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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Kadima agrees with Israel Beiteinu on just about everything, you betcha

2009-02-17

Kadima officials say they agree with Avigdor Lieberman's hard-line right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party on 90 percent of all issues. Vice Premier Haim Ramon from Kadima told Ynet that 90 percent of Yisrael Beiteinu's policies are in line with Kadima's. "Even on the subject of loyalty and everything concerning national service - we agree," he said. Lieberman had earlier set five demands as precondition for joining a coalition with Kadima. The demands include the destruction of the Hamas's government, setting pledging allegiance to the Israeli regime as a precondition for citizenship, the formulation of a bill supervising "Israel's method of government" within three months, and setting up an emergency cabinet for immigrant absorption. Yisrael Beiteinu's demand to make swearing allegiance to Israel mandatory for citizenship is a controversial issue as it would facilitate stripping many Arabs of their citizenship. If you're not loyal to a state how can you describe yourself as a citizen? Ramon however added that the party had not yet reached a clear verdict on the allegiance clause of the bill. "It's a complicated subject and we have to discuss it within the framework of a committee," he said. Uncertainty about the results of the elections has left Israel in a political limbo. Both Kadima and its rival party Likud, which have claimed victory in the elections, have been trying to win the support of other parties including Yisrael Beiteinu to form a coalition.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Barak calls for Palestinian tunnel linking Gaza with West Bank

2009-02-03

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday proposed the construction of a 48-kilometer long tunnel that would connect the northern Gaza Strip with the southern West Bank, thus enabling freedom of movement between the two disjointed Palestinian territories. While stumping on the campaign trail before students at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Barak said it was possible to dig the tunnel, which would remain under Israeli sovereignty while the Palestinians would maintain authority over the corridor's traffic. The defense minister and Labor Party chairman said the project would cost between $2-3 billion, "a reasonable sum." Barak devoted a significant portion of his statements to politics, criticizing his main rival in the upcoming parliamentary election Kadima. "What new politics is Kadima bringing us?" Barak said. "Kadima was unable to remake itself and so it will be unable to remake the entire country. The question is not who speaks more eloquently but who is capable of getting things done." Barak also slammed Vice Premier Haim Ramon, "who was convicted in court of embarassing crimes and even asked during a cabinet meeting to establish a commission of inquiry to probe his investigators all the while they are investigating the prime minister." Earlier, Barak laid into rival prime ministerial hopefuls Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over years of inaction in the face of Gaza rocket fire. "All of these critics were in decision-making positions and Hamas never received such a blow as this. After eight years of [rocket] fire from the Strip, I arrived and gave the IDF an order to batter Hamas, with deeds and not words," said Barak, referring to Israel's recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Livni, the foreign minister and Kadima party chairwoman, has been a senior cabinet member for much of the period mentioned by Barak. Netanyahu, the Likud chairman and current opposition leader, also held senior a senior position under former prime minister Ariel Sharon during the years of cross-border attacks. Barak continued: "It's understood that we're in a period of elections, and every morning at the start of the cabinet meeting ministers wander around in front of the media, lashing out, rejoicing and announcing - [and] Hamas hears this as well." His comments clashed with statements on Sunday by Livni who said that, if necessary, Israel would mount a new offensive in the Gaza Strip to choke off cross-border rocket fire. "Those who need to plan the operations are the best people in the country, who understand better than a large number of the ministers - the members of the defense establishment and the IDF General Staff," the defense minister added.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

General floats 'Muslim war on Israel'

2008-12-30

A senior Iranian commander has floated the idea that the time has come for Muslims to militarily stop Israel's offensive on Gaza. Israel kicked off the onslaught on Gaza on Saturday to take out targets linked to the Hamas movement. On Monday, the Israeli army declared areas around the enclave a "closed military zone," as Israeli tanks and troops massed along the Gaza border while warplanes pounded the strip for a third consecutive day. At least 345 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 1,550 have been wounded, medics told Press TV. The international community has condemned the Israeli actions and called for an immediate end to the strikes, which have caused a furious reaction by the Muslim world. Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh, Head of the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Holy Defense, said Monday that Islamic countries should move to put the military option against Tel Aviv on the table. "Only the military option can save Gaza," the Iranian commander claimed. In retaliation to the attacks on Gaza, Hamas has vowed to launch rocket strikes. On Saturday, an Israeli man was killed by a Hamas rocket and four others were wounded. Another Israeli was killed on Monday by a rocket attack. Despite international criticism of the Israeli military campaign on Gaza, Washington blames Hamas for provoking Tel Aviv. The Hamas movement should stop its rocket attacks on Israel "if the violence is to stop," said US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe in a Saturday statement. On Sunday, the US blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to the ongoing assaults on Gaza. The council, meanwhile, called for an end to all military activities in the region. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also called for an immediate end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip, urging Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the impoverished Palestinian territory. Ban "deplores that violence is continuing today, and he strongly urges once again an immediate stop to all acts of violence," his spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement Sunday. While the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said Monday that the goal of the massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip is to topple Hamas.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel: Don't even speak about peace

