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1. Two Arab Terrorists Confess to Fogel Massacre - without Regret
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu and Gil Ronen
Security forces arrested two residents of the village of Awarta near Itamar, who have confessed to murdering the Fogel family last month. They acted out of Arab nationalist motives and have not expressed regret for their crime.
The commander of the IDF in Samaria (Shomron) said in a video briefing, "The murderers are in our hands."
Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) lifted a gag order on the investigation of the massacre at noon Sunday (5 a.m. EDT). The terrorists were indentified as Amjad Awad, 19, and Hakim Awad 18, residents of Awarta, an Arab village neighboring the Jewish community of Itamar, where the Fogel family lived.
The teenage terrorists, who are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were assisted by at least six others, four of them from Awad’s family.
The massacre of the Fogels took place at night on Friday night (Sabbath), March 11. The terrorists climbed over the fence surrounding Itamar, a Samaria community, and entered the Fogel family's home. They stabbed to death Rabbi Ehud (Udi) Fogel, his wife Ruth, 11-year-old Yoav, four-year-old Elad and three-month-old Hadas.
The terrorists not only expressed no regret for the brutal stabbings of their parents, the baby, and two other young children, but they also said they would have killed two other children, Roi, 8, and Shai, 2 if they had known they were in another room. The sixth child, Tamar, was out of the house at the time of the murders and discovered the shocking scene when she returned home.
The terrorists told investigators that before entering the Fogel home, they went into an adjacent home, where the residents were away. The two teenagers stole weapons from the home and also took a gun from the Fogel family after the late Friday night slaughter of their victims.
Investigators said they were shocked by the impassionate confessions and description of the murders by the teenagers, one of whom said he has been prepared to become a “martyr.”
In an unusual decision, the family agreed to release graphic photographs of the aftermath of the murder, in order to explain Israel's situation in the face of Arab barbarism.
The Prime Minister’s Office was dismayed by the halfhearted and belated denouncements issued by the Palestinian Authority after the massacre, and blamed the PA's incitement of its populace for enabling the crime.
Following the massacre, the government approved the construction of 500 new housing units to be built in Maaleh Adumim, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer, adjacent to Modi’in. No new construction was approved in smaller communities, such as Itamar.
Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, the mourning father of Ruth Fogel, told an interviewer that the grandparents of the orphans will will take upon themselves the difficult task of raising them, in order to "pave for them the path so that life will be victorious."
“Their mother and father will pray for them from the Heavens, their grandfathers and grandmothers will give them a lot of love, and the People of Israel will hug them and encourage them to grow and continue in the path of their parents," he said.
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Slain: Four year old Elad.
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Slain: Eleven year old Yoav.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu and Gil Ronen
Security forces arrested two residents of the village of Awarta near Itamar, who have confessed to murdering the Fogel family last month. They acted out of Arab nationalist motives and have not expressed regret for their crime.
The commander of the IDF in Samaria (Shomron) said in a video briefing, "The murderers are in our hands."
Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) lifted a gag order on the investigation of the massacre at noon Sunday (5 a.m. EDT). The terrorists were indentified as Amjad Awad, 19, and Hakim Awad 18, residents of Awarta, an Arab village neighboring the Jewish community of Itamar, where the Fogel family lived.
The teenage terrorists, who are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were assisted by at least six others, four of them from Awad’s family.
The massacre of the Fogels took place at night on Friday night (Sabbath), March 11. The terrorists climbed over the fence surrounding Itamar, a Samaria community, and entered the Fogel family's home. They stabbed to death Rabbi Ehud (Udi) Fogel, his wife Ruth, 11-year-old Yoav, four-year-old Elad and three-month-old Hadas.
The terrorists not only expressed no regret for the brutal stabbings of their parents, the baby, and two other young children, but they also said they would have killed two other children, Roi, 8, and Shai, 2 if they had known they were in another room. The sixth child, Tamar, was out of the house at the time of the murders and discovered the shocking scene when she returned home.
