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Monday, Feb. 20 '17, כ"ד בשבט תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. BENNETT: MY SOLUTION IS ANNEXATION
2. 'ISRAEL AND SINGAPORE ARE KINDRED SPIRITS'
3. REPORTER ASKS IRANIAN FM: HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU BUILD THE BOMB?
4. 'JEWISH TERRORIST' JACK TEITEL'S HUNGER STRIKE ENTERS 2ND WEEK
5. WATCH: FAMILY CATCHES ANTIQUITY THIEF IN THE ACT
6. REFUGEES IN US TO COST TAXPAYERS BILLIONS IN 2017
7. REPORT: STATE DEP. OFFICIALS BARRED FROM TRUMP-NETANYAHU MEETING
8. LIKUD MINISTER: COUNTRIES WANT TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH TERROR
1. BENNETT: MY SOLUTION IS ANNEXATION
by Eliran Aharon
Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) spoke on Monday morning at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem.
Speaking about the two-state solution, Bennett said, "It's no secret that I believe we already have two Palestinian states, one in Jordan and one in Gaza.
"I want to see Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump think of new solutions. We need to try something new. I don't intend to annex two million Palestinians.
"If we create a Palestinian state, everything we have built in Judea and Samaria will be destroyed. Can you imagine millions of refugees arriving in Judea and Samaria, sharing the space with their brothers? They'll tell them to go to Haifa.
"Soon Yitzhak Herzog (Zionist Union) will speak, ask him about his solution. My solution is to apply sovereignty in Area C and give the Arabs a choice of permanent residency or Israeli citizenship."
Regarding Amona, Bennett said, "I am sure Netanyahu will keep his word."
2. 'ISRAEL AND SINGAPORE ARE KINDRED SPIRITS'
by Nitsan Keidar
[youtube:2023729]
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met on Monday morning to discuss relations between the two countries.
"Thank you for the very warm welcome," Netanyahu said. "I have to say that this is my first time in Singapore. I'm following in your footsteps. You visited Israel for the first time, an historic visit. And as we landed here, I was absolutely amazed, tremendously impressed.
"As much as you hear about Singapore's success, to see it physically is quite startling and it tells you the power of people, the power of ideas, the power of the potential or rather of talent unleashed.
"So first of all, I want to thank you for your very warm welcome to me, to my wife and to our delegation. I believe that Israel and Singapore are kindred spirits. We're small nations that have become in many areas global powers, and I believe that our cooperation makes us even more successful, cooperation in every field.
"We have a joint R&D fund that has already funded 150 projects for Israeli and Singapore companies working together in a variety of fields, and I think that the opportunities are vast.
"We live in a technological age. The future belongs to those who innovate. Israel and Singapore are innovation nations, and together we can bring more prosperity, more hope for our peoples and I think for beyond our peoples, for the neighborhoods in which we live. We value the diversity in our societies, we value the pluralism in our societies, and we have much to learn from each other.
"I asked, Prime Minister, to visit one of your housing sites because this is an issue that you have resolved in your own way. We'd like to learn from you, as we do in many, many other areas. And I must say that we find this relationship particularly productive and valuable to ensure our security and prosperity for our peoples in the future.
"So I thank you for this opportunity, and I look forward to many future visits from you and from the President and of course for Israelis to visit Singapore. We admire you and we treasure our relationship."
[youtube:2024859]
3. REPORTER ASKS IRANIAN FM: HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU BUILD THE BOMB?
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2024809]
The Iranian government has long maintained that its nuclear program is intended for strictly non-military purposes, despite a parallel program for the development of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
But if Iran's nuclear program is, as is widely believed, not only intended for civilian purposes, just how long would it take the regime in Tehran to construct an atomic weapon?
That was the question posed by Washington Post reporter Josh Rogin to Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Zarif, at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.
"If you decided to build a nuclear weapon right now, exactly how long would it take?"
In response, Zarif again denied that the Islamist regime was interested in pursuing nuclear weapons, arguing instead that Tehran was ideologically opposed to atomic arms. Notably, however, the Iranian Foreign Minister never directly responded to the question, providing no information on how long Iran would need – even theoretically – to produce a nuclear weapon.
"We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period," said Zarif. "So it will take forever for Iran to make nuclear weapons. People will be happy saying that they have extended breakout capability to one year. Let them be happy. And I'm happy that they're happy."
