http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/12/23/hamas-meshal-affirms-support-for-palestinian-state-within-1967-borders-and-popular-resistance

Silverstein: trying to paint vicious terrorists as guys in suits

Following on a post I published here about a Wahington Post story on the “new pragmatism” of Hamas, Khaled Meshal expanded on these themes in an AP interview in which he affirmed Hamas support for a Palestinian state established through Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders. Though the Islamist movement’s chief leader refused to renounce violence as a tool in the fight for Palestinian rights, he made clear that violence was a tactical, and not a strategic choice; and that his first choice would be the types of “popular resistance” exhibited during the Arab Spring uprisings and the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987:

Popular protests have “the power of a tsunami,” Mashaal said, pointing to the recent waves of demonstrations across the Arab world.

“Now we have a common ground that we can work on — the popular resistance, which presents the power of people,” he said. The idea for the protests originated with the Palestinians themselves and the uprising they launched against Israel in 1987, he said, typified by crowds of rock-throwing Palestinian youths confronting heavily armed Israeli soldiers.

Mashaal also gave rare Hamas public support to the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Pointedly, Meshal, in reaffirming Hamas support for a Palestinian state, did not mention the traditional Hamas fudging tactic, offering a hudna in its struggle against Israel:

We have political differences, but the common ground is the state on the ’67 borders. Why don’t we work in this common area,” he said.

There is no magic bullet as far as Hamas is concerned. It won’t all of a sudden become a liberal social democratic movement that is to the taste of Israel, the U.S. and the western world. Nor should that be necessary to take it seriously as one of two Palestinian interlocutors that must be included in any discussions that would resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a related matter, The NY Times’ Isabel Kershner continues to lie about Hamas’ views about Israel. This recent passage is exemplary of her sweeping distortions of the group’s position:

…Hamas, the Islamic militant group that…is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

While there is certainly no love lost between Israel and Hamas, no senior Hamas official that I know of has in the recent past (the past few years) made any such statement. And the group would certainly, from their point of view have reason to do so after Operation Cast Lead, the Mavi Marmara killings, and years of punishing siege. Though I don’t find Hamas an exemplar of democracy (nor Fatah or Israel for that matter), statements like Kershner’s and Bronner’s do a disservice to a full understanding of the nuance of the conflict.

When some commenters provided proof of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh pledging to use “armed resistance” (aka terrorism) “until all of Palestine is liberated from the river to the sea,” Silverstein made the following astounding statement:

I stand corrected. But Khaled Meshal is Hamas’ leader, not Ismail Haniye. And Hamas policy on such matters is made by Meshal, not Haniye. As for Kershner, it would actually have been accurate for her to say that SOME Hamas leaders call for the end of Israel, which she did not say. But the movement as a whole, and it’s most senior leader do not.

Further, it’s worth noting that even Haniye, as radical as he may be, calls armed struggle “an option,” which corresponds to Meshal’s articulation, which sees popular (non-violent) resistance as the preferred option, with armed struggle held back and used only if necessary.

And again, even if Haniye believed otherwise and held that armed resistance was preferred, he doesn’t determine the military strategy of Hamas, as I wrote above.

To suggest that what Ismail Haniyeh says in Arabic is irrelevant goes beyond mere ignorance (especially considering Hamas’ charter). We are talking of blatant dishonesty in order to paint Hamas in a more positive light.

But it gets worse. When a commenter points to a statement by Meshal..

Oct 02. Speaking in Tehran, at a conference in support of the intifada, Meshall said, ‘Resistance will remain the strategic option and project throughout the stages to liberate Palestine, establish a real Palestinoan state and eliminate the Zionist project’.

 ..Silverstein responds by demanding proof:

I wrote about that speech here and that’s not at all what I recall reading regarding it’s contents. Provide a link to your report and tell us who translated what Meshal said. Frankly I wouldn’t trust any such claim from you without a credible source and translation.

I’ve just researched your alleged quotation & the sources I found don’t actually put that statement in quotation marks. In other words, it’s a paraphrase of what he said. I don’t trust paraphrases on subjects as sensitive as this

 ..which he receives:

Occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/al-abrash-israeli-practices-will-fail-to-destroy-palestinians-determination-to-return/

But despite the fact the link is from a pro palestinian source, Silverstein won’t acknowledge its accuracy.

Got it. I checked that out & again it’s not a quotation, but a paraphrase, which isn’t trustworthy in my opinion.

 After another commenter provides the following source:

Ha’aretz has it translated this way:

“Palestinians must resort to resistance no matter how costly it is, until Palestine is free and Israel is destroyed,” Meshal said.

They cite the AP in the byline as well.

..Silverstein once again cannot bring himself to acknowledge it:

Frankly, I don’t know who translated the speech & whether the translation is trustworthy. If you can find the original Arabic I can have it translated by a trustworthy translator. I am not denying that he said something close to what is claimed. But until you can authenticate the accuracy of the translation I’m not prepared to concede this is accurate.

In contrast, Silverstein hastens to post any translation of statements in Hebrew by Israeli officials which paint Israel in a bad light.

This latest example of Silverstein’s dishonesty shows just how far his anti-Israel activism extends: To defending the terrorists of Hamas.

I challenge any of the media outlets who have published Silverstein or otherwise painted him as a trustworthy source to publish this piece.

Ha’aretz elaborates:

Israel and Hamas have reached a prisoner exchange deal that will secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, officials at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday.

Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said that “a brief window of opportunity has been opened that would possibly lead to Gilad Shalit’s homecoming,” adding: “The window appeared following fears that collapsing Mideast regimes and the rise of extremist forces would make Gilad Shalit’s return impossible.”

The officials’ comment came following a report by Al-Arabiya, according to which a deal has indeed been reached between Israel and Hamas geared at the release of the IDF soldier, in Hamas captivity in Gaza since 2006.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are meeting several ministers in the Prime Minister’s Office in order to pressure them into voting for the deal, with Netanyahu aides estimating that the deal will be approved by the cabinet,

Special attention is reportedly being given to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman no to vote against the deal along with ministers from his Yisrael Beiteinu party. Several Likud ministers who have voiced opposition to freeing terrorists in exchange for Shalit are also being pushed to approve the deal.

Netanyahu called an emergency cabinet meeting scheduled for later Tuesday in which ministers are to discuss the status of talks geared at securing Shalit’s release.

Speaking with Haaertz, one Egyptian official said: “After 64 months of tough negotiations we were able to complete the deal. It was a very difficult task, which included thousands of hours of negotiations.”

Also on Tuesday, top Egyptian officials confimed to Haaretz that there had been significant progress in the attempts to strike a prisoner exchange deal that would lead to Shalit’s release.

The officials confirmed that an Israeli delegation, headed by the head of Shalit negotiations David Meidan, was in Cairo to indirectly discuss the details of a possible deal with the chief of Hamas’ military wing Ahmed Al-Jabari.