The terrorists told investigators that before entering the Fogel home, they went into an adjacent home, where the residents were away. The two teenagers stole weapons from the home and also took a gun from the Fogel family after the late Friday night slaughter of their victims.
Investigators said they were shocked by the impassionate confessions and description of the murders by the teenagers, one of whom said he has been prepared to become a “martyr.”
In an unusual decision, the family agreed to release graphic photographs of the aftermath of the murder, in order to explain Israel's situation in the face of Arab barbarism.
The Prime Minister’s Office was dismayed by the halfhearted and belated denouncements issued by the Palestinian Authority after the massacre, and blamed the PA's incitement of its populace for enabling the crime.
Following the massacre, the government approved the construction of 500 new housing units to be built in Maaleh Adumim, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer, adjacent to Modi’in. No new construction was approved in smaller communities, such as Itamar.
Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, the mourning father of Ruth Fogel, told an interviewer that the grandparents of the orphans will will take upon themselves the difficult task of raising them, in order to "pave for them the path so that life will be victorious."
“Their mother and father will pray for them from the Heavens, their grandfathers and grandmothers will give them a lot of love, and the People of Israel will hug them and encourage them to grow and continue in the path of their parents," he said.
Slain: Four year old Elad.
Slain: Eleven year old Yoav.
Comment on this story
2. Fogel Terrorist: Like Father, Like Son
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The father of one of the murderers of the Fogel family at Itamar had served in jail for terror, and an uncle involved in the 2002 terror attack on same community.
Two teenagers were arrested for the massacre of five members of the Fogel family. The father of high school student murderer Hakim Mazen Awad was active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization and previously had been jailed in Israel.
Awad and Amjad Awad carried out the brutal murders at Itamar, the same community where Hakim Awad’s uncle was involved with the 2002 terrorist attack that killed five people. He was killed the following year in a clash with IDF forces.
After the murders of the Fogel family, another uncle of Awad, who also was a PLFP terrorist and had served a prison sentence for terror, enlisted other relatives to burn the attackers’ bloodstained clothes.
While the teenage terrorist butchers returned to school, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, the uncle took the knives used in the massacre and moved them to Ramallah. Israeli security agents have identified and arrested the man who hid the knives and have recovered the murder weapons.
One of the suspected terrorist's mother insisted that her son was sleeping at the time of the murders, despite his confession.
Another resident of Awarta, where the terrorists live, told Voice of Israel government radio Sunday that he does not even believe that the terrorist attack took place.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The father of one of the murderers of the Fogel family at Itamar had served in jail for terror, and an uncle involved in the 2002 terror attack on same community.
Two teenagers were arrested for the massacre of five members of the Fogel family. The father of high school student murderer Hakim Mazen Awad was active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization and previously had been jailed in Israel.
Awad and Amjad Awad carried out the brutal murders at Itamar, the same community where Hakim Awad’s uncle was involved with the 2002 terrorist attack that killed five people. He was killed the following year in a clash with IDF forces.
After the murders of the Fogel family, another uncle of Awad, who also was a PLFP terrorist and had served a prison sentence for terror, enlisted other relatives to burn the attackers’ bloodstained clothes.
While the teenage terrorist butchers returned to school, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, the uncle took the knives used in the massacre and moved them to Ramallah. Israeli security agents have identified and arrested the man who hid the knives and have recovered the murder weapons.
One of the suspected terrorist's mother insisted that her son was sleeping at the time of the murders, despite his confession.
Another resident of Awarta, where the terrorists live, told Voice of Israel government radio Sunday that he does not even believe that the terrorist attack took place.
Comment on this story
3. Housing Minister Confirms De Facto Building Freeze in Jerusalem
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has surrendered to U.S. President Barack Obama and in effect has frozen almost all new housing in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the PA, according to Housing Minister Ariel Attias, a member of the government coalition partner Shas party. The office of the Prime Minister categorically denied the charge.
