Lack of communication ‘not normal practice’
wnd
JERUSALEM
Unlike the Bush administration, the staff of President Obama is not coordinating its policy on Iran or the greater Middle East with Israel and has not been informing the Jewish state of its plans or recent diplomatic developments in the Mideast, according to sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
The silence extends to U.S. talks with the Palestinians, the sources said.
“Our intention and our hope as we go to Washington is to establish close intimate cooperative relationships on these sensitive matters,” a top Netanyahu official told WND yesterday.
The official was speaking about Netanyahu’s May 18 visit to the White House.
According to other sources in the prime minister’s office, Israel has been obtaining the vast majority of its information regarding U.S. plans and advances for the Middle East from third parties, mostly European diplomats.
This is in stark contrast to Bush’s eight-year presidency, during which the White House and State Department routinely briefed Israeli counterparts on Middle East affairs to the extent that the majority of official U.S. and Israeli statements on various policy issues were heavily coordinated.
A recent example of the Obama administration leaving Israel in the dark was information received by Jerusalem officials of a U.S. deadline of October for Iran to show progress in talks over their nuclear program. That deadline was apparently set by Obama’s Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.
The information of the deadline – first reported by Haaretz yesterday and confirmed by WND – was discovered in Jerusalem not via U.S. sources but from third party European diplomats who were briefed on the matter.
“Right now there is next to no communication coming to us from the White House,” said a source in Netanyahu’s office.
The source warned against interpreting the matter as evidencing an anti-Israel bias from the Obama administration.
“Look, there is a new administration in the U.S. and a new one here (in Israel),” the source said. “There hasn’t been so much time yet to establish channels.”
Still, the source noted the extent of the blackout on information from the U.S. was “not usual practice.”
A second source said the lack of communication between Israel and America extends to Israeli-Palestinian affairs. That source described a meeting last month between Netanyahu and another of Obama’s Middle East envoys, George Mitchell. The source said the meeting largely was a one-way street, with the prime minister sharing his intended approach to Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said Mitchell outlined Obama’s overall strategy for the region but did not update Netanyahu on any talks with the Palestinians or specifics of Obama’s intentions.
“Other than the Mitchell meeting, basically there wasn’t much other communication at all, period,” said the second source. “And we were not informed beforehand of policy statements that were made by Obama or his administration regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including statements Obama made after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah (last month).”
Obama trumpets ‘anti-Israel’ Arab plan
One thing Mitchell did convey to Netanyahu was Obama’s alleged plan to help create a Palestinian state in hopes of normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world in line with the “Arab Peace Initiative.” The source said Mitchell relayed that Obama’s Middle East strategy would be based on the concept of the “initiative” but with security guarantees for Israel.
Following scores of denials he would trumpet the plan, Obama in January hailed the Arab initiative, which offers normalization of ties with the Jewish state in exchange for extreme Israeli concessions.
“Well, here’s what I think is important. Look at the proposal that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. … I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace. I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
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Netanyahu: Israel ready to renew peace talks
May 11, 2009
JERUSALEM
JTA
Benjamin Netanyahu told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that Israel plans to renew peace talks with the Palestinians soon.
Israel’s prime minister met with Mubarak in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheik Monday morning after greeting Pope Benedict XVI at Ben Gurion International Airport upon his arrival in Israel.
“We want, as soon as possible, to resume the peace talks with the Palestinians and I hope they will indeed resume in the coming weeks,” Netanyahu told a joint news conference following the meeting.
Netanyahu said Israel’s peace with Egypt “withstood all the tests of time, and as far as we’re concerned, and I know that for Egypt, too, it is a strategic asset, a cornerstone of the stability and hope in the region.”
Mubarak added that the three-decade peace between the two countries has “proven that peace is not impossible.”
Mubarak said he and Netanyahu raised important issues during their talks, “including the settlements and the threat they pose to peace. We also spoke of the need for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that will exist alongside Israel in peace and security.”
Mubarak told reporters that the leaders also discussed strengthening the Israel-Hamas cease-fire and opening up the Gaza border crossings, which he said would lead to a prisoner exchange to bring home kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
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Key UN nations call for Palestinian state
YNet.news
Russia, the US and key UN nations are urging stepped-up efforts to create a Palestinian state that would exist peacefully alongside Israel and an overall Mideast peace settlement.
Speakers at Monday’s meeting of the UN Security Council noted the challenges ahead but warned of renewed violence unless sustained efforts are made to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, reconcile the divided Palestinian factions, and renew talks between Israel and Syria.
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Wild Thing’s comment……..
The whole world turning against Israel, they are in for a rude awakening from Almighty God.
