T. Belman.  This is very good news. So is the good news that Likud has surged to 26 mandates.

US official: Iran nuclear deal not limited to decade, aspects will continue ‘indefinitely’

Any nuclear agreement with Iran will not be limited to a decade, but rather will contain verification and supervision elements that could last indefinitely, a senior US official said Sunday.

JPOST

The official, in a telephone briefing  with Israeli journalists,  said that the P5+1 is trying to reach political  understandings with Iran by the end of March, after which the next three months would be spent dealing with the technical and scientific details of the agreement to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program will remain  “exclusively peaceful.”

The official said the sides were working hard to reach the political understandings by the end of March, but “we are not in a rush. We want the right deal, and not have the pressure of time,” she said, echoing comments made a day earlier by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
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T. Belman.  I believe Dennis Ross. He has no reason to lie. Why did Bennett say it was correct? The left is really piling on Netanyahu. Everywhere except INN I read articles trashing Netanyahu and all kinds of former IDF and intelligence people are doing their utmost to discredit him. Bibi is blamed for everything. Its a bloody avalanche.  Bennett also weighed in.

By Dudi Caspi, Shlomo Cesana and Gadi Golan, ISRAEL HAYOM

Dennis Ross, who mediated peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, responds to Yedioth Ahronoth report suggesting PM Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to dramatic concessions • Netanyahu: Report is a pile of nonsense orchestrated by Noni Mozes.

Dennis Ross, the man allegedly behind the “concessions document” published by Yedioth Ahronoth over the weekend, told Israel Hayom that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “never agreed to Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders, dividing Jerusalem or the right of return.”

By Elad Benari, INN

Minister Yuval Steinitz

Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz, a close associate of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, insisted on Friday that a report in Yedioth Aharonoth, outlining supposed land concessions offered to the Palestinian Authority by Netanyahu, was false.

According to the report, in secret talks with the PA, Netanyahu’s representative presented a document offering a bevy of concessions, including a return to the 1949 Armistice lines with land swaps on a meter for meter basis, certain recognition of PA aspirations for Jerusalem, a PA hold in the Jordan Valley, a possibility for “Palestinian refugee” return on an individual basis, the evacuation of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and leaving some Jewish residents under PA rule.
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Original document shows Israel accepting return to ’67 borders, agreeing to consider Palestinian right of return on case by case basis; Netanyahu: I never agreed to these concessions. Bennett says he did.

By Itay Blumental, Roi Yanovsky, YNET

Zionist Union leader Tzipi Livni on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “cowardly” response to a secret document of far-reaching concessions to the Palestinians, which was revealed over the weekend by Ynet and its sister print publication Yedioth Ahronoth.

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Kerry and Fabius refute reports of gap between allies on remaining roadblocks to agreement on curtailing Tehran’s atomic program.

Is this the Bibi effect?

News Agencies

The United States and France sought on Saturday to play down any disagreements over nuclear talks with Iran, saying they both agreed the accord now under discussion needed to be strengthened.

“We are on the same page,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters after talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris.

“If we didn’t think that there was further to go, as Laurent said, we’d have had an agreement already,” Kerry added. “The reason we don’t have an agreement is, we believe there are gaps that have to be closed. There are things that have to be done to further strengthen this. We know this.”
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The boost in German-Iran trade comes as Israel and Germany prepare to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations.

By Benjamin Weinthal, JPOST

Fresh trade data shows Germany’s industry secured a windfall in revenue due to the easing of Iran sanctions.

According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, German exports to the Islamic Republic in 2014 climbed by 30 percent to reach €2.4 billion.

The strong revival of German-Iranian relations comes at a sensitive time for Israel. Germany and Israel are immersed in a series of celebratory events to remember the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
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By Ted Belman

HAARETZ

If the IDF had taken Gaza, Ya’alon said, rockets would still be fired from there today, and holding the Gaza Strip would cost Israel 10 billion shekels ($2.5 billion) a year.

YNET

The squabble over the cost of the military campaign during Operation Protective Edge is intensifying. Contrary to Defense Ministry figures indicating a sum of NIS 9-10 billion, Finance Ministry officials claimed on Monday that the cost of the military campaign amounted to just NIS 6.5 billion, based on calculations made by Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu.

