I/III. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-s-second-chance-1.300688
<http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-s-second-chance-1.300688> - Published 00:54 08.07.10 - Latest update 00:54 08.07.10 Netanyahu's second chanceIt's Netanyahu's turn to prove Obama's statment that he believes the PM wants peace and is ready to take risks for it.Haaretz Editorial <http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/haaretz-editorial-1.239> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a second chance from U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday. After more than a year of tension between Washington and Jerusalem, accompanied by expressions of mutual dissatisfaction, Netanyahu received a friendly welcome in the White House. Obama was profuse in his praise, smiles and florid figures of speech, and said he believes that Netanyahu wants peace. The president also called on the Palestinians to open direct talks with Netanyahu and indicated support for Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity. The close ties with the United States are Israel's strategic support, and it is difficult to overstate their importance to Israel's survival, security and prosperity. If Netanyahu came under justified criticism for his role in damaging relations with the Obama administration over the past year, he can feel content with these efforts at rehabilitation. But don't get confused: Obama's gestures of friendship, which can be partly attributed to the impending congressional elections, do not change anything about the administration's basic policy. Obama has made it clear that his goal was, and still is, the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. And he expects Netanyahu to help reach that objective, through negotiations with the Palestinians and confidence-building measures aimed at strengthening the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and improving the economic situation in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu must take advantage of the chance he has been given, say yes to Obama, and act seriously and swiftly to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestine. But his appearance at the White House on Tuesday raises doubt if he will do so. Netanyahu was careful not to make any statement deviating from the political line of the watchful right wing. He did not say the words "Palestinian state" and focused on warning of the security risk involved in withdrawal and on the demand to change Palestinian textbooks. Once again, it seems that Netanyahu prefers his political partnership with Avigdor Lieberman, Moshe Ya'alon and Eli Yishai to a partnership with the president of the United States. Obama says he believes Netanyahu wants peace and is ready to take risks for it. Now it's the prime minister's turn to prove, in words and in deed, that he is worthy of this belief and is not merely trying, as is his wont, to gain more time in power without taking the peace process forward. II. - Published 00:54 08.07.10 - Latest update 00:54 08.07.10 Netanyahu to visit ailing Mubarak on way back from U.S.Netanyahu will update Mubarak on his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and plans for holding direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. By Amos Harel <http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/amos-harel-1.285> and Avi Issacharoff <http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/avi-issacharoff-1.307> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave for Egypt immediately after his visit to the United States to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Officials in Jerusalem confirmed news of the trip, first reported by Egyptian daily Al-Wafd. Netanyahu will update Mubarak on his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and plans for holding direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip. Egyptian media and official spokesmen avoided commenting on a report in Haaretz that Mubarak has cancer. The 82-year-old continued with his day-to-day work yesterday and took part in a reception in Alexandria. However, Haaretz has learned that Mubarak has been undergoing treatment aimed at containing the spread of cancer. In an unusual development yesterday, the regime's mouthpiece, Al-Ahram, published a front-page story on the president's son Gamal and his statements to members of Egypt's ruling party, the National Democratic Party. Gamal Mubarak, 47, a businessman and chairman of the party's Policy Planning Committee, said the war on poverty would top the party's priorities ahead of the parliamentary elections. The story, which carried a photograph of the younger Mubarak, added that he spoke of the need to curb corruption in the country. In Egypt, the report on the president's son and likely successor is not a coincidence. There is no information on President Mubarak's condition, but his son is expected to follow similar policies if he takes over. Gamal Mubarak, a businessman who is considered pro-Western, studied at American University in Cairo and has visited Washington a number of times in recent years, where he met with representatives of Jewish organizations. If Gamal is presented as a candidate for the National Democratic Party in the 2011 presidential elections, the opposition is expected to condemn the move. The opposition will probably seek to put forth a strong candidate, possibly in the form of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, he would have to rally the support of at least 250 members of parliament to amend the constitution, making it possible for him to run. The vast majority of parliamentarians in Egypt are members of Mubarak's party. III. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1899135,00.html Monday, May. 18, 2009 The Six Issues That Divide Bibi from Barack By Tony Karon President Barack Obama welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday, at a moment when the White House and the Israeli leadership are undeniably at odds over the path to Middle East peace. While the Obama Administration remains steadfastly committed to Israel's security, its ideas on how to achieve that security differ markedly from those of the hawkish Netanyahu government<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1896731,00.html>. As Obama moves to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, Monday's meeting has been widely predicted to be a tense affair, but that may be overstating the drama. Netanyahu, like any Israeli Prime Minister, has an overwhelming incentive to get along with Israel's single most important ally; Obama, for his part, needs to fashion a peace process that produces results, for which he requires Netanyahu's cooperation. So Monday's encounter won't be a showdown as much as the opening exchange of a difficult conversation that could continue for months. Herewith, a short guide to the issues that divide Obama and Netanyahu: *A Two-State Solution? * The idea of creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel on the territory it occupied in 1967 is the overwhelming international consensus, accepted even — according to opinion polls — by a majority of Israelis. The Obama Administration is not content to simply articulate that vision, as President George W. Bush did; instead, it seeks to move briskly toward realizing such a solution before the evolving facts on the ground make it untenable. Netanyahu, however, has refused to endorse the principle of Palestinian statehood<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1888798,00.html>, insisting that sovereign independence for the Palestinians would endanger Israel's security. The Palestinians, Netanyahu has argued until now, will have to settle for a more limited form of self-government within borders still effectively controlled by Israel. Despite some speculation that he might make a rhetorical concession on the statehood issue on Monday, a top aide told the Israeli media Netanyahu would not do so — at least, not yet. (See pictures of Israel's recent war in Gaza.