Sunday, June 21, 2009

Jimmy's comments of Netanyahu's speech in his "trip report"show exactly how honest a broker he is:
NETANYAHU'S SPEECH: I watched his speech and was appalled by his introduction of numerous obstacles to peace, some of them insurmountable. He rejected sharing of Jerusalem and a settlement freeze and defined any future Palestinian state as demilitarized, no control over airspace, still including many Israeli settlements, and probably without the Jordan valley – provided they remove Hamas and all other Arabs will accept Israel as a Jewish state (with 20 percent Arab citizens). I've been involved with these issues for 30 years, and none of them are acceptable, except perhaps through give-and-take negotiations.
Carter doesn't even pretend anymore to be even-handed. Hamas, which still confiscates materials from social services organizations, still intimidates the press, openly violates international humanitarian law and effectively runs a police state, is only praised by Carter and he looks at Israel as nothing but a set of obstacles.

Also, it is apparent that Carter believes that a Palestinian Arab state should have the ability to shoot passenger planes out of Israel's skies.

His being upset at Israel being considered a Jewish state shows just how far out of the mainstream he really is, not to mention how much he truly hates Israel. Apparently, according to Carter, Jews are not allowed to have any self-determination.
According to a report in Al Quds, Jimmy Carter has essentially turned into both Obama's liasion with Hamas as well as an advocate for the terrorist organization.

The article says that Yahya Moussa of Hamas stated that Carter is the one who suggested that Hamas support a Palestinian Arab state outside the 1949 armistice lines without recognizing Israel as a first step in trying to get a dialogue going with the Obama administration and to bypass the Quartet's conditions for Hamas participation.

Carter's plan to bypass the Quartet includes Hamas' acceptance of the Arab "peace" initiative and the concept of two states, without actually recognizing Israel and without abandoning terrorism. According to these sources, Carter told Hamas that if they accept these two terms then the Obama administration would be amenable to opening direct talks with Hamas.

Moussa said "Carter told us that the American President (Barack Obama) wants to go beyond the conditions of the Quartet, and has the desire to do so, but Hamas has to provide an acceptable scenario" for accomplishing this.
  • Sunday, June 21, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Ha'aretz:
The skies lit up over Jenin last month, set off to mark the occasion of the opening of Hirbawi Home Center, a new luxury establishment on the city's outskirts.

The five-story building near the Jalame checkpoint cost $5 million to build, says its owner, and it is filled with deluxe, foreign-made products seen mostly in the pages of newspaper supplements.

This shopping opportunity is intended to interest the upper crust of Jenin, and while some might think the proposition suggests financial suicide, the profit forecasts for the project have been so favorable the owner plans to open four more shops in the West Bank and one in Jordan.

The next city to enjoy a Hirbawi Home Center is Ramallah, where one is already in partial operation; then Hebron, Tul Karem and Nablus.

"It may sound mad to outsiders," says the chain's CEO, Ziad Turabi, "but to us it makes perfect sense. We believe we can make a very handsome profit. Many people in the occupied territories have money but they have nowhere to spend it if they're after quality. We offer them the best quality there is."

This may not sound like the familiar description of the occupied territories - the impoverished Palestinian village or the overcrowded refugee camp, a population sustaining itself on international aid. But it turns out that quite a few Palestinians consider a plasma screen, a surround sound stereo and comfortable chairs to be fairly essential items.

Here, on the fifth floor of the Jenin operation, overlooking the fields separating Israel from Jenin, are the in-demand electric gadgets: enormous TV screens, vacuum cleaners, espresso machines, and the list goes on and on.

"We've been working for a few months now and every day had been like opening day. We are very pleased, and the profits have been very satisfying so far. Don't worry, we're not going to lose, and we truly believe that. "
Part of the reason for the success of a venture like this is that the PA - together with American Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton and Israel - have worked together to stop terror from what used to be a haven for terrorists:
"Abu Tarek," the Jenin area commander, seemed pleased. He and his predecessor, "Abu Hadid," have turned "terrorism capital" into the quietest, safest city in the West Bank. Jenin, the flagship project of the American administration and the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton, has become the success story of the new PA. "What brings Hirbawi and others is the security situation", Abu Tarek says. "We solved quite a few issues and, Inshallah (God willing,) we will see many more investments. Even the refugee camp is quiet now. There are no militants and we react very quickly to any incident. The residents believed in the security apparatus. They trust us and assist us.

"And you can see it on the street. Shops are open until late, women can go around fearlessly.

