Video: Netanyahu and Obama discuss the settlement freeze

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Obama Freezes the Muqata

I go away for a week, and JoeSettler can't even manage to hold down the fort.

A short vacation...that's it...and I come back to find out that under tremendous pressure from US President Obama, Israel's government has been forced into freezing all (Jewish) building activity in Yehuda vShomron(WestBank), my own home included.



As a law abiding citizen and taxpayer, as an IDF soldier in the reserves, as an active volunteer medic, I find it abhorrent that US President Obama has forced Israel into freezing all building activity, to the point that I can't even add on to my home. Not even enclose a porch, or add a room.

It's not zoning that's the issue -- rather the government has banned all construction, expansion, and extension -- at the behest of US President Obama, making everything, "illegal."

US citizen tax money was hard at work this past Thursday and Friday, as US personnel drove around settlements throughout the West Bank videoing the current status of buildings so as to help enforce the "freeze."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak added his share of wasted tax money, by sending IAF jets on Friday to scour the settlements from the sky taking detailed high quality photographs of settlements, to ensure not a room, garage or shed is built, no roads or driveways are paved, and not even a patio is poured.

It continued today (JPOST)

The Civil Administration moved swiftly over the weekend to distribute injunctions to settler leaders which immediately suspended for 10 months all new Jewish construction projects in the West Bank that have not broken ground.

According to the Civil Administration, the injunctions were handed out to 22 out of the 24 local and regional council heads in Judea and Samaria. The remaining two will be given out on Sunday.

In protest, Beit El Local Council head Moshe Rosenbaum on Friday ripped up the injunction as he stood in front of the Civil Administration official and said that it was an "illegal document."

Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman plans to file a petition before the High Court of Justice early this week questioning the injunction's legality.

When he received a call from the Civil Administration Friday an hour before the start of Shabbat asking where they could find him to deliver the injunction, a startled Nachman responded, "What is the rush?"

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post Nachman ridiculed the haste with which the injunctions were delivered. "What is this, the start of the Yom Kippur War?" he said.

Actually, this was far quicker than Israel's response to the Yom Kippur War.

Obama must have really turned the thumbscrews on Israel's government for them to implement such a racist, anti-Zionist policy -- and he most probably threatened Israel's very survival via our ability to attack Iran's nuclear program, conditioned on a "goodwill" gesture to Palestinians -- hence the "freeze."

We've survived previous freezes before, and we'll survive this one, Obama, and even Netanyahu as well.

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Netanyahu @ Bar Ilan

Cartoons courtesy of the amazing Shay Charka

So what will Prime Minister Netanyahu say this evening at the much anticipated "Bar Ilan" speech?

The JPost reports that the Palestinian Authority has strict guidelines for Netanyahu:

On the eve of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech in which he is supposed to outline his government's strategy with respect to the peace process, the Palestinian Authority said it would not accept any solution that does not include an immediate halt to settlement construction and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state.

Unfortunately, these PA demands dovetail identically with those of US President Obama, who said that all of Israel's "illegitimate" settlements in the West Bank, including those around Jerusalem, "must stop". Obama also called for "2 states"...which is what the PA says is "the establishment of an independent and sovereign state."

Haaretz reports that instead of focusing on the Palestinians, Netanyahu will discuss the dangers of a nuclear Iran -- and the election win of Ahmadinejad makes it all the more easier for this to be the majority of his speech.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to devote a more significant part of his greatly anticipated foreign policy speech to the Iranian threat, officials close to the premier said, in the wake of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's electoral win Saturday.

The officials added that this is a golden opportunity for Netanyahu to stress the issue before the world, after having called for years to stop Iranian nuclearization. The speech comes in the wake of tremendous pressure from United States President Barack Obama on Netanyahu to back the establishment of a Palestinian state and declare a freeze on West Bank settlement construction.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu vowed Friday that he would not permit the establishment of a Hamas-ruled Palestinian state in the West Bank.

"We will not allow the establishment of a Hamas state in the West Bank as well," Netanyahu told the European Union policy chief Javier Solana in Jerusalem.

My take? I don't think there will be anything too significant in this speech; Netanyahu will not stop settlement construction -- it won't be our heyday of construction, but it won't stop.

