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‘If Hamas renews fire, Israel will respond with full force’

August 18, 2014

If Hamas renews fire, Israel will respond with full force’

Israel is prepared for potential resumption of Gaza fighting, with five-day cease-fire set to expire at midnight on Monday

Israeli officials: If fire at Israel is not renewed, it is possible we will enter a state of calm without an agreement.

Mati Tuchfeld, Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

via Israel Hayom | ‘If Hamas renews fire, Israel will respond with full force’.

 

IDF troops on the Gaza border are prepared for the potential renewal of fighting
 

With the five-day cease-fire set to expire at midnight on Monday, Israel is preparing for the possibility Hamas will renew rocket fire.

“If the fire [from Gaza] resumes, Israel will respond with full force,” a senior Israeli official said. “If fire at Israel is not renewed, it is possible we will enter a state of calm without an agreement. Patience is necessary. The operation is not over and it could take more time. The greater the resilience of the public, the more we will be able to achieve.”

Egypt is trying to prevent a collapse of the indirect cease-fire talks being held in Cairo. Egyptian and Palestinian media outlets reported that Egypt has proposed that the sides declare a permanent cease-fire and that talks on a long-term arrangement resume next month. These talks would reportedly deal with all matters on the table, including Hamas’ demand for an airport and seaport in Gaza and Israel’s demand for the return of the remains of fallen soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.

Meanwhile, Israel has lifted some the restrictions that were put in place in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge. On Sunday, Israel permitted Gaza fishermen to go back to work and fish up to three nautical miles from the Gaza coastline.

At the start of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are in the midst of a combined military and diplomatic campaign. From the first day, the Israeli delegation to Cairo has worked under clear instructions: Insist on the security needs of the State of Israel. Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings.

“In the past month, Hamas has taken a severe military blow. We destroyed its network of tunnels that it took years to dig. We intercepted the rockets that it had massed to carry out thousands of deadly strikes against the Israeli homefront. And we foiled the terrorist attacks that it tried to perpetrate against Israeli civilians — by land, sea and air.

“If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken. If Hamas thinks that continued sporadic firing will cause us to make concessions, it is mistaken. As long as quiet is not restored, Hamas will continue to take very harsh blows. If Hamas thinks that we cannot stand up to it over time, it is mistaken.”

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri issued a quick response, saying, “Netanyahu is throwing dust in the eyes of the Israeli public, because he is afraid Israelis will be furious when they find out the real results of the campaign. The Palestinian resistance forces caused hundreds of deaths and injuries in the Israeli army.”

Numerous cabinet ministers are calling for Israel to show no flexibility toward Hamas. International Relations, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said Israel must insist on the demilitarization of Gaza. Steinitz said a seaport or airport in Gaza would be nothing more than “duty free for rockets.” Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) called for an end to the talks in Cairo.

“The situation in which we bite our nails while we wait for an answer from a murderous terrorist organization must stop,” Bennett said. “We must immediately stop the negotiations with Hamas and take our own destiny in our hands with a simple formula: humanitarian — yes, terror — no.”

As usual, the various Palestinian groups were not on the same wavelength on Sunday, and divisions were also evident within Hamas itself. Arab media outlets reported that chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat met in Doha over the weekend with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and urged him to accept the Egyptian cease-fire proposal.

The Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the U.S. has agreed to serve as a guarantor that Israel will uphold what has been agreed to in Cairo. The report also said the Egyptian cease-fire proposal has won the support of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are saying that the demilitarization of Gaza is not in the cards.

“We will not agree to give up weapons which we use for self-defense,” Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batesh said. “It would be preferable to return from Cairo without an agreement than with a humiliating agreement that in effect represents a surrender agreement.”

A Hamas official threatened, “The next campaign against the Zionist enemy will be held inside the Zionist entity, on the lands of Ashkelon.”

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Obama’s Hubris is His Undoing

August 18, 2014

Contentions Obama’s Hubris is His Undoing

Jonathan S. Tobin | @tobincommentary 08.17.2014 – 8:00 PM

via Obama’s Hubris is His Undoing « Commentary Magazine.

 

Historians will have the rest of the century to unravel the mess that is the Barack Obama presidency. While they can explore these years of foreign policy disaster and domestic malaise at leisure, the rest of us have 29 more months to see just how awful things can get before he slides off to a lucrative retirement. But those who want to start the post-mortem on this historic presidency would do well to read Jackson Diehl’s most recent Washington Post column in which he identifies Obama’s hubris as the key element in his undoing.

As our Pete Wehner wrote earlier today, the president’s reactions to what even Chuck Hagel, his less-than-brilliant secretary of defense, has rightly called a world that is “exploding all over” by blaming it all on forces that he is powerless to control. As Pete correctly pointed out, no one is arguing that the president of the United States is all-powerful and has the capacity to fix everything in the world that is out of order. But the problem is not so much the steep odds against which the administration is currently struggling, as its utter incapacity to look honestly at the mistakes it has made in the past five and half years and to come to the conclusion that sometimes you’ve got to change course in order to avoid catastrophes.

