HAARETZ DISTORTED BIBI’S REMARKS. HE NEVER SAID TO STAVE OFF A TSUNAMI.
By Barak Ravid, HAARETZ
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing a withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from the West Bank and a series of other measures to block the “diplomatic tsunami” that may follow international recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The extent of the withdrawal is still unclear, but at this stage Netanyahu is not considering the evacuation of settlements.
Netanyahu believes that there is very little chance of resuming negotiations with the Palestinians but is examining ideas for steps that would be taken in the absence of negotiations to demonstrate an Israeli diplomatic initiative that would rally the United States, the European Union and other Western countries against a unilateral Palestinian move in the UN.
Netanyahu commented on the matter during a meeting with European Union envoys on Monday, after he was asked whether he planned to give a political address soon.
“I have not decided what to say, and when to say it,” the prime minister said.
Netanyahu said: “But two questions should be asked. The first, whether it is at all possible to resume negotiations with the Palestinians? The second question is what actions can be undertaken if resumption of negotiations proves impossible?
Conversations with two Israeli sources with ties to Netanyahu’s bureau led to the conclusion that there are three main ideas being considered.
The first involves another withdrawal in the West Bank, which would see the IDF forces redeploy and security responsibility handed over to the Palestinian Authority. This would mean that in Area B, where Israel has security responsibility and the Palestinians civilian policing functions, full control would be ceded to the PA. In addition, some parts of Area C, where Israel has complete control, will become Area B.
Attorney Isaac Molcho, who advises the prime minister, raised this idea in a meeting with emissaries of the Quartet in Jerusalem last week.
Netanyahu is still uncertain to what extent the withdrawal would be, but it will probably not include the evacuation of settlements.
The second idea is to seek an international umbrella in the form of an international conference, in which both Israel and the Palestinian Authority would participate, and which would call for a resumption of negotiations. Even though Netanyahu’s advisers have raised the idea before their international interlocutors, the likelihood for holding such a meet is minimal. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians appears able to decide on the Terms of Reference or, in lay terms, the principles of the conference.
The third idea is to use diplomatic pressure on Western countries (the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Australia and others ) against the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly.
Netanyahu told EU ambassadors on Wednesday that more than 100 countries, mostly from the developing world, will recognize a Palestinian state. He said that he wants to rally democracies who share values with Israel against the move.
“Perhaps the Palestinians will have a majority in the UN, but what matters is not only the quantity but also the quality,” Netanyahu said.
The Palestinians are hoping that if the General Assembly votes in favor of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, they will then be able to take up a seat as a full member of the United Nations. This will change the situation into a conflict in which Israel is occupying another country, which may result in severe international sanctions against Israel.
Netanyahu has said in private talks that he does not “take lightly” the Palestinian move at the UN, “but we should also not exaggerate its implications.”
The prime minister has said that there have been plenty of anti-Israeli decisions at the UN, but “no one can impose a solution on Israel.”
Sources close to Netanyahu’s bureau told Haaretz that the prime minister is fully aware of the dangers facing Israel ahead of September, especially the possibility of international isolation. However, they say, Netanyahu is opting for tactical solutions to what is essentially a strategic problem, and such steps will not suffice in blocking the political tsunami that is forming against Israel.
One source said: “Many near Netanyahu, especially some of the advisers in his bureau, are not helping him to take the right decisions. They are convincing him there is no need to take substantive moves, and that things will be fine.”
The source added: “Netanyahu is not willing to negotiate on 1967 borders with exchange of territory, and in the end he will be faced with a UN decision on a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, without territorial exchanges.”
National leaders talk about all kinds of things all the time which do not necessarily correlate with the decisions they eventually make.
If you are concerned, I suggest you organize protests and write letters to editors in Israel, and do whatever else you can to get the Israeli government’s attention and let them know your opinion.
There is enough evidence to indicate that Bibi is contemplating an Israeli withdrawal. That is an extremely poor negotiating technique.
If Bibi is foreshadowing what Israel’s borders with a demiliterised “Palestine” will be, if both Israel and the local Arabs make unilateral moves, he is sadly mistaken. The international community will regard a withdrawal hint as a precursor of further withdrawals. And so to will the Arabs and all of their supporters.
