A win for Bibi
By Aluf BennPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a diplomatic gain yesterday: The Arab League authorized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold direct talks with Israel. Further efforts will be needed to reach an agreement on the framework of the negotiations, as well as their goals and conditions, but Netanyahu's repeated call for direct talks, which has been met with a persistent Palestinian refusal, is close to bearing fruit.
The turning point was Netanyahu's July 6 visit to the White House, where U.S. President Barack Obama announced his support for direct negotiations. Obama's declaration put an end to the proximity talks, which had not produced results, and led to a campaign to pressure Abbas to end his opposition to dialogue with the Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu has since visited Cairo and Amman, and the Arab League's decision yesterday suggests that Egypt's and Jordan's leaders decided to give the process a chance.
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Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in New York, on July 7, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
In politics, Netanyahu adheres to the principle "if they give, they'll get," and this gives rise to the question - what has he given Obama in return for direct talks? The details of the talks at the White House have not been leaked, but it appears Netanyahu is willing to extend the freeze on settlement construction, perhaps only outside the large settlement blocs, and transfer more territory in the West Bank to Palestinian civilian responsibility. The start of the talks will give Netanyahu cause to continue the freeze, against growing pressure from the Yesha Council of settlers and its supporters who want to expand settlement construction throughout the West Bank.
Netanyahu celebrated his victory over Abbas with a little shot at his bitter political rival, Haim Ramon, who, even when not in the government or Knesset, annoys the prime minister. Ayala Hasson reported on Israel Radio that three weeks ago Ramon met with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and tried to convince him not to resume direct talks. President Shimon Peres' name was mentioned, as if Ramon had been sent on the mission, something Ramon denies.
There were immediate, and expected, reactions from the right, which blamed Ramon and the head of his Kadima party, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, of assisting the enemy - nothing less. Netanyahu hinted early this week that the opposition was trying to undermine the negotiations, and now the story broke.
Netanyahu is not original; he is rehashing an old trick of Ariel Sharon. In early 2004 Sharon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about secret meetings. On one side was Peres, then the head of the Labor Party, the opposition and others in the "peace industry." On the other side was Ahmed Qureia, a leading figure in the Palestinian Authority.
When asked why there was no movement in the peace process, Sharon blamed the opposition. "Don't they know the Arabs talk?" Sharon told his aides, suggesting that intelligence had information about the meetings with the Israeli opposition.
Ramon reportedly told Erekat that there is no point in direct talks because "Bibi will not agree to anything." So who said there is no consistency in the peace process?
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All the existing Arab nations did not form organically, but were put together by Colonial powers. This is the problem we are seeing world wide. Even Israel is not allowed to liberate it's native lands, as European Imperialism has dictated it's borders not morality and the indigenous rights of the Jewish people.
This is a recording.
Israeli Left and J Street Undermine Peace Process It used to be the Arab rejectionists who were against peace negotiations. Now it is Peres, Ramon, Barak and Livni who are trying hard to undermine the Israeli government and Israel. In general, it is a level of highest absurdity that Abbas has to be begged and bribed by the President of the United States to negotiate a peace deal between the victorious Israelis and defeated Palestinians. A child, probably will understand that with every single day and hour the Palestinians will get less and less of what they dream at night. However, the pro-Islamic Barack Hussein Obama can successfully pressure Israel to concede more land and rights to the Palestinians. But with every single day and hour Obama's opportunities are fewer and fewer. Thank God for that, and I am an atheist.
is full of holes. It declares for direct talks only after Israel agrees to pre-conditions of Saudi and Abbas demands. It is mere window dressing to get Obama to take out Iran nukes
Besides the fashion of addressing Israel by the female pronoun "she" (in Hebrew it could still be understood, but in English?), the use of this dimunitive affix "-i" is also a thing I don't really get. When a former neighbour of mine called the candidates of the German elections of 2002 "Schrödi" and "Stoibi", I almost took her for insane. What's so cute about them or about Netanyahu or Livni? It must be a kind of particular sens of relatedness, some kind of "re'ut" that has never been revised: Some may be doomed more than others, "but after all, we're all still Israelis..." Damn, reading the news from the middle east, I'm getting increasingly pssd off. Before I end up as a niggler of the worst kind, I'd better shut up, bseder...