Similarly to previous rounds of Shalit talks, the indirect talks are overseen by Egyptian intelligence, headed by intelligence chief General Murad Muwafi and his aides.

Egyptian officials have also said that a the deal which has been reached in recent days also includes accused Israeli spy Ilan Garpal.

According to Al Arabiya, the deal will be implemented in November and chief Hamashole Khaled Meshaal is expected to deliver “an important address” in two hours (the report was already from over two hours ago).

Hamas television has reported that as many as 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be released as part of the arrangement.

I’m glad Gilad is likely coming home but 1,000 terrorists? Oy gevalt.

Israellycool poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Updates (Israel time; latest from top)

11:40PM: Israel’s army radio, as well as Channels 2 and 10, are reporting that Barghouti and Saadat are NOT on the list of prisoners to be released. Here’s hoping this proves to be true.

10:50PM: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks at the opening of the special cabinet meeting today:

Today, I bring a proposal to the Government for a deal that will bring Gilad Shalit home alive and well; bring him home to his parents Aviva and Noam, his brother Yoel, his sister Hadas, his grandfather Zvi, and the entire people of Israel. Two and a half years ago, when the government was formed, I took upon myself, as my first priority, to bring Gilad home to his people, to his family – to bring him home safe and sound.

At the time, Gilad was already held in captivity for two and a half years, with no visits from the Red Cross, with no visits at all, and we did not know what state he was in. The first step I took, and we approved it here in the Government, was to get a video recording of Gilad, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we saw it. We saw that he was functioning, physically, mentally and cognitively. We saw that he was functioning well. We knew that he was healthy and that he was alive.  I regarded that tape as an insurance policy, because it obliged the Hamas before the international community to safeguard him, to keep him alive and maintain his health. But that was obviously only the first step.

The most important mission that we had was more challenging – to actually bring Gilad home. To that end we held long and tough negotiations through the German mediator. These negotiations were based on a framework outlined by the previous government. They were long and exhausting and despite all our efforts, a deal was not reached.

I must point out that not a day went by without us trying various ways to bring Gilad home, any way possible, and that didn’t work either. In the last few weeks, the negotiations were renewed in Cairo, this time with the Egyptian government as mediator. My instructions to the team were to adhere to the principles and framework that are important for the security of the State of Israel, which I will detail in the meeting.

There is an inbuilt tension between the desire to bring back an abducted soldier, or citizen, and the need to maintain the security of the citizens of Israel.  This is my dual responsibility as Prime Minister.

The deal I am bringing to the Government expresses the right balance between all of these considerations. I do not wish to hide the truth from you – it is a very difficult decision. I feel for the families of victims of terror, I appreciate their suffering and distress, I am one of them. But leadership must be examined at moments such as this, being able to make difficult, but right, decisions.

I believe that we have reached the best deal we could have at this time, when storms are sweeping the Middle East.  I do not know if in the near future we would have been able to reach a better deal or any deal at all. It is very possible that this window of opportunity, that opened because of the circumstances, would close indefinitely and we would never have been able to bring Gilad home at all.

Therefore, for all of these reasons, I instructed the team to put their initials on the deal last Thursday, and today it was finalized and signed by both sides. I thank my Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Yohanan Locker, the Chief of the Shin Bet Yoram Cohen, my personal envoy to the negotiations, David Meidan and his predecessor Hagai Hadas. I thank the team that has accompanied them all these years.

I thank the IDF, the security forces for doing everything they could regarding Gilad Shalit. I also wish to thank the German mediator, and the Chancellor Angela Merkel who supported his mission all along. A send a special thanks to the Government of Egypt and the Egyptian Intelligence Services for providing much assistance in mediating and helping us reaching this agreement.

This morning I Invited Noam Shalit to my residence, and I spoke on the phone with the mother Aviva and the grandfather Zvi. I told them that I am keeping my promise and I’m bringing their son and grandson home. I told them, “I’m bringing your boy back.” I am happy that I succeeded in fulfilling the Jewish decree of redeeming captives, and if all goes as planned, Gilad will be back in Israel in the next few days with his family and his people.

The Nation of Israel is a unique people. We are all mutually responsible for each other, as our Sages said: “He who saves one soul, it is as though he saved an entire world.” Tonight, I bring the Government a proposal to save Gilad Shalit, to finally bring him home to Israel after five years.

10:45PM: Ynet adds:

The exchange would include Amina Mona, a young woman who lured a lovestruck Israeli teenage boy to a Palestinian city over the Internet, only to have him killed by waiting militants, according to Mohammed al-Barem, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups that captured Shalit. He gave no other names, but said it included 300 prisoners serving life sentences.

10:42PM: Among the terrorists reportedly to be released: Marwan Barghouti, the popular Fatah (according to Israeli reports, he will be required to accept exile from the West Bank), as well as Hamashole Abdullah Barghouti (no relation), serving 67 life sentences for building bombs used in suicide attacks.

10:40PM: More from the Hamas website:

Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas Political Bureau, said in a press conference, that the deal will be executed in two parts, the first part in a week and the second will be after two months.

The total number of the liberated detainees is 1027, he added.

Meshaal said that No Palestinian women will be in the Israeli Jails, all of them will liberate in the deal and their number is 27.

“This is a national achievement for the Palestinian people, we tried to include all Palestinian detainees in the Israeli jails, and we promise the rest of the Palestinian detainees to liberate them.”

“My words to the fathers and mothers who did not included in the deal, do not be sad, your sons will be liberated soon.”

“My Appreciations to Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian factions which managed to capture the Israeli soldier Shalit, My thanks to the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and the West Bank for their steadfastness against the Israeli siege, also my thanks to the Egyptian role in accomplishing this deal.”

In the end he said “This deal is a national achievement, Palestinian people who accomplished this deal is capable to get more achievements as Right of Return and reconciliation etc.”

9:30PM: Hamas announces the deal on its web site:

Ezzedeen Al-Qassam, the military wing of Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, announced that the detainees exchange deal has accomplished, the Brigades and Palestinian factions who participated in capturing Shalit announced that the deal will be within days.

The Brigades said in an exclusive press statement for Al Qassam website “An honorable exchange deal has accomplished, whereby Palestinian detainees will be freed for the release of the Zionist soldier Gilad Shalit.”

The Brigades also confirmed that the deal criteria accomplished for the first time in the history of the Palestinian resistance.

9:25PM: Recently retired blogger Challah points to a tweet by a BBC journalist indicating arch terrorist Marwan Barghouti is one of the 1000 to be freed.

But that’s not the funny part.

Former Iranian deputy defense minister Ali Riza Asghari has been detained in Israel since his abduction by the Mossad in 2006, sources told Ma’an.

The sources said Israeli authorities had imposed a gag order on the country’s media forbidding them from reporting details of the case.

