Monday, January 07, 2008

WARNING SCROLL TO BUSH

Scroll to Mr. Bush Reminds Him of His Historic Role
by Hillel Fendel JAN 7,08


(IsraelNN.com) A historic document is planned to be submitted to visiting US President George Bush upon his arrival this week, calling upon him to choose to be remembered like Cyrus, and not like Nebuchadnezzar.The document, grandly transcribed on parchment and furled into a scroll, is addressed to the the Leader of the West. It reminds President Bush to declare to the world that he will honor G-d's word and act towards settling the Jewish People throughout their entire Land.The document was signed by three figures, including the world-renowned Torah scholar, philosopher, social critic and author Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, once termed by Time magazine as a once-in-a-millennium scholar. Rabbi Chaim Richman, representing the Temple Mount movements, and Dr. Gadi Eshel of the New Jewish Congress are also signed upon the proclamation.

Rabbi Steinsaltz signing the proclamation

The scroll is likely to be presented to Mr. Bush during his visit this week to Israel by a prominent political and social figure.

Bush Can Choose His Historic Record

The impressive document includes a detailed reminder to Bush that he has the chance to help G-d's eternal word be fulfilled, and thus pave the way for world peace, or to take the opposite path.It begins by saying that Mr. Bush can make a declaration, as did Cyrus, King of Persia... who, in the year 538 BCE, returned the exiled nations to their lands, recognized the full right of the Jewish people to reestablish their Holy Temple, the house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7), and called upon them to return to their land.And thus, the manifesto continues, if you truly desire peace and benevolence, and you would be counted in the company of the truly righteous, we call upon you to declare to all the world: The Land of Israel was bequeathed to the nation of Israel by the Creator of the world. Neither could I, as a son of my faith, nor the Muslims according to their faith, ever take away even the slightest grain from the Eternal’s gift, which He gave to His people Israel, the eternal people.

The Wrong of a Palestinian State

Bush is thus also bidden to declare, I cannot simultaneously support the establishment of a foreign state for an alien nation in the Land of Israel, and I will not lend my hand to this wrong. The proclamation also takes a foreboding tone: Or – Heaven forbid – you can choose the second option – to willfully aid in the destruction, under the guise of peace! You certainly know what the G-d of Israel did to Egypt and Assyria and to all Israel’s enemies from time immemorial: Do you imagine that you will be able to save yourself if you have come to implement a plan that intends to steal the land of “the people that survived the sword” (Jeremiah 31:1), and to cut off those who survived the Holocaust, to rob the land that was given to them by the Creator? All of the peace treaties and initiatives which have been based upon the decisions of the government of Israel, indeed the entire Oslo process, and the Disengagement, and the establishment of a terrorist state within the Land of Israel known as Palestine – regrettably, all of these agreements are the result of a lack of sufficient faith in the Divine promises that the Lord made to the patriarchs of our nation, and all that is written in the Torah of Israel. Understand this well: the nations of the world cannot excuse their actions and their decisions on account of the weakness of Israel and her government. G-d ordained that the role of the nations of the world is to strengthen the nation of Israel. This will benefit all humanity and bring about world peace, as the prophets have foretold. Do you imagine you can escape from the struggles in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, by offering up sacrifices of the Jews who are slaughtered daily by their enemies who speak of peace but live by the sword?

Bring Pollard With You!

The document also includes a call for Bush to allow Jonathan Pollard to return home to Israel - either on the same plane to Israel as the President, or by authoriz[ing] his immediate release while you are yet in Jerusalem, before you return to the United States. This will be a positive step that will build confidence. The first page of the manifesto to President Bush The document also provides a list of Biblical verses for meditation that testify to the eternal promise and the inexorable link between the land of Israel and the Jewish people. The entire document is posted for viewing and reading on the TempleInstitute.org site.
Rabbi Dov Stein, secretary of the Sanhedrin, which is headed by Rabbi Steinsaltz, met on Monday morning with a public figure and presented him with the scroll, asking that he please submit it by hand to Mr. Bush during their upcoming meeting.

