PLO PA Flag Flies at State Department: PLO PA Gets Diplomatic Immunity

Hillary Clinton's State Department has upgraded the status of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from a "bureau" to a "general delegation." This moves gets the terrorist organization's flag flying at "the people's State Department building. This upgrade will also grant diplomatic immunity to "visitors" of the "delegation," and gives the PLO and the PA the same status as "Canada and many western European countries."

Who abides within the "delegation?" Will their terrorist credentials get a security check? Is there anyone in the delegation we will refuse to allow in the U.S.?

Apparently, Netanyahu knew this was coming, didn't object, and don't we know, that would be useless anyway:

Israeli Radio reported that sources in Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said that the Prime Minister knew of the planned step and did not object to it. . Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem claimed that the step was taken to strengthen Abu Maazen and try to get him to agree to direct talks with Israel. However, they expressed dissapointment that the White House did not make ceasing the PA's anti Israel incitement a condition for the status upgrade.

For attitude, see Right, Wing-Nut! who suggests using the Israeli flag as a doormat may be next and Solomonia muses about Israel's motive,

Michael Oren Israeli Ambassador: Tectonic Rift Between Israel U.S.?

The attitude of the Obama administration toward Israel has created a mammoth divide between the two countries, according to five Israeli diplomats who quote Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. This is more than Obama's rude treatment of Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. It goes far deeper than a dis, and for anyone paying attention, Israel could hardly feel otherwise. Oren has denied the reports to Haaretz.

Michael Oren

An interesting note about Michael Oren, he was born in the U.S. and was an American citizen until he accepted the Ambassadorship, which required that he relinquish his American citizenry. So, the five Israeli diplomats said Oren met with them and this is their story:

“There is no crisis in Israel-US relations because in a crisis there are ups and downs,” Oren told a closed briefing to senior officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry's North American Branch and research division, Yedioth Ahronoth's Itamar Eichner reports. 

“According to the Israeli diplomats, Oren said …’Relations are in the state of a tectonic rift in which continents are drifting apart,’” Haaretz said.

“Oren noted that contrary to Obama's predecessors - George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - the current president is not motivated by historical-ideological sentiments toward Israel but by cold interests and considerations,” Haaretz reports. 

“He added that his access as Israel's ambassador to senior administration officials and close advisers of the president is good. But Obama has very tight control over his immediate environment, and it is hard to influence him. ‘This is a one-man show,’ Oren is quoted as saying.”

The Obama administration is not merely drifting away from Israel, it jumped into the strongest current and joined Israel's enemies (put your finger anywhere on a map and you'll fined them) heading far downstream, as far away as possible. However...this Haaretz article quotes The U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Ministry, Michele Flournoy saying "defense ties between Israel and the U.S. are stronger than ever."

Too Horrible To Contemplate!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

I received this via an e-mail and did some checking up on the facts I am about to present to you.  Most of this I have been able to confirm through my own sources.

Earlier today I posted about the warning Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely issued about the grave danger Israel is in. Following that, I received this from a colleague who has close friends in Israel. Here’s what she wrote:

I have just received this: from my friend in Israel who moves in high circles there.

No attribution possible. It’s from a very trustworthy source who was himself the recipient and knows these people. They send him information clandestinely and they remain incognito, so that they can safely inform Americans of what is actually happening. I’m sure that they would be pleased to have the information disseminated.

Incidentally, in my opinion, this is what appears to be happening. Obama has made secret deals with the Iranian mullahcracy to facilitate the weakening of both the USA and Israel, even the planned destruction of Israel, in exchange for promises from Iran and now the Turkish leadership that ‘all they want’ – à la Munich, 1938 – is their individual MidEast Sudentenland, each of them.

Turkey and Iran have decided to split the ME between them – East and West. Turkey will recreate a new Sunni-controlled Ottoman Empire, and Iran will be allowed its own ‘greater Iran’ hegemony…i.e. a new Shiite Caliphate stretching beyond its current borders.

Obama, who is a Muslim, agrees with this plan and has pledged to help throw Israel – along with all American national security interests – to the wolves.

This appears to me to be what is currently happening, and Americans had better awaken to this reality long before November, 2012, or we won’t have a country, or an Israel, to save any longer.

***

Tonight Clive and I heard very disturbing information – we heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White house. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the USA and it is not pretty:

1. Israel during the Bush and Clinton Administrations – had landing rights in Turkey, and in the USA bases in the middle east and more recently under George Bush, in Iraq. This was in case they were invaded by Iran , or Saudi or any other Arab country. Obama has withdrawn those landing rights. Israel now has nowhere to refuel in the Middle East.

