Palestinian State will Lead Islamists to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem - Tova Dvorin - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188632#.VI8W65t0wUd
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed US Secretary of State John Kerry's upcoming talks in Rome on Sunday, during opening remarks for his weekly Cabinet meeting.
"Tomorrow I will leave for Rome to meet with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and US Secretary of State John Kerry," he said. "I will tell them that Israel, to a large degree, stands as a solitary island against the waves of Islamic extremism that are washing over the entire Middle East."
"Until now we have successfully withstood and repelled these attacks and now we also stand against the possibility of a diplomatic assault, i.e. an attempt to compel us - by means of UN decisions - to withdraw to the 1967 lines within two years," Netanyahu continued. "This will lead to Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem."
"We will not allow this," he vowed. "We will strongly and responsibly rebuff this. Let there be no doubt, this will be rejected."
Kerry left for Rome Sunday, where he will conduct talks with Netanyahu in an attempt to push for a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, as well as meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over its own conflict with Ukraine.
"There are a lot of different folks pushing in different directions out there, and the question is can we all pull in the same direction," Kerry said Friday, when asked about his meeting with Netanyahu. "We're trying to figure out a way to help defuse the tensions and reduce
the potential for more conflict, and we're exploring various possibilities to that end."
Gadi Eizenkot 'the right man' for IDF Chief of Staff
Netanyahu also welcomed the appointment of Gen. Gadi Eizenkot as the next IDF Chief of Staff.
"Gadi Eizenkot is the right man in the right place at the right time," Netanyahu stated. "Gadi has been a soldier and a commander. He is a veteran commander and he can lead the IDF in the face of the major challenges that surround us."
"The challenges are unceasing; they are not taking even a moment's respite, and I am convinced that with determined, responsible and strong leadership and policy, along with Gadi's command of the IDF, we will be able to overcome any and all obstacles and challenges," he continued.
"I wish Gadi Eizenkot great success; his success in all areas is our success."
Eizenkot was appointed earlier Sunday. On Wednesday the Turkel Committee approved Eizenkot's appointment, which was announced in late November by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon.
Eizenkot, 54, will replace the current Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, in mid-February. He has been serving for the past two years as the IDF's Deputy Chief of General Staff.
Moving forward on Druze plan
Netanyahu concluded by noting his support for a special government project to aid the Druze and Circassian communities.
"Today, the Cabinet will also discuss a five-year plan to aid Druze and Circassian communities," he said. "I recently met with Druze community leaders, led by Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif. I told him that we would be submitting this plan."
The Prime Minister then explained the plan in brief.
"This is a wide-ranging plan on infrastructures, employment, education and other issues and it will do two things," he said. "One, it will reduce gaps between this population and the population at large. Two, it will express appreciation for the unique role of Druze and Circassian policemen and soldiers, who are our very flesh, who fight and fall in defense of our people."
"I think that this is one of the ways to express this appreciation," he added.
Netanyahu's statements follow the deaths of Israel Police Master Sergeant Zidan Nahad Seif, who was killed in the terrorist attack on in Har Nof, Jerusalem, and Border Police Chief Inspector Jidan Assad, who was killed on November 5 when a Palestinian terrorist deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of people at a light rail station in Jerusalem.
During a condolence visit to Druze leaders last month, he stated that the group is "an organic part of Israeli society" and expressed his heartfelt gratitude for not only the two officers' roles in the attacks, but for the Druze community's service in the IDF and Israeli society in general.
Day after Palestinian statehood bid submitted to Security Council, Netanyahu vows to rebuff 'unilateral diktats'
The Palestinian Authority's unilateral appeals to international bodies, including a statehood bid at the UN Security Council, form a greater threat to the Palestinian Authority than to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.
Netanyahu struck out at PA President Mahmoud Abbas, vowing to thwart his bid to gain statehood via appeals to the international community, a day after a draft calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by the end of 2017 was sent to the Security Council.
Abbas "thinks he can threaten us with unilateral steps. He does not understand that they will result in a Hamas takeover in Judea and Samaria, just as occurred in Gaza," Netanyahu said.
"We won't let that happen," the prime minister vowed. "We will never agree to unilateral diktats."
Speaking during a traditional Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel would "always safeguard our security. This is our lesson both from the days of the Maccabees and in our day."
