A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official responded yesterday to a press statement made by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Saturday, saying “Israel is not a partner for peace,” by calling the Syrian dictator’s credibility into question.

“What interests Assad is not peace, but rather the peace process. Assad knows very well that he will have to pay for peace with normalization and open his country to the West, which could bring about the toppling of his regime,” said Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon. “Assad is only interested in the peace process in order to get his country out of its international isolation and to remove the pressure of the international community.”

Peace between Israel and Syria can only be reached, he said, when the Syrians start negotiating without preconditions and stop supporting terrorist groups that seek Israel’s destruction.

“It’s impossible to desire peace and at the same time support and arm Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad,” Mr. Ayalon said.

Mr. Ayalon also addressed today’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama in Washington. He called the bond between the U.S. and Israel “a natural one” because both nations share the common goal of stopping Iran’s and Pakistan’s nuclear programs.

The Israelis, he said, likely would not act against Iran without coordinating operations with the U.S., and he expressed hope that time hasn’t run out for a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Iran is a very weak state in a shaky situation,” Mr. Ayalon said. “They cannot withstand real sanctions; their banks and shipping companies are vulnerable. If the world insists on imposing strict sanctions against them, military action may not be necessary.”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

A report issued on the eve of today’s summit between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama says U.S. policy toward Iran’s nuclear program could determine the outcome of the president’s administration.

The report, published by The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), warns the issue could be “the Cuban missile crisis all over again.”

“It will test the ability of the newly-elected U.S. president to confront the adversary and better him. In a way, this is a make-or-break situation for Obama,” analyst Ephraim Asculai wrote in the INSS report, titled “The Game with Iran.”

The INSS report said Tehran would test Mr. Obama’s resolve by continuing uranium enrichment and other activities required for nuclear weapons development.

It also says the United States will likely be forced to confront rising instability in the Middle East sparked by Iran’s nuclear program, as well as by Tehran’s support for insurgency groups. The report cited Egypt’s capture of an alleged Hezbollah network, which reportedly planned attacks throughout the Sinai Peninsula as an example.

“Egypt is confronting Iran and instability is in the air,” the report said. “Perhaps more than the recent U.S. elections, the timetable is now dictated by the closing deadline of Iran’s nuclear progress.”

Earlier this month, CIA director Leon Panetta held a meeting with the Israeli prime minister and reportedly demanded Israel not take any military action against Iran.

Officials said Mr. Obama ordered Mr. Panetta’s visit because he wanted to avoid a long discussion on Iran during today’s meeting in Washington.

Mr. Asculai, a former official in the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, said the Obama administration likely will pursue a diplomatic solution to Iran’s outlawed uranium enrichment program. But the report advises Mr. Obama to set a deadline for obtaining diplomatic results.

“In setting the time limit, the president must remember that any time gained by the Iranians during the negotiation process would be used to further advance their project,” the report warned.

The report said Iran could exploit the Obama administration’s diplomatic endeavors by insisting its nuclear project is nonnegotiable. Doing so, the report said, would harm U.S. influence throughout the Middle East, particularly among the Gulf Cooperation Council states, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Mr. Asculai urged Israel to delay plans to attack Iran and instead recommended the Netanyahu government give Mr. Obama time to discover how receptive Iran is to diplomacy.

“Should engagement fail, Israel would be in a better position to convince the United States, if not to actively support, then at least not to interfere, with any military action,” the report said.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

The American military now openly admits providing military training to Palestinian military forces.

A U.S. military official, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, assigned by the United States to be a “security coordinator,” has been appointed to train 1,500 Palestinian military personnel. They will be available for “immediate deployment” in the area between Jenin and Nablus, less than an hour from Israel’s populated coastal plain.

He discussed his mission at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies last week.

Lt. Gen. Dayton said: “We also have something in our pocket called the West Bank Training Initiative where we have plans to continue a series of courses in the West Bank on logistics, leadership, first aid, maintenance, English language, battalion staff training and driver education. These are led by our British and Turkish officers with an eye to eventually turning this over to the Palestinians themselves.”

The premise behind American military aid to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) military forces is the hope the American-trained Palestinian personnel will fight Hamas.

However, the training of Palestinian military units by U.S. advisers is taking place at the same time the PA is negotiating to join forces with the Hamas terrorist organization, which rules Gaza.

All indications show the PA is making every effort to co-opt and include Hamas in its military forces for joint operations against Israel.

Were that to happen, American military advisers and their Palestinian trainees would be placed into direct confrontation with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and with the Israeli population.

Despite assurances to the contrary, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the parent organization of the PA, remains in a state of war with Israel.

To reassure the Washington Institute, Lt. Gen. Dayton downplayed the dangers of the training that the Americans are providing the Palestinians, by saying that “Our equipping is all nonlethal…”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

Leading members of Israel’s ruling coalition in the Knesset gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a firm message Thursday in advance of Monday’s meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington.

Their message: “You have no mandate for concessions.”