As has been pointed out several times here at COMMENTARY in the last month and is again highlighted by Diehl in his column, Obama’s efforts to absolve himself of all responsibility for the collapse in Iraq is completely disingenuous. The man who spent the last few years bragging about how he “ended the war in Iraq” now professes to have no responsibility for the fact that the U.S. pulled out all of its troops from the conflict.

Nor is he willing to second guess his dithering over intervention in Syria. The administration spent the last week pushing back hard against Hillary Clinton’s correct, if transparently insincere, criticisms of the administration in which she served, for having stood by and watched helplessly there instead of taking the limited actions that might well have prevented much of that country — and much of Iraq — from falling into the hands of ISIS terrorists.

The same lack of honesty characterizes the administration’s approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the nuclear negotiations with Iran, two topics that Diehl chose not to highlight in his piece.

Obama wasted much of his first term pointlessly quarreling with Israel’s government and then resumed that feud this year after an intermission for a re-election year Jewish charm offensive. This distancing from Israel and the reckless pursuit of an agreement when none was possible helped set up this summer’s fighting. The result is not only an alliance that is at its low point since the presidency of the elder George Bush but a situation in which the U.S. now finds itself pushing the Israelis to make concessions to Hamas as well as the Palestinian Authority, a state of affairs that guarantees more fighting in the future and a further diminishment of U.S. interests in the region.

On Iran, Obama wasted years on feckless engagement efforts before finally accepting the need for tough sanctions on that nation to stop its nuclear threat. But the president tossed the advantage he worked so hard to build by foolishly pursuing détente with Tehran and loosening sanctions just at the moment when the Iranians looked to be in trouble.

On both the Palestinian and the Iranian front, an improvement in the current grim prospects for U.S. strategy is not impossible. But, as with the situation in Iraq, it will require the kind of grim soul-searching that, as Diehl points out, George W. Bush underwent in 2006 before changing both strategy and personnel in order to pursue the surge that changed the course of the Iraq War. Sadly, Obama threw away the victory he inherited from Bush. If he is to recover in this final two years in office the way Bush did, it will require the same sort of honesty and introspection.

But, unfortunately, that seems to be exactly the qualities that are absent from this otherwise brilliant politician. Obama is a great campaigner — a talent that is still on display every time he takes to the road to blame Republicans for the problems he created — and is still personally liked by much of the electorate (even if his charms are largely lost on conservative critics such as myself). But he seems incapable of ever admitting error, especially on big issues. At the heart of this problem is a self-regard and a contempt for critics that is so great that it renders him incapable of focusing his otherwise formidable intellect on the shortcomings in his own thinking or challenging the premises on which he has based his policies.

Saying you’re wrong is not easy for any of us and has to be especially hard for a man who has been celebrated as a groundbreaking transformational figure in our history. But that is exactly what is required if the exploding world that Obama has helped set in motion is to be kept from careening even further out of control before his presidency ends. The president may think he’s just having an unlucky streak that he can’t do a thing about. While it is true that America’s options are now limited (largely due to his mistakes) in Syria and Iraq, there is plenty he can do to prevent things from getting worse there. It is also largely up to him whether Iran gets a nuclear weapon or Hamas is able to launch yet another war in the near future rather than being isolated. But in order to do the right things on these fronts, he will have to first admit that his previous decisions were wrong. Until he shed the hubris that prevents him from doing so, it will be impossible.

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The Final Death of Western Civilization

August 18, 2014

The Final Death of Western Civilization

via The Final Death of Western Civilization | Gates of Vienna.

 

Last week in the Austrian daily Die Presse Michael Ley about the new anti-Semitism and the role of the Left in the Islamization of Europe. JLH, who has kindly translated the piece, includes this note:

The Muslims’ faithful reprise of Mohammed’s original temper tantrum at the Jews makes Sicilian vendettas and Appalachian feuds look like cocktail party spats. Modern leftist Jew-hatred, on the other hand, is an echo of the age-old search for a scapegoat — any scapegoat — guided by the Alinskyite technique of identify, isolate, destroy, but older than socialism and its acolytes. Just think Fiddler on the Roof.

This is a very effective picture of how and why Islam and Leftism suit each other so well, and how they are bound by anti-Semitism. The example of wheat happened to the Left after Khomeini at least offers some ironic feeling of poetic justice.

 

The translated article:

Who Owns the World?

Criticism of Islam is often denounced as “the new racism.” Hostility to Jews, on the other hand, is as old as Islam itself.

Taking aim at the new anti-Semitism.

by Michael Ley

Anti-Semites like to compare Jews, Zionists and Israelis to Adolf Hitler. Recently, Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey certified that the Israelis are worse than Hitler. “What Israel is doing to Palestine and Gaza is beyond what Hitler did to the Jews.” In the Arab world, this equivalence has the status of legend. It was not only Yasser Arafat who made use of this smear. It is a part of Arab identity. This extreme hatred of Jews has long since spilled over into European societies and spread quickly through the Muslim parallel societies. The image of the radical rightist anti-Semite is overdue to be augmented by the Muslim Jew-hater. The French political scientist Pierre-André Taguieff determined years ago: “The originators of violence against Jews are no longer mostly from the extreme right. They are recruiting above all among young immigrants, especially from the Maghreb*.” Hatred of Jews is a part of their cultural identity.