Minister Attias accused the Prime Minister not only of carrying out a policy contrary to public statements but also of worsening the housing crisis by shelving plans to build 2,500 new residential units in United Jerusalem as well as 5,000 others in Judea and Samaria.
In an interview with the Mishpacha (Family) newspaper, Minister Attias stated, “The facts are correct, and to my great sorrow, I do not see any substantial changes.”
The Housing Minister said that he cannot market the new housing units, which he said have passed the necessary bureaucratic approvals, because the government has not allowed tenders to be issued for contractors.
Mishpacha added, “The office of the Prime Minister said that the American government has not agreed to new construction but added that this has been the American position for 40 years. Except for 238 units, there is no new building” for Jews in eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem areas restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Publicly, Prime Minister has stated several times that there is no freeze on building new homes for Jews in all of Jerusalem. Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Netanyahu, told Israel National News Sunday morning that he has not seen the report in Mishpacha but that stated, "There never has been a freeze on building in Jerusalem."
Minister Attias said that that following last year’s announcement by Jerusalem of new construction – at the same U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel – Prime Minister Netanyahu promised President Obama President Obama the incident would not be repeated and promised to halt new building.
Last December, Attias said in the Knesset that there are thousands of housing units awaiting sale in Jerusalem but that none have been marketed since December. Last month, he stated that there was a shortage of at least 6,000 homes and apartments in Jerusalem
A year and a half ago, Netanyahu took the unprecedented step of freezing new construction for Jews in Judea and Samaria for 10 months to satisfy Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s condition for resuming direct talks with Israel over the establishment of the PA as a new Arab country.
Abbas then backtracked, insisting that the freeze as not extensive enough. He has demanded that it cover all of Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria. The freeze has since expired officially, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak has refused to sign the necessary papers to authorize new building for thousands of homes in Judea and Samaria, where Jews officially are under military control.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has surrendered to U.S. President Barack Obama and in effect has frozen almost all new housing in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the PA, according to Housing Minister Ariel Attias, a member of the government coalition partner Shas party. The office of the Prime Minister categorically denied the charge.
Minister Attias accused the Prime Minister not only of carrying out a policy contrary to public statements but also of worsening the housing crisis by shelving plans to build 2,500 new residential units in United Jerusalem as well as 5,000 others in Judea and Samaria.
In an interview with the Mishpacha (Family) newspaper, Minister Attias stated, “The facts are correct, and to my great sorrow, I do not see any substantial changes.”
The Housing Minister said that he cannot market the new housing units, which he said have passed the necessary bureaucratic approvals, because the government has not allowed tenders to be issued for contractors.
Mishpacha added, “The office of the Prime Minister said that the American government has not agreed to new construction but added that this has been the American position for 40 years. Except for 238 units, there is no new building” for Jews in eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem areas restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Publicly, Prime Minister has stated several times that there is no freeze on building new homes for Jews in all of Jerusalem. Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Netanyahu, told Israel National News Sunday morning that he has not seen the report in Mishpacha but that stated, "There never has been a freeze on building in Jerusalem."
Minister Attias said that that following last year’s announcement by Jerusalem of new construction – at the same U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel – Prime Minister Netanyahu promised President Obama President Obama the incident would not be repeated and promised to halt new building.
Last December, Attias said in the Knesset that there are thousands of housing units awaiting sale in Jerusalem but that none have been marketed since December. Last month, he stated that there was a shortage of at least 6,000 homes and apartments in Jerusalem
A year and a half ago, Netanyahu took the unprecedented step of freezing new construction for Jews in Judea and Samaria for 10 months to satisfy Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s condition for resuming direct talks with Israel over the establishment of the PA as a new Arab country.
Abbas then backtracked, insisting that the freeze as not extensive enough. He has demanded that it cover all of Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria. The freeze has since expired officially, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak has refused to sign the necessary papers to authorize new building for thousands of homes in Judea and Samaria, where Jews officially are under military control.
