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1. Israeli Diplomat Expelled from Britain
The British government has decided to believe Dubai police chief's accusations of Mossad involvement in the murder of a Hamas terrorist in Dubai and has taken extreme steps as a result, expelling an Israeli diplomat.
The Daily Telegraph claims that the expelled diplomat is the Mossad representative in the Israeli Embassy in London. The basis for the expulsion is connected with the false passports used by suspects in the January killing of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al Mabhouh in his hotel room in Dubai, according to a British government source.
Israel's ambassador met with British Foreign Office officials on Monday, according to the source.
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a founding member of Hamas' military wing, responsible for the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers among other crimes, was found dead January 20 in his Dubai hotel room. Dubai accused the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service of carrying out the assassination and published pictures of 27 suspects and their passport information. All except for one had British or Australian passports.
Interpol, the international police agency, has issued "red notices" to help search for the suspects and alert police forces around the world that the suspects are wanted by United Arab Emirates authorities.
Police have said toxicology results show al-Mabhouh was injected with succinylcholine, a drug used to relax muscles during surgery or as an anesthetic, and then suffocated.
Israel, in accordance with its longstanding policy, did not comment on the accusations.
2. Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not a Settlement; It’s Our Capital’
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu challenged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s strong anti-united Jerusalem stand and told a cheering American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) crowd Monday night, “Jerusalem is not a settlement; it’s our capital.”
He pointed out that Israel has made constant to the concessions to the United States and Palestinian Authority but drew the red line at Jerusalem, reasoning that building houses for Jews in all of united Jerusalem “in no way precludes the possibility of a two-state solution.”
More than half of the American Congressmen were among the more than 7,000 people listening to the speech at the annual conference of the pro-Israel lobby group in Washington. The speech was delayed in order to allow people to enter the packed convention hall.
The Prime Minister spoke several hours after Secretary Clinton charged that Israel’s building in parts of Jerusalem that the United States does not recognize as being under Israeli sovereignty “undermines” U.S. policy.
The United States the past two years has rapidly moved towards including Jerusalem as an issue to be discussed with the Palestinian Authority even before the subjects of Arab terrorism and incitement and the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria are settled. Secretary Clinton’s stand inherently backs PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ claim that Jerusalem must be the capital of a future PA state, leaving little room for “negotiations” in the talks.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, receiving a standing ovation, said that Jewish neighborhoods where Clinton and the PA oppose further building for Jews “are an integral and inextricable part of modern Jerusalem. Everyone knows that these neighborhoods will be part of Israel in any peace settlement.”
His and Secretary Clinton's speech made it clear that the two allies have agreed to make their differences public and not to compromise. However, behind the scenes, it is generally assumed that Israel will keep a lower profile on new building in united Jerusalem in order to allow the continuation or American-mediated talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Before his speech to AIPAC, the Prime Minister met with Clinton and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and outlined the complicated and long process before houses can be built in Israel.
The Obama administration sharply protested and even "condemned" Israel’s announcement earlier this month that it is building 1,600 new homes in the totally Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, located across the road from a large industrial park that includes offices of Teva Pharmaceuticals, Intel and dozens of other high-tech firms.
The PA and the Obama government seized the building project to condemn Israel for building even though the announcement only referred to the fourth of seven steps before construction begins in at least two more years.
3. Polls: Israelis View Obama as Pro-Arab
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A lopsided plurality of 42 percent of Israelis view U.S. President Barack Obama as pro-Arab, and only seven percent see him as pro-Israel, according to a new Brain Base (Maagar Mochot) poll released on Monday. Thirty-four percent of the respondents are reserving judgment, with a neutral view.
Results of the survey point to clear support for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and criticism of the Obama administration’s reaction to Israeli plans to continue building for Jews in parts of united Jerusalem that the United States and the international community refuse to recognize as being under Israeli sovereignty.
Nearly two-thirds said they support Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to continue to build in all of the capital city, while only 26 percent oppose it even though the majority also expressed the opinion that it will lead to more pressure from the United States.
A similar percentage of respondents believe that the Obama administration over-reacted to the announcement of progress in plans to build 1,600 new housing units in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. Only five percent of the respondents said that the American criticism of the project would help the diplomatic process, while 59 percent said the criticism will hurt the peace initiative.
The survey also covered the subjects of a nuclear Iran and the issue of whether to cede the Golan Heights to Syria. A plurality of one-third expressed dissatisfaction with the American efforts to deal with the nuclear threat, and only 26 percent were satisfied. An overwhelming 82 percent of those surveyed said it is "naïve or simplistic” to think that Israel and Syria would conclude a lasting peace if Israel were to surrender the Golan Heights.
