LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 09/2010

Bible Of the Day
Luke 12/1-7: "Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 12:2 But there is nothing covered up, that will not be revealed, nor hidden, that will not be known. 12:3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 12:5 But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The illusion of 'Syria first'/ By Akiva Eldar/Ha'aretz/February 08/10
New Opinion: Back in the saddle/Now Lebanon/February 8, 2010
Expect modest US gains from thaw with Syria/Telegraph.co.uk/February 08/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 08/10
Sfeir in Lent Message: Maronite Presence is Based on Covenant, We Ask for No One's Guarantees/Naharnet
Suleiman Satisfied with Cabinet Performance not Productivity/Naharnet
Jumblat: Leave the Issue of Feb. 14 Rally Participation to Last Minute/Naharnet
Recovered Black Box Could Tell Story of Ethiopian Plane Crash/Naharnet
Assad to Berri: Syria will Support Lebanon if Israel Attacks/Naharnet
Filipina House Worker Murders Employer's Sister with Kitchen Knife/Naharnet
Rifi in Damascus as March 14 Adapts to New Phase/Naharnet
Spanish King in Lebanon to Inspect UN Troops/Naharnet
Aoun: Lebanese Refugees in Israel is a Pressing Issue, Not All of Them are Spies/Naharnet
Western Diplomat Rules Out Israeli War on Lebanon/Naharnet
Survey: Mixed View of Hizbullah in Muslim Countries/Naharnet
Kouchner: Iran does not have capacity to make nuclear fuel/Now Lebanon
Aoun from Syria: My visit aims to revive Mideast Christian’s heritage/Now Lebanon
Al-Qaeda leader calls for attacks on US interests everywhere/Now Lebanon
Yazbeck says peace-and-war decisions in Israel’s hands/Now Lebanon

Recovered Black Box Could Tell Story of Ethiopian Plane Crash
/Naharnet/Lebanese marine commandos managed to pull one of the two black boxes from the crashed Ethiopian plane which is "critical" to determining the cause of the crash.
Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi, which has described the recovery of the black box on Sunday as "very important," said efforts continued to pull the cockpit voice recorder.
"The black box is very important because it includes all the jet's technical data," Aridi said in remarks published by several Beirut newspapers on Monday. Head of the Pilots' Syndicate Mahmoud Houmani said Monday that Lebanon should not expect to receive the final report into the plane crash before six months. A statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command said the black box was retrieved around 11:35am Sunday and taken to Beirut Naval Base where it was handed over to the plane's investigation team. Prime Minister Saad Hariri immediately put his private plane at the disposal of the investigation team. The team flew to Paris with the black box early Monday. "Divers from Navy Commando Regiment were able to pull eight bodies belonging to victims of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane up till now, the search is ongoing to find the remaining bodies," said the army communiqué issued Sunday afternoon, bringing to 23 the number of bodies pulled. Director of Rafik Hariri state hospital in Beirut Wassim Wazzan said Monday that the hospital received seven of the eight retrieved bodies. "We will have more information about the DNA test results in the next 36 hours," Wazzan said in a radio station interview. Aridi said the flight data recorder had been retrieved and that efforts continued to recover the cockpit voice recorder. He said both boxes were found under a rear section of the fuselage. Media reports said the black box was found off the coast of Naameh about 45 meters deep. The Boeing 737-800 with 90 people on board bound for Addis Ababa crashed in flames into the Mediterranean Sea in the early morning hours of Jan. 25, just minutes after takeoff from Beirut airport in stormy weather. No survivors were found from Flight 409, and search teams have been struggling to recover bodies from the crash site as most victims were believed to be still strapped to their seats. Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 08:12

Sfeir in Lent Message: Maronite Presence is Based on Covenant, We Ask for No One's Guarantees
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Monday said Maronites need guarantees from no one as their presence is based on a covenant. "Our presence is based on a covenant and through this we prove ourselves and ask for no one's guarantees," Sfeir said in a message on Fasting and on the occasion of the 1,600 anniversary of the death of Saint Maroun. "The Maronite community presents an expression of Maronite independence," Sfeir stressed. He said Lebanese Christians in general and Maronites in particular "have worked to achieve two inseparable goals throughout their history -- the establishment of a Lebanese state and entity and strengthening their presence in Lebanon, and then played a key role in the country's structure. Sfeir stressed that Lebanon is "first and foremost a Covenant for a cause." "This Covenant among the Lebanese sects is in essence an act of freedom and an act of determination at the same time," he explained. Describing Lebanon as a "distinguished country in the world," Sfeir said Lebanon does not exist on a treaty between Muslims and Christians, but on a "Covenant based on minority cultures that have turned into human sects." Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 13:28

