Boker tov, Boulder!

Your tax dollars ... in the pockets of liars, cheaters & thieves

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei [Abu Ala] Jan. 10, 2008 in "the rump state of Ramallah" (Rick Richman).

JPost

.... THE MOST serious scandal involves former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who currently heads the Palestinian negotiating team with Israel. According to a document released by PA ambassador to Romania, Adli Sadek, Qurei deposited $3 million of PLO funds into his private bank account.

Qurei was forced to publish a strong denial in the Palestinian media. While admitting that he did take the money, Qurei said he transferred the sum to a PLO bank account. He added that the $3m. were part of a $5m. investment that had been deposited in a bank account under Yasser Arafat's name.

Qurei has also been forced to deny charges that he and his sons own a cement factory that has been supplying concrete for the construction of Israel's West Bank security fence and new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Qurei is convinced that some of his rivals in Fatah are trying to discredit him so as to destroy his chances of emerging as potential successor to Abbas, whose term in office expires early next year.

You have to laugh: the BBC profile of Qurei says "he is a banker by trade."

This, on the other hand is not so funny.
Eli Wiesel in a New York Times op-ed, August 21, 2005:

... last May, at an official dinner offered by King Abdullah II of Jordan, I spoke with the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei. When I asked him what he thought of Mr. Sharon's courageous decision regarding Gaza, it was with a wave of the hand that he objected, adding with disdain: "All that is worth nothing, means nothing. If Sharon doesn't begin right away to negotiate definitive borders, a great catastrophe will be the result." He repeated those words: "right away" and "a great catastrophe."

Kol hakavod to Rabbi Erez Bar-On of Itamar

(IsraelNN.com) A Palestinian Authority terrorist was shot dead late Monday afternoon as he attempted to stab two people at a bus stop near Shiloh, 20 miles north of Jerusalem. The armed civilian who put an end to the attack is a school principal from the town of Itamar.

After 5:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon, an Arab man approached the Shiloh Junction bus stop and began talking to two people, an adult and a teenager, who were waiting there. After a short conversation in English, which aroused the suspicion of the two, the 16-year-old young man decided to move away, behind a concrete barrier at the bus stop while the older man placed his hand on his personal weapon.

At that point, the attacker suddenly pulled out a six-inch knife and tried to stab the adult Israeli. In response, the would-be victim drew his personal weapon and shot the terrorist, knocking him off his feet and wounding him. When the terrorist then reached into his shirt, the civilian interpreted the motion as a possible attempt to detonate an explosive vest and he shot again, this time killing his attacker. It later turned out that the PA resident was reaching for a second, concealed knife.

Military and police forces alerted to the attack arrived at the junction and radioed for an emergency medical response unit. The responding Magen David Adom (MDA) team pronounced the terrorist dead at the scene.

The quick-thinking civilian who killed the attacker was identified as Rabbi Erez Bar-On, the principal of the Hitzim High School in Itamar, near Shechem. Rabbi Bar-On is a graduate of the Hesder yeshiva in the town of Har Bracha, on Mt. Gerizim in Samaria.

IDF officials had nothing but praise for Rabbi Bar-On in the wake of the attempted stabbing. "The citizen acted properly, in a decisive and fitting manner," army officials said in a statement to the press, "and his actions showed preparedness and proportionality."

I imagine those "IDF officials" would like to "act properly, in a decisive and fitting manner," if only the politicians would allow it.

Hez b'Allah increased rocket range

JERUSALEM ISRAEL - With Iranian backing, Hezbollah guerrillas have dramatically increased their rocket range and can now threaten most of Israel, senior Israeli defense officials said. The Lebanese group has acquired new Iranian rockets with a range of about 185 miles, the officials said Wednesday. That means the guerrillas can hit anywhere in Israel's heavily populated center and reach as far south as Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge the confidential intelligence assessment to the media.