What Bibi should be hinting at is a full take-over of area B and when the world protests, he can show how magnanimous Israel is by giving a few dunams here and there. Israel must establish the principle that it is no different to other nations which have a right to compensation and security when they acquire territory in a defensive war. The Arabs must pay and acknowledge that Israel has defeated them repeatly and that if the conflict is not finished now, they end up getting less. Enough of the savage, misogynistic, sadistic, deceitful Arabs’ pride and their determination to subjugate the Jews to reaffirm the supremacy of Islam.
Yes. Quite so; it’s not enough. I agree.
That’s why I said, “It should be given a lot more emphasis.”
Occasionally and peripherally is not good enough when these charters are documented evidence of the intentions of these organizations to eliminate Israel in the name of Islam. Bibi and others should immediately respond to any demand that Israel enter into “talks” or “negotiations” with the Palestinians by asking how Israel can have any serious “talks” with people who are guided by such charters.
They should demand to know what negotiating position can Israel take, or what compromise they can offer to adversaries who have vowed to wipe them off the map.
Let’s see, perhaps Israel should settle for only HALF the country being wiped off the map in perhaps TWICE the time the Pslis had in mind, just to make it a fair deal.
Keep stuffing copies of the charters in Madam Clinton’s and Imam Obama’s and Ban Ki Moon’s faces at every opportunity and every time they broach the subject of talks to make them back off and put them on the defensive.
This is not rocket science – just simple common sense in using any weapon in such a deadly conflict – so why not skewer the Palis with their own charters?
Mr Chenkin,
Your points [#10] are, for the most part, both apt and valid.
That includes those in your final paragraph.
You needn’t assume, however, that because we blog, we don’t also do the very things you propose in re: active advocacy
— or that we don’t raise the very points you cite in par’s 1,2,3.
How many of us do so, I cannot say with certainty, but I assure you that it is not an endeavor overlooked universally by those at this site.
As to the pissing contests, look at it this way:
Given the subject matter (& mission) of this blogsite, is it not well that we have some way of letting off steam from time-to-time? Granted that things can go far afield, if not kept within reasonable bounds. But I’m sure we’re all aware of that.
All-the-same, your reminder was not unwelcome.
This is a fair point.
Actually, it does come up from time to time, but usually only peripherally.
It should be given a lot more emphasis.
Nice try, Yahnkeleh, but no cigar today.
Actually, “Youshka” would have had no problem giving the lady the same counsel that I did.
And he did just that.
Consider, just for one example, the advice he offerred the Samaritan woman at the well in Sh’khem [“Sychar”]:
“God is Spirit — and must be worshipped in spirit, and in truth.”
Give it a rest, Old Boy.
We’ll always have time for this
after the shooting stops & the smoke clears
(if we’re both still breathing).
Are you people smokingor drinking something illegal? To begin with, this is a report in the left-leaning Haaretz.
Secondly, here is what even Haaretz reported, for those who took the trouble to read the report above:
What about this are you people finding so hard to understand? Based on these excerpts you should listen to Ilana Levy who wrote:
Please stop pissing and moaning and wringing your hands. Bibi is not about to give up anything, and Imam Obama will soon be gone.
In the meantime, why is no one in this forum advocating making the charters of the Palestinian organizations part of the international dialog so that Bibi can force the UN to acknowledge what Israel is faced with.
AMERICANS NEED TO ACTIVELY ADVOCATE FOR ISRAEL
Israel is facing serious challenges and most of us have great concerns about the Israeli leadership. American supporters of Israel can’t fix the leadership problem. What we can do is repeatedly advocate three things in the media, to our elected officials and within our communities:
1. Resolution 242 explicitly does not require Israel to withdraw to the 1967 “Auschwitz” borders. In November 1967 the US Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a memorandum indicating the territory Israel needed to retain for defensive purposes: Over half of Yehuda and Shomron, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and some areas in or near the Sinai. Syria has now aligned itself with Iran. The need for the Golan should be beyond dispute. Israel withdrew from Gaza, and now Gaza is filling with missiles (Res. 242 states: “free from threats or acts of force”). The Egyptian foreign minister has just said Egypt will no longer provide Israel with strategic benefits. A subtext here is that if the UN pressures Israel to return to the Auschwitz borders, in violation of Res. 242 (“secure and recognized borders”) then international law is worthless garbage. This is a particularly important point for American liberals who love labels (“international law,” “united nations”) without considering the real meanings behind these labels.
