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Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett this weekend blasted world powers for including in the comprehensive agreement with Iran a provision that in essence suggests that they, including the U.S., might protect Iranian nuclear facilities from future external threats, including “sabotage.”
Bennett was referring to Annex III of the agreement forged between Iran, the U.S. and five world powers which addressed issues related to nuclear security.
In the section titled “Nuclear Security,” the document states that those who negotiated the deal — the U.S., China, France, Russia, the U.K. and Germany — “and possibly other states, as appropriate, are prepared to cooperate with Iran on the implementation of nuclear security guidelines and best practices”:
Co-operation in the following areas can be envisaged:
10.1. Co-operation in the form of training courses and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to prevent, protect and respond to nuclear security threats to nuclear facilities and systems as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems;
10.2. Co-operation through training and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to protect against, and respond to nuclear security threats, including sabotage, as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems.
Bennett wasn’t the only one to sound the alarm, particularly, about clause 10.2.
The Center for Security Policy asserted that Annex III appears “to commit the United States and other world powers to the defense of Iran’s nuclear program.”
The right-wing website Israel National News called the same provision of the agreement “disturbing.”
“The direct reference to sabotage in the deal’s text is highly significant, given that Israel – as well as U.S. President Barack Obama – has been accused of launching several cyber sabotage attempts in the past to delay Iran’s suspected march to obtaining nuclear weapons,” observed the news outlet.
Iran has accused Israel of working to sabotage its nuclear efforts, including blaming the Jewish state for assassinating nuclear scientists.
It has also blamed Israel and the U.S. for launching the Stuxnet worm discovered in 2010 which struck Iranian nuclear enrichment work.
A deal has been reached Tuesday between Iran and world powers that would lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif hailed the deal as a “win-win solution” and a “new chapter of hope” for humanity.
On Twitter, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani applauded the efforts of world powers to resolve the “unnecessary crisis” surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.
The agreement comes after two weeks of tumultuous talks between P5+1 and Iranian officials and more than a decade of sporadic negotiations.
While details of the deal have just been made public, world powers have agreed to limit the amount of nuclear activity Iran can conduct over the next 10 to 15 years. In exchange, international sanctions, which have choked off Iran’s economy, will be lifted.
Tehran will be allowed to continue to enrich uranium at 3.67 percent for the next 15 years and continue running 6,104 centrifuges, 1,044 of them at the secretive Fordo nuclear site.
Following an official announcement, the deal will be reviewed by legislators from the seven nations involved in the talks – US, Britain, Russia, China, France, Germany and Iran. US legislators will have 60 days to review the agreement and either accept it or reject it.
US President Barack Obama has warned that he would use his veto power should Congress fail to pass the nuclear legislation. The agreement has been a focal point in Obama’s foreign policy.
“I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal,” the president said Tuesday during a press conference at the White House. “Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off. The international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not achieve a nuclear weapon.”
“If Iran violates the deal, all the sanctions will snap back into place. Iran must complete key nuclear steps before it receives new sanctions relief,” Obama said.
P5+1 member countries met with Iranian officials amid negotiations about the future of their country’s nuclear program, July 6, 2015. (Photo: US State Department)
Israeli officials are livid over the agreement, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the “Iran nuclear deal is a bad mistake of historic proportions.”
While meeting with Netherlands Foreign Minister Bert Koenders Tuesday, Netanyahu stated: “I would like to say here and now – when you are willing to make an agreement at any cost, this is the result. From the initial reports we can already conclude that this agreement is an historic mistake for the world.”
“Far-reaching concessions have been made in all areas that were supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability. In addition, Iran will receive hundreds of billions of dollars with which it can fuel its terror machine and its expansion and aggression throughout the Middle East and across the globe.”
“One cannot prevent an agreement when the negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who, even during the talks, keep chanting: ‘Death to America.’ We knew very well that the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than anything, and therefore we did not commit to preventing an agreement,” the prime minister explained.
“We did commit to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and this commitment still stands. I say to all the leaders in Israel, it is time to put petty politics aside and unite behind this most fateful issue to the future and security of the State of Israel.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely slammed the deal, saying “This agreement is a historic capitulation agreement of the West to the axis of evil led by Iran. The consequences of the agreement in the foreseeable future are very serious, Iran will continue to spread the terror and it will metastasize everywhere, continue to stoke the flames Middle East, and worst of all make a huge step towards being a nuclear threshold state.”
She warned that “The State of Israel will work via all diplomatic means to try to prevent the ratification of the agreement.”
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev said the deal gave Iran “a license to kill.”
“Iran today received a license to kill, and it must be revoked before it’s too late. The fact that they’re celebrating in Tehran teaches that the deal is bad for the free world. Bad for humanity. Now is the time to come together at home and go out on an explanation campaign for the American public opinion,” she stated.
“The last word hasn’t been said and the American Congress isn’t ready to approve the capitulation deal of the West against the terror state.”
Minister of Education Naftali Bennet took to Twitter and called Tuesday a dark day in history.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni told Army Radio the Iran deal is “a dramatic agreement, and Israel is not there.” She criticized Netanyahu’s performance during negotiations, saying, “If anything is clear, it is that Netanyahu is ineffective.”
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman said the Vienna deal is a “complete capitulation to terrorism.”
“A black flag waves over this agreement and it will be remembered as a black day for the free world,” he stated. Recalling a verse from Ethics of the Fathers (1:14), Liberman added that Israel must remember, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me.”
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/45147/netanyahu-final-nuclear-deal-bad-mistake-historic-proportions-jerusalem/#HRtEgckbTTChjKHL.99
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Attended Paris Anti-Terror March Over France's Objections
Did Israeli Politics Cause Premier to Flip-Flop and Go?