For several years sociologists have been confirming a “new anti-Semitism” which is above all else a Muslim anti-Judaism. The contemporary violent excesses and Jew-hostile slogans of the Muslim mob are energetically supported by many from the Left and are also sympathetically received by leftist media personnel. In the leftist daily taz the editor Stefan Reinicke recently wrote: “In a free country, it must be possible to question Israel’s right to exist.” From there to questioning the right of Jews in general to exist is a shorter step.

Hostility to Jews is nothing new among Muslims or leftists — it is as old as socialism or Islam.

Islam exhibits an extreme anti-Judaism. The Koran is permeated by Jew-hostile stereotypes overlapping with those of Christians. The Jews have the hardened hearts of the uncircumcised; they have broken the bond with God and killed the prophets; they lie and have falsified God’s word; they do not honor treaties; they are usurers; they steal money; they do not believe in the afterlife. The Jews appear in the Koran as evil characters. Thus the battle cry: “Fight against them until they are humiliated and pay the tax.” (9:29) The Koran portrays Jews as not only warmongers guilty of every misdeed on earth, but also curses them as “apes and pigs” and assigns them the lowest, subhuman rank: “And you have surely known those among you who broke the Sabbath. Then we said to them: ‘Be outcast pigs and apes!’’ (Surah 2:56) Because the Jews did not recognize Allah, they were dehumanized and became as animals: “Say this: ‘Shall I teach you of those whose penalty from Allah is even worse than that? They are those who have cursed Allah and whom he has scorned and made into apes, pigs and idolaters. They are in an even worse situation and have wandered still further from the right path.’” (Surah 5:60) This motif occurs again and again.

Islam’s end-times prophecy sees the annihilation of the Jews. The pertinent Hadith says: “In the final hour, Muslims will fight against Jews. Since Jews belong to the army of Satan and Muslims are the soldiers of the Prophet Jesus, they will fight against each other, and the Muslims will be victorious until every stone and tree will say: ‘Come here, Muslim. A Jew is hiding behind me. Kill him.” But Islamic anti-Judaism is only the tip of the iceberg in the battle against the infidels.

Jihad is the highest duty in Islam and no Muslim may evade it. Martyrs of jihad go directly to paradise, while Muslims who refuse jihad are threatened with “the torments of Hell.” So long as Muslims are a minority in a non-Muslim country, there can be no offensive, militant jihad. If Muslims expand to an appropriate percentage of the population, they must arm for the forthcoming battle: “And arm yourselves against them with men and horses a much as possible, in order to menace Allah’s enemy.” (Surah 8:60) If Muslims have enough power and influence, then they must pursue jihad. Every Muslim is duty-bound to kill infidels who refuse to convert. “Kill the idolaters wherever you find them, and seize them and besiege them and lie in ambush for them in every nook and cranny.” (Surah 9:5) The only alternative to conversion is subjection as a dhimmi and payment for “protection.”

From the Islamic point of view, the world belongs to Allah. Theologically, jihad is simply re-conquest of Islamic territories. Jihad signifies permanent war against infidels and precludes any peace with them. The battle against non-Muslims may only be interrupted by a “truce” and this may not last longer than ten years. Truce based on treaties may be rescinded by Muslims at any time. The holy war knows no lasting peace. However, jihad can also be prosecuted peacefully: by conversion, propaganda and bribery.

Class war was the secular left’s jihad, through which the original, perfect world was to be restored. Many anarchists, socialists and communists saw in the Jew the spear-point of the class enemy. In his diatribe “On the Jewish Question,” Karl Marx wrote: “Let us not seek the secret of the Jew in his religion, but the secret of the religion in the real Jew. What is the worldly basis of Jewry? Practical need, self interest. What is the worldly cult of Jews? Usury. What is their worldly god? Money. The ultimate meaning of Jewish emancipation is emancipation of humanity from the Jews.” Marx is in the tradition of an older, leftist hatred of Jews. Early French socialists at the beginning of the 19th century dreamed of a worldly redemption of humanity, and proclaimed a political religion whose flip-side was anti-Semitism. They secularized, so to speak, Christian anti-Judaism to modern, political anti-Semitism.

Charles Fourier preached a utopian socialism and saw himself as the new prophet, claiming to recognize the Jews as the bane of humanity. His students, Pierre Leroux and Alphonse Toussenei, likewise saw absolute evil in the Jews. Toussenei warned of Jewish world domination. The philosopher, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, proclaimed: “The Jew is the enemy of humanity. This race must either be sent back to Asia or annihilated.” His anti-Semitism became the model for modern Jew hatred, which the left has to this day not been able to discard.

In the postmodern era, proletarians are no longer the subject of human salvation. They have been replaced by immigrants, who are the new stylites** of the leftist utopia for an old, doomed society, still bourgeois in places. Millions of immigrants will dissolve old Europe to make way for a new culture of multiculturalism. It will be national identities making way for diversity in ethnicities, religions and identities.