2. Netanyahu was instructed to come to the White House for a meeting. He was brought in through a servants entrance – the only head of state ever in US history to be given that disgraceful treatment. He was not offered even a cup of tea – but was lectured to by Obama who told him that he is not permitted to attack Iran and that he has to withdraw all forces from the West Bank and may not build any more settlements ( neighborhoods) in East Jerusalem.

3. Israel found out that there were four terrorists meeting in Dubai . As they have done for the past 62 years, they informed the US of that and said that these terrorists had to be dealt with. Obama said under no circumstances. Israel decided to go ahead. They killed the one terrorist who showed up. However the CIA was sent there to film the entire event by Obama – and then a concerted PR campaign was waged by the White house to discredit Israel and what they did – this kind of action has taken place with US support for the past 62 years since we have common enemies.

4. Obama has refused to oppose Syria’s rearming of Hezbollah and Hamas – Israel now sits in imminent danger from the amounts of missiles that can be sent into her territory.

5. Israel will never tell the US again of its plans – since they cannot trust us.

6. Israel intends to attack Iran –there are over 30 installations of which 4 have underground bunkers that contain nuclear weapons. Israel cannot wait any longer. The US is no longer supporting Israel ’s self defense.

7. This is the same man that gave the White House a full file on the 9.11 attack – his warnings and proof were laughed at.

8. He believes that the next attacks in the USA will be mass transportation – subways and malls – especially the largest malls where the most people can be killed – and that Vegas and wherever there are conventions of employees will be a huge target. We are not prepared and are naive in our lack thereof.

9. Once Israel attacks Iran , every Jew and Jewish institution will be at risk – temples, religious schools etc. We must be prepared.

10. This kept a room of 200 people spellbound. It is not fiction. It is fact.

What can be done?

It is essential that everyone who doesn’t know yet, now understands that the protection and survival of Israel is not on Obama’s list – and he is now taking ACTUAL steps to move all protections away – no more landing rights, negotiating with Iran and Syria, making nice to the Muslim World in the face of allies of long standing and he is no friend of the Jewish people and Israel.

We must be sure that we elect politicians who protect Israel as well as the USA – our interests are intertwined. Please forward to everyone you know.

I was able to verify through my own sources every one of the 10 points cited here. Yet Barack Hussein Obama is sending his Kapos

With this happening, no wonder Netanyahu is on edge!

Something for all of us to remember:

On this date, 5 Sivan 5741 (June 7, 1981), Israel bombed and destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Baghdad. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had pronounced himself as the reincarnation of Babylonian tyrant Nebuchadnezzar, and named the nuclear reactor "Tammuz" -- the name of the calamitous Jewish month when Nebuchadnezzar's troops laid siege on Jerusalem 2,500 years earlier. Ilan Ramon (later to become Israel's first astronaut, who died in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia) and seven other pilots executed the daring raid -- flying over enemy Arab territory for hours, and avoiding detection with their tight formation that emitted a radar signal resembling a commercial airliner. However, even as Israel celebrated the successful raid, condemnation was nearly universal. One prominent U.S. senator called it "one of the most provocative, ill-timed and internationally illegal actions taken in that nation's history." Two decades later, as the world feared Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, the Israeli action was vindicated.

Operation Opera

Israel will do what is necessary to survive regardless of what Barack Hussein Obama want them to do, even if it costs them funding and/or support.

Linked by The Lonely Conservative

Mike Pence: Time for this Administration to Stop Bullying Israel

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said he didn't believe he would live to see the day that the U.S. criticized Israel for building in Jerusalem, their Capital. "It's time for this administration to stop bullying Israel," he said. And joining in the criticism was Dylan Ratigan, another MSNBC radical, saying Israel is building housing "in an area that Palestinians want as their capital in a proposed state; these developments are seen as a direct provocation to Palestine."  Palestinians have a better chance of their hell freezing over than Israel giving up Jerusalem. See the video below.

Mike Pence

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. Obama refused the customary photo-op - for the second time since Obama mounted the Oval Office. This ungracious, insolent and calculating behavior by this racist president will not serve him well.

The Muslim mindset is that you abuse, and intimidate, demean and denigrate your enemy, and you make the humiliation as public as possible. That's why Muslim women are stoned and flogged in public. It's why Islam hangs gays and Westerners from cranes and bridges and leaves them for the buzzards. Obama has tried to verbally flog Israel, but Mr. Netanyahu will only go so far. He has reached his limit and his demeanor showed it. Enough is enough. Israel has always done what it must do, and won't take a crap sandwich from the bowing and fawning Obama.

Obama bows to Saudia Arabia

I am embarrassed for Hillary Clinton, who whined that Israel is "exposing daylight between Israel and the U.S. - daylight that others in the area want to expose," she said. Without blinking or thinking our position should always be that there is no daylight between the U.S. and Israel, the only Democracy in the Middle East...our only ally in the Middle East, the only country in the Middle East with civil rights, non-existent in Islamic lands.