Suleiman Satisfied with Cabinet Performance not Productivity
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman said Monday that If Israel decided to launch war on Lebanon, the conflict wouldn't be just a stroll for it.In remarks to a visiting delegation from the Editors Syndicate headed by Melhem Karam, Suleiman hoped appointments in state institutions would be made from within the administrative corps. The president stressed on the necessity of holding municipal elections on time and said he was satisfied with the government' performance but not its productivity. As to the Ethiopian plane disaster, Suleiman hailed "the efforts of the army and its Navy Commando Regiment in the ongoing search operations to recover the plane's debris and victims." Answering a question on whether Lebanon would participate in Libya's Arab summit, Suleiman said the issue is "under discussion," adding that "this issue is to be decided inside the Cabinet despite being not raised yet." Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 13:54

Jumblat: Leave the Issue of Feb. 14 Rally Participation to Last Minute
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat reiterated that he would visit Damascus at the "appropriate time" although he said he "hasn't received any invitation yet."
"Whenever I receive an invitation, I will announce it and announce when I am going," Jumblat told An Nahar daily in remarks published Monday.About his participation in the Feb. 14 mass rally on the occasion of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's 5th assassination anniversary, the Druze leader said: "Leave this (issue) to me and to the last minute in terms of the size of the participation or the way" we will participate. "Rafik Hariri does not belong to a certain faction. He would have preferred for the event to be an occasion for the entire country," Jumblat added. Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 08:05

Aoun: Lebanese Refugees in Israel is a Pressing Issue, Not All of Them are Spies
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said the Memorandum of Understanding he signed with Hizbullah Feb. 6, 2006 has created stability in Lebanon and removed the psychological barriers caused by the war. On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the MoU, Aoun told OTV that most of the agreement clauses had been carried out and accepted at the national level. He pointed to the 5th clause of the agreement regarding the missing Lebanese, saying "there is some who oppose this issue." "The issue of missing Lebanese affects Lebanese parties as well as the Palestinians because they are the ones who exchanged arrests and kidnapping," Aoun said. He did not elaborate.On Lebanese "refugees" in Israel, the FMP leader believed this was a "pressing" issue. "The responsibility falls on the State. We won't have mercy on spies, but not all people are spies," Aoun stressed. Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 09:21

Rifi in Damascus as March 14 Adapts to New Phase
Naharnet/Police chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi has traveled to Damascus "alone for the first time," pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat said Monday.
It said Rifi discussed with Syrian intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ali Mamlouk issues pertaining security and ways of cooperation in this field as part of the work entrusted to the Internal Security Forces.Al-Hayat quoted sources following up on the visit to Damascus by Prime Minister Saad Hariri as saying that leaders of the March 14 forces are keen on adapting to the new phase.
Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 11:32

Spanish King in Lebanon to Inspect UN Troops
Naharnet/Spanish King Juan Carlos begins Monday a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he will inspect Spanish troops serving with UNIFIL in south Lebanon. Accompanying the King will be Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Juan Carlos will be hosted by President Michel Suleiman at a state dinner in his honor.
The trip comes just days after Spain took over UNIFIL's command which was set up in 1978 to monitor Lebanon's border with Israel. Juan Carlos' trip, however, is not a state visit in response to an invitation formerly extended by Suleiman, meaning that Queen Sofia will not be accompanying her husband this time. The Spanish king is expected to start a 3-day state visit to Lebanon along with his wife next July or ultimately by September, according to the Central News Agency. Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 10:30