See also: Israeli Arab accused of spying for Hezbollah

Not in Dhimmedia... yet

(IsraelNN.com) A survey carried out [by] the Panels Research Institute finds that more than 75% of Israelis see partial or total transfer for Israeli-Arabs out of Israel in any final-status agreement that includes a Palestinian state.

This in a country where David Ha'ivri was arrested (and convicted, I believe) for selling t-shirts bearing the slogan,
"No Arabs No Terror."

This in a world where Abu Mazen accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing and then Israel's ally, the United States, gives him $150 million.

Go figure.

American delegation "very surprised" at extent of Israeli concessions

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli diplomatic sources said Sunday that the American delegation was very surprised at the extent of Israeli concessions to the Fatah-controlled "Palestinian Authority" (PA) announced by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was quick to say that they were not enough, and vowed to monitor Israel's execution of its promises.

It's hard to say which came first, the chicken or the egg. How much of Israeli concessions come from American pressure, and how much from the Omert government itself?

One thing I notice in this Roundtable with the Traveling Press is that the press corps traveling with Rice is so intensely pro-Palestinian. I wonder how much that influences her? And I wonder too if within this little bubble, she has gotten to the point of believing that Dhimmedia represents the American public, when in fact the American public - especially the portion of it that elected her boss - is quite the opposite. (Where's that Israel Lobby when you need it?)

QUESTION: What's the [Israeli] Defense Minister's main reluctance? His own personal experience with a process like this, or is it security? What does he tell you --

SECRETARY RICE: Look, I find that the Defense Minister worked very hard to work on this. He is the Defense Minister. There are real security concerns as well. And no one wants to have something that we've done to improve movement and access result in a breakdown in security. It doesn't help the Palestinians. It doesn't help the Israelis. It doesn't help the peace process going forward.

And here's something not widely publicized - I can't imagine Israelis being too thrilled with it:

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I believe that, you know, as with everything, it's not a perfect situation. But the ability to deploy to Nablus was clearly a step forward for the Palestinians, and they're having an effect.

And as to the training [of Palestinian forces] in Jordan, General Jones and General Fraser have both seen it. They think it's going to be very effective in producing that battalion that will be capable and ready. We have been having discussions about where it might deploy. Salam Fayyad wants to go back and take a look at that because he wants to see if he's already got enough forces in some places, where else it might be able to deploy. But I don't think there's any doubt that the training that's going on in Jordan -- we believe is going to produce an effective force. The question is to keep that going because, obviously, you're going to need more and more of these forces.

The Germans have offered, you might note, to host a kind of conference at some point to bring together those who might contribute to putting more resources into the training and equipping of Palestinian forces.

Working backwards, what do you think of GERMANS organizing the training and equipping of Palestinian forces? Doesn't make me feel too "secure" ...

And secondly, what the hell is Salam Fayyad doing running the nascent Palestinian military, "deploying" battalions and the like? I thought he was an economics person.

And in case you've forgotten, let me remind you of his stance (Feb. 11, 2008 in Washington DC):

The ultimate goals of the Palestinian people, today, are the same as they were back in 1988 when the PLO, under the leadership of our late President, Yasser Arafat, endorsed the two-state solution as the means to realize our national and individual aspirations: a sovereign, free and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just and agreed upon solution to the issue of refugees on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

If you're not familiar with the Palestinians' 1974 "Phased Plan," it has three main articles:

1. Through the "armed struggle" (i.e., terrorism), to establish an "independent combatant national authority" over any territory that is "liberated" from Israeli rule. (Article 2)

2. To continue the struggle against Israel, using the territory of the national authority as a base of operations. (Article 4)

3. To provoke an all-out war in which Israel's Arab neighbors destroy it entirely ("liberate all Palestinian territory"). (Article 8)

And here's some noteworthy background on Fayyad:

.... After the establishment of the PA, [Fayyad] returned to the territories as a representative of the International Monetary Fund. In 2001, he started working in the private sector and was appointed the West Bank's manager of the Arab Bank, the largest bank in the Middle East

He was on his way to a brilliant business career when the person considered to be his greatest patron intervened - then national security adviser and today U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. When the Israel Defense Forces' Operation Defensive Shield was over, pressure mounted on Yasser Arafat to implement reforms. As a result, the new job of PA finance minister was set up, a post that was intended to take control of economic affairs away from the rais (Arafat) and put them in professional hands. Back then Fayyad's name was mentioned as the leading candidate and because of pressure from Rice and others, he was persuaded to take the job.

