Epstein Secrets

ts bitterlemons.net and is former director of the Jaffee Center at Tel Aviv University. Colette Avital, former ambassador and deputy speaker of the Knesset, is international secretary of the Israel Labor Party. Maj. Gen. Shlomo Gazit was military coordinator in the Occupied Territories and head of mili

on — a state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security. • Recognize that extending the authority of a Palestinian state to the Gaza Strip will depend on effective control there by a legitimate Palestinian government that exercises authority in the West Bank, is committed to the Quarte

his "Independence" pa=ty, which broke off from the Labor Party in January 2011, will win enough =otes to keep seats in the country's parliament, the Knesset. However, a su=cessful offensive could boost its waning popularity enough to guarantee it=some parliamentary seats. An offensive that gets the popu

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

m the former Soviet Union. It is the most populous community in the so- called Ariel bloc, a 40,000-strong chain of 15 settlements (Karnei Shomron, Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari's home, is one of them). Israel views Ariel Bloc as one of five "consensus blocs" it will be able to retain even after a fin

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

he pundits were now suggesting that Shimon Peres might bring Labor back to power. There was no prospect he’d win an outright majority in the 120-seat Knesset. No one had ever done that, not even Ben-Gurion in his political heyday. From 1948, Israel’s political landscape had been populated by at least a doz

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

he pundits were now suggesting that Shimon Peres might bring Labor back to power. There was no prospect he'd win an outright majority in the 120-seat Knesset. No one had ever done that, not even Ben-Gurion in his political heyday. From 1948, Israel's political landscape had been populated by at least a doz

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