Showing posts with label Benjamin Netanyahu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benjamin Netanyahu. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Iran elected to UN disarmament committee post
End Of Days News
Panel deals with all matters regarding disarmament — including nuclear weapons; Iran official will report to General Assembly on ‘challenges and threats’ to global peace
Members of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday elected Iran as rapporteur for the committee responsible for Disarmament and International Security, a body that deals with all matters regarding disarmament — including nuclear weapons.
Replacing
Norwegian diplomat Knut Langeland, the Iranian representative will relay
information relating to the committee’s proceedings during the UN’s
68th session, spanning 2013-14, to the General Assembly.
In July, when
Iran applied for the rapporteur position, Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron
Prosor said in a statement that “allowing Iran to be on the UN committee
dealing with nuclear disarmament and weapons proliferation is like
inviting Assad, the Syrian dictator responsible for the death of 100,000
of his own people, to be the head of the population census bureau.”
In addition to appointing Iran as rapporteur,
the committee gave the position of chair to Libya and vice chairs to
Germany, Ecuador and Montenegro. More
White House: Obama shares Netanyahu’s goal on Iran
End Of Days News
Concerns over Tehran’s true intentions are ‘justifiable’ but there is a ‘window of opportunity’ for diplomacy, spokesman says
While avoiding any direct comment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, the White House expressed understanding of the Israeli leader’s doubts over Iran’s recent diplomatic overtures toward the West.
“We’ve said all along, as the president has
said, we understand, and it is entirely justifiable, that Israel is
skeptical about Iran and Iran’s intentions,” White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney said in a press briefing hours after Netanyahu’s speech.
“After all, this is a country [Iran] whose leadership, until recently,
was pledging to annihilate Israel.”
Responding to questions about Netanyahu’s
aggressive rhetoric during his speech, in which he denounced Iranian
President Hasan Rouhani’s conciliatory statements as a ruse, Carney
asserted that the US, like Israel, was unwavering in its determination
to thwart a nuclear-armed Iran. More
Monday, July 22, 2013
Call for referendum on peace deal panned by Liberman, Livni
End Of Days News
Avigdor Liberman, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman and head of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu, referred in recent weeks to referendums as a way for “decision makers to run away from responsibility.”
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that both the Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to a “framework” for the resumption of talks. The Palestinians, however, have yet to confirm their participation.
Livni, who is charged with heading the Israeli negotiating team, Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat would meet in Washington in the coming days to begin the process for the renewal of negotiations, Kerry said.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
PROPHECY WATCH: Netanyahu Ready to Give Up 90% of Judea and Samaria
End Of Days News
PROPHECY WATCH: Netanyahu Ready to Give Up 90% of Judea and Samaria
A report in the far left Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz Thursday quoted top Likud ministers as saying that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is prepared to give up as much as 90% of Judea and Samaria in a deal with the Palestinian Authority. If Netanyahu is satisfied that Israel’s security needs are accounted for, the report quoted the ministers as saying, […]
Monday, June 10, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
PM indicated to Putin: ‘We’ll destroy your missiles if you deliver them to Assad’
End Of Days News
After Netanyahu made clear he would not allow the S-300 anti-aircraft weapons to go into service, the Russian president reportedly suggested Israel buy them instead
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted during his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel would destroy Syrian S-300 missiles before they became fully operational, Maariv cited Middle Eastern diplomats saying Friday. The reported threat underlined how firmly Israel has sought to pressure Russia to cancel the deal, apparently with some success.
According to the report, during the meeting between the heads of stateearlier this month in the Black Sea city of Sochi, Netanyahu called on Putin to cancel Russia’s transfer of the sophisticated anti-aircraft system to Syrian President Bashar Assad, and indicated that, should the delivery go ahead, Israel would strike the missiles before they became operational.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Kerry: Israeli ‘prosperity’ preventing sense of urgency about peace
End Of Days News
Israelis’ “sense of security” prevents them from feeling sufficient urgency to resume peace talks with the Palestinians, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Jerusalem Thursday, warning of fast-approaching “challenges” that required a change of approach for the Jewish State.
