EDITOR: The Show Drags On…
Though few tickets were sold for this piece of hamming, and even fewer came to witness it, it still drags on like an aligator through thick molasses. Now Netanyahu, shedding crocodile tears, is regretting the whole affair, like a burglar who, having been caught, saying the whole thing wasn’t his idea, he did not know, he is just the PM, how can he possible know what was, according to Akiva Eldar, agreed between Israel and the US in advance of Biden’s visit?
On the other side of the Pond, Mrs Clinton is all steel. She will not allow this, she will not accept that, and couldn’t Israel wait few days before advertising the fact that they will continue to build, and intensify the building? Are you asking why thee is nothing here from the NY Times? Well, they have nothing to say… again.
You have to hand it to the cast: though not experienced in this kind of acting, they are certainly doing the very best to persuade each other, and maybe also Brown and Berlusconi. The rest of us will have to resist the temptation to retch at such performance. Still, this show will close this week, and you will never hear of it again, same as the Dubai murder (what murder? In Dubai? Never heard about it.) After all, we now have to prepare for the attack on Gaza and Lebanon, the Iran war, and the 3rd Intifada…
Watch this space!
Netanyahu: Row with U.S. should not have happened: Haaretz
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday referred to Israel’s recent approval of a plan to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, announced during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit, as a “harmful” incident that “should not have happened.”
In his first public remarks on what Israeli commentators called his most serious crisis with Washington since taking office a year ago, he gave no sign he would meet Palestinian demands to cancel a project for 1,600 new settler homes.
“There was a regrettable incident here, that occurred innocently,” Netanyahu told his cabinet at its weekly meeting, though he urged ministers to stay calm amid the tensions.
“We opened the newspapers this morning and read all kinds of commentary and assumptions regarding the crisis with the U.S. I recommend not to get carried away and to calm down,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu reiterated that he had appointed a committee to investigate the events leading up to the decision to ensure that such a thing not happen again.
The prime minister stressed the importance of Israel’s relations with the United States, which were strained as a result of the incident.
The U.S. has waged harsh criticism of Israel’s announcement on Tuesday about new settlement construction – a move that deeply embarrassed Biden and imperiled U.S. plans to launch indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The investigative team will be headed by Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Eyal Gabai, and will include members of the Interior Ministry, Housing Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday called Israel’s announcement “insulting” to the United States.
“I mean, it was just really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone – the United States, our vice president who had gone to reassert our strong support for Israeli security – and I regret deeply that that occurred and made that known,” Clinton told CNN.
Clinton did not blame Netanyahu personally for the announcement, but she said: “He is the prime minister. Like the president or secretary of state…ultimately, you are responsible.”
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said over the weekend that the ensuing crisis appeared to be orchestrated by the U.S. administration, as Netanyahu apologized to Biden and believed that the crisis was behind the two allies.
EDITOR: The Settlements Show, Act 2, Scene 4
So now the discussion is clearing up. Neither the US, nor the EU are much worried about Israel stealing the whole of Palestine, or building settlements. After all, if they were, they had 43 years to say so, and also do something about it. The opposite is true. Now they are discussing the main issue: the Timing of the announcement! As we all know, all good theatre is a matter of perfect timing. So the advice to the cast in Jerusalem is simple: ‘improve your timing!’. First allow American and EU politicians to prattle on peace, then allow them to return home, and only then announce more building. That way, the Palestinians can be blamed for the debacle, and we can get to Act 3, at last.
In Israel, they are picking up the message loud and clear. Delaying the discussions in Jerusalem until the EU representative, the esteemed Baroness Munchhausen has been and left make a lot of sense. She is also singing the 2-State song, with the same old tune. Nice. Isn’t it good to know that the fate of the Middle East, Europe, the world, is in the hands of capable actors, who know their lines by heart? Enjoy the Show!
Jerusalem council drops construction, apparently due to U.S. crisis: Haaretz
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building committee has canceled two meetings planned for this week, apparently out of concern that any more decisions on construction might result in further tensions with the United States.
As reported in Haaretz last week, the committee had already pulled from its agenda discussion of all Israeli construction over the Green Line.
The Interior Ministry has said that the meetings were canceled due to technical reasons, as the director of the committee Ruth Yosef had been invited to overlapping Knesset sessions.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai denied last week having ordered the committee to change its agenda following the recent crisis with the U.S. ? but committee members nevertheless have received a new schedule, on which all meetings pertaining to controversial construction areas were erased.
Yishai last week gave the city approval of a plan to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, a decision which led to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most serious crisis with Washington since taking office a year ago.
Members of the building and planning committee were instructed last week not to hold any more discussions or approve any more announcements regarding construction in East Jerusalem.
Sources close to the matter have said that the meetings in question were to have dealt with minor construction plans.
Likud faction whip Ze’ev Elkin earlier Sunday urged Netanyahu not to deviate from his policy on East Jerusalem construction, saying Israel must keep the capital undivided and under its sovereignty.
Netanyahu had not included East Jerusalem in his declaration of a 10-month construction freeze, but Israel’s recent approval of 1,600 new housing units during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit has raised tensions between the two allies.