2008-12-30

Israel's envoy to the United Nations says that there will be no negotiations about peace, as Tel Aviv attacks Gazan civilians for a third day. And there you have it. They're certainly not attacking combatants. Only civilians. Well, this is from Iran, so the the truth-to-lie ratio is about 1% to 99% Israel started an 'all-out' war on the Gaza Strip as of Saturday. At least 345 Palestinians have been killed and about 1,550 have been wounded, Palestinian Medics told Press TV on Monday. When asked about possible peace in the future, Israel's envoy, Gabriela Shalev, told CNN on Monday, "Don't even speak about peace at this moment." "The hope is that Hamas will understand finally that Israel has the right to defend itself and the duty to protect its citizens," Shalev said without mentioning the hundreds of civilian Palestinians that were killed in Israel's 'blind raids' on civilian infrastructures in the impoverished strip. Meanwhile, Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi said that she does not accept Israel's argument that it is acting in self-defense. "Israel is an occupying power," Ashwari said in another interview with CNN on Monday. "In Gaza, they've been under siege for months now, deprived of the most basic needs. ... And now Israel has decided that if the victims do not lie down and die quietly, it's going to shell them relentlessly from the air," she added. While the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said Monday that the goal of the massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip is to topple Hamas. The outgoing Bush administration has also thrown its full support behind Tel Aviv's bloody assault, blaming Hamas for provoking the offensive by firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. "In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said earlier. Palestinian resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip say they fire rockets into Israel in retaliation for the daily Israeli attacks against them. Unlike the state-of-the-art Israeli weapons and ammunition such as F-16 fighter jets that have killed hundreds, the homemade Qassam rockets rarely cause casualties.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF officers slam top ministers for Gaza 'war-mongering'

2008-11-17

Senior Israel Defense Forces officers criticized certain cabinet ministers on Sunday for beating the drum for military action in the Gaza Strip. The General Staff officers called for weighing more aggressive action against Hamas if the rocket fire into the Negev from the strip continued. However, they do not support reoccupying the territory at this stage. Top IDF brass also expressed concern that some politicians were trying to drag the IDF into the political debate. Meanwhile, the fighting in Gaza continued Sunday: The IDF killed four Palestinians from the small Hamas-allied group, the Popular Resistance Committees, who were about to launch Qassams, and a Sderot man sustained minor injuries when a Qassam landed near his home. A spokesman for the group, Abu Mujahid, said the tahadiyeh (lull) with Israel was over as a result of the killing of four of its men. He said the organization's response would not not stop at firing Qassams or mortar bombs, hinting at a resumption of suicide attacks against Israelis. IDF officers expressed surprise at recent news reports stating that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had instructed IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to prepare for an operation in Gaza. "What plans does the prime minister mean?" one officer asked, "the ones we presented to him two weeks ago or the ones he saw a month ago? All of the operational plans regarding Gaza were presented to the cabinet and the security cabinet a long time ago. The ministers are very familiar with them, they're the ones who must decide what to do." The officers cautioned against "war-mongering" senior officials, claiming they only encouraged Hamas to escalate. Their remarks were targeted specifically at Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon, who said over the weekend that Israel's policy in Gaza was causing serious damage and denounced the "paralysis" imposed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, warning that Israel would pay a heavy price for its restraint in Gaza. Both Barak and Ashkenazi want to avoid a broad operation in the Strip at this point, although the latter seems willing to support a slightly more aggressive policy if the rockets keep exploding. Officials in Barak's bureau said Sunday that they believed Hamas was now trying to curtail the rocket fire, partly due to Egyptian pressure. A Sderot man sustained mild shrapnel injuries to his arm when a Qassam fell on a home Sunday evening. Four others were treated for shock. When the rocket fell, Motti Turjeman was building a bomb shelter. "I went out for coffee with the workers when suddenly we heard the air raid siren. We ran to the stairwell and heard a huge explosion. The Qassam fell five meters away, near the doghouse. I was sure the dog died and suddenly I saw him, alive, by a miracle, but apparently he became deaf," Turjeman said.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Barak: Israel should consider firing back at Qassam launchers