“I think there is an opportunity [for peace], but for many reasons it’s not on the tips of everyone’s tongue,” Kerry told reporters before entering a meeting with President Shimon Peres. “People in Israel aren’t waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security and a sense of accomplishment and of prosperity.”
Friday, May 17, 2013
Erdogan: Fatah must cooperate with Hamas en route to Mideast peace
End Of Days News
Joel 3: 1: For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2: I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
Visiting Washington, Turkish prime minister slams Netanyahu government for oppposing Palestinian state, calls on Israel to ‘retreat to 1967 lines’
Without an internal Palestinian reunification deal, there is little chance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks can lead anywhere, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday during a visit to the US.
Speaking to reporters at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, Erdogan said, “There will be no negotiations without Hamas, therefore Fatah must cooperate with it.”
Palestinian unity talksstalled after the last set of meetings, held in Cairo in February, failed to mend the rift between Fatah and Hamas and send the Palestinians to parliamentary elections. The two parties signed a reconciliation deal in 2011, but it has yet to be implemented, and the particulars of the agreement remain undefined. The two parties were split on issues regarding the Palestine National Council, the PLO parliament, and legislative and presidential elections in the Palestinian territories. In recent days, Palestinian officials have again spoken of a possible unity deal within three months.
Russia sends at least 12 warships to Syria
End Of Days News
Deployment presumably a warning to Israeli and Western officials regarding military intervention against Assad
In a move considered aggressive by US and European officials, Russia has sent at least 12 warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Tartous, Syria.
The deployment appears to be a warning to Israeli and Western officials against military intervention in Syria’s bloody civil war, which has now claimed the lives of over 80,000 people.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Unmoved by Israel, Russia will send top air-defense system to Assad
End Of Days News
Moscow says it must honor its deal with Damascus, even though Netanyahu warned Putin that delivery of S-300 missiles could plunge the region into war
Undeterred by pleas and warnings from Israel, Russia made clear on Thursday that it will go ahead with its planned delivery of a highly sophisticated air-defense system to Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in an emergency face-to-face meeting on Tuesday that Moscow’s sale of the S-300 missile defense system to Assad could push the Middle East into war.
But Russia’s Foreign MinisterSergey Lavrov, evidently unmoved by the dramatic Israeli warning, declared on Thursday that while Moscow was “not signing any new deals,” it would honor existing contracts with Syria, including for the air-defense systems. “We’ve already carried out some of the deal,” Lavrov said, “and we will carry the rest of it out in full.”
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
One Jerusalem. Undivided. Open to all. Controlled by Israel
End Of Days News
One Jerusalem. Undivided. Open to all. Controlled by Israel
Nir Barkat says he doesn’t know who’ll be running against him for the Jerusalem mayoralty in October, but he’s confident he can defeat all-comers. That’s because, he says, he’s turned the city round — economically, educationally, culturally, and even politically — reducing tensions between different sectors, and gradually impressing upon all residents of the city, emphatically including East Jerusalemites, that he seeks to improve the quality of life for all.
Still, he cautions, the renaissance of Israel’s capital is a work-in-progress, and it would be a dreadful retrograde step if he was not re-elected to complete it. “We want to put a lot of gas on the pedal. For me, the next term is crucial,” he says. “Don’t stop the momentum. Let us continue the positive momentum,” he urges.
Obama phones Netanyahu over ‘regional security issues’
End Of Days News
US President Barack Obama spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone Wednesday to discuss regional security issues and Middle East peace, the White House said.
A brief statement said the two leaders agreed to continue their “close coordination.”
The call came amid a renewed peace push by the Americans and days after Israel reportedly carried out a number of airstrikes on weapons transfers within Syria, a move US officials said Washington backed.