READ THE COMPLETE TEXT HERE
http://www.templeinstitute.org/megillat-bush.pdf

GEORGE W"S MIDEAST SCHEDUALE

Highlights of Bush's trip to the Mideast
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
Last update: January 5, 2008 - 10:53 AM


Highlights of President Bush's upcoming trip to the Middle East, according to the planned schedule as outlined by the White House:

Jan. 9

Arrives in Israel. Meets with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and president, Shimon Peres.

Jan. 10

Visits the West Bank to meet with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and prime minister, Salam Fayyad, at their headquarters in Ramallah.

Jan. 11

In Israel to meet with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy. Lays a wreath at the Israel's official Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. Travels to Kuwait to meet with the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah.

Jan. 12

In Kuwait to meet with U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan and receive updates on the situation in Iraq from the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. He also meets with Kuwaiti women. Travels to Bahrain to meet with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

Jan. 13

Visits the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain. Travels to the United Arab Emirates to meet with the president, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and gives a speech in Abu Dhabi on freedom in the region.

Jan. 14

Visits Dubai and then travels to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah.

Jan. 15

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for meetings.

Jan. 16

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to meet with President Hosni Mubarak before returning to Washington.

Interview of President Bush by Hisham Bourar, al Hurra TV
Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following text is of an interview of President Bush by Hisham Bourar of al Hurra TV:
Map Room January 4, 2008 4:22 P.M. EST


Q Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the time to do this interview on Al Hurra TV. Big trip to the Middle East. What are your objectives, and why now?

THE PRESIDENT: Now because I believe that it's possible to advance the Annapolis agenda; now because I believe it's just going to be -- that it will be a chance to be effective on my trip. I'm going to advance three things: one, the vision of two states, Palestinian-Israel, living side by side in peace; two, to convince our friends and allies in the region that it is in their interest to support the peace process; and three is to remind people that the United States is committed to helping secure the region, that we have a active presence in the Middle East and that presence is not going to wane, that we're committed to helping people realize -- deal with the threats and the problems of the 21st century.

Q What can you do, personally, to press both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to reach an agreement this year?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, the agreement -- they must decide they want to reach agreement. In other words -- and so the first thing I can do is to make sure there's a sincere desire on the parts of President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert to achieve an agreement. I believe that desire exists. The Annapolis Conference was a success because they wanted it to be a success. And it's to give them confidence and encourage them to come up with what a state will look like, to define that state so that people there in the region can have hope that this kind of a longtime conflict will finally come to an end, and the first step is the definition of a state.

I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands. And so I'm -- I will go to encourage them to stay focused on the big picture. There's going to be all kinds of distractions, and people will be trying to throw up roadblocks and people will be trying to cause these gentlemen to -- not to -- lose sight of what's possible. And my job is to help them keep a vision on what is possible.

Q Do you still believe that your vision of a Palestinian state can be achieved before you leave office?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the outlines, the definition of a state can be achieved. The implementation of a state will be subject to a road map. In other words, there's a lot of work that has to be done. Palestinian security forces have to be reformed -- which we're helping with, by the way. The entrepreneurial class of people has to be encouraged with new capital. The institutions of government need to be strengthened. And so the state will come into being, subject to, but the first step is to -- here's what a state will look like. And I believe we can get that done by the time I leave office.

Q Will you be asking Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, to normalize relations with Israel?

THE PRESIDENT: I'll be reminding the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, that in order for this to be successful, in order for this process to work, there has to be strong support for both the Palestinians and the Israelis in the neighborhood. And that's why the Annapolis Conference -- another reason it was an important conference, because in that room were -- my friend, the King of Saudi Arabia, kindly sent his Foreign Minister to that Annapolis meeting. I thought it was a strong signal. And so both sides are going to need to know that they'll have support from the neighborhood.

Q Recently there has been some rapprochement between Gulf countries and Iran. Do you feel that the last NIE report makes it difficult for you to convince these countries that Iran still poses a threat to national security?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm sure this subject will come up, and I will remind them that the NIE said that, one, Iran had a military covert program. They suspended the program. I will also remind them that a regime that once had a program could easily start the program up again, and that the key ingredients to having a weapons program is, one, the capacity to enrich uranium; secondly, the ability to take that uranium and make a bomb; and thirdly, the ability to deliver the bomb by rockets.

