Epstein Secrets

w years later by settlers from the religious-Zionist Gush Emunim movement; in the late 1970s, it was authorized by Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Likud government. Today, it is the West Bank's third-largest settlement, drawing many secular Israelis attracted as much by its striking desert landscap

k and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. Today, Israel draws a distinction between West Bank settlements and areas of Jerusalem built after 1967 -- the Palestinian Authority does not. (The label "East Jerusalem" can be misleading. It is generally applied to any land beyond the meandering pre-1967 Green Line, even if it

hese days, to get a sense of an Is=aeli politician's popularity, the place to go is his or her Faceb=ok and YouTube video portals. Whether it be the Likud party's "=ibi-sitter" ad, the Zionist Union's animated video about its=socialist economic platform, or a vignette casting Jewish Home leader N=ftali

latest bipartisan Iran sanctions, and was also not among th= 75 senators to sign a letter stating that the senators would not support=foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority until the Obama administration r=views the PA's unilateral bid to join the International Criminal Co=rt. 'The best place for the pro-Israel communit

alf of 2005, a resolute Sharon carried out his plan to remove Israeli settlements and military bases from Gaza in August 2005, breaking up his own Likud party over it. This political move, which resulted in the creation of the Kadima party, would hardly have made sense had Gaza been Sharon's final

rusted, diminishing even further the European Union's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Second, such a move could only undermine Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, which view Hamas as an enemy to be defeated rather than as a genuine partner. Third, peace talks would themselves be impossible if Hamas were part

ve to last for 25 years. Even after the Netanyahu cabinet voted to cut that number to 40 percent, it was still too high for the leaders of both the Likud and Labor parties, who denounced the decision as "reckless." Release of the report triggered demonstrations that blocked roads in central Tel Aviv,

especially since Jordan's own oil-shale project, so elaborately put together with Shell, might not produce anything until the 2020s. The other is the Palestinian Authority. Its own offshore gas fields, Gaza Marine, lie untapped and unexplored because Hamas refuses to allow anyone to get near them—largely because Hamas

ardcore supporters of settlements, which currently number 200 and keep Palestinians off more than 40% of the West Bank, now dominate the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has announced regular expansions of settlements during the current round of talks — an act conside

television studio in Tehran. Rajoub's Jan. 28 visit to Iran was extraordinary for a senior official of Fatah, the secular movement that dominates the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas. Iran has been the major sponsor of Hamas, the EFTA00684677 militant Islamist group that drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip i

ew years later by settlers from the religious-Zionist Gush Emunim movement; in the late 1970s, it was authorized by Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Likud government. Today, it is the West Bank's third-largest settlement, drawing many secular Israelis attracted as much by its striking desert landscape

k and East Jerusalem in the Six- Day War. Today, Israel draws a distinction between West Bank settlements and areas of Jerusalem built after 1967 -- the Palestinian Authority does not. (The label "East Jerusalem" can be misleading. It is generally applied to any land beyond the meandering pre-1967 Green Line, even if it

re building a nuclear reactor. I had got to know Olmert fairly well over the years, initially when I was in the kirya and both he and another rising Likud politician to whom I became closer, Dan Meridor, were members of the Knesset’s defense committee. But from the day I returned to the Israeli governme

. I doubted that even Arafat would have been ready to do so. But relations had only worsened, since his death in 2004, between the Fatah old guard in the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank and the Hamas overlords in Gaza. I doubted very much that Abu Mazen would want to get involved. I did send an aide to see him to ask

building a nuclear reactor. *** I had got to know Olmert fairly well over the years, initially when I was in the kirya and both he and another rising Likud politician to whom I became closer, Dan Meridor, were members of the Knesset's defense committee. But from the day I returned to the Israeli governme

. I doubted that even Arafat would have been ready to do so. But relations had only worsened, since his death in 2004, between the Fatah old guard in the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank and the Hamas overlords in Gaza. I doubted very much that Abu Mazen would want to get involved. I did send an aide to see him to ask

he court of public opinion” and “America’s most public Jewish defender.” It has also earned me the title of “Ziofascist,” “Jewish Nazi,” “tool of the Likud,” and “Israel Firster.” It is these latter titles that have brought about the most recent change in my life during my 8" decade. Until recently, I w

ief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, for breakfast. He had invited me to discuss with him a pending application of the Palestinian Authority to be recognized as a state by the International Criminal Court in order to bring charges against Israel for the war in Gaza and for building settlem

e referendum. 11-25 July 2000 Camp David II negotiations between Ehud Barak and Yasir Arafat. 25 July 2000 Camp David Statement. 28 September 2000 Likud leader Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, prompting major Palestinian riots. Second Palestinian uprising (al-Aqsa Intifadah) b

sident made further US involvement in peace negotiations contingent upon Arafat’s removal from power, and the implementation of democratic reforms in the Palestinian Authority’s political structure. This was consist- ent with Prime Minister Sharon’s policies. At this time, parts of the Palestinian leadership either passively