Bush Is Coming to Town. Traffic, Talk & Terrorism.
Ron Ross
Bridges for Peace News
Email: ronrossbfp@hotmail.com
4th January 2008
The visit to the Middle East this month by President George W. Bush has brought the peaceniks out of their retreats ready to lobby for their part of the pie. Most believe the agreements made at Annapolis have been sidetracked.
Professor Raphael Israeli an expert in Islamic studies at Hebrew University said, ‘We see the PLO (Fatah) demanding that Israel cease building in the West Bank while they continue to build and while their security forces, financed with aid from America and Europe, are shooting Israelis.”
Two off-duty soldiers were murdered near Hebron a few weeks ago. The men arrested are members of the Fatah, the party led by peace negotiator Mahmoud Abbas. Prof Israeli said that one event will remove any talk of Israeli security concessions from any chat with President Bush.
Even US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice this week wrapped the knuckles of Abbas and told him the PA is not doing enough to stop the killings. He blamed the Israeli ‘occupation’ but the song is starting to lose its tune.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations observed that the al-Aksa Martyr’s Brigade, which is affiliated with the Abbas’ Fatah political party has still not been disarmed. To add to the Middle East ‘insanity’ it will be members of the Brigade who will be bodyguards for Pres Bush in Ramallah. The USA lists the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade as a terrorist organization, so please let me know who okayed this decision?
The whisper says Bush will be more interested to talk to ‘people in the know’ about Iran, than any other issue. The Press in Jerusalem have wiped any Annapolis topics saying ‘it isn’t going anywhere.’ Instead the new coziness between Iran and Egypt has eyebrows raised and is making many Arab nations nervous.
Egypt has been feted as the USA check point to the Arab world but their new diplomatic chit-chat with Iran, the center of Shiite Islam in the region, includes the word ‘nuclear’ and who knows what else.
Analysts say the Egypt-Iran relationship is fueled by Russia who plan to keep the USA dizzy in the Middle East for as long as possible.
The Israel-Egypt tension reached boiling point last week when the Egyptian ‘security’ guards failed to check the Arab pilgrims returning to Gaza from Mecca. They were simply overwhelmed by the numbers and the promises Hosni Mubarak made to Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was not worth the paper it was written on.
Israel fears millions of dollars crossed into Gaza because the Egyptians ‘ran scared.’ A wise observer said Egypt backed off because it did not wish to be seen in the Arab world as doing business for Israel at the expense of the Hamas ‘brothers.’
In an interview we recorded this week with former Israeli diplomat to the USA, Yoram Ettinger, we asked if the international community could contain any terrorist activity that might be expected to flourish once the new Palestinian state is officially birthed.
Ettinger, never frightened to speak his mind, said the USA and Israel have not been able to halt the bombs, murders and violence in the Palestinian territories that exist now. He asked a pertinent question. ‘Why do you think they will succeed with the next one?”
Almost 11,000 police will be in Jerusalem to take care of President Bush. I hope they stay around after his gone. We made need them!
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Three years ago he joined Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem to establish international radio news and an audio service webcast at www.bridgesforpeace.com Ron was Sports Editor of WINTV for 20 years before joining the full-time missions. You can contact Ron at : ronrossbfp@hotmail.com |
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