Thoughts and opinions from the Rocky Mountains
Olmert: ‘Forget Greater Israel’
By Ze’ev Ben-Yechiel“The notion of a Greater Israel no longer exists, and anyone who still believes in it is deluding themselves,” said Ehud Olmert, in what is likely to be his last cabinet meeting as Prime Minister.
Thank goodness he’s almost out of office. Maybe he won’t completely destroy the place before then.
Israel Considers Paying Settlers to Leave West Bank
By Robert BergerIn a sign of progress in Middle East peace talks, Israel is considering a plan to lure Jewish settlers away from the occupied West Bank.
Article Continues… (VOA)
Just like Bush wants to be the President that enacted the “Two-State Solution,” Ehud Olmert would like to be the Prime Minister responsible for the very same thing. Don’t be surprised to see him pushing harder than ever to make this happen before both guys leave office.
By Arutz Sheva Staff WriterRepresentatives of most of the 25 destroyed Jewish communities of Gush Katif and northern Samaria plan to gather in Jerusalem. . . to rededicate themselves to returning to their former homes.
Article Continues… (Arutz Sheva)
I’m impressed with this never-say-die attitiude. God willing, they’ll get their wish.
FM to U.S. envoy: Conditions not ripe for forming Palestinian state
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent and News AgenciesForeign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday told visiting U.S. envoy James Jones that that the creation of a Palestinian state amid the current situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing attacks on Israelis was not in line with Israel’s security demands.
“Israel is obligated to respond to terror, and every process must offer a unilateral response to its security needs,” said Livni. “The creation of a Palestinian state is not the required answer to Israel’s security needs.”
Article Continues… (Haaretz)
I’m glad someone in the Israeli government can see that disaster is looming with the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, will anyone listen to her, or will Israel just bow to the Bush administration’s desire to create a Palestinian state by the end of this year?
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies
The stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians may resume as early as Thursday, a senior official in Jerusalem said Wednesday evening.
According to the official, a low-level meeting will be held Thursday while efforts to coordinate a meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will continue in the coming days.
Article Continues… (Haaretz)
I’m inclined to say Abbas is only doing this out of fear of losing U.S. backing, but there’s something that doesn’t feel right here, and I’m having a hard time blaming just that. What do you all think?
By News agencies
The United States called on Sunday for an end to clashes between Israel and the Palestinians and a resumption of peace negotiations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks with Israel.
Article Continues… (Yediot Ahronot)
These are the things that truly dumbfound me. As if U.N. condemnation isn’t bad enough, now everyone’s coming out of the woodwork and acting as if Israel’s retaliation is disproportionate to what has happened. Well, the stats, according to PT Watch (thanks to the Elder of Ziyon for pointing this site out!):
1244 attacks – civilian targets with 3652 single projectiles
438 attacks – military targets with 1477 single projectiles
To put it bluntly, Israel would seriously have to bomb the crap out of Gaza over the next few days to catch up!
Oh, and another quote in this article that bugs me:
“The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
Why does the U.S. turn a blind eye to the violence only until Israel defends itself?
By Associated Press
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged the US on Monday to make good on its promise to work for a Middle East peace settlement by the end of the year, warning that there would not be any future chances.
Abbas spoke following a closed door meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Jordanian capital of Amman and warned that if the Bush administration didn’t make good on its pledge to “make 2008 the year to broker peace, then there will never be any future chances to achieve this goal.”
The Palestinians and Israelis are negotiating a final peace settlement, which the Bush administration hopes would lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state later this year.
Article Continues… (Jerusalem Post)
He’s right, and since “peace” is the worst possible option for Israel, we can only hope it doesn’t happen
(VIDEO) Livni, Qureia meet in Jerusalem, agree to continue talks away from spotlight. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Olmert tells Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, ‘The two-state vision refers to one Jewish state and one Palestinian state, not to three states for two peoples – the West Bank, Gaza and Israel’
Full Article & Video (Yedioth Ahronoth)
You know, I’ve seen the proposed map for a contiguous Palestinian state, and it still creates 3 states…with ISRAEL cut in half! Tell me how that wouldn’t be a bigger problem than a 2 part Palestinian country.