Iranian officials and Asghari’s family have accused Israel’s Mossad of abducting the former cabinet minister, who disappeared during a visit to Turkey in December 2006.

Shortly after Asghari’s disappearance, a senior US official told The Washington Post that the Iranian had defected and was providing Western intelligence services with information on links between Hezbollah and Iran.

In March 2009, a former German Defense Ministry official also said Asghari had defected, and that he was providing information on Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian news sites reported in November 2009 that Asghari was being held in an Israeli prison. At the time, Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

I am a journalist

Journalist Richard Silverstein reported in December 2010 that Asghari was found dead in his cell in Israel’s Ayalon prison.

Silverstein cited reports by the Israeli news site Ynet and the Israeli daily Haaretz that a security prisoner had committed suicide while in solitary confinement in Ayalon prison. Ynet cited a gag order in its report, and the news was later removed from the site.

A source close to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak revealed that the deceased prisoner was Asghari, Silverstein said.

Now he’s a journalist? Because his LinkedIn profile would suggest he is now a blogger, and his only “real job” was as a “major gifts officer.”

And still on the subject of Silverstein, he’s still schilling for Hamas.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/05/07/hamas-meshal-offers-new-pragmatism/

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hamas’ Khaled Meshal offered a newly pragmatic, consensus-driven Hamas approach to its Fatah collaborators and to Israel.  Of course, the proof is in the pudding in these situations and we’ve seen Hamas’ pragmatism wax and wane with the political winds.  But given the overall mood-music in the Arab world and the upcoming campaign for Palestinian statehood at the General Assembly in September, Hamas’ initiative appears promising to say the least.  As others have noted, I’m guessing that Hamas’ increasingly unstable home in Damascus is also forcing it to look outward for friends and allies in places (Ramallah, Washington, Cairo, Brussels) it hadn’t considered.

—-

It’s important to point out that for Hamas (and unlike Fatah), violent resistance and non-violent resistance are strategies and not ends in themselves.  Meshal is clearly saying that for now, it’s most promising for us to turn away from violence, since that is most likely to secure our goals for Palestinian statehood.  But he’s also clearly saying that if non-violence and this current round of peacemaking and nation-building fails, that the movement could very well turn back to violence.

Of course, this will make Bibi and the pro-Israelists howl.  They’ll wag their fingers saying: “You see.  We told you you can’t trust them.  They’re only turning to non-violence out of cynical motives and they’ll return to violence the first chance they get.”  This of course gets things all wrong.  The point is that if non violence gets them where they want to be, then there will be no need for violence.

What Meshal is really saying is that if Fatah honors its commitments, there are free and fair elections, and the General Assembly approves a Palestinian state, then Hamas will have no reason to turn to violence.  To me, this is a patently self-evident pragmatic approach.  Even former Mossad directors like Ephraim Halevy understand it too.  But not the Bibistas.

—-

Hamas is currently showing pragmatic realism.  Bibi is showing the same old losing cards. And Obama’s showing nothing.  Where are you, Mr. President?  Stop basking in the glow of being Osama-killer and get down to brass tacks.  Show some leadership.  If he allows the mid-term elections to dictate the same-old, same-old approach to Hamas for fear of appearing soft on terror and hostile to a Likudist Israeli government, he’ll have lost yet another opportunity to play a leadership role in making peace.

Photo by PPM via Getty Images

Today, Fatah and Hamas signed a unit deal in Cairo, representing a coming together of the blatant terrorists with the more subtle-terrorists-in-suits.

The only bone of contention? No, not Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel (which the PA is just fine with), but rather the seating arrangements.

A draft of the deal was signed Tuesday in Cairo. Wednesday’s ceremony was delayed nearly two hours, apparently due to a last-minute argument over Hamas and Fatah leaders’ seating arrangements. Sources say Abbas refused to allow Mashaal to sit next to him on stage.

Here’s hoping this portends a greater rift, and Hamas and Fatah get back to killing each other soon.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu got it right.

Update: More on the tensions at the signing ceremony.

MK Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta’al), who attended the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday, revealed interesting details about tensions between the Palestinian leaders.

“Before the ceremony an argument broke out between Khaled Mashaal and Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) about who will give the main speech and eventually it was decided that Abu Mazen would be the one to discuss the issues from all angles and Mashaal got the shorter speech,” he told Ynet. According to El-Sana, the two also argued over the new government.

—-

Wednesday’s ceremony was delayed nearly two hours, apparently due to a last-minute argument over Hamas and Fatah leaders’ seating arrangements. Sources say Abbas refused to allow Mashaal to sit next to him on stage.

Mashaal eventually sat in the front row and not on the main stage. One report claimed that Abbas demanded that he be presented as president of the Palestinian people and not as party chairman.

In other news, Arab MKs were at the ceremony. How do you spell treason?

Exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas must be based on jihad (“holy” war) against Israel.

“The first step [to liberating Jerusalem] is refusal to negotiate with Israel,” Meshaal told participants at an al-Quds conference in Sudan on Sunday, adding that reconciliation between the two factions is “to establish a new, reconciled Palestinian position based on jihad,” AFP reported.

Meshaal said the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have injected new life into Hamas.

“Today we are witnessing Cairo returning to its natural state, after it disappeared from that state for a long time,” the Damascus-based Hamas chief said.

 But that is absolutely no problem for our so-called “peace partners” of the PA.

If Mr. Abbas somehow manages to get an agreement for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, is that something you would accept?

I can answer your theoretical question but this is not even expected to happen. There is a position and program that all Palestinians share. To accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital. With the right of return. And this state would have real sovereignty on the land and on the borders. And with no settlements.
—-

Under what conditions or terms would you stop using violence?

I’m a physicist. And I believe in the equations of physics and mathematics. Therefore I respect the laws of math and physics because they’re direct. Very simply, there is occupation and it calls for resistance. When does resistance stop? When the occupation is finished.

They would have been better off just reproducing the Hamas charter, which contains doozies such as these:

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. ”

“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

7:52PM: My latest animated short.

5:26PM: Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin has ripped the Elders of Moron a new one.

To their faces.

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) slammed former US President Jimmy Carter Thursday, telling him that the Israeli public perceives him and his colleagues as Hamas supporters as result of their conduct.

Rivlin met with Carter and with former Irish President Mary Robinson and blasted them for meeting with Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal and with the the group’s Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh. He also criticized the former leaders for failing to condcut themselves objectively.

Robinson offered her own criticism, saying that planned Israeli legislation is discriminating towards Arabs.

The Elders organization delegation, comprising former leaders and headed by ex-President Carter, met with the Knesset speaker in Jerusalem and faced harsh criticism over its perceived support for terror organizations.

Rivlin was especially adamant over the delegation’s meetings with Mashaal and Haniyeh. He said that Israel views these meetings as indication of the delegation’s support for Hamas and terrorism.

