Netanyahu: Israel will not be pushed to peace

Israel will not accept a Middle East peace agreement that is forced on it by external forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said in private meetings in recent days, sources said Wednesday.

Netanyahu reportedly told close aides that "it won't work and it won't be acceptable if a settlement is forced on us," stressing the need to ensure proper security arrangements as part of any future peace deal.

For that end, the PM reportedly said, Israel would have to retain a military presence along its eastern border with Jordan, adding that any agreement that doesn't allow for those measure will not be accepted.



Netanyahu's comments came as the Washington Post quoted senior U.S. officials as saying earlier Wednesday that President Barack Obama was weighing the possibility of submitting a new American Middle East peace plan by this fall.

Also Wednesday, in a press conference in the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said differences with Washington over a disputed construction project in East Jerusalem were yet to be resolved, signaling a continued deadlock in the U.S. push to restart Mideast peace talks.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161409.html

:sarcasm:

Okay, Bibi. Fuck you and give back all the taxpayer money the USA has wasted on your pissy little country.

Last week, 50 retired U.S. generals and admirals signed a statement of support for Israel. As defense professionals, and after many visits with officials from the Israel Defense Forces, they say they "came away with the unswerving belief that the security of the State of Israel is a matter of great importance to the United States and its policy in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. A strong, secure Israel is an asset upon which American military planners and political leaders can rely. Israel is a democracy - a rare and precious commodity in the region and Israel shares our commitment to freedom, personal liberty and rule of law."

The retired senior officers mention "shared values and shared threats" such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but stay away from the essence of the dispute between Washington and Jerusalem. The organization that initiated and published the statement, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, is well aware of the precedent: its letter of October 2000, also signed by 50 retired generals and admirals. The gist a decade ago was defending the IDF's efforts to suppress Palestinian terror attacks.

The signatories this time are not supporters of the policies of the Netanyahu government, they're only reporting that they were impressed by their Israeli interlocutors' "determination to protect their country and to pursue a fair and workable peace with their neighbors." Their main issue is to prevent the impression that Israel is a burden and not an asset; this is also the case after the recent statements attributed to Gen. David Petraeus (which have been denied).


It's good that an organization like JINSA exists to decrease the alienation between retired and current officers on the one hand, and the American Jewish community on the other. JINSA would also help improve relations between the Pentagon and Israel. It's also good that the retired officers, who visit Israel on JINSA tours with their wives and are taken on informative trips and given briefings, express a positive opinion to their friends and sometimes also the press, as military commentators. It's even better to understand what they don't say in the letter, which leaves out each of the following words: Palestinians, territories, Jerusalem, construction.

remainder in full: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161365.html

We will support them only as long as there is a war in the area.

as we support Israel.

chicken, egg, chicken