Israel is home to some 1+ million Muslims, with voting rights and seats in the Knesset. Arabic along with Hebrew is an official language in Israel. More than 300,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. There are hundreds of Arab schools on Israeli soil. Arabs are free to live anywhere in Israel they choose - by law. Arabs enjoy all the freedoms of the Israeli people, but never have to prove their loyalty by serving in Israel's military. In general, Arabs living in Israel appreciate what the country offers and quality of life is far better in this civilized nation than in Palestine.

There will be no Palestinian state. Palestine will never willingly share any land in the Middle East with Jews, although Israel would, and does, share land with Palestine. The differences between the two peoples are vast. Israel is a nation that builds and grows, produces, educates and contributes. Palestine only produces, but their  product does nothing for mankind. They produce terror, and tunnels to move their terror. They produce hate in their people and then turn the hate into terror. Palestine has never built anything that wasn't paid for with terrorist funding, or by charitable gifts from around the world.

It is far beyond time to think about the lands that should have been Israel's, that are not Israel's and move forward. Let Palestine take what Israel gives them, and they'll get far more than deserved.

Here the Mike Pence video, and I really appreciate his sentiments. Someone must say it. I have several links below on Obama and Israel. They are worth a read.



Rep. Mike Pence: It's Time for this Administration to Stop Bullying Israel (center)

Others Talking about Obama and Israel:

Bare Naked Islam showing a "good old boy" hug from Obama for Palestinian Abbas, a warm two-handed handshake for Muammar Gaddafi, and shoulder slaps for Hugo Chavez. A picture is worth a thousand words. An absent pic - the same, worth a thousand words.

Pam Geller at Atlas Shrugs - no press, no photos

Debbie at Right Truth -  Dear Israel...the majority of American citizens support you

Tracy Walters Blog - No photos and day on Capitol Hill with Kerry and Schumer - enough is enough!

Netanyahu Plants a Tree: Israel in West Bank Forever

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "the message is clear - we are here and will remain here." Then he planted trees along with Israeli's living in Israel's West Bank.

Netanyahu had met with Obama's Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, just prior to planting the trees and making his statement. Mitchell was sent to the Middle East, with offices and an entourage in Jerusalem, to move Israel to do whatever it takes to bring about a Two-State Solution. The problem is, nothing is asked of Palestine except ceasing rockets sent into Israeli cities. The demands from America are mythical, and the truth behind the demands on Israel are rotten to the core. Palestine does not want Israel to exist - not the State, not the people.

Here is some of what Netanyahu said (Source: YNetNews):

The message is clear - we are here and will remain here. We are planting and building; this is an inseparable part of the State of Israel, he said today, during a tree-planting tour of the West Bank settlement blocs.

This is the first stop. From here we will go on to plant trees in other places.

This is an inseparable part of the State of Israel. The vast majority of Israel's citizens accept this, and it is gradually being instilled in the international psyche, said the prime minister.

If you feel angst about supporting Israel - feel that Palestinians deserves a home, these resources may be of interest:

The Angst of Supporting Israel

Israel - Palestine Flight from Fact: Maddening Realities

Obama to Netanyahu: Jerusalem Must Be Divided Again!

By Findalis During the campaign, then candidate Obama said the following at an address of AIPAC:

Let me be clear. Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper — but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

It seems that is another lie from this Master of Lies. For now it is US Policy to hand over to the Palestinians all of East Jerusalem, including one of the most holiest sites in Judaism: The Western Wall.

The United States State Department made it clear Tuesday that Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem are “settlements,” which U.S. President Barack Obama has called “illegitimate." U.S. officials previously have used the term “settlement” to describe the Har Homa neighborhood, opposite the neighborhood of Gilo on the southern end of Jerusalem. Like French Hill, Ramot and eastern Talpiot, it was restored to Israel in the Six Day War in 1967 and officially annexed to Jerusalem in 1980. Approximately 300,000 Jews live in these neighborhoods. Reporters covering the daily State Department press briefing have recently asked tough-than-usual questions concerning what they see as the United States trying to determine the future borders of a Palestinian Authority state instead of allowing Israel and the PA to negotiate directly. In Tuesday’s session, reporters peppered State Department assistant spokesman Robert Wood with questions on how the Obama administration can continue to insist on a halt to all building for Jews in eastern Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria in light of solid support from within Israel for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu told the Cabinet this week that Israel has complete sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and decides issues such as building permits. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon declared on Tuesday, “Israel will continue to operate in accordance with its vital national interests... Our right to rule and develop Jerusalem is irrefutable.” Even Intelligence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, one of the most dovish Likud Knesset Members, who previously has favored the idea of surrendering the strategic Golan Heights to Syria, took up the cause for Jerusalem Tuesday.

