Archive for January 25, 2018

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Terror-Prez Abbas Gets $50 Million Luxury Jet Despite Funding Fears

January 25, 2018

Post By Pamela Geller – on January 25, 2018
Article By By Simon Kent, Breitbart, January 24, 2017

Source: Terror-Prez Abbas Gets $50 Million Luxury Jet Despite Funding Fears

{It’s all about priorities, right? – LS}

Remember: while you worked, and waited for the light, and went without the meat, and cursed the bread, this savage terrorist bought a private lux plane with your hard-earned money.

President Trump is right, stop funding jihad.

The Palestinian Authority has purchased a $50 million private jet for the use of its President Mahmoud Abbas at the same time its finances face a massive cut through the withdrawal of U.S. funding.

Hadashot news reported the purchase on Wednesday, but did not provide sourcing for the claim. It said the plane will be delivered to Jordan in coming weeks and will be stationed there for personal use by the 83-year-old leader. Funding is alleged to have come via the PA budget ($20 million) and from the Palestinian National Fund ($30 million).

The news comes just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Abbas he was willing to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority, criticizing Palestinian leaders for showing “no appreciation or respect” to the U.S. and being “no longer willing to talk peace.”

As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, the context for Trump’s remarks was the administration’s announcement that it was suspending $255 million in aid to Pakistan because of that government’s alleged “double game” on terrorism.

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley added that the Trump administration would be withholding funds for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a special refugee program that only deals with Palestinians, until the Palestinian leaders came back to the negotiating table.

“[President Trump] doesn’t want to give any additional funding until the Palestinians agree to come back to the negotiation table, and what we saw with the resolution [on Jerusalem] was not helpful to the situation,” she told reporters.

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Macron says he won’t recognize Palestine in response to Trump’s Jerusalem move

January 25, 2018


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with French President Emmanuel Macron, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 24, 2018. (GPO)

By Jacob Magid 24 January 2018, 11:00 pm The Times of Israel

Source: Macron says he won’t recognize Palestine in response to Trump’s Jerusalem move

{A little leadership goes a long way. – LS}

Ahead of meeting with Netanyahu, president reaffirms France’s position of Jerusalem as capital of ‘both sides’ in final deal.

DAVOS, Switzerland — French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he would not recognize Palestine as an independent state as a reaction to US President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“I will not take any decision in reaction to any decision,” Macron told reporters in response to a Times of Israel question on the potential recognition of a Palestinian state.

The comments came during a photo op with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of their closed-door meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting lasted nearly an hour.

Several European nations, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Slovenia, are reportedly mulling recognizing an independent Palestine in response to Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem. The Slovenian foreign minister has already confirmed his country’s intention.

Macron began his statement by saying bluntly, “What we have to do is we have to work fairly on a peace process in the short run.”

Macron said he wanted to “accompany and facilitate” the two sides in a peace process, but added that France’s positions on the end result of such talks had not changed.

“Our philosophy is very clear from the very beginning, with recognition of two states. Jerusalem will be the capital of two sides and common frontiers recognized according to international rule,” he said in English.

Macron went on to emphasize again that a decision to recognize an independent Palestine will not be a reaction “following some other decision,” apparently referring to Trump’s December 6 proclamation.

The French president then touted his relationship with Netanyahu, saying he saw as crucial Paris’s ability to be a “partner for the security of Israel and also to be a strategic partner for the whole region with you,” he said, looking at Netanyahu.

The prime minister responded that “this is definitely true,” adding that Israel’s partnership with France “is also important for the security of Europe.”

Just last week, Channel 10 reported that Macron dispatched his foreign policy adviser to a secret visit in Ramallah, where the latter implored Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbass not to rule out a peace plan being prepared by the Trump administration.

“Don’t reject Trump’s peace plan off the bat,” Channel 10 quoted Lechevallier as telling Palestinian officials. “Give it a chance.”

Abbas met with Macron last month in Paris, where he rejected any role in a US peace process.

During talks last month, Netanyahu reportedly told the French president that he would be prepared to make “compromises and concessions” to the Palestinians, within the framework of Trump’s plan.

The separate Channel 10 report, which quoted unnamed senior European diplomats familiar with the content of the two men’s discussions, was denied by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The TV channel said Macron’s efforts to reassure Abbas have been coordinated with Trump, and the two leaders speaking by phone multiple times in recent weeks.

Categories: Palestinian state
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Haley Blasts Palestinian President’s ‘Outrageous’ Speech: Abbas Lacks ‘Courage and the Will to Seek Peace’

January 25, 2018

BY:

Haley Blasts Palestinian President’s ‘Outrageous’ Speech: Abbas Lacks ‘Courage and the Will to Seek Peace’

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blasted the divisive rhetoric of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, saying his recent inflammatory remarks about the U.S. and Israel were demonstrative of someone who lacked “the courage and the will to seek peace.”

Haley spoke before the U.N. about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and about what she viewed as a required asset for leaders who could end it.

“Real peace requires leaders who are willing to step forward, acknowledge hard truths and make compromises. It requires leaders who look to the future rather than dwell on past resentments,” she said. “Above all, such leaders require courage.”

Haley cited Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and his pursuit of peace with Israel in the 1970s, praising his “courageous” decision to speak directly with the Jewish state and not do so “on bended knee.”

