MIDEAST UPDATE: 6.4.16 - 'Jerusalem was ours and will remain ours,' Netanyahu says

'Jerusalem was ours and will remain ours,' Netanyahu says - By Marissa Newman - http://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-was-ours-and-will-remain-ours-pm-says/

 

In Jerusalem Day Knesset session, Netanyahu rules out a return to pre-1967 divided city, slams 'absurd' UNESCO resolution

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear Wednesday that he was opposed to a return to the pre-1967 division of Jerusalem in a future peace deal, and slammed a UNESCO resolution eliding Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.

 

"Our roots are deeper than any other nations, including to the Temple Mount. Jerusalem was ours and will remain ours," he said, speaking in a special Knesset session marking Jerusalem Day. 

 

Israel doesn't need to "make excuses for [its] presence in Jerusalem," he added, but he did not definitively rule out any territorial concessions in the city.

 

"We remember Jerusalem up until the [1967] Six Day War," he said, when the city was split, with Israelis excluded from the Old City and its eastern neighborhoods. "We certainly do not want to return to that situation."

 

"I believe the Six Day War clarified to our enemies that we are here to stay," he added.

 

The prime minister also lashed out at an "absurd and outrageous" UNESCO resolution from April that omitted the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and Jerusalem generally. The resolution accused Israel of "planting fake Jewish graves in Muslim cemeteries" and of "the continued conversion of many Islamic and Byzantine remains into the so-called Jewish ritual baths or into Jewish prayer places."

 

"These historical distortions are reserved solely for Jews," Netanyahu said.

 

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog took to the podium after the prime minister, lambasted the latter's partial endorsement of the Arab Peace Initiative on Monday and announced that "words mean nothing without action."

 

In his address, Herzog said Israel must strive for an agreement to keep Jerusalem "Jewish and moral, whole and secure."

 

"Your talk about regional opportunities is very impressive, but you must take care that they are not seen as flip-flopping or empty statements," he said to Netanyahu, referring to the prime minister's joint press conference on Monday with new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman in which the two pledged support for parts of the 2002 Arab proposal.

 

"Jerusalem will not remain Jewish and moral, whole and secure if there is no dramatic change and unless we reach a peace deal," said Herzog.

 

Meretz leader Zehava Galon, meanwhile, accused Jewish Home's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel of visiting the Temple Mount earlier in the day, an allegation later denied by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein.

 

Galon said Ariel had broken a Knesset ban on lawmakers visiting the Temple Mount on Wednesday morning. Edelstein said that the information was false, and because the issue was so "volatile" it was important to emphasize that no Knesset members had visited the holy site since they were barred from the area late last year amid rising tensions in the capital.

 

Jerusalem Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) urged the government to improve infrastructure in the city's eastern Arab neighborhoods, but emphasized that Jerusalem would remain united under any future peace agreement.

 

"Unfortunately, one hears talk that in order to save Jerusalem, one must divide it. The Israeli public doesn't want the city divided, and that's why we will remain in power," said Elkin. "If we place a clear red line against dividing Jerusalem, as has been for years, we will be able to reach a [peace] deal, it doesn't matter with which initiative - French, Saudi, or any other initiative."

 

Israel on Sunday will mark Jerusalem Day, a national holiday that celebrates the 1967 Israeli capture of the Western Wall and Temple Mount holy sites, along with the city's eastern half.

 

IDF warns of escalating pressure in Gaza - http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/gaza-hamas-military-branch-muhammed-al-deif-idf-war.html?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=applenews&utm_campaign=applenews

 

Passover this year, in April, passed almost without incident for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Southern Command and residents of southern Israel. Concerns about mutual military escalations and miscalculations between Israel and Hamas came to naught.

 

Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza confronted each other in 2008 (Operation Cast Lead), 2012 (Operation Pillar of Defense) and 2014 (Operation Protective Edge). The Southern Command's working assumption is that there will be another round in the coming years. The IDF and Shin Bet are trying to understand which way the wind is blowing in Gaza and map in advance Hamas' plans and preparations for the next round. The IDF is also determined to conclude that round faster than previous confrontations and score a decisive victory. In the 2014 war, the IDF trudged around for 51 long days until a cease-fire took effect.