Well, the rocket program still exists. As you know, they say they, only for civilian purposes, they're learning to enrich. Well, if you can learn to enrich for civilian purposes, you can easily transfer that knowledge to military purposes. And therefore, Iran is a threat. And so that will be my message.And my other message will be, we've got a strategy to deal with it, and that is to prevent them from learning how to enrich. And I'll explain to them the different types of sanctions and international efforts we're making, and how they can help, as well.

Q Recent visits to Damascus by U.S. lawmakers, like a recent one by Senator Arlen Specter, Republican, and Senator Kennedy, do they help or undermine your position toward Syria?

THE PRESIDENT: That's an interesting question. I don't know. But President Assad must understand that if he wants better relations with the United States -- and frankly, better relations in the region -- the first thing he's got to do is stop interfering in the Lebanese presidential process. And I would hope that those representatives sent that message to President Assad.

I don't know how he interprets these meetings, but one thing he can't be mistaken about is the position of the U.S. government, the White House. And our position is, is that you can have better relations, a better way forward with the United States, but you have got to get out of Lebanon, in terms of the presidential elections, and stop harboring Hamas, stop letting suiciders go into Iraq, and there's a better way forward.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

EU OFFERS HAMAS TRUCE

Hamas: We spurned European truce offer By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 4, 5:02 PM ET

DAMASCUS, Syria - The exiled leader of Hamas said Friday the militant Palestinian group rejected a European offer for an indirect meeting with Israelis to discuss a possible truce, adding Palestinians have no choice other than resistance.Speaking at a rally in Damascus marking Hamas' 20th anniversary, Khaled Mashaal also called on moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah movement, to hold unconditional talks with Hamas.

Mashaal also said that some Europeans have offered us to meet indirectly with Israelis to discuss a truce and we told them no and one thousand no's. He did not say what European country made the offer.On Monday, Abbas took a conciliatory tone toward his Hamas rivals in a major policy speech, calling for a new page in relations between the bitter enemies. Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006. Those differences boiled over into open warfare that peaked with Hamas' driving Fatah out of Gaza in June.Mashaal said that Abbas' Palestinian authority has made reconciliation talks conditional on a number of concessions from Hamas including an apology.

We are ready for a dialogue without conditions. Our hands are extended and all matters should be put on the table including elections, Mashaal said.He also made it clear that Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas-linked militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006, will not be released without the freedom of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.The matter of the prisoners bloodies our heart, Mashaal said, adding that Gilad Shalit will not be released unless our prisoners are released. He did not give further details.Mashaal said that a recent U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., had not stopped the building of settlements in Palestinian territories nor improved the lives of Palestinians, noting that 560 Israeli checkpoints are still in place.He added that this leaves his people with no choice but to fight.

Give our people another alternative. As long as the horizons are closed and there are no other alternatives then there is nothing our people can do other than resistance, he said.Mashaal said that since Hamas was founded in the late 1980s, its ability to hit Israel had improved.It (Hamas) added momentum to the resistance with its special operations, whether martyrdom (suicide) operations, its performance, steadfastness or rockets, Mashaal said referring to the Israeli siege against Gaza and the group's rockets that fall on Israeli towns.

Friday, January 04, 2008

OLMERT HAND OF GOD ON ISRAEL

Olmert says 'hand of God' favours Israel in peace talks Fri Jan 4, 7:37 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the hand of God had helped create an international climate that is favourable to Israel in its peace negotiations with the Palestinians, according to an interview published on Friday. If there's a chance to reach an agreement in the presidential term of George Bush, that's preferable, Olmert said in an interview with the English-language Jerusalem Post published ahead of Bush's landmark visit to the region next week.It's not merely Bush's presidency. It's a concidence that is almost the hand of God: that Bush is president of the United States, that Nicolas Sarkozy is the president of France, that Angela Merkel is the chancellor of Germany, that Gordon Brown is the prime minister of England and that the special envoy to the Middle East is Tony Blair.What possible combination could be more comfortable for the state of Israel? So why would I gamble on what might be?

