Palestinian Politics Drifts Away From America

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

by Elliott Abrams
April 27, 2012

GETTY IMAGES

Reconciled?: Lookalikes of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (left) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas carry a mock coffin during a May 6 rally to show the death of Palestinian political division. May 11, 2011

Several news stories in recent days about Palestinian politics are linked by a thread that may not immediately be apparent.

First, there was a raft of stories about the feud between President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad; here’s one. The two men were not even speaking for several days, though they have now met and patched things up–on the surface at least. They have been feuding for at least a year, and it was widely known that Fayyad thought little of the drive Abbas was making at the UN to get a vote on Palestinian statehood. That Fayyad was right, and that the drive failed and damaged the Palestinians, cannot have made Abbas feel any better about Fayyad. More recently, Fayyad refused to deliver to Israeli prime minister Netanyahu a letter from Abbas with whose contents and timing he did not agree.   (Note: Photo: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, left, and President Mahmoud Abbas. /AP/Majdi Mohammed)

Second, President Abbas has removed Yasser Abed Rabbo as head of Palestinian Authority broadcasting. Abed Rabbo was supposed to go along with Fayyad in delivering the Abbas letter to Netanyahu, but he too refused. Abed Rabbo remains Secretary General of the PLO, second only to its Chairman, who is President Abbas. There has been speculation in thepress that Abed Rabbo will also be removed from his PLO post.

Third, Abbas has shut down several web sites critical of him and the PA leadership. Of course this is a press freedom issue, and the United States has expressed its concern about press censorship. But there is another angle here: the Associated Press reports that “the sites belong to an Abbas rival, former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan.” As the AP story notes, “Dahlan has been feuding with Abbas for the past year, calling him a weak leader and accusing him of allowing his sons to profit financially from his rule.”

Here’s the thread: no three men were closer to the United States during the years of negotiations under President Clinton and George W. Bush than Fayyad, Abed Rabbo, and Dahlan. Developments in Palestinian politics appear to be reducing, not enhancing, their influence. Dahlan has been pushed to the sidelines, and it seems that Abed Rabbo will be next. Fayyad is, for now, protected by his reputation among donors: “Donor countries have warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against trying to replace Prime Minister Salam Fayyad or confiscate his control over the PA Finance Ministry,” the Jerusalem Post reported this week. But over time, it is likely that politics with the PLO and the Fatah party will turn against Fayyad, who is an official of neither one. And it is unlikely that the successors to officials like Fayyad and Abed Rabbo will have the ties to the United States that they do or the respect among American officials that they have earned over the years.

Broken Gas Deal Reflects Tentative Future of Peace Treaty

Israeli soldiers patrol the Egyptian border. Doubts have been raised recently regarding the stability of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt.

Photo Credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90

 THE JEWISH PRESS

By: Yori Yanover

Published: April 27th, 2012

According to a recent Reuters report, the Egyptian decision to halt its already erratic natural gas supply to Israel was not, as the Egyptian government had put it, due only to financial disagreements. The report cites shareholders in East Mediterranean Gas Co (EMG) who stated: “Any attempts to characterize this dispute as a mere commercial one is misleading. This is a government-backed contract sealed by a memorandum of understanding between Egypt and Israel that specifically refers to the (1979) peace treaty.”

The international shareholders further accused the Egyptian oil and gas companies of failure to protect the pipeline from attack, failure to repair it promptly and the grim fact that they have “delivered almost no gas to EMG since February 2011.”

The Egyptian oil and gas companies have incurred substantial penalties due to their failure to supply the gas, according the shareholders.

Egypt Natural Gas Co is a also a shareholder in EMG.

(Meanwhile, according to Ha’aretz, the Israel Electric Corporation is hectically searching for a new source of natural gas. The IEC has issued an international tender looking to import liquefied natural gas, expecting to pick up some $800 million worth by December 1, 2012.)

