Binyamin Netanyahu Calls on World to Act after Killing of Jewish Settlers
THE OBSERVER: Israel's prime minister demands international condemnation after murder of five members of West Bank settler family

Israel's prime minister demanded international condemnation of the murder of five members of a Jewish settler family that Palestinian militants said was in reprisal for Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Binyamin Netanyahu's robust statement placed what he described as a despicable act – which shattered the relative calm in the West Bank over recent months – at the centre of strenuous efforts by the US and European countries to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israeli soldiers mounted a massive search in the West Bank after a mother, father and three children, aged between three months and 11, were attacked with knives in their house in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, near the Palestinian city of Nablus. It was believed that two of the dead had their throats cut. >>> Harriet Sherwood in Itamar | Sunday, March 13, 2011

Netanyahu Blames Palestinian Incitement for Deadly Attack
Mar 12 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian incitement for a lethal West Bank attack that killed five members of an Israeli family. Jon Decker reports

REUTERS: Jewish couple and three children killed in W.Bank: A Jewish couple and three of their children were stabbed to death in bed in a West Bank settlement in what Israeli officials said on Saturday was an attack by one or more Palestinians who broke into their home. >>> Rami Amichai | ITAMAR | Sunday, March 13, 2011

Gaza Crossing Points Opened as Israel Bows to International Pressure
THE TIMES: Israel bowed to international pressure yesterday when it agreed to reopen crossing points into Gaza for everyday goods.

The decision was prompted by criticism of its bloody interception of an aid flotilla two weeks ago and condemnation of the Gaza blockade by the Red Cross.

Tony Blair, Middle East peace envoy, hailed the move as significant after the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, agreed in principle to relax restrictions on goods entering Gaza. It will replace the current narrow list of permitted items with a list of specifically prohibited goods.

Mr Blair also welcomed the proposal from Mr Netanyahu for an Israeli inquiry into the flotilla raid, with Lord Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, named as one of two international observers — despite him having started, coincidentally, a Friends of Israel Initiative on the day of the flotilla raid.

Turkey, however, immediately rejected the format of the inquiry, overseen by a senior Israeli judge. The United Nations had called for an independent, international investigation of the incident in which nine Turkish activists died. Read on and comment >>> David Charter, James Hider | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Benjamin Netanyahu Snubs US Nuclear Conference
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel's prime minister has called off a trip to Washington next week to attend a conference on nuclear non-proliferation, deepening tensions with Barack Obama and threatening to overshadow an event the US president views as crucial to his global agenda.

Binyamin Netanyahu. Photograph: The Telegraph
Israeli officials said Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send a minister in his place after reports that Muslim nations in the Middle East would single out Israel's undeclared nuclear programme for criticism.

The White House tried to downplay the cancellation, but will be privately furious at a very public snub by Mr Netanyahu, who may have been looking for such an opportunity after a recent tete-a-tete [sic] with Mr Obama behind closed doors in Washington. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Friday, April 09, 2010

Israel Lobby Presses Congress to Soften Obama's Tough Stance on Netanyahu
THE GUARDIAN: American Israel Public Affairs Committee circulates letter urging White House to 'reinforce' relationship with Israel

America's main pro-Israel lobby group is mobilising members of Congress to pressure the White House over its bitter public confrontation with Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

The move, by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), appears aimed at exploiting differences in the Obama administration as it decides how to use the crisis around settlement building in Jerusalem to press Israel toward concessions to kickstart peace negotiations.

Aipac has persuaded more than three-quarters of the members of the US House of Representatives to sign a letter calling for an end to public criticism of Israel and urging the US to "reinforce" its relationship with the Jewish state.

The open letter, which has been circulating among members of Congress for the last week, says that while it is recognised that there will be differences between the two countries, they should be kept behind closed doors. "Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence," it says. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu: 'Jerusalem Is Not a Settlement. It's Our Capital'
THE GUARDIAN: Israeli prime minister gives a defiant speech in Washington to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and calls Iran an 'unprecedented threat to humanity'

Watch Guardian video here | Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Shame on Barack Hussein Obama*! America’s First Muslim President Dumps Netanyahu for Dinner
TIMES ONLINE: For a head of state to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare. For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws to have dinner in private was, until this week, unheard of.

Yet that is how Binyamin Netanyahu was treated by President Obama on Tuesday night, according to Israeli reports on a trip seen in Jerusalem tonight as a disastrous humiliation.

