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The "Palestinian" jihadists
show that they know that they can't do anything to shake Obama of his
loyalty to them, and so they have no accountability whatsoever. And the
man who gave F16's and weapons to the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt
must know that a "Palestinian" state will just be a new jihad base for
new attacks against a truncated and weakened Israel. "Rockets hit Israel
as Obama meets Palestinians," by Julie Pace and Matthew Lee for the Associated Press, March 21 (thanks to Anne Crockett):
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - U.S. President Barack Obama is
meeting Palestinian officials on the second day of his Mideast tour to
emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, a
message underscored Thursday when Palestinian militants in Gaza
launched rockets into southern Israel.
After a visit to Israel's national museum - where he inspected the
Dead Sea Scrolls, which highlight the Jewish people's ancient connection
to the land that is now Israel - Obama headed to the West Bank
to tell the Palestinians that the creation of a Palestinian state
remains a priority for his administration.
He is not bringing a new plan to relaunch peace talks, but in
meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and a speech
to Israeli students later in the day, he will appeal to both sides to
halt unilateral actions that make negotiations more difficult.
Those troublesome actions include continued construction of Jewish
housing settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians and repeated
Palestinian efforts to achieve recognition at the United Nations in the
absence of a peace agreement.
Yasser Abed-Rabbo, an aide Abbas, said before the meeting that the
Palestinians will tell Obama they won't return to negotiations with
Israel without a settlement freeze.
"There can be no real (peace) process with the continuation of
settlement activities on our lands," he said, adding that the issue of
settlements is central to the Obama-Abbas meeting.
Palestinians argue that they cannot negotiate a border between Israel
and a future Palestine while Israel unilaterally shapes that line
through accelerated settlement building.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east
Jerusalem - territories Israel captured in the 1967 war - but are ready
for minor adjustments to accommodate some settlements closest to Israel.
Since 1967, Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and
east Jerusalem that are now home to 560,000 Israelis - an increase of
60,000 since Obama became president four years ago.
Palestinians argue that only strong U.S. pressure can get Israel to
change course and halt its settlement enterprise, but doubt Obama is
willing to do so. Obama's wooing of Israeli public opinion during his
current trip has further enforced such perceptions.
In downtown Ramallah, several dozen people protested against what is perceived here as a strong U.S. bias in favor of Israel.
Obama "should take immediate action to stop settlement activity
because the passivity of his position toward settlements is happening
while the very last option of a two-state solution is being killed by
Israeli settlements," said Mustafa Barghouti, a leading Palestinian
activist.
On Wednesday, Obama reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. commitment to
Israel's security and noted there had been no fatal attacks on Israelis
from the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas.
That calm has not extended to Gaza, which is run by the militant
Islamic Hamas movement. As Obama began his program Thursday, Israeli
police said militants in Gaza had fired two rockets at the southern town
of Sderot.
One of the rockets exploded in the courtyard of a house in Sderot
early in the morning, causing damage but no injuries, said police
spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The other landed in an open field. Sirens
wailed in Sderot shortly after the 7 a.m. rocket attack, forcing
residents on their way to work or school to run to bomb shelters.
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited the border town,
which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza
Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets
and mortar shells at Israel, prompting Israel, with considerable U.S.
assistance, to develop its Iron Dome missile defense system, which it
credits with intercepting hundreds of rockets.
Immediately after his arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Obama and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured an Iron Dome battery at
Ben Gurion International Airport in a vivid display of U.S. security
assistance to Israel.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 after ousting the rival Palestinian
Fatah group in bloody street fighting. Fatah and the Palestinian
Authority, led by Abbas, now govern only part of the West Bank.
In contrast to Israel, the Palestinians have shown little excitement
over the Obama visit. In the run-up to the visit, demonstrators have
defaced and destroyed posters of Obama in an expression of
dissatisfaction with U.S. policy in the region....
As if he hasn't already given them enough.
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