It appears from these numbers that the cost of “mowing the lawn” every few years is less than the cost of reoccupying Gaza.
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Order signed in January will allow for expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim in Jordan Valley.
By Chaim Levinson, HAARETZ

GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon signed an order in January canceling the status of an army firing zone in the Jordan Valley, which will allow for the expansion of the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. However, the army continues to demolish Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley claiming they are in firing zones.

The area in question is called Firing Zone 912, which was declared a firing zone more than 40 years ago. It extends from Ma’aleh Adumim (east of Jerusalem) to the Dead Sea in the east and Umm Daraj in the south, and is still used by the Israel Defense Forces for training, particularly by the Armored Corps. There are a number of army bases in the area, including the Nabi Musa base.
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Dept. of Justice set to file criminal charges against NJ’s Bob Menendez, sponsor of two key Iran bills, CNN reports

TOI

A top pro-Israel Democrat in the US Senate, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), may be charged with corruption following allegations he used his office to advance the business interests of a Democratic donor in exchange for gifts.

Menendez defiantly said Friday he has always been honest in office even as a person familiar with the matter said he’s expected to face criminal charges soon.

“Let me be very clear, I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law,” Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said at a press conference in his home state. “Every action that I and my office have taken for the last 23 years that I have been privileged to be in the United States Congress has been based on pursuing the best policies for the people of New Jersey and this entire country.”
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By Mansur Rastani, AMERICAN THINKER

Nuclear development in Iran has for three decades been an issue of international concern in the interests of regional and global security. About a decade of diplomatic initiatives by the EU3 and P5+1 to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue have led to the in-progress signing a comprehensive agreement, known as Joint Plan Of Action (JPOA) with two extensions, requiring Iran to suspend many aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from some international sanctions, yet no prospective legally binding instrument that would ensure Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful has been attainable.
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By Rami Galai, AL MONITOR

An Egyptian administrative court on Feb. 18 upheld the Ministry of Religious Endowments’ decision issued in September 2013 to close down neighborhood places of worship of less than 80 square meters (861 square feet), a move intended to protect young people from the militancy and extremism that can prevail in such places, which lack the legal standing to hold Friday prayers.

This move sets a precedent that raises many questions about the fate of mosques in many Egyptian villages, the grounds of which are usually less than 80 square meters. In reply, opponents of the decision such as the Salafist Nour Party claimed that closing down places of worship without providing a larger alternative serves to further bolster extremist ideology, considering that the larger existing mosques cannot accommodate Friday worshippers who line surrounding streets to pray. On the opposite end of the spectrum, supporters of the decision such as intellectuals and scholars say that those mosques are time bombs that threaten national security, as they fall outside the purview of the Ministry of Religious Endowments and are used to spread subversive ideologies.
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Ted Belman. Remember, Barnea and YNET are enemies of Netanyahu. Read Bennett: ‘Next disengagement is already here’ He said “The document published this morning is real. The facts are correct.”

Analysis: An Israeli and a Palestinian, each sent by their respective leaders, held years of secret talks summarized in an August 2013 document showing far-reaching Israeli concessions; but while Netanyahu dispatched his most trusted aide, Abbas was playing a different game. Netanyahu’s mistake was trusting Abbas

By Nachum Barnea, YNET

In August 2013, a document was written, summarizing years of secret negotiations held in London between the trusted representative of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and someone who Netanyahu believed was the trusted representative of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It was a document of historic importance.

Netanyahu had dispatched his senior aide, lawyer Yitzhak Molcho, to meet with Abbas’ affiliate Hussein Agha.
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T. Belman. This is not necessarily the case.  I have written to a number of analysts in Israel and the US and I have received two replies that suggest otherwise. On Sunday, I will post something on their opinions.

Today, with the great powers seemingly determined to reach an agreement with Tehran, the chances of an attack being carried out after an accord is signed are smaller than ever.

By Amos Harel, HAARETZ

What can an Iranian intelligence officer learn from the declarations made this week by Israelis about Tehran’s nuclear project? The most disturbing question for the Iranians remains unchanged: How much of a risk is there that Israel will actually decide to attack their nuclear facilities?

