Epstein Secrets

at even if Israel withdrew to the 1967 lines, all Hamas would offer in return is a long-term truce. But that's not essential now either. After all, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party officially opposes the two-state solution too. Israel and America really need three things from Hamas right now. First, a ceasefire. W

sentially banned. And as part of such a deal, Egypt would likely open its border with Gaza, which would ease Hamas's isolation from the world. The Netanyahu government opposes a Palestinian unity deal and negotiations with Hamas. But some former top Israeli security officials disagree. And while it woul

ons and the Israelis. This was confirmed by Egypt's president on Saturday. With the approach of the Israeli elections, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, wanted to trade with the blood of the Palestinians, especially after his alliance with the ultra- extremist Avigdor Lieberman failed to boost his p

that EFTA_R1_00462154 EFTA01976163 recently broke out in Israel and the Gaza Strip is that Hamas forced Israel's hand. Almost four years ago in Operation Cast Lead, the Jewish state pummeled Gaza in response to rocket fire into southern Israel. And for a time afterward, the rocket fire diminished. But it

rtar and air strikes, the balance of them civilians, since the war began on Wednesday. EFTA_R1_00463832 EFTA01977330 But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet have in some ways locked themselves into a broader conflict, based on the public logic they have provided in the past few days

now, but the overall message is a green light for Israel. How long will this support last? 7. Will this impact the Israeli elections in January? Netanyahu detractors charge that the Israeli leader is using the operation in EFTA R1 00463825 EFTA01977323 Gaza as a means of increasing voter support a

s using the operation in EFTA R1 00463825 EFTA01977323 Gaza as a means of increasing voter support ahead of the upcoming elections. In reality, Bibi is the front-runner by a wide margin, and scarcely needs to rally the Israeli public around the flag. If anything, military missteps could weaken

e of EFTA_R1_00463827 EFTA01977325 course too large, and this could change in an instant, but right now the casualty rate is much lower than in Operation Cast Lead. And yes, of course, much smaller than the numbers from the American drone war in Pakistan. Hamas, of course, is trying to maximize civilian

to be -- owned by the left. From Israeli premiers Menachem Begin to Yitzhak Rabin (breaker of bones during the first Intifada) to Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, the story of the Arab-Israeli negotiations is one of tough guys whose calculations were reshaped by necessity and self-interest, and who could de

els for Gaza's banks and support for Gaza's infrastructure. Jaabari had street cred and delivered for four years -- Abbas has little and couldn't. Netanyahu's Comfort Zone Bibi is who he is. Right now, he's a legitimate Israeli leader who may well be the only political figure capable of leading the cou

support for Gaza's infrastructure. Jaabari had street cred and delivered for four years -- Abbas has little and couldn't. Netanyahu's Comfort Zone Bibi is who he is. Right now, he's a legitimate Israeli leader who may well be the only political figure capable of leading the country. Whether he can

gical next step in Tehran's effort to keep a check on Israeli threats to strike the Iranian nuclear program. In early January 2009, in the midst of Operation Cast Lead, Israel EFTA_R1_00464360 EFTA01977744 learned that Iran was allegedly planning to deliver 120 tons of arms and explosives to Gaza, includin

ey: Erdogan, pissed at getting no love or acceptance from the E.U., flexing neo-Ottoman muscles, and genuinely repulsed by the diplomatically obtuse Netanyahu administration (more his coalition than Bibi alone) ... chooses to play to the fundamentalist Moslem street and has done a pretty good job in Turke

e from the E.U., flexing neo-Ottoman muscles, and genuinely repulsed by the diplomatically obtuse Netanyahu administration (more his coalition than Bibi alone) ... chooses to play to the fundamentalist Moslem street and has done a pretty good job in Turkey and in the rest of the Middle East. He tappe

nd has done a pretty good job in Turkey and in the rest of the Middle East. He tapped into the fury after the strong Israeli bombardment of Gaza in Operation Cast Lead... and so Turkey throws Israel under the bus. They "reportedly" ratted out long-term Israeli intelligence agents who they had worked with for

. She won the election, in a photo finish, with opinion polls suggesting she’d been effective in shaping the campaign as a choice “between Tzipi and Bibi.” Kadima got 28 Knesset seats, to 27 for Bibi and the Likud, which gave her the first crack at forming a government. There’s no way of disguising the

ary, and in intelligence. We make a point of listening to them before taking action,” I said. “But here’s the difference. When they look up, they see Netanyahu, or me. When Bibi and I look up, we see heaven. Whoever is up there, we clearly can’t go to them for advice. We are responsible for Israel’s security

lasting cease-fire and, ideally, prevent Hamas from resupplying its rocket stockpiles through its smuggling tunnels from the Sinai. When we launched Operation Cast Lead on the morning of December 27, nearly all the Hamas forces were where we’d expected them to be. Two waves of air strikes, with over a hundred je

s. She won the election, in a photo finish, with opinion polls suggesting she'd been effective in shaping the campaign as a choice "between Tzipi and Bibi." Kadima got 28 Knesset seats, to 27 for Bibi and the Likud, which gave her the first crack at forming a government. There's no way of disguising the

tary, and in intelligence. We make a point of listening to them before taking action," I said "But here's the difference. When they look up, they see Netanyahu, or me. When Bibi and I look up, we see heaven. Whoever is up there, we clearly can't go to them for advice. We are responsible for Israel's security

lasting cease-fire and, ideally, prevent Hamas from resupplying its rocket stockpiles through its smuggling tunnels from the Sinai. When we launched Operation Cast Lead on the morning of December 27, nearly all the Hamas forces were where we'd expected them to be. Two waves of air strikes, with over a hundred je