Those who participated in the large public morning meeting of the Likud-led coalition, organized by Likud member Danny Danon, called for Mr. Netanyahu not to yield any ground on the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“The Palestinian state idea should be brought to a halt,” they said.

Shas Knesset member Haim Amsalem said his conservative religious party would not support a Palestinian state.

Even the Knesset member who is closest to Mr. Netanyahu, Ophir Okunis, reminded Israel’s prime minister the Likud Central Committee had rejected the two-state solution in the past.

In recent weeks, organizations associated with Israel’s governing coalition have harshly criticized Mr. Netanyahu. They claim he is continuing the Olmert government’s policies of giving the U.S. the impression Israel would allow the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state to the east.

They fear doing so would foster the same sort of terror threat that Israel now faces from Gaza.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

Last night, Naftali Moses, an American Israeli, paced the floor of his home in Efrat, a Bethlehem suburb, where Pope Benedict XVI spent the day.

Today, Mr. Moses will meet the Pope to share his grief over the loss of his son, Avraham David Moses, to the hands of an Arab terrorist.

It has been 14 months since an Arab sprayed more than 500 bullets into the library of Jerusalem’s Rabbi Kook Talmudic Academy, mowing down eight young men while they studied the Talmud.

Avraham David Moses and his learning partner, Segev Avichayil, were studying together when the terrorist entered the library.

The two boys were immersed in learning when their friends yelled to both of them to run for their lives, but they did not run fast enough.

The Arab murdered both boys in cold blood, shooting Avraham David and Segev in the back of their necks to make sure that they were dead.

The assailant was eventually shot to death by a neighbor who heard the shooting in the seminary. Following the murder, the Palestinian Authority (PA) declared the murderer an “honored martyr.”

Mr. Naftali says that he will tell the Pope about his double pain – losing a son, and witnessing the PA, run by Mahmoud Abbas, honor the murderer of his son.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

A stinging academic report denouncing the Obama administration’s Middle East policies has been released with less than a week remaining before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first meeting with President Barack Obama.

The report, authored by Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv, particularly criticizes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Prof. Inbar called Mrs. Clinton’s reported statement that gaining Arab support to prevent Iran from going nuclear “requires Israeli flexibility on the Palestinian issue” worrisome.

He said the U.S. State Department fails to understand the Arab states will cooperate with efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program regardless of progress on the Palestinian issue.

“We also learned that the White House is trying to make kosher the transfer of funds to a Palestinian government that includes the radical Islamist Hamas,” Prof. Inbar said.

He characterized this as a “strategic folly,” since Hamas is a “a recognized terrorist organization, is an Iranian proxy, with a clear Jihadist agenda.”

He also views this Obama/Clinton approach as a threat to Egypt, since Hamas maintains “strong ties to the Islamic opposition in Egypt that wants to replace the pro-Western Mubarak regime.”

Prof. Inbar concluded his report stating “the chances for progress toward a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, which the U.S. favors, are dismal, since the Jewish and Arab national movements cannot reach a compromise.”

This is particularly true considering the Palestinian refusal to accept the Jewish right to self-determination.

“Misguided American policies, particularly regarding Iran, may have disastrous consequences such as the fall of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey into Islamist hands,” Prof. Inbar wrote.

Under such a scenario, Israel would remain the only country where an American airplane could land safely in the Middle East.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

A report published by the Herzlia, Israel-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center says Iran regards Gaza as a strategic crossroads for insurgent operations in both Asia and Africa.

It also says Iran regards the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip as a regional power it can use to challenge Israel and its neighbors.

The report titled “Exposure of a Hezbollah network in Egypt” indicates Iran views the Hamas presence in the Gaza Strip as a convenient staging ground for staging terrorist attacks against Israel and in its fight with pro-Western Arab governments.

The report said the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah has been helping Hamas’ military buildup in the Gaza Strip, despite Hamas’ refusal to “fully comply with Iranian dictates.”

“Iran considers the establishment of the radical Islamic entity in the Gaza Strip to be an important leverage for waging an armed struggle against Israel along its southern border by providing Palestinian terrorist organizations with rocket capabilities as Iran did with Hezbollah in Lebanon,” the report said. “What is more, the Iranians consider the Hamas-controlled Islamist Gaza Strip to be a regional power which they can use to increase their influence in the Arab and Muslim world, pose a considerable challenge to Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas], and export radical Islam to such pro-Western Arab countries as Egypt, using that country’s geographical proximity to the Gaza Strip.”

The report also said Iranian aid to the Gaza Strip was highlighted by the capture of a Hezbollah cell in Egypt in late 2008. Hezbollah reportedly operated Unit 1800, a unit assigned to establish operational terror cells to attack Israel from neighboring Arab states.

“It is also our assessment that those operatives had undergone training in Iran, Syria and Lebanon and had been brought back to the Gaza Strip with the assistance of Hezbollah,” the report said.