Similar sentiment was registered in the United States in a recent Israel Project poll, which showed an 8 to 1 margin of Americans saying that their government should side with Israel in the conflict with the Palestinian Authority. Those favoring support for Israel cited the Jewish State’s being the only democracy in the Middle East, and others emphasized the alliance with the United States.
4. Jerusalem Mayor: Build 50,000, not 1,600, New Jerusalem Homes
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said that the recent announcement of progress towards building 1,600 new homes in Ramat Shlomo, which the United States opposes, is only a small part of a projected 50,000 new homes for Jews and Arabs.
Barkat told Britain’s Sky News that he will not accept any American-pressured move to halt construction in parts of the city that the United States does not recognize as being under Israeli sovereignty. “The concept of freezing building for Jews is one I don't accept,” he stated. “I will never accept it.
He spokes with Sky News the same day U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that building the 1,600 units in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo “undermines” U.S. policy.
Mayor Barkat said a 20-year plan for united Jerusalem calls for 50,000 more housing units, including areas of the city that were restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, two-thirds for Jews and one-third for Arabs.
"About a third of the 50,000 homes - 17,000 - is for growth in Arab neighborhoods, but I don't support this splitting the city east and west,” the mayor declared. “Jerusalem is a united city, one capital under Israeli sovereignty.
"We can negotiate a deal with the Palestinians and there is flexibility in other areas, but not on Jerusalem.
5. Rabbi Algaze: Jerusalem is Not the City of 3 Religions
by Hillel Fendel
Rabbi David Algaze, founder and spiritual leader of the Havurat Yisrael synagogue in Queens, New York, says the disappearance of Israel would not horrify the U.S. government unduly.
Rabbi Algaze (pronounced Al-gahzi), Chairman of the World Committee for the Land of Israel, spoke with Israel National Radio’s Yishai Fleisher this week, as part of an official visit to Israel.
Rabbi Algaze says it is a mistake to call Jerusalem the “City of Three Religions” and to glorify the Moslem claim to Jerusalem, that Obama’s objective is to change the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and that the Arabs apparently do not want peace with either Israel or the world. He says the two-state solution should be banned.
Excerpts from the interview:
On anti-Semitism:
“The Jewish People is always going to be hated around the world in one way or another. We had a small lull in anti-Semitic activity following the discovery of the atrocities of the Holocaust, but it is now reawakening. Today’s version is of a new kind, masked as anti-Israel. The world doesn't condone hating Jews, but feels free to hate Israelis and Israel, which is really the same thing.”
On what can be done about rising anti-Israel sentiment:
“We have to appeal to the millions of good people around the world, those who want what is right – but the problem is that we are not presenting our case well, and certainly not as effectively as the Arab side.” He explained that when Israel first heroically liberated Jerusalem in the Six Day War, the world largely applauded – “and the anti-Semites were silent. But when we started to give it away – in negotiations, or in innuendoes - then people began to believe that maybe it’s not ours. We have to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with the Jewish People’s return to its homeland. The government has made its message mostly one of security – somewhat to our detriment.”
On Jerusalem:
“Jerusalem is known romantically as the City of Three Religions – but this is a serious mistake. Yes, there are many religions here, and Israel has been very tolerant towards them and protects the rights of all – but this doesn’t make this a city of three religions, any more than New York is a city of ten religions! The only religion that has always claimed Jerusalem as its central city throughout history is Judaism. For Islam to claim this city in any sense is totally absurd; they came to Jerusalem as invaders, just as they invaded other parts of the world – this is a ridiculous claim and yet we glorify it. We must emphasize that this is our city; we welcome others, but we will never divide it. This foolish claim of a universal city is the planting of the seeds of the division of Jerusalem.
On the Obama Administration and Israel:
“Most American Jews have coasted along, never seeing American commitments to Israel diminish; they have taken this for granted - and now might be an important time for American Jewry to recognize that there might be people like Obama and those in his Administration who will take advantage of any mistake made by Israel. Their agenda is to change the relationship with Israel and the Arabs. If Israel would, Heaven forbid, disappear or be seriously harmed, they would certainly not be horrified; the State Department, after all, considered the creation of Israel a major sin.”
On Israel advocacy:
“It is quite unusual in history for a nation to arise from the dust after 2,000 years and return to its original homeland. So we must explain this to the world: Just like the Scottish would not be relocated to Poland, the Jews belong in Israel and we do not have to share our land. By offering to share it, we weaken our claim, and this weakens us altogether.”