“Mashaal and Haniyeh represent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s positions,” Rivlin said, adding that Hamas also objects to any agreement with Israel and aims to destroy it.

“Hamas and Hezbollah are Iranian satellites,” he said.

Carter and Robinson responded by making it clear that those meetings are not tantamount to endorsement of terrorism. The former president said that the main goal of the Elders group is to bring peace to the region, and explained that this is the reason for the meetings.

1:52PM: Still on the subject of professors, this next piece was written by Professor Francis A. Boyle, who served as Legal Adviser to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations from 1991 to 1993.

Israel’s Likudnik Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached into his bag of Zionist tricks and pulled out a brand-new demand that had never surfaced before in the history of the Middle East Peace Process going all the way back to their beginning with the negotiation of the original Camp David Accords conducted under the personal auspices of U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1978: The Palestinians must recognize Israel as “the Jewish State.” Not surprisingly, the Zionist controlled and funded Obama administration publicly endorsed this latest roadblock to peace that was maliciously constructed by Israel.

Netanyahu deliberately shifted the goal-posts on the Palestinians. It would be as if the United States of America demanded that Iran recognize it as the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) State as a condition for negotiating and then concluding any comprehensive peace settlement with it. Of course such demands are racist and premeditated non-starters to begin with.

Netanyahu’s racist ultimatum would lead to the denationalization of the 1.5 million Palestinians who are already less than third-class citizens of Israel and set the stage for their mass expulsion to the Palestinian Bantustan envisioned by Netanyahu as the “final solution” (nice use of Nazi terminology – ed) to Zionism’s “demographic problem” created by the very existence of the Palestinians. This racist and genocidal demand would also illegally terminate the well-recognized Right of Return for five million Palestinian refugees living around the world (wow, even more than the already inflated number quoted by UNRWA -ed) as required by U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194(III) of 1948, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13(2) (1948), and by general principles of public international law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law. This would doom all prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians forever, and pave the way for the creation of “Greater Israel” dominating the entire former Mandate for Palestine, both of which objectives have been the intention of Netanyahu and Likud all along.

But if Netanyahu is really serious about Israel being recognized internationally as “the Jewish State” then there is a simple manner by which this universal diplomatic status can instantly be achieved unilaterally and without the consent of the Palestinians. Under basic principles of international law, every state is free to change its own name if it so desires: e.g., from Congo to Zaire then back to Congo. Therefore Israel is free to change its name to Jewistan — the State of the Jews.

Thereafter every state in the world that has diplomatic relations and treaty relations with Israel will henceforth necessarily have to recognize it as Jewistan — the State of Jews — and deal with it as such by that name on a daily basis. The name of Jewistan would automatically replace the name of Israel in the United Nations System, at all other concerned international organizations, and on all bilateral and multilateral treaties to which Israel is currently a contracting party. Indeed, in the aftermath of its serial genocidal atrocities perpetrated against the Palestinians and the Lebanese, Israel has quite understandably been seeking to “re-brand” itself. Jewistan is Israel’s perfect new moniker.

In fact, Israel has never been anything but a Bantustan for Jews setup in the Middle East by the White racist and genocidal Western colonial imperial powers in order to serve as their racist attack dog and genocidal enforcer against the Arab and Muslim world. From the very moment of Western imperialism’s genocidal conception of Israel in 1947-1948, Israel has historically always functioned as Jewistan – the world’s Bantustan for the Jews. So Israel might as well finally change its name today to Jewistan, own up to its racist birthright, and make it official for the rest of the world to acknowledge.

Of course, all the Black Bantustans in racist criminal apartheid South Africa were eventually dismantled and no longer exist. The same will eventually happen to the racist criminal apartheid Jewish Bantustan in the Middle East no matter what name they call themselves. Actually, Jewistan/Israel is more closely analogous to the genocidal Yugoslavia that collapsed as a State, lost its U.N. membership, and no longer exists as a State for that precise reason.

In either event, when this Israeli Bantustan for Jews predictably collapses as a State, all the Palestinian refugees living in their Diaspora around the world will be able to return to their homes as guaranteed by Resolution 194. Such is the ultimate solution for securing the Palestinian Right of Return under International Law. In the meantime, the Palestinians should sign nothing with Jewistan/Israel and let this Bantustan for Jews collapse of its own racist and genocidal weight. Good riddance!

1:36PM: Meet the Lincoln University Professor who called for Israel’s destruction.

12:40PM: According to a new poll, over 40% of palestinians support the resumption of terror if direct talks fail, with only 30% supporting a continuation of talks.

If direct talks fail, 41 percent of Palestinians support the resumption of an armed Intifada, according to a poll released on Thursday by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah.

Sixty-four percent of Palestinians surveyed believe they need success in direct talks more than Israelis, while 51% of Israelis think both sides need success equally. Both groups are skeptical that negotiations will succeed with 5% of Israelis and 6% of Palestinians thinking they will yield an agreement, but 78% of Israelis support their continuation. Only 30% of Palestinians support continuing talks.

If peace talks fail, 69% of Palestinians support turning to the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian State, and 54% support unilaterally declaring a state, according to the poll’s findings. 40% support dissolving the Palestinian Authority, should talks fail, and 27% believe there should be a one-state solution. Neither Palestinians nor Israelis consider it likely that an independent Palestinian State will be established next to the State of Israel in the next five years.

In addition, if talks fail, 51% support nonviolent resistance, while 41% support resuming the Intifada. At the same time 63% of Israelis surveyed fear the Palestinians will resume violence.

Only 29% of Israelis support a full construction freeze in the West Bank, with 46% supporting construction only in the areas that will remain under Israeli rule in a future agreement. Twenty-eight percent support unlimited construction in all settlements.

The poll covered a Palestinian sample of 1270 adults interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, and an Israeli sample of 610 Israelis interviewed by phone.

9:22AM: Separated at birth?

6:05AM: Ohio cleric Salah Sultan preaches hatred of Jews and the USA.

Notice his conspiracy theory at the beginning regarding the ill fated space shuttle Columbia. Ilan Ramon was a pilot,  not the commander of ground operations such as in Jenin, which incidentally occurred in in 2002, not 2003 (the year Ramon was killed). And even if he had been, I very much doubt he would have found the time given the shuttle mission was less than a year later. Methinks he would have been training for it!

The bureau issued a statement saying the warning had been withdrawn due to a “calm and lack of mass rallies against Israel”.

However the bureau recommended that Israelis residing in Turkey “stay away from any rally that may be, and refrain from getting into political arguments with locals”.

“The warning was not based on intelligence but rather a fear that the mass rallies there, which were rather outspoken, will deteriorate to violence against Israelis,” he said.

“Since then, for the past month and a half, there have been no rallies, and from an intelligence point of view no terror threats are known of.”

Har-Nof qualified his statement, however, by saying that “tomorrow morning something new could develop”, and warned Israelis against getting caught up in unnecessary political demonstrations.