The arabs are scared of Bibi, they know they can’t push him around.
When Bibi comes to see Obama next week, I think Bibi’s going to tell Obama how the world REALLY works, outside of Academia, and he’s not going to like it.
Obama was a member of the Chicago New Party and the Chicago DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) and to no one’s surprise the Chicago New Party is not exactly a pro-israel party. In actuality it is a party profoundly hostile to Israel.
There is the DSA’s resolution on the conflict which calls for an end to all US military aid to Israel
Finally, pro-peace forces in both Palestine and Israel cannot succeed without the aid of the international community. Therefore, DSA calls upon the United States immediately to abide by its stated policy of ending all military aid to Israel used directly for purposes of the occupation. Furthermore, the United States should cut off all military aid if Israel al refuses to end all settlement activity and withdraw from the occupied territories as an integral part of the peace process.
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….Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Israel is our only true friend in the mideast and perhaps our only true ally worldwide and the POS POTUS is dissing them to kiss the butts of a bunch of stone age Islamist regimes.
Bob A.
The Japanese could NEVER have done as much to destroy this Country than Osamablb-dad has done in 100 days.
A “pox” to Oblama, Michlambow, and ALL they stand for.
Do not know why any one spends much talk about a palistinian state. Those dogs can make a state any time they want. They refuse to make a state unless it is all of Isreal/palistine and they run it and there are no Jews there. They also prefer to be stateless to perpetuate the fiction of being oppressed.
Hey, Berry, since you are in to giving things away, for nothing, regardless who’s paying for it. Why not just give the Palestinians, Peurto Rico. Then move the Peurto Ricans to New York City. Then Acorn can go to Puerto Rico and get all the Palestinians to vote for Obama, and put the Puerto Ricans in NYC on welfare. That way you secure the vote of two groups.
Disarming the Israeli’s strikes me as a typical Liberal plan. Disarm the good guys while the crooks and terrorists have all the weapons. Again the Jews get the shaft.
If the world is So friggin concerned about the Palestinians Why doesn’t Egypt or Jordan give the Palestinians their own land. Its all friggin dessert anyway but thats not what this is all about it’s about destroying the Jewish State and the whole World knows it. Except the left in America.
Pulling the rug out from Israel makes the world a much more dangerous place. If Israel has no major backing and we cut off military aid, then that leaves Israel little option other than using her nukes if she is attacked.
Obama is a muslim so he will support Israel’s enemies. His ship of state is a ship of fools, pirates and power mongers. Sadly, we all have to ride this sorry ship.
My wish is that when Bibi comes to the watermelon patch next week that he smacks O’Vomit in the face and walks out. That will be followed the next day by Iran becoming a smoking hole. FUCK this president and all that he stands for. He is the devil.
What did Peurto Rico ever do to you? I figure that he is going to sell them Hawaii like Cater gave away the Panama Canal. Hawaii may think they have some deal for covering up Obam’s Birth Certificate problem but the only way he can be sure of burying the problem is to place Hawaii outside of the United States and selling it to Saudi Arabia for a Palastinian homeland is just perfect from Obamaa’s perspective.
I agree with most of the above. If these middle east stone age cultures want the Palestinians to have a homeland then give them some of their’s. Screw the Arabs and their so called love for the Palestinians whom are controlled by a terrorist Islamist group of thugs.
Bob A.
Bob A., I agree and I pray something happens
where we remain friends with Israel. It looks
doubtful though because of Obama.
Steve Gaston, USMC, DITTO!
“A “pox” to Oblama, Michlambow, and ALL they stand for.”
Odin,yes, they want it with no Jews at all
there. They would love to have them gone
from anywhere on the earth.
Mark,
“Disarm the good guys while the crooks and
terrorists have all the weapons.”
They would love this to happen.
OH how I wish we would strike fear in the
hearts of the enemy like our country used to.
I always laughed when the left would whine
that no one liked the USA. LOL I mean how
stupid is that, we are the country people are
breaking into illegally for pete’s sake.
It would be wonderful if a politican would
stand up to Obama on all of this with Israel
and tell him off and hold a press conference
and let the people (besides those of us that
are paying attention) know what Obama
wants to do with our friend Israel.
Tom, good analogy with the ship, that
is what it is.
I feel so badly about this, I want so
much for Israel to know that many in our
country are upset about this and support
Israel. I hope they realize just as we
lost the election we lost our voice as
well.
cuchieddie (DHS suspected terrorist)), I
am hoping so much for BiBi to do that.
If BiBi sees there is no changing the
mind of Obama he just might do that too.
Avitar, that was so bad when Carter
gave away the Panama Canal. I will
never ever forgive him for that.