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Thursday, Mar. 10 '16, Adar 30, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. REVEALED: OBAMA ATTACKED NETANYAHU FOR BEING 'CONDESCENDING'
2. BIDEN TO TERROR VICTIM'S SON: I KNOW ABOUT ANTI-ISRAEL INCITMENT
3. 'THERE WAS A FEELING THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A MASSACRE'
4. HERZOG PRESENTS HIS 'SEPARATION PLAN' TO BIDEN
5. WHITE HOUSE SEES BLEAK FUTURE FOR TWO STATE SOLUTION, SAYS INDYK
6. GAZAN MAN TRAPPED IN ANOTHER TERROR TUNNEL COLLAPSE
7. ARAB-ISRAELI COEXISTENCE ACTIVIST WOUNDED IN JAFFA ATTACK
8. 'WE KNEW YOU WERE A HERO'
1. REVEALED: OBAMA ATTACKED NETANYAHU FOR BEING 'CONDESCENDING'
by Ari Soffer
Details of a tense meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have been revealed for the first time, shedding further light on the fraught relationship between the two leaders.
Tensions between the two leaders over major policies, from the peace process with the Palestinian Authority to the nuclear deal with Iran and beyond, have been a feature of their relationship since Obama took office - as have the occasional displays of apparent personal dislike.
But in an interview with veteran American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Obama described one particularly charged meeting in which Netanyahu "launched into something of a lecture about the dangers of the brutal region in which he lives," i.e. the Middle East.
Obama said he felt Netanyahu was being condescending towards him, and responded: "Bibi, you have to understand something. I'm the African American son of a single mother, and I live here, in this house. I live in the White House. I managed to get elected president of the United States. You think I don't understand what you're talking about, but I do."
The revelations were made during a special interview marking the last year of Obama's eight terms in office.
The US president and his administration have repeatedly come in for strong criticism over their foreign policy, particularly vis-a-vis the Middle East. That criticism has not only come from Netanyahu by any means, with analysts and other world leaders slamming, among other things, the White House's prevarication on the Syrian crisis, and many Middle Eastern leaders voicing serious concern over the agreement reached with Iran over its illegal nuclear program last year.
Obama told Goldberg he felt Netanyahu could easily cut a deal with the PA to reach a "two-state solution," but was opting not to because he felt too politically vulnerable. The president apparently did not believe Israeli assessments that creating such a state in Judea and Samaria would post an enormous danger to the State of Israel.
Obama also dismissed during the interview suggestions floated by Israeli and other critics that he had been bluffing about US threats to pursue military action against Iran, if that was the only way to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"I actually would have," he told Goldberg. "If I saw them break out."
But he acknowledged that "the argument that can't be resolved, because it's entirely situational, was what constitutes them getting" the bomb. Obama said the difference between himself and Netanyahu was that the Israeli premier wanted to prevent Iran from even having the capability to build a nuclear weapon, whereas he only drew the red line at Iran physically building one.
"This was the argument I was having with Bibi Netanyahu," he said.
The interview come following the latest spat between Obama and Netanyahu, after the latter reportedly turned down a meeting with Obama next week.
2. BIDEN TO TERROR VICTIM'S SON: I KNOW ABOUT ANTI-ISRAEL INCITMENT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Vice President Joe Biden met on Thursday with Micah Lakin Avni, son of Richard Lakin, an American citizen who was murdered in a terrorist attack last October.
Avni told Biden about his father's efforts as an advocate of coexistence and gave the Vice President two copies of his father's book, Teaching as an Act of Love. One copy, Avni told Biden, was for the Vice President; while the other was intended for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Avni asked the Vice President to bring the book to Abbas during their next meeting.
Attached to the book was a note, written by Avni, reflecting on his family's roots in America, the prospects for peace, and the proliferation of Arab anti-Israel incitement on social media.
"In 1969, the year I was born, Golda Meir was chosen to as Israel's Prime Minister. Like my family, she came to Israel from the US. Two nations joined by shared values."
"Prime Minister Meir remarked that 'peace will come to the middle east when the Arabs love their kids more than they hate us.' In the 46 years since, we're still teaching our kids to love, while our neighbors continue to teach their kids to hate."
Biden responded to Avni's emotional appeal, telling him that he knows about the terrible incitement in Palestinian social media against Jews.
"The message of this book is that every child is a miracle," Avni's note continued. "For that, one needs to be filled with love, not hate. It is a message that everyone is obligated to spread."
3. 'THERE WAS A FEELING THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A MASSACRE'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
On Wednesday, terrorists opened fire on an Egged bus at Ramot Junction. The attack, made on a major thoroughfare just minutes from the Ramot neighborhood, stunned Jerusalem residents.
Shmuel P., a passenger on the bus targeted by the attackers, recounted the harrowing experience in an interview with Hamevasser.