Hezbollah’s network in Egypt reportedly facilitated a weapons smuggling route through Sudan, Egypt and the Gaza Strip since at least 2005. The network, which acquired C4 plastic explosives and smuggled trained fighters to the Gaza Strip, was said to have planned attacks on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

“The exposure of the Hezbollah network, which not only provided Gaza Strip terrorist organizations with logistical assistance but was also planning to perpetrate terrorist attacks on Egyptian soil, was a warning sign the Egyptians could not ignore,” the report said.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

A prominent Islamic cleric used an interreligious meeting in Jerusalem presided over by Pope Benedict XVI as a platform to accuse Israel of systematically “killing Palestinian children” and to call for an “Islamic-Christian rebellion” against Israel.

Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, head of the Muslim Shariah courts in the Palestinian territories, had not been scheduled to speak, but made his comments in Arabic after seizing the microphone at the meeting.

The Pope had planned to use his appearance at the Notre Dame Center to promote interreligious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims, but he walked out of the meeting before its scheduled end after Sheikh Tamimi launched into his tirade.

Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who is coordinating the Pope’s visit to Israel, expressed his disappointment.

He said: “The sheikh’s provocation hurt, first and foremost, Pope Benedict XVI who came to the Holy Land to promote peace and unity between the peoples of the region and all persons of faith. Israel condemns these words of hatred uttered by the sheikh, who instead of fostering peace and coexistence chose to plant seeds of division and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as between Jews, Muslims and Christians.”

Mr. Misezhnikov added “it is a shame that the extremists were those who represented the Palestinians and the Muslims in this important event in the presence of the Holy See.”

The Pope’s spokesman in Jerusalem told the Voice Of Israel radio newsreel that Sheikh Tamimi’s speech was “not in the spirit of the conference.”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

Syria has reportedly rebuilt the structure that housed the reactor bombed by Israel last year and has turned the site into a facility for manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.

Official sources stated Syria had significantly expanded its biological and chemical weapons program by doing so.

According to a CBS News report, the discovery of the Syrian program was one of the reasons President Barack Obama decided to renew the sanctions against Syria. An American source said [the U.S.] had received information that had altered the situation in U.S.-Syrian relations. After Sunday night’s report on CBS, it was clear what this information was.

A senior American intelligence source in Washington told the Israeli media Syria had denied having rebuilt the structure and also denied it was part of its biological and chemical weapons program. American satellite imagery, however, showed unequivocally that Syria was lying.

The discovery of the renewed Syrian biological and chemical weapons program adds to a series of differences of opinion that has left the Syrians and Americans in a deadlock.

Syria’s relationship with Iran, arming of Hezbollah and hosting of Hamas and other terror groups greatly troubles the Obama administration.

As a result, Mr. Obama announced a change in his Syria policy after his two envoys returned to Washington on Sunday.

The envoys went to Syria with the new intelligence showing the site that formerly housed the nuclear reactor had been restored and had become a structure housing an expanded chemical and biological weapons program.

Syria, however, denied the existence of the new program at the facility despite being shown the satellite footage, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

After Mr. Obama consulted with his advisers, he reached the conclusion that Syria had not done anything to justify removing the sanctions.

“The concerns we had about Syria’s actions have not changed, so renewing the sanctions was the right thing to do,” a senior White House source told the Voice of Israel Radio.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

The Obama administration has begun imposing obstacles on Israeli efforts to procure American-built jet fighters.

According to Middle East Newsline, Obama administration sources said the White House has drafted measures that could prevent Israel from procuring fighters, such as the stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

They said the administration plans to require Israel to obtain special permission from the Defense Department and State Department before acquiring the JSF.

“The measures would make it more difficult for non-NATO allies to acquire JSF,” a source said.

Under the proposals, the Pentagon would order modifications of the JSF to provide the aircraft with nuclear strike capabilities. The sources said such a capability would provide the Pentagon with access to money to maintain and develop the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

“Once JSF obtains nuclear strike capability, there becomes a problem with exports,” the source said. “NATO countries would have less of a problem; non-NATO countries would need special exemptions.”

The sources said Lockheed Martin would not be instructed to develop both nuclear- and non-nuclear models of the F-35 for the first stage of production. Israel has sought to become among the first export clients of JSF.

Over the last few months, the administration has rejected a series of Israeli requests regarding modifications of the F-35. They included Israeli electronic warfare systems and acquisition of U.S. software codes that would allow Israel to repair the aircraft’s central computer. The U.S. refusal meant that the Israel Air Force would be forced to send the F-35 to the United States for any repairs, a process that could take months.

The administration has also been resisting Israeli requests for technical data on the new F-15SE (Silent Eagle) fighter. The sources said the State Department has been delaying Israeli requests for pre-export licenses required to examine the next generation F-15, which incorporates certain stealth characteristics.

The sources said the administration has not approved the new F-15 for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. They said this could prevent Israel from using U.S. military aid to purchase the aircraft from Boeing.

“This is a legal issue,” a source said. “The F-15SE might not qualify for FMS.”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com