Fatah memo: We lost hope in Obama for caving to Zionist pressure

God's word declares In Ezekial 36, that God will regather the Jews and bring them into their land from the corners of the earth. In May 1948, Israel became a nation again after nearly 2000 years of not being a nation. There is no mention of a palestinian state. God declared this, and I believe it. God will be the one to defend Israel when Russia, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, and Turkey will come and invade Israel and lose (Ezekial 38). Jesus Christ will come a second time, with the true church, and establish His Kingdom (John 3:16, 1 Thess. 4:15-17, Matt 24, Revelation 21-22).

All credibility for Israel was lost after the Gaza War. World public opinion is the greatest lobby of them all and the leaders are listening. Alliances are shifting as they always do and in this century it is oil that is everyones new ally.

I remember one Jewish American liberal who was in the US Government saying that some of the hawkish elements in the US Government acted like Israel's lawyer. A great example of that was Dennis Ross, who was supposed to be acting for the benefit of the U.S. Those who are on the right wing of the spectrum and support ethnic cleansing of Palestinians are powerful in the US. Jstreet and those well-intentioned folks, though they are the majority, they haven't flexed enough muscle to end the crimes against the Arabs.

The are less than microscopic. They are next to non-existent. I cannot blame Obama from submitting to the realities of politics in the democrat party. No democrat who wants to win an election for President may offend the Jewish block. What makes me wonder is why he bothered to pursue peace in the mideast when he clearly know that fact? Why even bring the subject up when one understands that one has to submit to reality? Only a fool makes himself hostage to a battle he is unwilling to risk wining.

that Israel would not make absent that pressure--unfortunately, Israel really does factor in the existential threat Islamic and Palestinian irreconcilable irrenditism poses to the Jewish state and so it is very very resistant to caving in to these pressures...

Blame it 8 years Bush gave Israel free rein.. Blame it the neo-cons.. Blame it the AIPAC--and the politians who fall under their spell;; Clinto tied too late...Remember Oslo, Rabin's assination ended lot's of hope; it ws Bibi's 1st term as P.M. Responsiblity falls on Israel also.. One state--binational--with Jewish minority is called apartheid.

Thank G-d Olmert and Tzipi are out! Without recognition of the Jewish State by the Arabs, there is nothing to talk about. In fact, the more they don't recognize us as a Jewish country, the more deeply we believe that their real goal is our destruction. And why won't they recognize us? If they ask to be recognized as the Islamic, green hat, red shoe Palestinian nation, we will. Why not? we don't wish to desrtoy them! There is nothing to talk about.

the gaps are too big. You cannot "split the difference" on Jerusalem, Rights of return, airspace, military, etc. Israel has a right to be very wary of the arabs after 6 wars, 2 intefadas. This will be solved one day via a big war or when the minority Hashemite Kingom falls and the majority Palestinians take over rule of Jordan. In the meanwhile give the palestinian arabs limited self rule and keep a lid on the boiling pot! i.e. stir s-l-o-w-l-y

Ah woe is us. We had so much hope after 1993 that the Pals really did want peace. But it's been downhill since then. Arafat just loved pretending he was fighting a war. And he squirreled away all those billions...yet to be found. And he left a Fatah that was totally unfit to start a nation. It was corrupt, cronyized, and totally untrained and unprepared to run a country. And instead of cleaning up their act, Fatah hacks simply tried to fill in the Arafat vacuum with backstabbing and money-laundering of their own. This left the poor Pals no choice but to vote in Hamas. And then did Fatah clean itself up? Well, truth be told, not really. They had a nice congress. Finally. And Fayyad is an honest broker. But that's about it. Fatah didn't cave in to anybody but themselves. As they say around here: oy va voy aleinu. (woe is us)

of Pals. If you don't give everything we want, then you are against us and are bowing to THE lobby. Peace will come when the palis 1. stop demanding Israel destruction (r of return) 2. Assume responsibilities for their own mistakes and 3. understand that negotiations mean compromise.

