The Agonist - Israel and Palestine

'Afghan quagmire negates US-Iran war'

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:08:37 -0800

Nov 19

Jerusalem Post - The US is too bogged down in Afghanistan to engage Iran militarily over its nuclear program, an ex-CIA South Asia expert and current adviser to US President Barack Obama said in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Bruce Riedel, a senior Brookings Institute and Saban Center fellow for political transitions in the Middle East and South Asia, addressed scholars and journalists at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies.

He warned that the US was fighting a losing battle against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, and that Washington would soon have to make difficult choices on beefing up troop levels there.

"Israelis need to understand that there's going to be a huge drain on resources, attention and capital, and that will have implications," Riedel told The Jerusalem Post before his talk.

He acknowledged that those implications would primarily affect the Iran question.

During his address, Riedel referred to the US's commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said, "We've got two wars. You've got to be bold to say, let's start a war against a third party, particularly when the third party can hit you in the first two fronts."
The US has learned that it "can't fight two medium-sized wars simultaneously," he said (h/t Bernhard)

Israel defends settlement expansion

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:50:40 -0800

Al Jazeera and agencies | November 18

Al Jazeera - The Israeli construction of 900 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem is part of a "routine building programme", an aide to the prime minister has said in reaction to US criticism.

The aide's comments came on Wednesday after Washington said it was "dismayed" by Israel's decision to approve the building at the Gilo settlement, despite a reported request from Washington that construction be halted.

Israel gaffe reveals 'Iran ship photos' were forged

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:00:23 -0800

Nov 17

PRESS TV(IRAN) - Iran says labels reading 'Ministry of Sepah', a body that no longer exists, are enough to prove that the photos released by Israel are forged.

After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged.

Israeli naval sources recently claimed that they found a large cache of Iranian-made arms when they stormed a vessel near Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.

They claimed that the ship was heading for the Hezbollah resistance movement, either in Lebanon or Syria.

Iran instantly dismissed the claims, issuing a statement with which it condemned Israel's many acts of piracy in international waters.

But the Israeli government persisted in its accusations, releasing what it claimed to be photos and documents in an effort to implicate the Iranian government in the matter.

The photos and documents were carried by a number of leading newspapers in the West, including The Los Angeles Times.

"The Israeli regime has made a fool of itself with regards to what it claims to be evidence that Iran was sending weapons to Hezbollah," IRNA news agency said on Monday.

"Take a close look at the photos, one of which merely shows a couple of boxes labeled 'Ministry of Sepah' without providing corroborative evidence that they came from Iran, and you will see the huge gaffe committed by Israel," it added.

The article explained that Iran's Ministry of Sepah gave its place to the Defense Ministry more than twenty years ago. "So this begs the question of what the emblem of a nonexistent body was doing on the cargo?"

grains of salt, grains of salt

"It seems the American daily has failed to get its facts straight, or on the other hand, maybe it is getting its cue from the Israeli leadership," said the news agency.

"In any case, the newspaper should know that if a country plans to send a secret arms cargo to another, it will not brand the shipment with a full description of the batch."

"Tel Aviv's baseless claims [about Iran providing Hezbollah with military] are evidently designed to justify another Israeli attack on Lebanon."

Yadollah Javani, the Director of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said last week that the claims were intended to divert attention from a UN report detailing Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

"These accusations are nothing but an Israeli ruse to deflect international attention from the Goldstone report as they move closer to the war crimes tribunal [at the International Criminal Court (ICC)]," noted Brigadier General Javani.

He was referring to the 575-page report headed by Jewish South African judge Richard Goldstone, which detailed numerous acts of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Israeli soldiers during their incursion into Gaza.

"Israeli officials have a longstanding tendency to level baseless accusations against others when they are in serious trouble," he added.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also dismissed the charges, questioning why the Israelis had failed to detain the crew, if the ship was supposedly carrying weapons.

Berri said that while Hezbollah has the right to obtain arms from “anywhere in the world,” it is pretty obvious that Israel made the claims to fudge the issue of its war crimes in Gaza.

Israel minister threatens to annex West Bank land

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:15:46 -0800

Jonathan Adams | Nov 16

CSM - Israel Environment Minister Gilad Erdan said that Israel may annex some settlements in the West Bank. His threat came in response to a Palestinian announcement Sunday that it may seek to unlilaterally declare statehood through the UN.

