Issue no 65

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Issue No : 65 14th October, 2013

Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia | 1


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Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia

Palestinian Cultural

Organization Malaysia

Read In This Report

P12

Abbas: Palestinians are sorry for the death

of controversial Jewish rabbi

Israeli official calls for West to support coup authorities in Egypt

Mishaal confers with Erdoganon Palestinian developments

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Aqsa foundation warns of Israeli planto build synagogue on part of Aqsa Mosque

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Israel expressed dismay at US cutbacks in aid to Egypt

Where is the true allegiance to Palestine,

Jerusalem and its sanctities?

By:

Yassir al Zaatara

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Interview with International Crisis

Group›s Robert Blecher

By:

Amelia

Smith - MEMO

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CONTENTS

News of Palestine

Interview

Articles & Analyses

Interview with International Crisis Group›s Robert Blecher 15

Where is the true allegiance to Palestine, Jerusalem and its sanctities? 12

Mishaal confers with Erdogan on Palestinian developments 4

Meshaal calls for escalating resistance to defend Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa 5

Dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque 6

Aqsa foundation warns of Israeli plan to build synagogue on part of Aqsa 7 Mosque

Israeli official calls for West to support coup authorities in Egypt 8

Gaza monthly GDP losses exceeded $230M due to siege 9

IOF on alert in Jordan Valley after an Israeli officer was killed 9

Fifty-one per cent of Israelis have considered emigrating 10Likud members threaten to topple Netanyahu 11

Israel Insider

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News of Palestine

13/10/2013A Hamas delegation led by its political bureau chairman Khaled Mishaal conferred with Turkish premier Recep Erdogan in Ankara on Tues-day night on Palestinian de-velopments.They discussed develop-ments in the region and the Israeli violations in occupied

Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque in addition to the difficult living conditions in Gaza Strip due to the siege.Erdogan affirmed his country’s support for the Palestinian peo-ple and their legitimate rights. He condemned Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque. The premier said

Mishaal confers with Erdoganon Palestinian developments

that his country would contin-ue efforts to break the siege on Gaza.

Four political bureau members of Hamas attended the meet-ing along with Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and other officials.

Source: PIC



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09/10/2013Al-Quds International Institu-tion has held an international workshop on Wednesday in the Lebanese capital Beirut to dis-cuss the issue of Jerusalem in light of Israel›s recent escala-tions and efforts to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Judaise the holy city. The opening cer-emony was attended by am-bassadors of Arab and Islamic countries, as well as research-ers, experts and clergy from various Muslim and Christian sects, besides several Palestin-ian leaders including the head of Hamas› political bureau, Khaled Meshaal.In his speech, Meshaal called to step up armed resistance to defend the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque in light the Israeli escalated Judaiza-tion schemes in the holy city.Meshaal stressed on the im-portance of resistance option to restore Jerusalem, the right of return, al-Aqsa mosque, Church of the Resurrection and the Church of the Nativity. He called for restoring «Deterrent Power» that was a key factor in confronting the occupation plans to target Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mosque, saying that PA security coordination has undermined the resistance op-tion. Defending Jerusalem is the responsibility of all the Arab and Islamic nation, he said, stressing Hamas›s adher-ence to resistance option de-

Meshaal calls for escalating resistanceto defend Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa

spite all obstacles and difficul-ties.Meshaal called for Arab and Is-lamic support to the Palestinian resistance as a first step to build a military power in face of the Is-raeli occupation that should not remain in peace, as he said.He warned of the ongoing nego-tiation between the Palestinian authority and Israeli occupation especially that it came when the Palestinians and Arabs are their weakest.The leader in Hamas movement stressed that no party whoever it was is entitled to negotiate or compromise over Jerusalem, warning of providing religious or political cover for making concessions to the occupation on the expense of the Palestinian constants. Meshaal also called for ending the national division and to restore unity between all national forces for the protec-tion of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa

mosque. He also called for a national and comprehensive strategy to face the Israeli Ju-daization schemes that aim at dividing al-Aqsa mosque.He stressed the need to launch a popular resistance campaign in support of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa, pointing out to the need to support Jerusalemites› stead-fastness by all possible means to address the Israeli demoli-tion and displacement policy.Meshaal concluded his speech by stressing on the Arab peo-ples› right to live in dignity and freedom away from sectarian and ethnic conflicts and exter-nal interventions.He also stressed that the Israeli occupation is the enemy that threatens all the nation, not-ing that Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque are the common issue between all Arab and Islamic nation.Source: Agencies

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Dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlersstorm Al-Aqsa Mosque

10/10/2013More than 100 Israeli soldiers and settlers on Tuesday morn-ing stormed the Aqsa Mosque from the Mughrabi Gate, under the protection of Israeli special police forces.

