IDF commander: Hamas deterred but is gearing up for another conflict
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday addressed the security situation in his sector, hailing the two years since Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip as the quietest in decades, while warning that Hamas was preparing for the next round of fighting.
Zamir spoke at a Kibbutz Movement gathering to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of 11 Negev communities, which at the time greatly expanded the size of the area under Jewish control during the British Mandate and greatly aided the Jewish population’s ability to hold on to the Negev Desert during the 1948 War of Independence.
Discussing some of the security challenges facing Southern Command, Zamir told the audience: “Over the past decade, since the eviction of the Gush Katif communities and the IDF’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, we have embarked on three operations [in Gaza] against the terrorist organizations there, chief among them Hamas.
“Relatively speaking, the two years since the end of Operation Protective Edge have been the quietest in recent decades. This period is being used to strengthen the Negev communities and to absorb new families [to the area].
“Hamas sustained a severe blow during a restrained Operation Protective Edge, but to our regret, instead of caring for the civilian population in Gaza it has used this period to renew its [military] strength and get ready for another conflict.”
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Obama and Netanyahu tout cooperation in likely last official meeting
(JNS.org) U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on together on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in what is likely the last official meeting between the two leaders before Obama leaves office early next year.
“I don’t think people at large understand the breadth and depth of the cooperation, but I know and I want to thank you on behalf of all of the people of Israel,” Netanyahu told Obama at the beginning of their meeting at New York’s Palace Hotel, alluding to the historic 10-year $38 billion military aid package that was signed last week.
“Israel has no bigger friend than America, and America has no bigger friend than Israel,” Netanyahu reiterated during the meeting.
“It is a very difficult and dangerous time in the Middle East, and we want to make sure that Israel has the full capabilities it needs in order to keep the Israeli people safe,” he said.
Obama also began his remarks by touting the special bond between the two countries.
“It is based on common values, family ties, a recognition that the Jewish state of Israel is one of our most important allies,” he said. “It is important for America’s national security to ensure we have a safe and secure Israel, one that can defend itself.”
While the two leaders, who have had a very tumultuous relationship over the past several years, appeared to have put past disputes, such as the Iran nuclear deal, behind them for their likely final meeting. Obama intended to use their meeting as an opportunity to push Netanyahu on peace with the Palestinians.f
“We do have concerns about settlement activity as well, and we hope that we can continue to be an effective partner with Israel on finding a path to peace,” Obama said in remarks prior to the meeting.
During his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Obama reiterated the same message, saying that the Palestinians need to “reject incitement and recognize the legitimacy of Israel” while the Israelis “cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land.”
However, the White House has played down rumors that Obama may use his final months in office to push for a new Middle East peace initiative.
“I think he’d want to make a determination about how can he be most constructive in supporting a vision that he cares about, which is an Israel that has security and peace with the Palestinian people and a Palestine that is sovereign and independent,” Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said on Tuesday.
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Egyptian president urges Israel to make peace with Palestinians
(JNS.org) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spontaneously made an appeal, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 20, directly to Israeli leaders and citizens to make peace with Palestinians.
“We have a true opportunity, a real opportunity to write a bright page in the history of our region to move towards peace,” el-Sisi said before reading his prepared written statement.
El-Sisi referred to Egypt’s peace treaty signed with Israel in 1979 as an exemplary model to follow.
“The Egyptian experience is wonderful and unique, and can be repeated by solving the problem of the Palestinians and establish[ing] a Palestinian state side by side (with) the Israeli state that preserves peace and security for the Palestinians and safety and security for the Israelis.”
El-Sisi also met with Jewish leaders, including B’nai B’rith and the World Jewish Congress, in New York on Tuesday. He praised the U.S. and Israel’s cooperation with Egypt on the fight against terrorism, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
Erdogan said he believes his country’s recently restored ties with Israel can be useful in encouraging the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
“There is a need to allow the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution,” he told the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “It is an obligation of the international community toward the Palestinian children, if nothing else.”
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Israel and Chad expected to renew ties at UN General Assembly
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with President Idriss Deby of Chad while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.
The prime minister’s office is hoping to make an official declaration of normalized diplomatic relations with the northern Central African country.
The Muslim-majority Republic of Chad cut off diplomatic ties with Israel in 1972.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold visited Chad to meet with Deby, prompting reports that the two nations planned to restore ties. Netanyahu announced this year that Israel will seek to establish diplomatic relations with every African nation given weakened American leadership abroad.
Israel recently renewed diplomatic ties with the Republic of Guinea whose government had cut ties with Israel in 1967.
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