Western Diplomat Rules Out Israeli War on Lebanon
Naharnet/A western diplomat ruled out any Israeli aggression on Lebanon and Syria any time soon unless a security incident leads to the deterioration of the situation on the border.
The diplomat told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Monday that Israeli security and military officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, believe that only dialogue and negotiations would lead to a solution to the Hizbullah problem. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that Syria wants only to regain the Golan Heights and does not intend to review its alliances with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas, the diplomatic source said. About Israel's possible pullout from the border village of Ghajar, the diplomat said the Jewish state is willing to withdraw from the Lebanese side of the village. However, such a move requires talks on technical details with U.N. peacekeepers to see how the withdrawal would affect the area on the security level. Beirut, 08 Feb 10, 10:32

New Opinion: Back in the saddle
February 8, 2010
Now Lebanon/The onetime pro-sovereignty Walid Jumblatt has come out in defense of Syria. (Archive)
Syria is back in the Lebanese saddle. The feeling must be good after all these years, because already its politicians are talking about Lebanon as if it were a local province, and using all tools at their disposal, including a high-profile American journalist, to position their country as the voice of moderation in the region.
Damascus has also been indulging in a bit of saber rattling with its old enemy in Tel Aviv. This would be of less concern to the Lebanese if the threat to open a new front in South Lebanon had not been part of the message, and if Walid Jumblatt, for so long a stalwart supporter of Lebanese self-determination, had not pledged unstinting support for the Syrian regime in such an event.
It was Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem who fired the opening broadside late last week by announcing that Syria was ready for either war or peace. “Do not test the resolve of Syria,” he warned. “You Israelis, you know that war at this time will reach your cities. If such a war breaks out... it will indeed be total war, whether it begins in South Lebanon or Syria.”
It is clear that Damascus is tightening the screws in trying to get Tel Aviv to the negotiation table, but the inclusion of Lebanon in the threat is as galling as it is shameless. We wonder what Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami (the irony of his name should not be lost on us) might have to say about the fact that it was his opposite number in Damascus and not he who is briefing the world on matters of Lebanese foreign policy. Indeed one wonders what the Lebanese people might have to say about a Syrian minister threatening to take their country into a war with Israel.
President Bashar al-Assad sought to clarify Mouallem’s statement over the weekend by telling Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who at long last received his invitation to Damascus, that Syria is committed to “stand by Lebanon’s government and people against any Israeli aggression.” It was too little too late. The damage has been done. It is clear from the Israeli response to the heightening of tensions which country it sees calling the shots; and it was not because of what it said, but what it failed to mention that should worry us most.
“Israel aspires to reach peace with all its neighbors,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. “We did so with Egypt and Jordan, and we aspire to do so with Syria and the Palestinians.” Hang on, Bibi. What about Lebanon? Is it that you do not want peace with your northern neighbor or is it simply that you already see Lebanon as back in the Baathist fold?
If that were not a depressing enough morsel upon which to chew, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt has been doing his bit to complete his rehabilitation with the Assad regime. Describing the region as being in a “state of chaos,” he hailed Syria, which occupied and “ruled” Lebanon for 29 years, as Lebanon’s “strategic depth.”
“I tell the Syrian people and leadership,” he said in a statement issued by the PSP, “we are with you above all else.” With less than one week to go before the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a crime in which Damascus has been blamed, there can be no bleaker indication of just how weak the flame of sovereignty, freedom and independence has become than Jumblatt’s staggering volte face.
Meanwhile, in another of his convenient interviews with the New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh, Assad told the veteran American writer that “one cannot feel assured about anything in Lebanon unless they change the whole system.” It was a cunning ploy to paint Syria as a model of stability, exasperated by the antics of an unruly quasi-state made up of factious tribes. It is a line that will resonate with many in the West for whom the default setting in the Middle East is chaos. Thus Bashar is styling himself as the guardian of order in a volatile region, while gently fanning the flames of conflict at his own back door. We should be concerned.