And in terms of the Palestinians, I have full faith that whatever gestures Netanyahu will come up with, they will ensure that terror will follow.



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The Poker Game: Obama vs. Netanyahu

Today, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is off to meet with US President Obama.

As Uri Elitzur wrote in the Hebrew Weekly, Makor Rishon, this meeting isn't about personal chemistry.

Charm and wit will have little to do with this meeting, as Obama has already defined his agenda and policy towards Israel.

Obama has already threatened Israel not to bomb Iran's nuclear program. He has informed Israel that a "2 state" solution is the only acceptable solution for the Palestinians and Israel.

State Department officials casually mention that they expect Israel to now sign the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty", which changes 40 years of US policy not to publicly acknowledge Israel's nuclear program.

The deck is stacked against Israel -- and Netanyahu's only cards are the will of the people of Israel who elected Netanyahu running on a platform against a "2 state" solution, and the promise of security for Israel -- that there will never be a nuclear Iran.

Unfortunately, Obama's political ideology completely distorts his perception of Middle East reality.

Good Luck Prime Minister Netanyahu -- we're hoping Obama isn't all smiles when you finish the poker game.

Cartoons by the outstanding cartoonist, Shai Charka

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The Great Election Poll Roundup

By Israeli law, polls cannot be conducted or taken any more till Israel's election. The above table represents the latest (and last) polls from Israel, all published on Friday, Feb 7th, 2009.

One of the commenters on Friday's post said he was voting for Kadima. I'd like to understand why anyone would vote for the most corrupt party in Israel's history? The current Kadima Prime Minister, Ehud Olmet attended his 13th police investigation this past Friday for corruption in the past 2 year period.

Additional winners from the upcoming elections, Kadima party list include:

Kadima #4: MK Tzachi HaNegbi: Indicted, awaiting trial for fraud and breach of trust for allegedly making 69 inappropriate political appointments while serving as environment minister between 2001 and 2003)

Kadima #8 MK Ruchama Avraham: Under police investigation for bribery, stopped by Israeli customs agents last week for illegally smuggling whiskey into Israel.

Kadima #13 MK Yaakov Edri: Police recommend indictment for breach of trust and accepting a bribe, awaiting special hearing.

Kadima #14 MK Eli Aflalo: Under police investigation for bribery.

Kadima #17 MK Chaim Ramon: Convicted sexual predator -- sexual harassment.

Down but not out: in addition to Ehud Olmert, don't forget former Finance Minister and MK Avraham Hirschson (indicted for breach of trust, aggravated fraud, theft and money laundering) and past MK Omri Sharon, convicted criminal of fraud and breech of public trust.

Don't forget Ari Shavit's scathing analysis of Tzippi Livni on Haaretz (of all places).

I could go on and on about Kadima, but I honestly don't understand why anyone would vote for them. I could even think of more reasons to vote for the Labor party, than for Kadima. This is the party that founded itself on the coat-tails of the Disengagement, the party that then continues to turn its back on the refugees of Gush Katif -- after forcibly removing them from their homes, denying them permanent housing, causing severe unemployment (over 60%), and a myriad of social and educational issues.

Livni has voted in the Knesset against every single law that would advance women's rights in Israel.

I could go on and on, but would rather talk about possibilities that might further Israel's goals as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state.

And I'll be posting that tomorrow.

Regards,

Jameel

PS: During Operation Cast-Lead, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak was running the war and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu put aside all partisan politics and gave marathon video news interviews...Tzippi Livni decided to campaign instead (note, Labor and Likud had zero meetings like this). See the video for yourself...Channel 10 (Hebrew only)



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Bibi begins capitulating already

A guest post by Lurker:

He's not even waiting until after the elections...

Netanyahu: I'll continue peace talks

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said that if he wins the upcoming elections, he will continue peace talks with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu's office has said that peace talks launched last year by US President George W. Bush have failed to make headway, and he has signaled he would cut off the negotiations if elected.

But after meeting with Quartet envoy Tony Blair in Jerusalem Monday, Netanyahu said that he would move peace negotiations forward if he wins the election.

Cleary, it's the same old Bibi.

Think Benny Begin will have anything to say about this?

If not, that will be the sign that he's sold out, too.

And so it begins...

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