Israel-Palestine: Abbas' Conditions, Netanyahu's "Eastern Front" Response

On Sunday the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he was under pressure from the international community to start direct talks but added that negotiations would collapse from the first minute if there were no "clear and specific references".

Ahead of Thursday's Arab League foreign ministers' summit in Cairo, these references should be seen as a future Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders and a construction freeze both in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.

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In response, speaking at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the PA for "stalling direct talks and relying on the Arab League for support." He said that first "they [Palestinians] said it was the [settlement] freeze, now it's the borders issue."

On the security front, Netanyahu put a double-edged agenda: First he said, "We won't compromise security and that's why the U.S. administration has been notified of our security needs." The he asserted, "Arrangements reached with the Palestinians must be such as to withstand any changes in the political and security Middle East map," and he went further, "The Palestinians must hold firm even if an eastern front develops, as was the case, for example, before the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime."

What was meant by the "eastern front"? Any guesses?

No Israeli politician is likely stop with only an "eastern front". Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak added a "north front". In an interview with The Washington Post, he said that the IDF will attack Lebanese government institutions if Israel is again subjected to rocket attacks and continued:

We will not run after each Hezbullah terrorist or launcher....We will see it as legitimate to hit any target that belongs to the Lebanese state, not just to Hezbullah.

And Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was back on West Bank settlements, calling for new building to resume once the moratorium ends September 26:

From September we must resume normal life here. We do not have any intention to change the demographic situation or to create a provocation, but only to provide a normal life for the people that came here under the policies of [past] government[s].

A day before Lieberman's visit, Netanyahu had said he had not intention to extend the 10-month moratorium, saying "the slowdown was limited in time: It has not changed and that's how it will be."

So Netanyahu's "eastern front" complements the demands elsewhere on "security" and on settlements. All of this puts up a formidable wall to Abbas' conditions for agreement to direct talks.

Gaza Latest: Israel Warnings over 2 Aid Ships, UN Flotilla Enquiry, & More

Israel Concerned over New Flotillas: On Friday, Israeli officials urged  warned Lebanon to prevent two aid ships, Junia and Julia, from departing to Gaza.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement that the aid ships were an "unnecessary provocation" like other flotillas:

We hold the Lebanese government responsible for preventing the flotilla from departing today, and if it does depart it will be accompanied by Israel's Navy to the Ashdod port. If the ship refuses to be accompanied to Ashdod we will have no choice but to apprehend it in open waters.

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Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, accused organizers of the aid ships of "seeking to incite a confrontation and raise tensions in our region".

In letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, Shalev said, "Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the ... naval blockade."

UN Probe on Flotilla Attack: The United Nations Human Rights Council has appointed a team of international experts on Friday to investigate Israel's raid in on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

The fact-finding team comprises three independent experts --- Sir Desmond de Silva (Britain), Karl Hudson-Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago,) and Mary Shanthi Dairiam (Malaysia).

An Israeli Foreign Ministry official said that the UN Human Rights Council's made its decision in haste, and that it was "part of the Rights Council's obsession against Israel" . The official added:

The Israeli probe, conducted with transparency, makes the organization's probe completely unnecessary.

Israel Returning Freedom Flotilla Ships to Turkey: Israel has given up asking Ankara for a guarantee against the Freedom Flotilla's craft being used in another attempt to break the siege on Gaza and will send three ships back to Turkey.

Israel Military Puts Flotilla Issues Back to Government: In an interview with Reshet Bet on Friday, Maj.-Gen Giora Eiland, head of the military commission conducting an internal investigation of the attack on the Freedom Flotilla, said that it was possible to prevent the flotilla's mission to Gaza by political means.

Eiland, noting "changing political winds in Turkey", suggested that Israel "could have opened the Gaza crossings in advance, before the Turkish flotilla". However, he said, Israel preferred waiting for international pressure before taking steps.

Middle East Inside Line: Syria-Turkey-Lebanon Condemn Israel, Netanyahu Map "Gap", Israel's Iron Dome System

Syria-Turkey-Lebanon Condemning Israel: Syria and its "greatest hope" Turkey again condemned Israel over its deadly intervention against the Freedom Flotilla on 31 May. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri were both present in Damascus as leaders called on the international community to add more pressure for an international probe and to urge Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.