Western apologists for Islam and those who represent the interests of Islamic organizations never tire of denouncing any criticism of Islam as “new racism.” The new definition of racism is: Anyone who seeks the causes of Islamic terrorism and the lack of desire to integrate on the part of many Muslims in the religion of Islam, and does not overwhelmingly hold the Crusades, colonialism, imperialism and European xenophobia responsible for it, is displaying a racist attitude toward Islam and Muslims.

Every criticism of Islam must be denounced as “racism” or “Islamophobia” and this is preparatory to eliminating all religious, cultural and social criticism of Islam. Consequently, doubt is cast on all the positive cultural and political achievements of the modern West in favor of a multi-ethnic state whose basis is relativistic values. A society that gives up its own obligatory norms and values is preparing for its own disposal. Exclusive social self-criticism and compulsive xenophilia are the expression of a serious collective neurosis and testify to an incomparable political foolishness.

The political goal of the mainstream Left — transforming society with massive immigration — will be reached in the foreseeable future. But the result will shock the most naïve of do-gooders. The goal of orthodox Islam and its organizations is the Islamization of European society, and in this context, the Left plays the role of the useful idiot who believes it has found in orthodox Islam an ally in the struggle to overcome the despised bourgeois society.

Islam’s representatives, however, are not in the least interested in the utopia of a new human being in the sense of multiculturalism or diversity. They want to overcome any life form that is not Islamic. If Islam should succeed in several decades, the leftists would be the first victims of this most dangerous political religion of the 21st century. The Left did not learn this lesson in its fight alongside Ayatollah Khomeini against the hated Shah. After the takeover, they were ruthlessly persecuted and liquidated.

The goal of orthodox Islam and the Islamists is Islamic theocracy, which has no place for decadent Western society. Therefore, all radical organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists, the Wahhabis, and/or groups infiltrated by them, as well as the foreign representatives of the Turkish religious authorities must be banned.

Radical imams and their mosques must have no place in an open, pluralistic society. Islam’s jihad is the greatest threat to the freedom of Europe and signifies no more nor less than a new descent into slavery, the final death of Western civilization.

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Report: US exerting pressure on ICC not to open war crimes probe against Israel

August 18, 2014

Report: US exerting pressure on ICC not to open war crimes probe against Israel

By JPOST.COM STAFF08/18/2014 15:09

The Guardian’ quotes lawyers and former court officials as saying that western pressure has influenced decision not to open probe;

ICC probe reportedly among issues being discussed at Cairo cease-fire talks.

via Report: US exerting pressure on ICC not to open war crimes probe against Israel | JPost | Israel News.

 

International criminal court Photo: REUTERS
 

The US and other western powers have exerted pressure on the International Criminal Court at the Hague to prevent a war crimes probe of Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, The Guardian reported on Monday, quoting former court officials.

During Operation Protective Edge, the Palestinian Authority has threatened to request that the court look into allegations that the civilian deaths in Gaza during the IDF’s operation constitute a war crime.

According to the report, the issue is among the matters being discussed at cease-fire talks in Cairo.

Palestinians requested that the court probe Israel for war crimes in 2009 , following Operation Cast Lead, however that request came before the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state at the United Nations in 2012.

The ICC itself is divided on whether or not it has jurisdiction to probe the matter based on the 2009 request, or whether a new request would have to be submitted, according to The Guardian. The Palestinian factions would have to agree on submitting a new request, a difficult task, as Hamas would also be opening itself up to a war crimes inquiry.

The Guardian reported that western pressure has prevented the ICC from taking the view that the 2009 request gives the court jurisdiction to open a war crimes investigation into Israel’s actions.

Both current ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was prosecutor at the time of the 2009 Palestinian declaration, argue that a new Palestinian request would have to be made to allow the court to open an investigation. However, The Guardian quoted another former official of the court as saying, “They are trying to hide behind legal jargon to disguise what is a political decision, to rule out competence and not get involved.”

The French lawyer representing the Palestinians, Gilles Devers, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that “there is enormous pressure not to proceed with an investigation. This pressure has been exerted on Fatah and Hamas, but also on the office of the prosecutor.

“In both cases, it takes the form of threats to the financial subsidies, to Palestine and to the International Criminal Court,” he added.

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‘Fifth Column’ Arab MKs Visit Qatar and Meet with Former MK-Traitor

August 18, 2014

The good news that Zoabi and two of her Knesset pals left the country. The bad news is that they are coming back.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: August 18th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » ‘Fifth Column’ Arab MKs Visit Qatar and Meet with Former MK-Traitor.

 

Picture of Arab MK Hanin Zoabi superimposed on an Iranian passport.
 

Knesset Members Hanin Zoabi, arguably Israel’s most hated MK, Jamal Zahalka and Basel Ghattas Hamas’ benefactor Qatar last week and reportedly met with former colleague Azmi Bashar, who fled the country seven years ago after being indicted for spying on behalf of Hezbollah in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The Balad party MKs appeared on Al Jazeera, where they espoused their criticism of the Israeli government.

Al Jazeera is financed b and based in Qatar, which also has financed Hamas terror and has provided technology for Hamas to launch rockets from underground in Gaza by pressing on a computer button in Qatar.

Knesset Members from Yesh Atid and Likud asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to investigate the connection between the three Arab MKs and Bashara as well as Qatar.