“The rules of behavior for the entire world apply there as well: Don’t stand out, don’t speak Hebrew in problematic areas and don’t bear any sign of Israeli identity,” he said

But other than that, feel safe to go to Turkey!

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has met with head Hamashole Khaled Meshal in Syria.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

7:06PM: The IDF has reportedly turned another terrorist into worm food.

One man was killed and at least six more were injured near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday when IDF forces fired at suspected gunmen approaching the security fence, Palestinian sources reported.

The man killed has been identified as Muhammad Caparana according to the sources.  Army Radio reported that IDF tank fire killed the man who was a member of the Islamic Jihad.

The IDF said of the incident that tank fire was employed to deter a group of armed men who were approaching the security fence with the intention of placing an explosive device.

I think you know what time it is.

Reaper time!

4:10PM: I have not dealt with Israel’s conversion bill controversy because quite frankly, I do not have the time to cover everything and I prefer to focus on the Middle East conflict and not internal matters.

However, due to some commenters wondering why I have not mentioned it (ok, maybe one), I have decided to say a few words on the subject.

Firstly, the bill to which I am referring is available here in Hebrew, while here is an English translation:

Version for Discussion – Preparation for First Reading – July 12, 2010

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (Amendment – Jurisdiction with respect to Conversions) Bill, 5770-2010
Amendment of Section 2

1. In section 2 of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel Law 5740-1980[1] (hereinafter: the “Principal Law”), the following shall be inserted after paragraph (6):

“(6A) Responsibility for Conversion Issues in Israel. The provisions of this paragraph shall not derogate from the powers to conduct conversions in Israel granted to the special conversion courts by government decision, nor from the existing powers of the Rabbinical Courts under any law;”

Addition of Sections 24A – 24D

2.The following shall be inserted after section 24 of the Principal Law:

“Qualifications of Members of Special Rabbinical Court 24A.

(a) A municipal rabbi or the rabbi of a local council, or a person who acted as a municipal rabbi or as a rabbi of a local council under the Jewish Religious Services Law [Consolidated Version], 5731-1971[2], and whose office was not terminated under the provisions of section 12A of such law (in this section and in sections 24B and 24C, a municipal rabbi) may conduct conversion together with two other municipal rabbis or with two members of a special conversion court set up by virtue of government decision, as set out in section 2(6A) (all three jointly – a Special Rabbinical Court), provided that the conversion is performed by the special court lawfully, following acceptance of the burden of the Torah and commandments as required by Jewish law.

(b) Should the Chief Rabbis of Israel find that a member of a Special Rabbinical Court has acted in a way unbecoming of his status or that a member of a Special Rabbinical Court is not conducting conversions in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (a), they shall be entitled to determine that such Special Rabbinical Court shall not be entitled to conduct conversions under this Law.

(c) Procedures for hearings and matters before the Chief Rabbis in proceedings under sub-section (b) shall be set out in regulations, with the consent of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset.

Powers of Special Rabbinical Court 24B.

(a) A Special Rabbinical Court shall be authorized to discuss the conversion of an Israeli National or a holder of a permanent residence permit in Israel under the Entry in Israel Law, 5712-1952[3] (hereinafter: a “holder of a permanent residence permit”), wherever the place of residence of the applicant may be, and to give certificates of such.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (a), a Special Rabbinical Court shall be authorized to discuss the conversion of a person who is not an Israeli National or a holder of a permanent residence permit if such person is given a certificate in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court.

(c) The verdict of a Special Rabbinical Court allowing a conversion shall serve as evidence of the Jewishness of the bearer of the certificate; however, such conversion, if effected in contravention of the rules set out under sub-section (b) shall have no force regarding the granting of visas, including an immigrant’s visa, nor regarding the grant of Israeli citizenship.

(d) (1) Cancellation of a conversion conducted by a Special Rabbinical Court shall have no force unless the Court that conducted the conversion rules that it was conducted on the basis of misleading information or intentional concealment of information by the party seeking conversion prior to the conversion.

(2) Should the question of the validity of a conversion arise for any other reason, before a Rabbinical Court or before any other Court in Israel, or before the Registrar of Marriages, the ruling on the question of conversion shall be brought before the Court in which the conversion took place or before a special panel of a Regional Rabbinical Court to be appointed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court.

(e) Should the Special Rabbinical Court that conducted the conversion have dispersed or should at least two of its members have ceased to serve as members of the Court, the ruling under sub-section (d) shall be submitted to a special panel to be appointed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court.

(f) A decision to cancel a conversion shall require the consent of the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, and shall be of no force in the absence of such consent.
Appeal

24C. An appeal against a ruling to cancel a conversion under section 24B(d) may be submitted to the Supreme Rabbinical Court in a panel headed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, the judges on which panel shall be appointed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court.
Registration of Marriage

24D. (a) A member of a Special Rabbinical Court serving as a Rabbinical Registrar of Marriages shall be authorized to handle registration of the marriage of a couple at least one of which has converted in a Special Rabbinical Court, wherever the couple’s place of residence may be.

(b) Should no member of the Special Rabbinical Court serve as a Rabbinical Registrar of Marriages, the Council shall, at the proposal of the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, appoint one or more members of a Special Rabbinical Court for conversion who are qualified to act as a Rabbinical Registrar of Marriages to handle registration of the marriage of the couple as set out in sub-section (a).

Regulations under Sections 24A – 24C

24E. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 31, regulations and rules under sections 24A to 24D shall be made by the Minister of Justice with the consent of the Chief Judge of the Supreme Rabbinical Court and with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset only.”
Amendment of Nationality Law

3. The following shall be inserted in section 2(c) of the Nationality Law, 5712-1952[4], after paragraph (6):

“(7) to a person who, prior to entry into Israel, was not entitled to receive an ‘oleh visa or an ‘oleh’s certificate”.
Ratification

4. The provisions of the Hearing of Conversion Applications Rules, 5766-2006[5] shall be deemed to have been made lawfully under the provisions of this Law.

[1] Sefer Hachukim, 5760, p. 90.

[2] Sefer Hachukim, 5731, p. 130.

[3] Sefer Hachukim, 5712, p. 353.

[4] Sefer Hachukim, 5712, p. 14; 5768, p. 810.

[5] Yalkut Pirsumim, 5765, p. 2062.

One of the clearest analyzes of the bill I have seen comes from Dr Jeffrey Woolf:

This bill has absolutely nothing to do with Diaspora Jewry. It does not affect the Law of Return. It does not affect conversions done abroad.

If anything, it is a salutary step in the right direction as it breaks the monopoly of the radical Hareidim who’ve taken over the rabbinical court system. De facto, it strengthens a more lenient approach to conversion, prevents retroactive anullment of conversions and opens the door to resolving the status of non-Jewish Russian immigrants.