<http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1869933,00.html> ) The Administration has made clear that it expects Israel to work toward a two-state solution. Netanyahu is expected to agree to talk to the Palestinians, to ease their circumstances and build their economy. But he maintains that trying to reach a final-status agreement right now is misguided and counterproductive, arguing that the priority is to build Palestinian administrative, security and economic capacity — and to tackle Iran, which he sees as a spoiler to any peace effort. (See pictures of Israel at 60.<http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1738207,00.html> ) *Next: What Gets Priority?* *Iran First?* Netanyahu will argue that Washington's goals are best achieved if it gives priority to curbing Iran's nuclear and geopolitical ambitions<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883651,00.html> before separating Israel from the Palestinians. He claims his Arab neighbors agree that reining in Iran is the region's priority, because it threatens their own stability. Given Tehran's support of Hamas, he'll say progress toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians is impossible until Iran has been pushed back. (See pictures of Jerusalem divided.<http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1686697,00.html> ) Obama will agree that curbing Iran's regional influence and limiting its nuclear activities is an urgent priority. But the U.S. President won't buy Netanyahu's sequencing. Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a matter of urgency, Obama will argue, and he'll point out that the moderate Arab neighbors with whom the Israelis want to stand against Iran are also the ones most urgently insisting on the immediate implementation of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, whose unresolved plight strengthens radicals against moderates. Netanyahu will say no progress is possible on the Palestinian front until Iran is defanged; Obama will argue that rallying Arab support against Iran's ambitions requires resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. *Next: The Timetable* *What's the Hurry? * Netanyahu will argue that whether the outcome is two states or something less, this is not the moment to try to conclude the peace process. The Palestinians are hopelessly divided, with the moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lacking the political authority<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1882347,00.html> to deliver on any peace promises. Indeed, the PA President's term of office expired in January, and polls show he'd lose to Hamas in an election held now. Instead of final-status negotiations, Netanyahu will advocate building the Palestinians' administrative and security capacity, and promoting economic development, in enclaves currently under Abbas' control. Without this infrastructure of stability — and the neutralizing of Hamas — he'll argue, no progress is possible. (See pictures of Hamas-Fatah conflict.<http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/2007/fatah_hamas/> ) Obama will make clear that whatever stability has been created thus far in the West Bank is premised on the achievement of Palestinian statehood, and will collapse without rapid movement along that path. Politically, President Abbas' Fatah movement suffers from the fact that its moderation and almost two decades of negotiation has seen only an expansion of Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Fatah cannot remain committed to a peace process without end if it is to reverse its declining political fortunes among its own people. The same may be true for the U.S.-trained security forces that have helped subdue the West Bank. Hamas has proven to be an intractable reality of Palestinian political life, and Obama may argue that a workable peace process would require its consent<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1895226,00.html>. Most importantly, he'll note that time is running out for Abbas and the Arab regimes that have cooperated with Israel and have come away empty-handed in the eyes of their own people. *Next: The Settlements* *Freeze the Settlements* Obama will tell Netanyahu that stability is undermined, potentially fatally, by Israel's continued expansion of its settlements in the West Bank, and by its moves to extend control over East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 war but claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital. But Netanyahu's government includes strong settler representation<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1878389,00.html>, and while he'll unenthusiastically promise to dismantle outposts built in violation of Israeli law, he's unlikely to court a confrontation with the settlers <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1864616,00.html> unless there are substantial political rewards. He'll insist on maintaining the "natural growth" of Israel's settlements, and reiterate his view that sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians is a nonstarter. (See pictures of Israeli settlers resisting eviction.<http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/2006/riot_settlers/> ) *Next: Gaza* *Unfreeze Gaza* The Gaza war earlier this year forced the Israeli-Palestinian issue to the top of the Obama Administration's agenda, and although the fighting has ended, no formal cease-fire has been agreed, and the Israeli blockade — and Palestinian political infighting — has prevented any of the $4.5 billion pledged for reconstruction by international donors from actually reaching the territory<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1898819,00.html>. The potential remains high for a renewed outbreak of fighting, and Obama will press Netanyahu to ease Israel's blockade to allow in construction materials and normalize economic traffic. Netanyahu remains committed to overthrowing Hamas in Gaza, and he wants Obama to pursue the same course. And his government will insist on securing the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit before easing up on Gaza. *Next: Dealing with Iran* *How to Handle Iran * While supporting Obama's diplomatic efforts, Israel wants to see time limits imposed to prevent Iran playing for time while increasing its nuclear capabilities. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that if diplomacy fails, Israel stands ready to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Obama agrees that negotiations with Iran should not be open-ended, but will allow a longer time frame <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1886123,00.html> than that preferred by the Israelis for diplomacy to succeed. Israel's leaders believe Iran will not back down and that negotiations are necessary primarily to win support for stronger sanctions or military action. Israel has agreed to refrain from attacking Iran without first consulting the U.S. following reported warnings from the White House to avoid surprising Obama, whose military and security advisers have long argued that military strikes on Iran would cause more problems than they would solve. Once the diplomatic process with Tehran gets under way, the two sides may also disagree on where to draw the bottom line on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