Al Ahram agrees that “despite both sides claiming this was just a business deal gone sour, against the backdrop of growing discontent and following the exchange of heated statements, it has become apparent that the actions of the neighboring states are political.”

Al Ahram goes on to cite a 2010 Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court decision overruling a 2008 Administrative Court decision in favor of terminating the natural gas deal. The argument for the overruling was that the lower court did not have the authority to infringe on the government’s sovereignty.

In other words, the deal is officially not purely economical, and the decision to continue or stop the deal is considered by officials to be a political issue, linked to Egyptian national security.

But Al Ahram goes on to argue that the broken gas deal has not been the only source of tension between the two countries this week.

On April 21, South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda accused Israel of trying to harm tourism in the Sinai. He was critical of a call by Israel’s anti-terrorism unit on Saturday, urging Israelis who were on holiday in the Sinai peninsula to leave immediately, for fear of kidnapping attempts and terrorism.

Governor Fouda refuted Israel’s claims, saying they were nothing more than rumors. The obviously frustrated Fouda said Israel does this whenever Egypt’s tourism industry sees an improvement. In his opinion, as soon as occupancy rates at Sharm El-Sheikh hotels reached 65 per cent, Israel released its “irresponsible statement.”

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuted those accusations when he said on Tuesday that Egypt’s Sinai peninsula had become a “kind of Wild West” overrun by militants, terrorists and arms smugglers. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman even suggested Israel should post more troops along the border with Egypt.

Egypt’s military ruler, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, was not happy. “Our borders, especially the northeast ones, are inflamed,” he admitted, but then added an angry warning: “We will break the legs of anyone trying to attack us or who come near the borders.”

Even if Israel were to discount much of that belligerent statement as intended for internal consumption, the sentiment is nevertheless authentic. Sad as it may sound, despite all the hope to the contrary, the Camp David peace treaty has not matured over the past 30+ years to the point where the occasional disagreement could not threaten its very existence. We may be looking these days at the beginning of the end of that treaty.

But those seeking positive signs for the future of the Israeli-Egyptian peace can point to the report this week about the Egyptian army preventing prevented a local group of Bedouins from defacing an IDF memorial in the northern Sinai Peninsula. According to Israel’s Army Radio, the Egyptian military deployed armored vehicles near the memorial, to prevent the Bedouins from reaching it.

Stay tuned…

Bee's Note: .. See ISRAEL HAYOM : Sinai is unhinged; Egypt is worsening; Syria is unstable, and oh yes, there's Iran too

Video: WANT TO KNOW JUST HOW CLOSE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS TO THE OBAMA ADMIN?

THE BLAZE

Posted on April 26, 2012 at 1:47pm by  Tiffany Gabba

On Wednesday evening, GBTV unveiled a powerful documentary, “Rumors of War III,” exposing how radical Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are infiltrating American government at its highest levels. Above is a video clip from the program outlining some of the key players involved.

The following is an overview of each of the Islamist figures who have found their place — in some way, shape or form — at the Obama administration’s table.

(Related: Want to Know More About the Islamist Group Exposed in Rumors of War III?)

Arif Alikahn, Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy Development:  Now a Distinguished Visiting Professor of DHS and Counterterrorism at the National Defense University, Alikahn also served as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety for the City of Los Angeles where he reportedly derailed the LAPD’s efforts to monitor the city’s Muslim community — particularly its radical mosques and madrassas where certain 9/11 hijackers were said to have received support. He is affiliated with MPAC, which has called the terrorist group Hezbollah a “liberation movement.”

Salam al-Marayati, Founder and Executive Director of Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC): Marayati is an Iraqi immigrant who drew national attention over a decade ago when then-House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt nominated him to serve on the National Commission on Terrorism. Backlash over al-Marayati’s defense of Hezbollah and other Islamic groups prompted a withdrawal of the nomination. The Center for Security Policy reports that MPAC was formed in 1986 as the Political Action Committee for the Islamic Center for Southern California, one of the largest Wahhabi mosques in the country. While MPAC later fractioned-off, one of the founders of the Islamic Center, Hassan Hathout, was a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood who also spent time in Egyptian prison.