A Jerusalem yeshiva student in his 20s, Shmuel regularly rides on the Egged 32 line from Ramot to downtown Jerusalem.
"From what I understand", says Shmuel, "the [terrorists'] car was sitting just in front of the bus stop for the bus I was on, waiting to open fire."
"When people started to get on and [others] off the bus, two armed men started to fire through the car windows towards the bus stop. I stood by the bus window and saw them hold rifles and shooting."
"Things went crazy then on the bus. We're talking about a bus that's almost always filled with passengers, and in the morning it's really packed. People laid on the floor and started to scream in panic."
"There was a feeling that this is going to be a massacre. People were yelling 'Shema Yisrael' in just complete terror. It was a terrible experience. I thought to myself that the walls of the bus are so thin, the terrorists will try to come up to the bus itself [and open fire] within seconds."
But then, Shmuel recalls, the shooting abruptly stopped.
"After that, the gunfire ended and we heard a big commotion outside. They said the terrorists ran off, and that someone had fired back at them. I couldn't understand it, why would they run away? They're terrorists who are ready to commit suicide, they're supposed to return fire [when fired upon]. And they were two with rifles against one person with a pistol."
"It was a miracle without a doubt. They could have easily killed dozens of people. There weren't any cops in the area. We're talking about a very quiet area that hasn't had terror attacks."
Hezi Roth, a Hatzolah volunteer paramedic who arrived on the scene seconds after the attack says it was "a miracle" that no one was hurt and that the bus parked in such a way as to block the terrorists' car and ruin their plans.
"The terrorists were driving very slowly. They targeted a bus stop with more than a hundred people. All of the sudden the 32 bus comes in and blocks their field of vision."
"From speaking with the police on the scene, my understanding is that the terrorists decided to flee when their plans for the attack were foiled after they came under fire from the armed civilian."
[youtube:2013287]
4. HERZOG PRESENTS HIS 'SEPARATION PLAN' TO BIDEN
by David Rosenberg
US Vice President Joe Biden met with Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Thursday, amid a rash of terror attacks across Israel that have further dimmed the prospects for renewed negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Herzog (Zionist Union) spoke with Biden about the ongoing violence and possible interim steps that could jumpstart negotiations.
During the meeting, Herzog presented Biden with his "Separation Plan", a framework for partial disengagement from Judea and Samaria which the Labor Party adopted as part of their official platform last month.
Herzog emphasized the need for Israel to disconnect from Judea and Samaria, telling Biden "Only separation will lead to an end of the terror. If we don't separate from the Palestinians, they will continue murder Jews here."
The Separation Plan would complete the security fence in Judea and Samaria, and alter the route of the security wall in Jerusalem to cut out Arab villages in or near Jerusalem's municipal bounds, effectively removing them from the city.
In addition, the Palestinian Authority would be given greater control over Judea and Samaria, with more territory taken from Area C under full Israeli control, and transferred to Area B under PA civil control. The plan also calls for a "regional security conference" bringing together Israel and "moderate Arab neighbors".
At the same time, however, Herzog's plan acknowledges that "a two state solution is not possible at the present time", looking instead to offer interim steps to increase stability and maintain the vision of "Israel as a Jewish state, safe and democratic."
The White House is reportedly also deeply pessimistic about the outlook for a two-state solution, with former Obama administration special envoy Martin Indyk remarking that "Obama and Kerry are looking at the very real likelihood that the two-state solution could die on their watch."
Biden's visit comes as senior US officials told the Wall Street Journal and New York Times that the White House was mulling options for reviving negotiations, including a potential UN Security Council resolution outlining the framework for a future agreement, or a major policy speech setting down American guidelines for a future peace treaty.
The Vice President met with both Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday.
Biden's meeting with Abbas Wednesday night came on the heels of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa which left one American citizen dead. Abbas refused to explicitly condemn the murder, but offered his condolences.
5. WHITE HOUSE SEES BLEAK FUTURE FOR TWO STATE SOLUTION, SAYS INDYK
by David Rosenberg
Martin Indyk, a former US Ambassador to Israel and special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration, is increasingly doubtful that a two state solution can ever be accomplished.
"In the absence of negotiations, actions on the ground are making it more and more difficult to see how a two-state solution could be achieved," Martin Indyk told Reuters.
Indyk, who now works as a senior official at the Brookings Institute, a liberal public policy think tank in Washington, noted a similar pessimism in the White House regarding the prospects for a Palestinian state.
"I think there is a real concern on the part of the president and the secretary of state that instead of achieving a breakthrough to a two-state solution, the two-state solution will die on their watch."
In another statement Indyk suggested that those fears were justified, and that a two state solution was in all likelihood no longer relevant. "Obama and Kerry are looking at the very real likelihood that the two-state solution could die on their watch."
