Video contributed by C, thank you.
Barak Echoes US, Throws Cold Water on Jerusalem Park Plan
Tammuz 10, 5770, 22 June 10 12:58
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu(Israelnationalnews.com) Coalition partner Defense Minister Ehud Barak, head of the Labor party and who is on another visit to the United States, has sided with the American government to oppose Jerusalem’s proposed park archaeological.
He released a statement Tuesday that the proposed park and tourist center, which would require wreckng 22 illegally built Arab homes while making legal 66 others, lacks “common sense” and "a sense of timing."
He added, “The plan to make room for an Israeli tourist center could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen a conflict with the Americans. The Obama administration has already condemned the plan.”
The U.S. State Department told reporters Monday afternoon that the proposal “undermines” American efforts to mediate talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for a new Arab state within Israel’s borders. The proposed park is located in the Silwan Valley, part of the area that the PA demands as being under its control for its desired new Arab state where it wants to divide Jerusalem and place its capital.
Barak’s statement that the plan could easily be postponed ignored the Israeli government’s statement Monday that the proposal needs to mount a long bureaucratic process that precludes any work beginning in the near future.
During his visit to the White House in April, President Obama warmly received Barak, in direct contrast to the chilly reception given Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was denied the traditional lunch or dinner with the President and an opportunity for media photos.
Barak, whose divided Labor party holds only 13 seats in the Knesset, immediately called for a wide coalition after returning from Washington, meaning that the center-left Kadima party should be included.
He released a statement Tuesday that the proposed park and tourist center, which would require wreckng 22 illegally built Arab homes while making legal 66 others, lacks “common sense” and "a sense of timing."
He added, “The plan to make room for an Israeli tourist center could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen a conflict with the Americans. The Obama administration has already condemned the plan.”
The U.S. State Department told reporters Monday afternoon that the proposal “undermines” American efforts to mediate talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for a new Arab state within Israel’s borders. The proposed park is located in the Silwan Valley, part of the area that the PA demands as being under its control for its desired new Arab state where it wants to divide Jerusalem and place its capital.
Barak’s statement that the plan could easily be postponed ignored the Israeli government’s statement Monday that the proposal needs to mount a long bureaucratic process that precludes any work beginning in the near future.
This is a preliminary planning procedure and it still gives time, more than enough time, for dialogue to continue between the municipal authorities and residents of the neighborhood in the hope that an agreed solution can be found,” said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.
Tuesday morning’s statement by Labor party chairman Barak is the second time in three months he has opposed the Netanyahu government while winning points with a cooperative U.S. President Barack Obama.During his visit to the White House in April, President Obama warmly received Barak, in direct contrast to the chilly reception given Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was denied the traditional lunch or dinner with the President and an opportunity for media photos.
Barak, whose divided Labor party holds only 13 seats in the Knesset, immediately called for a wide coalition after returning from Washington, meaning that the center-left Kadima party should be included.
The Obama administration’s feeling of comfort with Barak was indicated in a report Monday by Laura Rozen, writing for Politico.com, where she wrote that, “officials suggested that the Obama administration might try to use the quiet visit of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Washington this week as an opportunity ‘to try to patch things up, if possible, between Israel and Turkey, which have had strong defense ties."
Shmuel said:
ReplyDeleteI am sorry but if Netanyahu does not unlink that SOB, then they both have to go. We will be in an even more dreadful setting if that element is not dumped.
DS replied:
OK, you're right, I was just playing with words. B&B against BB.
Totally agreed. Bibi is a total wimp and useless. He is a wishy washy spongia.
And I'd like to know who is behind this: can you imagine, helping the Turkish ARMY after what happened?! What is Barak's role in this?
ReplyDeleteTurkish Military Officials in Israel to Pick Up Drones
Tammuz 10, 5770, 22 June 10 08:41
by Hana Levi Julian
(Israelnationalnews.com) A Turkish military delegation arrived Tuesday in Israel to pick up the rest of an order of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones – this, despite rumors just a week ago that Ankara had canceled the deal.
According to a report in the Turkish Zayman daily newspaper, the delegation is expected to stay for at least two weeks. The military officials allegedly came “to conclude test runs in the delivery of four Israeli-made drones, the remaining lot in a 10-UAV deal between Turkey and Israel.”
Last week the same paper reported that all military agreements with Israel had been canceled by Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan in another slap at the Jewish State following the clash on the Turkish-sponsored six-ship flotilla that attempted to break Israel's sovereignty over Gaza waters.
Among the deals that were nixed, according to that report, was the agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries to supply the Heron UAV to the Turkish Air Force. The $180 million contract with IAI and Elbit Systems included electronic equipment and spare parts in addition to the 10 Heron drones.
The Turkish government admitted Friday to slaughtering as many as 120 Kurdish rebels in raids on their hideouts in northern Iraq last month. Israeli-made unmanned drones have been used to attack the positions, which were located with assistance from U.S. intelligence sources.
Erdogan, who had announced the suspension in the military hardware deals with Israel, also reportedly vowed yesterday to “destroy” the Kurdish rebels.
Meanwhile, Turkish author and philospher Adnan Oktar told Israel National News on Tuesday afternoon that although there is indeed "mutual tension" at present, he believes it is still possible to salvage the once-strong diplomatic and cultural ties between the two countries.
"Devout Jews and devout Muslims can establish peace and security in the Middle East," Oktar said. "One of them is the son of Ishmael and the other is the son of Jacob... It is not only Muslims who are trapped behind the walls; Jews are also imprisoned behind them. Let them come and live freely and build factories and open universities and do business in Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Turkey."
Ironically, Oktar added that the ideologies of atheism and Darwinism, seen so often as marks of progress in secular, intellectual circles, would ultimately prove the undoing of both Jewish and Muslim societies in the Middle East: "Bloodshed is inevitable, because these ideologies believe that conflict is essential to progress," he explained.