Michel Aoun
February 8, 2010
The Free Patriotic Movement website, Tayyar.org, carried the following report on February 6:
FPM leader MP Michel Aoun told OTV in an interview that what was required from the government and the governmental sources of power was unification around one official source that issues a statement or two per day.
He added that this source should be officially recognized and should give true and documented information to be taken into consideration by the families of the victims of last month’s Ethiopian plane crash. On the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the FPM and Hezbollah at Mar Mikhael Church, Aoun believed that this document achieved its main goal and secured a state of stability in the country after the regions were opened up to one another and after the psychological barriers which emerged after the war were removed.
“The majority of the proposed articles were accepted on the national level and were implemented, starting with the dialogue that has become a means to resolve the problems just as it was stipulated in Article 1 of the paper of understanding. Consensual democracy was also consecrated as was called for by Article 2. As for the diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, they have become a reality as was stipulated in Article 8, while as for Article 10 which is related to the resistance, all the different parties agreed to address it around the national dialogue table.
Many articles were implemented while others are awaiting implementation either due to the circumstances or to other reasons such as Article 5 and the dossier of the missing. The dossier of the missing is unified and all the measures will be implemented on all citizens and all identities. There are Lebanese people who are missing and there are missing people from other nationalities on Lebanese soil. There are also missing people who could be present outside of the Lebanese territories. Therefore, the government should adopt this dossier and form a national committee to handle it in order to implement this article.”
Asked about the reason why the government was not performing its role, seeing as how the ball in regard to this article is in its court and not in that of the FPM or Hezbollah, he said, “Some are opposing this issue. The dossier of the missing affects Lebanese parties and Palestinian sides because in general, they were the ones who conducted mutual arrests and kidnappings.” Aoun then stated that the issue of the Lebanese refugees in Israel following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon was an urgent issue, saying, “Those who stayed in their land and were forced to deal with the Israelis when they occupied their soil cannot be held responsible. It is the responsibility of the state which was unable to find or propose a solution. They were thus left with one of two choices:
Either to leave their land and flee outside the country or come here without ever getting the chance of returning, or stay and work there.
This has become an issue of survival. They did not go to Israel.
Israel came to them. This is how we should perceive the situation. We will not spare the agents but not all people are agents. They just want to live and prosper.”
Aoun conveyed his relief over the current reconciliations and understandings and toward the Lebanese people’s realization - more than ever before - of the fact that internal wars will not serve them. In this context, he was asked whether or not he reassured the Lebanese about the upcoming stage being one of stability, to which he responded, “It is a period of inter-Lebanese stability. However, if we are attacked from the outside, we will be ready to defend ourselves with whichever political, diplomatic and military means we have at our disposal.” To those still unconvinced by the paper of understanding four years after its signing, Aoun said, “All the positions made against the paper of understanding are meaningless, because we have a problem and we should resolve it. Those who have a better solution can suggest it so that we adopt it.”Asked whether or not he called on those in favor of the paper to continue to have faith in it, he said, “I do not call on them to do anything, since they should call upon themselves to do whatever they please. Has this paper not secured stability and reassurance, opened up the people to each other and toppled the psychological barrier? Based on the answer to that question, they can adopt the position that best suits them. Let them be truthful to themselves and the issue does not require further discussion.”

Matar: Saint Maroun had message of coexistence
Daily Star staff
Monday, February 08, 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanon is a meeting place for different sects and religions, said Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Matar on Sunday at the Sagesse School in Jdeideh, during a mass celebrating the anniversary of its patron saint Saint Maroun. Matar stressed during his sermon that Saint Maroun’s message of love and coexistence should be the message taught to children today and the message implemented in Lebanon. “This country is where different religions can meet in complete respect and acceptance,” he said. Matar added that this year was the 1,600 anniversary of Saint Maroun and that was a reason to dedicate the year to be “good citizens and defend Lebanon.” “We should be masters of our land but brothers to everyone, collaborating for better or worse,” he said. – The Daily Star

