Very often mid-summer is a quiet
time. But that's sure not the case this year. I find myself prioritizing
news events in order to decide what to write about in the time I
have...
Prime Minister Netanyahu is very
busy these days "preparing" for "peace negotiations," which, given the dubious
status of the situation, leaves me scratching my head in confusion.
But that's just figuratively -- a
way of saying that it seems strange. Because I think I have it (i.e.,
him) figured out.
We might say that he knows
something we don't and thus is preparing. What I see as far more
likely is that he's grandstanding -- playing his game. The PA leadership
is still balking, demanding Israeli concessions. But Netanyahu is saying
(ad nauseum) that he's ready to come to the table. (See: I'm the good
guy here.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Netanyahu has announced
that on Sunday he is going to seek the approval of the Cabinet
for renewed negotiations, and arrange for a special ministerial committee to
oversee those negotiations (this to put the brake on Livni who would be a very
eager negotiator).
He's also promoting the upgrading
of the extant referendum law to the status of Basic Law, and expects
the full coalition to be behind it. If it ever becomes relevant, I
will address the details of this more extensively.
For now, suffice it to say
that a Basic Law is more difficult to overturn than a regular law, which is
presumably what this is about. The idea here is that the nation would
decide whether to accept it, were a peace agreement to be reached. (I've
consulted a lawyer and have learned that the specifics of what would be covered
by the law depend on the wording of the referendum; it is not as simple as I had
imagined. )
Naftali Bennett and his Habayit
Hayehudi party have been vigorously promoting the referendum
law.
~~~~~~~~~~
Just in case anyone missed his
dedication to peace, Netanyahu, at a press conference yesterday with visiting
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, declared, "I hope that soon we
will be able to see the beginning of peace talks. Our team is ready - we've
always been ready."
~~~~~~~~~~
The talk about talks is
supposed to begin on Tuesday, or so it is being said. But according to PA
spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh, Abbas is waiting for an invitation to
Washington.
While PA negotiator Saeb Erekat
has made it clear that if he does go to Washington, his agenda will be
to "first set a framework for
future negotiations.
"If agreement is reached on these details in line with the Palestinian demands," then there can be negotiations.
"If agreement is reached on these details in line with the Palestinian demands," then there can be negotiations.
~~~~~~~~~~
The EU -- in spite of a campaign
aimed at convincing it to do so -- has not agreed to pull back
on its new Judea and Samaria "boycott" guidelines.
And this week Deputy Foreign
Minister Ze'ev Elkins indicated that if products from Judea and Samaria are
labeled as the new guidelines require, 20,000 Palestinian Arab families will
lose their livelihood.
At a meeting with the chair of the
European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Elmar Brok, Elkin
said:
"You are asking us to
approve European projects and operations in Area C, but you are trying to hurt
Israeli enterprises that already exist and provide a respectable livelihood for
tens of thousands of Palestinian families. This is simply bizarre.”
~~~~~~~~~~
But the EU has just
agreed to come part-way on something else: Finally,it has
designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
However, only the military
wing of Hezbollah, not the political wing, is being targeted. In reality
the two are interconnected. Months ago, Hezbollah's
second-in-command, Naim Qassem, said flatly: "We don't have a military wing and
a political one."
It's half a loaf, but a very
welcome step in the right direction, at long last. One explanation for the
half-way designation is that it was the only way to get certain EU states on
board.
~~~~~~~~~~
See Matthew Levitt -- director of
the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington
Institute -- on the implications of the EU's move:
"Despite the formal focus on asset
freezing, the most significant impact of the EU ban will be felt on other
fronts. First, it will enable EU governments to initiate preemptive intelligence
investigations into activities that can be tied in any way to Hezbollah's
military wing... This alone is a tremendous change that should make Europe
a far less attractive place for Hezbollah operatives.
"Second, the ban is a strong means of communicating to Hezbollah that its current activities are beyond the pale, and that continuing them will exact a high cost."
"Second, the ban is a strong means of communicating to Hezbollah that its current activities are beyond the pale, and that continuing them will exact a high cost."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel is going to start supplying
intelligence on Hezbollah to the EU now as a result of the new
designation.
~~~~~~~~~~
The IDF is convinced that, with
the new military regime in Egypt. there is a new seriousness of intent with
regard to taking on jihadists in the Sinai. Not only is the military
gearing up for a major action, at present, 80% of the tunnels between the
Sinai and Gaza have been closed. This is in order to prevent Hamas people
from joining Muslim radicals already in the Sinai.
In all the years that Israel
sought closure of those tunnels to prevent weaponry from being brought in to
Gaza to be utilized against us, there was scant cooperation. But now it is
being done. Hamas is hurting badly.
~~~~~~~~~~
I note here that because of the
unrest in Egypt, a decision has been made by Obama to halt the planned delivery
of four F-16 fighter jets.
~~~~~~~~~~
Syria
is a very different story with regard to jihadists:
Aviv Kochavi, head of IDF military
research, this week warned that Syria is becoming a global jihad center as
radicals flood into Syria. This is no longer simply a civil
war.
“In front of our eyes, right in
our backyard, a global center for jihad is developing, which can affect not only
Syria and Israel but also Lebanon, Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula, and can
radiate to the entire region...
“The extremist Muslims and jihad
fighters being drawn there are no longer merely trying to overthrow [Syrian
President Bashar] Assad but to set up a religious Islamic
state.”
Any notions of supporting the
rebels fighting against Assad are ill-advised, in my opinion. Assad is
vile, but he's not looking to establish a new caliphate. What we might see
if he were defeated could be a good deal worse.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's more, much more, to
report. Next posting...
In closing, a correction: I
alluded to the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Robert Mendez,
leaving out a syllable. It is, correctly, Menendez. (Thanks,
Roberta)
~~~~~~~~~~
And, if you're tired of hearing
Judea and Samaria referred to as "occupied territories" (they are most
certainly not!), you might like to see this article which documents several
genuinely occupied territories about which the world does nothing:
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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