Following his appointment, Fayyad introduced numerous reforms in the PA's financial system, despite vociferous arguments with Arafat, which strengthened his image as a strong and independent person. His ties with President George W. Bush, on the other hand, flourished. Whenever they met, the two made sure that they would have at least a quarter of an hour to reminisce about their days at the University of Texas and to get up to date about the latest developments in the American Football League.

Nice little peek behind the scenes? There's only one problem. The President didn't attend the University of Texas (BA History - Yale 1968; MBA - Harvard) and in the mid-80s when Fayyad was there, George Bush was working in the oil industry. The football connection is real enough, however, and often mentioned.

It's too bad Barak can't join in these male-bonding sessions, but in the 1980s he was busy... elsewhere.

In January 1982, he was appointed Head of the IDF Planning Branch and promoted to Major General. During the 1982 “Peace for Galilee” operation, Major General Barak served as Deputy Commander of the Israeli force in Lebanon.

In April 1983, Maj.Gen. Barak was appointed Head of the Intelligence Branch at the IDF General Headquarters. In January 1986, he was appointed Commander of the IDF Central Command, and in May 1987 was appointed Deputy Chief-of-Staff.

In April 1991, he assumed the post of the 14th Chief of the General Staff and was promoted to the rank of Lt. General, the highest in the Israeli military.

Too long and rambling, and not enough pictures. I know.

To my brothers and sisters in Israel

Dear Ones,

Where were you when Condi's motorcade drove from the airport to Olmert's house? Why didn't you line the streets and throw rotten eggs at her limo? Why don't you have spray-painted sheets hanging from your balconies, telling her to go home, telling Olmert to step down?

Don't email me that you're so upset, so shocked, so outraged that your country is giving up the checkpoints that protect you, when all you do is sit at your keyboard. That's what I do because I can't do anything else from the other side of the world. Granted, I'm not there and maybe I shouldn't be saying all this because I'm not there, BUT HELP ME OUT HERE. I have nothing to support, nothing to point to.

How can I convince anyone that Jews will never give up "east" Jerusalem when you appear so complacent? How can I convince anyone that you are outraged at the constant attacks on Sderot, at the murders of our yeshiva boys, at anything at all - when you don't get off your duffs and go outside to at least thumb your noses at Condi? I don't need to tell you, this is her 14th trip to your country to demand more and more concessions from you and to receive more and more false promises from Abu Mazen.

Please, I beg you, stand in front of Olmert's house with a homemade sign that says the peace they're processing is the peace of the grave, that you WANT checkpoints to protect you, that you don't want to live next door to a Palestinian terror state.

Don't just write a blog post, make a sign that says America is betraying Israel and flaunt it in front of the American cameras there for the "grips and grins."

If you would just DO something, THEN I would have something to point to. THEN Olmert and Livni would have something to point to. They could tell Condoleezza Rice,

"Geez, we'd like to help, but as you can see, the people are outraged; there is no popular support for these concessions you want from us."

What is wrong with you people? You grieve and you go on. What's the world to think? They don't get your emails, they don't read your blog posts, they don't know that any of this bothers you at all.

You are silent, you are invisible.

If you're going to go down, must you go this quietly? Please don't sit in your apartment and wait for the Iranian nukes. Get rid of Olmert, get in front of the cameras. Do Something. Give me something to point to, something to support. (They can't arrest everybody, can they?)

And of course - {sigh} - tell me if I'm out of line.

with love for you and for Israel from the other side of the world,
I remain, at your service,

Yael.

