Epstein Secrets

vant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alo

srael" and opposed to any Palestinian state - had become the 21"-century equivalent of the kibbutz avant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alongside a move rightward within the Likud itself. For Bibi to say yes to a settlement freeze would mean

election had placed Hamas in power, after which the Islamists embarked on a violent purge of Fatah loyalists. Arms smuggling through tunnels from the Sinai had become rife. Rockets from Gaza were now landing on southern Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis were living with the reality of a warning s

ent. We went down six seats, to 13. The big gainer was a far-right, stridently anti-Arab party called Yisrael Beitenu, led by a former Likudnik named Avigdor Lieberman. Tzipi’s attempt to form a coalition became less a political process than a contest between rival stalls in a Middle Eastern bazaar. Bibi was holding

srael” and opposed to any Palestinian state — had become the 21*-century equivalent of the kibbutz avant-garde of a half-century earlier. The rise of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party was the latest sign, alongside a move rightward within the Likud itself. For Bibi to say yes to a settlement freeze would mean

election had placed Hamas in power, after which the Islamists embarked on a violent purge of Fatah loyalists. Arms smuggling through tunnels from the Sinai had become rife. Rockets from Gaza were now landing on southern Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis were living with the reality of a warning s

pposed to handing over areas of the Land of Israel to Arabs.) Several right-wing MKs called for the resignation of the police minister (a member of Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu Party and Israel's two chief rabbis protested against the arrest. Over the years, Lior's name has been linked to Yigal Amir's. Lio

right direction and ironic, on a number of levels. It takes a right-wing government to curb extreme right-wingers (Begin successfully uprooted the Sinai settlers as part of the implementation of the peace treaty with Egypt; Ariel Sharon pulled out the IDF and evacuated the settlers from the Gaza Str

eli 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 popularity in the polls as he'd expected. This is not the first time the Israelis have launched a war for electoral gain. Shimo

el, anxious not to kill its peace accord with Egypt, would not dare to respond directly. Indeed, Israel resorted to thwarting attacks emerging from Sinai and the Gaza Strip as best it could by preventing Gazans from getting to Sinai in the first place. On a number of occasions, Israel preemptively t

ill make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett. I have said almost all of it to them behind closed doors in the past few years, more than once. When I fin

ded by the Sinai Desert. Militarily, it went to plan. On October 29, 1956, Yigal and other paratroopers from Battalion 890 were dropped deep into the Sinai. They landed near the entrance to the Mitla Pass, a sinuous route between two lines of craggy hills 25 miles from the canal. British and French air s

ill make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett. I have said almost all of it to them behind closed doors in the past few years, more than once. When I fin

ded by the Sinai Desert. Militarily, it went to plan. On October 29, 1956, Yigal and other paratroopers from Battalion 890 were dropped deep into the Sinai. They landed near the entrance to the Mitla Pass, a sinuous route between two lines of craggy hills 25 miles from the canal. British and French air s

Times, found that the Israelis had indeed used excessive force but that the Gaza embargo was legal. On the Israeli side, hard-line foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman at every turn tried to prevent a negotiated outcome from being finalized. Turks did not make it easier either by taking inflexible positions that mad

adership also sought by Iran. In Egypt, too, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist forces look set to reap an electoral dividend in November. The Sinai area has already become a zone of activity for Islamist terror directed against Israel, because of the breakdown in law and order in recent months. T