On Wednesday, Jordan submitted a Palestinian-proposed draft resolution to the UN Security Council that calls for Palestinian statehood by 2017.
The resolution came after months of threats and a last-second diplomatic blitz by the US and other Western countries to soften the language in the draft. The resolution is expected to fail to garner enough support in the 15-member body or be vetoed by the US.
Other Israeli leaders also lashed out at the move, including Strategic Affairs minister Yuval Steinitz, who called it an act of war and threatened Jerusalem would consider dismantling the PA in response.
Netanyahu had earlier warned that the statehood bid would end with the terror group Hamas taking over the West Bank and threatening major Israeli cities.
Abbas on Thursday welcomed a French-backed plan to relaunch peace talks in the framework of an international peace conference, but said that talks should not last more than a year.
"We appreciate the intensive deliberations held with Russia and Egypt, and at the same time stress our readiness to consult and exchange ideas to make our bid successful. This would include serious negotiations that would end the occupation before the end of 2017," Abbas told Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Thursday.
The final draft submitted by Jordan was somewhat subdued compared to earlier versions reported in Arab media. The proposal calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-June 1967 lines with "mutually agreed, limited, equivalent land swaps."
It also accepts a "third party presence" in the West Bank following the "full and phased withdrawal" of Israeli forces "over an agreed transition period in a reasonable timeframe," which would lapse by the end of 2017.
"We will continue with consultations in the UN to gather support for this project," Abbas was reported as saying by the official Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Thursday that the option of cutting security coordination with Israel was still on the table, despite a Palestinian decision Sunday to maintain security ties.
Israel has criticized the unilateral Palestinian diplomatic moves, which is says are an attempt to avoid making difficult compromises at the negotiating table.
Hamas has in recent days stepped up its attempts at psychological warfare against Israel, test firing rockets out to sea, posting leaked videos of IDF investigations - and on Sunday staging a massive military parade in the Gaza Strip to mark the 27th anniversary of its creation.
The parade from the organization that has controlled the Gaza Strip for the past seven years included various units from its military wing, including a rocket unit and its naval commandos.
As part of its propaganda drive, Hamas issued a video in which a silhouetted figure shows up at the end. Hamas claims that the figure is Mohammed Deif, the founder of the military wing who was targeted by the IDF during the summer conflict.
It is impossible to establish whether this is really Deif, whom some in the defense establishment believe was killed in Gaza in August. In the background of the purported appearance plays a speech Deif gave during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
Among the speakers at the rally was Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida, who became a familiar name during Operation Protective Edge over the summer.
"Hamas was able to stop the ambitions of the Zionist enterprise and because of that, it is today on the verge of collapsing and disappearing," he said.
"We will not lay down our weapons until we use them to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas and its battalions know how to write history. For many years we have produced the al-Qassam army that you and the world sees, the combat units that today are taking part in this spectacular demonstration."
Turning to the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Abu Odeida announced that their release was close.
"The day on which they see the light of freedom is closer than ever. Stay patient and steadfast and keep strengthening your brother fighters," he said.
Abu Obeida also mocked Israel for Hamas ultimately forcing it to release the prisoners.
"Yes, you captured 45 prisoners out of those released in the Shalit deal, judged them in your courts and bestowed on them long or life sentences. Judge all you want and deliver years in prison and life sentences, but you will not get to decide their exits for the first time in history. These heroes will be freed and their brothers released at a time that is not of your planning, and this time close."
The Hamas spokesman said the Knesset law to prevent prisoner exchange deals was not worth the paper it was written on. "The hands that voted to approve it will be the ones to annul it," he said.
Regarding the now-stagnant rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida said that, "our loss of patience on the issue of rehabilitation implies that Israel will not deliver and an explosion is imminent. Our people will not agree to the issue being forgotten. We will not accept anything less than rehabilitation of the damage caused by the Zionist aggression against Gaza."
He thanked Qatar, Turkey and Iran for standing by Hamas' side and the side of the organization's military wing.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya, who had one son killed in Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and another in Protective Edge this summer, made an anticipated fiery speech.
"After 27 years, Hamas holds aircraft and holds the sea. It has the ability to penetrate the enemy by sea, land and air. Anyone who thinks that Israel is here to stay is wrong. All of Palestine is Islamic land and no one will share it. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and the center of the conflict. "
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed US Secretary of State John Kerry's upcoming talks in Rome on Sunday, during opening remarks for his weekly Cabinet meeting.
