SWI NEWS: 13 Kislev 5770, Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
'Gov't likely to free 980 for Schalit'
Israel will release 980 prisoners in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Schalit, the state said Sunday in a court document, which provided the public with the first tangible details of the much-anticipated prisoner swap with Hamas.
According to the document, the swap will take place in two stages. First, Israel will release 450 prisoners whose names were listed by Hamas and whose releases were being considered on a case-by-case basis "according to security and value-oriented considerations."
In the second stage, Israel will release a further 530 prisoners, of its choice, in a unilateral gesture to the Palestinian people.
The information was included in a response the state gave Sunday to a High Court of Justice petition filed last week by three bereaved fathers who lost children in a Haifa suicide bombing in 2003.
Four Hamas terrorists have since been indicted for their involvement in that bombing, which killed 17 people. But even as the media continues to report on an imminent deal, the three fathers have been unable to find out if those four terrorists are on the list of prisoners that would be released.
The three fathers, along with the Almagor terror victims' association petitioned the court last week to force the state to disclose the details of the pending prisoner exchange.
They have also asked the court to order the state to stop using the military censor to keep information about the negotiations secret from the public.
On Monday the High Court of Justice is set to hear the petition. In advance of that hearing, the state on Sunday informed the State Prosecutor's Office that it believed that censoring the prisoner list was necessary and should be upheld.
Attorney Naftali Werzberger, who represents the bereaved parents, accused the state of censoring the details to prevent public scrutiny of the deal.
"The release of terrorists should not be done without full public disclosure because it it the public that will pay the price," Werzberger told The Jerusalem Post.
Almagor has claimed that at least 180 Israelis have been killed by terrorists released in past prisoner swaps.
Although the state must disclose the names once the deal is finalized and the public is given 48 hours to challenge the list, the parents contend that this timeframe is too tight to properly appeal and that the information should be released earlier.
Yossi Zur, whose son Asaf, 17, was killed in the 2003 attack, said that any information that can be given to Hamas could not constitute a security risk and should be publicized.
On Saturday, Voice of Palestine radio reported that Schalit, who has been held in Gaza since June 2006, could be moved from Gaza to Egypt in the coming days, ahead of the prisoner exchange.
But on Sunday, Hamas said that more time was needed to finalize the deal.
Schalit's parents, Noam and Aviva Schalit, met with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday as part of their continued effort to lobby ministers to support the deal.
"We are neither encouraged nor the opposite. We're still waiting," Noam Schalit said after the meeting.
"We have nothing new. We're continuing to meet with all the members of the government," he said, adding that he hoped to conclude the meetings "by the end of the week."
Among the obstacles between Hamas and Israel is the terror group's demand that Israel release Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life terms in prison, and Ahmed Sa'dat, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who masterminded the 2001 assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
But because the list of prisoners has been censored, it is unclear if the two men are on the list.
In its response to the court, the state defended this silence.
"The authorization of this exchange is subject to the discretion of the government that will rely on a variety of political and security aspects," reads the response. "As negotiations mature and the sides reach agreements regarding the list of prisoners involved in the deal and the government approves them, a list of names will be released to the general public."
The state argued that ambiguity was a necessary precaution when negotiating with enemies.
"The military censor is allowed to forbid the publication of a news item, when it has decided that there is near certainty that its publication will substantially harm the possibility of Gilad Schalit's safe return to Israel or it has decided that there is near certainty that its publication will influence the 'price' Israel will have to pay for his release in a way that may substantially harm the country's security."
"Past experience teaches that when the details of this type of negotiation are discussed in the media it leads to the polarization of the other side, in a way that makes bridging the differences difficult, and harms, and at times may even negate, the possibility of achieving the aims of the negotiations - the return of the abducted soldier alive and well to his home and homeland as soon as possible," read the state's response.
"We will add that the sides promised the foreign liaison, as a prerequisite for negotiations, that the details of the negotiations would be handled with utmost discretion, to allow him to manage an effective dialog between the sides without media interference," it read.