Offer the Pals the WB and GAZA pre-1967, East-Jerusalem as Pal Capital. Show the world unmistakenly that you give up Eretz Israel for peace. Do it with the military guarantees of the world powers as back-up regarding security sensitivities (Jordan vally, Golan). If Pals refuse or go back to terror after statehood, then the world will give fiat for war and 'Transfer'. You see, Pals may be hopeless people but Israeli's have become hopeless too, in the sense of 'wanting it all (Eretz Israel) instead of peace'. If the world can believe Israel is willing to give up 'Eretz israel', then Pals are in real trouble, if they are as hopeless as you say.

Give me, give me, give me says the PLO but not much else except for threats of violence and actual violence.

By appearing to be a U.S stooge he has managed to unite the people both in the Palestinian states and the Arab countries. Sure he looks like he's a raving idiot atm but his 'memos' and backtracking seem to reflect that either the goldstone affair was intentional or down right stupid, and even for the PLO i doubt the people at the top are that stupid. Something bigger appears to be happening here and i don't think this move has played through just yet. Watch this space.

Dear dovale, first, thanks for the trust you put in me (not being an "anti-Semite"), honestly, I'm not sure whether many of those, who call me like that, really believe it. They probably just have to "get rid of some steam" once in a while, because they are upset with the contents of my posts...:) Look, I hope you will agree with me, that the Arabs today can no longer threaten Israels existence,from a military point of view they are hopelessly inferior. That advantage should give Israel the opportunity to show the world, that she is honest with her intentions and offers the Arabs a peace deal along the Geneva accord. If the Arabs reject, or continue to attack Israeli civilians after such a peace deal, the whole world could see, that Israel was right and the Arabs were wrong, and then the number of people complaining about Israel after another operation "Cast Lead" will be much, much smaller than today..... You bet on that.

had he years ago acknowledged the Jewish character of Israel and publically foregone the nonexistant "right of return" the Palestinians cling to. Regardless, it is Abbas and his dream team who hold press conferences day after day in which they announce to the Arab world their refusal to meet with Israel leadership at the peace table.

Now that it is obvious even to the Palestinians, that the US is too weak to force Israel to negotiate a fair peace agreement with the Pals, everyone in Israel should be asking themselves if this might be a Pyrrhic victory. So exactly how long can Israel keep the West bank suppressed before the area erupts in a massive war as King Abdullah predicts? How many wars can Israel win before it loses the last one and disappears? While it may "feel good" in Israel to neuter the US president, is that really the best think for Israel's future? Why is there no one in Israel capable of looking out 15 years to look at the possible ramifications of Israel's current actions? Why is there no Haaretz analysis of what happens now that two-states are not possible? Actions have consequences, and the neutering of the US president will have (tragic) consequences for Israel.

Dear Dino, I do not see you as an anti semite as manny on this talkback do. I see you as a naive person, that belive that Palestinians are people who would like to see a 2-state solution. This belive is built upon naivity and a great lack of knowledge about the Palestinians. I agree that there are Palestinians that do want a 2-state solution. However the vast majority want to erase Israel from the map. They have new hopes from Iran and other Muslims around the world. Why do you not take a trip to this area and speak to Palestinians in Israel as well on the ocupied territories. Ask them franklly what they really hope for... We in Israel need to survive, therefor we cannot efford the luxury of speculating in our destruction. Try to understand what its all about...

These announcements are political in nature. It is simply an eccentric dance between Fatah and Hamas. Abbas announces Obama is favoring Israel, directed at the Palestinian population in Gaza. Hamas proclaims it is prohibiting Islamic Jihad from firing rockets. A gesture aim at reconciliation with the Fatah objectives. Israelis need to understand the prevailing winds taking shape within the Palestinian body-politic. And interpret this rapprochement as pragmatic moves to a center position. Which will benefit Israeli and Palestinian negotiations in the future.

