Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Israel

  • Israel Sees Obama’s Crimea Response as Sign of Weakness

    A cursory overview of the opinions expressed in Israel media and official circles about Russia’s annexation of the Crimea reveals a sentiment that has begun to develop deep roots there. Simply put, the events in Ukraine, in which the United States failed to deter Russian president Vladimir Putin from annexing the Crimea, are seen as further “proof” of American weakness and the inability of the United States to effectively deal with aggressive leaders.

    Based on this view, some commentators conclude that the events in Ukraine demonstrate the futility and danger of relying on American promises and guarantees.

    Not surprisingly, this view is most prevalent on the Israeli right which is already quite critical of President Barack Obama’s Middle East policies — especially his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

    However, the perception of American weakness is not exclusively right-wing. Other, less politically biased commentators have expressed similar opinions. (more…)

  • Ariel Sharon, Israel’s “Bulldozer” Premier, Dies

    In many aspects, Ariel Sharon was an inconsistent figure, unexpected and hard to analyze. The former Israeli prime minister, who died Saturday, will be remembered as a brave soldier and a sophisticated politician, a decisive builder but an efficient destroyer, hawkish but pragmatic, a brilliant strategist and a precise tactician, a devoted farmer and a true Zionist. In each of his endeavors, Sharon won considerable amounts of criticism, from both sides of the map, but the one word that best describes him is “bulldozer,” because whatever it was that Sharon set out to obtain, he couldn’t be stopped once he was after it.

    One of Sharon’s first notable contributions to Israel’s security was the founding of “Unit 101.” It was meant to provide an unorthodox answer to the constant attacks launched by terror squads during the early 1950s which cost many civilian lives. The unit’s method was to give the enemy a taste of its own medicine: hitting it in its own houses, spreading uncertainty within its lines and taking the initiative in the campaign.

    The experience that was gained through the bold operations the unit carried out served as the cornerstone for the future Israeli Defense Force’s counterterrorism infrastructure. Sayeret Matkal, the Israeli elite unit that rescued the passengers of the hijacked Air France flight to Tel Aviv in 1976 in the famous Entebbe operation, took a similar approach.

    The story of Unit 101 represents Sharon’s security perspective as well as the way he would conduct himself later in his career. In the months leading up to the Six Day War, when war seemed imminent and the entire Israeli public was under great anxiety, Sharon, then a general in the general staff of the IDF, strongly advocated a preemptive strike. Later, in 1971, when terror attacks from Gaza started to be a matter of daily routine, Sharon successfully implemented this doctrine in the elimination of terror as the general of Southern Command. (more…)

  • Kerry Tries to Rescue Stalled Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks

    America’s secretary of state, John Kerry, has a lot on his plate, from the upcoming round of nuclear negotiations with Iran to the global effort in Syria to verify and destroy Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons. Yet on Wednesday, he added another item to his “to do” list — spending a full day traveling between Israel and the West Bank to resurrect a peace process that both parties believe is on the brink of collapsing.

    After six months of persistent contact with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry achieved a breakthrough in the conflict that had eluded American officials the previous three years. That is, Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to relaunch direct negotiations within a strict nine month timeframe. Given the enormous mistrust between Israel and the Palestinians over the core issues of the conflict, getting both men back to the negotiating table was a major obstacle. But by with sheer force of his personality, Kerry at least broke through that roadblock.

    Three months into the talks, however, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the process is failing to produce any concrete results. Nor is it building the diplomatic momentum that is required to sustain the dialogue for another six months. (more…)

  • What Iran’s New Drone Aircraft Mean for Israel

    During televised press briefings on the 33rd anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War and with demonstration videos on hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran last week announced the production of three lines of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that could see deployment within the year. The drones, dubbed the Yaseer, the Ra’ad-85 and the Shahed-129, have apparently been designed to perform in both reconnaissance and combat roles and will allow Iran greater capacity to monitor and enforce activities at home and, potentially, across the region.

    UAV technology has not, until now seemingly, been effectively deployed by Iran. Patrolling sovereign airspace and undertaking aerial strike missions, like those prosecuted during the Iran-Iraq War, has for years been the responsibility of Iran’s missile corps and, with aging planes like the F-14 Tomcat and the MiG-29, the air force’s manned fighter fleet.

    New unmanned systems would, if feasible in their deployability, allow for a significant expansion of the country’s capacity to both gather intelligence and surgically project power at home and in its near abroad. After all, from the lightly built Yaseer to the heavy Shahed, each of Iran’s new drone systems will have advanced reconnaissance suites, including high resolution cameras and communications equipment, as well as the capacity to launch precision strike munitions. (more…)

  • Kerry Persuades Israel, Palestinians to Enter Peace Talks

    America’s secretary of state John Kerry concluded his meetings with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Friday with a last-minute commitment to return to peace talks with the Israelis. The agreement, which came after four days of intense shuttle diplomacy by Kerry, could lead to proper negotiations in Washington DC next week, the first in five years.