2008-11-10

Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged the cabinet on Sunday to consider discussing in its next session the use of counter fire in response to the Qassam rockets being launched at the Negev from the Gaza Strip. During a debate on the matter of reinforcing Gaza-area homes, Barak suggested that the matter of responsive fire be raised during the cabinet's next meeting on Wednesday. The defense minister stressed that the most recent Israel Defense Forces operation, which was carried out to destroy a tunnel from the coastal territory believed to be intended for abducting soldiers, was a "defensive raid." "The operation does not give the Palestinian organizations justification for breaching the calm," he said. Barak was referring to the barrage of Qassam rockets which were launched following the raid. IDF and Israel Air Force troops killed at least six Hamas gunmen and one Islamic Jihad militant during the operations. In response, militants in Gaza fired 35 rockets at Israel on Wednesday and four each on Thursday and Friday. Barak told cabinet ministers that should a discussion of the sort being held in the cabinet, he would like to see Attorney General Menachem Mazuz present to discuss the legal ramifications of response fire. Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer added that during this discussion, ministers must also consider the legal aspects of cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip. Vice Premier Haim Ramon proposed holding an expansive debate regarding Israel's policy on the cease-fire with the Gaza Strip. "The calm was called for a limited period and that time is running out," he said. The special cabinet session called for Wednesday is thus far intended for debate on reinforcing homes in western Negev communities against rocket fire. It is not clear why Barak chose to raise the subject of counter fire during that debate, considering that such a move would be in violation of the five-month old cease-fire. Not having a highly trained legal mind, I can't quite see the logic in that statement.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Egypt trying to use Shalit as pawn in Palestinian reconciliation

2008-09-27

Last week Ofer Dekel, the Israeli official charged with negotiating the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, visited Cairo to be briefed by Egyptian officials on their proposal for a prisoner exchange with Hamas. Thursday, a ministerial committee headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon agreed to draw up a new list of 450 Palestinian prisoners that Israel would be willing to release in the exchange. The new list will include 250 of the approximately 350 prisoners whose inclusion in the deal Hamas has demanded. Ostensibly, differences between Hamas and Israel on this issue have never been smaller. However, Egypt's insistence on a broader package deal, whose details were published in the daily Maariv Thursday, may yet thwart the exchange. Egypt wants to combine Shalit's release, for which Israel would pay by freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with an agreement between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah over the formation of a new coalition government. Egypt's plan would require Hamas to relinquish sole control of the Gaza Strip and agree to allow a peacekeeping force comprised of Arab soldiers to be stationed there, while Israel would have to allow the border crossings into Gaza to reopen. Thus Egypt's proposal would turn Shalit into a pawn in talks aimed at reaching an internal Palestinian reconciliation whose chances of success are slim. Egyptian officials are certain that Hamas would be willing to relinquish its control over Gaza and form a coalition with Fatah if the price were not too high, and that it would then agree to a deal for Shalit's release. But Cairo may have misjudged the change that the Hamas leadership has undergone in the past months, which greatly diminishes the chances of forming a coalition government. The group's overseas leadership, headed by Khaled Meshal, has been losing control, while the power held by the Islamic group's young activists in Gaza has grown. Members of the group's military wing have infiltrated its "politburo" in Gaza and have seized authority from senior officials who were considered to be relative pragmatists. Officials like Razi Hamed and Ahmed Yousef have been sidelined. Nowadays, Hamas officials are more likely to march to the tune of the military wing, which instigated the violent takeover of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in June 2007. New members of Hamas' leadership who are not part of the military wing are also far from providing a moderating influence. Nizar Riyan, for instance, has seen his power increase because of his extremism and his hatred for the PA leadership in the West Bank. In sum, it is difficult to imagine the radicals in Hamas giving up their complete control of Gaza in order to create a coalition government. The military wing is also morphing. It is no longer a hierarchal entity headed by a "chief of staff," Ahmed al-Jabari. Instead, it has fragmented into sectors whose commanders govern like little emirs. These commanders have the authority to forge alliances, political and military, in order to solidify Hamas' control of the Strip and reduce friction with other military groups. However, some of them have used their increased autonomy to make alliances with organizations like al-Qaida, the Army of Islam and the People's Army. Last week, Hamas killed seven members of the Army of Islam, but it has refrained from confiscating the weapons of factions identified with al-Qaida. So long as these factions do not threaten Hamas, they are allowed to keep their weapons and train their forces.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