One may start from the safe assumption that this Netanyahu government is not capable of progressing in any significant way towards a peace agreement. The inevitable result is that the Palestinians must do whatever they can to topple the Netanyahu government so that it is replaced by a more peace-oriented one. Since Abbas and the Arab League apparently believe in Obama's sincerity, they also believe that once Obama realizes that what they see in Netanyahu (i.e., a void) is correct, Obama will join them in their goal to topple the Netanyahu government. This is reasonable, and it has a historical precedent. Jim Baker got tired of the Shamir government lying ways and absolute determination to hold on to the West Bank, so it criticized it in public and punished Israel financially, which resulted in the Israeli public replacing Shamir with Rabin in the following elections. It is a reasonable approach which may work even faster this time. It is likely that with no real progress towards peace, the Labor party will quit the government, making it even more hardline and more resistant to any concession. For this strategy to work, Abbas should attempt to make sure Labor has no excuse to remain in the government. Let him extract from Netanyahu the best possible "good will gestures", go to direct talks, then suspend them when Israel declines to extend the freeze over settlement construction.The snowball will start rolling after the US Congressional elections this November, and will gain speed when Labor gives up on Netanyahu.
particulary the eu
How people have poor memories! There is post and pre Oslo accords thinking. Even Bill Clinton admitted that he felt that Arafat had hoodwinked him, but his wife Hillary - an unprecedently weak Secretary of State - seems to have lost her mind following her mentor BHO, who is totally out of reality as concerns the Middle East. For BHO, Oslo never happened. Agreements were never broken. The Palestinians crave for peace. He cannot understand the Palestiniam psychology. Without the Arab-Israel dispute, the Palestinian leadership would have no reason for existance. Living on this dispute and millions of dollars of international aid money is their very livelihood. Poor BHO, an utter ignoramus in geopolitics with an incredibly parochial mindset, cannot seem to understand even the basics that lie behind this dispute. Palestinian leadership cultivate self-victimization and expect the West to serve them Israel on a platter, Short of this, they are happy to continue living on the aid money, building villas on the French Riviera and stashing money in Swiss bank accounts, Their people they use as hostages and cannon fodder. They are totally protected by the political correct of any criticism, which would be immediate labelled as 'racism'. This allows them literally to get away with murder gaming the West and Western media. BHO naively thinks that by muscling the Israeli's with a phoney, trumped up dispute that somehow he is going to achieve peace in the ME. Very pathetic..... Most of the Arab world see the Palestinian leadership as it really is since they have been footing many of the bills for years. BHO is sending the unintended signal to them that he is weak, foolish and not to be trusted. He shows that he ready even to sell out his allies for political glory. Examples are the Israelis and the pro-Western faction in Lebanon in hopes of being popular with those traditionally hostile to the US.. Any thinking person in the Arab world, should be worried about this and running to Iran for cover.
Kadima’s faction chief Haim Ramon said to Palestinian negotiator Erekat how to confront BIBI during the peace negotiations referring to "WE" meaning Kadima and Fatah, Is this treason? Haim doesnt care about portfolios in BIBI's Govt but only about continued negogiations on ceding Jewish Land to Palestinians Why is this dead-end diplomacy with Palestinian terrorists so important for pragmatic Kadima? Because that’s what their puppeteers from Obama’s Administration ask for. and of course as Obama bows to Mullahas and pinheads Israeli Kadima bows same
if bibi promises that direct talks will lead to an extension of the settlement freeze then I would say for abbas to go for it..even if it doesn't lead to a 2 state solution in the near future... the more time abbas has to build the west bank from the ground up and solve the problem with hamas without fear of runing out of time , the more likely it will be for him to eventually declare a unilateral state with the backing of the international community....OR convince bibi ,with pressure from 0bama ,to make enough concessions for a VIABLE state.. an extended settlement freeze is the number one priority at this time..above everything else...
Aluf Benn is eager to assign a win to netanyahu for a while. I think this is not a win but it is a chance given to Netanyahu to correct his past mistakes. Can he use it? As long as he is just a chatter not a negotiator, he can not.