This edition looks at Israel’s Likud party’s opposition to dividing Jerusalem and Israel, a Palestinian poll regarding violence, the Israeli debate over withdrawing troops from the West Bank, ElBaradei’s threat of war against Israel, Egypt’s strengthening of ties with Iran, and Pakistan’s preparations to strengthen Sunni Islam in Middle East.
OUR ISRAELI CONNECTION
Likud Party Opposes Dividing Jerusalem
One Jerusalem reports: A new poll of members of the governing Likud Party shows that 95% oppose the division of Jerusalem. We ask Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice to respect the will of the people of the only functioning Democracy in the Middle East. Given the 95% number there is no debate as to where they stand. But in case there are questions, let us make these points. The Prime Minister of Israel does not have the political power to impose a division of Jerusalem (should he want to) when 95% of his people oppose it. The poll also showed that 78% of Likud voters oppose the creation of a Palestinian State.
Palestinian Poll Regarding Violence
A new poll shows that across both the West Bank and Gaza, 63% of Palestinians say that they oppose the murder of the Fogel family in Itamar in early March. In case you’re encouraged by these statistics, it also means that a third of the “average Palestinians” support the murders.
Israel Debates West Bank Withdrawal
The Israel Project reports: Israel is debating a major withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from the West Bank, in order to preclude the Palestinian Authority (PA) from unilaterally declaring a state along 1967-lines, the Hebrew daily Haaretz reported. The PA would take over security responsibility of much of the West Bank.
IT’S NEWS TO ME
Egyptian Presidential Candidate Threatens War with Israel
Jerusalem Prayer Team reports: In an interview with an Arab-language newspaper, Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei said that if Israel launches attacks on Gaza while he was president, “we would declare war against the Zionist regime.” He also said that he would open the Rafah border crossing (closed by Hosni Mubarak to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons) and “consider different ways to implement the joint Arab defense agreement.” ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency who stonewalled efforts to stop the nuclear program in Iran and to find evidence of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear ambitions, is considered one of the leading candidates for the office in this fall’s elections for Egypt’s new government. His use of the radical Islamist formulation constantly used by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, “the Zionist regime” to avoid calling the Jewish state Israel, is a further indication of his viewpoint.
Egypt to Strengthen Ties with Iran
After meeting with top Iranian diplomats this week, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Nabil Elaraby said that Egypt will re-establish full diplomatic ties with Iran. Those ties were broken more than 30 years ago following the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran and installed the violently anti-Israel and anti-American government in Teheran.
Pakistan Prepared to Defend Sunnis
WorldNetDaily reports: Pakistan is prepared to move two army divisions into Saudi Arabia to protect the kingdom in the event of any outbreak of trouble, such as what has happened in Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and other Middle East and North African nations, informed sources say in a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. It also is ready to help recruit ex-Pakistani military personnel for Bahrain’s national guard, the sources report. The sources said the decision was reached reluctantly, but it puts Sunni Islam-majority Pakistan alongside other Sunni Muslim partners, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, in a move that apparently is intended to assure that Sunni Islam remains dominant in the Arab world. The perception is that the influence of Shiite Islam-dominated Iran is on the rise.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Things Confucius Did Not Say:
War does not determine who is right. It determines who is left.
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