 

The battlefield is more complicated than ever. Hamas is divided, between its military and political branches, which are bickering with increasing intensity. The diplomatic branch is trying, unsuccessfully, to work its way into Egypt's good graces, but the Egyptians are demanding that Hamas turn over Islamic State (IS) collaborators, while the military brass refuses.

 

Mohammed al-Deif, commander of the military wing, knows that IS' Sinai District (formerly Ansar Bait al-Maqdis) is the last ammunitions pipeline Hamas has these days. The besieged heads of Hamas' military wing have been appealing to Iran for help. The three of them - Deif, his deputy, Marwan Issa, and strongman Yahya Sanwar - are trying to drag the diplomatic branch to "go the extra mile" in Tehran's direction, but Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political bureau chief, has hesitated. Given the heavy pressure he comes under from Sunni countries, Meshaal can't afford to be seen joining up with the Shiites in Tehran.

 

This situation has created a real struggle between Hamas' political and military branches. Old goblins are escaping the bottle. As pressure increases in Gaza - with worsening unemployment and deepening poverty - tempers tend to rise even higher. Military-wing officials blame the political wing for the failure against Operation Protective Edge. According to them, the military wing scored historic successes, paralyzed Israel for 51 days, closed down Ben Gurion International Airport for two days and survived the mighty IDF, while the political wing revealed itself unable to turn military success into a diplomatic victory. That the Gaza blockade was not breached and that Hamas did not succeed in strengthening its position are perceived by military-wing officials as complete failures on the part of the diplomatic leadership.

 

This discord is set against a background of acute unemployment. According to the World Bank, in 2015, 43% of the manpower in Gaza was not working. A full 60% of youths were unemployed, and 90% of the water reservoirs were contaminated, the water unsuitable for drinking. There was no electricity 50% of the time. The Rafah crossing connecting Gaza to Egypt is behind lock and key. The only remaining lifelines are the border crossings into Israel, at Erez and Kerem Shalom. Eight hundred trucks a day arriving from Israel keep Gaza residents' heads above water.

 

Despite all the above, experts in the IDF presume that there is no alternative to Hamas in Gaza. Support for IS is estimated at about 10%, a relatively low figure. The connection between Hamas' military branch and the Sinai District has been weakened a bit recently under Egyptian pressure. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi views the battle being currently waged in the Sinai Peninsula against IS as a critical battle over Egypt itself.

 

According to an Israeli security source, data that has reached the West indicate that the Egyptian army is losing between 20 to 50 soldiers a week in a non-stop war against some 600 to 1,000 IS fighters. The Egyptians' problems are as follows: the fighting is occurring over a very large, isolated and mountainous area; IS possesses advanced combat weaponry; and IS fighters are not afraid of dying due to their religious, messianic zealotry. Hamas observes this struggle with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Egypt is a bitter enemy, but on the other, an IS takeover of Sinai could spill over into the Gaza Strip.

 

According to the Southern Command's situation evaluation, Hamas is currently deterred and restrained vis-a-vis Israel. The few rockets that have been fired since Operation Protective Edge into Israeli territory - an IDF source estimates 78 rockets over almost two years, 38 of which fell into Gaza - were launched by insubordinate Salafist organizations. Hamas has created a special force that tries to prevent such attacks.

 

Hamas is well aware that it is not at the moment prepared for another military round against Israel, but it nevertheless takes into account that fighting could erupt. The organization keeps close tabs on Israeli publications and statements. Every utterance by a defense or diplomatic source is taken extremely seriously. There are some in Hamas who think that Israel is planning a "surprise attack" similar to 2008 and 2012.

 

In this chaos, the most prominent figure is that of Sanwar, the "minister of works," as Israeli sources call him. Sanwar is the most dominant of the figures constituting the military wing's triumvirate. He is militant, self-confident and straining at the leash looking for a good fight. He has no regard for Meshaal and the rest of the political leadership, who fear that Sanwar might drag Hamas into an unplanned war with Israel.

 

Sanwar spent 20 years in prison in Israel, for murdering collaborators, before being released in the 2011 deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. He has since risen to the top. In the current state of affairs, the Israelis view Deif as the saner alternative to Sanwar.