Weinstein previously has shown himself to be feeble when it comes to investigating incitement and alleged terrorist connections among Arab Mks, particularly Zoabi, who was on the IHH flotilla when terrorists brutally beat IDF navy commandos before the soldiers were able to overcome the Mavi Mamara ship trying to break the maritime embargo on Gaza.

The Knesset Ethics Committee got tough with Zoabi this year by suspending her for a period of time from the Knesset for hateful speech, including epithets at Arab security guards who escorted her out of the legislature after inciting remarks.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beitenu party, said he will continue to whatever has to be done to prevent the Balad party’s fifth column from representing a terrorist organization in the Knesset.”

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Hamas lashes back at Netanyahu, say ‘he’s compensating for failure’

August 17, 2014

Hamas lashes back at Netanyahu, say ‘he’s compensating for failure’

After Netanyahu said Hamas lost and was trying to cover up its military defeat through ceasefire talks, Hamas officials hit back; meanwhile Cairo talks underway, but chances of deal seem slim.

Roi KaisPublished: 08.17.14, 15:03 / Israel News

via Hamas lashes back at Netanyahu, say ‘he’s compensating for failure’ – Israel News, Ynetnews.

 

A perfect play from BIBI

 

Hamas has responded to comments made earlier by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said Hamas lost the conflict and is now attempting to make a political win in compensate for their loss.

“Netanyahu’s comments about victory are farfetched,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, adding that Netanyahy was “compensating for his failure” and said the statements stemmed from “a need to feed media and avoid growing Israeli anger.”

During the Cabinet’s weekly meeting, Netanyahu said “If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken.”

Netanyahu reiterated that the goal of current talks, as well as the Gaza operation, was “the restoration of quiet and security for all Israelis,” and noted that “Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings.”

 

Netanyahu (Photo: Amil Salman, Haaretz)
 

Commenting on Netanyahu’s remarks, Abu Zuhri added that “The only way to achieve security is to afford security to the Palestinians first and to lift the blockade and to agree to their demands.”

Inacuratly, the Hamas spokesperson said that “hundreds of (IDF) soldiers were killed and the actions of the resistance and rocket fire managed to hit deep into Israel, creating an aerial blockade of Israel.”

 

Palestinian delegation (Photo: AFP)
 

On Saturday, Osama Hamdan, the head of Hamas’s foreign affairs, said on Facebook: “Israel must accept the demands of the Palestinian people or face a long war.”

Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said Saturday that the organization has not agreed and will not agree to what was offered the Palestinian delegation before it left Cairo.

“We oppose any formulation that does not match the demands of the Palestinian people. There are many issues that the delegation did not agree to in what was offered,” said al-Risheq, who represented Hamas in Cairo.

Cabinet grows short with talks

According to the prime minister, “In the past month Hamas has taken a severe military blow. We destroyed its network of tunnels that it took years to dig. We intercepted the rockets that it had massed in order to carry out thousands of deadly strikes against the Israeli home front. And we foiled the terrorist attacks that it tried to perpetrate against Israeli civilians – by land, sea and air.”

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who is also a member of the Security-Cabinet, said that “we must demand safety for Israel’s residents. We must make sure that they feel safe and we cannot complete this operation without them feeling secure again.”

Lapid further noted that “we must create an international mechanism to make sure they are safe.”

Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said that “the most important thing for Israel is the demand that Gaza be demilitarized.” When asked about the Palestinian demand that Gaza get a seaport, the minister said such a port would be a “duty-free for rockets – and in the future Scuds (missiles).

“We will continue talks in Cairo, but we cannot give up on the issue of demilitarization.”

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who is leading a group of ministers objecting to negotiations, called on Israel to leave talks, and implement the unilateral proposal he has been promoting for the last two weeks.

“The current situation in which we are biting our nails waiting for the response of a murderous terrorists group must end. We must stop the negotiations with Hamas and take our fate into our own hands: Humanitarian (aid) yes, terror no,” Bennett said.

Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, a rightist from the Yisrael Beitenu party, slammed the government from the right, and said “Hamas is managing us, we are being led,” he claimed,

“Israel is attempting to reach calm at any price. This is only a temporary calm. In all the previous rounds of fighting after calm was reached we got a more aggressive response. We are turning Hamas into an international player.”

Little optimism as talks start again

Talks in Cairo started again Sunday morning, with the Israeli delegation arriving while the Cabinet convened. The Egyptian government persuaded both sides late Wednesday to adhere to a new five-day ceasefire, extending an earlier three-day agreement in order to allow more time to thrash out a longer-term truce.

But to Egyptian dismay, Palestinians also seem to be playing down the chance a long-term agreement, as international efforts backing Egypt’s proposal have been rising, indicating powers like the US and UN could try to pressure the sides to reach an agreement. The US has already offered Israel assurances over its security, a report claimed.

A member of the Palestinian delegation told The Associated Press on Sunday that the gaps between the sides were still significant and that it was far from certain whether a deal could be reached before the cease-fire expires.

“We are less optimistic than we were earlier,” he said, his comments came after Hamas’ political chief Khaled Mashal said Saturday his group would not back down from a single demand.

