File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2-L) heads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on January 7, 2024. (RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP)
Published February 19, 2024
Approved even by centrist ministers, statement rejects ‘international diktats’ pushing two states; minister Sa’ar compares reported US-Arab proposal to appeasement of Nazis in 1938
Israel’s cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved a declaration rejecting “international diktats” seeking to push Palestinian statehood, in the wake of reports that the US and several Arab partners were preparing a detailed plan for a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians that includes a “firm timeline” for a Palestinian state.
“Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the cabinet decision read. “A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.
“Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” the motion added. “Such recognition in the wake of the October 7th massacre would be a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism and would foil any future peace settlement.”
In response, a US State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel that “the best way to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security, for Israelis and Palestinian’s alike, is our strong commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Palestinian Authority’s financial plight threatens US plans for post-war Gaza
Craters and other destruction mark areas of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week. (Photo: AFP)
Published February 18, 2024
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is looking to financially prop up the Palestinian Authority amid warnings from officials in Ramallah that it is close to running out of money, potentially jeopardizing U.S. hopes that the organization will be able to govern Gaza when Israel’s war with Hamas is over.
The administration is trying to work around a law that prevents it from contributing directly to the Palestinian Authority, while also nudging allies to give more to the organization, U.S. officials said. Palestinian officials have warned that they could run out of the money needed to pay salaries and provide essential government services as soon as late February, the U.S. officials said.
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SOURCE: www.wsj.com
RELATED: Arafat’s next successor another reason why a Palestinian state will be a disaster – opinion
MARWAN BARGHOUTI addresses the media in the Tel Aviv District Court, in 2002, shouting in Hebrew: ‘The Intifada will win.’ A convicted mass murderer, Barghouti has been jailed since 2002, the writer notes.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Published February 19, 2024
The immediate release of terrorists incarcerated by Israel has remained a repeated demand by Hamas and recently, it added Barghouti to the list of those who must be freed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Middle East this month saying: “One, there needs to be calm in Gaza; two, there needs to be a clear and credible pathway to a Palestinian state.” But who would lead Blinken’s Palestinian state and why?
On February 4, The Jerusalem Post reported, “[Marwan] Barghouti is a popular figure in Palestinian politics, with many seeing him as a successor to 88-year-old Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas.”
Abbas is a member of Fatah and has been in power since the 2004 death of terrorist leader Yasser Arafat.
Barghouti has been a leading figure in Fatah for decades and joined when he was just 15, more than 50 years ago. A convicted mass murderer, Barghouti has been jailed since 2002. He was found guilty in an Israeli civilian court of 26 charges of murder and attempted murder of both Israeli civilians and soldiers. He is not a political prisoner. Barghouti is well known and electable, and the Associated Press reported in December 2023 that “the most popular politician remains Marwan Barghouti.”