Al-Aqsa Foundation for En-dowments and Heritage re-ported that a group of 50 fe-male soldiers in their military uniform, in addition to 30 Is-raeli intelligence officers, and about 20 students and settlers stormed the courtyards of the Mosque.

It added that these groups toured the courtyards of the Mosque, guarded by soldiers and policemen who surround-

ed the crowds of Palestinian wor-shipers and hundreds of students who were present in the mosque and who expressed their intense anger due to the Israeli repeated violations.

On Thursday morning, dozens of settlers, accompanied by a num-ber of rabbis, stormed the Aqsa Mosque from the Mughrabi Gate, guarded by a large Israeli police force. Palestinian sources said that two groups of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and toured its courtyards, led by the extremist Jewish Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who provided the settlers with expla-nations about the alleged temple.

They pointed out that despite

the restrictions imposed by the occupation on the entry of Palestinian worshipers to the mosque, and the presence of large numbers of troops in its yards and at its gates, the students and worshipers from Jerusalem and 1948 Palestine continued to flock to the Aqsa in large numbers.

Al-Aqsa Foundation reiterated that the Israeli occupation is trying to impose a new real-ity in the mosque, through the continuous campaigns of in-cursions.

Source: Agencies

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12/10/2013The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage warned of an Israeli plan to build a synagogue over one fifth of the Aqsa Mosque›s total area, specifically in its eastern side.

In a press release on Friday, the foundation stated that Jewish groups had submitted a proposal to the Israeli occupation authority calling for seizing an area at the eastern side of the Aqsa Mosque for the building of a synagogue.

It added that this area extends from the southeastern side of the Mosque to its northeastern side.

The foundation noted that the IOA intends to build the synagogue on one fifth of the Mosque’s area in order to allow the Jews to perform their rituals permanently at specific times during the days of the week and the Jewish occasions.

An Israeli official will also be appointed to organize the Jewish prayers at the so-called temple mount according to the times set by the IOA.

Source: PIC

Aqsa foundation warns of Israeli planto build synagogue on part of Aqsa Mosque

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Israeli official calls for West to support coup authorities in Egypt

10/10/2013Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Ze›ev Elkin has called for the West to quickly offer economic support to the new Egyptian au-thorities that seized power after a military coup in order to under-mine any chances of the Muslim Brotherhood returning to power.

Speaking on Monday at the Be-gin-Sadat Study Centre at the Is-raeli Bar-Ilan University, Alkin argued that the absence of aid to Egypt could lead to the return of what he called «extremist Islam-ic forces», hinting at the Muslim Brotherhood.

Elkin explained that the West, «which has divided the Islamic world into ‹good secularists› and ‹bad Islamists›, now has to stand behind its allies instead of calling for them to reintegrate the Islamists back into the political system.»

In a related context, Israeli officials and experts expressed disappoint-ment over Washington›s decision to reduce military aid to Egypt in response to the events that fol-lowed the ousting of Egypt›s first freely elected President Moham-med Morsi on 3 July. The New York Times said on Wednesday

that Israel believes the US aid is an integral part of the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, and an essen-tial condition for maintaining stability in the region. Regarding the US decision, «Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he would speak only ‹in gen-eral terms,› but made it clear that any withdrawal of aid was a con-cern.» In a radio interview last week Netanyahu explained that: «peace was premised on Ameri-can aid to Egypt», which makes it a «most important consideration [for Israel]”.

Source: Agencies

Israel expressed dismay at US cutbacks in aid to Egypt

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Gaza monthly GDP lossesexceeded $230M due to siege

08/10/2013The Palestinian ministry of economy in Gaza said the sharp decline in the work of tunnels in the Rafah border crossing after most of them were de-stroyed by the Egyptian army caused gross domestic product (GDP) losses of more than 230 million dollars per month.This came during a news con-ference organized on Monday by the Palestinian institute for communication and develop-ment in Gaza.Minister of economy Alaa Ra-fati stated that Egypt›s restric-tions at Rafah crossing and its war on Gaza tunnels led to a rise in the poverty and unem-ployment rates and created se-vere economic difficulties af-

IOF on alert in Jordan Valley afteran Israeli officer was killed

11/10/2013The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were put on alert in the Jordan Valley and areas in Nablus and Ramallah, following the announcement of the kill-ing of an Israeli reserve colonel.