"We believe that nuclear weapons do no augment our security, nor do they augment anybody's security."
Zarif also dismissed warnings by the Trump administration against further ballistic missile tests, saying Iran does not "respond well to threats."
"Iran is unmoved by threats. Iran responds very well to respect. We don't respond well to threats. And everybody tested us for many years. All threats and coercions were imposed on Iran. You remember the concept of 'crippling sanctions'? The crippling sanctions produced a net total of 19,800 centrifuges, because when those crippling sanctions were imposed on Iran, we had less than 200 centrifuges.
"When the United States came to the negotiating table, we had 20,000 centrifuges. And the objective of those crippling sanctions was to push Iran to have zero centrifuges. So Iran doesn't respond well to threats, we don't respond well to coercion, we don't respond well to sanctions. But we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios, as we did with JCPOA. And I think that's a lesson that history has taught all of us."
Later in the question and answer session, Zarif, who had earlier said Iran was interested in opening dialogue with regional rivals, indicated that Israel would not be welcome in such talks.
When asked "Is Iran willing to include Israel in that kind of dialogue?" Zarif replied that only Muslim states in and around the Persian Gulf would be included.
"Under regional dialogue I said that I'm modest, I'm focusing on the Persian Gulf. We have enough problems in this region. So we want to start a dialogue with countries that we call brothers. We call each other brothers in Islam. We need to address the common problems and perceptions that have given rise to... the level of violence that exists in the region."
4. 'JEWISH TERRORIST' JACK TEITEL'S HUNGER STRIKE ENTERS 2ND WEEK
by Arutz Sheva Staff
An ongoing hunger strike by Jack Teitel, who was convicted of murdering two Arab men 20 years ago, entered its eighth day on Sunday, in what he calls an act of protest against the worsening conditions of his imprisonment.
Teitel, a Florida-born computer technician who immigrated to Israel in 1999, was convicted in 2013 for the murders of an Arab taxi driver and an Arab shepherd in 1997. While Teitel had originally been arrested as a tourist in connection with one of the murders in August 1997, no charges were filed due to insufficient evidence.
After being arrested in an unrelated case, police discovered two pistols in his possession, leading to his eventual conviction and two life sentences in prison.
Dubbed "the Jewish terrorist" for the killings and a string of other politically and nationalistically-motivated attacks, Teitel was originally deemed unfit to stand trial by the Jerusalem District psychiatrist, a decision that was later overturned.
Over the past eight days, Teitel has protested what he says is a sudden and unjustified worsening of the conditions of his imprisonment.
Teitel, who had been serving in Ayalon Prison, was recently transferred to Rimonim Prison. Since his transfer, the Israeli Prison Service has limited visits by his wife and five children. While Teitel was permitted up to three visits with his family each month and was allowed to stay in the same room with them during such meetings, since the transfer the number of visits has been reduced two just two per month. In addition, while the previous visits were "open", now Teitel's wife and children are not allowed to meet with him in the same room, and must remain behind a glass visitation window.
Since the changes, Teitel has refused to eat, pledging to continue his hunger strike until his family's visitation rights are restored.
"The Israeli Prison Service has behaved cold-heartedly with its refusal over something so basic, for a father to defend his children's right to meet with him in an appropriate manner," said Teitel's attorney, Azriel Friedenberg.
"I met a weak, worn-out man who is nevertheless determined regarding the one thing left to him in life – his connection with his wife and children."
In 2015, Teitel maintained a hunger strike for several weeks after he was placed in solitary confinement and deprived of both his fan and cell air-conditioning during the middle of a hot spell.
5. WATCH: FAMILY CATCHES ANTIQUITY THIEF IN THE ACT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2024855]
A family enjoying a day in the park last week caught an antiquities thief in the act, filming his illegal treasure hunt and aiding authorities in his apprehension.
While enjoying the day out, a family spotted a man with a metal detector digging around the roughly 2000 year-old Hurbat Bazka archaeological site in the Givat Sar neighborhood of Modiin.
The alert citizens immediately notified the Israel Antiquities Authority and filmed the man as he continued his search for valuable relics. The family then sent the footage, recorded on a cellular device, to the IAA, while continuing to observe the suspect.
An IAA inspector dispatched to the scene found evidence of recent unauthorized digs, and later obtained a search warrant against the suspect. On Friday, IAA agents conducted a search of the suspect's home and brought the man for interrogation.
