Israel Opinion: It's Over for Benjamin Netanyahu (Benn)

Benjamin Netanyahu has in effect concluded his term as prime minister. It's all downhill until the next elections, without any achievements and without an agenda, passing the time buying political calm and deflecting diplomatic pressure. Instead of initiating and leading, Netanyahu will engage in fruitless holding actions until he falls from power.

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Israel Analysis: Lieberman's Triple Attack on Turkey, Palestine, & His Own Prime Minister

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman launched a multi-front attack, bombarding Turkey, the Palestinian Authority...and his own Prime Minister.

Talking to Israeli diplomats, Lieberman pressed his belief that the "Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity", saying that they "would find a reason not to sign a peace agreement even if the Israelis had offered Tel Aviv and a retreat to 1947 borders". He called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to achieve a peace agreement "unrealistic" and said the Palestinian Authority, recognized by West Jerusalem since 1994, was an "illegitimate government that doesn't conduct elections".

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Ramallah's International Gains v. West Jerusalem's Version of "Peace"

The Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, without offering details, said Sunday that about ten more European Union capitals will upgrade the status of Palestinian delegations in the near future:

The Israelis are afraid that the issue of recognition of a Palestinian state would enter the EU. We urge the international community to salvage the two-state solution by recognizing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

The best description of Ramallah's expectations from the international developments came from a PA official who talked to The Jerusalem Post. He said that the Palestinian pursuit of international recognition will shift the conflict from one over “occupied Palestinian territories” to one over an “occupied state with defined borders".

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Six Weeks of Indirect Talks But No Clear US Position

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US special envoy George Mitchell,said that he was "prepared to discuss all of the fundamental issues" necessary for resuming negotiations with Palestinians and reaching a peace agreement.

Netanyahu, with no preconditions such as a settlement freeze, is ready to sit and discuss matters freely. According to some sources, the issues of refugees (with reference to the demand to recognize the "Jewish" character of the State of Israel), security issues, and borders are expected to be on the table. 

The Palestinian side is not in the same position. It has received no "guarantees" from the Obama Administration over recognition of a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders --- whether that is through the UN, from Washington, or through talks --- and a "complete halt" to Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Washington's "Fresh" Attempt at Talks Puts Netanyahu on the Spot

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu faces a challenge. The Obama Administration wants a "fresh" start for indirect talks from both sides. Netanyahu is expected to put forth an offer, especially on borders between Israel and a Palestinian state. The US hopes that a consensus on those borders will bring the solution of other core issues such as security, Jerusalem, water, and settlements.

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Israel-Palestine Video and Transcript: Hillary Clinton "The Parties Have a Long Way to Go"

On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the Saban Center in Washington DC. The video is in three parts throughout the transcript.

PART 1 OF 3

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Turkey-Israel Analysis: Ankara's "Win-Win" Strategy Does Not Bring Reconciliation...Yet

This is the pursuit of Turkey's "strategic depth", developed by Foreign Minister Davutoglu, through "strategic parts", in this case, a method to solve problems --- eventually --- while maintaining stature after the red alert in relations with West Jerusalem.

But tension cannot be sustained forever. So who gives first? Israel's Netanyahu government or the Erdogan camp in Turkey?

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Israel-Palestine Analysis: Washington's "New Strategy" and the Palestinian Response

Challenging the new US line on settlements, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas warned that there would be no talks with Israel unless there was a halt to settlement building.

Having obtained the support of the Arab League and Egypt, Abbas does not want to take a step back on the settlements. Indeed, he may be going on the offensive. The London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday that Abbas had "given a green light" to his aides to ask the UN to recognize a unilaterally-declared Palestinian state; however, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit asked the Palestinian leadership to give Washington another chance.

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Turkey-Israel Latest: Firefighting Leads to a High-Level Meeting

Last weekend,  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone for the planes that Ankara sent to help fight fires in northern Israel.

Now the follow-up: officials from both countries met in Geneva on Sunday.

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Palestine Analysis: Can US Make the Most of Moves by Abbas and Hamas?

On Saturday, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone. Abbas expressed his condolences over the deadly fire in Israel, and Netanyahu expressed his thanks for the help of Palestinian civil defence members. 

Beyond that conciliatory conversation, there were significant political manoeuvres.

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