At the meeting the security cabinet decided to curb settlement construction, Netanyahu told the ministers: We must not mislead the Americans, they are tracking every house in the settlements, including in East Jerusalem.

By Barak Ravid, HAARETZ

The Trump administration is asking Israel to carry out a series of goodwill gestures toward the Palestinians, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the security cabinet last Thursday, when he announced plans to curb construction in the settlements.

These measures should have an immediate effect on the Palestinians’ economic situation, ministers and senior officials who attended the meeting told Haaretz.

During Thursday’s meeting, Netanyahu said several times that U.S. President Donald Trump is determined to advance the Israeli-Palestinian issue and for the two parties to reach an agreement, the sources said.
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DEBKA

US armored Humvees driving this week from Iraqi Kurdistan to Syria
Except for one missing factor, the United States is in advanced preparations for the operation to oust the Islamic State from Raqqa, its Syrian stronghold, as Mission Mosul winds down in Iraq. Tuesday, March 28, a large convoy of trucks, with the KRG numbers plates of the semiautonomous Kurdish government of Iraq, crossed into Syria at the Semalka border post. Some were heavily laden with arms and ammunition; others hauled armored personnel carriers.
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American support for Kurdish forces in Syria is a major flashpoint between the NATO allies

By Yaroslav Trofimov

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted supporters in Ankara on Wednesday.

ISTANBUL—Turkey expected a honeymoon with President Donald Trump. Instead, it increasingly looks like Ankara and Washington are heading for a squabble, if not a divorce.

For now, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has bitten his tongue and avoided attacking the Trump administration with the kind of inflammatory statements that he routinely hurls at European and regional leaders. The White House, too, has kept largely mum about Turkish affairs. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is holding meetings in Turkey on Thursday, aiming to maintain a bond that U.S. officials continue describing as vital.
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By David Prentice, AMERICAN THINKER

This nation has faced many a crisis, but not since the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, ginned up by the Hearst media empire, have we had crisis of the current magnitude powered by fake news.

Within living memory, in 1968, the Democratic Party had its convention in Chicago, Hubert Humphrey was their nominee, and there were riots in the streets.  Groups “demonstrated” against the Vietnam war, against the war’s escalation, and against the party itself for the ways of choosing its nominee.
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T. Belman. Although Netanyahu has said that he has agreed to a significant reduction, the guidelines announced don’t suggest as much. In fact the permitted construction will be sufficient to triple the Jewish Population in the settlements.  By stressing where we can build rather than where we can’t build, Cabinet approval was assured.  I wonder if  there are more restrictions that are being demanded or agreed upon that we haven’t been informed of.

Essentially we have agreed not to enlarge the settlement footprint. This suggests to me that there will be an attempt to keep them intact in a deal. Most people are unaware that the settlements comprise only 1% of the land mass of Judea and Samaria. Even if footprint doubled in size it would not prevent a deal. The restrictions will not bring Abbas to the table so what was their purpose.  The serve only to demonstrate that their is no daylight between the US and Israel.

By Shlomo Cesana and AP, ISRAEL HAYOM

Almost two months after the illegal outpost of Amona was demolished, the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet has unanimously approved the construction of a new community for its former residents, even as Israel announced it would scale back overall construction.
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With a new U.S. president, new ideas are emerging on how to resolve the Israel-Palestine debacle. One of the most promising comes from the Jordanian Opposition Council who favor a new Palestinian state — in Jordan. 

By Ted Belman

The GOP unanimously approved a pro-Israel platform at their convention in July 2016 which stipulated:

“The U.S. seeks to assist in the establishment of comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, to be negotiated among those living in the region,”

David Friedman and Jason Greenblatt, representing Donald Trump, participated in the drafting and were in complete agreement with the final text.

Gone was any reference to the Palestinian people or to a two-state solution. In addition, the platform included the words “We reject the false notion that Israel is an occupier.” If not an “occupier,” then presumably Israel is a sovereign.
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The agendas of David Brock’s organization, Shareblue.

FPM

A key participant in the political war by which the Left is currently fighting to delegitimize and ultimately destroy the Trump presidency is a relatively new organization called Shareblue, which grew out of Blue Nation Review (BNR), a pro-Democrat entity that once described Hillary Clinton as “one of the most ethical political leaders in America.” In 2015 David Brock, a former-conservative-turned-leftist, purchased BNR and rebranded it as Shareblue. From the outset, his objective has been to develop Shareblue into a progressive media outlet that speaks directly to grass roots Americans, who are, in Brock’s estimation, “avidly and unabashedly pro-Hillary.”
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All previous attempts to reach a deal by extracting concessions from Israel did nothing but weaken Israel.

