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White House chief of staff Denis McDonough today called for an end to Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinians and vowed that the Obama administration won’t “pretend” that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t make his campaign remarks about no two-state solution. McDonough thanked the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” — as J Street bills itself — and pro-Palestinian lobbying group for the “important work you do around the country,” calling it “an organization that, in the best tradition of the American Jewish community, shares a set of values about the type of country that we are – a democracy where all of our...

President Obama is angry with Israeli voters for re-electing Benjamin Netanyahu, and he’s willing to risk the lives and security of Israeli citizens to show it. The State Department is reportedly considering reversing the decades-long policy of protecting Israel’s security at the United Nations and is threatening to allow the Security Council to compel Israel to enter forced negotiations with Hamas-controlled Palestine. This action would be reckless—and shameful. At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are rocking Europe, and the need for a secure, Jewish state has rarely been more apparent, the Obama administration would force Israel to negotiate with entities...

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the J Street conference in Washington on Monday, echoing White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough's comments earlier in the day. Baker acknowledged his disappointment with "the lack of progress regarding a lasting peace," saying that the chances for a two-state solution diminished since Netanyahu's reelection last week. Baker further slammed Netanyahu's "diplomatic missteps and political gamesmanship," saying that the prime minister's "actions have not matched his rhetoric," according to Politico. Earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough offered a similar...

The Five-Point Israeli-Palestinian Peace PlanPosted By Mordechai Nisan On January 29, 2015 @ 12:35 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 4 Comments The Oslo theory and policy was tested and failed. Inasmuch as the Israeli-Palestinian War has not been resolved, and the Oslo Accords could not overcome the multiple obstacles on the path to peace; Considering the adamant Palestinian refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel, while demanding massive refugee return, terrorizing Israelis and murdering them, and spewing out hate education;Conscious of the repressive discourse of peace with its agenda for Israeli capitulation and destruction that camouflages...

Singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel says he is not anti-Israel, but that he is “against occupation”. Gabriel, who originally rose to fame with the band Genesis, contributed songs to a new compilation album titled “2 Unite All”, proceeds from which go to humanitarian organizations aiding Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, reports i24news. “I am certain that Israelis and Palestinians will both benefit from a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders,” Gabriel said in a statement quoted by i24news. “We have watched Palestinians suffer for too long, especially in Gaza.” …

US Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk has resigned following the collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity did not provide a reason for Indyk's departure, which had been widely expected after the two sides failed to meet their goal of reaching a comprehensive peace agreement this spring. Indyk will return to the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank, the official said. US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed on Friday that Indyk was leaving his post as top US envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Kerry praised Indyk and thanked him for his...

Synopsis A manifesto that exposes the flaws in the two-state policy of the United States toward Israel and the Palestinians and offers a direct and powerful call for Israeli sovereignty in the region. The reigning consensus in elite and academic circles is that the United States must seek to resolve the Palestinians' conflict with Israel by implementing the so-called two-state solution. Establishing a Palestinian state, so the thinking goes, would be a panacea for all the region’s ills. It would end the Arab world’s conflict with Israel, because the reason the Arab world is anti-Israel is that there is no...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Tuesday the formation of the new Palestinian “unity government” which includes the Hamas terrorist group. In a statement, Ban expressed hope that new opportunities for progress towards a two-State solution with Israel will emerge soon, saying the UN had received assurances that the Hamas-Fatah deal would be implemented on the basis of previous commitments such as the recognition of Israel and non-violence. …

The Vatican’s Secretary of State made a dramatic revelation ahead of Pope Francis’s visit to Israel next Sunday and Monday, declaring that the pope will talk about the “Palestinian people’s right to have a homeland, sovereign and independent.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin holds a role in the Vatican City State, located in the Italian capital of Rome, equivalent to that of a prime minister. … When asked what the pope particularly intends to talk about during the visit, Parolin revealed he would talk about “on the one hand, Israel’s right to exist in peace and security within internationally recognized boundaries.” On...

Middle East envoy Martin Indyk was overheard on Thursday night, at the bar of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, D.C., bashing Israel and fully blaming it for the recent failure of peace talks with the Palestinians, the Washington Free Beacon reports, citing an individual who overheard the conversation and described it as a surprising and “nasty” 30-minute-long tirade.

Martin Indyk, the American negotiator in the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), reportedly went on a “nasty” rant blaming the Jewish state for the talks” failure in a conversation in an upscale Washington DC bar last Thursday. A person who overheard the conversation told Washington Free Beacon that the 30-minute-long tirade included Indyk, his wife Gahl Burt, and several members of his staff. It took place right after he spoke at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), where he openly blamed Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria for the failure of the talks, despite...