So now the sovereignty of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is to be placed in the hands of terrorists. No longer will Jews be allowed to worship or live in Jerusalem. No longer will Jewish homes, schools and synagogues be allowed to remain standing. And the Western Wall will once again be used as a urinal as it was under Jordanian rule. It seems that Obama never learned history in those fancy schools that he attended. So here is a little history lesson for him:

Before 1865, the entire population of Jerusalem lived behind the Old City walls (what today would be considered part of the eastern part of the city) Later, the city began to expand beyond the walls because of population growth, and both Jews and Arabs began to build in new areas of the city. By the time of partition, a thriving Jewish community was living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, an area that included the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This area of the city also contains many sites of importance to the Jewish religion, including the city of David, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. In addition, major institutions like Hebrew University and the original Hadassah hospital are on Mount Scopus, in eastern Jerusalem. The only time that the eastern part of Jerusalem was exclusively Arab was between 1949-1967, and that was because Jordan occupied the area and forcibly expelled all the Jews. Jerusalem is one issue on which the views of Israelis are unanimous: The city must remain the undivided capital of Israel.

Israel will never give up one inch of Jerusalem. Not today, tomorrow, next week, next year, not ever. As Eliezer ben Yisrael wrote:

For the first time since the year 70, there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put a torch to the Temple, everyone has equal rights (You prefer to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword- but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace, but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to. We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We are redeeming the pledge made by our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time- "in Jerusalem"!

President Obama remember these words:

Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time- "in Jerusalem"!

Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) View at YouTube

Egypt Mubarak Denies Israel: Israel Egypt Peace Treaty

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak confirmed the need of the free world to turn the backside of freedom on oppressive and murderous Islamic regimes, no longer offering the respect of "recognizing" them as sovereign, until they return the favor to their neighbors. Islam will not live happily or even grumpily with freedom, and certainly not if any form of "respect" is a condition of that living.

Hosni Mubarak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did well the job of a besieged leader this week. He "led" with his policy speech on June 14th, and raised the mantle of the existing peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan:

If we join hands and work together for peace, together with our neighbors, there is no limit to the development and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples in economy, trade, agriculture, tourism and education. Fortunately, Egypt and Jordan have left this circle of enmity. The signing of peace treaties with them have brought about and end of their claims against Israel, an end to the conflict, bringing peace.

As Israel offered a leg-up to technology, agriculture, trade, education and safety for all the people in the area, Arabs who can't provide anything of any value for themselves or anyone else, said they were "outraged." In true I-am-great-Arab-man mode, Egypt's Mubarak joined the choir as he said the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland "ruined the chance for peace." So this fight that Mubarak brought to the forefront has nothing to do with Netanyahu's demand for a demilitiarized Palestinian state. It has to do with "recognizing" Israel as a state and as the Jewish homeland. Well, Muslims cannot have that, even if "recognizing" Israel is exactly what Egypt treatied to do when they signed the Israel-Egypt peace treaty in 1979. Taken directly from the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, is this:

Article III (1) a They recognize and will respect each other's right to live in peace within their secure and recognized boundaries; (1) b They recognize and will respect each other's right to live in peace within their secure and recognized boundaries (3) The Parties agree that the normal relationship established between them will include full recognition, ...

The agreement was signed by the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Government of the State of Israel. That's the "State" of Israel. When Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the agreement with Israel, he was not agreeing to recognize Jews in Brooklyn, so what is Mubarak talking about? There are a few things to remember about the 30-year-old peace treaty. For one thing, Egypt came to the table because Israel took them to a very uncomfortable woodshed and rendered them whupped-upon in the worst way. They couldn't believe the beating they got at the behest of the tiny start-up nation of Israel, and the world couldn't believe it either, but...Egypt attacked Israel four times and four times Egypt lost. Egypt needed that peace treaty. The treaty was reason to celebrate for the Israeli people, and for those Egyptians who feared losing a loved one to Israel's wrath, it was good for Egyptians, as well, but a daunting precedent was set. As a condition of the treaty, Israel returned all their spoils of war to their attacker. Everything went back to Egypt. It was historic and it was unfortunate. From that time forward, Israel has been expected to "give back" and "give up," anything and everything that punished the attacker for attacking in the first place. Additionally, Israel has been expected to give up whatever negotiators asked them to give. Daniel Pipes makes several sobering observations about Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, but perhaps the starkest is the this precedent:

...war can be concluded through negotiations rather than by one side giving up.