True, it does not allow for Reform and Conservative conversion in Israel, but that was never the case. We can debate that one separately, but to argue that this bill denies any Diaspora Jew their place in Israel, or delegitimizes 2/3 of Jewry is to indulge in the kind of demagogy that we keep fighting against.

This bill (if it is applied correctly) should not be used by interested parties to undermine Jewish solidarity.

See also here.

1:58PM: Prison is too good for this man.

1:55PM: A Puerto Rican court has ordered North Korea to pay $378 million compensation to the families of those killed in the 1972 terror attack on Lod Airport, since they funded the training of the terrorists involved in the attack.

In May 1972 three terrorists from the Japanese Red Army, working with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, brought automatic weapons, ammunition and grenades with them in their check-in bags on a flight from Italy to Israel.

After collecting their luggage, they opened fire in every direction, hitting passengers, flight crew members and airport personnel. Seventy-four people were injured in the attack. Israeli Professor Aharon Katzir, a top scientist at the Weizmann Institute, was among the dead.

The terrorists also tried to bomb airplanes on the ground using hand grenades.

One of the terrorists was killed by security forces, another committed suicide, and the third, Kozo Akumoto was arrested and jailed in Israel. He was released in 1985 as part of the Jibril Agreement.

11:44AM: Israellycool contributor Brian of London asked Middle East for Foreign Office spokesman Martin Day whether he has any plans to visit either Gaza’s brand new shopping mall or Olympic size swimming pool to see, first hand, the impact of Israel’s crushing blockade.

Here’s Mr Day’s response:

Brian,

I have not yet had the chance to visit Gaza, but the UK Government believes  the situation in Gaza is a tragedy and unsustainable. We welcomed Israel’s recent decision to ease restrictions on goods entering Gaza. All parties must now work together urgently to deliver real change on the ground – which will mean building capacity at the crossings, getting vital reconstruction projects up and running and ensuring that Gazans can export as well as import goods.

Martin

Talk about avoiding the question.

6:15AM: Sealed with a kiss (watch until the very end).

Seal is set to perform in concert here tonight.

6:06AM: And now for the next in my series on A Taste of “Concentration Camp” Gaza: The Aldeira Hotel

6:02AM: The spanking brand new Gaza mall, is now on video, replete with captions (as I had in these two posts)

“Gilad will not be the only one,” Mashaal said. “We will kidnap more soldiers, including officers. We will not free Schalit until [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu gives in to our just demands.

“Israel is responsible for the failure in negotiations,” Mashaal added, saying he had relayed a message to the German mediator: “If you come to the negotiations table again with Netanyahu’s demands – don’t come, stay where you are.”

Directing his remarks to the prime minister, Mashaal said: “We will not repeat our requests over and over. You know the list [of security prisoners demanded], and we will not change it.”

The Hamas leader added, “We will not be flexible in our demands. As time goes by, our demands will grow, and so will the price. Israel is America’s lackey, that wants to strengthen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas, and therefore is the real one to blame for the failure in negotiations.”

He’s just cruising for a bruising cruise missile.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

8:45PM: Appropriately named (dead) terrorist of the day: Bassam Badwan, who certainly was as his surname suggests.

8:40PM: Fat Gaza, the video.

5:16PM: Australian Member of Parliament Christopher Pyne speaking to the House of Representatives on the 4th anniversary of the capture of Gilad Shalit (hat tip: Advocating for Israel).

4:40PM: Australia’s new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard (who I blogged about here), has been criticized for her pro-Israel views.

Australia’s new prime minister was forced to defend her political stand towards Israel  on Tuesday, saying that her partner’s work for a property group owned by a pro-Israel lobbyist would not influence her and that she would not hesitate to criticize Israel when required.

Julia Gillard was elected prime minister last Thursday following a campaign to discuss her predecessor, Kevin Rudd. The witty politician managed to convince her fellow members at the ruling Labor Party that Rudd would lead them to a defeat in the upcoming elections and should be replaced.

On Monday she was caught in her first political storm as prime minister following a letter written by Ross Burns, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Israel between 2001 and 2003.

In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, Burns said Gillard has been ”remarkably taciturn on the excesses of Israeli actions in the past two years”.

The former diplomat hinted that Gillard’s stand stemmed from her relations with Jewish Melbourne property developer Albert Dadon, who employs Gillard’s partner Tim Mathieson and has been active in advancing Australia’s ties with Israel.

According to the Herald, Gillard has been part of the Australian delegation to the last two meetings of the Australia Israel Leadership Forum, founded by Dadon.

Burns slammed Gillard for refusing to condemn Israel during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and criticizing Hamas for firing rockets into Israel, while former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed unease at the blockade of Gaza by Israel.

”It looks a bit funny when you go on this tour to promote bilateral relations, but you don’t seem to have any reservations about the issue that was number one on the horizon,” Burns said.

Burns was joined by another former Australian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Peter Rodgers, who said that under successive governments, Australia’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had become increasingly unbalanced, and that this was unlikely to change under Gillard’s stewardship.

”There’s been a marked swing away from the old attempt to be even-handed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to a much more determined pro-Israeli position, and I think Gillard is part of that,” Rodgers said.

The new prime minister rejected the criticism, clarifying that her stand towards Israel was impartial. She noted that her public condemnation of Hamas in January 2009 was well before there had been any suggestion of Mathieson working for Dadon.

Gillard also defended her partner’s right to work for the Ubertas company, stressing that Mathieson’s work was his private business.

“Kevin (Rudd) was the first prime minister, as I understand it, to have a partner with her own career, and a formidable and successful career it is,” she said, adding that she hoped people would understand that her partner “has got a right to live his life too.”

1:14PM: I’ll smoke what he’s smoking.

Israel must apologize for its blockade of the Gaza Strip, as well as compensate the people of Gaza, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview to American television Monday, adding that such an apology would be a condition to continued Turkish mediation in any future peace talks between Israel and Syria.

—-

“Israel should issue an apology because of what has happened with the more recent events and compensate for the people and Gaza, which is like an open-air prison, must not remain so, and the blockades must be lifted. As long as these happen, this takes place, then we are ready for any sort of responsibility that we are asked to take upon ourselves,” Erdogan said.

12:48PM: It’s official: palestinian terrorists like their soccer.

Of course, we knew that already.

10:30AM: Must see video: Watch Claire interview Gaza flotilla organizers and anti-Israel Jews to expose the anti-humanitarian agenda of the IHH.

Istanbul, the world capital of conspiracies, espionage, intrigue, and cliched journalism …

Claire, a novelist and freelance writer, and Okan, a documentary filmmaker, are independent journalists who live in Istanbul. We’ve had it with press coverage of this region that relies eternally on the same recycled handful of tired sources, uncritically repeats partisan propaganda, and sheds more heat than light. The coverage of the Mavi Marmara flotilla fiasco was the last straw: If this is a media war, we decided, someone needs to be shooting straight.