The occupation forces declared on Friday morning the Jordan Valley a closed military zone and large forces have been deployed in the area. They set up at least 8 roadblocks and searched the area and the passing vehicles looking for the perpetrators of the attack that killed the Israeli officer at dawn Friday.

The Yediot Ahronot newspaper said that the reserve colonel Sariya Ofer, the founder of the Israeli Spe-cial Forces Haruv unit, sustained serious wounds

that caused his death after he was attacked by iron bars and axes. The head of the Regional Council of the Jordan Valley settlements, David Elhayani, ac-cused the Palestinians of being behind the incident.

Source: PIC

fecting all sectors in Gaza.

Rafati warned that the GDP rate in Gaza might decline further due to the continued closure of Rafah tunnels, reiterating the government›s readiness to close all tunnels immediately if Egypt provided an alternative and opened its Rafah border terminal before goods and raw materials.

In a related context, the Pales-tinian Al-Ahrar Movement has condemned Palestinian Author-ity President Mahmoud Abbas›s demand that the Egyptian au-thorities completely close the food tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

The movement accused Abbas of taking part in the plot to starve

the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip.According to a statement is-sued by the movement on Sat-urday, «Abbas› demand op-poses all values and discharges him of all national responsi-bilities as he oversteps borders by promoting the tightening of the siege that is killing the people in Gaza.» Source: Agencies

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Israel Insider

Fifty-one per cent of Israelishave considered emigrating



01/10/2013A recent poll by Israel›s Chan-nel 10 has revealed that 51 per cent of Israelis have considered migrating to North America. The majority of the respondents at-tributed their desire to move to the high living costs in Israel, in-cluding rents.The figures do not include those who have already left the coun-try following the protests in Is-rael in 2011 against rising costs. According to the report, every group of friends who partici-pated in the 2011 social protests is missing members who have upped and left the country. At least one person per group has left the country to study, work or simply emigrated.Morne Wilkobic is a 32 year old journalist from Yihud neighbour-hood who now lives in Berlin; she is married to a Dutch citizen. «At the age of 30 people return to stay with their families and their par-ents because they cannot afford to rent an apartment so they tell themselves, I have returned to the

same apartment and the same bed I slept in when I was a teenager,» she said. «It is frustrating. Throughout my life in Israel, my bank account balance has always been negative. However, now my bank account is good and stable. Berlin is the best place I ever got to.»Israeli real estate broker Yihaeil Scornaik pointed out that a two bedroom apartment in central Ber-lin costs between 500 -700 Euros a month. In addition to the cheap rent, the apartments are legally protected and the owner cannot threaten to expel the tenant if he refuses to pay an extra 50 Euros a month. «This

is not the only temptation here,» he said. «The public transporta-tion in Berlin is cheap compared to Israel and the average shop in a supermarket costs much less.»According to ex-soldier Zohar, «You cannot accuse me of not lov-ing the country. I was a first lieu-tenant in the army. I have served for 12 years, but when I got mar-ried and began to search for an apartment I realised how impos-sible my attempts were.» The eco-nomic situation in Berlin is much better than in Israel, he added.Source: MEMO

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08/10/2013Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his condolences on Monday to the family of extremist Jewish Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, founder of the rightwing Shas party.Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Abbas› condolences were expressed during his meeting with 14 members of various factions in the Israeli Knesset. They were called together to lobby for the two-state solution.Abbas reportedly said: «I met Yosef›s family earlier in my office and now I am sending my condo-lences, as well as the condolences of my people, for his death.»Rabbi Yosef died after a long struggle with illness. He was known for his hateful views against Pales-tinians and Arabs. In 2001, he called for exterminating the «cursed evil spirits,» referring to Palestin-ians.That same year he told his followers: «It is forbidden to be merciful to them [Arabs]. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable.»In one of his sermons, he prayed for God to destroy Arabs without mercy because, in his view, they are all cockroaches that need to be killed.In a speech delivered in 2004, Rabbi Yosef demanded the necessity of murdering Muslims, for they are as dangerous as snakes and worms.His latest hateful remarks against Palestinians were in 2010, when Rabbi Yosef said in a Saturday sermon: «Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world.»When Israeli killed around 1,500 Palestinians during the 2008-2009 War against Gaza, he remarked: «May God strike them [the Palestinians in Gaza] down with the plague along with all the nasty Pal-estinians who persecute Israel.» Source: MEMO