Looks like Obama is at last trying to repair the damage that he did to the peace process and the PA have got the message. When Obama tried to sound tough on Israel by demanding a settlement freeze,a demand that Mr Netanyahu wasn't going to accede to,he just led the PA and the Arab League to believe that they just had to remain inflexible and intransigent and they would be handed all their demands from Israel on a plate and Israel would have no say in the matter. Obama has discovered two things: 1)there are independent countries and Israel is one of them. 2)building up false hopes amongst Israel's enemies just emboldens them and pushes back any chance of peace. Negotiations are possible again,now. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Obama supports Israel as a Jewish state. The Palestinians including Hamas will take a state on the West Bank but don't want to accept Israel as a state with a Jewish majority. After a period of quiet, the rest of Israel would be the Palestinian goal. Fayyad played into this wish by offering to build Palestinians a state in 2 years without having to accept Israel. Instead of the 3 no's of Khartoum the Arabs decided it's better to play the West for suckers and are disappointed that Obama who showed such promise is not cooperating enough.

Plain and simple: the Fatah memo is right about Obama, who's quickly proving to be pretty useless on the Mideast, and Abbas' demands for a freeze and a clear, final status issues agenda for any talks is perfectly resonable. At a time when the IDF rules supreme in the region, anti-missle technology will negate anything Iran develops, the Arab world is wanting at least a covert alliance w/ Israel and the Israeli economy is better off than the U.S'., Lieberman says it's not a good time for peacemaking! This is simply to buy time for more settlement activity. How tragic to have to ask: where is the Israeli partner for peace these days? Not in the current government!

The main grown in settlements is because of the cheaper cost of living. Stop the Gov. subsidies and have them pay the full cost of military security. If the cost of living is higher in settlements than in Israel many would leave or stop moving there. Do settlers pay rent on the leased land or is it free?

Netanyahu has no interest in achieving a final peace agreement. The real goal for him and his buddy Lieberman is to maintain the "status quo" which is to build more settlements and create more facts on the ground, while keeping the Palestinian territories "quiet" by doing the bare minimum (remove a few roadblocks here and there). Any negotiations entered into with Netanyahu will be fruitless and merely a way for Israel to "pretend" they are seeking peace. The Palestinians are rightfully upset and are demanding genuine gestures of peace (such as halting settlements).

"Under any peace agreements possible Israel will not give up major WB settlements. This is something the Fatah leadership will have to internalize for peace to have a chance." Under any peace agreements possible Palestine will not give up major WB settlements. This is something the Israeli leadership will have to internalize for peace to have a chance.

Was Fatah so stupid as to not see this coming?

"You`re not going to be blessed a country of your own until you negotiate for one." - Gina Welcome back. It appears you have been off the planet for the last 5 years. Abbas has been negotiating, and negotiating, and negotiating. Olmert would never close a deal and Netanyahu won't deal at all. There is absolutely nothing the Palestinians could do besides disappear that would satisfy the current government of israel.

....slightly provocative, of course most Americans do not wanna see the end of Israel. But fact is, should the 2-state solution become impossible (which quite a few people believe it is already today, due to Israels massive expansion of Jewish settlements over the past years/decades), the main blame for it will have to go to Washington D.C. for the chronical U.S. refusal to play the role of an honest broker over the past decades. If there will be a binational state in the future with a Jewish minority, the main respon- sibility will lay with the American people, not the slightest doubt about that.....

A poll by An-Najah National University in May showed a clear majority of Palestinians rejecting statehood alongside Israel. Despite this evidence, many prefer to believe that Israeli occupation is the core issue and that creating a Palestinian state will produce peace by ending it. This, too, makes no sense. It is simply a flat-earth statement to describe Judea, Samaria and Gaza as occupied. And how can Israeli and global leaders agree to negotiate with the Palestinians when their claims are built on a foundation of lies and deceit? More at : http://xrl.us/ostjf

Join the club.

How in the world can you say that America wants to see an end to Jewish Israel. How dumb and absolutely wrong. There is a new and growing movement in American with American jews that wants the maddness to end, which means: End fighting, make peace, do the two state solution Taxpayers are seeing what they get for their money--not much-- it began to assist in development and defense of an ally; What we got was more like the Goldstone conclusions sponsoring asymetrical fighting that may/may not be criminal.. American are impatient--too many years supporting Israel--what's the outcome? What's the end game? No Dino, America will continue to finacially support Israel for next few years and as Obama said there are unbreakable bonds between the USA and Israel

If the Palestinians in Fatah believe that Obama completely supports their position about the so called "occupation" and "settlement building" then they have only themselves to blame for reading more than what was expressed. Aspirations for two states is the primary goal of the United States. Abbas wants to appease Hamas and other hardliners by raising new issues such as the recent attacks on tourists in Jerusalem, so as to shore up his weak hand. The fact is he has little negotiating ability. Whining and fussing doesn't resolve problems. Get back to the negotiating table now.