    Kerry, who has made the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a defining issue during his tenure, was upbeat with reporters after his midnight meeting with Abbas. “I’m pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement,” he said. “This is a significant, and welcome, step forward.”

    Kerry’s work got an added boost during his travels to the region on Wednesday when the foreign ministers of the Arab League expressed full support for his efforts. The body earlier toned down its own peace initiative to Israel, promising a regional agreement among the Arabs that would grant the Jewish state full recognition in exchange for territorial concessions to the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. (more…)

  • Initiative to Restart Peace Talks Stalls over Israeli Objections

    Solving the rift between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators is difficult enough when both are in the middle of a diplomatic session. But it is even harder when the two sides cannot agree on the terms of diplomacy to begin with.

    This is what Secretary of State John Kerry is experiencing in the Holy Land only a few months on the job and despite three high level visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

    No one assumed that getting the lagging peace process off the ground would be an easy task. Kerry, during his most recent visits to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, acknowledged as much when he told a news conference that everyone, even he, had a lot of homework to do before talks could resume.

    It was a polite way of saying that Israel and the Palestinians are still far apart on the issues that have long divided them, including the final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements. (more…)

  • Kerry Could Revive 2002 Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan

    Much like President Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East last month, the White House played down a weekend visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories by Secretary of State John Kerry who talked with officials from both sides in what is dubbed a “quiet” effort on the part of the United States to revive the peace process.

    Kerry spoke with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah as well as Israeli president Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Other than words that peace is desirable, possible and in the interest of all parties involved, nothing exciting was produced from all of Kerry’s meetings. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians are, after all, widely divided on the core issues, let alone what a final settlement should look like. And despite talk of wanting to move the peace process forward, the mistrust between Jerusalem and Ramallah is at such a height that ordinary Palestinians are no longer sure that a two-state solution is possible anymore.

    Yet with John Kerry, the United States have an intensely focused diplomat with decades of experience in containing conflicts and finding ways to resolve them. Those who know the former Democratic senator well acknowledge that he has long taken a special interest in solving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Kerry’s three trips to the Middle East in under a month is a testament to that desire and while recent diplomacy is certainly not on par with the Henry Kissinger and James Baker tours of previous decades, it is a strong signal that the Obama Administration wants to be more proactive than less. (more…)

  • Despite Lacking Substance, Obama’s Israel Visit Impressed

    President Barack Obama wrapped up his Middle East trip this weekend defying the expectations of many, impressing millions of Israelis with his comments and emphasizing how important it is for Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs alike to give the peace process another chance.

    From a substantive point of view, the American president’s trip was lacking in detail. No new peace initiative was given to the Israelis or Palestinians. Unlike in previous encounters with both sides, Obama made it a policy on this trip to stick with talking about the prospects for peace rather than diving into it. Thrusting himself in the middle of another attempt at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, particularly when the trust deficit is so high between the parties, was the last thing that he wanted to do.

    Yet a lack of substance does not mean that the visit was purely ceremonial, nor does it mean that Obama’s discussions with political leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah were a waste of time. (more…)

  • Obama Plans “Maintenance Trip” to Israel

    Since the White House announced that President Barack Obama will travel to Israel for his first overseas trip since he was reelected in November, commentators have jumped to the newspapers and airwaves to tackle the questions that everyone has been asking: what does he plan to do, what should he do and who will he meet?

    The second question, courtesy of the White House press team, is now answered. President Obama will fly into Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The right-wing leader won reelection himself in January and formed a coalition with centrist parties last week.

    As he did during his presidential campaign five years ago, Obama will make a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum. He would also like to make a stop at the Church of the Nativity, one of the most holy places for Christians worldwide.

    After speaking with Netanyahu and giving a speech to thousands of Israelis in Jerusalem, the president will make a brief appearance in the West Bank to discuss the Middle East peace process with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas before dining with King Abdullah II of Jordan on the last leg of his trip.

    For Israelis, Obama’s visit will be historic. It will be the first time that he has set foot on Israeli soil as president. (more…)

  • Biden Reiterates Uncompromising Iran Policy

    One year ago, President Barack Obama received a standing ovation from the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when he sternly committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Containment of Iran, the president said, is not an option, adding that on his watch, Tehran would never be allowed to construct a nuclear device without dealing with the threat of military force first.