Assad's warning: shocking but true
By The Daily Star
Monday, February 08, 2010
Editorial
When Syrian President Bashar Assad recently told The New Yorker magazine that “civil war in Lebanon could start in days … unless they change the whole system,” it should have been music to the ears of almost all Lebanese. It was comforting to finally hear that the Syrian potentate recognizes the truth about Lebanon.
Assad was right. Despite the fulminations of many political hacks over Assad’s comments, there is simply too much evidence of hatred and violence between the various factions in Lebanon to deny the truth about this country. Indeed, we should be pleased to learn that Assad knows what we here have been living, day in and day out, for decades.
Assad was also right about the need for change – and, it should be added, that a plurality of Lebanese wants to change the system. We are tired of this unrepresentative electoral system, we want to reform a judicial system that is little more than a rubber stamp for political whims and we do not want even the small details of our communities subject to opaque political deals.
At the same time, we recognize Syria’s share of the blame for this sorry situation. The presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon and the central role of Assad’s father in Lebanese political life were enshrined in the 1989 Taif Agreement in order to midwife that memorandum of understanding into a new social contract.
But that did not happen. On the contrary, Syria hijacked the process and became a hindrance to the renewal of Lebanese society. After the inexplicable and mysterious renewal of former President Emile Lahoud’s mandate in 2004 by Syrian fiat, Syrian henchmen insinuated themselves into even the most esoteric minutiae of Lebanese public life.
But we do not want to get lost in the past. Today we need Assad’s help. We need him to recognize that civil war in Lebanon is close; we need him to recognize that most of us do not want civil war; and we need him to recognize that he can help with avoiding a civil war, too.
Judging by the spluttering reactions of some Lebanese would-be leaders, it is sometimes shocking to state the obvious, as Assad did.
We can state the obvious, too: Assad’s position is unstable, and Syria is unwell. We need him to help us, and yet we can help him, too. A robust Lebanese economy is nothing but a boon to the wobbly command economy supervised by Assad. In Lebanon we need internal reconciliation. We need Bashar Assad to be a stable partner in that reconciliation – and not to treat us with disdain. His words mark a good beginning: we need him to be as concerned about Lebanon as we are about Syria.

Expect modest US gains from thaw with Syria
The Obama team may get modest benefits from ending a five-year chill with Damascus but will find it hard, if not impossible to peel Syria way from its hardline ally, Iran, and break the Arab-Israeli stalemate, analysts said.
By Lachlan Carmichael, in Washington for AFP
Published: 08 Feb 2010
A spokesman for Barack Obama's administration said last week that it had submitted its nominee for ambassador to Damascus, the fruit of a year-long drive to engage Syria in a bid to promote Arab-Israeli peace.
The Syrian government has indicated that the proposed nominee is being considered. He is widely reported to be Robert Ford, a career diplomat with experience in Arab countries like Algeria and Iraq, his most recent posting He would be the first US ambassador to Damascus since the one recalled after \a former Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri, was killed in a bombing blamed on Syria on February 14 2005. Analysts said that a thaw in ties can allow Washington to reap benefits from intelligence cooperation with Damascus and improve chances for Syria-Israeli peace, even while Palestinian-Israeli peace remains elusive. Indeed, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in The New Yorker last week, that the Syrian secret services have already resumed cooperation with the CIA and Britain's MI6.
Aaron David Miller, who was a Middle East adviser in past US administrations, said that Washington can achieve modest objectives, such as intelligence sharing, but he set expectations low.
The appointment of an ambassador "doesn't reflect anything like a significant improvement, let alone a transformation in the US-Syrian relationship," said Miller.
Syria is a hard nut to crack, he said, because President Bashar al-Assad, who is from the minority Alawite sect, focuses foremost on ensuring his regime's survival - and that means having strategic ties with non-Arab and Shia Iran. "I'm not suggesting that it (the relationship) isn't amenable to change. But it would only change if the Syrians could convince themselves that they could get their needs met elsewhere," he added. And its needs flow from its stakeholding in Lebanon via Hezbollah, the powerful Shia Muslim political and militant movement which Iran has also backed in its decades-old campaign against Israel. "As long as the Hezbollah-Iranian relationship is as close as it is, the Syrians, I think, will only alienate the Iranians at their own peril," Miller said.
He said Assad's Syria, which has a majority Sunni Muslim population, sees Iran as a hedge against a Sunni-led Arab world that it mistrusts, while it also looks to energy-rich Tehran for economic support.
Syria also needs Israel to return the Golan Heights, which was captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, said Miller, a Woodrow Wilson Center policy scholar.
Despite the odds, he said, it is worth the effort to improve US-Syria ties, "manage" Lebanon, try to promote Syrian-Israeli peace talks, and "even make the Iranians nervous," as is likely with the ambassador's appointment. But Miller doubted that a "fundamental improvement" in US-Syrian ties can occur before a peace breakthrough between Israel and Syria, which would require Damascus to open up economically and cut support to militants. Jon Alterman, a former State Department policy planning staffer, did not expect Syria to abandon its strategic alliance with Iran but said it could "rebalance its relationship" with Tehran and Washington. And that could blunt Iranian ambitions in the region.
"Having a more isolated Iran may lead to an Iran that is more cautious in its dealings, for fear of further antagonising the rest of the world," said the analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Iran not only supports Hezbollah, it backs the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, allegedly backs anti-US militants in Iraq and pursues a nuclear program in defiance of the international community. Washington has also accused Damascus of turning a blind eye to militants crossing its border into Iraq.
Marina Ottaway, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the ambassadorial appointment will not mean much for the stalemated Palestinian-Israeli peace process. But she said it could help revive peace talks between Syria and Israel, which exchanged a fierce war of words last week.
Nevertheless, Ottaway said Turkey proved to be a better mediator than the United States "as the Syrians will be highly suspicious about any proposal by the US".
Turkish-mediated talks between Israel and Syria collapsed after the Jewish state waged a brief war against Hamas in Gaza in late 2008.
Ottaway believes the ambassadorial appointment amounts to sending a message of the administration's interest in promoting a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.