The response also stated that the censor had done nothing to reduce the vital public debate that was taking place surrounding the rumors of an upcoming deal.
"Anyone who has been living in this country since Gilad Schalit's abduction, and especially during the last few weeks, knows that all they need do is glance at the front page of a newspaper or listen to the news programs on the electronic media or surf the Internet, to be aware of a very lively public debate taking place surrounding the heavy price that will be paid to return Gilad Schalit home to his family," it concluded.
Russia vows quick completion of Iran's Bushehr atomic reactor
Noam Schalit after a meeting at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv last week.
Photo: AP
National Union chairman Ya'akov Katz
Photo: Knesset website
Russia vows quick completion of Iran's Bushehr atomic reactor
Russia's energy minister pledged Sunday to accelerate completion of a nuclear power station in Iran, just two weeks after announcing the latest delay, Reuters reported.
Sergei Shmatko refrained from giving a specific time for the launch of a planned reactor at Bushehr.
His comment comes following talks with Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi and the same day as Iran's government announced plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants, in a major expansion of its disputed nuclear program.
Last month, Shmatko said that technical issues would prevent engineers from starting up the Bushehr plant, commissioned from Russian state contractor Atomstroyexport. The Bushehr reactor was previously slated to go online by the end of 2009.
He declined to comment on Iran's statement that it plans to build 10 new plants and was upbeat regarding the Bushehr reactor which, he insisted, met all requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"We have done our best to complete the project. Now we are testing the system in full compliance with security requirements of IAEA. I'm surprised how well the tests are going," he said.
But he declined to pinpoint a date for the reactor going online. "I don't want to guess. What if we have a technical problem and will need a week to fix it?" he asked.
Earlier Sunday, the Iranian government defiantly snubbed the world, announcing approval of a plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities, in a dramatic act of non-cooperation with UN demands that it halt its nuclear program.
The decision comes only two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, censured Iran, demanding it immediately stop building a newly revealed enrichment facility near Qom, and freeze all uranium enrichment activities.
The rebuke angered Iran, raising demands from lawmakers Sunday to cut back cooperation with the UN.
The White House responded by saying that if Iran really did plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities, the move "would be yet another serious violation of Iran's clear obligations under multiple UN Security Council resolutions and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself."
Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the report Sunday meant that Iran was "choosing to isolate itself."
"Time is running out for Iran to address the international community's growing concerns about its nuclear program," Gibbs said.
Another senior US official said that, "if carried out, this would constitute yet another violation of Iran's continuing obligation of suspension of all enrichment-related activities, including construction of new plants.
"There remains a fleeting opportunity for Iran to engage with the international community, if only it would make that choice," said the official.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband described Iran's move as a provocation.
"This epitomizes the fundamental problem that we face with Iran," he said. "We have stated over and again that we recognize Iran's right to a civilian nuclear program, but they must restore international confidence in their intentions. Instead of engaging with us, Iran chooses to provoke and dissemble."
The rebuke angered Iran, raising demands from lawmakers Sunday to cut back cooperation with the UN.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that what made the IAEA's decision on Friday significant was that this time it included the support of both Russia and China, who until now have counseled against sanctions or harshly worded censure of Iran.
"Efforts need to continue in order to bring real pressure, real sanctions on the regime in Iran, which is very vulnerable economically," Netanyahu said, during a speech in Eilat.
Netanyahu said the Iranian regime was highly vulnerable now because it has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the international community.Neither Netanyahu nor the Foreign Ministry had any direct response to the Iranian announcement, with one diplomatic official saying that Israel did not want to get into a rhetorical "ping-pong" match with the Iranians over various declarations.
However, an Israeli official said the sense in Jerusalem was that Teheran did not have immediate plan to build 10 more enrichment facilities, but that this was its way at snubbing its nose at the world and forcefully rejecting Friday's IAEA decision.
In Vienna, spokeswoman Gillian Tudor said the IAEA would have no comment on Teheran's announcement.
