Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Palestinians and Israeli Elections


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The Palestinians and Israeli Elections

by Khaled Abu Toameh  •  February 10, 2015 at 5:00 am
The Palestinians say they have been encouraged by Livni's readiness to make "far-reaching concessions" for the sake of peace. They point to a recent interview Livni gave The Jerusalem Post in which she did not rule out the possibility of dividing Jerusalem.
While Hamas continues to seek the destruction of Israel through violence and terrorism, the Palestinian Authority is working hard to isolate and delegitimize Israel through diplomatic means. Neither Herzog nor Livni will able to stop the Palestinians from filing "war crimes" charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court.
Herzog and Livni can promise -- as much as they want -- Israeli voters that they will "revive" the peace process with the Palestinians. But what the voters need to realize is that the Palestinian Authority has already made a strategic decision to try to impose a solution on Israel through the international community, not negotiations.
The next Israeli government will face two Palestinian camps: one that is demanding 100% of what Israel took in 1948, and a second that is asking for almost 100% of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
The slogan of the Zionist Camp party coalition, led by Isaac Herzog (left) and Tzipi Livni, is "It's us or him [Netanyahu]". Khaled Abu Toameh writes that Palestinians seem to have joined the "Just Not Bibi" or "Anyone But Bibi" campaign being waged by Herzog and Livni. (Image source: Zionist Camp)
So far, the Palestinians have shown little interest, if any at all, in the upcoming Israeli elections, slated for March 17.
But if there is one thing most Palestinians would like to see, it is the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and right-wing parties from power.
The Palestinians, in many ways, seem to have joined the "Just Not Bibi" (Netanyahu's nickname), or "Anyone But Bibi," campaign launched by the heads of his rival Zionist Camp, Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni.
In private, some Palestinian Authority [PA] officials in Ramallah expressed their hope this week that Netanyahu will be defeated in the election.
Although the PA's official policy is not to meddle in the internal affairs of Israel, these officials also voiced hope that Herzog and Livni will form the next government.

Bad News: Davutoglu Wants "New Middle East"

by Burak Bekdil  •  February 10, 2015 at 4:00 am
Tens of thousands of Kurdish supporters of the radical Kurdish Hizbullah rally in Diyarbakir, on January 24, 2015. (Image source: Showhaber video screenshot)
When, in a recent speech, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pledged to defend all faiths, "even Buddhism," a Buddhist friend sent a message saying that: "I understand we were wrong to feel safe from the wrath of Turkish Islamists' Sunni supremacy. Judging from how they wanted to crush every other faith, including different disciples of Islam, while faking to respect them I now worry about the Buddhist faith."
Echoing the Buddhist friend's fear and commenting on Davutoglu's most recent remarks on the making of a new Middle East, an EU ambassador told this author in a telephone conversation: "I think we should be worried again."

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