BY CAROLINE GLICK, JPOST

During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in February, the premier was reportedly taken by surprise when Trump gently prodded – ahead of their meeting – for Israel to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.”

Since their meeting, Trump’s prod that Israel curtail the property rights of Jews in Judea and Samaria has been the central issue Trump’s chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt has discussed with Netanyahu and his representatives.

From the moment Netanyahu returned from Washington, his government ministers have been asking him to brief them on his discussions with Trump. He has refused. But on Thursday, Netanyahu finally agreed to update his security cabinet.
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T. Belman. This is a good deal for Israel. Basically infilling is allowed with permission given for exceptions. Secondly the restriction applies to all settlements, not just the blocs. The decision says nothing about restricting construction to the settlement blocs or to communities within the security fence. There is enough infilling to do which will triple the number of Jews in J&S.

This deal also suggests, in any deal, the settlements will remain.

Arutz Sheva said we have agreed to “significantly” reduce construction.  I don’t see it.

No commitment made to restrict construction to large settlement blocs.

BY HERB KEINON, JPOST

Israel will restrict its building beyond the Green Line to the built-up areas of existing settlements, the security cabinet decided Thursday night after nearly three weeks of discussions on the matter with the US government.

The guiding principle behind the new guidelines is to limit as much as possible Israel’s settlement “footprint” beyond the existing communities. Sources said the decision was taken out of consideration of the position of US President Donald Trump, and that Israel will also significantly curb building to enable efforts to advance a diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
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T. Belman. Reduce from what?

Netanyahu tells Cabinet that new policy on Judea and Samaria will be in line with Trump’s views.

By Nitsan Keidar, ARUTZ SHEVA

Israel’s new policy on construction in Judea and Samaria will be in line with President Donald Trump’s views on the issue.

At Thursday night’s Cabinet meeting, during which a new community for the residents of Amona was approved, Netanyahu told the ministers that taking into account Trump’s positions, Israel will take significant steps to reduce the expansion of the built-up areas of Judea and Samaria.

He added that Israel would significantly reduce new construction in the region “in order to allow for progress in the peace process.”
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By Dr. Eric R. Mandel, JPOST

A future Palestinian state will have Islam as the dominate aspect of its governing system, despite Western wishful thinking to the contrary

Every few years like clockwork, an American administration comes along that thinks it can solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while politicians and pundits annually march through the halls of the AIPAC national meeting talking about a two-state solution with security for Israel. Their motivations are genuine, but they can’t seem to learn the lessons of previous failures. This is especially important now, as US President Donald Trump seems bent on solving this heretofore- intractable conflict.

To many Americans, Jews and Arabs are simply fighting over territory, so the logical answer is to simply divide the land. This has been the strategy for over 100 years. But this approach ignores the fact that this dispute, like so many others in the Middle East, is primarily a war of Islamic religious supremacy.
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By MARTIN SHERMAN

Instead of trying to resurrect the decrepit zombie of two-statism in pursuit of bipartisanship, AIPAC would do better to assist in promoting Zionist-compliant alternatives

A durable Israeli-Palestinian peace can best be achieved through direct negotiations between the two parties, resulting in a Jewish state living side-by-side in peace with a demilitarized Palestinian state… – From “The Peace Process: Israel’s Pursuit of Peace” currently on AIPAC’s website.

Rejecting decades-old policy, the Republican Party approved on July 12 a platform that does not include a call for a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict…and omits any reference to a solution that would establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel… – From “In Major Shift, GOP Rejects Two-State Solution” the Forward, July 10, 2016. Read more…

T. Belman. DEBKA advises that a separate statement was issued by the Arab countries in which “They called for a new round of peace talks based on a two-state formula and renewed the 2002 “reconciliation” offer (drawn up by Saudi Arabia) if “Israel quit occupied Arab land and agreed to a deal on Palestinian refugees.”” It could be significant that it didn’t say all occupied Arab land. I thought that they consider the land as Palestinian land.

This could be an opening that Trump and Netanyahu are pursuing.