Winning the battle...possessing the mightiest power and being willing to use that power sends the clearest message. As Netanyahu said in his speech:

Many good people have told us that withdrawal from the territories is the key to peace with the Palestinians. Well we withdrew. But the fact is that every withdrawal was met with massive waves of terror by suicide bombers and thousands of missiles. We tried to withdraw with an agreement and without an agreement. We tried a partial withdrawal and a full withdrawal. In the year 2000 and again last year, I proposed with good will, an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an end to the conflict and twice our offers were rejected. We evacuated every last inch of the Gaza strip and we uprooted settlements, and evicted thousands of Israelis from their homes and in response we received a hail of missiles on our cities towns and children.

Negotiations do nothing unless you have already won your battles, your enemy is in retreat, and your fist remains clenched and raised until your demands are met. The lesson for Israel is don't "give back" and especially don't give up the borders you need to keep your country safe.

Netanyahu Demands Disarmed Palestinian State: Palestine Outraged at Netanyahu Demands (Video)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech today has not yet been released in text form but I have 5-1/2 minute video below that covers a good portion of the speech. We see that Israel again extends a hand of peace. We see that the Palestinians will have none of it.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Begin video transcript (only 5-1/2 minutes of the speech are represented here):

Now more than ever as we face three immense challenges. the Iranian threat, the economic crisis and the advancement of peace. The Iranian threat looms large before us as we learned yesterday in full force. The greatest danger confronting Israel, the Middle East and the entire world, is the nexus between radical Islam and nuclear weapons. I raised this issue with President Obama in my recent visit to Washington, and I will raise it again in my meetings next week with European leaders. For years I have been working tirelessly to forge an international alliance to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. I turn to you, our Palestinian neighbors, lead by the Palestinian Authority: let us begin negotiations immediately without preconditions. Is is obligated by our international commitments, and expects all the parties to keep its commitments as well, and I say to the Palestinian people this evening, that we want to live with you in peace as good neighbors. We want our children and your children to never again experience war; that parents, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters will never again know the agony of losing a loved one in battle; that our children will be able to dream of a brighter future and realize that dream. That together we will invest our energies in ploughshares and pruning hooks not swords and spears. I know the face of war. I have experienced battle. I have lost close friends. I lost a brother. I have seen the pain of bereaved families up close, and many times. I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war. If we join hands and work together for peace, together with our neighbors, there is no limit to the development and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples in economy, trade, agriculture, tourism and education. Fortunately, Egypt and Jordan have left this circle of enmity. The signing of peace treaties with them have brought about and end of their claims against Israel, an end to the conflict, bringing peace. But to our regret, this is not the case with the Palestinians. The closer we get to an agreement with the them, the further they retreat. They raise their demands, demands that are inconsistent with the true desire to end the conflict. Many good people have told us that withdrawal from the territories is the key to peace with the Palestinians. Well we withdrew. But the fact is that every withdrawal was met with massive waves of terror by suicide bombers and thousands of missiles. We tried to withdraw with an agreement and without an agreement. We tried a partial withdrawal and a full withdrawal. In the year 2000 and again last year, I proposed with good will, an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an end to the conflict and twice our offers were rejected. We evacuated every last inch of the Gaza strip and we uprooted settlements, and evicted thousands of Israelis from their homes and in response we received a hail of missiles on our cities towns and children. The claim that territorial withdrawals will bring peace with the Palestinians, or at least advance peace, has until now, not stood the test of reality. Moreover, Hamas in the south like Hezbollah in the north, have repeatedly proclaimed their commitment to liberate the cities of Ashkelon, Tiberius, Beersheava, Haifa and Acre. In other words, territorial withdrawals have not lessened the hatred and the most regretful thing is even the most moderate among the Palestinians have are not willing to say the simple words "Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people and it will stay that way. The territorial question will be discussed in the final peace agreement. In the meantime we have no intention of building new settlements or expropriating additional land for new settlements, but there is a need to allow the settlers to live normals lives and raise their children like families everywhere. The settlers are neither the enemies of the people, nor are they the enemies of peace. They are our brothers and sisters. Let us realize the vision of Isaiah the prophet, who in Jerusalem said 2700 years ago, "no nation shall lift up sword against nation and with God's help we will know war no more, we will know peace." End video transcript.

While the video below does not address Netanyahu's demand that Palestine be a demiliartized state, that was a part of the speech. A BBC report backs up that information. Huffington Post has this confirmation:

Netanyahu said the Palestinian state would have to be unarmed and recognize Israel as the Jewish state _ a condition amounting to Palestinian refugees giving up the goal of returning to Israel.

Ynetnews.com:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented three conditions for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel: The recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, demilitarization, and the support of the international community.

If we receive this guarantee we will be ready to accept a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish one," he said. Netanyahu added that Jerusalem would remain the unified capital of Israel.