What Is "The Gap" Between Israel & Palestine?: Following the meeting this weekend between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said more work needs to be done to bridge the gap between Israel and the Palestinians before they can move to direct peace talks.

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What is that gap? According to the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat, Netanyahu showed Mubarak a map outlining his vision for a final settlement with the Palestinians. The Egyptian President refused publication of this because it is far from the demands of Palestinians for a future state based on 1967 lines with agreed land swaps. Mubarak reportedly told Netanyahu to redraft the map.

Israel's Iron Dome Defense System & Its Cost: The "Iron Dome" short- and medium-range rocket-defense system successfully completed its last round of tests Monday, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces said.

There may be a longer-term issue with the system, however. Last week, the government took a decision to cut 2.7 billion shekels ($700 million) from the defense budget. Some IDF generals in IDF argue that it is better to focus on offense using air forces to hit strategic targets rather than deploying defense batteries, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised Monday that the Iron Dome batteries would soon be operational.

Currently, Israel has two batteries, each costing between 40 and 50 million shekels. Israel is soon going to receive a special aid package of $250 million from the US, a sum that is meant to cover the purchase of up to nine Iron Dome batteries. However, estimates speak of a need for at least 20 batteries to cover the Galilee and the Negev from missile threats from Lebanon and Gaza. Radar systems and interceptor missiles also have to be deployed.

Al-Qaeda Targets Arab League: The group's second man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, bombarded Arab leaders for having "surrendered" to Israel after their last summit in March. In the video, he said:

Arabs met in Sirte, (Libya), and they only came out with what they call strategic peace choice. What strategic peace choice, when they are sending a message of surrender to Israel that 'We have given up, so do whatever you like in Palestine'?

Israel: Government Budget Cuts Defense and Welfare

On Friday, the Israeli Government approved a new two-year budget. However, cuts both in defense and welfare brought criticisms from parts of the coalition. Following the NIS 2.7 billion (about $700 million) reduction in the defense budget, ministers from Israel Beiteinu stormed out of the meeting and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the party, threatened to vote No in the Knesset. Minister of Welfare Isaac Herzog (Labor) also left the meeting before voting.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Israel Beiteinu) said:

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If the government doesn't fund the office, Israeli society will be harmed. There is a need to strengthen the police and the prison service. The ministry can't be run [without additional funding.]

Israel Beiteinu is the senior partner [in the coalition], but we're treated otherwise. I say to the government and to the prime minister: we'll meet in the Knesset. We're voting against the budget - it will not pass!

Shas's leader, Interior Minister Eli Yisha,i announced that he will fight in the Knesset for the increase in welfare funds.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) did not target the government but underlined the "challenges faced" by the Israel Defense Forces:

We made a difficult decision, taking into consideration the economic and social situation in Israel. There are consequences to this decision, and I showed them to the cabinet.

Barak added that he hopes the IDF can "stand before the challenges in the resources budgeted to us. The balance between the security budget and the other budgets can bring us to deal correctly with the security and social challenges in Israel."

The IDF released a statement, thanking both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (both from Likud).

Following the voting, Steinitz said:

The government approved a proffesional budget, which balances the different needs of the market. After years in which the security budget recieved significant additions, which strengthened the military, the government has chosen to give these additions to the education budget, health and welfare.

My mission is that the coming years will bring a shrinking of social gaps by strengthening the weaker sectors. The 2011-2012 budget will allow the government to plan for the long term and will strengthen the stability and security in the market.

And Prime Minister Netanyahu said:

The budget we compiled today is a responsible and balanced budget, that grants stability to the Israeli economy for the next two years.

The public in every country pays for going over the budget and unchecked spending. It may not be clear when a government goes over the budget, but we see what happened in some European countries. We can't let such irresponsibility happen in Israel.

Gaza Latest: European Union Calls on Israel to Open Border Crossings

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, arrives in the Middle East today. During her three-day trip, Ashton will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and the Quartet's special envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair.

Ashton is due to visit the Gaza Strip on Sunday. There are no plans to meet any Hamas officials, with Ashton visiting the projects of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Before her visit, Ashton said:

We stand ready to support the opening of the Gaza crossings for the traffic of goods to and from Gaza. The European Union has been calling for an urgent and fundamental change of policy regarding the closure of Gaza.

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