A cabinet meeting in Teheran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to begin building five uranium enrichment sites that have already been studied and propose five other locations for future construction within two months, the state news agency IRNA reported.
The cabinet ordered the new sites to be on the same scale as Iran's only other industrial-scale enrichment plant currently in operation, near the town of Natanz in central Iran.
About 8,600 centrifuges have been set up in Natanz, but only about 4,000 are actively enriching uranium, according to the IAEA. The facility will eventually house 54,000 centrifuges.
The Qom site, known as Fordo, is a smaller-scale site that will house nearly 3,000 centrifuges. Its discovery earlier this year brought accusations that Iran was developing the site secretly, a claim Teheran denies.
In the enrichment process, uranium gas is spun in centrifuges to purify it. Enriched to a low degree, the result is fuel for a nuclear reactor - but highly enriched uranium can be used to build a warhead.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of secretly seeking to develop a bomb, a claim denied by Iran, which says it seeks only to generate electricity.
Iran aims to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity through nuclear power plants in the next 20 years. IRNA said the new plants are needed to produce enough fuel for its future reactors.
Ahmadinejad told the cabinet that Iran will need to install 500,000 centrifuges throughout the planned enrichment facilities to produce between 250 to 300 tons of fuel annually, IRNA reported.
The IAEA censure against Iran on Friday was seen as a show of international unity in pressuring Teheran over its nuclear program
- though there does not yet appear to be consensus on imposing sanctions.
The rebuke infuriated Iran. On Saturday, one hard-line lawmaker warned that parliament might withdraw the country from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and stop all UN inspections - a move that would sharply escalate the standoff with the West and cut off the UN's only eyes on Iran's nuclear program.
But parliament took a lesser step on Sunday: 226 of the 290 lawmakers signed a letter urging the government to prepare a plan to reduce Teheran's cooperation with the IAEA in response to its resolution.
The US and its allies demand Iran accept a UN-brokered offer that would delay its ability to make a nuclear weapon as well as engage in broader talks with the ultimate goal of persuading it to mothball its enrichment program.
Iran has amassed about 1,500 kilograms of low-enriched uranium at Natanz. The UN offer aims to convince Iran to hand over more than 1,200 kilograms, more than the commonly accepted amount needed to produce weapons-grade material. But Iran has balked at the UN terms for the plan.
PM: PA not interested in peace process
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tours the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
Photo: AP
- though there does not yet appear to be consensus on imposing sanctions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tours the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
Photo: AP
facility.
Photo: AP .
But parliament took a lesser step on Sunday: 226 of the 290 lawmakers signed a letter urging the government to prepare a plan to reduce Teheran's cooperation with the IAEA in response to its resolution.
The US and its allies demand Iran accept a UN-brokered offer that would delay its ability to make a nuclear weapon as well as engage in broader talks with the ultimate goal of persuading it to mothball its enrichment program.
Iran has amassed about 1,500 kilograms of low-enriched uranium at Natanz. The UN offer aims to convince Iran to hand over more than 1,200 kilograms, more than the commonly accepted amount needed to produce weapons-grade material. But Iran has balked at the UN terms for the plan.
Five days after the security cabinet approved a moratorium on new housing starts in the West Bank to induce the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was not sure the Palestinian Authority or its leader were interested in a diplomatic process.
"It is impossible to solve the conflict if you do not sit around the negotiating table. There is no other way to do it," Netanyahu said at a speech in Eilat to mark the 29th of November, the day when the UN approved the partition plan in 1947.
"A strategic decision has to be made," Netanyahu told a gathering of journalists. "Are we entering a process, or are we not entering a process? We are willing to enter into a process. So far it remains unclear whether the Palestinian Authority and its leaders are willing to enter into a process."
Netanyahu said that the Palestinians - who until now have refused to negotiate with him because he will not declare a complete settlement freeze - needed to decide to enter the talks "because only if you start them, can you finish them."
The prime minister characterized the government's housing-start moratorium as an "extraordinary step" taken in an attempt to renew negotiations.