What had the UN workers done to these people? UN refugee workers have cultivated babies among the Palestinian population, not men. You're not going to be blessed a country of your own until you negotiate for one.

As I recall, the duration of time spent on demanding settlement construction halt in the West Bank and Jerusalem was quite extensive and pretty adamant by U.S. officials and international pressure as well. With President George Bush, it was the same. In fact, the U.S. position hasn't changed with regards to this Road Map obligation by Israel to proceed to an agreement. However, President Obama is probably willing to proceed with diplomatic negotiations without the preconditions both parties articulated for the last 6 months, by continuing the negotiations at the point where the previous Israeli administration succeeded to achieve some understandings with the PA regarding the core issues. This development has higher validity than requesting every single settlement stop construction totally. That's my take.

President has changed, but the State Department hasn't. The same old boys who have made supporting and advancing Israel a lifelong career are still running the show and twisting the shots. Their and/or Mitchell's advice have in no time at all left Abbas fatally wounded, Obama a busted flush, Israel off the hook and Hamas in the ascendant. Great work guys. We have to hope they ain'tt planning an encore. Hilary Clinton's inexperience and naiivety is showing though big-style.

.....wants to see the end of Jewish Israel. I have absolutely no idea why that is the case...

This is why i think its urgent that anti Zionist Jews like Gideon Levy, Amira Hamas, Akiva Eldar, Richard Falk, Richard Goldstone start criticizing the Palestinians and their stages plan.

I used to be stronglyin favour of a two state solution. I hoped that Abbass was the acceptable face of the Palestinians who could come to an agreement with Israel & finally see a Palestinian State living alongside Israel. But it was not to be. Now former hoocaust denier Abbass is trying to outdo Hamas in his rejectionism. He has refused to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, not far from the Hamas position of refusal to recognise Israel. And fromthere he is taking increasingly rejectionist positions. Hope of a Palestinian state seems to be evaporating. Not because of Israel's intrasegence, but by the Palestinians own death wish. As a longstanding peacenik, this is a fact of great sadness to me

Fatah, the leftist? best hope for a Palestinian peace partner, continues to display total inability for a realistic assessment of the situation. By blaming the Zionist pressures on Obama they re-affirm their view of the world that the International Jew is the root of their problems. Rather than concentrating on recent positive elements such as economic growth and absence of confrontation in the WB and and trying to broaded out and strengthen the trend the Pal leaders continue with their maximalist demands rather than building understanding and reconciliation. Under any peace agreements possible Israel will not give up major WB settlements. This is something the Fatah leadership will have to internalize for peace to have a chance.

The Palestinians have. There will be no two state solution.

Obama is savy and nobody's fool. There may well be more behind the scenes than what we are seeing publically. But to the outside observer it does seem that Obama has caved in to the demands of the zionist lobby in Congress and their friends. There is now J Street which is a counteractive to the influence of AIPAC, but it may not be enough. There will be no peace unless we have a president in the WH who is as honest and frank as Jimmy Carter, a president who tells Israel that wqhile commited to Israel's security it will not support the settlements or the annexation of East Jerusalem and unless that along with the immediate dismantling of all 23 illegal outposts, there will be no US funding and the US will vote with the rest of the Security Council in any vote dealing with Israel. The Palestinians deserve better and Obama must put his words into actions and start holding Israel accountable with a high price to pay if it continues its intransigence and defiance of the international commun

It's shame that the hope of Obama and and a new approach to resolving this two state solution and other issues.... always appear to become split. Yes, the Goldstone report could have a significant impact on the peace process...significant delays in time...stubborness in respective positions..more bad feelings piled on historical bad feelings..and the cycle continues American taxpayers want and expect more, especially from Israel.. Time will tell...peace is so very important for everyone.