 

"One thing is certain," a highly placed Israeli security official told Al-Monitor. "If things continue [in this direction] at the current pace, there is no doubt that in the next two years, an additional, powerful round of violence will take place between Israel and the Gaza Strip. We're talking about a bubbling pressure cooker that continues to boil powerfully. To lower the pressure, someone has to lower the height of the flames or remove the cover."

 

At this stage, there is no responsible adult to undertake such an action. As reported by Al-Monitor, the upper echelons of Israel's military establishment believe that Gaza should be opened: tens of thousands of Palestinian workers should be allowed to enter Israel; economic and developmental enterprises should be initiated (e.g., a floating sea port, artificial islands); and everything should be done to improve the quality of life there and to open horizons for its residents. If that doesn't happen, the IDF's top brass say, we won't be able to avoid another round of war. Such are the laws of nature.

 

 

In surprise move, Netanyahu says he's ready to negotiate based on Saudi peace initiative - Gil Hoffmann - http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Avigdor-Liberman-was-approved-in-the-Knesset-as-Defense-Minister-455475

 

'Post' learns that Hanegbi will help Netanyahu lead new push; Bennett said to be opposed to change in stance.

 

Israel is prepared to hold peace talks based on the Arab Peace Initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprisingly declared Monday just moments after new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman took the oath of office, ending a month-long saga over which party would join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

 

"I remain committed to making peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors," Netanyahu said in a press conference following the swearing- in ceremony. "The Arab peace initiative includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians.

 

"We are willing to negotiate with the Arab states revisions to that initiative so that it reflects the dramatic changes in the region since 2002, but maintains the agreed goal of two states for two peoples."

 

The controversial Arab Peace Initiative - long rejected by Jerusalem and also known as the Saudi Initiative - calls for normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel, in exchange for a complete withdrawal by Israel to pre-1967 lines and a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

 

The Jerusalem Post has learned that Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi, who was sworn in as minister-without-portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office and will deal with foreign affairs and defense issues, will be involved in new regional diplomatic initiatives Netanyahu intends to advance in coming weeks. He is the Likud's most dovish minister.

 

Netanyahu also praised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's offer to advance peace and security in the region. Liberman, who has been critical of Egypt in the past, said he agreed with Netanyahu's statements, including about the Arab peace plan and reiterated Yisrael Beytenu's long-standing support for a two-state solution.

 

Sources close to Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett, however, said he would have a hard time supporting such diplomatic initiatives.

 

They said the people of Israel elected a right-wing government and deserved to receive one. The diplomatic issue is expected to be one of many disputes within the coalition in the weeks ahead.

 

A dispute between Netanyahu and Bennett over the appointment of a military secretary to the security cabinet was resolved past midnight Sunday night. The National Security Council will brief security cabinet ministers until a committee appointed by Netanyahu to determine how to proceed further issues its recommendations in three weeks. If the recommendations are not to Bennett's liking, Bennett's associates said the dispute could start all over again.

 

There also expected to be disputes over the state budget; deliberations on the budget in the cabinet will start Tuesday morning.

 

When he agreed to join the coalition, Liberman withdrew from his party's demands on matters of religion and state, but he opposes a controversial bill that will come to a vote in the Knesset Wednesday that requires harsh punishments for people who are not Chief Rabbinate recognized rabbis who conduct wedding ceremonies in Israel.

 

Yisrael Beytenu formally joined the coalition Monday night following approval by a 55-43 Knesset vote in which Likud MK Bennie Begin abstained and rebel Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy-Abecassis did not participate. In addition to Liberman, Yisrael Beytenu MK Sofa Landver was sworn in as immigrant absorption minister. Along the guidelines of the so-called Norwegian Bill, which allows a minister or deputy minister from each coalition party to be replaced by the next name on the party's Knesset list, Liberman quit the Knesset Monday night. He will be replaced by Holon city councilwoman Yulia Malinovsky, who will be the Knesset's 33rd woman.

 

Ahead of the vote approving the coalition agreement, the Knesset conducted a stormy debate on the issue in which opposition MKs harshly criticized Liberman.

 

Zionist Union MK Erel Margalit read a speech full of insults to Netanyahu that were all uttered by Liberman over the past year.

 

Zionist Union MK Yoel Hasson poked fun at a statement by Liberman last month that if he became defense minister, he would assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh within 48 hours. Hasson started a countdown until Haniyeh's death.