"I think it is clear to anyone observing objectively, anyone who looks at the facts, that Israel wants peace," he said. "I do not see the same willingness or determination yet on the Palestinian side. I see other signs. I see all kinds of pre-conditions not to carry out negotiations. I see legal steps being taken at the international court to advance the Goldstone Report."
Netanyahu said the Palestinians were "piling on all kinds of difficulties," but "you cannot reach peace if the horizon constantly recedes."
"You can't say that Israel doesn't want peace, or that the government doesn't want peace, or that the prime minister doesn't want peace, but that 'we the Palestinians' want peace," Netanyahu said, dismissing what he said were stereotypes. "The truth looks completely different to anyone who examines the facts."
Netanyahu reacted with indifference to growing opposition in his Likud Party to his decision to impose a 10-month moratorium on construction in Judea and Samaria.
Netanyahu's nemesis, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, added his voice to three other Likud ministers who oppose the plan, making a total of 10 opponents among ministers in Shas, Likud, Israel Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehudi. Shalom criticized Netanyahu for preventing ministers from debating the freeze in the cabinet.
Shalom said the freeze was unnecessary and would not restart negotiations with the Palestinians. He warned that the Palestinian leadership would pocket the freeze in the West Bank and then insist on expanding it to all of Jerusalem.
"The Palestinians will only ask for more and more concessions," Shalom said. "Harming the settlements will have negative implications for the country's future. Such a serious decision requires public and internal debate, and I hope that will happen in the near future."
Senior Likud officials mocked Shalom, saying that if Netanyahu had agreed to include him in the inner cabinet, he would not have opposed the freeze. They noted that right-wing ministers Moshe Ya'alon and Bennie Begin backed the freeze, because they were aware of all the factors that went into it and saw the big picture.
"Netanyahu is worried about Iran, the Goldstone Report and his relationship with the United States," a source close to the prime minister said. "He's not worried about the fate of his coalition or his party. There won't be a rebellion, a split or any drama of that nature."
Likud MK Danny Danon submitted 600 signatures of Likud Central Committee members on Sunday morning to Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon, the committee's chairman. Kahlon responded that he would recommend to Netanyahu that he convene the committee.
After stating emphatically on Saturday night that Netanyahu would not let the committee discuss the freeze, the prime minister's associates said on Sunday that he might allow a debate on the issue, but not a vote. They said he would make a formal decision on the matter as early as Tuesday.
Danon said he would insist on a secret ballot in the committee vote on a decision opposing a freeze. He expressed satisfaction that his campaign against the freeze had been joined by Likud ministers Gilad Erdan and Kahlon, in addition to Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein, who slammed the freeze last week.
Netanyahu reached out to Edelstein, Erdan and Kahlon by asking Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser to work with them on building a framework to help the settlers deal with the impact of the freeze.
Erdan said the freeze "harmed the human rights" of the residents of Judea and Samaria.
"I understand the impact of Iran and the United States on Netanyahu's decision to freeze construction, but I don't understand why he is letting the freeze get implemented by Barak, who has a political agenda against the settlements," Erdan said.
Netanyahu also faced criticism on Sunday from Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz, who said it was wrong to freeze construction in the settlement blocs, which Israel would keep in any final-status agreement with the Palestinians. Mofaz is set to outline his diplomatic plan in Monday's Kadima faction meeting.
"The blocs must be treated differently than isolated outposts," Mofaz said. "Never before did we freeze the places that are in the national consensus. This allows our right to places that are in our national interests to be questioned."