2. The dangers of a Palestinian State. Over 70% of Israel’s population, industry and commerce is concentrated in a long, narrow and indefensible coastal plain, that would literally be under Arab guns. Planes using Ben Gurion airport would be under constant terrorist threat. Half of Israel’s water supply would be compromised. While every missile from Gaza fortunately doesn’t cause death and injury, projectiles fired into the far denser areas of Israel’s urban centers would be much more harmful.
3. The events of the last several years have significantly weakened Israel’s position. Turkey has gone from friendly to hostile. Iran continues its nuclear program and has gained significant strength throughout the region. The transformation of Lebanon from a peaceful Christian neighbor to the heavily armed, Iran-aligned home base of the Hizbollah terrorists has been completed. Egypt will no longer provide stability in the south and may actively take hostile actions. Syria, while always hostile, has aligned itself with Iran and Iranian weapons.
Besides the fact that they are getting tiresome, the situation is getting far too critical for the pissing contests that erupt amongst IsraPundit readers. If you have time for nonsense comments you should use that time to engage in the activism suggested above. And if you prefer your pissing contests, then you make Netanyahu look good.
dweller says: Then, too, perhaps you may want to be a little less ready to
“put your trust in princes”You mean Youshka don’t you?generallyspecifically,no? yes!Is that not putting the cart before the horse?
Seems it would be a little late to be offering support, and then hoping for this so-far-undemonstrated ‘strength’ to emerge, would it not?
Then, too, perhaps you may want to be a little less ready to “put your trust in princes” generally, no?
I wanted to edit my post to have the last sentence read ” Perhaps Lieberman seems to meet with more hostility as Foreign minister because he isn’t spending the majority of the time scheming with foreign leaders to weaken Israel.
Haaretz should change their name to the “The Daily Traitor”. The “sources” Haaretz sites are probably fictional. The story is designed to make Netanyahu appear incompetent. The “sources” could be Barak who used the word “Tsunami” previously. Despite Barak’s very impressive military record, his incompetence as a statesman is beyond description. When he makes asinine statements such as “ You can’t occupy a people” i.e. the Fakestinians he sounds more like a Fakestinian gangster leader than the Defense minister of Israel. I find it hard to believe however, disappointing Netanyahu has been as PM , he would just hand over Judea and Samaria . I would characterize this story as deliberate disinformation to further Haaretz’ campaign to replace Netanyahu with Ms “The peace dove is on the windowsill” Livni. Although Israel is a very impressive nation in most areas ,it’s political leadership is totally lacking in leaders who can strongly advocate for Israel in the international arena. In my opinion, Foreign Minister Lieberman, whatever, his faults, is effective. Perhaps this is why there is such hostility towards him from some foreign nations because they would rather deal with their idea of a Jew should be i.e. a timid, fearful, weak person.
Bibi is as weak as they come. Israel seems hell bent on destroying themselves. Maybe it’s time that all of the Jews vacated the land and allow the Palestinians to settle there. The Palestinians show determination and character, the Israelis only show retreat and despair. It’s time to side with a winner, not a loser.
I think you all need to realise that the PM of Israel is appointed and anointed to hold this position for the good of ALL ISRAEL.
BTW Have any of you ever been a PM or even Head of a Board of counsel ?? No of course you haven’t ! your silly remarks reveal much of who and what you are. Do youknow that the NWO is trying to pull Bibi to do their bidding ? they want to control the Middle East and Jerusalem is their goal…wake up !
Its time to get behind Bibi and support him with all your might. Maybe you will then see how strong he really is !
So Bibi will stave off a unilateral declaration of “palestinian” statehood by essentially just handing over statehood to them himself. What a brilliant strategy! How about simply asserting Israel’s right to Judea and Samaria.
Bibi again shows how he while he is tough against Moshe Feiglin he is spineless against world and Haaretz pressure. When will we be done with Bibi, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Haaretz and the rest of this motley, Erev Rav -Mixed Multitude crew?
The Japanese were wrong: It’s not their reactor that is approaching meltdown. It’s the Israeli PM.