WarSclerotic

UN concerned Syria war spilling over into Golan Heights | JPost | Israel News.

Jerusalem Post – Breaking News.

CAIRO – Egypt‘s coastguard caught three divers cutting through an undersea Internet cable on Wednesday, the army said, the first suggestion criminals might be involved in days of severed connections and disruptions online.

A patrol stopped a fishing boat near the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and arrested three divers, the army spokesman said on his official Facebook page.

He did not give details of the divers’ possible motive in severing the link he said belonged to Egypt Telecom, the country’s monopoly landline provider.

“The armed forces foiled an attempt and arrested three divers while they were cutting a submarine cable,” he said.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to disruptions off Egypt reported by cable operator SEACOM last week that it said hit several lines connecting Europe with Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The telecoms infrastructure snaking under the Mediterranean has suffered several disruptions in recent years. In the past, some operators and users have suggested cables had been caught in the propellers of passing ships.

Bulgaria: EU could still act against Hezbollah over Burgas | JPost | Israel News.

Obama – friendship and empathy – Opinion – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

The Israelis who expected Obama to pressure Netanyahu during his Israel visit sold the U.S. president short.

By Moshe Arens | Mar.27, 2013 | 2:53 AM | 2

Obama, Peres and Netanyahu on Mount Herzl. Photo by AP

Those Israelis who predicted that a rancorous Barack Obama, having been reelected to his second term and freed of the pressures that weighed on him during the campaign, would now vent his anger on Benjamin Netanyahu sold Obama short.

He arrived in Israel a great deal wiser about the complexities of the Middle East than he was four years ago. He now better understands Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab Spring and the Israeli political scene. The president has learned a lot these past four years – years of tension between his administration and the Netanyahu government. No doubt, there has been a reset in the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Obama’s accolades for Israel during his visit were music to the ears of most Israelis. There may even be Israelis who are not completely in accord with these compliments. But Obama sees the splendor of Israel and recognizes the historical connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. He knows that Israel was not established because of the Holocaust, as he indicated in his speech in Cairo four years ago, but rather that the State of Israel is here to prevent another Holocaust, as he stated during his visit to Yad Vashem.

He even went so far as to tell Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah that if he tries to get everything right before negotiations with Israel begin, negotiations will never take place. So he counseled the Palestinian president to drop the requirement that settlement activity in Judea and Samaria cease as a condition for resuming talks. Abbas, most certainly, has not forgotten that it was Obama, four years ago, who called for a stop to settlement activity. This time Obama limited himself to describing settlement activity as “counterproductive,” leaving Abbas high and dry.

Make no mistake about it, Obama believes in the two-states-for-two-peoples formula and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It may seem just and fair in the eyes of Obama and many others, but is it possible? How is it going to come about?

That’s a question that may have occurred to Obama as he flew to Amman, the capital of another Palestinian state. The past ruler of that country, King Hussein, decided to disconnect from the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria, which had been granted Jordanian citizenship during the years of Jordanian rule (or occupation? ) and made peace with Israel. Now, as Obama emphasized during his speech in Jerusalem, Israel will have to make peace with people, rather than autocratic rulers.

So will the peace with Jordan hold? And will the peace with Egypt hold? And is peace at all on the horizon with the Muslim forces that will eventually take over in Syria? All would agree that making peace with the people of a country is far better than making peace with an autocratic ruler, but do the people of the Arab countries want peace with Israel?

And what about Gaza, the Palestinian mini-state ruled by a terrorist organization, Hamas? Is Hamas’ agreement required for a peace treaty between Palestinians and Israel? If not, would a treaty with Abbas really mean the end of the conflict, or would it be followed by further Palestinian demands of Israel after the concessions called for by the treaty have already been made by Israel?

