Epstein Secrets

de/extra/0,1518,632135,00.html> 11/15/2012 — Beirut -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hopi=g the offensive in the Gaza Strip wins his Likud party more votes in Janua=y's election. But the move is extremely risky. Skirmishes could escalate i=to a full-blown war that might weaken Hamas but

of Kiryat Malachi, killing two men and a woman. Likewise, should the =sraeli government respond to a constant barrage of rockets launched from t=e Gaza Strip by ordering ground troops to advance into the coastal area, i= could spell even more casualties and even more public opposition to the l=aders who l

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

ly, and its link to the Arab Middle East. Syria has provided the land bridge for the transport of Iranian weapons and militants to Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Without Syria, Iran's pretensions to regional hegemony, and its ability to challenge Israel, would be crippled. It follows that, as the U.S. Centr

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

cessary loss of life has never arrived. Nor has compensation for the families of the victims. And the termination of Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip remains a Turkish dream. Meanwhile, two-way trade between Turkey and Israel rose by nearly 30 percent to $4.449 billion last year from $3.440 bill

losing their jobs. Israel’s next election, the first since the Lebanon war, was due in July. Just as the trauma of the 1973 war had helped Begin end Likud’s three decades in opposition, the polls and the pundits were now suggesting that Shimon Peres might bring Labor back to power. There was no prospect

ther withdrawals and parallel negotiations on the “permanent status” of the territories. In this first step, Israel would transfer civil authority in Gaza Strip and the Jordan Valley town of Jericho to the Palestinians, and local security would be in the hands of a newly created Palestinian police force. My

losing their jobs. Israel's next election, the first since the Lebanon war, was due in July. Just as the trauma of the 1973 war had helped Begin end Likud's three decades in opposition, the polls and the pundits were now suggesting that Shimon Peres might bring Labor back to power. There was no prospect

ther withdrawals and parallel negotiations on the "permanent status" of the territories. In this first step, Israel would transfer civil authority in Gaza Strip and the Jordan Valley town of Jericho to the Palestinians, and local security would be in the hands of a newly created Palestinian police force. My p

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

g the causes of the violence directed against Palestinian women, presumably in the order of their importance: “Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are victims of multiple violations as a result of the escalation of the conflict, Israel’s policies, and a system of norms, traditions and laws which