The bright side
I was wrong about the Arab League in my last posting, they actually did endorse direct negotiations between the PA and Israel, but in a very limited way. The Arab FM's left the actual initiation of the talks to Pres. Abbas, who has made several preconditions, and they sent a letter to Pres. Obama asking for "assurances" regarding Arab interests. So, in effect, this amounts again to the Arabs hiding behind Pres. Obama, and requiring "assurances," another word for "preconditions," before they actually accept the restart of direct negotiations. Nevertheless, the Government of Israel welcomed their position as an advance on outright rejection.
In The Jerusalem Post this week Ray Hanania, who is a moderate Arab Christian commentator, wrote an article on how the situation is improving, especially with regard to the lives of the people in the West Bank and Gaza. There are many positive aspects of the current situation for Israel too, so I thought I would try to enumerate some of them:
1. Greece is replacing unreliable and Islamist Turkey as a friendly neighbor for Israel.
2. Israel's economy has not experienced the downturns that have plagued most other countries.
3. The memory of the Turkish flotilla to Gaza has begun to fade and the last ship from Libya was successfully diverted to Egypt without incident.
4. The situation in Gaza has improved since Israel changed its blockade policy and not only is there no humanitarian "crisis" there, but a new mall was opened and according to the UN such flotilla shipments are unnecessary.
5. The transfer from indirect to direct talks has been held up by the Palestinians with excuses, they want US Pres Obama to guarantee Israeli concessions in advance of direct talks. Any reasonable person can see that this delay is due to Palestinian intransigence.
6. There seems to be unanimity among the Government Coalition partners that the deadline of the freeze on building in the West Bank will not be extended beyond Sept. 26.
7. The lull in rocket firings and terrorist incidents from the West Bank and Gaza seems to have become almost permanent.
8. The development of the police forces in the PA with Israeli cooperation has improved security there.
9. The West Bank is undergoing an economic boom, with a new hotel being built in Ramallah and a sharp increase in growth of ca. 7% pa.
10. Israel signed an agreement with Ukraine to remove the need for visas between the two countries. A similar agreement with Russia has doubled the Russian tourist rate to Israel.
11. An agreement between 90 countries has been signed to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, with Israel as the organizing partner.
12. The number of tourists visiting Israel so far this year has reached a record ca. 35% higher than the previous record.
Of course, one could write a list of negative items for Israel that would be just as long if not longer, and the ability of Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon to wage war on Israel has not receded, as well as the desire of some factions to continue the terrorist campaign. However, to quote Brian "always look on the bright side of life."
In The Jerusalem Post this week Ray Hanania, who is a moderate Arab Christian commentator, wrote an article on how the situation is improving, especially with regard to the lives of the people in the West Bank and Gaza. There are many positive aspects of the current situation for Israel too, so I thought I would try to enumerate some of them:
1. Greece is replacing unreliable and Islamist Turkey as a friendly neighbor for Israel.
2. Israel's economy has not experienced the downturns that have plagued most other countries.
3. The memory of the Turkish flotilla to Gaza has begun to fade and the last ship from Libya was successfully diverted to Egypt without incident.
4. The situation in Gaza has improved since Israel changed its blockade policy and not only is there no humanitarian "crisis" there, but a new mall was opened and according to the UN such flotilla shipments are unnecessary.
5. The transfer from indirect to direct talks has been held up by the Palestinians with excuses, they want US Pres Obama to guarantee Israeli concessions in advance of direct talks. Any reasonable person can see that this delay is due to Palestinian intransigence.
6. There seems to be unanimity among the Government Coalition partners that the deadline of the freeze on building in the West Bank will not be extended beyond Sept. 26.
7. The lull in rocket firings and terrorist incidents from the West Bank and Gaza seems to have become almost permanent.
8. The development of the police forces in the PA with Israeli cooperation has improved security there.
9. The West Bank is undergoing an economic boom, with a new hotel being built in Ramallah and a sharp increase in growth of ca. 7% pa.
10. Israel signed an agreement with Ukraine to remove the need for visas between the two countries. A similar agreement with Russia has doubled the Russian tourist rate to Israel.
11. An agreement between 90 countries has been signed to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, with Israel as the organizing partner.
12. The number of tourists visiting Israel so far this year has reached a record ca. 35% higher than the previous record.
Of course, one could write a list of negative items for Israel that would be just as long if not longer, and the ability of Hamas in Gaza and Hizbollah in Lebanon to wage war on Israel has not receded, as well as the desire of some factions to continue the terrorist campaign. However, to quote Brian "always look on the bright side of life."
posted by Jack Cohen at 11:10 AM
1 Comments:
I'm sorry to hear that you think it is a positive development that Israel will not extend the freeze ont he illegal settlements. What you are telling Palestinians is that they should put down peace and have to fight to get their lands back because, I guess, that's how it worked for Israel.
Ray Hanania
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