Israel and Syria: Can Turkey Be a Mediator?

Israel-Palestine: Peres “Hamas Used Children as Human Shields”
Israel’s Growing Problem: Will Its Ministers Be Arrested?
Palestine: Abbas Resign? It’s a Bluff

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On earlier Wednesday, during a meeting with Croatian President Stipe Mesic, Syrian president Bashar Assad called on European Union countries to facilitate peace talks with Israel through Turkey's mediation:

As far as it concerns us in Syria, we have national support to continue talks with Israel. We call on European countries to also give their contribution, to help Turkey [and] also us to be able to resume from where we have stopped.

With Israeli-Turkish relations have been damaged following the Davos crisis in January, Israeli leaders reiterated that they are not seeking Turkey's mediation role yet are willing to discuss peace with Syria as long as there is no pre-conditions.

Meanwhile, Turkish-Syrian relations are strengthening. Both countries held a military drill in April. Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib Mahmud said on 14 October that his country is to stage a second round of joint military exercises with Turkey. Turkey and Syria also signed political and economic agreements in September. Mutual visa requirements and taxes on trailer trucks operating between the two countries were lifted and "a strategic cooperation assembly" was established.

Finally, it seems that Ankara has got what it desired from Damascus: insistence on Turkey's mediation in the peace process. On 20 October 20, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly stressed that Syria would accept only their country as a mediator in peace talks with Israel.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that Syria is pivotal in the path toward regional peace. Without mentioning Turkey, he said, "Peace with Syria is a major building block of any stable regional agreement. Israel has sought in the past, and will continue to seek ways to promote peace with Syria." However, he also put Tel Aviv's conditions: "Responsible behavior on behalf of the Syrians, as well as Hezbollah, is required in order to prevent the dangers of conflict in the region."

So the Israel-Syria talks won't be occurring soon. Will that matter for Turkey? Possibly not in the short-term: it is more than satisfied with how delays as well as progress strengthen its role as a participant in regional politics.

Israel's Growing Problem: Will Its Ministers Be Arrested?

Israeli Army Radio reported on Tuesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon will not cut short his trip to Britain, despite warning from activists that they will press war crimes charges against him. Last month, British authorities rejected a petition to arrest Defense Minister Ehud Barak, saying that Barak was Britain's diplomatic guest.

Still, lawyers in Britain and other European countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, and Norway have been collecting testimonies of Palestinians regarding the alleged war crimes committed by Israel Defense Forces during the Gaza War. If the alleged crime is proven in court, individuals charged will be arrested as soon as they enter these countries.

On Wednesday, the former IDF chief of staff and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, whose trial has been sought over the assassination of senior Hamas activist Salah Shehadeh in July 2002, said he is "willing to forgo visits to European capitals and to allow the Israel Defense Forces the freedom to act." He added:

Israel is transparent. The IDF has recently conducted five serious probes, the criminal investigation division opened an investigation into credit card theft. There is a team that will respond to the report without having to stop the army in order to do so.

Israel: Clinton Arrives on Saturday for Talks

Video & Transcript: Hamas’ Meshaal “Peace with Recognition and 1967 Borders”
Israel-Palestine: Clinton Tries to Help Abbas

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The US Government said yesterday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make her first official visit to Israel on Saturday following her meeting with Arab leaders in Morocco. President Obama's envoy George Mitchell will bein Israel for preparatory discussions from Thursday.

Clinton is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and President Shimon Peres on Sunday.

Israel: Netanyahu and Barak Limit the Gaza Inquiry

Palestine: Is the Third Intifada Possible?

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Continuing the resistance to the commission of inquiry mandated by the UN approval of the Goldstone Report on the Gaza War, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday, "The Israel Defense Forces operates on the battlefield in the most ethical way. It is an army that investigates and examines itself in the most thorough way, more than any other army in the world." At the same time, he held the line against any immediate move: "I have still not formed a stance and have not made a decision on this matter, and there is no change."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was initially unhappy with Netanyahu's statement, wanting a declaration rejecting any enquiry. The Ministry of Defense said, "The minister reiterates that he opposes any committee that would investigate the officers and soldiers of the IDF. There is no other army in the world that investigates itself the way the IDF does."

On Sunday, both leaders agreed on a common ground. They will appoint a small task force rather than a committee of enquiry to make recommendations. The task force's suggesitons will not be legally binding. Netanyahu added, "IDF soldiers and officers will not be subjected to investigation," while Barak declared:

We sent the fighters on the mission, and they deserve our full support....Israel is prepared to fight against the legitimacy of the Goldstone report. In addition, Israel will act to amend rules of war to adjust them to the battle against terrorists who fight from among civilians.

Bring It On: Israel Counter-attacks UN over Gaza Enquiry

Palestine: Suffering Life at Israeli Checkpoints

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Under the terms of the Goldstone Report on the Gaza War, now approved by the UN Human Rights Council, Israel and Hamas are required to conduct internal enquiries into the conduct of their military forces.

Fat chance.

On Tuesday, Israel's President Shimon Peres told CNN that the Goldstone Report "one-sided" and "unfair".





Peres' statement was mere prelude to the full Israeli resistance. In fact, for resistance, insert "counter-attack". On Tuesday, the Israeli Cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, promising a lengthy battle to "delegitimize" the findings of the United Nations commission, established a committee to deal with the prospect of "legal proceedings abroad against the state of Israel or its citizens."

Even Defense Minister Ehud Barak, seen as the moderate amongst senior Israeli ministers, refused to discuss the possibility of a Governmental investigation: "There is no need for a committee of inquiry. The Israeli military knows to examine itself better than anyone else."

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman chose a diversionary strategy of undermining the Israel-Palestine peace process. He told his European Union counterpart Javier Solana:

The policy of subversion carried out by the Palestinian Authority against the State of Israel, which follows decisions at the Fatah conference in August in which there were calls for the resumption of the armed struggle, raises serious questions about the real aims of the Palestinians. The question now is whether the Palestinians want to establish a state, or to destroy the state of Israel.