Comment on this story
4. Ashdod under Rocket Attack as another 'Ceasefire’ Broken
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Two Grad missiles hit near the southern port city of Ashdod shortly before the Sabbath Friday afternoon, breaking another in a countless number of ceasefires announced by the de facto Hamas government in Gaza.
In response, the Israel Air Force bombed two terrorist sites in northern Gaza on Friday night. The army reported direct hits.
No one was injured and no property damage was reported after the Hamas rocket attack. It put an end to an unofficial truce that lasted only a couple of days. Hamas had said it would not fire on Israelis if the IDF did not strike terrorists, even those who are “ticking bombs” and preparing to launch rockets.
The IDF had held its fire but also said it would not allow Hamas to use the unofficial truce as a cover for terrorist preparing to strike. Israel in the past has swiftly retaliated for almost every missile attack since several weeks after the Cast Lead counter-terrorist campaign two years ago.
The explosions near Ashdod represent a further escalation in terms of encroaching on Israel’s urban centers. The port is located on the southern tip of the major highway that reaches metropolitan Tel Aviv. It is north of Ashkelon and is out of range of most Kassam rockets.
The following useful summary, for use when Hamas is said to offer a "cease fire", was written by David Bedein, Director of the Israel Resource News Agency and Attorney Beryl Dean.
When a Cease-Fire is Not a Cease-Fire
As journalists cover complex Middle East negotiations, news outlets often characterize lulls in hostilities as an armistice or a cease-fire, reminiscent in the western mind to the end of hostilities in World War I, which terminated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the eleventh month on Nov. 11 1918, paving the way to the Versailles peace treaty and the genesis of the League of Nations.
However, the western media often ignore the nuanced Arabic words: which connote a message that has nothing to do with cessation of hostilities:
• hudna - a tactical pause intended only for rearmament
• tahida - a temporary halt in hostile activity which can be violated at any time
• hudaybiyyah - there will be no fighting for 10 years named after the “treaty of Hudaybiyyah” in 628 AD
• sulch - a total cessation of hostile activity.
The reality is that hudna, tahida and the hudaybiyyah offered by the PLO and Hamas do not compare to the mu’ahada treaty of peace that Egypt signed with Israel in 1979, or the mu’ahada treaty of peace that Jordan signed with Israel in 1994.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Two Grad missiles hit near the southern port city of Ashdod shortly before the Sabbath Friday afternoon, breaking another in a countless number of ceasefires announced by the de facto Hamas government in Gaza.
In response, the Israel Air Force bombed two terrorist sites in northern Gaza on Friday night. The army reported direct hits.
No one was injured and no property damage was reported after the Hamas rocket attack. It put an end to an unofficial truce that lasted only a couple of days. Hamas had said it would not fire on Israelis if the IDF did not strike terrorists, even those who are “ticking bombs” and preparing to launch rockets.
The IDF had held its fire but also said it would not allow Hamas to use the unofficial truce as a cover for terrorist preparing to strike. Israel in the past has swiftly retaliated for almost every missile attack since several weeks after the Cast Lead counter-terrorist campaign two years ago.
The explosions near Ashdod represent a further escalation in terms of encroaching on Israel’s urban centers. The port is located on the southern tip of the major highway that reaches metropolitan Tel Aviv. It is north of Ashkelon and is out of range of most Kassam rockets.
The following useful summary, for use when Hamas is said to offer a "cease fire", was written by David Bedein, Director of the Israel Resource News Agency and Attorney Beryl Dean.
When a Cease-Fire is Not a Cease-Fire
As journalists cover complex Middle East negotiations, news outlets often characterize lulls in hostilities as an armistice or a cease-fire, reminiscent in the western mind to the end of hostilities in World War I, which terminated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the eleventh month on Nov. 11 1918, paving the way to the Versailles peace treaty and the genesis of the League of Nations.