He said that despite this favourable environment, Israel would have to make concessions if it hoped to achieve peace with its Palestinian neighbours.The world that is friendly to Israel -- not the world comprised of fanatics and extremists -- the world that really supports Israel, when it speaks of the future, it speaks of Israel in terms of the '67 borders. It speaks of division of Jerusalem. We must remember this.Olmert's interview was published ahead of next week's landmark visit to the region by Bush, the first one to Israel and the Palestinian territories by a sitting US president in nine years.Bush aims to advance final status negotiations that the Israeli premier and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas relaunched at a US conference hosted by the American president in late November, after nearly a seven-year hiatus.

At the time they both pledged to aim for a final agreement by the end of 2008, just weeks before Bush is to leave office.I don't know if I will be able to meet the timetable and I never promised that I would. I said that I hoped so but I don't know.But let me ask you: If there's a chance to reach an agreement and to get assistance to complete an agreement, what is better for us, that it be done in the era of President Bush or that of another president when we at the moment can't exactly know who that president will be and what his positions will be? Olmert heaped praise on Bush, saying in all my years of public life, since 1973, I don't recall that America was led by someone as friendly since the days of president (Gerald) Ford and adding that he doesn't apply pressure.I don't recall another preisdent who systematically and consistently showed the same level of commitment to Israel as George W. Bush, adding that with him, I know for certain that he backs our red lines and that he doesn't say a thing that he thinks will make life harder for Israel.Olmert reiterated that we will honour our obligations as set out in the roadmap, the 2003 international roadmap peace blueprint that called on Israel to halt settlement activity and on the Palestinians to boost security.

But he reiterated that Israel had no intention of giving up some of the large settlement blocks in the occupied Palestinian territory, notably the Maale Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem --one of West Bank's largest.Maale Adumim is an indivisible part of Jerusalem and the State of Israel. I don't think when they're talking about settlements they are talking about Maale Adumim.

Olmert: Israel fails to halt settlements By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer JAN 04,08

JERUSALEM - Israel has failed to uphold its promise to halt building in settlements, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an unprecedented acknowledgement Friday ahead of President Bush's visit to prod Israel and the Palestinians toward a final accord. Any agreement is to be based on the internationally backed road map peace plan, which was revived ahead of the recent Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, Md., where Israel and the Palestinians officially relaunched talks after seven years of violence.The road map foundered shortly after it was presented in 2003 because neither side met initial obligations: Israel did not halt West Bank settlement construction and the Palestinians did not crack down on militants.Israel has long maintained that it has the right to continue building in existing settlements to account for ill-defined natural growth of the existing settler population — something the road map explicitly bans. But in his interview with The Jerusalem Post, Olmert acknowledged that Israel was not honoring its commitments.There is a certain contradiction in this between what we're actually seeing and what we ourselves promised, Olmert said.

Obligations are not only to be demanded of others, but they must also be honored by ourselves. So there is a certain problem here, the newspaper quoted him as saying.Olmert added, however, that Israel believes a Bush letter to the Israeli government in 2004renders flexible to a degree what is written in the road map.In that letter, Bush wrote that existing Israeli population centers should be taken into consideration when the final borders of a Palestinian state are set down. Israel takes this to mean it will be able to retain major West Bank settlement blocs, where much of the controversial construction is going on.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed Olmert's remarks. When both sides admit they are not carrying out all their obligations, that should be the way for both of us to carry out our obligations, Erekat said.Vice Premier Haim Ramon said Friday that Israel might begin dismantling about two dozen unauthorized settlement outposts in the near future — another road map obligation.I hope and also believe that in the near future, during the U.S. president's visit to Israel and afterwards, real steps will be taken to remove those outposts, Ramon told Israel Radio.The outposts are generally tiny settler encampments, meant to expand Jewish presence in the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim as part of a future state, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Israel captured all three territories in the 1967 Mideast war. It immediately annexed east Jerusalem but evacuated Gaza in 2005.Israel has stepped up efforts to make peace with the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, ever since the Islamic Hamas routed Abbas' Fatah forces and took over Gaza in June. At Annapolis, both sides set a December 2008 target — the end of Bush's tenure — for a final deal.