Al-Risheq’s remarks joined earlier statements made by a senior Hamas official abroad, Ismail Radwan, who said Hamas refused to postpone deliberations on a seaport and airport – which according to the Egyptian proposal would not be discussed again until a month after an accord was signed.

Hamas’ foreign leadership said Saturday evening that significant progress had yet to be achieved in the Cairo talks. “The draft presented this week by Egypt is not acceptable to us in any way, and it will not be the final formulation,” Hamas said in a statement.

Reuters, Attila Somfalvi and Elior Levy contributed to this report

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Netanyahu: Israel’s security needs must be met

August 17, 2014

Netanyahu: Israel’s security needs must be met

As Israeli delegation lands in Cairo for ceasefire talks, Cabinet convenes, minister say Israel’s security must top agreement;

Minister: ‘It’s better for us if Palestinians are ones who say no to deal’.

Attila Somfalvi

Published: 08.17.14, 11:49 / Israel News

via Netanyahu: Israel’s security needs must be met – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed indirect negotiations currently underway in Cairo regarding a long term ceasefire in Gaza, and said that Israel’s security needs must be addressed. Earlier Sunday, before the Israeli delegation to talks arrived in Egypt, Palestinians said chances to reach a deal were low.

“If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken. ,” Netanyahu said.

“If Hamas thinks that continued sporadic firing will cause us to make concessions, it is mistaken. As long as quiet is not restored, Hamas will continue to take very harsh blows. If Hamas thinks that we cannot stand up to it over time, it is mistaken,” he added.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu / Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh
(Photo: EPA / Mark Israel Selem)

We are a strong and determined people. We have seen this in the amazing revelations of strength and resilience in the past weeks on the part of both our soldiers and our civilians. We will continue to be steadfast and united until we achieve the goals of the campaign – the restoration of quiet and security for all Israelis,” the prime minister said.

“We are in the midst of a military and diplomatic campaign,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of the government’s weekly Cabinet meeting, in which ministers were said to be discussing the ceasefire, as well as a military contingency plan should talks fail to yield results.

“From the first day, the Israeli delegation to Cairo has worked under clear instructions: Insist on the security needs of the State of Israel,” the prime minister said, adding that “Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings.”

According to the prime minister, “In the past month Hamas has taken a severe military blow. We destroyed its network of tunnels that it took years to dig. We intercepted the rockets that it had massed in order to carry out thousands of deadly strikes against the Israeli home front. And we foiled the terrorist attacks that it tried to perpetrate against Israeli civilians – by land, sea and air.”

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who is also a member of the Security-Cabinet, said that “we must demand safety for Israel’s residents. We must make sure that they feel safe and we cannot complete this operation without them feeling secure again.”

Lapid further noted that “we must create an international mechanism to make sure they are safe.”

Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said that “the most important thing for Israel is the demand that Gaza be demilitarized.” When asked about the Palestinian demand that Gaza get a seaport, the minister said such a port would be a “duty-free for rockets – and in the future Scuds (missiles).

“We will continue talks in Cairo, but we cannot give up on the issue of demilitarization.”

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who is leading a group of ministers objecting to negotations, called on Israel to leave talks, and implement the unilateral proposal he has been promoting for the last two weeks.

“The current situation in which we are biting our nails waiting for the response of a murderous terrorists group must end. We must stop the negotiations with Hamas and take our fate into our own hands: Humanitarian (aid) yes, terror no,” Bennett said.

Tourism Minister Uzi Landau, a rightist from the Yisrael Beitenu party, slammed the government from the right, and said “Hamas is managing us, we are being led,” he claimed,

“Israel is attempting to reach calm at any price. This is only a temporary calm. In all the previous rounds of fighting after calm was reached we got a more aggressive response. We are turning Hamas into an international player.”

Little optimism as talks start again

Talks in Cairo started again Sunday morning, with the Israeli delegation arriving while the Cabinet convened. The Egyptian government persuaded both sides late Wednesday to adhere to a new five-day ceasefire, extending an earlier three-day agreement in order to allow more time to thrash out a longer-term truce.

But to Egyptian dismay, Palestinians also seem to be playing down the chance a long-term agreement, as international efforts backing Egypt’s proposal have been rising, indicating powers like the US and UN could try to pressure the sides to reach an agreement. The US has already offered Israel assurances over its security, a report claimed.

A member of the Palestinian delegation told The Associated Press on Sunday that the gaps between the sides were still significant and that it was far from certain whether a deal could be reached before the cease-fire expires.

“We are less optimistic than we were earlier,” he said, his comments came after Hamas’ political chief Khaled Mashal said Saturday his group would not back down from a single demand.

A senior Israeli Cabinet minister told Ynet that “it is very possible that talks will end without an agreement, and it is possible that this senior is preferable in comparison to the other options currently on the table.”

A senior political source told Ynet that Israel is mulling its next steps, but said that “it is better for us if the Palestinians are the ones who say no, and this now seems to be the situation.”

Another Cabinet minister said that despite ongoing talks, and past Israeli willingness to ease restrictions on Palestinians, “it is possible we are returning to a ‘calm in return for calm’ formula.”

