Middle East Inside Line: Arab League & Israel-Palestine, British PM on Gaza "Prison Camp", Separation Fence Scandal

Thorny Road to Direct Israel-Palestine Talks: Arab League Foreign Ministers are meeting today in Cairo.

Talking to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that continuing the construction freeze on West Bank settlements would be impossible politically and would bring down the coalition.

A Palestinian official told Reuters, "Abbas will tell [the Arab League] that, until this moment, there is nothing to convince us to go to direct talks.”

Israel-Palestine: Abbas’ Conditions, Netanyahu’s “Eastern Front” Response

Haaretz claims from Palestinian sources that Abbas will seek unequivocal clarifications from the US that the framework for direct talks will include a declaration that the Palestinian state will be based on the borders of 4 June 1967, with adjustments will be based on agreed exchanges of territory. The PA also wants an Israeli declaration that the construction freeze on settlements will continue and that building in East Jerusalem will stop.

Israeli cabinet minister Isaac Herzog (Labor Party) summarizes the dilemma of a "chicken-and-egg" situation. Talking to Israel Radio, he said:

Abu Mazen (Abbas) says: "I don't want to enter direct negotiations until I know what the final result will be."

Netanyahu says: "Enter direct negatiations and I will also tell you what the final result will be."

Each one looks at it opposite, and we are in a sort of political trap.

Britain's Cameron in Turkey, Comments on Gaza: British Prime Minister David Cameron made his first official visit to Turkey, warning European countries about anti-Muslim prejudice and the slow pace of accession talks with Turkey. He told Turkish businessmen:

When I think about what Turkey has done to defend Europe as a NATO ally and what Turkey is doing now in Afghanistan alongside European allies, it makes me angry that your progress towards EU membership can be frustrated in the way it has been. I believe it's just wrong to say Turkey can guard the camp but not be allowed to sit inside the tent.

Cameron's counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel’s raid on the Freedom Flotilla an act of “piracy” and compared Israeli officials to Somali pirates. Cameron said that the incident was “completely unacceptable” and called for a speedy and transparent Israeli inquiry into the incident. Cameron also sharpened his tone on Gaza:

The situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.

The Israeli embassy in the U.K. responded to Cameron quickly:

The people of Gaza are the prisoners of the terrorist organization Hamas. The situation in Gaza is the direct result of Hamas’ rule and priorities.

We know that the Prime Minister would also share our grave concerns about our own prisoner in the Gaza Strip, Gilad Shalit, who has been held hostage there for over four years, without receiving a single Red Cross visit.

Separation Fence Scandal: EA has already reported that Walajeh, a village in the Bethlehem Governorate 8.5 kilometres (5.3 miles) to the southwest of Jerusalem, is in danger of being cut off from the rest of Palestinian lands, leaving 2,000 villagers encircled by Israeli settlements, roads, and security barriers.

In a court hearing on Sunday, it emerged that the order to expropriate village lands for the fence, which enabled the work to begin, had expired a year ago. However, instead of ordering a halt to the work, the court issued an injunction requiring the state to explain within 45 days why construction should not be stopped.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and Palestinian villagers say that since the injunction was issued, the Defense Ministry and the contractors have been working much faster than before.

The Cost of an Eye: Emily Henochowicz, an Israeli-American studying at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem, lost her left eye when Border Guards fired a tear gas canister during a demonstration following the raid on Freedom Flotilla.

According to Henochowicz, one policeman shot a canister directly at her face. Haaretz says that one of its reporter also witnessed the incident.

Following her treatment in Jerusalem, her father was handed a bill for NIS 14,000 (around $3,600). The Ministry of Defense refused to pay, claiming the tear gas was not fired directly at Henochowicz. The statement accused Henochowicz of putting herself at risk by voluntarily participating in a breach of the peace and accused:

From our reports, we know that the Border Police acted in accordance with the law at the violent demonstration at Qalandia, and that the shooting of tear gas canisters at demonstrators was justified. Of course, we regret that Emily Henochowicz was wounded in her eye. But under such circumstances, the Defense Ministry does not cover the expenses of medical treatment.

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:

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

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.