"It's been over two years since the last attack from Jenin against Israel. We went to great length to prevent terror attacks, and your people know that."

A third factor which makes the change in the West Bank possible is the Israel Defense Forces. Abu Tarek says the Israeli army was still carrying out operations in the West Bank but became "a lot less violent." And one of the Palestinians present, who witnessed his brothers' arrest recently, chuckles: "They're very gentle nowadays. They come quietly, knock on the door and say politely: Army, please open up."
This goes to show what is possible - when Palestinian Arabs take responsibility for terrorism, Israel has no need to bother them and no need to stop them from succeeding. In fact, Israel has every incentive to turn it into a win-win, a mindset that most Arabs unfortunately have not yet embraced.

It also shows that when Palestinian Arabs act like responsible adults, the benefits to their people are immediate and concrete. It is not Israeli actions that are stopping them from prospering; it is their own. Gaza's problems could go away in a few months if its leaders would act like Jenin's. This is in everyone's interests, except for those so-called "leaders" who have no real interest in the well-being of their own people and every interest in using them as pawns against Israel.

Not surprisingly, Hamas is not happy with General Dayton's actions:
[Khaled Meshal said] "If Fatah doesn’t like the situation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas also doesn’t like the situation in the West Bank. If Fatah believes security services in Gaza are affiliated to Hamas, Hamas believes the security services in the West Bank have no affiliation. They are not affiliated even to Fatah, as [US] General [Keith] Dayton keeps forming them again and again, selecting people who have no history to be in the middle of security services. There is tremendous destruction going on, which impedes conciliation philosophy," he added.

With regard to the situation in the West Bank, Mashal said that it is the US security coordinator Keith Dayton who makes decisions and that he is building the Palestinian Authority’s security services and training them on how to be oppressive.
This story illustrates more than any other how Hamas is hurting its people.

And isn't it remarkable that this success was not impeded at all by the existence of "settlements"?
  • Sunday, June 21, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
Ma'an has two stories this morning damning Israeli settlers as wantonly attacking innocent Palestinian Arabs, and both confirmed by "eyewitnesses."

Here's the first:
Three Palestinians from a small hamlet near Yatta, south of Hebron, on Sunday narrowly escaped death after Israeli settlers set fire to a tent while they were inside.

Local residents told Ma’an that Israeli settlers from the nearby Susia settlement, which sits on Palestinian land, set fire to a large tent used as a meeting hall for the small village.
I am not saying that there haven't ever been any cases of Jews harassing Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank, but the idea that they would set fire to a tent with people in it for kicks seems a bit far-fetched.

Combined with the fact that the "local residents" aren't identified, they give no details about the "attack," the fact that most fires are accidents and that Palestinian Arabs are known to blame Jews for everything possible, both to get headlines and to get compensation from Israel, make this story more than a little suspect.

Adding a little evidence to this is Ma'an's other "eyewitness" article this morning:
A herd of boars released by settlers in the northern West Bank attacked neighborhoods and farmland in Salfit on Sunday, according to witnesses.

Meanwhile, the head of the Agriculture Trade Union in Salfit, Khalil Omran, expressed fears that the boars may transfer the so-called swine flu among residents there, calling on residents to avoid contact with the animals.
Yes, the "settler pigs" continue to be a staple of Ma'an's absurd reporting, and that story is all the proof you need that Ma'an has no regard for journalistic integrity when it comes to stories that blame "settlers" for every evil in the world - including swine flu.

Incidentally, Susia is the site of one of the oldest synagogues ever unearthed, dating from the 4th century CE and remaining a synagogue until the 10th century when Muslims converted it into a mosque. The Arab village by that name was not settled until the 1830s.

Friday, June 19, 2009

The ICRC issued a statement:
Since Mr Shalit's capture in June 2006, the ICRC has repeatedly asked Hamas to allow the exchange of Red Cross messages between Gilad Shalit and his family. The most recent requests were made at the highest level, but these and all others have been refused.

"We welcome the fact that yesterday former US president Jimmy Carter handed Hamas a letter from Gilad Shalit's family to him," said Béatrice Mégevand-Roggo, the ICRC's head of operations for the Middle East and North Africa. "However, this cannot replace the regular and unconditional contacts with his family that Gilad Shalit is entitled to under international humanitarian law. The ICRC regrets that in his case political considerations are judged more important than the simple humanitarian gesture of allowing a captive to be in touch with his family after three years of separation."

Repeated requests by the ICRC to visit Gilad Shalit to ascertain his conditions of detention and treatment have also been refused. Visiting people deprived of their freedom and enabling them to exchange personal news with their relatives is one of the ICRC's main humanitarian tasks.