DEBKA

Syria’s Bashar Assad still persona not grata in Arab world
All 15 resolutions passed by the Arab summit which took place in Jordan Wednesday, March 29, were devoted to an indictment of Iran, its Revolutionary Guards Corps and Lebanese surrogate, Hizballah. They were a testament to the depth of Arab-Iranian animosity and exposed the extent of the rift between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim worlds.

Iran was accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab nations, inciting Shiites against Sunnis, and arming and training Shiite terrorist groups for operations against legitimate Arab governments. The Arab rulers combined to put Tehran in the dock for its interference in the Syrian civil war and assault on its sovereignty.
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T. Belman. But no alternate is suggested. Russia is not the Boogyman, though Americans think so. I am fully open to such a deal. Alex Markofsky wrote that Crimean is Russian and should remain Russian. Few would dispute this. As for the eastern provinces of Ukraine, he argues that Russia doesn’t want to annex them They are a liability. A deal would be very much in Israel’s favour.

Trading Ukraine for Syria would legitimize Moscow’s conquest and endanger Europe’s security.

By Mark Helprin, WSJ

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. with his Turkish and Russian counterparts, Gens. Hulusi Akar and Valery Gerasimov, March 7. Photo: RUSSIAN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE/TASS/ZUMA PRESS

The new administration may be sorely tempted to close a showy diplomatic “deal,” the origins of which are President Obama’s extraordinary policy failures in the Middle East. With American financing rather than resistance, Iran has thrown a military bridge from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, a feat the U.S. could not equal at the height of its powers when it unsuccessfully tried to construct the Central Treaty Organization in the 1950s. Worse still, Mr. Obama’s “executive agreement” with Tehran gives it a U.S.-guaranteed path to nuclear weapons.
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T. Belman. This author laments the “new brutality” but I don’t. It gets the job done. Victory is good. Stalemate is bad. He complains that the “new US military deployments are taking place without any sign of US diplomatic initiatives or discussion of the future of peace talks in conflict zones, or a more rounded strategy and narrative to woo Muslims hearts and minds in order to defeat the Islamic State.” But I am pleased. First win, then talk.

Another technique Trump has instituted is the designation of “fire zones” in which collateral damage, ie killing of civilians, is permitted. The IDF should adopt these new rules of engagement with US backing.

By Ahmed Rashid, NY REVIEW OF BOOKS

In the opening months of the Donald Trump administration, there has been little sign of a coherent foreign policy taking shape. What is happening, however, is a dramatic militarization of US policy in the Middle East—one that is occurring largely without the consultation of American allies, and with hardly any public scrutiny. In the case of the war in Yemen and the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, these developments could have extraordinary consequences for US security and even the stability of the Middle East itself.
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Wasn’t He Supposed to Make Israeli-Palestinian Peace?

Donald Trump’s erstwhile point man for the region is now focusing on strange domestic roles. It could be his father-in-law simply doesn’t want him anywhere near a task that usually ends in failure.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, HAARETZ

It hasn’t been announced with any fanfare and it’s unlikely it ever will. But with every news cycle, it’s becoming clear that President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner is no longer the U.S. administration’s point man for Middle East peace.

Whether the shift is coming from Kushner himself or the president, the son-in-law-in-chief doesn’t seem to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to foreign policy in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict specifically.
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We Want it to Be Normal for Muslims and Jews to Be Allies

by Barney Breen-Portnoy, ALGEMIENER

Azerbaijani Ambassador to the US Elin Suleymanov. Photo: Barney Breen-Portnoy.

Over the past two and a half decades, the Caucasus nation of Azerbaijan — a Shiite Muslim-majority state — has become a close ally of Israel, manifested by deep economic and military bonds.

In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Baku, where he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. “The world sees so much intolerance, so much darkness, and here is an example of what relations can be and should be between Muslims and Jews everywhere,” Netanyahu said at the time.
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By Ted Belman

Well, the Arab Summit has come and gone and what do we have to show for it. Intransigence.

The Arab leaders led by King Abdullah of Jordan insisted on the two-state solution and the creation of Palestine. Also they offered no admendments to the Arab Peace Initiative.

The hopes for a regional peace agreement or any peace agreement expressed by Netanyahu and Trump have been dashed.

Ambassador Freedman has now been sworn in. Jason Greenblatt clearly stated that the US will not impose a solution. By the way, it would appear that Greenblatt has replaced Kushner as the negotiator in chief of Mid-East peace. Kushner is now heading a new department in the White House tasked with increasing efficiency in government.
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