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Secret Obama Deal for Palestinian State?
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsWND - Aaron Klein
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Peace Process

Israeli officials fear White House's 'very dangerous move'

TEL AVIV – The U.S. is considering adopting a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence in the West Bank and Jerusalem regardless of negotiations with the Jewish state, according to Israeli sources speaking to Israel's Haaretz newspaper.

WND first reported in September that according to a top Palestinian Authority official, the Obama administration has largely adopted the positions of the PA to create a Palestinian state within two years based on the pre-1967 borders, meaning Israel would retreat from most of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

WND reported that the White House had accepted the positions of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who had quietly called for a state on the pre-1967 borders within two years.

Now Haaretz is quoting reports indicating that Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

Haaretz quoted Israeli sources stating Fayyad's plan specifies that at the end of a designated period for bolstering national institutions, the PA, in conjunction with the Arab League, would file a "claim of sovereignty" to the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly over the 1967 borders.

Israeli officials further told Haaretz that Fayyad had boasted of positive meetings about his plan with prominent EU member states, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Sweden.

Fayyad also told Israeli officials the Obama administration did not oppose his plan.

A senior Israeli foreign-policy official told Haaretz, "It's a very dangerous move."

Israeli sources further said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in Washington today, discussed Fayyad's proposal in previous meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Obama's Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

Netanyahu reportedly requested the U.S. tell Fayyad that it would not support his proposal and would veto it in the Security Council. Haaretz reported Netanyahu has yet to receive a clear response from Washington on its stance on Fayyad's plan.

'Obama can create headache for Netanyahu'

A top PA official told WND in September that the Obama administration told the PA it will support the announcement of a Palestinian state within two years.

The official also said Obama had accepted the PA position that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations begin where they left off under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who went further than previous Israeli leaders in his concessions to the Palestinians.

Olmert reportedly offered the PA not only 95 percent of the West Bank and peripheral eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods but also other territories never before offered by any Israeli leader, including parts of the Israeli Negev desert bordering Gaza as well as sections of the Jordan Valley.

"We understand from the U.S. that the Netanyahu government is not in a position to go against creating a state within two years," the PA official said.

The official claimed the Obama administration was ready to ultimately consider "sanctions" against Israel if the Netanyahu government rejected negotiations leading to a Palestinian state. The official refused to clarify which sanctions he was referring to or whether he was specifically told by the U.S. government it would consider sanctions.

Obama can make a "headache" for Netanyahu if the Israeli leader does not conduct negotiations leading within two years to a Palestinian state, the PA official claimed.

Redemption Bonanza: Baby Leads the Way
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Hillel Fendel
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 
A young father returned to his home kibbutz to redeem his first-born son - and two other never-redeemed first-borns joined in as well. Residents don't remember ever seeing a Torah-mandated redemption ceremony, known as a Pidyon HaBen, in their kibbutz since it was founded in 1942.

The idea was that of Rabbi Shlomo Ra'anan, head of the Ayelet HaShachar (Morning Star) outreach organization. "I had been studying with a young man named Noam, a resident of Kiryat Sefer who had just become the father of his first child, a son," Rabbi Ra'anan recounted. "Noam grew up in the very secular Kibbutz HaHotrim, near Haifa, and he was wondering where to hold the festive Redemption of the First-Born and perform the special commandment of redeeming his baby."

Rabbi Ra'anan, no stranger to imaginative initiatives that bring Judaism and Jews closer together, had an idea for Noam: "Why don't you have it in your secular kibbutz - and not only that, let's see if there are other first-born boys there who might never have had a pidyon (redemption), and they can do it as well! And don't worry: I'll bring the Kohen - and the music!"

The idea took off, and Tuesday evening, Jews of various stripes and persuasions from all over the country began streaming into the kibbutz dining hall: hareidi-religious, knitted-yarmulke, and many for whom it was their first time at a Pidyon HaBen.

After the strictly kosher meal began, it was the baby's turn first. The Kohen (descendant of Aaron the High Priest, brother of Moses), a young man from the hareidi-religious community in Zichron Yaakov, explained clearly and with good humor what was about to transpire: "The tribe of Levi, which is the tribe of Kohanim, was the only tribe that did not take part in the Sin of the Golden Calf - and so, the Kohanim were designated to carry out the Temple service from then on. However, the original plan had been for the first-born in each family to serve this function - so it became necessary for each first-born to 'redeem' his status by paying five silver coins to a Kohen and, in a sense, buy himself back."