We’re on a mission to find out what’s really going on here. We’re going to speak to the people you never hear from, ask the questions that never seem to get asked, and try to figure out just what the hell is really going on in this corner of the Orient.

This will basically an experiment in independent journalism. We have biases—of course we do—but we’ll be forthright about them. We let our subjects speak for themselves (although we’re sometimes inclined to argue with them). We look for evidence, not propaganda. We will cover perspectives of all who were involved in the incident as well as of all who were not there but have directly or indirectly been affected by the incident, whether they are individuals, institutions or states.

Consequently, we will get to the bottom of it and expose how the incident relates to the American people and the West. We’ve started filming the project, but will need the funds to complete filming and post-production.

We have put together a video of the footage of the interviews already shot to give you a sense of what the project will entail. Hope you will enjoy it.

The video is available here. Please also consider supporting this great effort and donate funds to ensure the rest of the documentary is made.

6:04AM: Yet another indication that the idea of smart Jews may be an urban legend.

Israel has agreed to reconsider its decision to deport four Hamas lawmakers from Jerusalem if they declare that they do not represent the radical Islamist movement and sever their ties to it, an Israeli security official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

The four men are Palestinian Legislative Council members Mahmoud Abu Tir, Ahmed Attoun, Mohammed Totah and Khaled Abu Arafeh. Abu Arafeh is also a former Palestinian Authority cabinet member.

They have reportedly accepted the Israeli condition and are now willing to make a public statement in this regard so that they can stay in Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Police confiscated their Israeli ID cards after the Interior Ministry revoked their status as permanent residents of the city, paving the way for their expulsion.

The Israeli security official explained that the decision to reconsider the deportations had largely been designed to boost the standing of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and undermine Hamas.

“The Hamas officials have apparently chosen to stay in Jerusalem with their families and enjoy all privileges as residents of Israel,” the official told the Post. “Their readiness to distance themselves from Hamas is an important step that could lead to the cancellation of the deportations.”

Deportation will be canceled once four sign statement

He added that the decision to deport the four men would be canceled once they sign a statement disowning Hamas.

“We want an unambiguous statement that leaves no room for double-talk,” he said. “We want to send a message to the Palestinians that if they renounce Hamas and terrorism, they stand to benefit.”

I think the message we are sending is “If you lie, you stand to benefit.”

I mean, look at Abu Tir. He can’t even be straight forward about his beard color.

5:50AM: CNN report on the whole “musicians boycotting Israel” thing.

Or have they? Ha’aretz reported that Israel has given a German mediator its response to Hamas. The question is: what was the response? Yes, no, or still thinking about it?

Meanwhile, I will keep my poll active to gauge your opinion on the matter.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

9:42PM: Quote of the day:

“I’m faced with two vital principles: the desire to redeem captives and the desire to defend Israeli citizens from future attacks.”

“I have listened with great attentiveness to your personal and difficult stories, and have noted all the important points you have raised.”

- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after meeting with representatives of the Almagor terror victims organization, which opposes any prisoner swap deal.

5:22PM: Reuters has published a number of photos, such as the following, showing a palestinian boy who lost his leg during Operation Cast Lead.

Moathe Abu Rabeeh (R), a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who lost his leg during the three-week offensive Israel launched last year, attends a physiotherapy session at al-Salama Association in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip December 22, 2009. December 27 marks one year since the start of a three-week offensive Israel launched in Gaza during which more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Israel launched the offensive with the declared aim of stopping Palestinian rocket fire on southern Israel (Reuters)

Leaving aside the accuracy of the figure of 1,400 palestinians killed (which seems to be based on a B’Tselem estimate, even though the IDF found 1166 were killed, including  709 “terror operatives”), why are we also not seeing from Reuters photos of crippled palestinians such as this man?

4:35PM: The Guardian has admitted it erred in using the headline “Israel admits harvesting Palestinian organs” on the story about an admission by the former head of the Abu Kabir forensic institute that organs were harvested from bodies without permission from the families of the deceased, since “That headline did not match the article, which made clear that the organs were not taken only from Palestinians.”

3:42PM: A few months ago, Head Hamashole Khaled Meshaal claimed:

“Hamas does not aim to kill civilians. Hamas does not want to target the civilians. Hamas defends itself, but because it has simple abilities and its rockets are inaccurate in targeting, so it reaches the civilians, but we do not intend to do that.”

With that in mind, here’s an animated video released by Hamas.

3:12PM: It’s that time of the year again: Dishonest Reporter Award 2009

This year’s winners list is packed full of nutty goodness, including Ken Livingstone, Ha’aretz, The Guardian and Donald Bostrom.

9:24AM: Israel’s response to Hamas regarding the Gilad Shalit-terrorist exchange deal is reportedly “Yes, but…”

Israel gave a positive response to the general outline of the deal presented by the German mediator last week. The condition placed by Israel in its response refers to the names of “heavy prisoners” Israel demands are expelled to Gaza or abroad. According to Israel, these prisoners will not be allowed to return to the West Bank.

This stance, which is backed by a number of ministers and the head of the Shin Bet, stems from a serious concern that these “heavy prisoners” may revive Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the West Bank and resume the armed conflict as well as terror attacks against Israeli citizens, settlers and the Palestinian Authority.

The response which was transferred to the German mediator gives him enough pull to continue pushing to close the gaps between Hamas and Israel on the matter of expelling prisoners to Gaza.

Hamas is unlikely to drop out of negotiations, as it also has much interest in the execution of the deal. The moment of truth has yet to arrive, but can be expected in the near future.

6:06AM: Now for a change of pace: a joke about the Israeli rowing team told by an “old Jew.” (hat tip: Noah on Twitter)

6:04AM: A group of leading Zionist rabbis have drafted clear guidelines for prisoner swaps.

The guidelines in the document include the need to take future risk into consideration. Other principles include a call to engage in more moderate efforts in cases where abductees risk themselves needlessly, and a ban on releasing live detainees in exchange for bodies.

The rabbis who signed the document include Shlomo Aviner, Yaakov Ariel, Haim Druckman, and Dov Lior. The guidelines state that previous swaps completed by Israel were characterized by the “absence of clear criteria” and by a “dangerous preference for the welfare of the individual captive (or casualty) over the public’s wellbeing.”

The document includes a total of six brief clauses and is backed up with Jewish law sources for the various rulings.

The rabbis begin with an uncompromising rule of thumb: “Despite the importance of the mitzvah of prisoner redemption, any deal for the exchange of terrorist prisoners must be weighed with the public’s best interest in mind, as well as its effect on national security in the short and long term”.

“National security is affected, among other things, by the deterrence of enemies and their debilitation, as well as the willingness of soldiers to risk themselves knowing that a great effort will be made to release them if they are captured,” the rabbis say.

“A decision on a deal should consider intelligence agencies’ assessments of the future risk that it carries.”