Dear John, Every few years a messiah arrives in Jerusalem, shakes hands, makes demands and promises to make peace in our time. Then when the whole thing blows up in his face, he throws up his hands and flies back blaming the ungrateful Jews for not embracing his vision. So many false messiahs have come before you, squinting against the bright sunshine, pounding the table at meetings, downing martinis and fantasizing about the Nobel Peace Prize that they were sure was waiting for them at the end. And they left with nothing except sunburn and simmering rage. Did you really...

National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen has sent protest letters in the last two weeks to the White House as well as various other Western governments, in which he argues that the Palestinian Authority (PA) planned the failure of peace talks. In the letter, Cohen states that the PA deceived US Secretary of State John Kerry regarding its intentions in the talks. Haaretz published the letter on Wednesday, after having received a copy on April 22. A 65-page document submitted to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas by PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat on March 9 is attached to the letter. The date places the document...

US President Barack Obama released a statement Tuesday, conveying the "warmest wishes" to Israel on its 66th Independence Day. Obama acknowledged the Jews' millennia-long struggle to return to their ancient homeland and their success in achieving that dream in 1948. "Generations of Jews dreamed of the day when the Jewish people would have their own state in their historic homeland, and 66 years ago today that dream came true," he stated. "Today, Israel thrives as a diverse and vibrant democracy and as a 'start-up nation' that celebrates entrepreneurship and innovation." He stated that the Israel-US relationship is "based on shared...

American officials directly involved in the failed Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the last nine months gave a leading Israeli columnist a withering assessment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the negotiations, indicated that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has completely given up on the prospect of a negotiated solution, and warned Israel that the Palestinians will achieve statehood come what may — either via international organizations or through violence. Speaking on condition of anonymity to Nahum Barnea, a prominent columnist from Israel’s best-selling daily Yedioth Aharonoth, the officials highlighted Netanyahu’s ongoing settlement construction as the issue “largely to blame”...

And you thought John Kerry had already hit rock bottom, n'est ce pas? In anonymous briefing to top columnist, members of Kerry’s team slam Netanyahu, empathize with Abbas, warn Palestine will rise ‘whether through violence or via int’l organizations’ American officials directly involved in the failed Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the last nine months gave a leading Israeli columnist a withering assessment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the negotiations, indicated that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has completely given up on the prospect of a negotiated solution, and warned Israel that the Palestinians will achieve statehood come...

Oct. 22, 2003 Poll: 59% of Palestinians support continuation of terror after state is created By JANINE ZACHARIA WASHINGTON Fifty-nine percent of Palestinians believe that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad should continue their armed struggle against Israel even if Israel leaves all of the West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem, and a Palestinian state is created, a new survey shows. Similarly, 80 percent of Palestinians say that, under those circumstances, the Palestinians should not give up the "right of return." The poll of Palestinians, Israeli Jews, and Israeli Arabs was released in Washington on Wednesday by Itamar Marcus, founder...

“When you say ‘accept Israel as a Jewish state,’ you are asking me to change my narrative.” – Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat. “Every state has created narratives which help its citizen to identify with national culture. These narratives are the foundation on which the state is built.” – Erica Mukherjee, Perspectives on Global Issues Secretary of State Kerry’s well-meaning attempt to forge a framework agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian governments is based on the conventional Western perspective of conflict resolution. Western democratic nations that sign treaties overwhelmingly respect the words on the paper they sign. But what happens...

In an unprecedented breach of diplomatic etiquette, President Obama once again sandbagged Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In a carefully orchestrated interview with Jeff Goldberg, a columnist for Bloomberg, released a few hours before the prime minister’s arrival in the US, Obama reverted to his May 2011 role as an Israel basher and engaged in personal savaging and humiliation of Netanyahu. This despite Netanyahu’s intimation that Israel intended to adopt the Kerry framework, albeit with reservations. Obama accused Netanyahu of leading his country toward disaster, condemned the “more aggressive settlement construction” and rhetorically asked, “Do you resign yourself to what amounts...

Over the weekend, the Obama administration began walking back its support for Israel’s demand that the PLO recognize Israel as the Jewish state. At a State Department media briefing on Friday, State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said, “If you look at the issue of a Jewish state and whether Israel will be called a Jewish state, that’s been our position, as you know, for a long time, but that doesn’t reflect what the parties will agree to, which I know you know.” In other words, the US is neutral. It’s fine with Washington if the PLO accepts Israel’s right to...