He continued: "It is a Torah commandment for a father to redeem his wife's first-born son in this manner [provided neither of the parents are themselves Kohanim or Levites, and that the baby was born naturall after the baby is 30 days old. I hope I won't have to pay Re'ut [the mothe for the babysitting she has so kindly provided for 'my' son over the past month," he jokingly added. "Hmmm, let me see. I myself have five daughters and no sons, so maybe I won't actually redeem this one..."

Israel news photo: Rabbi Ra'anan, at right, with his eager assistant Yossi Siton



The Kohen had brought with him five silver coins for the occasion, which he sold to the young father for a nominal price. The father then recited the appropriate blessings and gave the coins to the Kohen, who passed him back the baby. Noam then watched proudly as the Kohen waved the coins over the baby's head and pronounced him "redeemed."

After a round of singing, led by guitarist Ephraim Tov, brought in for the occasion from Bnei Brak by Rabbi Ra'anan, the father announced that the ceremony was not over yet. To the happy surprise of those present, he announced that an old friend of his, the oldest in his family, had never been redeemed according to Torah law, and that he was anxious to do so now. The ceremony then repeated itself, but this time the place of the baby was taken by a strapping young man in his 20's. His father recited the blessings, handed over the coins that he had acquired just minutes earlier (at no cost), and the newly-redeemed son recited the blessing on the wine. Once again, Ephraim led the guests in a round of familiar Hassidic tunes.

But that was still not all. Another father-son pair from the secular kibbutz also wanted to take part, and once again the ceremony was repeated - and a young teenage Jewish boy suddenly found himself "redeemed" according to Torah law and tradition.

The Start of Something Big

Proudest of all, it appeared, was the "father" of the ceremony, Rabbi Ra'anan. "This is the start of an amazing project," he bubbled, "that we plan to do in many other places around the country."

Interestingly, Rabbi Ra'anan was less focused on "fixing" the unredeemed state of first-borns, and more on the effect the happy ceremony would have on the participants and their guests. "This is a great way of bringing Judaism into people's lives," he said. "They'll taste it and realize it's good!"

Rabbi Ra'anan has much experience with sparking Jewish interest where there has been no Judaism before. He and his organization have built synagogues in secular communities, organized literally thousands of telephone study-pairs (chavrutot) between religious and secular Jews, and sponsors Torah programming and classes in places that have never seen the likes of it before. But he was particularly enthusiastic about the triple Pidyon HaBen event he had just orchestrated: "There used to be a suspicious, 'anti' approach to Judaism in these places, but did you see what happened here? They were all interested and happy. It's really a beautiful thing, and I hope to continue it elsewhere, very soon."

Art's Commentary......Paul said, "...blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come (until the church is completed)". It seems that there is a stirring in the hearts of the Israeli's during these days, the time is nearing when the church will be complete and taken out of the world. Then God will begin to remove the spiritual blindness from Israel. See Zechariah 12:10.

Netanyahu: Reports of Crisis With Obama are 'garbage'
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsIsraelNN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said after his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama that the importance of his visit in Washington "will become clear in the future” and added that reports about a negative atmosphere in his relations with Obama are "garbage." The atmosphere in his meeting with Obama was “very open and very warm," he said, and reports to the contrary are false. "To put it mildly," he said, "they are grossly inaccurate and don't reflect the truth."

"The discussions dealt with the complex of issues vital for Israel's security and our joint efforts to advance the peace process. We discussed these issues in detail, practically and in a friendly manner. I really appreciated the professional and positive approach I discovered," he summed up.

News media in Israel and the U.S. speculated Tuesday on the nature of the meeting between Obama and Netanyahu in the White House, with some reports claiming that the meeting was a positive one that centered on the Iran problem, others stating that it was a tense meeting on the stalled diplomatic process and continued construction in Judea and Samaria. Some of the speculation about a crisis was fueled by the cancellation of a press briefing initially planned by Netanyahu to take place after the meeting.

