Doc's Talk: 'Every time, the Palestinians run away and try to blame us'

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

'Every time, the Palestinians run away and try to blame us'

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon: The Palestinians want only to receive, and not give anything • Ofir Akunis: Palestinians have turned extortion into an art form • Poll: Nearly 90% of Israelis think framework deal will not be reached in coming months.

Gideon Allon, Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, Daniel Siryoti, Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon visits with Golani Brigade troops on Tuesday

Photo credit: Ariel Hermoni / Defense Ministry

The Palestinian Authority is a partner that wants only to receive, and not give anything in return, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Tuesday during a visit to northern Israel to observe a Golani Brigade exercise.

Ya'alon said that Israel is in the midst of a crisis with the Palestinians regarding the peace process. In recent months, Ya'alon said, the PA has told Israel that it is not prepared to discuss recognition of a Jewish state or giving up the right of return.

"I'm not a prophet of doom, I'm a realist," Ya'alon said. "Unfortunately, on this issue, I find myself saying repeatedly, 'I told you so.' I wish the situation was different."

"Every time, the Palestinians run away and try to blame us," Ya'alon said. "On Passover, we need to free ourselves from mental enslavement to irrelevant concepts on the Israeli-Palestinian matter."

At a special recess Knesset session called by the opposition to discuss the faltering peace process on Monday, Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) said, "The Palestinians have turned extortion into an art form and they know no bounds."

Akunis leveled harsh criticism at the PA, saying, "Every time the talks seem to make progress the Palestinian leaders bolt, essentially spitting in the Americans' faces. Israel has taken far-reaching steps to facilitate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. If the Palestinians seek unilateral moves, Israel will be free to do so as well."

Akunis further denounced the way Labor and Meretz "automatically side with the Palestinians, without exercising any judgment or having any clear understanding of reality."

The tumultuous Knesset session saw the opposition criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the stalemate in the peace talks.

Addressing the Knesset plenum, Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Gal-On said, "We have a government that holds negotiations meant to facilitate solely the political survival of the coalition partners. Does it make any sense to have a foreign minister [Avigdor Lieberman] whose policies zigzag? Two months ago, he supported the outline presented by [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry and now he opposes it. The same goes for the prisoner release, which he supported in the past and now he opposes."

Gal-On further criticized Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnuah) for not resigning from the government despite pledging to do so if it failed to promote the peace process. She accused them of facilitating Netanyahu's government, saying that they "only care about their seats."

Opposition Leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor) chose to address Lieberman's recent suggestion to hold early elections saying, "I don't think Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's idea of holding early elections is a threat. It is a true solution that will enable the State of Israel to resolve the stalemates created by the government on a variety of issues.

"If Lieberman wants elections -- let's hold elections. We are standing on the precipice of a volcano and the public doesn't understand how serious the situation really is. The prime minister, who cannot seem to do anything, is to blame. The entire [peace] process has collapsed because Netanyahu cannot take real steps toward peace. I urge Yesh Atid and Hatnuah to resign from the government and join us," Herzog said.

Lieberman, who is currently on a state visit to the United States, visited the Russian-Jewish community in Brooklyn Monday and said, "I cannot rule out the possibility that one day Israel will have a Russian-speaking prime minister."

The comment was made as part of a speech in which Lieberman described Israel as the land of opportunity, where immigrants like him are able to make their way to top government positions, but the current political climate has lent the remark some importance. In the past, Lieberman himself said that he has yet to rule out the possibility of one day vying for the premiership.

Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz echoed fellow Hatnuah MK Amram Mitzna's call for the party to exit the government if the current round of peace talks fails.

"We are not threatened by talk of early elections," Peretz said Monday. "As long as there is hope for the peace process we will remain in the government. Netanyahu has to decide whether he will capitulate to the extreme right or make some difficult but brave decision, such as placing a moratorium on settlement construction. We have to do something before there is no turning back, because it will have far-reaching consequences. The Israeli public knows that we at Hatnuah have led the government through an important process that has bolstered Israel's status [worldwide] and we intend to continue to fight [for peace]. Political positions take second place."

Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) criticized the statements made by Hatnuah MKs, calling them "irresponsible and harmful" and saying, "Instead of attacking the Palestinians for making unilateral moves and for impeding the peace process [Hatnuah MKs] chose to present the government and the prime minister with a list of demands. This is a time for all members of the coalition to back the government."

Meanwhile, the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams, headed by Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, as well as American mediator Martin Indyk, met on Monday.

A Palestinian official privy to the talks told Israel Hayom that "despite the fact no significant breakthrough has been made at this time to resolve the current crisis, the meeting was productive, unlike the two prevision meetings, where Livni mostly threatened that Israel will impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and its officials."

The Arab League has convened an emergency meeting in Cairo for Wednesday, which will discuss the stalemate in the peace talks. A senior Palestinian source said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask Arab League members for their diplomatic and financial backing, in the event that Israel or the U.S. will impose sanctions on the PA.

Palestinian officials said Monday that despite the difficulties to bridge the gaps in the negotiations, it is too early to say that the current round of talks has deadlocked.

A senior Palestinian official told Israel Hayom that U.S. State Department officials have spoken with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby and other top Arab diplomats in hope of convincing them to support extending the peace talks.

A Palestinian official was quoted by the Palestinian Al Quds newspaper as saying that the Palestinians have already decided to extend the talks by two months, to facilitate a plan that will clearly define the borders of the a Palestinian state.

PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo meanwhile, told Voice of Palestine radio that the PA is unlikely to rescind its applications to join 15 international organizations and conventions.

A new poll published on Tuesday found that 87% of Israelis think the chances are low that a U.S.-brokered framework peace deal will be reached with the Palestinians in the coming months

According to the monthly Peace Index poll of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, 52% of Israelis think it is currently urgent to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, while 45% believe it is not.

This survey, conducted on March 30-31, included 600 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel. The margin of error was 4.1%.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk