Israeli news roundup-Meltdown or opportunity? Peres helps Hamas?
Sun Jun 24, 2007 at 04:11:37 PM PDT
There is still a free press in Israel:
Let Gaza live
Here is a success story: Israel and the West imposed a boycott on the Palestinian Authority with the aim of weakening Hamas, and a year and a half later this brilliant policy has yielded its fruits: Hamas has become stronger. If there is a lesson from the fiasco in Gaza, here it is: Starving, drying up and blocking aid do not sear the consciousness and do not weaken political movements. On the contrary.
40 years of failed policies?
Reality has refuted the chorus of experts and commentators who preached in behalf of the boycott policy. This daft notion that it is possible to topple an elected government by applying pressure on a helpless population suffered a complete failure. The world boycotted the unity government, which could perhaps have prevented the harsh scenes in Gaza if it had been allowed to rule, and consequently we received the alternative: the complete takeover of Gaza by Hamas in a military coup, tearing Gaza away from the West Bank. This is bad news.
It is possible to make a list of the fateful mistakes committed by Israel, the U.S. and Fatah, which led to what has happened, but the question now facing us is where to go from here.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
And of course, Israel is NEVER willing to document "final statis", why?:
Olmert rejects U.S. proposal for final status 'shelf agreement'
Olmert is strongly opposed to the idea. He believes that any settlement reached should be implemented, and fears a situation in which Israel approves the agreement, but Abbas fails to sell it to the Palestinian public. In that event, Israel might be pressured to make further concessions to make Abbas' task easier.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Here we go....
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, sought to play down expectations ahead of the summit. "We have an interest in having this meeting, but I don't want anyone to think we're on the brink of a dramatic breakthrough," Olmert told his Cabinet, according to a meeting participant.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Sharm summits have never been implimented before and now we see why.
Meanwhile:
Haniyeh: Sharm summit won't yield results, 'resistance' is only way
Deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas on Sunday rejected a summit set to take place Monday in Egypt with Israeli and Arab leaders, saying only resistance would produce results for his people.
Speaking in Gaza, which his movement overran earlier this month, defeating the forces allied with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, Haniyeh said, "the Americans won't give anything. Israel won't give us anything. Our land, our nation will not come back to us except with steadfastness and resistance," a code word for attacks against Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Even thought the UN Securty Council won't approve funding for Abbas, Ban might have other plans, he might be a Bush man:
Ban has not yet delved deeply into Middle Eastern diplomacy, limiting himself to issuing statements and making largely ceremonial visits to the region. But he has quietly rejected advice from key U.N. insiders that he distance the world body from the Bush administration, and earlier this year — with strong backing from Washington — he pushed out his point man on Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
Ban’s record to date on the Middle East has received a fairly positive reception from Jewish organizations. The Anti-Defamation League recently criticized the secretary general’s statement on the anniversary of the Six Day War, because of its focus on Palestinian suffering. But he was well received by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and he avoided a likely dust-up with the Jewish community by declining to attend the funeral of his controversial predecessor, Kurt Waldheim, who passed away last week.
and out going de Soto:
A "tendency toward self-censorship — treating Israel with exquisite consideration, almost tenderness — exists at the U.N.," de Soto wrote. This is "partly for our own reasons: the legacy of the Zionism equals racism resolution and the resulting political and budgetary cost for the U.N., and Israel’s demonstrated capacity to undermine U.S.-U.N. relations. The Israeli mission to the U.N., in my experience, has unparalleled access in the secretariat, even at the highest levels."
http://www.forward.com/...
ADL's new talking points:
Israel protests Iran's rights record
"The international community cannot be silent in situations where the violation of human rights is systemic, grave, and widespread, and where states dismiss issues of human rights and refuse to engage in meaningful dialogue," Israel's deputy UN ambassador Daniel Carmon said Friday.
Israel's UN Mission released excerpts from the letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa.
It cited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and his calls for Israel's destruction while developing "an ominous military nuclear weapons program."
http://www.jpost.com/...
Even though Hamas is calling for a qussam ceasefire, the bombings continue:
Israel Air Force aircraft targeted a car in Gaza City on Sunday evening, the military said, killing an Islamic Jihad militant and wounding two people.
This is the first IAF strike on Gaza militants since the Islamic Hamas seized control in Gaza earlier this month.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Free press in UK, too, Dalan not welcomed back to Gaza, but:
Hamas war chief reveals his plans for Gaza peace
'We have a lot of clan violence in Gaza and we are working to stop families from fighting each other over past things,' he said. 'But we also are working very hard for the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist.'
Johnston, who has been held for more than 100 days by a group known as 'the Army of Islam', finds himself caught in a sticky situation. The group is made up of members of the Dogmosh family, which has a long-running blood feud with Hamas. Executive Force and Qassam fighters surround the section of town controlled by the family and negotiations continue. But Abu Obieda said the BBC limited his options. 'I can have Alan Johnston out in two hours, if my men go in and take him by force,' he says. 'But several times, the BBC has called me and asked that I not attack and let the talks continue. So we will negotiate because we want no harm to come to this man.'
The other major issue is resistance to Israel. Hamas has asked all militant groups to halt rocket attacks into Israel for now, with some success.
snip
Abu Obieda said he was personally negotiating with Islamic Jihad, a militant group that fires the most rockets. And, typically, he eschews both inter-Palestinian violence and ceasefires with Israel. 'We all understand that we need to wait until provoked. Maybe one week, maybe one month, but they will come and provoke us. But for now, we need to fix the economy, provide the security for the people of Gaza and the foreigners who want to come here, and fix the problems with the families. We can't do anything before we do that.'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/...
It would be great to prove him wrong:
He warned the Arab world not to get caught up in the Israel-Palestinian summit "trap", saying "this is like sprinkling sand in our eyes.
"The Israelis and the Americans won't give us anything. Our land and our rights will not be returned to us through these summits. We will only get our rights back through resistance," he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/...
UPDATE
Peres:
http://www.jpost.com/...