Cabinet minister, first and foremost Economy Minister Naftali Bennet say that any renewed rocket fire will be met with a massive Israeli response, and the Cabinet is also said to be discussing the possibility of a renewed ground offensive in Gaza should aggressions start again.

Bennett told Ynet that even though he supports unilateral moves which would better the situation for Gaza while undermining Hamas control, he believes a ground offensive could topple Hamas within a number of months.

When fighting began Israel position was that any aggression by Hamas or Gaza militants would be met with aggression, while any calm would be met with calm. The logic behind the formula was Israel’s reluctance to negotiate with Hamas, a group it, the US and many Western nations recognize as a terror organization.

Egyptian diplomats told the Turkish news agency Anatolia that Egypt is making efforts to persuade the two sides to resume the ceasefire until a final agreement is reached, rather than extend the ceasefire for a specified period of time.

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Netanyahu: Hamas Mistaken to Think Israel Lacks Unity, Determination or Fortitude

August 17, 2014

Netanyahu pointed out it’s a mistake to underestimate the unity of Israelis when faced with an external threat.

By: Hana Levi Julian

Published: August 17th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Netanyahu: Hamas Mistaken to Think Israel Lacks Unity, Determination or Fortitude.

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting.
Photo Credit: Marc Israel Sellem / POOL / Flash 90
 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Hamas terrorists Sunday not to underestimate Israel’s ability to hold out under any ‘war of attrition’ the group might attempt.

“We are in the midst of a combined military and diplomatic campaign,” Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s government cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

“From the first day, the Israeli delegation to Cairo has worked under clear instructions: Insist on the security needs of the State of Israel. Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings,” he said.

The comment came in response to the rejection by Hamas of an 11-point tentative plan reached Thursday in Cairo, in connection which Palestinian Arab representatives had expressed optimism.

That was before Hamas leaders had made the requisite pilgrimage to see politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, who is based comfortably in Qatar – not with his suffering brethren in Gaza – and who over the weekend with his Qatari handlers immediately nixed the deal.

Israeli officials had maintained silence about the plan throughout the weekend, other than to say that any deal must meet the security needs of the Jewish State.

On Saturday night, Hamas leaders returned to Gaza with bluster and brazen attitude, demanding the inclusion of two points that were turned down by Israel: construction of a seaport and airport in Gaza. Both would create an instant express route for the import of weaponry into the enclave, totally impractical from Israel’s security standpoint since Hamas has proved itself to be without honor and incapable of sticking to agreements or cease-fires for any length of time.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal revealed the White House placed a ‘hold’ on an imminent delivery of Hellfire missiles that was due to arrive in Israel and issued an order to the Pentagon that future military transactions must be scrutinized directly by the State Department and the Oval Office.

The move emboldened Hamas and its backers, who might otherwise have reached the point of understanding that it was in the best interest of Gazans for Hamas to reach an agreement for quiet, if not peace, with Israel. Instead, the terrorist group decided it would prefer to continue its campaign of terror.

Late Saturday night, Hamas officials announced that Israel should prepare for a “long war of attrition” if the Jewish State is not willing to “meet all our demands.”

But that’s a mistake, Netanyahu said, despite the sporadic demonstrations that terrorists have seen on television protesting against the government’s handling of the conflict.

“In the past month Hamas has taken a severe military blow. We destroyed its network of tunnels that it took years to dig. We intercepted the rockets that it had massed in order to carry out thousands of deadly strikes against the Israeli home front. And we foiled the terrorist attacks that it tried to perpetrate against Israeli civilians – by land, sea and air,” Netanyahu said.

“If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken,” he warned. “If Hamas thinks that continued sporadic firing will cause us to make concessions, it is mistaken.

“As long as quiet is not restored, Hamas will continue to take very harsh blows. If Hamas thinks that we cannot stand up to it over time, it is mistaken.

“In the stormy and unstable Middle East in which we live, it is not enough that there be more strength, determination and patience are also necessary. Hamas knows that we are very strong but maybe it thinks that we do not have enough determination and patience, and here it is making a big mistake.”

It is not wise, the prime minister pointed out, to underestimate the unity of the Jewish People when they come under attack from an external enemy. This was the same mistake Hamas made at the very start of Operation Protective Edge.

“We are a strong and determined people. We have seen this in the amazing revelations of strength and resilience in the past weeks on the part of both our soldiers and our civilians,” Netanyahu said.

“We will continue to be steadfast and united until we achieve the goals of the campaign – the restoration of quiet and security for all Israelis.”

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Day 40: Egypt warns there will be no more truce proposals

August 16, 2014

Day 40: Egypt warns there will be no more truce proposalsHamas threatens Israel with war of attrition if demands not met, says many more issues to be resolved in Cairo negotiations; Palestinian delegation says progress made but chances for ceasefire deal no higher than 50%By Yifa Yaakov and Ricky Ben-David August 16, 2014, 12:13 am Updated: August 16, 2014, 3:03 pm

via Day 40: Egypt warns there will be no more truce proposals | The Times of Israel.