Ms Megevand-Roggo added that the people holding Gilad Shalit were entirely responsible for ensuring that his treatment and living conditions are humane and dignified.

The ICRC has held several meetings with Gilad Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, to brief them on its efforts regarding their 22-year-old son. "We share their concerns. Despite the lack of progress so far we will continue to press for family contacts for Mr Shalit and for ICRC access to him," said Ms Mégevand-Roggo.
Hamas responded:
The de facto government in Gaza's Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs was astonished on Friday that the International Red Cross has asked Hamas to allow captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit regular contact with his family.

In a statement to Ma'an, the ministry said that the Red Cross' demand came while "Gaza prisoners have been continuously deprived family visits for more than two years, which has negatively affected their living and psychological situation."

"Under what pretext of international law is it that the Red Cross can demand that Hamas allow Shalit to contact his family?" the the de facto government ministry asked. "Did the Red Cross denounce the [Israeli] occupation for its daily violations of international law against Palestinian prisoners, who are deprived from every human right?"

"At the least, stated international conventions demand that the sick aren't denied necessary medical treatment; instead, they die slowly due to medical negligence," the statement went on to say.

The ministry also denounced international organizations' calls for better treatment of "this single Israeli captive," demanding that they show that they "care about the situation of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, against whom everything is banned and international crimes are committed."

"Israel is continuously bypassing international conventions to legitimize crimes being committed, including the deprivation of visitations, imposing an orange uniform by force and implimenting the 'illegal combatant' law," the statement noted.

The ministry concluded by calling on the international community and human rights organizations to stop so-called double-standard policies that urge Hamas to meet demands concerning Shalit but stop at demanding Israel ease living conditions of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas is employing doubletalk that is even more egregious than usual. As far as I can tell, the Red Cross does not accuse Israel of any violations of prisoners' rights, although they have called for Israel to allow visits from family members.
  • Friday, June 19, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Ma'an:
A delegation of Hamas leaders visited the independent Ma’an News Agency offices in Gaza City as part of efforts to develop relations between media outlets in the besieged Strip.

Ma’an’s Gaza director Imad Eid received the delegation, who related the party’s appreciation for its hard work and journalistic integrity. Eid thanked the delegation for its recognition of the news agency.

Leaders from all factions have called in recent days for news agencies affiliated with various factions end their partisan reporting and halt incitement campaigns around the issue of politically-motivated arrests.
Once upon a time, Ma'an actually reported critical stories about Hamas. Then, two years ago, Hamas started a campaign of threats and beatings against journalists, including those from Ma'an.

Ever since then, Ma'an has toned down its stories about Hamas in a very obvious way.

This story is a case in point. Hamas is not happy with any press freedoms in Gaza, and pays "visits" to journalists to remind them of what they face when they displease the de facto government. Since Hamas has recently started to increase their attacks on independent organizations, they want to ensure that those stories are being muted or silenced.

And Ma'an is happily playing along, publicly praising their tormenters.
  • Friday, June 19, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
Tomorrow, some Israel-haters plan to "de-shelve" Israeli products sold at Trader Joe's, as we reported a while back. "De-shelving" means illegally defacing and stealing the products.

So this is the weekend to buy as many Israeli products as you can at Trader Joe's, and let them know you appreciate their standing up to the criminals and haters.
  • Friday, June 19, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
Our team has just identified the 300th terrorist that the PCHR identified as a "civilian" victim during the Operation Cast Lead.

We have also identified that 186 out of the 282 policemen killed were also members of terrorist groups, nearly two-third of them.

We have identified 17 children under 18 who were also members of terror groups.

If we add all the police, militants identified by PCHR and "PCHR civilian" militants identified by us together, and if my math is right, we have identified 632 people killed who the IDF considers legitimate military targets, out of the 1410 victims that PCHR identified (subtracting PCHR duplicates.)

Even if we assume that the PCHR is not playing games by counting those who died natural deaths as victims, considering that Israel was fighting against groups who purposefully hid in civilian clothing among innocents, this is hardly "indiscriminate."

Hamas continues to add names of its Al Qassam Brigades "martyrs" to its website, five months later, showing that they were trying to hide the terrorist status of its dead fighters in order to fool the world into believing the idea that Israel was recklessly killing civilians and that Hamas didn't suffer severe losses.
  • Friday, June 19, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
Hosni Mubarak writes a Wall Street Journal op-ed where he promises what Israel would get if it surrenders the entire West Bank, most of Jerusalem, every Jewish holy place, the entire Golan and capitulates on so-called "refugees" invading Israel:
While full normalization with Israel can only result from a comprehensive settlement including the Syrian, Lebanese as well as Palestinian track, the Arab side stands ready to reciprocate serious steps towards peace undertaken by Israel.
So let's look at how Well Egypt is performing in its promised "normalization" with Israel.