Abbas: Palestinians are sorry for the deathof controversial Jewish rabbi

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By: Yassir al Zaatara

Towards the end of Septem-ber, the Israeli authorities an-nounced that researchers work-ing with an archaeologist from the Hebrew University had found a valuable item near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. It is a necklace engraved with a menorah, a shofar and a Torah scroll. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called this a “great archaeological discovery, and on a national level, this is significant proof of Jewish existence long ago and proof of the sanctity of this area.”

For decades, the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque have been esca-lating at varying speeds, but there is a clear determination by the Israelis to steal this place on the pretext of the supposed existence of the “Jewish Tem-ple” there. This is the first time that anyone has found any Jew-ish artefact in what is known as the holy quarter (the area sur-rounding Al-Aqsa Mosque). The latest claim is suspicious given the Israelis’ desperation to “prove” a significant ancient Jewish presence and thus jus-tify the excavations that have been going on for decades and have almost reached the level

reality of the Jewish faith or the Zionist mantra launched by Ben-Gurion: “Israel is mean-ingless without Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is meaningless with-out the temple.”

As such, we can say that the is-sue of the temple has full con-sensus across the Zionist politi-cal and religious arenas, as well as the refusal to allow refugees to return to the territories oc-cupied in 1948. This is a mat-ter that the senior Palestinian negotiator knows very well. He came out of talks with Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni knowing that she had told him that the number of refugees re-turning to what she referred to as “Israel” is zero; and that she responded to his offer of “the biggest Yerushaláyim in Jew-ish history” with disregard,

Articles & Analyses

Where is the true allegiance to Palestine, Jerusalem and its sanctities?

of the mosque’s foundations.

The failure to find evidence, any evidence, of the temple’s exis-tence has not prevented the Zi-onists from continuing to violate and attack the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa. Lately this has sent warnings to us that Israel is on the verge of condemning Al-Aqsa to the same fate as the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron which has been split between the Muslims and the Jews in terms of time and access. On the Jewish holiday of Purim, which was celebrated at the end of last month, groups of settlers entered the mosque after Israeli Special Forces first evacu-ated Palestinians, in a taste of what is to come, perhaps.

This reminds me of what hap-pened during the Camp David negotiations in 2000, when the Israelis demanded a share of the top part of the mosque and full sovereignty over what is under the mosque. This is what snagged the negotiations more than any-thing else. On that same day, one of the most important figures in the Israeli political arena, one of the creators of Oslo, Yossi Bei-lin, said that the sanctity of the temple in the eyes of the Jewish people is equivalent to the Kaaba in Makkah for the Muslims. In fairness, he did not go beyond the

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almost contempt, and retorted that Jerusalem was not within the remit of the negotiations.

We know what the Zionists want from Al-Aqsa Mosque, but what is being done to thwart their plans? What can be said in this context is that neither the official Palestinian nor the Arab political policies are making any real impact on the face-off at Al-Aqsa, despite the support of the mosque or making suc-cessive Jordanian governments custodians over the area.

The Zionists are executing their plans with no interrup-tions and if it wasn’t for the Islamic movement’s daily defence of the mosque, led by Shaikh Raed Salah, then the situation would’ve been a lot worse. They are work-ing day and night to fight off these attacks.

Someone described such community activists as Ji-hadists and did not bother to mention Shaikh Raed’s name. This could have been because the noble shaikh supported the Rabaa Al-Adawiyya protestors, or because he took a stand against Bashar Al-Assad and his al-lies, or perhaps because he is a member of the Islamic move-ment, which many people are demonising nowadays.

People have forgotten that those who support Al-Aqsa, hold events for it and defend it with all their might are the members of the Islamic movement, inside and beyond Palestine, includ-ing Hamas, whose members

continue to defend and pro-tect it. They are also joined by other Palestinians close to the mosque who visit it whenever possible.

