Thousands demonstrate in Jerusalem
November 5, 2007
THOUSANDS DEMONSTRATE IN JERUSALEM AGAINST ANNAPOLIS SUMMIT
by Hana Levi Julian
Knesset Members, prominent rabbis and leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) addressed thousands of Jews Sunday night protesting against discussions being held between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Quartet Mideast envoy Tony Blair, who represented the U.S., Russia, United Nations and European Union.
A protest sign read: OLMERT, ISRAEL IS NOT YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY
The mass demonstration began with a march from the U.S. Consulate to the King David Hotel, where the three were meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit to be held in Annapolis. Many of the protestors carried signs saying, “The Olmert-Abu Bluff Agreement Will Blow Up in Our Faces!”
MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) spoke at the rally, saying, “Ehud [Olmert], Ehud [Barak], and Tzipi [Livni] are deceiving an entire people and leading all of us to the Annapolis trap while ignoring the facts on the ground.”
MK YUVAL STEINITZ (Likud) addressed the rally
Steinitz derided plans to divide Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, saying that such plans “would bring bloody riots in the Old City in place of peace.”
MK URI ARIEL (NU/NRP) told reporters from the rally, “We’re telling Olmert: Stop selling the land of Israel, do not divide Jerusalem, do not even think of destroying Jewish towns, the land of Israel belongs to us, to the people of Israel. You have no mandate for this.”
Rice, Olmert and Blair, who attended the Saban Conference the same evening, were meeting to thresh out “a declaration of principles” to be presented at the summit that protestors said would include a return to Israel’s pre-1967 borders, termed by the late Labor party leader Abba Eban as “The Auschwitz borders,” due to their vulnerability to Arab attacks. Protestors also rallied against the proposed division of the capital.
Olmert is reportedly planning to release more terrorists — this time with Jewish blood on their hands — as another “good will gesture” to Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah gang leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has asked Israel to release 2,000 terrorist prisoners, but it is not clear how many of those Olmert will agree to free.
According to a source quoted by Haaretz, the prisoner release is needed partly “because in Annapolis there will not be solutions for the core issues.” Since the “core issues” – such as the status of Jerusalem — will not be on the table, said the source, the PA will need to show its population another accomplishment, such as the release of convicted terrorists. Olmert said Sunday, however, that “core issues” will indeed be discussed in Annapolis.
In a Sunday speech about the upcoming Annapolis conference, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he believes that Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are entering a new phase in their relations. Speaking at the annual Saban Forum at the Jerusalem King David Hotel, Olmert said that everything was on the table: “All of the historical questions that overshadow the argument between us and the Palestinians are on the agenda. We will not evade any one of them.”
Olmert repeated his claim that Israel “has a partner” in the form of the current PA leadership. “Mahmoud Abbas… and Salam Fayad… say publicly, without hesitation, despite all of the difficulties it entails, that they want to live in peace with us,” he said. “This is an opportunity, we must seize it.”
Olmert did not relate to the TV program aired some two weeks ago on Abbas’s Ramallah-based TV station which depicts Palestine as replacing the entire State of Israel. Arab Media expert Itamar Marcus noted, “The message they [the PA] have conveyed to their people for years, and continue to convey on the eve of the conference, is that ‘Palestine’ exists and it replaces all of Israel.”
“We will not waive the Palestinians’ obligations, according to the Road Map, and we will not evade carrying out our own, down to the last one,” Olmert announced. “Some of them are not comfortable, some will create significant political difficulties, I am aware of that.”
Olmert said Annapolis would not be a venue for negotiations, but would kick-start a negotiation process: “It will provide an international stamp of approval for negotiations on a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians… Annapolis will be the starting block for a continuous, serious, profound negotiation process that will not avoid any issue…”
“If we and the Palestinians act determinedly,” he said, “there is a chance that we can reach real accomplishments, maybe even before the end of President Bush’s term.”
His body language exuding conviction, Olmert said: “I am excited with the opportunity to contribute to an opportunity. I know all the excuses and reasons for saying ‘no,’ but I feel in the depth of my heart that it is time! This is the spirit with which we approach Annapolis… We come with good will, joy and hope.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: We cannot help but connect what is happening with the warning of the Hebrew prophets about a “FALSE PEACE” and the words of the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 5:1-3. We encourage all of our readers to prayer!