The illusion of 'Syria first'
By Akiva Eldar
Haaretz
What do these nagging Palestinians want from us? They should be thankful that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he supports two states for two peoples. So what if he also swore that Jerusalem will remain unified forever under Israeli sovereignty, vowed that Ariel is an inalienable part of the state and promised that the Israel Defense Forces will retain control of the Jordan River?
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was not born yesterday; he understands that the prime minister does not really plan to continue the annexation of the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. It's clear that Netanyahu knows that it is unacceptable to thrust a long finger like Ariel into the heart of a Palestinian state. Surely he does not think that on the way home from Jordan a citizen of a sovereign Palestine would have to tell an Israeli security guard who packed his suitcase.
Why do we believe Netanyahu when he makes peace noises and convince ourselves that he is only pretending when he hugs settlers? If the prime minister has no problem making baseless declarations for a domestic audience, why should he have a problem making empty statements for external consumption? If the prime minister is willing to take Jerusalem's name in vain to appease cabinet members Moshe Ya'alon or Avigdor Lieberman, who can promise to Abbas that the Bar-Ilan speech, which was only meant to shake off Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, is not just a ruse?
These questions are for the U.S. administration to answer. It will not do what it must until it squeezes out of Netanyahu a clear stance on how he sees the basics of a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Special envoy George Mitchell wasted too much time on the construction plans in the Old City's holy basin, in Ariel, and in the Jordan Valley. The time has come for him to ask to see the evacuation plans for the Jewish settlements and neighborhoods east of the Green Line. If it turns out that the Palestinian part of Netanyahu's two-state solution resembles the Bantustans from the dark days of apartheid in South Africa, Mitchell will be free to get on with mediating other conflicts. We will know that the games of the "peace process" are over and we will prepare for life under an apartheid regime.
When Mitchell returns the mandate President Obama gave him to resume negotiations with the Palestinians, he would do well to also give back the mandate for reopening the Syrian track. Three prime ministers - Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak - encouraged Bill Clinton to bypass Yasser Arafat and try his luck with Hafez Assad. Netanyahu, too, tried his luck. What have we had since? Another intifada in the West Bank, another war in Lebanon, and another war in the Gaza Strip. How many days will Arafat's successors stay in power if Obama betrays them with Hafez Assad's successor? How long will it take for Hamas to take over the Dayton force after it becomes clear that the occupation has no expiration date?
It's hard to believe that the Syrians are willing to cooperate via yet another round of negotiations at the expense of the Palestinians. Just a week ago, Syrian Minister Bouthaina Shaaban criticized Arab countries for ignoring the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip. In an article in the daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, the spokeswoman for President Bashar Assad wrote that the Americans' talk about a peace process "clouds the fact that the Palestinians are prisoners of a racist occupation, of collective punishment and genocide."
Every year since March 2002, Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization have reiterated their support for the Arab peace initiative. Hopefully they will do so again next month at the Arab League summit in Tripoli. The initiative offers Israel normalization with all Arab League members in return for a withdrawal from all territories occupied in 1967. It's doubtful whether the return of the Golan Heights will convince Assad to diverge from the Arab consensus and host an Israeli ambassador when his government perpetuates the occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
It's hard to exaggerate the contribution of peace with Syria to Israel's position in the region, especially to security in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Damascus channel must be reopened. This must be done in parallel with the Ramallah channel, not instead of it.