This report says that the Palestinian Authority expressed "outrage and shock" at Netanyahu's call for a demilitiarized Palestinian state, and the call to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and accused Israel of burying the peace process. According to PA President Mahmoud Abbas:

Netanyahu's speech is a blow to Obama before it's a blow to the Palestinians and Arabs," commented an aide. "It's obvious, in the aftermath of this speech, that we are headed toward another round of violence and bloodshed.

Read additional remarks taken from today's speech from Monkey in the Middle

Netanyahu Speech

Video courtesy of Kretinkooper.

Background on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Flight from Fact: Maddening Realities The Angst of Supporting Israel The U.N. War on Israel Who and What are the Palestinians

I am willing to meet any Arab leader, even in Riyadh

by Findalis In an unprecedented speech at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke those words. In the same speech he uttered the words: Palestinian State. The first Prime Minister of Israel to do so. But he also laid down quite a few conditions for there to be peace between the 2 peoples:

“I turn to you, our Palestinian neighbors," he said, let us start negotiations for peace immediately. I say to you – we want to live with you in peace and good neighborly relations. I want our children will dream of a better future and realize it. That we will put our energy into plowshares and pruning scissors, not swords... I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war. Let us join hands and work at peace. There is no end to the flourishing we can bring to our two nations." "The simple truth," he added however, "is that the root of the conflict is the refusal to accept the Jewish people’s right to exist in its historic homeland. Whoever thinks that the enmity to Israel is the result of our occupying Judea and Samaria is confusing cause and effect." He then enumerated instances of Arab belligerence against the Jews in the Land of Israel before 1967. The closer we come to a peace the more the Palestinians move away, he said. "Every retreat by us was met with thousands of suicide terror bombings and rockets." "We vacated the Gaza Strip to the last centimeter and received a rain of missiles on our communities and our children. Hamas and Hizbullah keep saying that their aim is to free Akko, Beersheva and Haifa. Even the moderate Palestinians, even now, are unwilling to say the simplest thing: Israel is the state of the Jewish People and it will stay that way.” He added: "In order to achieve peace one needs courage and honesty on both sides – not just the Israeli side. The Palestinian leadership must recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people." “The demand to settle Palestinian refugees inside Israel is incompatible with the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state," he said. "It is possible to solve this problem outside the borders of Israel. There is wide national agreement about this among us.” "Judea and Samaria are not a foreign country for us. This is the land of our forefathers. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The right of the Jewish people over our country does not come from the suffering we have been through. Some say if it weren’t for the Holocaust there would be no State if Israel. But I say that if Israel had been established n time there would not have been a Holocaust," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu reiterated Israel's long standing desire for peace. A desire held by all Israelis since the founding of the nation in 1948.

"Peace has always been our objective," Netanyahu began. "Our prophets always envisioned peace; we bless each other with Shalom; our prayers end in peace." The prime minister said that he was willing to meet any Arab leader anywhere. "I turn to Arab leaders: Let's make peace, I am ready," Netahyahu said. "I am willing to go to Damascus; Riyadh, to meet anytime and anywhere." Netanyahu also warned of the threat emanating from Iran, saying, "The biggest threat to Israel, and the middle east and all of humanity is the meeting between radical Ismalism and nuclear weaponry." Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to "begin peace talks immediately, and with no preconditions." The prime minister continued to speak of the heavy toll the ongoing conflict has taken, mentioning his being a bereaved brother. "I don't want war. Nobody in Israel wants war," he said to applause. "If the advantages of peace are so clear, we must ask - why is peace still far? What is perpetuating the conflict for over 60 years? We must reach the root of the struggle," Netanyahu ascertained. "Let me use the most simple words - the root of the struggle is the refusal to recognize the Israel as the Jewish state. The initial Arab refusal was to a Jewish state in any location, before Israeli presence in the West Bank," continued Netanyahu. "The closer we get to an agreement with the Palestinians, the further it is rejected. We tried a withdraw with an agreement, without one, a partial withdraw and offered a near-complete withdraw. We uprooted Jewish settlers from their homes, and got a barrage of missiles in return," he said of the Gaza pullout. "Sadly, even the Palestinian moderates won't say the most simple statement - Israel is the Jewish national state, and will remain such. "To achieve peace, courage and honesty are needed from both sides. The Palestinians must say - 'enough with this conflict. We recognize Israel's right to exist, and want to live by their side.' "A public Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish nation-state is a precondition for regional peace," Netanyahu said.

Now for the $64,000 question: Did Netanyahu sell out? NO! He did not call for an freeze on Settlements, Jerusalem was to remain in Israeli hands, nor did he call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Judea and Samaria (The West Bank). What he did call for is very simple:

1. Recognize Israel as a Jewish Nation.
2. No militarized Palestinian Nation.
3. No Law of Return for Palestinians.
4. Jerusalem, the city of David would be always be part of Israel.

The next round goes to the Palestinians, who if history is any indication of their intentions, will reject this out right. Now what will Obama do?