However, the western media often ignore the nuanced Arabic words: which connote a message that has nothing to do with cessation of hostilities:
• hudna - a tactical pause intended only for rearmament
• tahida - a temporary halt in hostile activity which can be violated at any time
• hudaybiyyah - there will be no fighting for 10 years named after the “treaty of Hudaybiyyah” in 628 AD
• sulch - a total cessation of hostile activity.
The reality is that hudna, tahida and the hudaybiyyah offered by the PLO and Hamas do not compare to the mu’ahada treaty of peace that Egypt signed with Israel in 1979, or the mu’ahada treaty of peace that Jordan signed with Israel in 1994.
Comment on this story
5. Fogel Family Murder Gag Order to be Removed
by Hillel Fendel
The gag order on the investigation of the Fogel family massacre in Itamar is expected to be removed tomorrow – and some major news is to be announced.
Unsubstantiated reports say one of the murderers - none other than a Palestinian Authority policeman - has been arrested.
The bereaved parents of terrorist victims Rabbi Udi and Ruti Fogel - who were stabbed to death, together with three of their six children, five weeks ago in their home after their Sabbath night dinner – met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz on Friday in his office.
Channel Two television news reports that over the past week, the security forces amassed hundreds of DNA samples and fingerprints from the Arab village of Awarta, practically adjacent to Itamar and where the terrorist murderers are assumed to have come from and escaped to.
Among the fingerprints and DNA samples are those of dozens of women from Awarta.
12-year-old Tamar, the oldest child in the family, and her 8- and 7-year-old brothers were spared in the massacre. Their brothers Yoav, 11, and Elad, 4, were knifed to death in their beds, and their baby sister Hadas (3 months) was stabbed to death in her father's arms.
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
The gag order on the investigation of the Fogel family massacre in Itamar is expected to be removed tomorrow – and some major news is to be announced.
Unsubstantiated reports say one of the murderers - none other than a Palestinian Authority policeman - has been arrested.
The bereaved parents of terrorist victims Rabbi Udi and Ruti Fogel - who were stabbed to death, together with three of their six children, five weeks ago in their home after their Sabbath night dinner – met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz on Friday in his office.
Channel Two television news reports that over the past week, the security forces amassed hundreds of DNA samples and fingerprints from the Arab village of Awarta, practically adjacent to Itamar and where the terrorist murderers are assumed to have come from and escaped to.
Among the fingerprints and DNA samples are those of dozens of women from Awarta.
12-year-old Tamar, the oldest child in the family, and her 8- and 7-year-old brothers were spared in the massacre. Their brothers Yoav, 11, and Elad, 4, were knifed to death in their beds, and their baby sister Hadas (3 months) was stabbed to death in her father's arms.
Comment on this story
6. Left-Wing ‘McCarthy’ MK Bans ‘Racist’ Ben-Ari
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Meretz Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On forced Haifa University to cancel a joint appearance with National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari because she refused to sit down with him on the same panel.
“I am not prepared participate in any panel with Ben-Ari because he is a fascist, a racist and a Kahanist [followed of the late Rabi Meir Kahane] and is not legitimate,” said Gal-On.
The two MKs and other public figures were invited to speak at a discussion on “Religious Faith and the Israeli-Arab Struggle” at Haifa University. MK Ben-Ari said his letter of invitation from Prof. Yitzchak Wiseman stated, “I invite you to participate in the conference and take advantage of the podium because we are interested that all seams of thought present their views."
Despite the declaration of openness to different ideas, MK Ben-Ari received another letter that stated his participation was cancelled.
“It is clear that the left exploits Haifa University, which surrenders to Gal-On’s dictates. This is McCarthyism,” he said, referring to the United States in the 1950s, when Sen. Joe McCarthy tried to rid the government of suspected Communists.
“The McCarthy leftists are working overtime,” MK Ben-Ari added. “Her boycott [of me] is ridiculous. However, I sleep well at night without sitting down with her at the same forum.
“I have news for her. I am not less legitimate and perhaps even more legitimate than she is and than are her positions. I am happy she has unmasked her true face,” he declared after the cancellation.
