Iran: Russia Plays Big (Protective) Brother

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On Sunday, in an interview with CNN, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres assured him that Israel would not launch an attack on Iran. Describing, an attack as "the worst thing that can be imagined," he said, "When he visited me in Sochi, Israeli President Peres said something important for us all: 'Israel does not plan to launch any strikes on Iran, we are a peaceful country and we will not do this.'"

Asked about the possible delivery of advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, Medvedev said Russia had the right to sell defensive weapons to Iran. As for non-military measures, the Russian leader declared that sanctions are often ineffective and no action should be taken against Iran except as a last resort.

There will undoubtedly be much grumbling about Moscow's position and, conversely, some unsupported declarations that the Russians can be brought around to back stricter economic measure. The cold political reality is that, in this international conjunction of events, Russia sees its advantage in playing Tehran's "big brother". Strengthening the military relationship through the sales of S-300s and increasing its economical and political position with, Moscow hopes not only to consolidate its power in the Middle East but also to maintain leverage against Washington on issues such as the reduction of strategic offensive weapons and the deployment of missile defense system.

UPDATED The Goldstone Report: Both Israel and Hamas Committed War Crimes

Text of The Goldstone Report

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UPDATE 17 September 1045 GMT: Judge Richard Goldstone has written an opinion piece in The New York Times this morning: "Pursuing justice in this case is essential because no state or armed group should be above the law. Western governments in particular face a challenge because they have pushed for accountability in places like Darfur, but now must do the same with Israel, an ally and a democratic state. Failing to pursue justice for serious violations during the fighting will have a deeply corrosive effect on international justice, and reveal an unacceptable hypocrisy."

UPDATE 17 September 1000 GMT: On Wednesday, the leaders of Israel attacked the Goldstone report. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the findings were "a kangaroo court against Israel, whose consequences harm the struggle of democratic countries against terror". Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the outcome was "a prize for terrorism". Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed, "The Goldstone report is seeking to bring the UN back to the dark days in which it decided, under the guidance of states with interests, that Zionism is racism, " and his deputy Danny Ayalon asserted, "The Goldstone report is a dangerous attempt to harm the principle of self-defense by democratic states and provides legitimacy to terrorism." Ayalon also stated that Israel would work to enlist the support of Western democracies in a campaign "to prevent turning international law into a circus."

Israeli President Shimon Peres went even further with the claim:

The Goldstone Commission report is a mockery of history.. It fails to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right for self defense... The report in practice grants legitimacy to terrorism, premeditated shooting and killing while ignoring the duty and the right of a state to defend itself, something which is explicitly stated in the UN charter.

The United Nations Commission under former South African Judge Richard Goldstone, formed in April to investigate last year's conflict in Gaza,  concluded on Tuesday that both Palestinians and Israelis committed war crimes. The report follows 188 interviews and a review of 10,000 documents and 12,000 photoraphs and videos. 

The report says: "Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity." It says that Israel killed civillians, destroyed non-military facilities and imposed a blockade on Gaza as "collective punishment". The report, finds these war crimes were a result of direct consciousz decisions of Israeli officials:

Taking into account the ability to plan, the means to execute plans with the most developed technology available and statements by the Israeli military that almost no errors occurred, the Mission finds that the incidents and patterns of events considered in the report are the result of deliberate planning and policy decisions.

On the other side, the reports states that rocket and mortar attacks into southern Israel were "war crimes":

Where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into civilian areas, they constitute a deliberate attack against the civilian population.

The Jerusalem Post stated that the report was "nauseating,"as it created an unjust "equivalence of a democratic state with a terror organization" and lacked the context of a decade of terrorist attacks by Hamas. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy reinforced the public view:

Israel is nauseated and furious about a report that did not surprise us in its imbalance, but did surprise us in the lack of any real pretense to balance.. The report is one of the most disgraceful documents in the long collection of shameful documents put out by the United Nations....The immediate message of this report is: Terror pays. It says that terrorists who attack Jews, unlike terrorists who attack Americans, Spaniards, or other Arabs, will earn the protection of the UN.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, said: "The mandate of the Goldstone Commission was one-sided from the beginning and the initiative to establish the commission came from the UN Human Rights Council, which is known for regularly and routinely condemning Israel."

Hamas's reaction was just as negative, as its officials claimed that the report was unbalanced and completely misrepresented reality.

Israel-Palestine: Still Awaiting the Mitchell-Netanyahu Meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled meeting with the U.S. Mideast special envoy George Mitchell was postponed to Tuesday to allow the Israeli leader to attend the funeral of Air Force pilot Capt. Asaf Ramon, who was killed in a training accident.

At the critical meeting, both sides are expected to focus on the timetable and essence of the settlement freeze and on further steps, including Arab concessions for "normalization" of relations with Israel, before the UN General Assembly meeting later this month.

In advance, Mitchell met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The US envoy reiterated the Obama Administration's motto of "two states for two peoples" and its call for the normalization between Israel and Arab countries:

While we have not yet reached agreement on any outstanding issues, we are working hard to do so, and indeed the purpose of my visit here this week is to attempt to do so.

While the suggestions that we have finalized and reached agreement on a range of issues [are] inaccurate because they are premature, we hope they will be accurate in terms of moving forward in the very near future.

Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday that differences remain with the U.S. over the conditions necessary to resume peacemaking. These included the timetable on a settlement freeze --- Israeli wants a six-month freeze that can be extended in return of positive steps from Arabs; the Americans are demanding at least nine months --- and whether Israel can construct public buildings in the name of "natural growth. The Prime Minister said he hopes to narrow the gaps between the two sides in the next meeting with Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday evening to discuss regional peace initiatives and the status of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. "All sides --- Israel, the Palestinians, Arab nations and the international community --- must do their part in advancing the peace process," was the statement from Netanyahu's office after the meeting.

A Palestinian State: Previewing the Mitchell Talks in Israel

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When Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the West Bank, said in August that a de facto state could be founded in two years. the first reaction came from Israeli Foreigm Minister Avigdor Lieberman : "The Palestinians’ unilateral initiatives do not contribute to a positive dialogue between the parties."

Less than a month has passed and Lieberman may count himself lucky not to be hearing his President's words as Shimon Peres tours Africa. According to Peres, Salam Fayyad is a "Palestinian [David] Ben-Gurion," the first leader of modern Israel.

Meanwhile, according to Haaretz, a senior diplomatic source said on Saturday that the proposal of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, for the United Nations to accept Palestine as a full member within two years, was made with the support at the highest levels of the U.S. administration. Palestinian and European Union sources told Haaretz that Israel's talks with US special envoy George Mitchell, who arrived in the country on Saturday night, will initially focus on determining the permanent border between Israel and the West Bank. Although Palestinians want to draw temporary border lines before the final agreement, a mutual determination on borders next week would constitute an "early recognition of Palestine" by Israelis.

Despite obstacles such as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's non-negotiable position on the status of Jerusalem and on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, both sides are expected to find common ground through the exchange of land rather than a focus on the pre-1967 borders.

In the event a final agreement on the settlement freeze issue next week, a tripartite meeting is expected in New York between the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, and President Obama at the UN General Assembly this month.