List of 450 ready for a possible Shalit exchange

2008-09-10

RAMALLAH: A special Israeli ministerial task force has completed drafting a list of 450 Palestinian prisoners whom Israel would be willing to release in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The Israeli daily Haaretz said the ministerial panel, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, finished drafting its list on Sunday and submitted it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Sometime in the next few days, Olmert will discuss it with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and if the troika approves the list, it will be sent to Egypt and presented to Hamas as a formal Israeli offer. According to the report, this is the first time Israel has submitted a list of its own, rather than merely approving or rejecting names submitted by Hamas. However, the report added that Israel is threatening to take “various active measures” should Hamas continue to delay talks over Shalit, who was captured by a Hamas-led military group in a cross-border raid from Gaza in June 2006. Israeli officials sent this message to Hamas via an Egyptian mediator last week. Of the 450 prisoners specifically requested by Hamas, Israel had previously agreed to release only about 70, and all of them appear on the list drafted by the ministerial panel. The list also includes additional names on Hamas’ list that Israel had originally vetoed, but whom it is now prepared to release in line with the new, more flexible criteria for freeing prisoners with “blood on their hands” that Ramon’s team approved. Previously approved criteria had barred the release of any Palestinian involved in killing an Israeli.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Ministers: Israel needs to be more flexible with Hamas over Shalit talks

2008-07-21

Israel will have to show greater flexibility in its negotiations with Hamas in order to free Gilad Shalit, said ministers who participated in cabinet deliberations on the matter Sunday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation from the Gaza Strip is expected to visit Cairo later this week in order to discuss an Egyptian proposal to renew the indirect negotiations between the two sides. If there is progress in the talks between senior Egyptian intelligence officials and Hamas representatives, Israeli negotiator Ofer Dekel will also travel to Cairo for talks next week. Olmert is likely to resume cabinet discussions on the criteria for which Palestinian prisoners can be released in exchange for Shalit, the Israel Defense Forces soldier who was abducted from Israeli territory two years ago. A similar discussion took place six months ago, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon. Security and political sources said Sunday that the restrictions on the prisoner criteria must be relaxed in order to achieve progress on the talks. To date, Israel has agreed to release 71 of the hundreds of people proposed by Hamas. Ministers involved say they have no illusions of reaching an agreement unless dozens of prisoners sentenced to life are released - including those who were involved in serious terrorist operations. Israel is also hoping that Egypt will increase its pressure on Hamas to be more flexible. Defense Minister Ehud Barak believes that it is important to utilize the tahadiyeh (cease-fire) in order to push through a deal for Shalit. During discussions Sunday, Barak said he believed a gag order might be necessary, because Hamas may try to use the Israeli media in its bargaining. This comes following the recent negotiations for reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, Barak explained, as well as "loose talk" from ministers who stated that Hamas will up its demands in exchange for Shalit. "It is essential to impose a heavy curtain of censorship in order to bring Gilad [Shalit] home," Barak said yesterday. "We must not conduct this struggle with our cards open - it gives a significant and unjustified advantage to the other side." Meanwhile, former United States President Jimmy Carter is trying to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations over Shalit's release. A senior adviser to Carter, Robert Pastor, visited Israel last week, as part of a regional tour that included visits to the Gaza Strip, Damascus and Cairo.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Police order terrorist's family to dismantle mourning tent

2008-07-03

Jerusalem border police ordered the family of Husam Taysir Dwayat - the man who perpetrated the deadly bulldozer terror attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday - to dismantle a mourning tent which they were erecting in memory of the man on Thursday. According to reports, officers who had been stationed in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Bahir following yesterday's attack observed members of the Dwayat family beginning the process of establishing the tent, this despite explicit instructions from Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco forbidding the act. The latest development regarding the Dwayat family comes amid comments made by ministers - including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - over what punishment, if any, should be carried out against the family. Earlier on Thursday, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said that Sur Bahir, the hometown of Husam Taysir Dwayat, as well Jebl Mukaber, the village of the Mercaz Harav terrorist, should be treated like any Palestinian village; they should be separated from Jerusalem and all of their residents should be stripped of their Israeli identity cards. "One of the central reasons for the ease with which yesterday's attack and the murder in Mercaz Harav were perpetrated is the fact that these are Palestinian villages that for some reason are called 'Jerusalem' - Jebl Mukaber and Sur Bahir," Ramon told Army Radio. "They must be treated as if they were Ramallah, Bethlehem or Jenin." "These are Palestinian villages that were never part of Jerusalem; they were annexed in 1967. No Israeli was there and no one goes near there," Ramon continued. "If the fence were west of the two villages; those that for some reason we call neighborhoods of Jerusalem, it would be far harder to carry out such attacks. They must not have blue identity cards - how many more Israelis must die before this is decided." Ramon voiced disagreement with the view of Olmert and several other ministers, claiming that demolishing the terrorist's house would do nothing to prevent further attacks. However, he said, the demolition must be carried out regardless - if the law allows it. "We must adapt the law to policy and not give up," he said. "Whatever can be done must be done as soon as possible." Hours after three people were killed when a terrorist in a bulldozer went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the attacker's east Jerusalem home must be destroyed. Olmert held consultations in his office following the attack and Jerusalem officials said that the prime minister was expected to discuss the possibility of destroying the terrorist's home with Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. He is also set to discuss taking away National Insurance Institute (NII) rights from the terrorist's family. Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said that Israel should demolish the terrorist's home. In a telephone conversation with Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, Barak reportedly said that he did not understand why the house of the terrorist who perpetrated the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack on March 6 had not yet been demolished, and promised that he would push for the structure to be torn down.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel rules out Gaza invasion now to seek truce