MK Gal-On said, I have positions based on principles.” She said that when she understood that Mk Ben-Ari was to speak at the same panel, she explained her position. “I then understood that he was to appear on a different panel instead, and I did not know that his participation was cancelled altogether. But it does not make any difference,” she added.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Meretz Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On forced Haifa University to cancel a joint appearance with National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari because she refused to sit down with him on the same panel.
“I am not prepared participate in any panel with Ben-Ari because he is a fascist, a racist and a Kahanist [followed of the late Rabi Meir Kahane] and is not legitimate,” said Gal-On.
The two MKs and other public figures were invited to speak at a discussion on “Religious Faith and the Israeli-Arab Struggle” at Haifa University. MK Ben-Ari said his letter of invitation from Prof. Yitzchak Wiseman stated, “I invite you to participate in the conference and take advantage of the podium because we are interested that all seams of thought present their views."
Despite the declaration of openness to different ideas, MK Ben-Ari received another letter that stated his participation was cancelled.
“It is clear that the left exploits Haifa University, which surrenders to Gal-On’s dictates. This is McCarthyism,” he said, referring to the United States in the 1950s, when Sen. Joe McCarthy tried to rid the government of suspected Communists.
“The McCarthy leftists are working overtime,” MK Ben-Ari added. “Her boycott [of me] is ridiculous. However, I sleep well at night without sitting down with her at the same forum.
“I have news for her. I am not less legitimate and perhaps even more legitimate than she is and than are her positions. I am happy she has unmasked her true face,” he declared after the cancellation.
MK Gal-On said, I have positions based on principles.” She said that when she understood that Mk Ben-Ari was to speak at the same panel, she explained her position. “I then understood that he was to appear on a different panel instead, and I did not know that his participation was cancelled altogether. But it does not make any difference,” she added.
Comment on this story
7. Israel Warned not to Enable PA State Now
by Hillel Fendel
Arab-affairs expert Prof. Mordechai Kedar of Bar Ilan University says Israel would be "clearly suicidal" in enabling a Palestinian state, in light of the revolutionary fever sweeping the Arab world.
In the latest edition of his weekly column entitled "Middle Eastern Insights," Kedar writes that given the calls in Egypt to abrogate its peace treaty with Israel, and the shakiness of even the Jordanian regime, Israel cannot afford to consider entering into a process that would lead to the formation of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. This is especially true, he adds, now that "we already have a terror state in Gaza that torments Israel with rockets and missiles made there or smuggled from Iran.:
No Guarantees
"There is no country in the world that can guarantee that the Arab League commitment to recognize Israel will be honored by a new Palestinian state," Kedar warns, "particularly if it is again taken over by Hamas through elections as in January 2006 or a military coup as in June 2007."
Kedar states that if the Arab League "wants to persuade Israel to accept the API [Arab Peace Initiative], it must treat Israel as a negotiating partner and engage in serious discussions of conditions for peace… But the words of [diplomatic adviser to Saudi King Abdullah] Mohammad Al Zulfa, spoken to the Arab nation, point to a different outcome: the Saudis and the Arab summit have no intention save the defeat of Israel without a fight, by means of false premises that harbor no commitment to real implementation."
In short, Kedar says, Israel must not enter into negotiations at this point, and it and the world "must wait patiently until the smoke clears."
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
Arab-affairs expert Prof. Mordechai Kedar of Bar Ilan University says Israel would be "clearly suicidal" in enabling a Palestinian state, in light of the revolutionary fever sweeping the Arab world.
In the latest edition of his weekly column entitled "Middle Eastern Insights," Kedar writes that given the calls in Egypt to abrogate its peace treaty with Israel, and the shakiness of even the Jordanian regime, Israel cannot afford to consider entering into a process that would lead to the formation of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. This is especially true, he adds, now that "we already have a terror state in Gaza that torments Israel with rockets and missiles made there or smuggled from Iran.:
No Guarantees
"There is no country in the world that can guarantee that the Arab League commitment to recognize Israel will be honored by a new Palestinian state," Kedar warns, "particularly if it is again taken over by Hamas through elections as in January 2006 or a military coup as in June 2007."
