Abbas Reinstates a Radical Political Doctrine
Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the PLO and the Fatah movement, presented a radical political doctrine in his speech on January 4, 2013, honoring the anniversary of Fatah’s establishment. The messages Abbas conveys express the political and national vision that he bequeaths to the Palestinian people.
In his speech Abbas avoids all mention of a historic compromise with Israel that would bring the conflict to an end. Nor does he mention the land-for-peace formula or the establishment of a Palestinian state beside Israel. Instead, Abbas chose to reemphasize that the Palestinian people remain on the path of struggle to realize “the dream of return” of the Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants.
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The American-Israeli alliance is not a one-way street.
A front-page story in the New York Times this week provides a reminder of something too often forgotten: The American-Israeli alliance is not a one-way street. While Israel obviously derives numerous benefits from the alliance, it also plays an important role in furthering American interests in the Middle East. And one way it does so is through its impressive intelligence capabilities.
The Times report opens with Israeli military commanders calling the Pentagon in late November “to discuss troubling intelligence that was showing up on satellite imagery: Syrian troops appeared to be mixing chemicals at two storage sites, probably the deadly nerve gas sarin, and filling dozens of 500-pounds bombs that could be loaded on airplanes.” The Pentagon promptly notified President Barack Obama, warning that should Syrian President Bashar Assad decide to use them, the weapons could “be airborne in less than two hours — too fast for the United States to act.” Obama responded with a global diplomatic push to stop the weapons from being used, and so far, the effort has succeeded. But it never could have happened had Israel not provided that initial intelligence.
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Why her neighbors fear a more Jewish Israel
The State of the Jewish Brotherhood
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Israel against Terror Blogspot
Middle East and Terrorism..
Middle East and Terrorism..
The elections are approaching in Israel, and polls are predicting what the Arab media calls, with great dread, “the meteoric rise of the radical right in Israel”. Every article about the Israeli political map has the latest polls, showing the obvious trend that all of us here are aware of. In recent days this writer’s telephone has been ringing constantly, with a representative of one Arab media outlet or another on the other end, all of whom are absorbed by one great concern: the strengthening of the Jewish spirit in Israel. The radio stations in the Palestinian Authority, where – I must admit – I am often interviewed, express the most apprehension.
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Jordan’s Secular Opposition: Building Support
If the secular opposition in Jordan does not receive help, the Jordanian Revolution, if and when it happens, will be hijacked by the Islamists, as happened in Tunisia and Egypt. With backing, the secular opposition’s numbers should exponentiate.
Protests in Jordan
For the last two years, Jordan has been witnessing regular protests calling for reform, with some demanding the king gives up his powers. On 15 November 2012, massive protests broke out in Jordan after the Jordanian government, in compliance with the requirements of the International Monetary Fund, raised fuel prices. Protests, as The Independent noted, swept the country, “with most chanting for toppling the regime” despite the fact that protesters had previously “rarely targeted the king himself.”
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A Talk With MK David Rotem, Head of Knesset’s Law Comm.
Yisrael Beytenu MK David (Dudu to his friends) Rotem is a doer, a rightist and an observant Jew who lives in Efrat. He is in a secure spot on the joint Likud Beytenu list for the coming Knesset as well, with a strong record of accomplishment in his first term as MK. Arutz Shevaspoke to him about his accomplishments, frustrations and plans for his next term as a lawmaker.
Formerly the legal advisor to much of Judea and Samaria’s regional authorities and municipalities, he was known for getting things done and not mincing words about what he thinks. His legal experience and sharp mind made him a natural for the Knesset Law Committee which he headed in the outgoing Knesset and he worked hard to introduce new legistlation on burning issues such as conversion and marriage in Israel, the draft, loyalty oaths, – especially when Israeli Arab Supreme Court Justice Joubran refused to sing Hatikva – transparency for NGO contributions and more.
Here is a glimpse into the opinions of an MK with strong visibility in Israeli society. (Read more…)
Where the Pressure Lies in the Middle East
The United States is about to get new secretaries of state and defense and a new director of Central Intelligence. It is devoutly to be hoped that they will not travel in the well-worn grooves of the Israel-Palestinian “peace process.” The “two-state solution,” beloved of the United States and the Quartet and accepted with qualifications by Israel, is dead. Far from dying over Israeli intransigence and even less the result of houses for Jewish people on the “wrong” side of an imaginary line, it foundered over concessions required of the Palestinians that were simply impossible for them. Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah were asked:
- To concede sovereignty over their part of the larger Arab/Muslim patrimony to the Jews and — perhaps more important — to agree that Palestinian national aspirations would be forever satisfied with a split rump state squeezed in between a hostile Israel and a hostile Jordan; and
- To concede that Palestinians who left the areas that became Israel in 1948 (and their descendants) would accept citizenship in the abovementioned rump state instead of having what they believe is their original property restored as promised.
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Winter Holyland
My flat is right behind the fallen tree.
Abbas, Mashaal Agree to Implement 2011 Deal
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (L) and PA President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met in Cairo on Wednesday and agreed to “call on all Palestinian factions to implement the reconciliation agreement” signed by the two in May 2011, according to Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq. Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency reported that a meeting is planned for the first week of February in which the factions will set a timeline for implementing the deal.
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So much for the Obama/Morsi commitment to stop smuggling
Terrorists Restocking Arsenal to Pre-Operation “Pillar of Defense” Levels, Officials Say
bY Zach Pontz, ALGEMEINER
bY Zach Pontz, ALGEMEINER
Despite the relative calm in Israel since the end of Operation “Pillar of Defense” ended in November, officials in Israel believe that attempts by Hamas in Gaza to restock its arsenal–heavily depleted during the operation–have been highly effective. According to Israel’s Channel 2, IDF officials believe that Hamas has almost replenished its arsenal to levels seen before an Israeli offensive in November targeted terrorist weapon caches. The officials furthermore believe that this rearmament represents an inevitable confrontation with terrorist organizations in Gaza in the near future.
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Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
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