The Obama administration has said it is considering providing weapons to vetted units in the armed opposition, among other military options, following last week’s revelation of a US intelligence assessment suggested chemical weapons use by the Assad regime. The US also is looking for ways to halt the violence that has killed more than 70,000 people.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Haifa mayor orders preparations for possible Syrian retaliation
End Of Days News
Haifa’s mayor ordered the northern city to increase its preparedness and gear up to defend itself against a possible retaliatory attack after Israeli planes reportedly hit targets inside Syria twice over the past three days.
Yona Yahav held meetings in order to coordinate the city’s positions with the Home Front Command, police, fire department and MDA. Procedures for opening shelters and absorption centers were discussed as well.
The move followed the placing of two Iron Dome batteries in northern Israel by the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday, amid reports that Syria saw the strikes as a “declaration of war.”
“City Hall is a body which residents approach in case of emergency and we must prepare accordingly,” Yahav said.
Two weeks ago, the Knesset held a special meeting on protecting the city’s large chemical stores, an attack on which could lead to thousands of deaths.
Late last month, Israeli planes shot down a drone off the coast near the city, thought to have been sent by Hezbollah or Iran. Hezbollah denied sending the unmanned aircraft.
Read More: http://www.timesofisrael.com/haifa-mayor-orders-preparations-for-possible-syrian-retaliation/
‘Strike in Syria sends a message to Iran,’ says former intel chief
End Of Days News
Sunday morning’s strike inside Syrian territory, which reportedly targeted advanced Iranian missiles headed for Hezbollah, was primarily a message for Iran, former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said on Sunday.
“Iran is testing Israel’s and the US’s determination to uphold ‘red lines.’ And what it is seeing in Syria is that at least some of the actors take red lines seriously,” said Yadlin.
The comment was an oblique criticism of the United States administration: President Barack Obama said last August that any use by President Bashar Assad of chemical weapons would cross a “red line.” Assad has used chemical weapons against rebel targets in recent weeks.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Israel's Netanyahu, Palestine's Abbas head to China
End Of Days News
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas next week for separate bilateral talks as it tries to shore up its role in a region where its diplomatic influence is limited.
Netanyahu's visit -- the first trip by a top Israeli leader to China since former prime minister Ehud Olmert visited in 2007 -- will be focused on trade, though experts have also said he is likely to discussIran's nuclear program with China.
China, Iran's top oil customer and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has opposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran such as those imposed by Washington and the European Union and has called repeatedly for talks to resolve the stand-off over Iran's nuclear program.
Netanyahu's visit comes as a U.S. official said Israel has conducted an airstrike in Syria, apparently targeting a building, a development that is likely to worry Beijing.
Netanyahu is set to arrive on Monday in China's commercial capital of Shanghai, where he will meet business leaders, and fly to Beijing after for talks with Chinese leaders. Abbas will arrive in Beijing on Sunday.
It is unclear whether Netanyahu and Abbas will meet in China. China's foreign ministry said the country "is willing to offer necessary assistance if the leaders of Palestine and Israel have the will to meet in China".
China has traditionally had a low profile in Middle East diplomacy, but is keen to assert its role as a key player in international politics. It has tried on and off over the years to mediate in the Israeli-Palestinian issue but with little apparent success.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Time to confront Obama
End Of Days News
The time has come for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to confront US President Barack Obama.
A short summary of events from the past three days: On Tuesday morning, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Analysis Division Brig. Gen.
Itay Brun revealed that the Syrian government has already used "lethal chemical weapons," against Syrian civilians and opposition forces. Brun described footage of people visibly suffering the impact of chemical agents, apparently sarin gas.
Hours later, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Netanyahu had told him on the telephone that "he was not in a position to confirm" Brun's statement.
It is hard to imagine the US was taken by surprise by Brun's statement. Just the day before, Brun briefed visiting US Defense secretary Chuck Hagel on Syria. It is not possible he failed to mention the same information.
And of course it isn't just the IDF saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad is using chemical weapons. The British and the French are also saying this.