On the World Committee for the Land of Israel:
“We express our nation’s historical, legal, and Biblical claims to this land, without equivocation. We’re not here because we built kibbutzim 100 years ago or because of the Holocaust. We’re here because our forefathers have never forgotten this place ever since they were forcibly thrown out 2,000 years ago, and because we mourn it every year and every day, and because it is fundamental to Jewish Law and practice.
“The issue is not peace, because it doesn’t even look like the Arabs want peace, based on the way they’re talking and acting. They apparently want to conquer the entire world. So it could be that there won’t be peace. We have to talk instead about ‘rights.’ If a non-Jew wants to live in this Land, he will have rights, but not sovereignty… The two-state solution should be banned from our vocabulary.”
6. Abbas the "Peacemaker" Hints at Intifada
by Hana Levi Julian
Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas hinted Monday during his meeting with United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell that a third intifada may be in the making. Salam Fayyad, the PA "prime minister" made similar remarks at a condolence visit with parents of two rioters and two would-be terrorists. On the other hand, at his weekly cabinet meeting on Monday,the cabinet said the PA would not allow for a return to violence, adding that the international community’s assistance is essential in ensuring that an armed conflict does not erupt.
During the course of his conversation with Mitchell in Ramallah, Abbas condemned the killing of four PA teens in two separate incidents last week. Two died after being hit with rubber bullets during a massive riot in the village of Iraq-Burin and two were killed while attempting to attack IDF soldiers on patrol near Shechem.
Abbas told Mitchell the Palestinians “don’t want to be dragged into a discussion of why we don’t want this, and why they don’t want that,” and hinted that a third intifada against Israel might be in the offing.
The PA chairman emphasized that the events near Shechem were serious and created a dangerous situation. He added that the PA Arab population is implementing its right to resistance in accordance with international law. Abbas also attacked the Israeli government, saying officials are protecting settlers who are taking over “Palestinian lands” and who he claimed are “harming local residents.”
Fayyad, meanwhile, visited the families of the teens who died while rioting last week with a mob against Israeli soldiers in Iraq-Burin, and the two would-be terrorists from Awarta. Both villages are located near Shechem in Samaria. During the visits Fayyad said, “The settler terror and the actions of the Israeli occupation forces and the repeated attacks won’t dissuade our people from our sticking to our position and the firmness to stand by it and to struggle against the occupation and the separation fence.”
Fayyad declared that the PA Arab population will continue to “fight the occupation” in order to bring about the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders of Israel. He added that “due to the present Israeli military escalation there is a need for international intervention in order to protect the Palestinian people.”
7. ‘Ketzaleh’ Warns US: Surrendering Land brings Rocket Attacks
by Avi Yellin
Every time the United States forces Israel to surrender land for “peace,” it is followed by rocket attacks and civilian casualties, National Union chairman and Knesset Member Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz said Monday.
Commenting shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “Israel undermines U.S. policy” speech at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention, MK Katz referred specifically to the actions of two former United States presidents.
Ex-President Bill Clinton, husband of Secretary Clinton, convinced then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak to withdraw IDF forces from southern Lebanon in 2000. George W. Bush pressured Ariel Sharon to surrender the Gaza region in 2005 and expel all Jews from the area.
MK Katz noted that in both cases, massive rocket attacks from those areas on Israeli civilian populations followed and escalated into all-out wars. By now, he continued, America should have learned from its mistakes, but Obama seems to expect Israel to divide Jerusalem and give up Judea and Samaria. The result would be is another source of rocket barrages and another war.
The legislator, a former elite special forces commander who was critically wounded during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, is responsible for helping to establish many Jewish communities throughout Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
MK Katz also responded to Secretary Clinton’s ominous warning that if Israel does not surrender Judea and Samaria, local Arabs would soon over-populate the country and cost Israel its Jewish majority.
He declared that similar demographic scare tactics are a century old and that the population figures officially being used were doctored by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority under then-chairman Yasser Arafat in an effort to inflate the number of Arabs living between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River.
Former Ambassador Yoram Ettinger has presented population statistics that show that conventionally accepted demographic figures are inaccurate and that the number of Arabs in the Land of Israel is far less than what most people believe.
Katz's main point was that demographic fears used to defend withdrawals can not be given the same significance as security threats, such as rockets being fired from the hills of Samaria at Israel’s densest population centers if Israel agreed to a withdrawal.