Israel Air Force chief indicates no total security against multi-directional missiles
'Obama is our enemy,' say Israeli lawmakers A group of lawmakers and rank-and-file members from Israel's ruling Likud Party met on Saturday to publicly blast US President Barack Obama as an enemy of Israel and the Jews over his heavy-handed pressure to stop building homes for Jews in areas claimed by the Palestinian Arabs. Organized by Likud MK Dani Danon, the meeting was a follow-up to remarks made last week by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, in which she called the Obama administration "terrible" for Israel. Danon also laid into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for having implemented a partial settlement freeze in line with international demands, but noted that Livnat had correctly identified Obama as the main antagonist. Yossi Naim, a regional council leader, summed up the feelings of those at the gathering: "The Obama administration is an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel." Ron Nachman, mayor of the settler town of Ariel, concluded by announcing that he, for one, would not be complying with the government's decision to implement a 10-month freeze on all new building projects in the disputed territories
Israeli settlers warned about Obama spies The Obama Administration has sent representatives, some open and some covert, to monitor construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, according to a report in Israel National News, an agency based out of the settler town of Beit El. Shaul Goldstein, regional council head for the Eztion Bloc of settlements south of Bethlehem, said that he had met recently with an American diplomat who asked for updates on all building projects in the area. Goldstein said that he simply told the representative the truth, and added that "we have come home to build and to remain on our land." But long-time settler and former Knesset Member Elyakim Haetzni warned in a letter to settler leaders not to cooperate with Obama's representatives, since any information given to them will be used to further pressure Israel. Haetzni also blasted the American government for thinking it has the right to keep tabs on an ally in such a manner. "It’s great chutzpah of a foreign government to openly collect information and supervise a country on that country’s own territory. We must not cooperate with this brazenness." News of the "Obama spies" came just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under tremendous US pressure, announced a 10-month settlement freeze.
Israeli settlement freeze puts hundreds of Arabs out of workThe newly announced Israeli settlement freeze is having an adverse affect that its protagonists in Washington probably didn't bother to consider - it is leaving hundreds and perhaps thousands of Palestinian Arabs without jobs. Unemployment in Palestinian-ruled areas is already sky high, and international peace brokers insist that one of the keys to forging a lasting peace agreement is improving the quality of life of average Palestinians. Most unskilled laborers in Palestinian society rely on Israeli construction for employment. By demanding a halt to Israeli construction, the international community believes it is solving one problem one the road to peace, but is simultaneously exacerbating the problem of Palestinian poverty, which is so often held up as the reason for Palestinian violence, which is a far bigger hindrance to peace. Many Israelis are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the settlement freeze, too. Developers have already bought numerous plots of land in Judea and Samaria, and engineers, architects, contractors and carpenters are counting on those projects going forward. But in accordance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement last week, any project for which the foundations have not already been laid is now frozen for at least 10 months. The Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are the fastest growing in Israel, meaning that a disproportionate percentage of construction takes place there. Halting that construction will have a major impact on the Israeli construction industry and all those who rely on it.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaks in Eilat, Sunday.
Photo: GPO
speaks in Eilat, Sunday.
Photo: GPO," a source close to the prime minister said. "He's not worried about the fate of his coalition or his party. There won't be a rebellion, a split or any drama of that nature."
Likud MK Danny Danon submitted 600 signatures of Likud Central Committee members on Sunday morning to Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon, the committee's chairman. Kahlon responded that he would recommend to Netanyahu that he convene the committee.
After stating emphatically on Saturday night that Netanyahu would not let the committee discuss the freeze, the prime minister's associates said on Sunday that he might allow a debate on the issue, but not a vote. They said he would make a formal decision on the matter as early as Tuesday.
Danon said he would insist on a secret ballot in the committee vote on a decision opposing a freeze. He expressed satisfaction that his campaign against the freeze had been joined by Likud ministers Gilad Erdan and Kahlon, in addition to Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein, who slammed the freeze last week.
Netanyahu reached out to Edelstein, Erdan and Kahlon by asking Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser to work with them on building a framework to help the settlers deal with the impact of the freeze.
Erdan said the freeze "harmed the human rights" of the residents of Judea and Samaria.
"I understand the impact of Iran and the United States on Netanyahu's decision to freeze construction, but I don't understand why he is letting the freeze get implemented by Barak, who has a political agenda against the settlements," Erdan said.