Where are those who are de-manding the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque by calling on the Arabs and Muslims to visit it as tourists? It is as if the Zion-ists are unaware of this clever ploy and it will prevent them from carrying out their plans, even though everyone knows

that they will be the ones giving the tourists entry visas; if they feel that the tourists will hinder their plans, they will not hesi-tate to prevent them from entering the country, not just Al-Aqsa.

These people, as well as those who claim to care about Al-Aqsa Mosque, forget that the real prob-lem is the policy ad-opted by the Palestinian Authority. Historically, settlements and Judaisa-tion have escalated when resistance to the occupa-tion was stopped; things

were different when resistance movements were active. What if the resistance slogan was fo-cused on Al-Aqsa, which was the case during the Al-Aqsa Intifada that broke out at the end of September 2000, which the PA leaders said was fool-ish, damaged the PA’s achieve-ments, and was the reason that Yasser Arafat was plotted against and provided a suitable environment for his assassina-tion?

””

Where are those who are demand-ing the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque by calling on the Ar-abs and Muslims to visit it as tourists?

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They are the last people who have the right to talk about Al-Aqsa, as they are providing the perfect environment for more Judaisation and Israeli land sei-zures. They are also well-aware that the negotiations they are now engaged in will not provide protection for the mosque nor its surroundings, and will in-stead leave it hostage to Zionist sovereignty, even if they agree on international or three-party management of the mosque as a part of a final agreement.

Those who want to pro-tect the mosque cannot prosecute the resistance, train the people to reject it, speak to their people about developmental proj-ects sponsored by the US, or engage in negotiations that everyone knows will not, under any circum-stances, bring about any-thing better than what was offered at Camp David. It is people like this who are committing crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque, and their calls at every Arab summit to support Jerusa-lem will not intercede for them because Jerusalem cannot be protected with money alone if there is no real resistance, since one Jewish billionaire could pay the same amount paid by the Arabs many times over. In any case, we are talking about dishonest people in a corrupt authority which we cannot trust to use the money for the pur-poses intended.

If they want to protect Al-Aq-

sa, they must call for the end of the pointless negotiations, stop talk of elections for an authority determined to serve the occu-pation’s purposes and, first and foremost, put an end to security coordination with the Israeli oc-cupation. Furthermore, they must agree on an Intifada that restores the Palestinian cause against occupation, including the occupation of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

What is happening to the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa is a crime, and the prevailing Arab and regional atmo-sphere is helping to facili-tate the Zionist mission, and even encouraging Is-rael to seize its opportu-nity, grab more land and occupy the sacred mosque. In response, the people of Jerusalem and the Islamic movement are doing all they can to resist.

However, the greatest crime is the one being committed by those who are not only losing Jerusa-lem and its sanctities but

also the entire Palestinian cause in negotiations, of which every-one knows the likely outcome. Where are their minds? Where is their reasoning? Where is the true allegiance to Palestine, Jeru-salem and its sanctities?

* Yassir al Zaatara is a Palestinian writ-

er and political analyst, this article was

translated by MEMO from the Arabic

text which appeared on Al Jazeera Net

on 8 October, 2013

””

The greatest crime is the one being committed by those who are not only losing Jerusalem and its sanctities but also the entire Palestinian cause in negotiations of which everyone knows the likely outcome.

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Interviews

Interview with International Crisis Group›s Robert Blecher

I grew up in a house that was democratic with a big D» Robert Blecher tells me to explain how his interest in the Middle East started. He also had a number of friends at college who were socially active, he says, and got pulled into doing Israel Palestine work.

After graduating, Blecher went to Jerusalem to work for a human rights organisation, ‹the Hot-line.› The director position was split between two people, but as they only had one desk, only one of them could be there at a time. He was one of three people in the office - «there was a staff attorney, and there was me» - he explains.

Now Blecher is Deputy Programme Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the In-ternational Crisis Group, a non-profit organisa-tion dedicated to preventing and solving deadly conflict. We meet at MEMO›s annual conference in London, where he has flown from Boston to take part in an international seminar exploring the Oslo Accords twenty years after they were signed on the White House lawn.

Oslo recognised Palestinians as people, Blecher tells me during the lunch break. «Before that Is-rael said, and it›s frequently echoed in the United States, that there›s no such thing as the Palestin-ian people!»