Haley contrasted Sadat’s language toward Israel with that of Abbas on Jan. 14 to the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Abbas, infuriated with the Trump administration’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, had already called on countries to reject their recognition of Israel, and his speech to the PLO continued in that vein.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, Abbas declared the Oslo peace accords dead, slammed Trump’s Middle East peace plan as a “slap in the face” to which Palestinians “will slap back,” called the U.S. ambassador to Israel “an offensive human being,” implicitly threatened Haley, and used a popular Arabic curse against Trump: “May your house come to ruin!”

Abbas also said, “Israel has imported frightening amounts of drugs in order to destroy our younger generation,” and he outlined his belief in a multi-century conspiracy between Europeans, the British, the Americans, and Jews to steal Palestinian land.

“[Abbas] invoked an ugly and fictional past reaching back to the 17th century to paint Israel as a colonialist project engineered by European powers,” Haley said.

Haley said Abbas’ speech had “curiously” garnered little attention in the media.

“I encourage anyone who cares about the cause of a durable and just peace in the Middle East to read President Abbas’ speech for yourself. A speech that indulges in outrageous and discredited conspiracy theories is not the speech of a person with the courage and the will to seek peace,” Haley said.

Haley reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to a two-state solution if the parties agreed, and she repeated the administration’s contention that it had done nothing to prejudge the Jerusalem borders.

“Hate-filled speeches and end runs around negotiations take us nowhere. Ultimately, peace will not be achieved without leaders with courage,” she said.

Haley said the U.S. would not “chase after a Palestinian leadership” that lack the qualities needed to end the conflict.

“If President Abbas demonstrates he can be that leader, we would welcome it,” Haley said. “His recent actions demonstrate the total opposite.”

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Palestinians reject pressure from ‘oppressor’ Trump after new aid threat

January 25, 2018


US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Davos on Thursday (AFP)

MEE and agencies Thursday 25 January 2018 16:01 UTC Last update: Thursday 25 January 2018 16:32 UTC

Source: Palestinians reject pressure from ‘oppressor’ Trump after new aid threat

{Moral of the story, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’ – LS}

The Palestinians have rejected a threat from US President Donald Trump to withhold aid if they did not pursue peace with Israel, with a senior official labelling him an “oppressor”.

Trump, speaking after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said he aimed for peace in the Middle East.

He also said the Palestinians had snubbed the United States by not meeting Vice President Mike Pence during a recent visit. He said he hoped “sound minds” would prevail among Palestinians to pursue peace.

But then he warned: “When they disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great vice president to see them, and we give them hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support, tremendous numbers, numbers that nobody understands – that money is on the table and that money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.”

The Palestinians rejected his threat, and a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said they would not meet with the US administration until it withdrew its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Another senior Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi, said “not meeting your oppressor is not a sign of disrespect; it is a sign of self-respect.”

Last week, the US said that it would withhold at least $65m in pledged aid to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides services for Palestinian refugees.

It also threatened to also make further payments conditional on other countries “stepping up to the plate” and contributing more.

During the meeting with Netanyahu in Davos, Trump tried to convince a deeply sceptical Arab world that he could still be an honest broker.

“We have a proposal for peace. It is a great proposal for the Palestinians,” Trump claimed, adding that Israel would also be forced to make concessions.

But Trump also doubled down, saying he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem as soon as next year, despite no suitably sized building existing.

“We anticipate having a small version of it open sometime next year,” Trump said.

Netanyahu warmly welcomed Trump’s “historic decision”, saying it “recognises history, recognises a certain reality, built on the basis of truth.”

On Tuesday, Palestinian factions in the West Bank called a general strike to protest Pence’s visit to Jerusalem, which followed Trump’s December announcement that the US embassy would move there from Tel Aviv.

Pence began a visit to Israel on Sunday after being praised as a “great friend” by Netanyahu and shunned by the Palestinians over US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Categories: "Palestinians"
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PM Netanyahu Meets with US President Trump in Davos

January 25, 2018

 

 

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On Mideast visit, US house speaker vows to confront Iran

January 25, 2018


U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., listens onstage during an event at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. Ryan said Thursday that more needs to be done to challenge Iran, a message that was welcomed by his hosts in the UAE, where he is leading a Congressional delegation. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

By Associated Press Published: 08:17 EST, 25 January 2018 | Updated: 08:18 EST, 25 January 2018

Source: On Mideast visit, US house speaker vows to confront Iran

{While Speaker Ryan seems to saying all the right things and pushing all the right buttons, I feel he should be more concerned about the funding and legislative support needed to confront Iran and leave the foreign policy up to the big boys at the State Department and the White House.  However, I do remember seeing some articles about Ryan not running for reelection.  Seems he may want to be a candidate for POTUS.  That could explain this appearance on the foreign policy stage.  – LS}

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that more needs to be done to challenge Iran, a message that was welcomed by his hosts in the United Arab Emirates, where he is leading a Congressional delegation.

In an address to the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, the Wisconsin Republican said the U.S. wants to challenge Iran’s ability to threaten the region with ballistic missiles and stop its expansion across the Middle East.

Emirati Ambassador to Washington Yousef al-Otaiba was so pleased with Ryan’s comments, he said the speech could have been his own.

Some 5,000 U.S. soldiers are based in the UAE, and its Jebel Ali port is the U.S. Navy’s busiest foreign port of call.

The delegation visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and met with Saudi King Salman.


U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., center, speaks while onstage with Emirati Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef al-Otaiba, left, and Bernardino Leon of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy ,during an event at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. Ryan said Thursday that more needs to be done to challenge Iran, a message that was welcomed by his hosts in the UAE, where he is leading a Congressional delegation. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

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