Netanyahu also faced criticism on Sunday from Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz, who said it was wrong to freeze construction in the settlement blocs, which Israel would keep in any final-status agreement with the Palestinians. Mofaz is set to outline his diplomatic plan in Monday's Kadima faction meeting.
"The blocs must be treated differently than isolated outposts," Mofaz said. "Never before did we freeze the places that are in the national consensus. This allows our right to places that are in our national interests to be questioned."
Israel Air Force chief indicates no total security against multi-directional missiles
DEBKAfile Special Analysis
November 28, 2009, 2:22 PM (GMT+02:00)
IAF commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan
Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan told a Tel Aviv University audience Friday, Nov. 27: "The time for hard decisions is fast approaching," adding "The range of security threats to Israel is very complex and we must prepare for all exigencies." He was addressing a ceremony marking 30 years of the IDF's Talpiot program which offers hi-tech, math and physics training and degrees for high IQ conscripts to join special projects.
Nehushtan was clearly referring to the No. 1 security challenge facing Israel, which is Iran's nuclear weapons program and its constant threats against the Jewish state. DEBKAfile's military experts translate the "hard decisions," he referred to as the tough choice of priorities facing government and military decision-makers in a potential war. They would have to choose between striking Iran's ballistic missile bases or the missiles pointing at Israel from Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as well dealing with hostile ships facing Israel from a fifth direction, the Mediterranean.
All five potential fronts were addressed by the joint US-Israel Juniper Cobra 10 missile interception exercise that took place for two weeks at the beginning of November. US and Israeli forces successfully practiced close sync between their interceptors, radar and electronic jamming systems.
It also exposed a major vulnerability: In the event of a coordinated missile offensive from several directions, Israel would be unable to extend total security both to its missile bases, airfields and strategic sites and also to its civilian population. The Israeli Air force is not capable of knocking out all out once all five potential sources of missile attacks.
This means that if the Israel air force first targeted Iran, Syria and Hizballah would be free to provide Iran with active support by sending their missiles and rockets flying into Israel from its northern borders before their bases can be seriously impaired in an Israeli counter-attack. This gap in Israel's defenses leaves large parts of Israel open to attack - and not just the northern region which was blasted by Hizballah in 2006. Iran has provided its Lebanese proxy with upgraded rockets for reaching further south to Israel's central urban heartland of Greater Tel Aviv.
Defense minister Ehud Barak had this expanded peril in the mind when he said Wednesday, Nov. 25, that
Hizballah's next attack would expose all of Lebanon, not just the south, to Israel counter-strikes. He said this time unlike in 2006, the Lebanese government would be held responsible, given that the Iran-backed Shiite group had scattered its missile bases across the country.
Barak was flashing signals to the Lebanese and Syrian governments - as well as the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza - that they risked their countries being totally devastated if they opted to retaliate on Iran's behalf for an Israeli strike on the Islamic republic nuclear installations.
He also left the door open to possible pre-emptive Israeli strikes to demolish the missiles Syria, Hizballah and the Hamas have been steadily stockpiling.
The next day, Thursday, Nov. 26, deputy defense minister Mattan Vilnai promised to present the government with a complete missile defense program for the population within two weeks. He said there was no way the state could provide enough shelters for everyone, so his plan would provide for the rapid fortification of residential buildings and the enforcement of walls in apartments and stair wells. The ministry had learned from the Juniper Cobra that in the short time available before a possible military confrontation, this was the fastest and safest way to make sure that most people stayed put in an emergency and did not go wandering across the country and getting in the way of military operations.
All three statements by the Air Force commander, the defense minister and his deputy followed came in quick succession in the space of a week, during which civil defense measures and siren alerts were tested in different parts of Israel.
