32-year-old who asked not to be identified said he was a supporter of Fayyad.

Not everyone agreed. Architect Omar Aboudi thinks Hamdallah wasn’t a bad choice but worries that his influence will be limited. “He succeeded in running An-Najah University and the university’s publicity says it became the first university in Palestine”, Aboudi said. “The problem is that the government is not fulfilling its commitments to people. The post became empty and limited to collecting taxes and giving out salaries”.

In an event in Nablus, Hamdallah said that his term would end in August when political parties Fatah and the Islamist Hamas, which controls Gaza, should agree on a reconciliation deal that will put Abbas at the head of a unity government and pave the way for new elections.

“I don’t think that the reconciliation talks have died. Along with the new Prime Minster, we can still work on a parallel path to achieve the reconciliation (between Fatah and Hamas),” Issam Baker, a member of the popular resistance told the Media Line adding that the characters don’t matter as much as the policies of the new government.

Aboudi, the architect, worries that the situation could explode if Israel continues to maintain control of the West Bank. “People are fed up with the fake power we pretend to have under (Israeli) occupation”, he said.

Ahmed Awad form al-Quds University agreed adding that this government shuffle will not solve the crisis facing the Palestinian political system. “Palestinians have lost interest in ideology and making a living is what they look for nowadays. If the situation doesn’t improve financially, people will take to the street,” he warned.

Source

(By Diana Atallah, The Media Line, June 6, 2013)

Photo Credit

The Media Line

Netanyahu Reiterates: “Smart” Building to Continue

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not deviating from his long-held position that building inside of Jewish communities located on land acquired in the 1967 war—land that the Palestinians claim for their state—will continue in order to accommodate natural growth, but the government must be “smart about it, not just correct.”

Speaking to a closed-door session of the parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Netanyahu rejected the idea that such building prevents the peace process from moving forward, telling the committee that, “the real question is whether there is a will [on the part of the Palestinians] to recognize the Jewish state.” Netanyahu’s remarks were widely reported by local and international media.

Netanyahu has typically limited building on post-1967 land to those Israeli communities that are widely believed to be slated to remain under Israeli sovereignty as part of any agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas has steadfastly refused to negotiate with Netanyahu, claiming the Israelis must first eschew building in post-1967 land and recognize pre-1967 borders. The Israelis reject Abbas’ position as pre-conditions; the Palestinians insist they are “obligations.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to get the sides back to the table, so far with no success. The Secretary of State was scheduled to return to Israel and the PA this week, but those plans were postponed so that he could attend talks on Syria being held in Washington.

Source

(The Media Line, June 11, 2013)

Photo Credit

sevenke/Shutterstock.com

Major Military Exercises Launched in Jordan

US Patriot missile battery
(illustration purposes) Jordan announced on Sunday [June 9] the launch of multinational military exercises involving border security and irregular warfare such as combating terrorism and insurgency.

More than 8,000 soldiers and observers from 19 countries—mainly Arab and European—will participate in the 12-day “Eager Lion” exercises. Reports suggest that about 4,500 American troops and 3,000 Jordanian soldiers are taking part in the air, land and sea exercise.

The objective is to bolster defense capabilities in the face of a possible flare-up from neighboring Syria. "We don't intend to attack anybody," Jordanian Maj.Gen. Awni el-Edwan told reporters on Sunday.

He commented on the annual exercises' first ever deployment of US Patriot missiles. Syria and Russia have both expressed concern over the Patriot deployment. Reports also suggest that the US is sending a Patriot missile battery and F-16 fighters to Jordan for Eager Lion, and may keep them there to counter the threat posed by the Syrian civil war.

Source

(By Karen Gazley, Bridges for Peace, June 10, 2013)

Crumbling UN Force on the Golan

UN forces on Golan Heights At the weekly Cabinet meeting today [June 9] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks: "Over the weekend, I spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. We discussed issues related to Syria, where the situation is becoming daily more complex. Only last week, we saw battles close to our border on the Golan Heights. Israel is not intervening in the Syrian civil war, as long as fire is not being directed at us. The crumbling of the UN force on the Golan Heights underscores the fact that Israel cannot depend on international forces for its security. They can be part of the arrangements. They cannot be the basic foundation of Israel's security.

I will also discuss this with US Secretary of State Kerry. I have spoken, and will speak, with him about this, and together we will try to advance a way to find an opening for negotiations with the Palestinians with the goal of reaching an agreement. This agreement will be based on a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, and on solid security arrangements based on the Israel Defense Forces [IDF].

Source

(Excerpts of press release by Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 9, 2013)

Photo Credit

www.facebook/UN News Centre

Wounded Syrian Arrives in Israel with Note from Doctor

For illustration purposes One of the two injured Syrians who were admitted to Safed's Ziv Medical Center on Saturday [June 8] entered Israel with a note from the doctor who gave him first aid on the other side of the border.

The note, which was written in Arabic and addressed to Israeli doctors, includes details about the injured young Syrian's condition: "To the respectable surgeon hello. The patient, 28, was injured from a bullet that penetrated his chest and caused a fracture in the lungs, as well as from shrapnel that caused damage to the diaphragm and liver.