Mohamed Elibiary, Homeland Security Advisory Committee Member: He is the former president of the Freedom and Justice Foundation, which was billed to ”promote a Centrist Public Policy environment in Texas by coordinating the state level government and interfaith community relations for the organized Texas Muslim community.” He spoke at a 2004 conference in Dallas praising the “Great Islamic Visionary” Ayatollah Khomeini.  Most recently he is famous for leaking highly sensitive intelligence documents to a media outlet in Texas.

Rashad Hussain, State Department Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report uncovered that Hussain spoke at a conference sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate, the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. An internal Brotherhood document dubbed the Social Scientists as one of “our organizations and the organizations of our friends.” Hussain also spoke at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University, which reportedly receives Saudi funding and is directed by Muslim Brotherhood advocate, John Esposito. In 2004, Hussain also participated in the Muslim Students Association’s annual conference, a group founded by the Muslim Brotherhood and known as one of its front-groups. The report also asserts that many of the Student Associations’ nearly 600 college chapters “have engaged in extremism and the group closely collaborates with the other Brotherhood fronts.”

Other Brotherhood sympathizers involved  in the administration but who tend to travel beneath the radar include:

Imam Mohamed Magid, Homeland Security Countering Violent Extremism Working Group Member : He is a Sudanese-born president for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) with allegedties to the Muslim Brotherhood. ISNA’s parent is the Muslim Student Association. ISNA completed a $21 million headquarters in Indianapolis using fundsraised in part from Muslim Brotherhood.

Eboo Patel, Obama Administration Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships: Patel spoke at a Muslim Students Association and ISNA convention, appearing on a panel alongside Tariq Ramadan, grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder, and Siraj Wahhaj, who was named as a possible co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has defended the convicted WTC bombers. Wahhaj allegedly advocates the Islamic takeover of America.

Huma Abedin, Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Perhaps most famous for being wife of the disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin appears to have family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. In an interview with FrontPageMag, anti-Islamist author Walid Shoebat explained that Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin, is involved with the Muslim Brotherhood and that Huma’s brother, Hassan, sits in on the board of the Oxford Centre For Islamic Studies (OCIS) where he is a fellow and partners with other board members including “Al-Qaeda associate, Omar Naseef and the notorious Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi; both have been listed as OCIS Trustees.”

Mr. President, We the People ARE America and your Rein of Terror against US ends in 2012

Bee's Note: 

 Village of the Banned posted the following videos last July.  Some things are worth repeating and as you watch the videos it will be difficult not to say "Amen!"  Each passing day becomes another day when Americans ask, "What next?!"  Did you see the joy, the happiness of Israel's citizens during the past 24 hours, as they celebrated the birth of their nation?  They are surrounded by countries who wish to destroy their nation and yet, the majority of Israelis wouldn't live anywhere else in this old world - they are "home" and their blue and white flags fly proudly.  Israel's leaders do not choose to use "logos" - they have the Israeli flag representing Israel.  Israel's citizens are as strong and courageous as their leaders.  

Nations, to thrive, need trustworthy, moral, courageous leaders.  

I am proud to be an American and my grandparents, parents and children have served this nation to maintain our freedoms.  But that logo of Obama's administration does not fly (how can a "zero" fly?); our flag does not represent Obama, as he replaces it and all that our nations stands for with a false, sickly ideology that has the smell of socialism and it stinks to high heaven!  A family of skunks is living in our White House and it may take 10 years to remove the odor.  The difference between Obama and previous presidents is the lack of moral leadership and the ship Obama sails is like the children's poem "The Owl and the Pussycat" - he's sailing off to the land "where the Bong-trees grow"! (or Kenya, or Indonesia, or one of the 57 Muslim nations...).