'Obama is our enemy,' say Israeli lawmakers A group of lawmakers and rank-and-file members from Israel's ruling Likud Party met on Saturday to publicly blast US President Barack Obama as an enemy of Israel and the Jews over his heavy-handed pressure to stop building homes for Jews in areas claimed by the Palestinian Arabs. Organized by Likud MK Dani Danon, the meeting was a follow-up to remarks made last week by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, in which she called the Obama administration "terrible" for Israel. Danon also laid into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for having implemented a partial settlement freeze in line with international demands, but noted that Livnat had correctly identified Obama as the main antagonist. Yossi Naim, a regional council leader, summed up the feelings of those at the gathering: "The Obama administration is an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel." Ron Nachman, mayor of the settler town of Ariel, concluded by announcing that he, for one, would not be complying with the government's decision to implement a 10-month freeze on all new building projects in the disputed territories
Israeli settlers warned about Obama spies The Obama Administration has sent representatives, some open and some covert, to monitor construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, according to a report in Israel National News, an agency based out of the settler town of Beit El. Shaul Goldstein, regional council head for the Eztion Bloc of settlements south of Bethlehem, said that he had met recently with an American diplomat who asked for updates on all building projects in the area. Goldstein said that he simply told the representative the truth, and added that "we have come home to build and to remain on our land." But long-time settler and former Knesset Member Elyakim Haetzni warned in a letter to settler leaders not to cooperate with Obama's representatives, since any information given to them will be used to further pressure Israel. Haetzni also blasted the American government for thinking it has the right to keep tabs on an ally in such a manner. "It’s great chutzpah of a foreign government to openly collect information and supervise a country on that country’s own territory. We must not cooperate with this brazenness." News of the "Obama spies" came just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under tremendous US pressure, announced a 10-month settlement freeze.
Israeli settlement freeze puts hundreds of Arabs out of workThe newly announced Israeli settlement freeze is having an adverse affect that its protagonists in Washington probably didn't bother to consider - it is leaving hundreds and perhaps thousands of Palestinian Arabs without jobs. Unemployment in Palestinian-ruled areas is already sky high, and international peace brokers insist that one of the keys to forging a lasting peace agreement is improving the quality of life of average Palestinians. Most unskilled laborers in Palestinian society rely on Israeli construction for employment. By demanding a halt to Israeli construction, the international community believes it is solving one problem one the road to peace, but is simultaneously exacerbating the problem of Palestinian poverty, which is so often held up as the reason for Palestinian violence, which is a far bigger hindrance to peace. Many Israelis are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the settlement freeze, too. Developers have already bought numerous plots of land in Judea and Samaria, and engineers, architects, contractors and carpenters are counting on those projects going forward. But in accordance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement last week, any project for which the foundations have not already been laid is now frozen for at least 10 months. The Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are the fastest growing in Israel, meaning that a disproportionate percentage of construction takes place there. Halting that construction will have a major impact on the Israeli construction industry and all those who rely on it.
(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak signed permits Thursday for 28 educational institutions and public buildings. The educational structures are intended for the school year which begins in September (2010/2011, or 5771 by the Hebrew calendar).
Barak said: “We are all obligated to carry out an open dialogue with the settler leaders, and to listen to them. This is a very serious and responsible group that exhibited a large degree of self-restraint in various tests in the past.”
Barak immediately added, however: "Besides our obligation to be open and to listen to the settler public we must not get confused: the state means what it says. Anyone who asks whether the people at the ministerial level intend to carry out their decision from yesterday [regarding a 10-month construction freeze in Judea and Samaria] I say: the answer is positive. This is a real test of Israel's democracy.”
Earlier in the day Barak instructed the IDF to publish the order to temporarily freeze construction starts in Judea and Samaria, in line with the government's decision from yesterday. The order will be signed by Central Command head Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrachi.
In a closed discussion at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Barak said of the cabinet decision to freeze construction: “This is a unilateral step initiated by the government of Israel in coordination and understanding with the United States, with the intention of advancing the diplomatic process with the Palestinians. The decision saddles the security establishment, the IDF, the police, the Shin Bet and the Civilian Administration with a very important mission of enforcement.”
Dutch artistic director Merlijn Twaalfhoven accused Israel of turning Jerusalem into a purely Jewish town.
One article denied the existence of the Jewish people.