Olmert told The Jerusalem Post that a peace agreement might not be reached this year as Bush hopes — something he has said before. But Bush has not pressured Israel to advance in the negotiations, Olmert said.Israel has demanded that Abbas clamp down on militants, while carrying out its own operations against extremists in the West Bank and Gaza.Two Hamas gunmen were shot and killed by Israeli troops along Gaza's border with Israel before dawn Friday — bringing to 11 the number of Palestinians killed since militants fired a rocket a day earlier on a major Israeli city.The military struck Gaza with aerial and ground attacks after the Israeli town of Ashkelon was hit Thursday with a rocket that has a deadlier warhead and longer range than those usually fired. Four of the 11 Gazans killed were civilians.A rocket fired late Friday afternoon struck a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. No injuries were immediately reported. A little-known Fatah offshoot, Mujahedeen Brigades, claimed responsibility. Israel also kept up a military operation in the West Bank town of Nablus that has injured 35 people and kept 150,000 residents confined to their homes under a curfew for three days. Nablus, a center of militant activity, is a test case of Abbas' ability to impose law and order in the West Bank. In coordination with Israel, Palestinian security forces have deployed around the city in recent weeks, but Israeli troops unilaterally launched the operation in Nablus on Wednesday after announcing they discovered a militant weapons lab there.

A statement from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's office on Friday said he considers the Nablus operation destructive to his government's efforts in the security field.These Israeli aggressions have a very negative influence on the efforts to revive the peace process, read the statement. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the Palestinian security forces were not yet ready to take over full responsibilities in the West Bank. At the moment, it is clear that much, much work still has to be done to rebuild and reform Palestinian security, he said.

Bush tells Jordan king the US is committed to peace: palace JAN 04,08

AMMAN (AFP) - US President George W. Bush telephoned Jordan's King Abdullah II on Friday ahead of a visit to the region next week and said Washington is committed to the newly revived Middle East peace process, a palace statement said. Bush told the king his trip seeks to reaffirm the United States' commitments to helping Israel and the Palestinians reach a final peaceful settlement to their conflict, it said.The king called Bush's landmark visit key to enhancing the vital role by the United States to push for an agreement on final status issues, leading to the establishment of an independent state on Palestinian land in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.Jordan is one of only two Arab states -- the other being Egypt -- to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.Bush will spend three days in Israel and the Palestinian territories from next Wednesday in the first visit by a US president in nine years, following his predecessor Bill Clinton's trip in December 1998.

Bush arrives on January 9 for an eight-day trip to the Middle East that aims to boost the peace talks with a view to creating an independent Palestinian state before he leaves office next January.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

BUSH COULD BE DONE DEAL IN 2008

Bush sees Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in 2008: report Thu Jan 3, 3:40 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - US President George W. Bush believes an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will be reached this year, according to excerpts of an interview published on Thursday ahead of his visit to the region. Bush said the two sides must clinch a deal in 2008 in order to see the creation of a Palestinian state, Israel's top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted him as saying in the interview which will be published in full on Friday.The US president is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories next week in a bid to give a push to Middle East peace talks which were relaunched at an international conference in Annapolis in November.

In the interview, Bush sought to ease Israeli fears that any future Palestinian state could threaten its security.I will not allow the creation of a terrorist state on Israel's border, he said in a quote translated into Hebrew.

Israel lashes out at Egypt over Gaza crossing Thu Jan 3, 6:03 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused Egypt on Thursday of undercutting Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects by letting about 2,200 Palestinian pilgrims return to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip without Israeli screening. The Palestinians had been stuck in Egypt for about a week after completing the Muslim haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.Israel insisted they return to Gaza through its territory to allow them to be screened for smuggled cash or weapons.But Egypt allowed them to return directly through Rafah, a terminal on its border with Gaza.Israel views with great concern the unsupervised passage into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing point of a group of Muslim pilgrims associated with Hamas, among them terrorist operatives, an Israeli official said.The group's passage via the Rafah crossing harms counterterrorism efforts, as well as attempts to bring about calm in the region and to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the official added.