2008-06-11

I hope there's a penalty clause for when they violate parole after a week. Hamas has already said that they want the truce so as to have time to re-arm. Israel apparently wants to let them do that. Israeli leaders decided Wednesday against mounting a major attack on militants in the Gaza Strip, saying they would give Egypt more time to broker a truce with the territory's Hamas rulers. But with bloodshed on both sides, including the death of a 6-year-old Gaza girl, the government said it would push ahead with preparations for a possible invasion and keep attacking Palestinian militants to try to stop daily rocket and mortar barrages on southern Israel. Israeli aircraft fired a missile at militants in northern Gaza, but it hit a house instead, killing 6-year-old Hadeel al-Smari in the backyard, according to an Associated Press Television News crew that saw her body. Israel's military said its forces identified hitting the rocket squad and it was unaware of any civilian casualties. It blamed the militants for setting up rocket launchers in crowded neighborhoods. Which is what the 'militants' always do ... A relative of the dead girl said Palestinian civilians are affected harshly by Israeli attacks. "Our lives are hell. We cannot sleep or enjoy peace in our houses because of the army fire," Ahmad al-Smari said by telephone from the hospital in the Gaza town of Khan Younis. In parallel, Israelis who live near Gaza are clamoring for their government to take action to stop militant barrages that disrupt lives and cause casualties. But Israel's Security Cabinet, made up of senior ministers, deflected pressure to order the army into Gaza immediately. Instead, it authorized Defense Minister Ehud Barak to "exhaust the dialogue with Egypt in order to achieve all of Israel's conditions for an actual calm." At the same time, however, the Security Cabinet instructed commanders "to prepare for military action in the Gaza Strip, according to a rapid timetable, should the Cabinet convene and make a decision to this effect," according to a government statement. The order added that progress toward releasing an Israeli soldier who has been held by Hamas for two years must be part of a cease-fire deal. There was no immediate Egyptian comment on the Israeli decision. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of double-talk. And who would know about double-talk better than a Hamas minister? "The government wants to maneuver and blackmail the Palestinian factions while continuing its daily aggression," Abu Zuhri said. Israel is skeptical of a cease-fire, assuming Hamas would use any lull to rearm and regroup — particularly since the militants themselves say they would use a truce to prepare for more fighting. Hamas does not accept the presence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East and has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel. Speaking before the Security Cabinet vote, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said there could be both a truce and an invasion. "Even those who support the calm say it would only last a month or two, and then Hamas will violate it," Ramon told Army Radio. "Then we will launch the military operation. Everybody agrees that it is just a matter of when."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ramon: Hezbollah is 'wary' of retaliation

2008-04-04

The Israeli vice premier said Hezbollah is "wary of avenging" the death of its leader Imad Mugniyah due to Israel's surprising moves in the Second Lebanon War. Vice Premier Haim Ramon said Thursday at a gathering with Tel Aviv officials that "Hezbollah is wary of avenging the assassination of its commander Imad Mugniyah because they discovered during the Second Lebanon War that they cannot predict Israel's response to their actions." Concerning the mounting "cold escalation" with the northern front of Israel, Ramon said, "Israel's ability to negotiate with Syria is very limited, if at all existent, at the moment. It is very difficult to withdraw Syria from the axis of extremism, because the Golan Heights are not sufficient incentive for Syria to sacrifice its alliance with Iran and the control that it harbors over Lebanon." Ramon added that Damascus "has made a strategic choice" and places more importance on keeping peace with Iran and Hezbollah than Israel, Ynetnews reported Thursday.

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