Israeli officials ratcheted up the rhetoric Monday in response to Palestinian officials' announcement Sunday that they may seek to unilaterally declare statehood through the United Nations.

A right-wing Israeli minister said that if such a declaration occurs, Israel could annex parts of the West Bank – words sure to further inflame Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Later Monday, an Israeli official of the center-left Labor Party, which generally takes a more conciliatory position toward the Palestinians, said that if any such annexation occurs, his party would quit Israel's ruling coalition.

The escalating rhetoric comes in the wake of a perceived US tilt toward Israel on the expansion of West Bank settlements, a key issue blocking peace talks.

The US insists its position is unchanged. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement earlier this month praising Israel's "unprecedented" offer of a partial halt on settlements was seen by many as backing away from the Obama administration's previous stand that Israel must freeze all such settlement construction. In previous peace deals, Israel had agreed to a complete settlement freeze – but only on certain preconditions that it says Palestinians failed to meet.

In the wake of Clinton's comments, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he might not seek re-lection, citing frustration with the lack of progress in the peace process.

Palestinians break Israel's wall

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:56:10 -0800

Al Jazeera and agencies | November 09

Al Jazeera - Palestinians and foreign activists have torn down segments of Israel's separation wall in a demonstration marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In the town of Qalandiya in the occupied West Bank, a group of masked activists using a lorry pulled down a two-metre cement block before Israeli security forces confronted them with tear gas grenades. Several of the estimated 50 demonstrators passed through the hole they had made, hoisting a Palestinian flag and setting ablaze tyres on the other side.

The Story of 'Operation Orchard'

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:14:22 -0800

Erich Follath & Holger Stark | Nov 2

Spiegel Online - How Israel Destroyed Syria's Al Kibar Nuclear Reactor

In September 2007, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a mysterious complex in the Syrian desert. The incident could have led to war, but it was hushed up by all sides. Was it a nuclear plant and who gave the orders for the strike?

Hezbollah gears up for new war

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:59:12 -0800

Mitchell Prothero & Peter Beaumont | Nov 8

The Observer - Fighters rearm and reinforce positions in valleys amid fears that Israel is about to launch attack on Islamic group

Hezbollah is rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel, fearing that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will attack Lebanon again prior to any assault on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Last week, Israeli commandos seized a ship in the Mediterranean loaded with almost 400 tonnes of rockets and small arms – which Israel claimed was being sent from Iran to its Hezbollah allies. In dramatic further evidence of growing tensions, the Observer has learned that Hezbollah fighters have been busy reinforcing fixed defence positions north of the Litani river.

Having lost many of its bunkers in the south, Hezbollah is preparing a new strategy to defend villages there.

Although the organisation denied last week that the weapons were intended for its use, senior commanders have done little to disguise the scale of rearmament. "Sure, we are rearming, we have even said that we have far more rockets and missiles than we did in 2006," said a Hezbollah commander, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israel keen on Abbas staying in office: reports

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:57:09 -0800

Ron Bousso | Jerusalem | Nov 6

AFP - Israel kept mum on Friday on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's announcement that he will not seek re-election, but officials said the Jewish state is keen on the moderate remaining in office.

The government has refrained from officially commenting on Abbas's announcement late on Thursday that he would not stand in the Palestinian general election he has called for January.

"This is an internal (Palestinian) affair," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told public radio. "We don't interfere in others' internal affairs.

** Mahmoud Abbas feels betrayed by Barack Obama
** Arab League chief asks Abbas to run in election

Interview: How Salam Fayyad plans to save the Palestinian dream

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:56:06 -0800

Ilene R. Prushe | Ramallah, West Bank | Nov 3

CSM - Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad brought the PA back from the brink once. Now he wants to create Palestinian settlements, in effect, to counter Israeli moves.

Palestinian elections are scheduled to be held in less than three months, but the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Salam Fayyad, isn't concerned about running for office.

Rather, he's set his sights on a longer-term platform: establishing a Palestinian state by 2011 – a goal he outlined recently in a clear, well-organized booklet titled "Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State."

"All I'm campaigning for is the two-year statehood program," said Dr. Fayyad in an interview Sunday. "The idea is unabashedly that two years down the road, we will have something that will look like a Palestinian state."

