By RON JAGER, One week after Israel’s elections, it is fairly accurate to state that the public voted almost exclusively on alleviating the alleged plight of Israel’s middle class, ignoring issues pertinent to security and foreign policy issues. The only valid interpretation of the election results in light of what was on the voter’s mind…
BY JAN WILLEM VAN DER HOEVEN, ICZC— What in the world is wrong with Israel, that it cannot and does not make a clear and unequivocal case explaining why it is, at this moment, not eager to pursue the two state solution that has already been accepted by its government? Why can’t it spell out…
By RYAN JONES, ISRAEL TODAY— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week pointed to the overtly hostile rhetoric of Hamas coupled with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reconcile with the terror group as the primary reason that true, lasting peace is currently unachievable. Over the weekend, Hamas marked its 25th anniversary with a gala…
By YORAM ETTINGER, ISRAEL HAYOM— The November 29, 2012 U.N. vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority to a “nonmember observer state” — in violation of the 1993 Oslo Accords — was an expected derivative of Israel’s policy toward the PA since 1993 — critical concessions, retreats, indecisiveness, submission to pressure and appeasement. What has Israel…
By EARL COX— Here we go again. The international community is clamoring for the people of Israel to give up more of their God given land in exchange for what? Peace? Does anyone really believe that giving up this land will bring peace? Does anyone remember their unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 for peace?…
By ELLIOTT ABRAMS— While Americans have been focusing on our election, there have been a few developments in the so-called “Middle East Peace Process.” PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas has said he would drop his precondition for negotiations—a total construction halt in the settlements and in East Jerusalem—and return to the table after the UN General…
By ISRAEL HAYOM— Following Channel 2 interview in which Abbas implies he would be willing to abandon the Palestinian demand for a “right of return,” Israeli leaders warn that the Palestinian Authority president is trying to influence the coming Israeli elections. It is only through direct peace negotiations that Israel would ever learn the true…
By AP— Former US President Jimmy Carter said Monday during a visit to Jerusalem that the prospect of an Israel-Palestinian peace accord is “vanishing,” blaming Israeli settlement of the West Bank. Carter, a longtime critic of Israeli policies, called the current situation “catastrophic” and blamed Israel for the growing isolation of east Jerusalem from the…
By RON JAGER– The popular ultra-Orthodox Israeli politician Aryeh Deri is preparing a comeback after a 13-year hiatus that included a prison term for accepting bribes. The charismatic Deri, 53, was a rising young star who transformed Shas from a small, niche party into a major factor in Israeli politics before he went to prison.…
BY JONATHAN SCHANZER, COMMENTARY— On May 3, Hamas and Fatah, the two largest and most influential Palestinian factions, created a unity government. Following a brutal civil war in 2007 that left Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip, the two foes appeared to be locked in an intractable conflict. Then, seemingly out of the blue,…