Shoval: No crisis
Former ambassador to the United States Zalman Shoval told Arutz Sheva Tuesday that the fact that no news conference was held by Obama and Netanyahu means nothing. “They announced in advance that there would not be a news conference,” he noted. “I was not there, but there is certainly a possibility that they discussed the subject of Iran and in that case, it is no wonder that there was no news conference.” He added: "I do not want to paint too rosy a picture but today it is clear that the attempt to paint a [picture of] a crisis between us and the Americans is far from the truth.”

Regarding the analysts who noted that the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama was only scheduled at the last minute, Shoval said, “First of all we need to remember that Netanyahu's initial purpose in this visit was to meet the Jewish federations because the contact with the Jewish communities is very important.” In any case, he added, “the White House press secretary said that there were scheduling problems and this version need not be ruled out.”

Netanyahu Ready to Give Golan to Syria?
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Peace Process

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday passed a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad via French President Nicolas Sarkozy urging an immediate resumption of peace talks between the two Middle East nations. Arabic news network al-Arabiya cited "knowledgeable sources" as saying that during their meeting in Paris, Netanyahu told Sarkozy he is prepared to withdraw from the Golan Heights for the sake of a peace deal with Syria. According to the report, Netanyahu asked Sarkozy to passed that message on when he met with Assad on Friday. Netanyahu's office immediately responded by admitting that a message had been transmitted to Assad via Sarkozy, but firmly rejecting that the Israeli leader had offered to surrender the Golan. The Prime Minister's Office refused to release further details regarding the peace overture. A day before traveling to Paris himself, Assad claimed that he, too, is ready to restart negotiations with Israel without preconditions, though in the past the Syrian leader has refused direct talks with Israel without a prior commitment to meet Syrian territorial demands. Assad also revealed that even if he enters talks with Israel, they will be accompanied by continued support for terrorist violence against Israel. "The essence of peace is not just negotiations but rather, resistance as well," Assad was quoted as saying by official Syrian media. Meanwhile, Arab affairs expert Prof. Moshe Sharon warned in an interview with Arutz 7 Radio that all the Syrians want is to take Israel's water. "The Syrians want us to sign a peace agreement with them so that they can draw Sea of Galilee water from us," said Sharon. "They don’t want peace; they want water."

Netanyahu Denies Arab Media Report, Says No Golan Surrender
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office denied a report in the Arabic-language newspaper al-Arabiya that he will inform Syria, through French channels, that Israel would agree to surrender the strategic Golan Heights in return for a peace treaty.

The platform of the Prime Minister’s Likud party specifically states that his government will not withdraw from the area.

The office of the Prime Minister stated Thursday morning, “The subject of the negotiations with Syria came up during a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy,” with whom he met in France on Wednesday. “The Prime Minister said he is prepared to begin negotiations immediately at any place and at anytime but without any preconditions” by Israel or Syria.

The journalist for al-Arabiya insisted that Prime Minister Netanyahu specifically informed Assad he would agree to withdraw from the Golan but only after official meetings. French media reported that the information of the Israeli leader’s promise came from aides to the Prime Minister and not from French officials.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Sarkozy met Wednesday night in Paris and discussed several international issues, including the threat from Iran that it will be able to produce uranium that can be used for a nuclear weapon.

The subject of the Golan Heights, where 50 percent of the residents are Jewish and living in most of the area, has periodically been raised in Israel, often by mainstream media. Israel officially annexed the area as part of the country, and it would take an absolute majority of 61 Knesset Members to approve any surrender and expulsion of its residents.

Arab Affairs expert Professor Moshe Sharon told Arutz Sheva  that Syria is interested in water and not peace. “We need not take seriously Assad’s threats to ‘resume resistance’ in the Golan,” he said. Sharon emphasized that Israel must always remember that Syria is its perpetual enemy who might one day help Iran in a war against Israel, and that their only interest is in taking over the Golan and taking water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee

Media Avoiding Hasan - Muslim Link
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsChad Groening - OneNewsNow
Categories: Commentary;Warning

The Media Research Center (MRC) says that when authorities first announced the Fort Hood shooter was Major Nidal Malik Hasan, CBS and NBC completely avoided mentioning the fact. The Center further reports that ABC's Charles Gibson suggested Hasan was a "Muslim convert," which was not a correct statement, but adds at least it showed he was not trying to play "hide and seek" with the facts. 
 
The MRC also says that during an interview with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), CBS anchor Bob Schieffer tried to downplay the Islamic terrorist aspect of the massacre. "It's looking more and more like he was just sort of a religious nut," stated Schieffer. "And you know, Islam doesn't have a majority; the Christian religion has its full helping of nuts, too."
 