Egypt said it allowed the pilgrims through Rafah for humanitarian reasons.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas launched statehood negotiations at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November with the goal of reaching agreement by the end of 2008.The pilgrims had been stranded in Egypt while Cairo tried to negotiate on their return with Israel and the Palestinians. Some smashed furniture and windows in protests at a shelter there.Israel has no presence at Rafah although a U.S.-brokered deal between it and the Palestinians says the crossing cannot be opened without Israeli consent. Egypt has mostly kept Rafah closed since Hamas routed Abbas's Fatah faction in Gaza in June.(Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Charles Dick)

Jordan king presses Israel PM on settlements by Ahmad Khatib JAN 03,08

AMMAN (AFP) - King Abdullah II of Jordan piled new pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to halt all settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory at talks in the Red Sea port of Aqaba on Thursday. Just days before a landmark visit to the region by US President George W. Bush, King Abdullah warned that a stalled peace process threatens the region's future and its security and stability, the palace said.He said Jordan opposes any settlement activity on Palestinian lands.He urged Israel to halt unilateral activities that may obstruct progress in the negotiations and called for adopting serious and practical policies that reflect its stated desire for peace.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has warned that peace talks with Israel, relaunched at a conference in the United States in late November, cannot continue unless the Jewish state halts all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem.

Since the conference in Annapolis outside Washington, Israel has issued two invitations for tenders for new construction, overshadowing the first two rounds of renewed peace talks and drawing rare criticism from its US ally.The king said Bush's visit to the region should encourage the Palestinians and Israel to reach agreement and implement their commitments under the internationally drafted roadmap peace blueprint which has made next to no progress since its launch in 2003.The Israeli prime minister expressed willingness to move forward in negotiations with the Palestinians with the aim of reaching a final settlement of the conflict, the palace said.Olmert's office said the prime minister had repeated Israel's commitment not to build new settlements and avoid new land appropriation in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank excluding annexed east Jerusalem).He also updated (Abdullah) on the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and reiterated the urgent need for the Palestinians to crack down on terror infrastructure.

In its first phase, the roadmap peace plan requires Israel to freeze settlements and the Palestinians to improve security in the West Bank.Olmert's previously unannounced visit to Jordan was his third in less than 12 months. Last May, he met the king in Aqaba. In July, the two leaders met secretly in Jordan, shortly after the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of Gaza, reports said at the time.Jordan is one of only two Arab states with Egypt to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

OLMERT INTERNALIZE DIVIDED JERUSALEM

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2
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.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

OLMERT ADMITS THE EU PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE AS HE MENTIONS SARKOZY,BROWN,MERKLE,BLAIR ALL EU MEMBERS. THERES NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THE EU PRIVATELY HAS CONTROL OF THE PEACE PROCESS ALREADY LIKE DANIEL 9:26-27 SAYS.

Jan 2, 2008 0:12
Olmert says Israel must internalize divided J'lem
By HERB KEINON AND DAVID HOROVITZ


Israel needs to internalize that even its supportive friends on the international stage conceive of the country's future on the basis of the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem divided, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared to The Jerusalem Post.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert talks to the Post.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

At the same time, he made clear that he did not envisage a permanent accord along the '67 lines, describing Ma'aleh Adumim as an indivisible part of Jerusalem and Israel. In an interview at the start of a year that he hopes will yield a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the prime minister said many rival Israeli political parties remain detached from the reality that requires Israel to compromise on parts of Eretz Yisrael in order to maintain its Jewish, democratic nature. If Israel will have to deal with a reality of one state for two peoples, he said, this could bring about the end of the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. That is a danger one cannot deny; it exists, and is even realistic. Indeed, his primary responsibility as prime minister, Olmert said, lay in ensuring a separation from the Palestinians.