It might seem easy to arrive at an accommodation if Jordan were prepared to assume the role of the Palestinian interlocutor. Even solving the problems of Palestinian geographic contiguity might then not be impossible. But Jordan’s ruler, as we know so well, feels that he has enough Palestinians in Jordan already and fears that any addition might destabilize his regime. And that’s the last thing Israel and the United States desire. Obama might have thought about this as he winged his way back to Washington.

Bennett: Erdogan making Israel regret its apology | JPost | Israel News.

New Minister of Economy and Trade Naftali Bennett hit out at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday over his response to an apology delivered by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for a May 2010 IDF raid on a flotilla heading for Gaza, in which nine Turkish nationals died.

“It seems that since [Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s] apology, Erdogan is doing everything to make Israel regret it”, Bennett wrote in his official Facebook page. “He is running a personal and vitriolic campaign at the expense of Israeli-Turkish relations.”

Netanyahu apologized to Erdogan in a phone call last week, just as US President Barack Obama was leaving the country. During the conversation, Netanyahu voiced regret for the loss of life in the incident, and apologized for any mistakes that led to the death of the nine Turkish activists. Breaking a three-year deadlock, the two agreed to normalize relations.

Since then however, Erdogan appears to have backtracked on commitments he made during the conversation, announcing that he intends to visit Gaza, and saying that despite Israel’s apology, it is still too early to drop the case against IDF generals accused by Ankara of being responsible for the deaths.

Erdogan also said Netanyahu’s apology satisfied Turkish expectations when he used the word “apology” instead of “regret,” but that it was still too soon to fully restore diplomatic ties and appoint new ambassadors, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

“It must be clear to Erdogan that if Israel encounters any future terrorism, our response will be no less severe [than in May 2010]”, Bennett wrote Wednesday. “Let there be no doubt – no nation is doing Israel a favor by renewing ties.”

The minister also paid tribute to IDF soldiers, opening his comment by saying, “The fighters of the IDF, we are always with you.”

Israel Hayom | Silence erodes US standing.

Israel Hayom | Dangerous liaisons.

PA: We don’t want Turkish PM to visit Gaza | JPost | Israel News.

The Palestinian Authority is opposed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s intention to visit the Gaza Strip, a senior PA official in Ramallah said Wednesday.

“The Palestinian Authority leadership has informed the Turkish government that we are opposed to such a visit because it would deepen divisions among the Palestinians,” the PA official said. “The Gaza Strip is not an independent Palestinian state and Hamas is not the legitimate representative of the Palestinians.”

The Turkish prime minister’s announcement that he would visit the Gaza Strip in the near future came shortly after Israel apologized for an Israel Defense Forces raid on a flotilla of ships heading for Gaza in May 2010. Nine Turkish nationals died in the raid after IDF troops attempting to board one of the boats came under attack. The apology paved the way for a normalization of Turkey-Israel relations.

Erdogan told officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party that he would travel to the Gaza Strip to check whether Israel has kept its promise to ease its blockade on the Hamas-controlled territory.

The PA leadership has in the past opposed visits to the Gaza Strip by the emir of Qatar and the Malaysian prime minister, who nevertheless chose to ignore the PA’s stance.

More recently, the Tunisian president called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip following strong protests from the PA leadership.

The PA fears that such visits would legitimize Hamas’s rule of the Gaza Strip and affect the PLO’s claim to be the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported that Erdogan might take PA President Mahmoud Abbas with him on his trip to the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, the Turkish government has decided to join Arab efforts to end the dispute between Fatah and Hamas.

The newspaper said that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been in touch with Palestinian and other Arab parties to discuss ways of boosting efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

Did Obama ‘Play’ Netanyahu? | Dan Calic | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Obama Got What He Wanted, The Question is Did Netanyahu?

Many so called “experts” were scratching their heads trying to figure out why President Obama came to the Middle East. Some thought it might have been to kick start the stagnating “peace process” between Israel and the Arabs. However, it’s clear this wasn’t his intention. What’s also clear his basic understanding of the issues remains flawed. For example, in his post meeting press conference with Mahmoud Abbas  he said “the Palestinian people deserve an end to occupation…and to feel secure in their communities.”