But as a European source told Ma'ariv, the Americans don't want to know the facts. The facts will make them do something about Syria's chemical weapons. And they don't want to do anything about Syria's chemical weapons.
So they force Netanyahu to disown his own intelligence.
Thursday afternoon, in a speech in Abu Dhabi, Hagel confirmed, "with some degree of varying confidence," that Syria used chemical weapons, at least on a "small scale."
Friday, March 8, 2013
‘Obama won’t bring peace plan or even general framework’ to Israel
End Of Days News
Multiple sources reject Israeli TV report on US president’s briefing for Jewish leaders, but one says he spoke of possible ‘policy initiative’ 6-12 months from now
NEW YORK — President Barack Obama will not be bringing any peace plan or even a “general framework” with him on his trip to Israel later this month, and he did not say he would in a briefing with Jewish leaders at the White House Thursday, according to sources in the administration and several participants in the meeting.
According to one participant, however, the president said: “That doesn’t mean six or nine or 12 months from now we won’t be in the midst of a policy initiative.”
Earlier Thursday, Israel’s Channel 10 reported that Obama planned to present a “general framework” for Israeli-Palestinian peace during his visit, quoting what it said were remarks made by the president in the White House briefing.
While he would not unveil a “comprehensive Middle East peace plan” during the trip, the Israeli TV report said, he told the Jewish leaders they should not rule out him doing so “sometime in the next six, nine or 12 months.”
A US source familiar with the White House’s plans for the trip described the Channel 10 report as “absolutely false.”
A senior administration official told The Times of Israel: “The president did invite leaders from across the American Jewish community to discuss and get input about his upcoming trip to Israel. He did not present a framework for peace talks.”
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Netanyahu mulling minor ‘land transfer’ to Palestinians ahead of Obama visit
End Of Days News
Package of goodwill gestures — including approval of building requests, release of prisoners and transfer of ammunition — reportedly drawn up by defense establishment
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly mulling transferring responsibility for small areas of West Bank land to the Palestinian Authority as part of a package of major goodwill gestures drawn up by the defense establishment ahead of US President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the region.
According to a report in Maariv on Tuesday, the gestures will include the transfer of authority over two access roads — one to the new Palestinian city Rawabi, and the other to the West Bank city of Tulkarem — to full Palestinian control, the approval of building plans for 10 Palestinian villages currently deemed illegal and under threat of being demolished, the release of many of the 123 Fatah prisoners arrested by Israel before the Oslo peace talks, and the transfer of small arms ammunition to the Palestinian security forces.
The report states that the gestures were discussed in the past in talks with Quartet envoy Tony Blair, but Netanyahu rejected them. The defense establishment reportedly drew up the plans while explaining to Netanyahu that the moves would not be a major political liability for the prime minister, but could create a positive global public relations effect.
Netanyahu made brief reference to Israeli concessions in his Monday address to the AIPAC Policy Conference, but focused more on Israel’s imperative to ensure its security.
“Israel is prepared for a meaningful compromise, but as Israel’s prime minister I will never compromise on our security,” Netanyahu told the Washington gathering by satellite feed from Jerusalem, noting that Israel had withdrawn from south Lebanon and Gaza, “and we got terror. That can’t happen a third time.”
“Israel seeks a peace with our Palestinian neighbors, a peace that will end our conflict once and for all,” he insisted, “but that peace must be grounded in reality and in security…. In the Middle East, a peace you cannot defend will not hold for five minutes.”
Netanyahu’s caution was in keeping with US Vice President Joe Biden’s decidedly pessimistic tone on the prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
“It’s going to require hard steps on all sides, but we all have a profound interest in peace,” Biden told the conference. “We’ve got to get caught trying,” he quipped, quoting former US president Bill Clinton.
“So we remain deeply engaged. As President Obama has said, while there are those who question whether this goal will ever be reached, we have no apologies for continuing to pursue this goal.”
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