"The chest has been opened up and the bleeding has been stopped. The abdomen has also been opened up and the bleeding in the liver has been stopped," the note read. "It is the doctors' opinion that the abdomen should be opened up to assess the condition of the liver and remove the pressure bandage. Please do what is needed. Thank you in advance."

The note also detailed the medication that was given to the patient.

Dr. Oscar Embon, director of the Ziv Medical Center, said "the surgery the patient underwent in Syria was basic. I don't know what instruments the doctors who treated him had at their disposal, but the operation apparently saved his life. Here he underwent a second liver operation. We stitched up his diaphragm and drained the chest."

Some 20 injured Syrians have been treated in Israeli hospitals over the past few months.

Source

(By Maor Buchnik, Ynetnews, June 12, 2013)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4391532,00.html

Photo Credit

Isranet

Israel Air Force Bases Host Holocaust Survivors

Holocaust survivors meeting
(for illustration purposes) Air Force bases held an event in honor of Holocaust survivors Tuesday [June 11], hosting some 10,000 survivors in 12 bases nationwide.

The project is held for the first time in the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] in collaboration with the Center for Holocaust-Survivor Organizations in Israel, Yad Vashem and JDC [Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish humanitarian assistance organization] in Israel.

The survivors toured the bases and conversed with soldiers and pilots.

Air Force Commander Major General Amir Eshel said "The State of Israel is facing challenges both near and far, but as opposed to World War II, the State of Israel is safe because the IDF is strong and the Air Force has proven itself in the past and prove itself every day."

"We realize… that we need to do everything so that the horrors that our people have endured will not recur."

Major N., F-16 pilot, hosted his grandmother Esther, 80, whose entire family died in the Holocaust. He said "the event reminds me where we came from and where we're going. My grandmother is very excited and has arrived with all of her friends."

Source

(By Yoav Zitun, Ynetnews, June 11, 2013)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4391140,00.html

Photo Credit

Isranet

Google Set to Buy Israeli Navigation Application Waze

When Dr. Gary Ginsberg, who lives in Jerusalem and works at the Ministry of Health, drives to Tel Aviv, he makes sure not to forget his smartphone and the Israeli traffic application Waze.

“I’m a Waze fan,” he told The Media Line. “When I’m in Tel Aviv I’m usually lost except for knowing where the Mediterranean Sea is. So I turn on Waze and I trust it. I go left and right and get to where I need to be—it’s phenomenal.”

Even on the highway to Tel Aviv, he says, he turns it on. “It tells you if there’s traffic or an accident,” he said. “And not that I speed….but its nice to know there’s a policemen 450 yards [411 meters] ahead and I can slow down.”

Ginsberg is not alone. Waze, founded in 2009, boasts almost 50 million users. It works because many of those users take the time to report traffic accidents or delays. Unlike a dashboard-mounted GPS, which costs at least [US] $150 in Israel, Waze is completely free for download. The company makes money from businesses that advertise on the application, such as telling drivers where the nearest McDonalds is.

Now the founders of Waze seem set to make a lot of money. Globes is reporting that Google, Inc. will acquire the company for [US] $1.3 billion. The reports come after months of speculation that Waze would be sold to either Google or Facebook.

Israeli media reports say Waze pulled out of a deal with Facebook, both because the offer was not high enough, and because Facebook would not agree to keep the development in Israel. Google, which already has a swanky office in Tel Aviv, has no problem with that demand.

In 2012 Waze announced it had received $30 million in investment from several companies including Horizon’s Ventures. If and when the deal with Google goes through, some of Waze’s founders will become very rich. Chief Technology Officer Ehud Shabtai will earn $78 million, and president Uri Levine will take home $38 million.

Some Internet analysts say the deal will give the Israeli high-tech industry a boost.

“Every success story encourages more young people to go into high tech and believe they can be the next big company, Yair Amichai-Hamburger, author of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Psychology of Life on the Internet told The Media Line. “It empowers the image of Israeli high tech around the world and opens new doors with investors. It doesn’t make sense that we’re such a small country but we such an impact on the high tech world.”

Amichai-Hamburg says that Google has long been interested in building a social network to rival Facebook, and Waze also functions as a social network.

“This is part of the big competition between Facebook and Google over who will be the big boss,” he said. “If Google gets Waze, it will be a small victory for them.”

Waze works because users take the time to report traffic accidents. In return for doing so, you get Waze “points” and frequent users can become “lieutenants” and “majors.” The application appeals to social solidarity. “Waze, outsmarting traffic, together” is the company’s slogan.

Gary Ginsberg says he takes the time to report traffic accidents because he wants to pay back those who have helped him.

“Once I was driving my daughter back to her army base near Tel Aviv,” he says. “After I dropped her off, I saw there was a huge traffic jam. I turned on Waze and it guided me through the back streets of Lod and Ramle, (two lower-income Israeli towns). I was dubious at first but it saved me at least 40 minutes of sitting in traffic.”

Source

(By Linda Gradstein, The Media Line, June 10, 2013)

Photo Credit

The Media Line