Three basic principles

The rabbis call for a policy of negotiations based on three basic principles, each one derived from scenarios experienced by Israel over the years.

Hinting at the Tannenbaum deal, the document says that “the level of effort invested in releasing a man who unlawfully endangered himself should be lower.”

Regarding the return of corpses, such as deals made for IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, the document says that “despite the mitzvah of bringing a fallen soldier to burial in Israel, it is prohibited to release live terrorists in exchange for corpses”.

Regarding cases such as that of Shalit, the rabbis say that “a special effort must be invested in releasing security personnel who served the country”.

Hamas’ political leader has said that his Islamist organization is willing to form an investigative committee to present “the facts” of its actions during the winter conflict with Israel, following a United Nations report which accused both sides of war crimes during the hostilities.

“When Hamas deals seriously with the Goldstone report, with some reservations on it, this is evidence that Hamas respects the international law and is ready to cooperate with this law,” Khaled Meshal told the Web site Palestine Note in an interview from his base in Damascus.

“If the report or any other side has any reservations on Hamas’ actions, we are ready to explain them and we will form an honest and neutral investigative committee in Gaza to give Goldstone and its committee and the international community the facts.”

—-

But Meshal rejected the claim that Hamas had deliberately targeted Israeli civilians during the fighting, when thousands of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip – which it controls – into Israeli communities.

“Hamas does not aim to kill civilians. Hamas does not want to target the civilians,” he said. “Hamas defends itself, but because it has simple abilities and its rockets are inaccurate in targeting, so it reaches the civilians, but we do not intend to do that.”

The Hamas leader also said that the group is willing to abide by any international attempts to secure a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, and that Hamas is willing to accept the borders that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War.

—-

Meshal said that the Palestinians, including Hamas, would be willing to accept a peace deal based on the 1967, and warned that this was the only option for peace.

“…[I]f the Arabs and the Palestinians found seriousness from the American administration in pressuring Israel to withdraw to 1967 borders, and recognize the Palestinian and Arab rights and stops its occupation and aggression, I’m telling you that the Arabs and Palestinians will cooperate with the American administration and there will be peace in the region,” he told Palestine Note. “Without that, the struggle will remain and all the American and international attempts will fail because in brief they’re not moving in the right direction.”

You can watch the interview here.

[Warning: Fast moving subtitles may cause severe dizziness. As may trying to comprehend the ridiculousness of Meshaal's answers]

The only thing more infuriating than Meshaal’s audacity in believing people will swallow his blatant lies is the fact that in this regard, he’s right.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

10:52PM: Disturbing report on the largest cult in Israel – Scientology.

Pay special attention to what the reporter says about Tom Cruise.

7:50PM: Anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein has posted about the J Street conference (http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2009/10/28/2-12-cheers-for-historic-j-street-national-conference/). Here’s his reaction to Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel getting mocked.

Returning to the blogger panel, Blumenthal had one of the more memorably funny quotes of the day criticizing Elie Wiesel’s address to Pastor John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel national event (the joke refers to Wiesel’s investment losses with Bernie Madoff):

The last person Elie Wiesel trusted this much was Bernie Madoff.

Nice guy, huh?

Meanwhile, here’s Silverstein’s version of the infamous “blogger ejection incident.”

Another denizen of the right-wing Jewish deep slime, Hillel Stavis, crashed the panel, taking pictures of the panelists and attendees without authorization and had to be escorted from the room.  Since he was a registered conference goer, J Street allowed him to remain in the hall even though he wrote a scummy report at his own blog complaining of his “shabby” treatment.

Notice how Silverstein does not mention his own role in Stavis being escorted from the room (he was the one who approached security), nor the fact notification was not given to participants that filming or recording was prohibited.

6:00PM: Here is a debate on the Goldstone Report with perhaps the worst representative of the Israeli side I have ever seen – aggressive, rude, inarticulate, and showing more than a passing resemblance to Dr Evil.

Of course, the Iranian they chose to debate him is very articulate.

Ouch.

It’s a shame they didn’t invite someone like Richard Landes or other Understanding the Goldstone Report contributors instead.

5:25PM: Israelis are increasingly getting cheesed off with Turkey.

An employee stands behind a sign depicting a crossed out Turkish flag taped to the window of a coffee shop in Tel Aviv October 27, 2009. A manager at the coffee house said the decision not to sell Turkish coffee was made in protest at Turkish criticism of Israel over its military offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Israel this month summoned a senior Turkish diplomat to protest a Turkish television drama that depicted an Israeli soldier shooting dead a Palestinian baby. Picture taken October 27, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL FOOD POLITICS CONFLICT)

If you think this is harsh, consider the kinds of signs displayed in Turkish shop windows.

1:00PM: Lebanese troops have found and dismantled four rockets ready to be fired into Israel, in the same area from where yesterday’s Katusha was fired.

Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev has filed an official complaint with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council president over yesterday’s rocket attack, expressing concern over the rise in hostile activity from Lebanese territory and stressing that Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for any attack to come from its territory.

6:05AM: Lawfare: Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon has faced possible arrest on war crimes charges during an official visit to the UK.

Ayalon returned to Israel on Tuesday evening after a two-day visit to London, during which pro-Palestinian activists attempted to use a section of British law to have him arrested.

The International Criminal Court Act of 2001 and the Criminal Justice Act of 1988 allow for private individual complaints of war crimes to be lodged against military personnel, even if they are not British citizens and the alleged crimes were committed elsewhere.

Ayalon and his advisers received the news on Monday evening before he was scheduled to give a keynote speech at the London School of Economics. His team took the necessary precautions and, after consulting with the Israeli Embassy, decided that he would continue with his trip.

On Monday night, Ayalon spoke at LSE. However, a student wearing a keffiyeh held up proceedings by shouting at the minister as soon as he took to the podium to deliver his speech, “The Situation in the Middle East: The View from Israel.”

Despite appeals from Prof. Michael Cox, head of LSE’s International Relations department and chairman of the event, the student refused to stop hurling abuse at Ayalon. Eventually the audience turned against the student, after the chairman lost control, and the minister was able to give his speech and engage in debate afterward.

—-

Ayalon’s advisers believe that the material advertising the university event was the catalyst behind the call for his arrest, as it described him as a former IDF officer: “Mr. Ayalon is a former captain in the Israeli army who served as foreign policy adviser to prime minister Ariel Sharon and as Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2006.”

No further details were available at press time regarding who demanded the arrest.

Earlier this month, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon, a former chief of General Staff, declined an invitation to travel to the UK to speak at a Jewish charity fund-raiser, for fear that he might face arrest on charges of war crimes.

On Tuesday, Ayalon had meetings with government officials, in which he raised the absurdity of Israeli officials facing possible arrest under the universal jurisdiction law when they visited the UK. The minister also discussed the boycott call by a number of British trade unions, and bilateral relations.

Ayalon has yet to tweet about his experience.