Hamas in Gaza: Let them eat jam

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs - 28 March 2008

A Kassam rocket exploded near a kibbutz [Nir Am] nursery on Friday, 28 March, where toddlers aged one and half to two were playing in the yard. The children were taken to safety in a bomb shelter prior to impact. All the windows shattered, pictures fell from the walls and there was great panic. "We were very fortunate that none of the children were injured but they were very frightened. This is the reality they have to deal with," said the kibbutz nurse.

IMRA: Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Summary of Humanitarian Assistance to Gaza Today

IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UPDATE

Approximately 78 trucks of humanitarian aid and supplies were transferred into the Gaza Strip today via Kerem Shalom and Sufa Crossings. The transfer of goods was organized with the aid of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

The supplies transferred through the crossings include:

57 trucks through Sufa Crossing containing: powdered milk, dairy products, sugar, cleaning products, washing powder, fruit, rice, fish, meat, flour, coffee, vitamins, carrots, garlic and reproduction eggs.

21 trucks through Kerem Shalom Crossing containing: washing powder, cleaning products, oil, nylon, plastic bags, diapers, hygiene products, jam, shampoo and medicine.

All this so that the Arabs in Gaza will not mind having Hamas in control. As long as they get their free diapers, vitamins and jam, what do they care where it comes from? Oh, and by the way, I would take the following off the list of what they get:

Sugar - Causes tooth decay... next thing you know they'll want the world to give them free dentistry. Oh, they already get that "humanitarian assistance." I didn't know.

Cleaning products and washing powder - What do I care if they're dirty? That's not what I would call a "humanitarian crisis." Who says you have to have clean clothes to launch rockets at babies?

Fish and meat? They could catch their own fish (they enjoy the Meditteranean coastline) and butcher their own animals. I don't get it.

Coffee - Why should Hamasniks get free "humanitarian assistance" coffee? So they don't starve to death? And how much do you want to bet it's Starbucks? Only the best for the poorpalestinians in Jew-free Gaza. The world should be giving free coffee to the Jews whose lives were shattered when the Gaza strip was ethnically cleansed at the world's insistence.

Vitamins? We give VITAMINS to HAMAS?!

Carrots, okay - they could grow their own, but I guess they don't.

Garlic - so their food tastes good and they enjoy it more.

Oil, nylon and plastic bags - I have ideas about what they should do with these, but I won't put it in writing.

Diapers and hygiene products - How convenient it must be not to have to buy these, or make your own. The world gives the poor Arabs of Hamastan diapers. They don't give anybody else diapers, not you, not me, and certainly not Israelis. But the world gives diapers to terrorists in Gaza so their babies are comfortable and don't make a mess. It's UFB.

Jam. Now this really gets me. Before launching kassam rockets at Israeli nurseries and schools, Hamas terrorists get to have a nice breakfast, complete with jam, courtesy of masochists worldwide. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It makes you wonder, though, if the guy who launched the rocket that took off Osher Tuito's leg had "humanitarian assistance" jam for breakfast that day.

Condoleezza Rice, March 8, 2008:

The United States condemns tonight's act of terror and depravity. This barbarous act has no place among civilized peoples and shocks the conscience of all peace loving nations. There is no cause that could ever justify this action.

But make sure that whoever did this has plenty of coffee and sugar and jam, so they can do it again... with pleasure.

UPDATE: Rice wins [more] concessions from Israel !!

Just last month,

In an interview with the Jordanian daily al-Dustur, Abbas said that he was opposed to an armed struggle against Israel - for the time being.

"At this present juncture, I am opposed to armed struggle because we cannot succeed in it, but maybe in the future things will be different," he said.

Associated Press:

Israel and the Palestinians agreed Sunday to a series of "concrete steps" aimed at paving the way for a final peace agreement later this year, beginning with Israel's pledge to remove some West Bank roadblocks.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visiting the region for the second time this month in hopes of energize faltering talks, said the moves "constitute a very good start to improving" a Palestinian economy crippled by the Israeli restrictions.