The former peace envoy's comments confirm what senior US officials have suggested in recent discussions with the media, including a report to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week reflecting growing concerns in the White House that a two state solution may no longer be possible.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal this week, anonymous sources within the administration stated that the White House was increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress on the diplomatic front, and had growing concerns about the future of a two state solution.
They revealed that the Obama administration was considering a final push to lay the groundwork for a negotiated settlement, including the possible use of unprecedented steps like a United Nations Security Council resolution outlining some of the basic terms of a two state solution.
Other less dramatic steps reportedly being considered include a policy speech by President Obama, possibly at the United Nations, laying out the principles for a negotiated settlement.
One senior US official speaking to Reuters noted the strenuous efforts among White House officials to keep the two state solution politically relevant.
"People in the government are asking the question what can we do to keep the two-state solution alive, and they're generating ideas."
But with the ongoing terror wave claiming more lives and relations between the White House and Israel remaining frigid, even President Obama believes that serious progress towards a peace treaty during his last 10 months in office "is not in the cards".
6. GAZAN MAN TRAPPED IN ANOTHER TERROR TUNNEL COLLAPSE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Seven Palestinians were rescued Thursday after a Gaza smuggling tunnel collapsed, according to local officials.
One man is still trapped underground, however - his condition is unknown
He described the underground passage from the southern Gaza town of Rafah into neighboring Egypt as a "trade tunnel."
The cave-in, the sixth since January, was caused by Egyptian flooding of the border zone in its campaign to stop smuggling, the official told AFP.
Authorities have spoken to one of the trapped men by mobile telephone and rescue efforts are under way, he added.
Since January 26, 12 Gazans have been killed in five separate tunnel collapses - most of them Hamas terrorists - with both Israel and Egypt operating against the diggers.
[קישורים:4:tunnel collapse]
An Israeli blockade is still in place to prevent advanced weapons and other potentially lethal equipment reaching terrorists in Gaza, and Egypt's sole border with Gaza has also remained largely closed since 2013.
The passages to Egypt are used for transit of commercial goods, cash, people and weapons. Much of the goods flowing into and out of Gaza are coordinated with the Egyptian branch of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group, known as "Sinai Province."
In late 2014, as part of an attempt to restore peace in its restive northern Sinai region, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza and destroyed hundreds of tunnels.
At the other end Gaza, near the border with Israel, Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers have built tunnels to avoid or launch attacks, store weapons and at times to stage raids into Israel.
AFP contributed to this report.
7. ARAB-ISRAELI COEXISTENCE ACTIVIST WOUNDED IN JAFFA ATTACK
by Ari Soffer
One of the victims of Tuesday night's deadly stabbing attack in Jaffa was an Arab-Israeli peace activist.
Tel Aviv resident Mohammed Wari was stabbed in the back during the attack by Palestinian Arab terrorist Bashar Masalha, which killed American tourist Taylor Force and wounded 10 others, many of them seriously.
Wari, who works for MEET - Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow and the Israeli Hola Better Internet startup, is a staunch atheist and critic of religious conflict and religion in general, as evidenced by posts on his Facebook page.
Following the attack, which occurred not far from where US Vice President Joe Biden's family were eating dinner, Wari posted a picture of himself in hospital, along with the following English status:
"I got stabbed in the attack today, its not the best feeling or experience to go through, i am so blessed to stay alive, the stab was close to my neck but I've been able to push him and run away. Thanks for all of those who called and visited. With not little pain killers i feel good"
Screenshot/Facebook
Comments in Hebrew, English and Arabic poured in wishing him well - highlighting the irony of an Arab activist for Jewish-Arab coexistence being targeted by an Arab terrorist.
8. 'WE KNEW YOU WERE A HERO'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2013332]
Amir Mimuni, the 28-year-old Shin Bet agent killed along the border with Gaza Wednesday morning, was laid to rest yesterday in Moshav Nogah.
Mimuni, a resident of Zohar in the Negev, was shot and killed during a friendly fire incident along the Gaza border.
The Shin Bet has launched a probe to investigate the incident.
Initial reports revealed that as Mimuni's unit was operating near Gaza, a fellow Shin Bet agent spotted Mimuni, and believing he was a terrorist, opened fire.
Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen revealed the details of incident during Mimuni's funeral on Wednesday.
The bereaved father, Efraim Mimuni, eulogized his son, calling him "an angel in human form".
"He loved the state and the army, and he succeeded in everything he did."
As a Shin Bet agent, Mimuni was trusted with sensitive operational information, giving his family little knowledge of the precise nature of his service.
"I would drive him nuts asking him to tell me things [about his work], but he wouldn't tell me anything. Now I just want to hug and kiss him."
"I want to tell him that even though we don't know what he did, we know you were a hero."
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