Hosting Czech FM, Netanyahu says Palestinians set ‘perfect trap’ on peace talks
(JNS.org) The Palestinian Authority rejects peace talks with Israel and then tries to get boycotts imposed on the Jewish state over the absence of peace talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting Czech Republic Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek in Jerusalem on Monday, calling the situation a “perfect trap.”
“We want two states for two peoples: a Jewish state, a Jewish nation state—Israel, living in peace with a demilitarized Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, the Palestinians don’t negotiate. They ran away from negotiations. They ran away from [Ehud] Barak, they ran away from [Ariel] Sharon, they ran away from [Ehud] Olmert, they ran away from me. … What they do is they refuse to negotiate… run to Hamas, which calls for our destruction, go to the U.N. and try to get sanctions on Israel. They refuse to negotiate and then try to get boycotts on Israel for there not being negotiations which they refuse to enter. Catch-22.”
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U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey arrives in Israel for bilateral military talks
(JNS.org) U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived in Israel on Monday as the official guest of his counterpart, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot.
According to the IDF, the two military leaders will meet, along with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other Israeli security officials, to discuss bilateral military cooperation and other common security challenges.
The trip will be Dempsey’s fifth visit to Israel since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Dempsey is scheduled to step down from that position on Oct. 1. President Barack Obama has nominated Marine Corps commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford to replace him.
During his four years as chairman, Dempsey’s term has been characterized by the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and new challenges emanating from the rise of terror groups in Syria and Iraq like Islamic State, leading to renewed U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
While U.S.-Israel ties have been strained politically under Obama, the nations’ strategic defense relationship under Dempsey has remained strong, with the U.S. providing funding for the highly successful Iron Dome missile defense system and discussions of an increase in American military aid to Israel underway.
Eizenkot will present the IDF badge of appreciation to Dempsey.
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Both Israel and Hamas won’t be included on U.N. children’s rights blacklist
(JNS.org) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to leave both Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas off the list of countries and organizations that harm children, despite a recommendation by a U.N. official.
Nevertheless, in a report, Ban urged Israel “to take concrete and immediate steps, including by reviewing existing policies and practices, to protect children, to prevent the killing and maiming of children, and to respect the special protections afforded to schools and hospitals.”
In a report issued last month, the U.N. special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, recommended the blacklisting of the Israel Defense Forces for allegedly regularly causing harm to children. The designation would have placed the IDF in the same group as terrorist organizations such as Islamic State, Boko Haram, and the Taliban.
At the time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry called out the world body for hypocrisy.
“Israel-haters are threatening the United Nations and no one is complaining about them,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said. “It’s a scandal and it’s hypocrisy. There are unfortunately a lot of situations in which children are killed in zones of conflict and yet no one dares put them on the list. Do you know how many kids the Saudis have killed while bombing Yemen? I want to see the U.N. secretary-general’s Algerian envoy dare to include Saudi Arabia on the list.”
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Israeli Christian group launches emergency aid mission for persecuted Mideast Christians
(JNS.org) Israeli Christians leaders have launched a new group called the Emergency Mission for Christians in the Middle East to take action on behalf of persecuted Christians in that region.
“It is a dark time in the Middle East… extreme Islamist ideology has taken hold in the Middle East and is on a mission to destroy our Christian history, culture and identity,” said Father Gabriel Naddaf, chairman of the Christian Empowerment Council and one of the new group’s organizers.
“We must act to help, showing our love and care for our Christian sisters and brothers in the Middle East,” Naddaf added.
According to Naddaf, the group is relying on donations to provide “immediate aid to persecuted and victimized Christians across the Middle East.”
This will include medical aid kits, humanitarian supplies, food, survival equipment, training for volunteers, summer camps for refugees’ children, and a medical care truck in Iraq.
The group will work together with the Israeli aid organization Rescuers Without Borders, which was founded in 2005 “to provide assistance to the local population in Israel and the Palestinian territories.” Rescuers Without Borders has since expanded to “save and improve” lives across the world utilizing hundreds of rescuers, EMTs, doctors, nurses, psychologists, and ophthalmologists across 12 international hubs.
“It’s our duty to help the survival of Christianity in such a dark time in the Middle East. Each donation counts, no matter how small, to help those who are suffering and to help save lives,” Naddaf said.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.
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