Under the plan that Rice announced, Israel will remove about 50 roadblocks, upgrade checkpoints to speed up the movement of Palestinians through the West Bank and give Palestinians more security responsibility in the town of Jenin with an eye toward looking at "other areas in turn."

The Israelis also pledged to increase the number of travel and work permits it gives Palestinians and to support economic projects in Palestinian towns.

In return, the Palestinians promised to improve policing of Jenin "to provide law and order, and work to prevent terror," according to a State Department statement released shortly before Rice spoke....

"We've been told that this is going to start and, hopefully even be completed in a relatively short period of time," Rice told reporters. "I am expecting it to happen very, very soon."

"We will be monitoring and verifying," she added.

The agreement includes:

• removing 50 travel barriers in and around Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya and Ramallah.
• dismantling of one permanent roadblock.
• deploying 700 Jordanian-trained Palestinian police in Jenin and allowing them to take delivery of armored vehicles.
• raising the number of Palestinian businessmen allowed into Israel to 1,500 from 1,000.
• increasing the number of work permits for Palestinian laborers by 5,000 from its current number of 18,500.
• building new housing for Palestinians in 25 villages.
• connecting Palestinian villages to the Israeli power grid.
• Israeli support for large-scale economic development programs and encouragement of foreign investment.

Palestinian "businessmen" ? Who woulda thunk it?

... graffiti says "Palestine" ...

Just one question. Why is it that housing for Arabs is part and parcel of the "peace process," but housing for Jews is an "obstacle to peace" ??

I guess everyone is assuming that Jews have no future in a post-peace-process world.

Gd forbid.

Condi's 14th trip to Israel and the terror-tories

I could cry, reading the one-sided reports of this apparently one-sided "push" for "peace."

Rice calls for 'better life' for Palestinians (AFP)

"What we have to do is to have meaningful progress toward a better life for the Palestinian people, for economic viability for Palestinians even as we move for the establishment of a state," she told reporters in Jerusalem.

Rice wants "meaningful" steps to aid Palestinians (Reuters)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel intends to remove about 50 roadblocks restricting Palestinian movement in the occupied West Bank, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday during a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The State Department document, issued after Rice called in Jerusalem for meaningful steps to improve the lives of Palestinians, did not specify which barriers would be removed....

"Israel has pledged to reduce the impediments to access in movement in the West Bank," the document said. "This will begin with the removal of about 50 roadblocks and immediate steps to upgrade checkpoints to reduce waiting time without compromising security."

Nowhere is it mentioned that the reason for having checkpoints has been to locate and thwart Palestinian men, women and children rigged as human bombs with the intention of detonating themselves in crowds of innocent Israeli citizens. Recent Arab attacks on Israel, from both within and without the country, are not mentioned.

Neither is it mentioned that Abu Mazen was in Damascus yesterday. He was attending a summit of the Arab League which was "marked by no-shows in snub to Syria."

According to the AFP, Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders stayed away after Washington urged its allies to think twice before attending the summit of the 22-member Arab League, accusing Syria of blocking the election of a new president in Lebanon.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, welcomes his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas upon his arrival at Damascus international airport to attend the Arab Summit in Damascus, Syria, Friday, March 28, 2008. The summit, which takes place this weekend, has been riven by deep divisions between Arab leaders, mainly over alleged Syrian meddling in Lebanese affairs. Lebanon is boycotting the meeting, while Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have announced they are sending only low-level officials to the gathering in a snub to Syria. (AP Photo/Sana)

Obviously, no matter how much Condi empathizes with and relates to the poorpalestinians, no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars the U.S. pours into their coffers, the Palestinian Authority is no friend of the United States and no real "peace partner" for Israel.

Abbas spoke at the opening session of the Arab summit:

"Israel is continuing its aggression, its occupation, the construction of settlements and the Judaisation of Jersualem."

Good Shabbos