 

Palestinian boys with Hamas supporters hold toy guns and shout slogans
during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Nablus
on Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. (photo credit: AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

 

15:15

$1,000 of Qatari money to be paid to Gazans who lost homes

The Hamas social affairs ministry tells Palestinians in Gaza that in two day’s time, it will pay — using donations from Qatar — $1,000 to each person whose home was destroyed during Operation Protective Edge, Ynet reports.

14:59

‘Hamas has not agreed to the Egyptian proposal’

A senior Hamas official says the terror group has not agreed and will not agree to what the Palestinian delegation has been offered before leaving Cairo, Ynet reports

“The stance of the [Palestinian] delegation is clear. We will not accept what has been offered to us before we leave. We object to any formula [of a proposal] that does not go hand in hand with the demands of the Palestinian people. There are several issues [in the 11-point Egyptian proposal] that are unacceptable to the delegation,’ says Issat a-Rishq, a close associate of Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal.

14:50

No more ceasefire proposals, says Egypt

Egypt says it will not submit any more ceasefire proposals to either side, after Cairo offered an 11-point proposal yesterday, Israel Radio reports.

Hamas has said the bid did not meet the needs of the Palestinian people.

14:45

Head of Palestinian delegation has ‘high hopes’ for truce deal

Azzam al-Ahmad, who heads the Palestinian delegation at the Cairo talks, tells AFP he is quietly optimistic that an agreement for a longer-term truce could be reached.

“We have high hopes of reaching an agreement very soon, before the end of the truce, and perhaps even, very quickly, for a permanent ceasefire,” he says.

But Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri struck a hardline, insisting that there can be no return to peace without a lifting of Israel’s blockade, which it imposed together with Egypt in large part to prevent Hamas from importng weapons, after it violently seized control in 2007.

“We can reach an agreement if the Israeli side accepts all the demands of the unified Palestinian delegation, in particular the end of any aggression against our people, the war on Gaza and the complete lifting of the siege,” Abu Zuhri said.

Israel has spoken little in public about the negotiations.

The five-day truce is set to end Monday night.

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‘Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Claims U.S. Created ISIS To Divide Muslims

August 16, 2014

Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Claims U.S. Created ISIS To Divide Muslims

The US, whose most advanced pawns include Israel and its new creation, ISIS, whose goal is to destroy the Arab world and eliminate the Palestinian cause.”

8.15.2014Israel RevoltJeff Dunetz

via ‘Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Claims U.S. Created ISIS To Divide Muslims | Truth Revolt.

 

 

he supposedly “moderate” Palestinian Authority led by President Abbas is rewarding the billions of dollars provided by this country by inciting its citizens to hate the United States, claiming America has established the radical Islamic movement Islamic State (ISIS or IS) with the long-term goal of controlling the Arab-Muslim states by dividing them through conflict and wars.​

On August 7th, the official Palestinian Authority TV Station, the “Palestine News Network,” reported Fatah Central Committee Member Abbas Zaki made the claim:

Fatah Central Committee Member and Commissioner of Arab Relations and Relations with China Abbas Zaki said the Palestinian language and terminology [employed] with the Zionist enemy must be changed, as whoever has seen the extent of the destruction, the ruins and the limbs torn from the pure bodies of our people in Gaza understands the goals of the Zionist attack (i.e., Operation Protective Edge) – [namely,] to exploit the terrible situation in the Arab world that has resulted from the lack of bravery, enthusiasm and willpower among those [countries] who have made subjugation to the US their way [of life]… [The US,] whose most advanced pawns include Israel and its new creation, ISIS, whose goal is to destroy the Arab world and eliminate the Palestinian cause.

Additionally five times in the past six week the official Palestinian Authority Newspaper “Al-Hayat Al-Jadida” published an op-ed slandering America with the same claim. Below are three examples:

A July 10th Op-ed by Adli Sadeq, PLO Ambassador to India and regular columnist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, said, in part:

It is Israel that, whenever it gets bored, returns to Gaza with military aircraft to destroy homes and facilities and kill children. Where is the help, you [Hezbollah] sectarian liars who collaborate with the Persian Ayatollahs… hostile [ones], and your ilk – the CIA’s collaborators from the ISIS -who destroy revolutions and give nations a bad name?

Palestinian Youth Union General Director Muharram Barghouti wrote on July 16th:

The ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq), Islamic Front, and Al-Nusra Front (i.e., all radical Islamists) are Muslims from various countries the US is using to fight in Iraq and Syria, in order to fragment the unity of these two Arab countries…

We are now more aware that the Americans – who want to fight for their own interests using Islamic, Jewish and Christian believers – are truly the head of the snake… ISIS’s declaration that it will fight Israel only after it has finished with the infidels merely proves that ISIS in Syria and Iraq will not fight the Jewish ISIS, because the plot is the same plot, the boss is the same boss, and the goal is the same goal: to tear [apart] the Arab homeland and gain control of its resources – through the blood of others.”

Palestinian Author Ibrahim Abd Al-Majid​’s op-ed on August 3rd:

This [ignorance] has peaked in [recent] years, with the radical terrorists of ISIS and those like them, who were created by Israel and the US, and are paving the way for Israel to act like them.”

These as well as the remaining examples were originally posted at Palwatch

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