Israel putting forth 'unprecedented' concessions, Clinton says

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:40:00 -0800

Karen DeYoung and Howard Schneider | Jerusalem | Nov 1

WaPo - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had offered "unprecedented" concessions on West Bank settlement construction in an effort to restart peace talks, a departure from the administration's earlier criticism of Israel and a possible signal of impatience with the refusal of Palestinian leaders to join negotiations.

At the start of a day of diplomacy that stretched from Abu Dhabi to Jerusalem, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israel's latest offer, relayed by Clinton, to curb most West Bank construction.

The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said the plan would have excluded about 3,000 Israeli housing units under construction and would not have applied to East Jerusalem -- thus falling well short of what has become a firm Palestinian demand for resuming direct talks with Israel.

"The U.S. said that is the best they can get" from Netanyahu, even though the Obama administration considers settlements 'illegal and illegitimate,' " Erekat said. The Palestinians will not accept a resumption of talks on that basis, he said.

Unprecedented would be Clinton expecting and demanding Israel to follow UN resolutions. The best they can get? I bet cutting defense aid might turn some heads. And this should go over real well:

AFP - Israel's premier savoured a victory on Sunday after Washington hailed his "unprecedented" position on settlements and backed his call for peace talks to resume without the construction freeze sought by the Palestinians.

"There is no question that the United States are our staunchest friends and that Israel's firm stance on its positions pays off," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon happily told public radio on Sunday.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz proclaimed: "The US administration understands what we have always said -- that the real obstacle to negotiations are the Palestinians."

This is not good:

Palestinians expressed deep disappointment and frustration at Clinton's words, which signaled a departure from past U.S. calls for a complete freeze on settlement activity.

"If America cannot get Israel to implement a settlement freeze, what chance do Palestinians have of reaching agreement with Israel on permanent status issues?" Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Similar sentiments were voiced by Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab countries to have peace agreements with Israel. The two countries said most of the blame lay with Israel, but signaled their unhappiness with the American shift.

Jordan's King Abdullah II traveled to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. After the meeting, a royal palace statement released in Jordan said both leaders "insisted on the need for an immediate halt of all Israeli unilateral actions, which undermine the chances of achieving peace, especially the settlement construction."

Nov 2/Reuters - The Arab League chief said Arab states shared the Palestinian position that resuming negotiations was futile without a freeze on settlement expansion.

"I am telling you that all of us, including Saudi Arabia, including Egypt, are deeply disappointed ... with the results, with the fact that Israel can get away with anything without any firm stand that this cannot be done," Moussa(Arab League Secretary-General) told reporters.

** Abbas spokesman: Netanyahu has more influence in US than in Israel
** Palestinians accuse Clinton of hurting peace talks
** Clinton: Mideast Talks Should Resume Without Preconditions
** Bibi to Palestinians: ‘Get a grip’

US Congress to vote on UN Gaza report

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:38:07 -0800

Oct 31

AFP - The US House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a resolution calling on President Barack Obama to reject the UN's Goldstone report, which accuses Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes in Gaza.

The bipartisan proposal calls on President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration" of the Goldsone report, dismissing it as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy."

The measure also "reaffirms its support for the democratic, Jewish state of Israel, for Israel's security and right to self-defense," as well as "Israel's right to defend its citizens from violent militant groups and their state sponsors."

When will Congress reaffirm its support for the rights of Palestinians? Don't hold your breath, I can see Congress disavowing the report...except for wrongs done by Palestine

Does J Street arrival signal a split in America's Israel lobby?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:19:10 -0700

Ilene R. Prusher | Jerusalem | Oct 29

CSM - J Street challenges the dominant role AIPAC has played in defining how US Jews see Israel. Why is a prominent Israeli politician not attending J Street's national conference in Washington this week?.

Since the 1950s the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been the mainstream voice of the Jewish-American community and its efforts to strengthen support for Israel in Washington.

Along comes J Street, a young upstart founded last year, in part as an answer to AIPAC – perceived by many progressive American Jews to have a clear right-wing tilt, and hardly representative of those want to see a much more aggressive push towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

J Street, in the thick of its first national conference in Washington that began Sunday and concludes Wednesday, has attracted 1,500 attendees – above and beyond what its organizers expected. Perhaps more interestingly, it has attracted the attention of the highest levels of government and diplomacy, and has the blogosphere buzzing about what it all means for the future of US-Israel relations.