    Twelve months later, Vice President Joe Biden laid out the same policy to an AIPAC conference. As if to underscore just how serious the United States consider a nuclear armed Iran, Biden framed his remarks in a blunt but strong tone: American policy is, and will continue to be, “to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Period. Period. End of discussion.” (more…)

  • Little Chance of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal

    If there was ever a year when the international community needed to find a way out of the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, 2013 might be it. Indeed, if the world lacks the will or capacity to push both sides to the table in a tough but fair minded way, the two-state solution may no longer be a viable option.

    2012 turned out to be a rough period for the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas. Peace negotiations were stalled for the entire year, due in part to Abbas’ unwillingness to talk without preconditions. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just last month, infuriated the Palestinians by increasing Jewish settlements by more than 10,000 units; a number that is almost as high as that the previous ten years combined.

    The only success that Abbas has had in the last year was the upgraded status he achieved for the Palestinians in the United Nations. Even that victory was marred with consequences, however. In retaliation, the Israeli government kept hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue that would otherwise have gone to the Palestinians. (more…)

  • Israel Hits Back at Palestinians After United Nations Vote

    Six days after Israel suffered a resounding defeat at the United Nations over the status of Palestine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition government have come out swinging. Calling Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ push for nonmember state status in the body irresponsible to the establishment of a two-state solution, Netanyahu issued his own unilateral move in retaliation.

    The Israeli government decided to withhold approximately $100 million in taxes and customs duties that it collects for the Palestinian Authority as punishment for Abbas’ campaign. The money, which would normally be transferred to the Palestinians’ coffers, will reportedly be diverted to Israel’s Electrical Corporation where the Palestinians have accumulated a debt of $200 million. Delaying the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority has been a quick and effective way for Netanyahu to register his dissatisfaction whenever Mahmoud Abbas does something that Israel views as unproductive.

    On the face of it, refusing to provide a financially distressed Palestinian Authority with the cash that it needs to pay its employees and run services seems to be an especially strong reaction to last week’s United Nations vote. But it is nothing when compared to an announcement from Israel that it is speeding up plans to build apartment units on a plot of land that has long been considered off limits by the international community. (more…)

  • Real Hardship Could Be After United Nations Palestine Vote

    President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority face one of the most pressure packed days on Thursday when their diplomats are expected to send in a draft statement to the United Nations General Assembly for enhanced status in the world body.

    The draft resolution, which was introduced to the United Nations earlier this month and announced (PDF) in front of the General Assembly in September, calls for the international community to recognize an independent Palestinian state on lands that have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war — East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But perhaps the most important aspect of the draft is the possibility of great power for the Palestinian Authority at the United Nations, including participation in the International Criminal Court.

    After months of back-channel talks by the United States and an overt Israeli campaign to pressure the European member states to vote against or abstain from the measure, Israel has come to the realization that the Palestinians will succeed in their effort. Israeli diplomats and spokesmen for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are now downplaying the impact of the vote, calling it a symbolic gesture that will do nothing to improve the chances of a two-state solution. (more…)

  • Hamas, Israel Back to Square One in Gaza

    Eight days of cross-border conflict and hundreds of casualties later, representatives from Hamas and Israel were able to reach an agreement to stop the latest round of violence on Wednesday. The truce, which was pushed forcefully by Egypt, the United Nations and the United States, is remarkably similar to the ceasefire that occurred after Operation Cast Lead four years ago. Both sides have agreed to reach a period of quiet in the hope that the shooting of missiles toward Israel and the bombing of buildings in Gaza fades away for the foreseeable future.

    On its face, the ceasefire agreement is hardly an innovative pact. Israel will agree to stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip in the event that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups stop firing missiles and rockets on Israeli cities.

    The truce is designed to terminate the fighting in the short term; the roots of the conflict that have lingered between Hamas and Israel for so long are not addressed, although the accord makes mention of loosening border and travel restrictions for Gazans. Nor is the mechanism used to monitor the deal very strong. Indeed, the possibility of a renewed and more deadly conflict is the only thing keeping Hamas and Israel from violating the ceasefire.

    What is more interesting is how the ceasefire is being portrayed. Both parties are claiming success in the overall operation, all the while spinning the truce as a vindication of their strength. (more…)

  • Israel Expands Gaza Operations, Fear of New War

    The latest flareup of violence between Israel and Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday when the Israeli Air Force pounded Hamas facilities with missiles and Palestinian militants launched rockets into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv.

    The conflict has all the makings of a renewed confrontation similar to the three week Israeli operation in Gaza four years ago, when some 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis were killed before a ceasefire could be reached.

    Thus far, the Israeli operation, code named Operation Pillar of Defense, has not reached the level of intensity that defined the last war with Hamas. But it should be noted that the operation is only in its third day and casualties will likely go up on both sides of the border. (more…)