President Obama tells Israel: stop expanding settlements

Times online

Tom Baldwin in Washington

 President Obama yesterday embarked on his most daunting diplomatic challenge yet by telling Israel to take “difficult steps” towards peace, allow a Palestinian state and halt settlement expansion on occupied land. His talks with Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s hardline Prime Minister, marked the start of an intensive focus on the Middle East. Mr Obama hopes to re-start a peace process that has stalled under a succession of US presidents.

Binyamin Netanyahu’s delicate balancing act with Barack Obama

Times

James Hider

When Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, lands in Washington tomorrow he will have to attempt a delicate and complicated balancing act. His performance when he meets President Obama on Monday will have a profound effect on the Middle East for years to come.

Jordan’s king urges ‘immediate’ Pan-Arab peace move

Haaretz

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Saturday urged an “immediate” pan-Arab move that has the aim of re-launching “serious” Arab-Israeli peace negotiations on the basis of the two-state formula.

What are you talking about?

yedioth aharonoth

3 April 2009

What are you talking about?

Lieberman needs to learn some basic facts before he speaks up
Eitan Haber

It is still unclear how long Avigdor Lieberman will remain in the post of foreign minister, yet it is already completely clear that he needs to get some “tutoring” so that he will become familiar with basic fact before he says more foolish things – because on Wednesday, at the reception in the Foreign Ministry, the honorable minister said some foolish things.

Mr. Lieberman showed contempt to the various Oslo Accords and claimed that Israel was popular in the world only after the Six-Day War victory and that “nothing was achieved by our concessions.”

Our system is ill

Yedioth Aharonoth

4 April 2009

Failure to appoint full-time health minister symptom of ailing political system
Emmanuel Rosen

If we need one clear, sharp and painful example of the serious malady maligning Israeli politics, we can look at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s blatant disregard for the need to appoint a full-time health minister.

We can talk for hours and write thousands of words about politicians who are detached from the people and their needs, about the cynicism, about broken promises, and about clinging to power – but we can simply tell the whole story in one sentence: In a state where the healthcare system is ill, and where if you have no money for private medicine you must rely on mercy from above, in such country the PM appoints 30 ministers and invents ministries that do not even exist for them, yet he does not see fit to appoint even one of them to the ministry that pertains to the lives of all of us.

OPINION/We have become slaves

ha’aretz

By Doron Rosenblum

This Passover, observant Jews said the Blessing of the Sun, a tradition held every 28 years steeped in mysticism, under which the sun is believed to return to its location on the fourth day of Creation. But the sun isn’t alone in returning to where it was 28 years ago: A comparison between today’s headlines and those in the archives show that Israel is also where it was 28 years ago.

Back in 1981, the year Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, we were threatened by an existential threat, Likud won the elections, Israeli jets flew over Lebanon on reconnaissance missions, three new settlements were built on the Golan Heights and many more in the West Bank, and veteran MK Michael Eitan had just become a lawmaker. Indeed, the sun seems to have been at the exact same angle as it was this week when the government was sworn in.

OPINION/Lieberman speaks

HA’ARETZ

by HA’ARETZ EDITORIAL

LiePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was sworn in only a week ago. It is busy forging its policies and organizing, a difficult task considering the crowd of ministers and their deputies. It is natural that Netanyahu and his senior ministers, including the ministers of defense and finance, are waiting until those policies are forged before making pronouncements prophesizing the government’s lifespan and intentions. Into the vacuum barges Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, talking and talking. Someone on the outside might get the impression that Lieberman is the true prime minister, and what he says goes.

The Americans have already responded to Lieberman’s worrisome pronouncements regarding diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians. World and regional diplomacy is greater than the Israeli foreign minister. This is the playing court of Barack Obama and Hosni Mubarak.

The most telling context to evaluate Lieberman’s comments is that of domestic politics: Lieberman pledged to his party that he will be foreign minister for four and a half years, until the next scheduled Knesset elections. Thus, he does not believe there will be a crisis between Obama and Netanyahu, or between Netanyahu and Lieberman after Netanyahau and Obama become closer, which would push the Yisrael Beiteinu leader to resign for political reasons.

Netanyahu’s 2nd chance

Yedioth Aharonoth

Obama may find new Israeli PM a willing partner for sustainable peace
Alon Ben-Meir
function setDbLinkCategory(url) {eval(unescape(url));}The new Israeli government led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu has raised many conflicting feelings among those concerned about the fate of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Will Netanyahu scuttle the little progress that was made under his predecessor Olmert, or will he engage the Palestinians anew?

Ed ora, al lavoro

Israele.net

Israele ha un nuovo governo, il più affollato della sua storia con 30 ministri e sette vice ministri: un fatto inquietante, arrogante ma del tutto prevedibile.

Israël : Lieberman à nouveau entendu pour des soupçons de délits financiers

le monde

Pour la troisième fois depuis sa prise de fonctions en tant que ministre des affaires étrangères israélien, il y a une semaine, Avigdor Lieberman a été interrogé, mardi 7 avril, par la police, qui le  soupçonne de corruption, blanchiment d’argent et abus de confiance. Le chef du parti d’extrême droite Israël Beiteinou a été entendu pendant cinq heures dans le cadre d’une enquête en cours depuis treize ans.

En seulement une semaine, M. Lieberman a donc été entendu plus de dix-sept heures par les policiers, qui l’avaient déjà interrogé ainsi que sa fille avant les élections du 10 février, qui lui ont permis d’entrer dans la coalition gouvernementale de Benyamin Nétanyahou. Le chef de la diplomatie s’est contenté d’estimer que la police faisait “du bon travail” et de souhaiter que les investigations prennent fin “le plus tôt possible”.