Newsweek's Evan Thomas made a swipe at conservatives during an appearance on Inside Washington, according to the MRC. "I cringe that [Hasan is] a Muslim. I mean, because it just inflames all the fears," said Thomas. "I think he's probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him, it will get the right wing going and it just -- I mean, these things are tragic, but that makes it much worse." 
 
ich Noyes, director of research at the MRC, feels that the media is overlooking another piece of evidence linking the shooting to Muslim terrorist activity. "You see a lot of timidity in the media trying to connect terrorism with the broader war on terror in spite of the evidence that keeps coming out," he argues. "I think a lot of the PC media are skipping over these things."
 
However, in spite of this purposeful ignorance, Noyes believes the truth is coming out anyway and that people are picking up on Hasan's true background.

Jordan's ambassador to the United States says that Jerusalem is a ticking time bomb
Nov 12th, 2009
News UpdateJimmy DeYoung
Categories: Jimmy DeYoung News

The Jordanian Ambassador to the United States, Zeid al-Hussein, says that Jerusalem is a ticking time bomb where an attack by Jewish extremists on Moslem holy sites could erase any chances for peace between Israel and the Palestinians also undermining stability in the entire Moslem world. The ambassador said his country was worried that an incident on the Temple Mount could unleash emotions of an extreme nature and the consequences would be very severe.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

The statement by the Jordanian ambassador to the United States that Jerusalem is a ticking time bomb is actually a page out of Bible prophecy.

From 1948 through 1967 and the Six Day War, the Jordanian government had control of the Al Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In fact, the Jordanians controlled the entire Temple Mount and allowed no Jews to enter the complex. The late King Hussein released control of the Temple Mount compound to the Palestinian Authority who have had custodial responsibilities of this holy site for the last 16 years. The Palestinian-Islamic Trust controls who can or cannot enter the compound. The Temple Mount or the Al-Aqsa, as the Moslems refer to this site, is the Islamic world's third holiest site. To the Jews and the Christians, it is their holiest site in the universe.

The statement by the Jordanian envoy is, in truth, reality. The Temple Mount, is indeed, a ticking time bomb. As I stated, this statement is a page out of Bible prophecy found in the prophetic book of Zechariah. The ancient Jewish prophet revealed 2500 years before the fact that Jerusalem and in particular the Temple Mount would be the center of controversy in the last days (Zechariah 12:2-3, 1:14-16). The prophetic phrase, "a cup of trembling" found in Zechariah 12:2 means that those who control this holy site will be intoxicated with power and will do so until the Messiah Jesus Christ returns to build His temple on this holy site.

Jerusalem as a ticking time bomb does set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

Israel Displays Coins from Ancient Jewish Revolt
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsAP - Michael Barajas
Categories: Today's Headlines;Archaeology;The Nation Of Israel

Nearly 2,000-year-old collection was excavated from near Temple Mount

JERUSALEM - Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.

About 70 coins were found in an excavation at the foot of a key Jerusalem holy site. They give a rare glimpse into the period of the Jewish revolt that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in A.D. 70, said Hava Katz, curator of the exhibition.

The Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire and took over Jerusalem in A.D. 66. After laying siege to Jerusalem, the Romans breached the city walls and wiped out the rebellion, demolishing the Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism.

The coins sit inside a glass case, some melted down to unrecognizable chunks of pockmarked and carbonized bronze from the flames that destroyed the Temple.

"These really show us the impact of the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century," said Gabriela Bijovsky, an antique coin expert from Israel Antiquities Authority. "These are a very vivid, dramatic example of that destruction."

"The most important coins we have are from those last four or five years of the rebellion against the Roman army, and one coin we found was actually minted very close to the destruction of the Second Temple," she said.

The coins were excavated from an ancient street below the Temple Mount, experts said. Archaeologists had to sift through debris and remove boulders thrown off the Temple Mount during the Roman raid before they found the road and the hoard of coins.

Today the Al Aqsa Mosque compound sits atop the ruins of the temples. Muslims refer to the site as the Noble Sanctuary, marking the spot from where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The conflicting claims make the site one the most explosive issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The coins are part of a larger exhibition in Jerusalem's Archaeological Garden, showing a collection of antique coins that have been uncovered over the past three decades.