While the man acknowledged that he had illegally dug around the archeological site and had used a metal detector, he claims that he was not searching for antiquities but merely for stones.
The district prosecutor is expected to issue an indictment against the suspect in the near future.
6. REFUGEES IN US TO COST TAXPAYERS BILLIONS IN 2017
by David Rosenberg
While much of the controversy surrounding America's refugee resettlement program has focused on the security threat some refugees from terror hotspots may pose, little attention has been paid to the financial burden, borne by the taxpayer, of allowing in hundreds of thousands of migrants who are supported for years by the federal government.
According to data from a September, 2016 study by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a November, 2015 study by the Center for Immigration Studies, the roughly 519,000 refugees allowed into the United States since October 2009 will cost the federal government some $4.1 billion in 2017 alone, Breitbart News reported.
This figure does not include secondary costs borne by state and local governments, which, according to the National Academy of Sciences study totaled some $57.4 billion annually from 2011 to 2013.
The direct costs of resettlement will remain between $2-4 billion per year through at least 2022.
The above-listed costs do not include the expenses projected to be incurred by future refugees not yet in the country.
7. REPORT: STATE DEP. OFFICIALS BARRED FROM TRUMP-NETANYAHU MEETING
by David Rosenberg
The US State Department issued a wave of layoffs for career foreign service officials, staffers, and bureaucrats this weekend, in a move some have deemed the "purging" of anti-Trump elements from the department.
The first wave of dismissals came Friday afternoon, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was abroad. CBS News reports that staffers for the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources were among those let go, along with members of numerous counselor offices.
Friday's layoffs may be a clear signal from the Trump administration to the State Department that the White House is intent on setting policy directly, depriving senior department officials of the influence they once had over key issues, including the Israeli-Arab conflict. Trump may also feel that these officials are not willing to accept change and will attempt to subvert his policies.
During Wednesday's meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, for instance, State Department officials were barred from participating, an almost unprecedented occurrence. In their stead, the president brought his son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner.
Acting Deputy Secretary of State Tom Shannon was originally slated to join the Netanyahu-Trump meeting, but was later barred from attending.
State Department spokesman R.C. Hammond would not respond to questions regarding the motivation behind the layoffs, saying in a statement that "As part of the transition from one administration to the next we continue to build out our team. The State Department is supported by a very talented group of individuals, both Republicans and Democrats. We are appreciative to any American who dedicates their talents to public service.‎"
8. LIKUD MINISTER: COUNTRIES WANT TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH TERROR
by Chana Roberts
[youtube:2024853]
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) spoke on Monday at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem.
"We are at a critical moment in Israel's history," Erdan said. "This is a time for great change, a time which presents both strategic challenges and new opportunities... Terrorists inspired by radical Islamic incitement have murdered hundreds throughout America, Europe, and the Middle East."
"For the past year and a half, Israel has been facing a wave of 'lone wolf terror.' This is a new form of terror, which isn't directed by traditional terrorist groups with clear leaders. Instead, it is spread by one of the most powerful and dynamic forces in our world today - social media.
"These terror attacks are inspired by radical Islamist incitement spread directly to the smartphones of young Palestinians, encouraging them to stab Jews, run them over with cars, or set fire to Jewish towns if the weather conditions are right... One of the most important steps that we took was increasing our ability to monitor social media and identify potential terrorists using our cyber capabilities.
"Not a week goes by without a minister of member of parliament from another country reaching out to me to learn from our experience. It seems that most of the world has finally learned: the ideology behind this terror is the same everywhere. It doesn't matter whether its in Brussels, Paris, Nice, Orlando...or Jerusalem.
"It's simply immoral to accept Iran as a legitimate state just because it has slowed down - for now - its nuclear program, while it promotes terror throughout the world.
"Today, we have an opportunity to demand an end to the discrimination against Israel in international institutions...Until today, the Palestinians had every reason to believe that time was on their side. They could refuse to negotiate, incite terror, and attack Israel in the international area, while the world put pressure only on Israel... The Palestinians must understand that time is working against them... The Palestinians must see that their interest is to sit down to direct negotiations as soon as possible. Continued rejectionism will come with a price.
"At this critical moment in time, the bonds between Israel and the world Jewish community are more important than ever... We must be willing to adapt and think outside the box. If we work together, I am confident that we can succeed."
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