Kedar states that if the Arab League "wants to persuade Israel to accept the API [Arab Peace Initiative], it must treat Israel as a negotiating partner and engage in serious discussions of conditions for peace… But the words of [diplomatic adviser to Saudi King Abdullah] Mohammad Al Zulfa, spoken to the Arab nation, point to a different outcome: the Saudis and the Arab summit have no intention save the defeat of Israel without a fight, by means of false premises that harbor no commitment to real implementation."
In short, Kedar says, Israel must not enter into negotiations at this point, and it and the world "must wait patiently until the smoke clears."
Comment on this story
8. Netanyahu to Address Congress; Concessions Feared
by Hillel Fendel
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has received an invitation to address the U.S. Congress five weeks from now. He insists that despite international pressure for yet more concessions to the Palestinian Authority, he will, in his speech, "stand firm against those who try to dictate conditions that will leave us without security and without peace."
Speaking on Thursday night to fellow Likud party members in Tel Aviv in honor of the upcoming Passover holiday, Netanyahu said that his Washington speech will deal with the diplomatic process with the PA. "I will speak about the way to true peace," he said, "not a peace of ceremonies and lawns" – a sarcastic reference to past bombastic presidential ceremonies that took place on the White House lawn but did not provide peace.
"We have set two conditions for a permanent status agreement," Netanyahu said. "One is that there must be [Arab/PA] recognition of the State of Israel [as] the country of the Jewish Nation. Second are security arrangements. We have stood on these principles in the face of heavy pressure, and we will continue to do so. They are vital for our future."
Netanyahu said he will also speak about "the greatest threat to peace in the world and to the State of Israel – Iran's attempt to arm itself with nuclear weapons."
MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh), who heads both the National Union party and Netanyahu's nationalist-camp opposition, called upon the Prime Minister not to display national weakness, and to present a diplomatic plan that will create genuine deterrence.
"In his previous major speech," Katz said, "at Bar Ilan University two years ago, Netanyahu totally backtracked on his pre-election promises to keep the Land of Israel in the hands of the Jewish nation and to increase construction in Judea and Samaria. There is no doubt that his declaration then about two states and his freeze on construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem are central factors in the rise of terrorism and the weakening of the citizens' security."
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has received an invitation to address the U.S. Congress five weeks from now. He insists that despite international pressure for yet more concessions to the Palestinian Authority, he will, in his speech, "stand firm against those who try to dictate conditions that will leave us without security and without peace."
Speaking on Thursday night to fellow Likud party members in Tel Aviv in honor of the upcoming Passover holiday, Netanyahu said that his Washington speech will deal with the diplomatic process with the PA. "I will speak about the way to true peace," he said, "not a peace of ceremonies and lawns" – a sarcastic reference to past bombastic presidential ceremonies that took place on the White House lawn but did not provide peace.
"We have set two conditions for a permanent status agreement," Netanyahu said. "One is that there must be [Arab/PA] recognition of the State of Israel [as] the country of the Jewish Nation. Second are security arrangements. We have stood on these principles in the face of heavy pressure, and we will continue to do so. They are vital for our future."
Netanyahu said he will also speak about "the greatest threat to peace in the world and to the State of Israel – Iran's attempt to arm itself with nuclear weapons."
MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh), who heads both the National Union party and Netanyahu's nationalist-camp opposition, called upon the Prime Minister not to display national weakness, and to present a diplomatic plan that will create genuine deterrence.
"In his previous major speech," Katz said, "at Bar Ilan University two years ago, Netanyahu totally backtracked on his pre-election promises to keep the Land of Israel in the hands of the Jewish nation and to increase construction in Judea and Samaria. There is no doubt that his declaration then about two states and his freeze on construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem are central factors in the rise of terrorism and the weakening of the citizens' security."
Comment on this story
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