"Tomorrow I will leave for Rome to meet with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and US Secretary of State John Kerry," he said. "I will tell them that Israel, to a large degree, stands as a solitary island against the waves of Islamic extremism that are washing over the entire Middle East."
"Until now we have successfully withstood and repelled these attacks and now we also stand against the possibility of a diplomatic assault, i.e. an attempt to compel us - by means of UN decisions - to withdraw to the 1967 lines within two years," Netanyahu continued. "This will lead to Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem."
"We will not allow this," he vowed. "We will strongly and responsibly rebuff this. Let there be no doubt, this will be rejected."
Kerry left for Rome Sunday, where he will conduct talks with Netanyahu in an attempt to push for a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, as well as meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over its own conflict with Ukraine.
"There are a lot of different folks pushing in different directions out there, and the question is can we all pull in the same direction," Kerry said Friday, when asked about his meeting with Netanyahu. "We're trying to figure out a way to help defuse the tensions and reduce
the potential for more conflict, and we're exploring various possibilities to that end."
Gadi Eizenkot 'the right man' for IDF Chief of Staff
Netanyahu also welcomed the appointment of Gen. Gadi Eizenkot as the next IDF Chief of Staff.
"Gadi Eizenkot is the right man in the right place at the right time," Netanyahu stated. "Gadi has been a soldier and a commander. He is a veteran commander and he can lead the IDF in the face of the major challenges that surround us."
"The challenges are unceasing; they are not taking even a moment's respite, and I am convinced that with determined, responsible and strong leadership and policy, along with Gadi's command of the IDF, we will be able to overcome any and all obstacles and challenges," he continued.
"I wish Gadi Eizenkot great success; his success in all areas is our success."
Eizenkot was appointed earlier Sunday. On Wednesday the Turkel Committee approved Eizenkot's appointment, which was announced in late November by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon.
Eizenkot, 54, will replace the current Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, in mid-February. He has been serving for the past two years as the IDF's Deputy Chief of General Staff.
Moving forward on Druze plan
Netanyahu concluded by noting his support for a special government project to aid the Druze and Circassian communities.
"Today, the Cabinet will also discuss a five-year plan to aid Druze and Circassian communities," he said. "I recently met with Druze community leaders, led by Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif. I told him that we would be submitting this plan."
The Prime Minister then explained the plan in brief.
"This is a wide-ranging plan on infrastructures, employment, education and other issues and it will do two things," he said. "One, it will reduce gaps between this population and the population at large. Two, it will express appreciation for the unique role of Druze and Circassian policemen and soldiers, who are our very flesh, who fight and fall in defense of our people."
"I think that this is one of the ways to express this appreciation," he added.
Netanyahu's statements follow the deaths of Israel Police Master Sergeant Zidan Nahad Seif, who was killed in the terrorist attack on in Har Nof, Jerusalem, and Border Police Chief Inspector Jidan Assad, who was killed on November 5 when a Palestinian terrorist deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of people at a light rail station in Jerusalem.
During a condolence visit to Druze leaders last month, he stated that the group is "an organic part of Israeli society" and expressed his heartfelt gratitude for not only the two officers' roles in the attacks, but for the Druze community's service in the IDF and Israeli society in general.
Ramallah's UN moves will lead to Hamas takeover, PM warns - http://www.timesofisrael.com/ramallahs-un-moves-will-lead-to-hamas-takeover-netanyahu-warns/
Day after Palestinian statehood bid submitted to Security Council, Netanyahu vows to rebuff 'unilateral diktats'
The Palestinian Authority's unilateral appeals to international bodies, including a statehood bid at the UN Security Council, form a greater threat to the Palestinian Authority than to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.
Netanyahu struck out at PA President Mahmoud Abbas, vowing to thwart his bid to gain statehood via appeals to the international community, a day after a draft calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by the end of 2017 was sent to the Security Council.
Abbas "thinks he can threaten us with unilateral steps. He does not understand that they will result in a Hamas takeover in Judea and Samaria, just as occurred in Gaza," Netanyahu said.
"We won't let that happen," the prime minister vowed. "We will never agree to unilateral diktats."
Speaking during a traditional Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel would "always safeguard our security. This is our lesson both from the days of the Maccabees and in our day."
On Wednesday, Jordan submitted a Palestinian-proposed draft resolution to the UN Security Council that calls for Palestinian statehood by 2017.