After over 30 years of "peace," it doesn't exist. While Egypt had committed to "full recognition, including diplomatic, economic and cultural relations; termination of economic boycotts and barriers to the free movement of goods and people; and mutual protection of citizens by the due process of law" in fact the level of normalization is beneath the barest minimum needed for Egypt to maintain its billions of dollars of aid that the US committed to ensure this paper "peace."

In 2006, 92% of Egyptians considered Israel to be Egypt's "worst enemy." Only this month, Egypt banned marriages between Egyptians and Arab women with Israeli citizenship. Egypt ignored the 30th anniversary of the peace agreement with Israel. Other incidents show Egypt's implacable hostility towards Israel and towards real normalization.

If this is the template for "full normalization," then it appears that Israel will gain very little from giving away everything.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

It sure looks like Obama is Jimmy Carter Jr.:
Former US President Jimmy Carter met with State Department and National Security officials before meeting Hamas leaders in the Middle East, the State Department said on Thursday.

According to a statement released by the State Department, Carter met with Near Eastern Affairs Bureau Deputy Assistant Secretary David Hale and National Security staff. This statement was made in response to a question asked at a Washington press briefing on Wednesday about Carter’s meetings with Hamas leaders in Gaza on Tuesday.

On his recent Middle East trip, Carter met the exiled chief of Hamas’ powerful Political Bureau, Khalid Mash’al in Damascus, and then met Ismail Haniyeh, the elected Palestinian Prime Minister, in Gaza. US officials had stressed that the former president held these meetings as a private citizen only.

Thursday’s announcement now confirms that there has been some official contact between Carter and the current US government vis-à-vis Middle East policy.
So there's a good chance that Carter's call for Obama to take Hamas off the terror list was a charade known by the State Department ahead of time - and possibly even by the White House, which is already thinking in that direction.

It appears that things are going to get worse.
  • Thursday, June 18, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
This has got to be read to be believed:

(International Atomic Energy Agency chief) ElBaradei: "When Israel bombed what was claimed to be a nuclear facility, it was not only hampering our work, but it was a clear violation of international law.

"You, sir, your action is deplored by not allowing us to do what we're supposed to do under international law. You're not even a member of the (NPT) regime to tell us what to do. We would appreciate it if you stopped preaching to us."

Syria was almost finished building a secret nuclear reactor that the IAEA had no idea about. Because they kept it secret, it is a fair guess that the goal was to create nuclear weapons that would be hidden from the IAEA. If Israel hadn't bombed it, the IAEA would still not know about it. But ElBaradei is blaming Israel for hampering the IAEA's nonexistent investigation into a nuclear plant that it didn't know existed!

Israel pointed out very nicely the utter incompetence of the IAEA, and the IAEA isn't happy that they were caught flatfooted. So of course they blame the people who showed them to be impotent, rather than the people who were, you know, actually building an illegal nuclear facility.

(h/t Yaacov Lozowick)
  • Thursday, June 18, 2009
  • Elder of Ziyon
Mahmoud Abbas is starting a tour of Arab countries, including Syria and Saudi Arabia, to try to get a "unified front" in the face of Netanyahu's speech and peace plan. In other words, he wants to make sure that the Arab states support his rejectionist position and don't sell him down the river, by doing inconvenient things like telling Western news agencies that they are sick of the entire Palestinian Arab cause and want him to accept a deal already.

The PLO put out a statement saying that they are the only representatives of Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon and that they have no desire to encroach on Lebanese sovereignty. In other words, the PLO is trying to maintain the illusion that they care about their own people while they promise not to ask Lebanon to allow Palestinian Arabs to become citizens, preferring that their people remain stateless and second-class citizens forever.

Saeb Erekat told a delegation that 40% of the "settlements" are empty. So is he saying that "natural growth" isn't a problem because there is so much free space in the settlements?

Hamas stormed a social services organization north of Khan Younis and confiscated computers and other equipment. In other words, Jimmy Carter's friends are acting in a supremely humanitarian way, as usual.

Police in the West Bank arrested a man for practicing "witchcraft" and defrauding clients. When will the Western world ask the PA to take the same responsibility with their money?

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