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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Israel will not halt construction in “settlements” to accommodate natural growth, and alluded to agreements reached with the Bush administration that allowed for continuing some construction
For her part, Hillary Clinton basically called Lieberman a liar.
Clinton, for her part, said: “Looking at the history of the Bush administration, there were no informal or oral enforceable agreements,” saying that position had been “verified” by accounts from former Bush administration officials.
Meanwhile, the US is demanding a more liberal opening of the Gaza border crossings.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
11:30PM: Only in Israel:
The escalating crisis between Israel’s coalition and opposition took a musical twist Thursday evening – three Kadima Knesset members broke into song during a Knesset committee meeting, ignored the chairman’s pleas to stop, and were eventually forcefully removed by ushers.
The discussion regarding the reform in the Israel Land Administration got underway Thursday morning and featured a long series of biting remarks by opposition and coalition members throughout the day.
However, at one point, Kadima MK Otniel Schnler took out a sheet of paper with the lyrics of a patriotic Israeli song and started singing into the microphone. Meanwhile, two his party members, Yoel Hasson and Nachman Shai, joined the singing.
During the unexpected musical performance, Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi expressed his objection to the selected song, saying he would have opted for “Biladi, Biladi,” the Palestinian national anthem.
11:15PM: Israel’s delegate to the IAEA has ripped IAEA (potato) head Mohamed ElBaradei a new one, accusing him of political bias.
11:10PM: Iran’s intelligence Ministry has claimed it had uncovered a terrorist plot linked to Israel and other foreign enemies to plant bombs in mosques and other crowded places in Tehran during election day.
Which goes to show that the Look over there, evil Zionists! diversion ploy when things are not going well for an Arab or Muslim regime never gets old.
5:32PM: Not everyone will agree with Dutch MP Geert Wilders’ views, but I for one appreciate his stance on Israel.
Israel will be a major part of Geert Wilders’ next film on Islam, the rightist Dutch legislator said last week in an interview for Haaretz. He praised Avigdor Lieberman, observing “similarities” between Yisrael Beiteinu and the Party for Freedom – a small movement which has grown to become Holland’s second most popular.
Wilders, a controversial anti-immigration politician, rose to international fame last year when he released a 14-minute film entitled Fitna, which attempts to portray what he considers as Islam’s “violent nature.” The film, which has been viewed by millions online, provoked mass protests throughout the Muslim world.
In April Wilders announced he was working on a sequel. Just as Fitna focused on genocidal anti-Semitism in the Muslim world, Wilders said that the sequel – which focuses on “Islamization in the West” – will show “how the forces of Islamization are specifically targeting Israel in a fight against all free societies.”
He added: “The film will demonstrate that the fight against Israel is not territorial, and hence Israel is only the first line of defense for the West. Now it’s Israel but we are next. That’s why beyond solidarity, it is in Europe’s interest to stand by Israel.”
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Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu is, according to Wilders, safer because it doesn’t automatically accept the two-state solution. But he added: “I am more concerned now about Israel’s situation because of the positions of U.S. President Barack Obama.”
The president’s speech in Cairo “shocked” Wilders, he says. “Until now Israel could rely on the U.S. for support even when the Europeans failed to offer it. Now Israel will have a tougher time,” he added.
“The two-state solution is an internal Israeli matter and I hesitate to interfere. But my personal belief is that there is a two state solution for the Palestinians. One of those states is called Jordan,” he added.
Wilders also said that Obama’s preference for dialogue with Iran despite its ongoing drive to obtain nuclear weapons – according to Western intelligence reports – is “intolerable.”
He simply gets it.
2:54PM: Received from the Free Gaza mailing list:
Hedy Epstein, our wonderful 84-year-old Holocaust survivor, the woman who has been determined to come with us to Gaza this year, was attacked yesterday while walking home in her hometown in Missouri.
“Someone came up behind me and pushed me with both hands, throwing me to the ground. I cut an artery in my chin, and my knees are black and blue. I’ve got several stitches in my chin right now. When I looked up to see him, he was running as fast as he could away from me.” said Hedy this morning.
Her friend was with her, and neither woman was robbed of anything. When talking to her friend’s husband, he said, “Listen, in St. Louis if someone is going to push you, they are after your purse. This was a targeted attack. And, if anyone else has either been attacked or been threatened, we want to know, because the police here need to know.”
Last year when we were getting ready to go on our first trip to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, many of us were threatened by Israel-firsters, some even bragged that they would blow up our boat, sink it, or kill our children. The sister-in-law of Tony Blair was threatened that her children would be killed. Those of us organizing the project were threatened as well. It didn’t stop us then, and it won’t stop us now.
In January when Hedy was interviewed on TV about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, she got several threatening phone calls, “We’re going to come and find you, and we will take care of you.”
This message needs to go out far and wide to everyone appalled that pro-Israel thugs would push an 84-year-old woman to the ground in an attempt to hurt her and scare her from coming. When I hung up today, the last words Hedy said were, “Can I come later? Would you put me on the August trip?’
The answer is a resounding… “YES”.
Greta Berlin
Free Gaza Movement
357 99 081 767
www.freegaza.org
www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/
So an elderly Jewish woman is attacked in Missouri, and despite not knowing the identity of the perpetrators, Ms Berlin confidently declares them as being “pro-Israel thugs.” Because Jews are not attacked by other types?
And what happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Let’s face it. It is more likely to have been an anti-Semitic attack than what Berlin claims it to be. After all, Hedy Epstein is better known as a Holocaust survivor than as a moonbat.
8:55AM: Here’s part of the Lieberman-Clinton press conference.