After failing to extract a written promise of concessions on Jewish settlements, Mr Obama walked out of his meeting with Mr Netanyahu but invited him to stay at the White House, consult with advisors and “let me know if there is anything new”, a US congressman who spoke to the Prime Minister said today.

“It was awful,” the congressman said. One Israeli newspaper called the meeting “a hazing in stages”, poisoned by such mistrust that the Israeli delegation eventually left rather than risk being eavesdropped on a White House phone line. Another said that the Prime Minister had received “the treatment reserved for the President of Equatorial Guinea”. Binyamin Netanyahu humiliated after Barack Obama 'dumped him for dinner' >>> Giles Whittell, Washington, and James Hider, Jerusalem | Thursday, March 25, 2010

*The reception Obama gave Mr Netanyahu is a reflection of Obama’s own upbringing. When you don’t know any better, you can’t do any better! – © Mark

Yet Another Failure! Change We Couldn’t Believe In! Obama Shows Us His Greenhorn Credentials! He Really Should Have Known How Intractable the Israeli-Palestinian Problem Truly Is.
THE GUARDIAN: US president tells Time magazine his efforts to secure a Middle East peace deal have failed

Barack Obama has admitted that his attempts to break the political deadlock in the Middle East by pressuring Israel to end the construction of Jewish settlements have failed.

He said he raised expectations of a breakthrough too high because he underestimated the political obstacles involved – an acknowledgement that he was unable to force the hand of the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.

"The Middle East peace process has not moved forward and I think it's fair to say, for all our efforts at early engagement, [it] is not where I want it to be," he told Time magazine. "This is just really hard … This is as intractable a problem as you get. If we had anticipated some of these political problems on both sides earlier, we might not have raised expectations as high."

Obama made a push to break the political logjam in his first months in office. Unusually for an American administration, he focused his pressure on the ­Israelis by demanding that Netanyahu halt all Jewish settlement construction in the occupied territories. The growing settlements are widely considered to be one of the major obstacles to peace and a test of the sincerity of Israeli claims to accept an independent Palestinian state.

Obama put pressure on Netanyahu at a testy meeting in Washington in May, leading to a strain in relations rarely seen between the two governments. But the White House disappointed the Palestinian leadership by weakening its demand in the face of Israeli resistance.

This opened the way for Netanyahu to announce that he would scale back, but not halt, settlement construction in the West Bank, and continue unfettered building in East Jerusalem, which is the focus of a strategy to seal off the city and ensure all of it remains under Israeli control.

Obama said that the Israelis "after a lot of time showed a willingness to make some modifications in their policies" but "still found it very hard to move with any bold gestures". Obama admits US underestimated Israeli-Palestinian deadlock >>> Chris McGreal in Washington |Friday, January 22, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu Pushes Barack Obama into a Corner with Settlement Plan
TIMES ONLINE: Israel’s plans to have one last burst of settlement building in the West Bank before agreeing to a temporary, partial freeze is a slap in the face to the Obama Administration and a warning to the Palestinians that it intends to fight for every inch of land.

Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to include east Jerusalem — captured in the Six Day War — in any future settlement freeze suggests that Israel is trying to push the Palestinians into a checkmate situation.

The Palestinians demand east Jerusalem, still predominantly populated by Palestinians, as their future capital. An expansion of settlements ringing the city could cut it off from the Palestinian hinterland and slice the West Bank in two.

From the outset relations between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations have been testy. The new Israeli Government was at first shocked by Washington’s insistence on a total settlement freeze — something that has never happened in 16 years of peace negotiations, during which the Jewish communities in the West Bank have grown inexorably.

Israel has tried to persuade Washington to allow “natural growth” in the settlements, where about 300,000 people live in neat, red-tiled villas perched on strategic hilltops across the West Bank, known to Israelis as Judea and Samaria. When that failed it tried to rebrand “natural growth” as “normal life” but the Americans still refused. The latest announcement puts Washington in a difficult position — >>> James Hider: Analysis | Saturday, September 05, 2009

Barack Obama Hints at Tougher Line on Israel
TIMESONLINE: The Obama Administration has signalled a tougher approach towards Israel ahead of fresh talks on the Middle East peace process by insisting it must endorse the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

“Israel has to work toward a two-state solution,” declared Vice-President Joe Biden today in a speech to the annual conference of a powerful pro-Israel lobby group in Washington.