"This is our nation, President Obama" and Americans have a message for you.  Patriotism is the "American Way" - long let her flag wave.   In November, you will hear a  roar that will be heard by the angels in heaven, as Americans vote their conscience and send you packing, Mr. Obama.  We pray that God "shed His grace" upon our nation once more.  Then, America's flag will once again fly freely, from the White House. 

Please note the related articles posted by Village of the Banned - very good reading.

Posted on July 23, 2011 
VILLAGE OF THE BANNED

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is

for people of good conscience to remain silent" .. Thomas Jefferson

DEAR PRESIDENT OBAMA,

“We The People” have stated resolutely we reject your vision for our country. You claim you have not heard us.

“We The People” have assembled across America resisting your efforts to subvert our constitution and undermine our liberty. You claim you have not seen us.

Since you have not acknowledged our message, let us here present it once more for if as President Wilson said, “a leader’s ear must ring with the voices of the people,” the time has come.

Our greatest treasure is freedom – the absence of restraints on our ability to think and to act. The corollary of freedom is individual responsibility. We believe in the power of the individual.

A few years ago President Bush said, “History moves toward freedom because the desire for freedom is written in every human heart.” Let us add that we will preserve it only as long as devotion to freedom is expressed in the heart of our actions.

When President Lincoln dedicated Gettysburg National Cemetery he declared, “It is for us the living to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus so nobly advanced.”

That unfinished cause for which our soldiers willingly go to battle and for which so many have given their lives is a free United States of America. It has been nearly one hundred fifty years and the work President Lincoln spoke of is not finished. In fact, that work will never be finished.

Freedom is the capacity of self-determination. It is not an entity but a condition and conditions change. Freedom can expand, yet so can it contract.

You promised change when you took office, Mr. President, but subjugation is not change we wanted or will accept.

You have expanded government, violated our Constitution, confounded laws, seized private industry, destroyed jobs, perverted our economy, curtailed free speech, corrupted our currency, weakened our national security, and endangered our sovereignty.

By compromising our nation’s cultural, legal and economic institutions, you are ensuring that our children will never achieve the same quality of life as we enjoy today. Through generational theft you are robbing the unborn of opportunity.

This is not acceptable. Not in America. We did not become a strong nation through hope but rather through self-reliance.

No one better understands the relationship between individual achievement, dignity and strength than our armed forces. Through every war our soldiers have held this nation’s destiny in their hands. They have not failed us. They cherish freedom enough that they are willing to die for it.

Our duty to them and to ourselves is to treasure freedom enough to live up to it.

We accept the challenge, Mr. President. That is why we are assembling across the land to deliver our message to you as often and in every way we can. Dismiss us at your political peril.

Our great nation is a Republic. We will not accept tyranny under any guise. Your policy to redistribute the fruits of our labor is Statism and will not be tolerated.

By our honor, Mr. President, we vow forever to resist coercive government in America. Patriots will not stand silent as you attempt to dismantle the greatest nation on earth. “We The People” will defend our liberty. We will protect our beloved country and America’s exceptionalism will prevail.

God Bless the United States of America!

Sincerely,

We The People

We are Coming in 2012

Related articles

• Why America will Reject and Eject Obama in ’12(ireporters.wordpress.com)
• Obama’s Fall from Grace…..and beyond (votingamerican.wordpress.com)
• Mr. President, your Socialism will not stand in Our America!(ireporters.wordpress.com)
• One Term Barry’s Legacy of Shame…you Betcha(votingamerican.wordpress.com)
• Mr. President, We the People have not yet begun to fight(votingamerican.wordpress.com)
• You really need to read this Mr. President(votingamerican.wordpress.com)
• Obama’s Poll Numbers Continue to Plummet as Democrats Push for Higer Taxes and more Spending (ireporters.wordpress.com)
• Obama the Spin Master Extraordinaire (ireporters.wordpress.com)
• Obama’s Approval Rating Plummets (votingamerican.wordpress.com)
• Wise Up and Rise Up America! Our Final Countdown has Begun(votingamerican.wordpress.com)