Before pressing Israel, world must address continued rocket attacks

By Findalis From the Sderot Media Center

Rockets Have Not Stopped

by Jacob Shrybman A few days ago I was relaxing in my first-floor apartment in Sderot when there was a loud knock on my door. The government contractor tasked with building private bomb shelters attached to each unit in the building came to check my apartment. All across the city, private bomb shelters are popping up like spring flowers and are being utilized as the Color Red alarms continue to sound. As Netanyahu gears up for his monumental visit to discuss the Middle East peace process with US President Barack Obama, are international leaders aware that terrorist rocket fire against Israeli civilians has not stopped? As southern Israel prepares for the next barrage of rockets, the international media and leaders hype this visit to be of vital importance to a peace agreement. On May 4th The New York Times ran an article titled “Addressing US, Hamas Says it Grounded Rockets,” noting that only six rockets were fired at Israel in April. On May 5th Ynetnews ran an article titled “Dramatic Drop in Qassam Fire,” reporting that only 8 rockets were fired in April. However, with a simple phone call to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson, the only in-the-field source, I was given the official military count of 23 rockets and 3 mortar shells for the month of April, significantly more than what was reported in the media. The world is being led to believe that the rockets have stopped when in fact there have been over 200 rockets since the ceasefire began on January 18th. Working in Sderot for the Sderot Media Center, I knew that there were more than eight rockets last month. I began to track down the statistics and their sources. The reporter at Ynetnews cited the Shin Bet as its source. So why is there is such a discrepancy between what I and the army see on the ground and report day-to-day, and what some Israeli officials and the news media are reporting to the world? Are Israeli and international politicians suggesting that Operation Cast Lead completely thwarted the threat from Hamas and Iran in the Gaza Strip? Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the so-called moderate Fatah, which proudly paint their rockets yellow to distinguish them from Hamas’ red and green, announced in the last week of April that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish State. With such a definitive proclamation against a peaceful solution, with whom are Israeli and international leaders pushing the Jewish State to come to an agreement? The rockets fired at Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip by the Iranian-funded terrorist organization Hamas have not stopped. International leaders and the news media need to stop presenting statistics that foment this fallacy in the effort to force an agreement that will not bring shalom or salaam, but rather, be a mere piece of paper. All one needs to do is come to my first floor apartment in Sderot to be awakened to this continued reality of rockets.

Only a few rockets, as if that makes it better. Perhaps the editors of the New York Times, Huffington Post or Daily Kos wouldn't mind a few rockets being fired into their homes on a daily basis. How long would it be before they raised their voices in protest against such action? A day? A week? A month? A year? 5 years? 8 years? Especially if the local authorities did nothing to stop the rocket attacks. Then they would understand the fustration that the citizens of Sderot feel.

Following Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, Qassam Strikes Sderot Homes

by Anav Silverman A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza slammed between two Sderot homes around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 19. The Tzeva Adom, Color Red siren blared twice in the city sending residents fleeing to area bomb shelters. After the second Color Red siren, an unusually loud explosion sounded throughout the city. The sound of the rocket explosion shocked no one more than Ilan Dahan. Ilan was sleeping when the Qassam rocket crashed into his backyard right outside his bedroom.

Shula Dahan, owner of damaged home, on the phone. Photo: Noam Bedein

“I slept right through the Color Red siren,” said Ilan. Ilan, dazed and shocked, guides us to his bedroom. His bed is full of broken glass, from a window right above the bed, which had shattered all over his back. "I felt the glass implode all over me," he said. “It’s a miracle that all I got was this small scratch,” Ilan told Sderot Media Center. A piece of broken glass struck Ilan’s back, leaving behind a red mark. Both Ilan’s parents were home when the rocket struck. His father raced into Ilan’s bedroom after the rocket struck, picked his son up and carried him outside to safety. “At that point, I didn’t even realize that the rocket hit right outside our home,” said Ilan, who is 18 and getting ready to enter the army. View the video here. Shula, Ilan’s mother, looks at her son tearfully. “I never expected this to happen to us during a ceasefire,” she said. The family was sitting outside in the front of the home to cool off from the heat of the evening when the siren sounded. “We didn’t react quickly enough to the siren,” said Shula. “If we had reacted, we would have raced to the back of the home where our new shelter is located. Most likely one of us would have been injured because the rocket exploded right outside the shelter.” The back of the Dahan’s home suffered severe damage from the rocket blast. Broken glass and debris litters the floor, while holes from rocket shrapnel rocket mark the ceiling and walls. Outside, the Dahan’s shelter is also covered with shrapnel marks.