A bronze coin with a palm tree dated by Israeli archaeologists to 69 AD, part of an exhibition displayed at the Davidson Center in Jerusalem's Old City. The Israel Antiquities Authority displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins excavated at the foot the Temple Mount, found charred and burned from when the Romans razed the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.

Hevron Children Clean Up City for Sabbath Celebration
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 
Tens of thousands of visitors expected in the Jewish community of Hevron this Sabbath will be walking on streets cleaned up by children in preparations for the annual Torah reading that recounts the forefather Abraham’s purchase of the Patriarchs’ Cave for the burial of his wife, Sarah. The Torah reading is called “The Life of Sarah," named after the first two significant words of the portion that is read by Jews around the world.

Students of yeshiva high schools for boys and for girls in Kiryat Arba, adjacent to Hevron, led the clean-up campaign that included the “Worshippers’ Path” from Kiryat Arba, adjacent to Hevron, to the entranceway to the Patriarch’s Cave. The path passes Arab houses, whose residents routinely throw trash and garbage on the passageway but are pleased with the clean-up.

The forefathers of Abraham, Isaac (Yitzchak) and Jacob (Yaakov) are buried at the Cave, along with their wives, except for Rachel, who died when she gave birth to Benjamin (Binyamin) at Bethlehem and was buried there.

Known as the Sabbath of The Life of Sarah (Chayey Sarah in Hebrew), it attracts large crowds every year from all over Israel. The IDF and police tighten up security on the main roads to Hevron as well as in the city itself.

Expose: U.S.aid Funds Pa Schools for Incitement
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gadalayhu
Categories: Today's Headlines;Anti-Israel

 
The massive USAID program for the Palestinian Authority helps build schools where children learn incitement and that the State of Israel does not exist, investigative journalist David Bedein revealed to Arutz Sheva.

“This is a catastrophe,” he said. “The government of the United States prohibits Palestinian Authority incitement against Israel while it builds the infrastructure for continuing the incitement.”

He said that a USAID official told him that the agency does not examine the PA curriculum and does not check to see if any of the assistance ends up in the hands of terrorists.” Bedein asserted, “They teach children about ‘martyrdom', praise violent resistance and teach that the entire State of Israel does not exist.”

The USAID program has pumped $2.4 billion into the Palestinian Authority since 1994 for what it says are programs that “reduce poverty, improve health and education, create jobs and advance democracy.” USAID says it plans to invest another $153 million in 2010 for the development of PA infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.

Congressmembers visiting Israel this past summer were surprised to hear from Bedein about continuing incitement in PA textbooks, despite its specific prohibition in the American Roadmap plan.

As far back as six years ago, Bedein reported that the U.S. government funded an Arab lobby group in Jerusalem that “trains media professionals in the art of transforming the image of the Arab-Israeli struggle into an Arab David against an Israeli Goliath.”

Asteroid Passes Just 8,700 miles from Earth - With Only 15 Hours Warning
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsMailonline - Claire Bates
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

Although no one noticed at the time, the Earth was almost hit by an asteroid last Friday.

The previously undiscovered asteroid came within 8,700miles of Earth but astronomers noticed it only 15 hours before it made its closest approach.

Its orbit brought it 30 times nearer than the Moon, which is 250,000 miles away.

But before you head for the nuclear bunkers you will be relieved to learn the tumbling rock was only 23ft across. Similar sized objects pass by this close to Earth about twice a year and impact on the planet about once every five years.

Art's Commentary.....We are reminded of Revelation 6:13, 8:10-11.

Arab - Affairs Expert: ‘syria Wants Water, not Peace'
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsIsraelNN - Hillel Fendel
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

“The Syrians want us to sign a peace agreement with them so that they can draw Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) water from us,” Arab Affairs expert Professor Moshe Sharon told Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine. “They don’t want peace; they want water.”

“We need not take seriously [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s threats to ‘resume resistance’ in the Golan,” Sharon said. “He wants to sound good for Hamas, Hizbullah and Fatah. It doesn’t mean all-out war, but just terrorist attacks in what they call the ‘occupied territories,’ and in this way to take back the Golan.

Prof. Sharon, born in Haifa 72 years ago, served as Arab affairs advisor to Prime Minister Menachem Begin. In 1982, during the Peace for Galilee War with Lebanon, he rejoined the army and served as liaison with the Shiites in Lebanon. Later promoted to the rank of Col., he headed the Arab affairs department in the IDF General Staff.