The Iranian officer could glean information not only from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s much-quoted speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, but also from remarks made by two former ranking members of Israel’s defense establishment: the Mossad’s Meir Dagan and Benny Gantz, who just stepped down as Israel Defense Forces chief of staff. The bottom line with respect to the statements made by all three figures is that at this time Israel is not seriously contemplating the military option against Iran, but is, rather, deep into the process of letting off steam.
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Al Monitor

The relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia until now has been treated as almost sacrosanct and is one that is not argued about. Although Turkish and Saudi views on regional issues do not always coincide, both Ankara and Riyadh have kept their bilateral relations away from regional squabbles. Turks, in general, associate Saudi Arabia with pilgrimage (hajj) and oil prices.

Aware of the tense rivalry for regional influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Turkey has tried to maintain good relations with both countries, and it was in Syria that Turkish and Saudi interests meshed. Although they agree that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go, the Turkish-Qatari axis competes with that of Saudi Arabia in Syria.
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It is not merely that the US is deterred by North Korea, and therefore is willing to humiliate and endanger South Korea to avoid having to contend with Pyongyang.

By Caroline Glick, JPOST

South Korea lives under the US security umbrella. Both on a conventional and nuclear level, South Koreans are dependent on the US to deter North Korea from attacking them and overrunning their country.

Last Friday, US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman scolded South Koreans for being too nationalist. In her words, “Nationalist feelings can still be exploited, and it’s not hard for a political leader anywhere to earn cheap applause by vilifying a former enemy.”

The South Koreans interpreted her remarks as criticism of their President Park Geun-hye for her refusal to reinstate reunification talks with North Korea due to Pyongyang’s refusal to discuss the dismantlement of its nuclear program.
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By Martin Sherman, JPOST

No previous column of mine has ever been preceded by such searing soul-searching, or written with such a heavy sense of melancholy. It is a column that I would have preferred not to write – yet I feel I have little option.

A (rare) personal moment

I find myself compelled to take strong public issue with a man I have known, respected, even admired, for almost four decades: Shabtai Shavit, the former director of the Mossad.

Shavit has been not only a trusted commander, and later, a friend – but was in many ways almost a father figure for me. More than once, he sent me into what could be described as harm’s way. But every time he did, I had implicit trust in his operational judgment and believed, unequivocally, that the risks I was expected to take were unavoidable and worthwhile.
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By Helene Cooper, NYT

A Shiite fighter in Salahuddin Province in Iraq this week.Credit

Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

WASHINGTON — At a time when President Obama is under political pressure from congressional Republicans over negotiations to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a startling paradox has emerged: Mr. Obama is becoming increasingly dependent on Iranian fighters as he tries to contain the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria without committing American ground troops.

In the four days since Iranian troops joined 30,000 Iraqi forces to try to wrest Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit back from Islamic State control, American officials have said the United States is not coordinating with Iran, one of its fiercest global foes, in the fight against a common enemy.

That may be technically true. But American war planners have been closely monitoring Iran’s parallel war against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, through a range of channels, including conversations on radio frequencies that each side knows the other is monitoring. And the two militaries frequently seek to avoid conflict in their activities by using Iraqi command centers as an intermediary.

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By Barak Ravid, HAARETZ

U.S. President Barack Obama wants to make a renewed effort to achieve progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in the nearly two years he has left in office, senior White House officials told Haaretz.

The final decision on how to move forward, what sort of effort to make and when, will only be made after the March 17 elections in Israel.
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US military considering deploying THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), an American anti-ballistic missile system.

By Yossi Melman, JPOST

John Kerry (L) walks with Saudi Arabia’s FM Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud before meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Diriyah. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Coinciding with the snap visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to Saudi Arabia this week, the US military is considering deploying one of its THAAD defense systems in the region.

Both moves are intended to lessen concerns expressed in the Gulf countries about Iran’s nuclear program and its increasing interventions in conflicts across the Middle East. Tehran’s direct and indirect involvement by its Shi’ite proxies is evident in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.
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Ted Belman. Bibi said this morning,”There is an alternative to this bad agreement and that is a better agreement. No other state has a greater interest in this issue that it be resolved peacefully,” This confirms my suggestion that Bibi has bought into the Hudna that is being negotiated. Yemen and Iraq have already been given over to Iran. Its a whole new world that’s unfolding. Israel seems to be going along with it.

By Elad Benari, INN

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Thursday suggested that a 10-year moratorium on some aspects of his country’s nuclear program might be acceptable to Tehran, Reuters reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama told the same news agency on Monday that Iran must commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached between Tehran and six world powers.
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