“You’re not going to like my saying this,” he warned the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) before adding that the Jewish state should not build any more settlements on Palestinian territory, and should “dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement”.

President Obama later held a White House meeting with Shimon Peres, his Israeli counterpart, who holds a largely ceremonial position. But the US Administration’s message appeared to be addressed to the new right-wing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is due to visit the White House on May 18.

Mr Netanyahu has dismayed American, Arab and European officials by pointedly refusing to back Palestinian statehood since taking office on March 31. In his own speech to Aipac, sent via satellite link, he said: “We are prepared to resume peace negotiations without any delay and without any preconditions — the sooner the better.” Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian negotiator, however, criticised Mr Netanyahu’s speech for its “vagueness” on core issues such as the status of Jerusalem and refugees, as well as its failure to commit to a two-state solution. >>> Tom Baldwin, Washington | Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Binyamin Netanyahu Warns of Iranian Nuclear Threat
TIMES ONLINE: Israel was set for the return to power of Binyamin Netanyahu after the Likud leader was invited to form a coalition government yesterday.

Immediately after he was invited to become the next prime minister by President Peres, Mr Netanyahu lost no time in restating his warnings about a nuclear-armed Iran, calling it the greatest existential threat faced by Israel since its creation. His words came a day after the UN announced that Tehran had acquired sufficient uranium to build a nuclear bomb — a “red line” development Israel has said it will not tolerate.

Likud came second in last week’s elections to the Kadima party, led by Tzipi Livni, but Mr Netanyahu’s chances of forming a government are significantly greater. However, he may find himself at the head of a narrow, far-right coalition that is at war with itself and at loggerheads with the US.

His main partner will be the hardline nationalist party Yisraeil Beitenu, led by Moldovan Avigdor Lieberman. With the support of the remaining parties on the right — the ultra-Orthodox and settler factions — the new coalition will be able to count on 65 MPs in the 120-seat Knesset. >>> James Hider in Jerusalem | Saturday, February 20, 2009

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Binyamin Netanyahu Gets Green Light from Avigdor Lieberman to Lead Israel
TIMES ONLINE: The Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu was in pole position to become Israel's next Prime Minister despite narrowly failing to win the country's general election, after an ultra-nationalist political leader pledged to back his coalition today.

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beitenu party, which finished third, said he would only support a government led by Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, but which also included the centrist Kadima party led by the election-winner, Tzipi Livni.

Whether Ms Livni, whose party narrowly won the February 10 poll by 28 seats to 27 for Likud, would agree to serve in a government with Mr Netanyahu as Prime Minister remains to be seen.

However, she has previously said that she would be prepared to lead a government which included Likud as a junior partner, with Mr Netanyahu presumably in a senior Cabinet role.

A right-leaning Netanyahu-led government would be regarded with gloom by President Obama and the so-called Quartet of international mediators, who had hoped to accelerate the Middle East peace process. >>> David Byers | Thursday, February 19, 2009

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Netanyahu Says Iran Will Not Get Hands on Nukes
YAHOO! NEWS, MALAYSIA: JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's leading candidate for prime minister, said Saturday that Iran "will not be armed with a nuclear weapon."

In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 TV, Netanyahu said if elected prime minister his first mission will be to thwart the Iranian nuclear threat. Netanyahu, the current opposition leader and head of the hardline Likud party, called Iran the greatest danger to Israel and to all humanity.

When asked if stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions included a military strike, he replied: "It includes everything that is necessary to make this statement come true." >>> Aron Heller, Associated Press Writer, AP | Sunday, February 1, 2009

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Good on You, Bibi!
Bibi Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Photo courtesy of Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Binyamin Netanyahu, the front-runner to become the next Israeli Prime Minister, today warned that Iran’s “100-yard dash” to securing nuclear weapons is a graver danger to the world than the global economic crisis.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, before Israel’s election in 12 days, Mr Netanyahu claimed that Tehran was now close to securing an atomic bomb, and was in a “100-yard dash” to the finish line in the race to obtain the weapon.

Mr Netanyahu said that despite all its intractable problems, the financial and economic crisis would ultimately prove reversible and be beaten by governments and central banks.

But in an ominous alert to world leaders, he said: “What is not reversible is the acquisition of nuclear weapons by a fanatic radical regime committed to a pre-medieval view of the world. Netanyahu: Iran Nuclear Threat Outstrips Economy >>> Gary Duncan, Davos | Thursday, January 29, 2009

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