Sderot home damaged in Qassam attack on Tuesday, May 19. Photo: Noam Bedein

The rocket explosion also damaged the home next to the Dahans. Family members from both sides suffered shock, as did neighbors further along the street. Several people were treated for trauma on the scene. The rocket attack comes around the same time that the Sderot Mental Health Center is shutting down. Dr. Adrianne Katz, the head of Sderot Mental Health told Sderot Media Center that the mental health center is closing due to budget cuts. The Sderot Mental Health Center has provided therapy treatments to thousands of Sderot trauma victims and has 5, 500 patients on file. The Gaza rocket attacks on Sderot come after the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday. During a White House press conference after the meeting, President Obama stated, that "there is a recognition that the Palestinians are going to have to do a better job providing the kinds of security assurances that Israelis would need to achieve a two-state solution, [and] gain additional legitimacy and credibility with their own people, and delivering services." Obama also added “that the situation in Sderot was unacceptable, and that he'd seen the situation there himself.” Indeed, when Obama visited Sderot last year, he stated in a Sderot press conference "I will work from the moment that I return to America, to tell the story of Sderot and to make sure that the good people who live here are enjoying a future of peace and security and hope." He also stated that, "The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens. If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing." Tuesday marked the fifth month since the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in mid-January. During that time, over 210 rockets have been fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza at Israel.

Security officer digging for the Qassam with Sderot mayor, David Bouskilla upfront. Photo: Noam Bedein

Promises from then candidate Obama. Promises to secure the Jewish vote. But in reality Obama is anything but sympathetic to the plight of the people of Sderot and Israel. He is more concerned with his image and prestige in the Muslim world than any thing else. It is accepted in the Muslim world that there is only one solution to the problem, the total destruction of Israel, Western civilization, and the death to each Jew worldwide. That is the true goal of the OIC, Arab League, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Hizbollah. Yet President Obama ignores these facts and is committed to the fiction of a 2-State Solution. To achieve this aim President Obama has been pressuring Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu into making more concessions to the Arabs. Including giving away control of the most holiest sites in Judaism, The Temple Mount and The Kotel:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

This is a proposal that will never be accepted by the Jewish Nation! Either President Obama is a dim-witted idiot or he is stupidly naive. You choose. Don't be silent on this. Do something. Write a letter to your local paper, call Congress in protest, call the President in disgust, or sign up for SMS Alerts. And please find it in your heart to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Without them, the people of Sderot would have no voice. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.

And remember to keep the people of Sderot and Israel in your prayers.

Is Israel Getting Ready To Attack Iran?

By Findalis According to The Times the answer is YES.

The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran's nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government. Among the steps taken to ready Israeli forces for what would be a risky raid requiring pinpoint aerial strikes are the acquisition of three Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and regional missions to simulate the attack. Two nationwide civil defence drills will help to prepare the public for the retaliation that Israel could face. “Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours. They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words,” one senior defence official told The Times. The distance from Israel to at least one of the sites is more than 870 miles, a distance that the Israeli force practised covering in a training exercise last year that involved F15 and F16 jets, helicopters and refuelling tankers. The possible Israeli strike on Iran has drawn comparisons to its attack on the Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad in 1981. That strike, which destroyed the facility in under 100 seconds, was completed without Israeli losses and checked Iraqi ambitions for a nuclear weapons programme. “We would not make the threat [against Iran] without the force to back it. There has been a recent move, a number of on-the-ground preparations, that indicate Israel's willingness to act,” said another official from Israel's intelligence community. He added that it was unlikely that Israel would carry out the attack without receiving at least tacit approval from America, which has struck a more reconciliatory tone in dealing with Iran under its new administration. An Israeli attack on Iran would entail flying over Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, where US forces have a strong presence. Read the full story here.

What is strange about this is that Israeli news sources are totally silent on this. Not even a hint of any thing. The Obama administration has already nixed this idea. There will be no go ahead from them. So if Israel does attack it not only will go it totally alone, but quite possibly have to attack American planes as well. (That would get Iran very friendly with the US). That would give Obama justification to attack Israel and quite possibly get the War Powers Act he would need. I'm betting that Netanyahu will try this, but not until after Obama's scheduled visit in June. And I'm betting that not only will Israel do this, but somehow they'll come out of this smelling like roses.

Bibi's Condition!

By Findalis Israel's new Prime Minister is one sneaky fellow. Instead of ranting and raving against the US's insistence on forcing Israel to accept the Saudi Peace Plan Saudi Plan for Israel's Suicide, he just made one little concession for the Palestinians to make in order for Israel to accept a 2-State Solution:

Full Recognition of Israel as a Jewish nation. And agreeing to Israel's right to exist as a nation.

Just one little concession. I wonder if the Palestinians will conceed this at the earliest date possible (today) or will wait for better conditions. Either way. Bibi has shown that unlike Olmert, he has a set of balls. And they are made of brass.