When you have Oslo, you have a PLO that›s recognised as the representative of the Palestin-

By: Amelia Smith - MEMO

Robert Blecher of the International Crisis Group on the Arab-Israel conflict: “After 20 years I’m not sure there really is any-thing new to bring to the table.”

ian people so you›re acknowledging that group, their humanity and the fact that they have politi-cal claims. «You might not be recognising them in a way that is sufficient to bring those politi-cal claims to fruition but you›re recognising that those things exist.»

According to Blecher, anniversaries like Oslo do have an effect on public opinion in the US of Israel and Palestine, though at first he does not sound entirely convinced. «I think that there are a range of attitudes in the US and I do think that there›s been an evolution over time, since 1993. So I guess you could say that Oslo has had some kind of effect.»

«I think there has been a shift, there has been a real realisation that there›s something wrong in Israel and Palestine,» he continues, «and there›s a lot of people who don›t know exactly what it is, and there›s a lot of people who have a continued affinity for Israel and they support it very much but at the same time they know that there›s some-thing fundamentally wrong.»

Whether that is enough to produce a fundamen-tal change in the US position is another question, believes Blecher. But still, there are highly mo-bilised minorities – a proportion of the Jewish and Christian community - «that remain highly mobilised and continue to shape US political dis-course on the issue.»

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It is these groups within the US that make the su-perpower more than just a third party negotiating peace between the two sides in the conflict. «The US is a central actor in this conflict. It›s a central actor because for the US this is not only a policy issue; it›s a domestic issue.»

Critics of the role the United States play as nego-tiator between Israel and Palestine say that the su-perpower is not an even broker. Israel is dependent on the US; the US has more influence with Israel than it has with other places, yet the conflict con-tinues.

But Blecher does not agree. He believes that just because they have a special rela-tionship, this doesn›t mean that the US can make anything hap-pen. «A lot of time when the US wants something they go about it in a ham handed way» he says. «Look at what›s been hap-pening in the Middle East over the last ten years. They go about it in a way that doesn›t achieve the result, and sometimes even produces the opposite result. So I don›t know why people assume that in this particular conflict if the US wanted it, it could just snap its fingers and it would work out.»

Earlier in September, Israeli officials uttered their support for US backed military interven-tion in Syria, after a chemical weapons attack that killed over a 1,000. But why were they so keen on strikes against Israel›s northern neighbour? «They›ve said that if we don›t move ahead and demonstrate our credibility on Syria, the credibil-ity of the threat on Syria, then nobody will believe us on Iran» says Blecher.

«Personally I think that is a dubious connection. Just because they decide they don›t want to strike Syria, it doesn›t mean that they›re not going to strike Iran. There›s a different set of calculations that go in there and I think it›s been very clear from the beginning that Obama has not wanted

to get involved in Syria. I think it›s a little more ambiguous on Iran.»

The Middle East in general is predisposed to see-ing Obama as somebody who cannot make a de-cision, believes Blecher, somebody who does not want to use military force. «What he›s done on Syria has only confirmed their pre-existing pre-suppositions of him. So they›re angry about this.»

To Israel›s west, Egypt›s new frontman General Al Sisi of the armed forces, who took control of the most populous country in the region at the be-ginning of July, has already forged a close rela-

tionship with Israel, much like other lead-ers before him.

«He›s part of the military establish-ment and the military establishment has not changed its perspec-tive on Israel,» says Blecher. «They were

security partners with Israel under Mubarak. The military remained the military partner of Israel under Morsi and now that they›re back they re-main a military partner of Israel. So I would ex-pect more of the same. Israel is indeed quite hap-py to have him there instead of the Brotherhood.»

Does US Secretary of State John Kerry have any-thing new to bring to the table? «After 20 years I›m not sure there really is anything new to bring to the table. Let›s say he brings an enormous amount of energy, and at least initially he brought an enormous amount of confidence in his own abilities both as a negotiator and also because he has a long personal history with many of the ac-tors.»

But is that enough to solve the problem? «There is a very tightly tied knot, the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and one person, no matter how uniquely energetic and qualified, is going to have an awful lot of trouble untying that knot by themselves. It›s a structural issue and structural issues cannot be solved by one person.»

Does US Secretary of State John Kerry have anything new to bring to the table?

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Issue no 65

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Transcript of Issue no 65