Welcome to Fry'd Daze - What is it.... Well, it is a long running series dedicated to dialogue in the Middle East. Anyhow, this is week 2.53. This isn't intended to be a flame forum, but rather something we can exchange ideas about I/P and/or issues about the Middle East.
What Fry'd Daze is, is a way to get people to talk about whatever comes into their heads regarding this subject... an open forum where people can meet and talk.
BTW... hopefully people will actually read the stories, they are relevant. However, this is an Open Thread so speak on what you like.
Please join me in wishing contributor, rec. listed diarist and friend Mets102 a Happy Birthday. He turns an aged 27 today.
Our first story is Meir Dagan, the outgoing head of the Mossad tells a Knesset Committee That Iran won't have nukes before 2015 and that their program has suffered setbacks from a series of "malfunctions":
Meir Dagan, who retired from his post as Mossad chief on Thursday after eight years, does not believe Iran will have nuclear capability before 2015.
In a summary given to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Dagan said Iran was a long way from being able to produce nuclear weapons, following a series of failures that had set its program back by several years....
....Dagan concluded his term saying Iran was still far from being capable of producing nuclear weapons and that a series of malfunctions had put off its nuclear goal for several years. Therefore, he said, Iran will not get hold of the bomb before 2015 approximately.
This information should have some affect on the speculation that Israel could possibly attack Iran in the near future. Given that the Iranian nuke would not be ready until 2015, this gives the world a lot of time to deal with the situation.
As we well know the Mossad can be most insidious. First it was claimed that they had trained a Shark to terrorize tourists to Egypt in the Sinai and now it seems they have a new kind of animal friend spying for them. In a truly WTF story, the Saudi Government claims a new kind of enemy... the Zionist Vulture
The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.
Israeli wildlife officials dismissed the claims as ludicrous and expressed concern about the bird's fate.
....Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.
Ok... let the hilarity ensue....
Anyhow, on to some more serious matters... Apparently Hamas Senior official Mahmoud al-Zahar had some choice comments regarding the Holocaust: Hamas Leader Denies the Holocaust
A senior Hamas leader on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out "countless holocausts" against the Palestinians while saying the Nazi genocide was a "lie."
Mahmoud al-Zahar made the remarks during a memorial ceremony for 43 Palestinians who were killed at a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp during Israel's 22-day war on Gaza that began in December 2008.
"The lie according to which they were a victim of a holocaust and the (Jewish) people are a victim -- this lie has crumbled with the holocaust of Beit Hanun, the holocaust of Al-Fakhura and the other countless holocausts ... committed by the Zionist enemy," he said.
I really can't comment on this other than to say... "Whoa". Hamas has been struggling to gain international legitimacy through a series of carefully staged events.. and then one of their most senior leaders says this.... There is not much to say here.
While the subject of Gaza is there: Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu is met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In that meeting Ma'an News reports: Egypt's Mubarak warns Israel against new Gaza war
CAIRO (AFP) -- Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday warned Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu against launching a new war on Gaza, as they met in a bid to break the impasse in Middle East peace negotiations.
Mubarak's remarks were made during joint talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh, which came after several weeks of rising tensions and clashes along Israel's border with the Palestinian enclave.
At the meeting, the Egyptian leader warned of the "danger of the latest Israeli threats and their repercussions on the stability and security of the region and the cause of Middle East peace," the official MENA news agency reported.
"Mubarak affirmed Egypt's rejection of any new offensive on Gaza," it said.
Israeli papers have also been discussing this issue and with an emphasis that Netanyahu is striving to get Mubarak involved in helping jumpstart the peace process. Ynet reports
Netanyahu, for his part, asked the Egyptian leader to convince the Palestinians to renew direct talks in which all of the core issues will be raised. Prior to the meeting, the Israeli premier said he would talk with Mubarak about advancing peace and bolstering security.
"There are elements - including Hamas and Hezbollah – which are trying to violate the calm," he said.
Finally, the Israeli Government took another step to appease the hard right this week by investigating some groups that they claim "Defame the IDF".. this prompted Former Knesset speaker urges Israeli human rights groups to shun Knesset probe
Avraham Burg took a principled stand against the Government and it's committee to stifle dissent. He had this to say:
"An inquiry committee like this has no authority to call witnesses or collect materials, and one must not cooperate with it," he said. "The time has come to call this scarecrow by its name. It’s nothing more than noise trying to undermine the foundations of democracy, and the birds of freedom should not cooperate with the scarecrow."
Burg said "the right-wing MKs, the fundamentalists and the nationalists, can sit together and investigate an empty room if they want. We will continue to struggle to rescue democracy from the hands of their racist and dangerous ideology. All the information they are seeking can be found at the registrar of NGOs and corporations, the tax authorities and Israeli websites. We have nothing to hide − do they?"
Here is an interesting compilation of Polls that appeared in End of year poll updates: Israel and Palestine. Writing at Ameinu.. Dalia Schindlen has the following important information.
Support for negotiations remains high among both societies, which directly contradicts the behavior of their leaders.
Sixty-nine percent of Palestinians support reaching a peace agreement with Israel; 31% oppose it (NEC, 12/10). This is ten points higher than the level of support in July (59%) and fairly average for the monthly polling starting in 2007 (support ranges from 84% to 51% at its lowest).....
....Palestinians increasingly support the relatively moderate leadership of Salam Fayyad over Hamas: Nearly seven in ten (69%) of Palestinians now say Salam Fayyad is the legitimate government of the Palestinian territories (a straight and steady rise from 62% in October, and the highest since NEC began testing him in 2007) –the percentage who chose Ismail Hanieh’s government has dropped from 15% in October to 10% (one-fifth believe neither are legitimate). (NEC, 12/10)
There is a lot to "chew on" here.. Particularly in light of favorable views of negotiating for Peace. I recommend going and looking at the polls used in this article.
Finally, and on the subject of Two-State Solutions. The "One Voice" campaign launched this program to push a peaceful solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict with this campaign: Israel tomorrow: Where will the Mideast be in 2018?
"The goal on the one hand is to acknowledge and thank those who are really working toward a two-state solution and tackling the issue with varying levels of bravery, both in the Knesset and in the Public sphere," says Harris.
"On the other hand, we wanted to remind extreme conservatives like [lawmakers] Yuli Edelstein or Moshe Kachlon, that these could be them," adds Harris. "They could one day get a prize for helping Israel achieve peace, if they only stood for what they know Israel needs."
The two-state solution is an inherent part of the One Voice message. Established in 2002 by a Mexican entrepreneur, One Voice has offices in New York, London, Tel Aviv and Ramallah. It aims to see two states – Israel and Palestine - living independently side by side.
"The two-state solution as a settlement for the Israeli Palestinian conflict is almost a consensus these days," Shlomo tells me. "We have the statistics to prove it, but it is enough just to look at our activists: in Israel we have activists who vote for Likud, others who vote for Meretz and Hadash, while on the [Palestinian] side they have Fatah supporters, but also people affiliated with Hamas."
I found this article particularly fascinating.
So again, I want to wish Mets102 a "Yom Huledet Sameach" (Happy Birthday) and wish you all a wonderful week.
Enjoy!