Epstein Secrets

l, in his first term as prime minister, back in 1998, Benjamin Netanyahu did authorize indirect negotiations with Syria. And the IDF—and especially Ehud Barak, a former head of the IDF, Israel's defense minister, and a close adviser to Netanyahu—has long favored such a deal. The IDF theory was that if Sy

gotiations with Syria. And the IDF—and especially Ehud Barak, a former head of the IDF, Israel's defens

selectively. When it is interested, it has a serious battle problem. To attack Israel, it would have to strike between Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee, an area about 25 miles wide. The Syrians potentially can attack south of the sea, but only if they are prepared to fight through this region and t

/ BARAK / 15 By November, even his Foreign Minister, David Levy, was making noises about quitting. He said it would be a waste of time to stay in the cabine

ed his no-confidence resolution, he came to see me in my office in the Knesset. He was worried. Not about the vote, but about what would come after. “Ehud, I’m sure we can topple the government,” he told me. “But only you know whether we’re ready — whether you ’re ready — to defeat Bibi in an election.”

g escalation: the spread of the violence into Israel itself, with unprecedentedly serious clashes between our own Arab citizens and the police in the Galilee, in Wadi Ara, in the main mixed Arab-Jewish cities, and the Negev. Beyond the political implications, the demonstrations of solidarity with the Pales

/ BARAK / 15 By November, even his Foreign Minister, David Levy, was making noises about quitting. He said it would be a waste of time to stay in the cabinet

ed his no-confidence resolution, he came to see me in my office in the Knesset. He was worried. Not about the vote, but about what would come after. "Ehud, I'm sure we can topple the government," he told me. "But only you know whether we're ready - whether you're ready - to defeat Bibi in an election."

g escalation: the spread of the violence into Israel itself, with unprecedentedly serious clashes between our own Arab citizens and the police in the Galilee, in Wadi Ara, in the main mixed Arab-Jewish cities, and the Negev. Beyond the political implications, the demonstrations of solidarity with the Pales

. When she got there, she realized I had gone missing. Retracing her steps, she found me standing in front of a rock in the middle of the dirt path. “Ehud,” she said, “why didn’t you come with us?” I apparently replied: “I’m thinking: which side of the rock should I go around?” Still, important though

Gaza was seven miles from the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and just 40 from the outskirts of Tel AVIV. Israel did secure control of the entire Galilee, up to the pre-war borders with Lebanon and Syria, and of the Negev Desert in the south. The territory of our new state was about a third larger than

. When she got there, she realized I had gone missing. Retracing her steps, she found me standing in front of a rock in the middle of the dirt path. “Ehud,” she said, “why didn’t you come with us?” I apparently replied: “I’m thinking: which side of the rock should I go around?” Still, important though

Gaza was seven miles from the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and just 40 from the outskirts of Tel AVIV. Israel did secure control of the entire Galilee, up to the pre-war borders with Lebanon and Syria, and of the Negev Desert in the south. The territory of our new state was about a third larger than

of the Palestinian Charter which denied Israel’s right to exist. 7 February 1999 King Hussein of Jordan dies. Abdullah II succeeds him. 17 May 1999 Ehud Barak elected Prime Minister of Israel. 4 September 1999 = Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum. 5 October 1999 Protocol Concerning Safe Passage. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_

- OUP CORRECTED PROOF - FINAL, 12/9/2014, SPi xxiv Chronology 15 December 1999 President Clinton hosts summit meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister al-Shara, followed by rounds of peace talks in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in January 2000. 5 March 2000 Government of

OF - FINAL, 12/9/2014, SPi 34 i 36° Beirut , i ¢ PALESTINE ° ka oy (1900) a £ . Damascus @ Ss Tyre NV ~ ») e ~ 4 Golan Akko 5, G) Haifa Sea of * e ; Galilee Nazareth “ibid Mediterranean a me Sea g Nablus - © G g ° P32 — Jatta ° i —32—| Jericho | Amman Jerusalem ® co tied Hebron . Deal > Gaza ye s ed & ° *

all, in his first term as prime minister, back in 1998, Benjamin Netanyahu did authorize indirect negotiations with Syria. And the IDF—and especially Ehud Barak, a former head of the IDF, Israel's defense minister, and a close adviser to Netanyahu-has long favored such a deal. The IDF theory was that if Syria

tions with Syria. And the IDF—and especially Ehud Barak, a former head of the IDF, Israel's defense minis

on extended supply lines. If an attack is mounted along the main route, Syrian forces must descend the Golan Heights and then fight through the hilly Galilee before reaching the coastal plain - sometimes with guerrillas holding out in the Galilean hills. The Galilee is an area that is relatively easy to de