“Assad wants to encourage the Druze of the Golan Heights to organize and rise up against Israel,” Sharon continued, “but this of course will not happen. The Arabs in the Golan - all of whom are Israeli citizens, and some of whom are Israel-supporters - are mostly smart enough to know, based on their history, that it’s not worth it for them to revolt against Israel.”

Asked if Assad might choose instead to heat up his border with Israel, Sharon said the Syrian leader simply does not have the strength and public support he needs to do so: “Syria’s problem now is chiefly water. Agriculture in Syria is in very bad shape, and they lost a large part of their water sources in northwest Syria to Turkey. Syria is afraid to say anything to Turkey about the ‘occupied Syrian territory’ that Turkey took, because Turkey might make a face at them. But Syria feels that they can challenge Israel, because we won’t respond toughly. We must therefore tell them clearly, ‘You won’t receive anything from us because you are belligerent and you lost the war that you started with us, and we don’t plan to give you any gifts for starting a war and losing it.”

“The entire Syrian approach is one of trickery,” Sharon said. “They simply want to be able to take all our water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). They couldn’t care less if they dry up the whole lake; they want to put 500,000 farmers in the Golan, and draw water with no concern for any agreements they might sign with us. Turkey, too, is interested in having us sign an agreement with Syria so that Syria won’t demand water from Turkey; Turkey is saying, ‘You don’t need our water; take it from the Jews!’”

'Syria is an Enemy and Constant Threat'
“We must never forget that Syria is a constant threat to Israel. For instance, let us assume that there might be a missile war between Israel and Iran. Iran will then activate not only Hamas in Gaza and Hizbullah in Lebanon, but also Syria – missiles from four fronts!  Syria doesn’t want peace with us; it wants an agreement by which it regains all the territory that it once captured from us in the 1950’s, such as Hammat Gader and the eastern Kinneret shore, and it also wants to take our water.”

Sharon sums up: “We have the constant threat of Syria as an enemy, we have a threat on our water, and we have a threat of terrorist missiles from all directions. Just this week, Hamas tested a missile with a 60-kilometer range. We cannot allow ourselves to enter into any negotiations to give them any part of the Golan, and certainly not a full return to the Kinneret shore.”

Analysis: Obama Trying to Find Roadmap Out of Mideast
Nov 12th, 2009
Daily NewsIsraelNN - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

Foreign analysts and media observers say that U.S. President Barack Obama’s failure to advance the “diplomatic process” is forcing him to find alternatives, one of which is “just walking away,” according to observers quoted by the French news agency AFP.

The president has three options, and “none of these is very good…because the Palestinian side is melting away,” Center for Strategic and International Studies director Jon Alterman told the news agency.

"One is to have the president even more directly engaged to make a more obvious personal effort;” the second is put his own solution on the table; the third is to “find some way to redefine this, so people aren't looking for the president to move it forward, walk away in some way. It would be playing for time."

He acknowledged that the refusal of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to budge on his demands “reinforces the Israeli thinking that now is not the good time to move."

The Obama administration suffered a major diplomatic setback last week when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an abrupt change from previous statements, complimented Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his moves to reduce new construction for Jews in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and appeared to accept a partial building freeze.

Abbas followed by announcing he will not run for re-election and may resign before his term of office ends early next year, a move that experts predict could cause mayhem and even anarchy in the PA.

As previously reported, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote last Sunday that President Obama should take a “radically new approach…and just go home.”

Despite statements by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Obama officials claiming that the two leaders conducted “warm and friendly” talks at the White House earlier this week, all observers have noted there was no news conference following the meeting and not even a photo of a handshake.

Pro-Arab analyst Robert Malley, who is close to President Obama and was one of his advisors before he took office, said this week that the diplomatic freeze is not surprising because the president raised expectations in his ”reaching out to the Muslims” speech in Cairo last June.

"What is of concern is not so much the failure to reach the goals ... but that they set the goals in the first place without a plan to address the situation if they weren't able to achieve them,"  he told AFP.

Elliott Abrams, an expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, recently wrote in The Weekly Standard, "The fundamental problem with Obama's policy is: like too many of his predecessors he believes that a solution is at hand if only he can force the parties to the table.”