Pardon me Mr. President, but would you be kind enough to tell us how many Israeli terrorists have launched suicide missions against Arab civilians? Would you also tell us how many Israeli rockets have been fired at Arab homes and schools? The last time I checked it was Israeli’s who need to feel “secure in their communities.”

Prior to Obama’s remarks Abbas delivered what amounted to a carbon copy of the same demands he has not budged from since walking away from direct negotiations in 2009. He also referred to the establishment of the modern state of Israel as the “nakba,” a term which the Arabs often use meaning “catastrophe.” Obama offered no rebuttal to this degrading reference to Israel’s independence.

Thus, it’s safe to conclude no breakthrough was sought, nor achieved with Abbas.

Others thought the trip might be used in part to mend his uneasy relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. However, while their public banter seemed warmer, the President made it clear he came to “speak directly to the Israeli people.” This was a signal that he was more interested in making inroads with Israeli’s rather than with their prime minister.

Turkey All Along?

So what was the main purpose of Obama’s trip? It appears we found out the day he departed when it was announced that Netanyahu had called Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and apologized for the death of 9 Turks during the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, which was a flagrant attempt to challenge Israel’s efforts to ensure no weapons would be delivered to Hamas, who is committed to its destruction.

After the deadly encounter Turkey demanded an apology, which was not offered, since Israel felt strongly their soldiers acted defensively. Subsequent investigations confirmed this.

It also became clear there were hardcore terrorists onboard from an organization called IHH. The ship was stocked with numerous weapons. Video footage made public confirms Israeli soldiers being brutally attacked after boarding the ship. Since then previously close relations between Turkey and Israel soured.

 With no apology forthcoming unfriendly rhetoric increased and relations between the two countries worsened. Turkey began been pursuing legal action against Israeli military officers who were in charge at the time. Further erosion was evident when Prime Minister Erodogan recently called Zionism “a crime against humanity.” Pressed after his comment to retract it, he refused.

If any apology is owed it should be coming from Turkey. Yet, almost three years after the incident suddenly Netanyahu offers one. It also includes compensation to the families of the Turks who died during the incident, which has been another Turkish demand. Initially Erdogan said he accepted the apology, would drop legal action against Israel, and normalize relations. However, 48 hours later he said  “…compensation will be paid and the blockade on Palestine will be lifted. There will be no normalization without these.” He also announce he would visit Gaza in April and promised to monitor Israel’s “blockade.” Nothing was mentioned about retracting his anti-Zionist comments. He’s also announced plans to visit Gaza in April and intends to monitor Israel’s “blockade.”

Conspicuously, the apology occurred the day Obama departed from his visit. Hmmm….Could it be pressuring Netanyahu to apologize was something Obama planned in advance, but did not make public for fear it would have become a huge distraction before and during his trip?

Netanyahu Covers for Obama?

Responding to critics Netanyahu indicated he initiated the apology due to concerns over deteriorating conditions in Syria. Could this be a cover to protect Obama?

 Prior to Obama’s visit speculation was Netanyahu intended to ask the US to attack Syria if they used chemical weapons, or transferred them to Hezbollah, or approve an Israeli attack if it was deemed necessary. Additionally Netanyahu has wanted Obama to be more forceful toward Iran. He’s wanted assurances if Israel chose to strike Iran, the US would green light it, and provide military support.

Presuming Obama pressured Netanyahu to apologize it seems reasonable he would ask for a favor in return. Enter Netanyahu’s requests regarding Syria and Iran. So the real question is did Obama ‘play’ Netanyahu? We may never know how it came about, however once again Israel has taken a bold step. Let’s hope Obama acts accordingly…

via Report: Iran mulling 6-month 20% uranium enrichment freeze | JPost | Israel News.