The timing of the disclosure deeply embarrassed Biden, whose visit coincided with Palestinian agreement to restart peace talks suspended since December 2008 in the form of indirect, U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel.
Opposition leader and Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni on Sunday cast her own criticism of Netanyahu regarding the recent row, saying his weakness to his coalition partners was costing the government its stability.
“The coalition agreement is not a substitute for a set path and a vision,” Livni said, adding that “we have a prime minister who does not know what he wants and this weakness is leading to a political landslide.”
“Israel is paying the price for the fact that her government is not making decisions and it will continue to pay for it,” Livni added.
“It is not God’s decree for the world to be against us,” said the opposition leader. “We can change the reality, but for this we need a prime minister who has a clear policy and strategic path, who doesn’t place national security in the hands of [Interior Minister] Eli Yishai.
EDITOR: Dénouement – Act 3 Scene 2 of the Great Show in Jerusalem
Now it seems that they all started reading this blog… How else could they have worked it out? Not by themselves, surely?…
On stage we see the main culprits now sticking knives into each other’s back – The band of robbers fighting each other after a failed job – Barak gets Netanyahu while he can, and Axelrod spills the beans about the real task of the announcement. I feel they are starting real competition with the blog, and I wonder how I can stop them from stealing my lines…
Barak: East Jerusalem announcement was unnecessary, damaging: Haaretz
Obama aide Axelrod says approval of 1,600 new East Jerusalem homes seemed meant to thwart talks.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday joined widespread condemnation of the Israeli government’s recent announcement to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem.
“The mishap that took place while the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting was unintentional, but it was, without a doubt, unnecessary and damaging,” said Barak.
Earlier Sunday, President Barack Obama’s chief political adviser David Axelrod slammed the Israeli construction plan in East Jerusalem and said that the move, which was announced during Biden’s visit, looked like a deliberate attempt to frustrate upcoming proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Barak, speaking during an event celebrating the upcoming Passover holiday, emphasized the importance of the Israel-United States friendship.
“Even though we are the ones ultimately responsible for our fate, the friendship of the United States is important to both the security and the peace of the region, and this friendship commits us to mutual respect and responsibility,” Barak said.
“I am convinced that we must carry on the renewal of peace talks, and we must also invest thought and effort into it.”
Referring to Israel’s announcement of the plan to build 1,600 more housing units in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, Axelrod told ABC’s This Week that “what happened there was an affront.”
Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the announcement as a “harmful” incident that “should not have happened.”
In his interview with ABC, Axelrod hinted that Israel’s announcement was a deliberate attempt to thwart indirect talks with the Palestinians.
“It was an insult, but that’s not the most important thing,” Axelrod added, saying that the move was disruptive to upcoming proximity talks with the Palestinians and that the approval during Biden’s visit “seemed calculated to undermine that, and that was – that was distressing to everyone who is promoting the idea of peace and security in the region.”
Axelrod said that the bond between Israel and the United States was “strong,” but adding that “for just that very reason, this was not the right way to behave.”
“That was expressed by the secretary of state, as well as the vice president. I am not going to discuss what diplomatic talks we’ve had underneath that, but I think the Israelis understand clearly why we were upset and what, you know, what we want moving forward,” Axelrod added.
Responding to the possibility that Israel’s move could have any effect on U.S. soldiers in the region, Axelrod said that he believed “that that region and that issue is a flare point throughout the region, and so I’m not going to put it in those terms.”
However, the top Obama aide added that he did “believe that it is absolutely imperative, not just for the security of Israel and the Palestinian people, who were, remember, at war just a year ago, but it is important for our own security that we move forward and resolve this very difficult issue.”
In his first public remarks on what Israeli commentators called his most serious crisis with Washington since taking office a year ago, Netanyahu gave no sign earlier that he would meet Palestinian demands to cancel a project for 1,600 new settler homes.
“There was a regrettable incident here, that occurred innocently,” Netanyahu told his cabinet at its weekly meeting, though he urged ministers to stay calm amid the tensions.
“We opened the newspapers this morning and read all kinds of commentary and assumptions regarding the crisis with the U.S. I recommend not to get carried away and to calm down,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu reiterated that he had appointed a committee to investigate the events leading up to the decision to ensure that such a thing not happen again.
The prime minister stressed the importance of Israel’s relations with the United States, which were strained as a result of the incident.
The U.S. has waged harsh criticism of Israel’s announcement on Tuesday about new settlement construction – a move that deeply embarrassed Biden and imperiled U.S. plans to launch indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The investigative team will be headed by Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Eyal Gabai, and will include members of the Interior Ministry, Housing Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday called Israel’s announcement “insulting” to the United States.
“I mean, it was just really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone – the United States, our vice president who had gone to reassert our strong support for Israeli security – and I regret deeply that that occurred and made that known,” Clinton told CNN.
Clinton did not blame Netanyahu personally for the announcement, but she said: “He is the prime minister. Like the president or secretary of state…ultimately, you are responsible.”
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said over the weekend that the ensuing crisis appeared to be orchestrated by the U.S. administration, as Netanyahu apologized to Biden and believed that the crisis was behind the two allies.