What will be if we don't want to separate? he asked rhetorically. Will we live eternally in a confused reality where 50 percent of the population or more are residents but not equal citizens who have the right to vote like us? My job as prime minister, more than anything else, is to ensure that doesn't happen.The reality in which Israel was seeking an accommodation, he elaborated, includes a situation in which even the world that is friendly to Israel... that really supports Israel, when it speaks of the future, it speaks of Israel in terms of the '67 borders. It speaks of the division of Jerusalem.What was extraordinary about US President George W. Bush, in this context, Olmert said, was that Bush, since a landmark letter he wrote to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2004, has made plain that he envisages Israel maintaining at least some territory in Judea and Samaria. Bush has already said '67 plus, said Olmert, and that's an amazing achievement for Israel.Thus, Olmert asserted, while the road map obligated Israel to stop all building in the settlements, including for natural growth, the Bush letter renders flexible to a degree the significance of what is written in the road map.

In comments likely to further exacerbate Palestinian protest at ongoing settlement expansion, Olmert said he considered Ma'aleh Adumim to be an indivisible part of Jerusalem and the State of Israel. I don't think when people are talking about settlements they are talking about Ma'aleh Adumim.At the same time, the prime minister expressed considerable empathy for Palestinian concerns over settlement growth. If the only construction work undertaken since the road map was accepted had been at Ma'aleh Adumim and Har Homa, he said, then I imagine the Palestinians, though they might not have been happy about it, would not have responded in the way that they respond when every year, all the settlements - in all the territories - continue to grow. There is a certain contradiction in this between what we're actually seeing and what we ourselves promised. We always complain about the [breached] promises of the other side. Obligations are not only to be demanded of others, but they must also be honored by ourselves. While all the final-status issues were now on the table as part of the Annapolis process, Olmert stressed that he would never accept a Palestinian right of return to Israel.

He said he was convinced, too, that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has made the choice in his heart between clinging to the myth of the right of return and the opportunity to establish a Palestinian state where all Palestinians, refugees included, would live. My impression is that he wants peace with Israel, and accepts Israel as Israel defines itself, Olmert said. If you ask him to say that he sees Israel as a Jewish state, he will not say that. But if you ask me whether in his soul he accepts Israel, as Israel defines itself, I think he does. That is not insignificant. It is perhaps not enough, but it is not insignificant.Asked whether next week's first Bush presidential visit was designed for Bush to become the godfather of the State of Palestine, Olmert said, I don't think he would define a visit like this in those terms... He's coming as an expression of his friendship. Also, he's coming to give expression to his support for the diplomatic process.

Bush was not pressuring Israel in any way, Olmert said. He's not doing a single thing that I don't agree to, he said. He doesn't support anything that I oppose. Rather, Olmert said, both he and the president hoped that the Annapolis timetable, for an accord in the course of 2008, could be met. Indeed, said the prime minister, there was currently an almost divinely ordained constellation of key personalities on the international stage favorably disposed to Israel, creating comfortable conditions for negotiations that might never be replicated. It's a coincidence that is almost the hand of God, Olmert said, that Bush is president of the United States, that Nicolas Sarkozy is the president of France, that Angela Merkel is the chancellor of Germany, that Gordon Brown is the prime minister of England and that the special envoy to the Middle East is Tony Blair.

The imperative, he said, was to make every effort for progress while this array of supportive characters remained in place. What possible combination, he asked, could be more comfortable for the State of Israel? Olmert said he believes with all my heart that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit is alive and that he was making every effort to determine the situation of captive reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. He said he favored re-examining the criteria for Palestinian prisoner releases because it may be that there is room for more precise definitions of what constitutes blood on hands.While Olmert said Egypt needed to do more to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza, he had high praise for President Hosni Mubarak. When I even think of how things would be if we were dealing with people other than Mubarak, well, I pray every day for his well-being and good health, he said. Expansive on many issues, Olmert was insistently understated on the existential threat posed by Iran. Even in the wake of the recent US National Intelligence Estimate, he said, The bottom line is that President Bush hasn't changed his opinion regarding the danger posed by Iran. And I haven't changed my impression regarding President Bush's commitment to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.

But, he added: Israel always acted and prepared for the possibility that it would need to defend its existence on its own. That's always been the case and that is the case today, wherever a threat to our existence can arise. Those who need to know do know that we have the tools to defend ourselves.The full interview with the prime minister will appear in Friday's Jerusalem Post.