National Security Adviser General James Jones, one of the most senior US officials to address the conference, told J Street participants Tuesday that the Obama administration believes that "Israeli security and peace are inseparable." But what's been particularly noticeable is who among beltway powerbrokers is not making his way over to the conference at the Grand Hyatt. Missing is Michael Oren, the Israeli Ambassador to the US appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After several weeks of indecision on whether to accept the invitation, Mr. Oren announced last week that he would not attend. The subtext of that decision was that J Street's policies were not in line with Netanyahu's, though they do appear to closely reflect the viewpoints on a two-state solution endorsed by Obama.

Impaired interests

"The Embassy of Israel has communicated to J Street its views on the peace process and on the best way to ensure Israel's security," the embassy said in a statement. "While recognizing the need for a free and open debate on these issues, it is important to stress concern over certain policies that could impair Israel's interests."

The embassy also said that is was "privately communicating its concerns over certain policies" of J Street and that the embassy would send an observer to the conference and "follow its proceedings with interest.

That response did not sit well with various people in Israel, in particular Netanyahu critics who say he's dragging his feet on peace – and that he should be warmly welcoming J Street to the Washington power circuit. A number of centrist and left-wing Israeli political parties – including the leading opposition party Kadima, Labor and Meretz, as well a several other prominent pro-peace Israelis that include retired generals and the writer Amos Oz – took out a full-page ad in the Ha'aretz newspaper Tuesday, congratulating J Street on its arrival.

"We welcome your efforts to help Israel achieve sustainable peace with its neighbors and to guarantee Israel's security and future as a democratic state," the signatories said. "J Street is an important new voice in the pro-Israel community, and we look forward to working with you to advance your important agenda in the years ahead."

Ehud Olmert could face war crimes arrest if he visits UK

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:03:29 -0700

Ian Black | Oct 28

The Guardian - Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister during the Gaza war, would probably face arrest on war crimes charges if he visited Britain, according to a UK lawyer who is working to expand the application of "universal jurisdiction" for offences involving serious human rights abuses committed anywhere in the world.

Neither Olmert nor Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister during the Cast Lead offensive, and a member of Israel's war cabinet, would enjoy immunity from prosecution for alleged breaches of the Geneva conventions, predicted Daniel Machover, who is involved in intensifying legal work after the controversial Goldstone report on the three-week conflict. Neither are ministers any longer.

Prosecutions of Israeli political and military figures remain likely despite the failure to obtain an arrest warrant for Ehud Barak, the defence minister, when he visited the UK earlier this month, he said. In the Barak case a magistrate accepted advice from the Foreign Office that the minister enjoyed state immunity and rejected an application made on behalf of several residents of the Gaza Strip.

"This needs to be tested at the right time and in the right place," Machover said. "One day one of these people will make a mistake and go to the wrong country and face a criminal process — and then it'll be a matter for the courts of that country to give them a fair trial: that's what the Palestinian victims want."

Israel 'cuts Palestinian water'

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:42:52 -0700

Oct 27

BBC - Israel is denying Palestinians access to even the basic minimum of clean, safe water, Amnesty International says.

In a report, the human rights group says Israeli water restrictions discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

It says that in Gaza, Israel's blockade has brought the water and sewage system to "crisis point".

Israel says the report is flawed and the Palestinians get more water than was agreed under the 1990s peace deal.

In the 112-page report, Amnesty says that on average Palestinian daily water consumption reaches 70 litres a day, compared with 300 litres for the Israelis.

It says that some Palestinians barely get 20 litres a day - the minimum recommended even in humanitarian emergencies.

Amnesty says that Israel denies West Bank Palestinians to dig wells, and has even destroyed cisterns and impounded water tankers.

At the same time, the report claims, Israeli settlers are enjoying swimming pools and green gardens.

Israeli, Iranian officials "held talks on nukes"

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:08:54 -0700

Jerusalem | Oct 22

AFP - A representative of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission held several meetings with an Iranian official to discuss nuclear issues in the region, the commission's spokeswoman said on Thursday.

The spokeswoman declined to give details of the meetings, but the Haaretz daily said the officials discussed the chances of declaring the Middle East a nuclear-free zone.

"There were several meetings between a representative of our commission and an Iranian official in a regional context," spokeswoman Yael Doron told AFP.

"These meetings were held behind closed doors," she said, adding that they were organised by Australia.

She declined to give further details of the talks, the first between the two archfoes to be officially disclosed since the shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.