Saying “no” is better than saying “yes”, but it is not a strategy. The Arabs keep pushing whether it is to go to the UN or the ICC. They are doing everything they possibly can to get the international community to impose itself on Israel. Israel wants quiet for quiet with Hamas which is a passive stance. She wants to thwart all Arab initiatives but she is not pursuing goals of her own at least not openly in J&S. As far as I can determine Israel is meekly trying to solidify her hold on J&S lands that “everyone knows in a final settlement will stay with Israel”. She should be doing so boldly and aggressively like she has every right to do so.
Secondly she should stake her claim to the balance of J&S in both word and deed. In this regard she should embrace the Levy Report. She should also enforce the terms of Oslo. By this I mean she should protect our sovereignty in Area C and prevent encroachment by the Arabs with the support of the EU and the US. She should also assert her sovereignty over the Bedouin who she allows to live lawlessly in the Negev and to squat on lands that she has no right to.
Ted Belman
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA, JPOST
09/01/2014 11:21
According to Palestinian sources, Kerry cancelled his visit to the region due to lack of progress in talks; Palestinian delegation set to travel to Washington Tuesday to present new initiative to Kerry.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone about the possibility of restarting peace talks with the Palestinians and a fourth prisoner release, Palestinian media reported on Monday.
According to a report in the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi, Netanyahu did not respond positively during the conversation, and therefore Kerry told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he is cancelling his scheduled visit to the region next week.
A Palestinian source also said that on the heels of the cancelled visit, a Palestinian delegation, including chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and the head of Palestinian Intelligence, Majid Faraj, will travel to Washington on Tuesday to present to Kerry a new Palestinian initiative.
According to reports, the Palestinian Authority will delay their applications to the UN Security Council and international organizations if an agreement is reached within four months.
A Palestinian delegation is set to arrive on Monday in Cairo, headed by PLO official Mustafa Barghouti, in order to talk with Egyptian officials about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. They will also discuss the restart of the peace talks, including the possibility of a sea and airport in Gaza and a fourth prisoner release.
Next week, Abbas is expected to present the progress of the visit to Washington to the Arab League foreign minister.
What precisely do we want to achieve by talking with mortal enemies?
HAMAS and ABBAS are in a unity government, they are one.
We must stop having a split relationship with them.
Being at war with one of them and talking peace with the other best represents schizophrenia.
They must be dealt with as one enemy.
The present US administration has chosen to align with our enemy and is therefore not to our benefit to follow their guide.