The resolution came after months of threats and a last-second diplomatic blitz by the US and other Western countries to soften the language in the draft. The resolution is expected to fail to garner enough support in the 15-member body or be vetoed by the US.
Other Israeli leaders also lashed out at the move, including Strategic Affairs minister Yuval Steinitz, who called it an act of war and threatened Jerusalem would consider dismantling the PA in response.
Netanyahu had earlier warned that the statehood bid would end with the terror group Hamas taking over the West Bank and threatening major Israeli cities.
Abbas on Thursday welcomed a French-backed plan to relaunch peace talks in the framework of an international peace conference, but said that talks should not last more than a year.
"We appreciate the intensive deliberations held with Russia and Egypt, and at the same time stress our readiness to consult and exchange ideas to make our bid successful. This would include serious negotiations that would end the occupation before the end of 2017," Abbas told Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Thursday.
The final draft submitted by Jordan was somewhat subdued compared to earlier versions reported in Arab media. The proposal calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-June 1967 lines with "mutually agreed, limited, equivalent land swaps."
It also accepts a "third party presence" in the West Bank following the "full and phased withdrawal" of Israeli forces "over an agreed transition period in a reasonable timeframe," which would lapse by the end of 2017.
"We will continue with consultations in the UN to gather support for this project," Abbas was reported as saying by the official Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Thursday that the option of cutting security coordination with Israel was still on the table, despite a Palestinian decision Sunday to maintain security ties.
Israel has criticized the unilateral Palestinian diplomatic moves, which is says are an attempt to avoid making difficult compromises at the negotiating table.
In show of strength, Hamas stages massive military parade in Gaza - Elior Levy - http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4603331,00.html
Hamas has in recent days stepped up its attempts at psychological warfare against Israel, test firing rockets out to sea, posting leaked videos of IDF investigations - and on Sunday staging a massive military parade in the Gaza Strip to mark the 27th anniversary of its creation.
The parade from the organization that has controlled the Gaza Strip for the past seven years included various units from its military wing, including a rocket unit and its naval commandos.
As part of its propaganda drive, Hamas issued a video in which a silhouetted figure shows up at the end. Hamas claims that the figure is Mohammed Deif, the founder of the military wing who was targeted by the IDF during the summer conflict.
It is impossible to establish whether this is really Deif, whom some in the defense establishment believe was killed in Gaza in August. In the background of the purported appearance plays a speech Deif gave during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
Among the speakers at the rally was Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida, who became a familiar name during Operation Protective Edge over the summer.
"Hamas was able to stop the ambitions of the Zionist enterprise and because of that, it is today on the verge of collapsing and disappearing," he said.
"We will not lay down our weapons until we use them to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas and its battalions know how to write history. For many years we have produced the al-Qassam army that you and the world sees, the combat units that today are taking part in this spectacular demonstration."
Turning to the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Abu Odeida announced that their release was close.
"The day on which they see the light of freedom is closer than ever. Stay patient and steadfast and keep strengthening your brother fighters," he said.
Abu Obeida also mocked Israel for Hamas ultimately forcing it to release the prisoners.
"Yes, you captured 45 prisoners out of those released in the Shalit deal, judged them in your courts and bestowed on them long or life sentences. Judge all you want and deliver years in prison and life sentences, but you will not get to decide their exits for the first time in history. These heroes will be freed and their brothers released at a time that is not of your planning, and this time close."
The Hamas spokesman said the Knesset law to prevent prisoner exchange deals was not worth the paper it was written on. "The hands that voted to approve it will be the ones to annul it," he said.
Regarding the now-stagnant rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida said that, "our loss of patience on the issue of rehabilitation implies that Israel will not deliver and an explosion is imminent. Our people will not agree to the issue being forgotten. We will not accept anything less than rehabilitation of the damage caused by the Zionist aggression against Gaza."
He thanked Qatar, Turkey and Iran for standing by Hamas' side and the side of the organization's military wing.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya, who had one son killed in Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and another in Protective Edge this summer, made an anticipated fiery speech.
"After 27 years, Hamas holds aircraft and holds the sea. It has the ability to penetrate the enemy by sea, land and air. Anyone who thinks that Israel is here to stay is wrong. All of Palestine is Islamic land and no one will share it. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and the center of the conflict. "
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