GETTY IMAGES
Chilly Meeting: French President Francois Hollande makes little effort to cover up his displeasure at the decision of Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the anti-terror march in Paris.
French President Francois Hollande asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to come to Paris for the march against terror on Sunday, but the Israel premier decided to attend anyway after hearing that political rivals were going to be there, according to an Israeli source who was involved in the contacts between the Elysees Palace and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. The fact that this message had been conveyed was first reported by Channel 2.
After the French government began to send invitations to world leaders to participate in the rally against terror, Hollande’s national security adviser, Jacques Audibert, contacted his Israeli counterpart, Yossi Cohen, and said that Hollande would prefer that Netanyahu not attend, the source said.
Audibert explained that Hollande wanted the event to focus on demonstrating solidarity with France, and to avoid anything liable to divert attention to other controversial issues, like Jewish-Muslim relations or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Audibert said that Hollande hoped that Netanyahu would understand the difficulties his arrival might pose and would announce that he would not be attending.
The source noted that one of the French concerns - not conveyed to representatives of the Israeli government - was that Netanyahu would take advantage of the event for campaign purposes and make speeches, especially about the Jews of France. Such statements, the Elysee Palace feared, would hurt the demonstration of solidarity the French government was trying to promote as part of dealing with the terror attacks.
GETTY IMAGES
According to the source, Netanyahu at first acquiesced to the French request. In any case, the Shin Bet security service unit that protects public figures considered the arrangements for the prime minister’s security to be complex. And so, on Saturday evening, Netanyahu’s people announced that he would not be flying to Paris because of security concerns. Netanyahu told the French he would come to France on Tuesday for a Jewish community event.
The French apparently sent the same message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Like Netanyahu, Abbas acceded to the French request and released a strange statement about the same time Netanyahu released his, that he would not be attending the event because of the bad weather.
However, on Saturday night, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett announced their intention to go to Paris and take part in the march and meet with the Jewish community. When Netanyahu heard they were going, he informed the French he would be attending the march after all.
According to the source, when Cohen informed Audibert that Netanyahu would be attending the event after all, Audibert angrily told Cohen that the prime minister’s conduct would have an adverse effect on ties between the two countries as long as Hollande was president of France and Netanyahu was prime minister of Israel.
Audibert made it clear that in light of Netanyahu’s intention to arrive, an invitation would also be extended to Abbas. And indeed, several hours after Abbas announced that he would not be traveling to Paris, his office issued a statement stating that he would in fact be at the march.
Hollande’s anger at Netanyahu was evident during the ceremony held Sunday evening following the march at the Grand Synagogue in Paris, an event attended by hundreds of members of the local Jewish community.
Hollande sat through most of the ceremony, but when Netanyahu’s turn at the podium arrived, the French president got up from his seat and made an early exit.
Upset at Netanyahu, Hollande also presumably preferred to avoid a rerun of the 2012 ceremony for the victims of the Toulouse shooting – to which Netanyahu arrived just as he was commencing his elections campaign.
The French weekly La Canard Enchaine revealed then that Hollande complained in closed talks after that event that he found it unfortunate that Netanyahu had come to Paris to conduct a “two-staged election campaign,” starting with a memorial for those murdered at the Jewish school in Tolouse, followed by a his speech at a ceremony there. The French president was quoted by the report saying that it was only because he came with Netanyahu to the ceremony that the Israeli prime minister toned down his speech.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Bureau said Sunday that when contacts were first made with the French over Netanyahu’s trip this week, they were told that the visit could “cause difficulties.” According to the sources, the Israelis understood that the French were referring mainly to security issues. They added that after the security arrangements were made, Hollande told Netanyahu in a phone call on Saturday evening that he would be happy to see him.
Associates of Netanyahu said that at no point did the French tie Netanyahu’s visit in with that of Abbas.
“The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” (Psalm 145:20)
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett has vowed a one way ticket to hell for Hamas. (Photo: Flash90)
Israel’s Economy Minister Naftali Bennett warned the radical Islamic terror group Hamas on Tuesday that its members would find “a ticket to hell” should it continue to carry out acts of terror against Israel.
Hamas, who Israel says is responsible behind the recent kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, has increased its violent rhetoric against Israel and recently called on its members to carry out terror attacks against Israelis and IDF soldiers in Judea and Samaria.
Speaking to Israel Radio, Bennett slammed the Palestinian Authority’s condemnation of the abductions, which came four days after the kidnapping took place. “In English they speak of one thing, and in Arabic they speak of murder,” Bennett said.
Upon news of the kidnappings, Palestinians in Gaza celebrated in the streets, rejoicing over the abductions of Eyal Yifrach, 19, Naftali Frankel, 16, and Gilad Shaar, 16. Bennett accused Jibril Rajoub, a top Fatah members, of “celebrating the kidnappings on Palestinian TV.”
The economy minister said that Israel must halt its practice of releasing Palestinian terrorists from prison in exchange for abducted Israelis, which he says leads to an endless cycle of kidnappings.
“The State of Israel needs to stop releasing prisoners in instances like this, which we have done for 30 years…If we exchange prisoners, this cycle will never end,” he said.
Overnight Monday, in a wave of mass arrests, IDF forces apprehended 41 Hamas members in Judea and Samaria. Commenting on the operations being carried out by the IDF to find the kidnapped teens, Bennett said that Israel was working multiple fronts in its search operations.
However, he made clear that the abductions were not a unique happening. The Palestinians, Bennett said, operate on a “complete culture where Israel is [perceived as] Satan, not just Hamas but also the Palestinian Authority…where they name squares after murderers and pay them salaries.”
Bennett stressed that Israel was not dealing with some far away neighbor. “We are not talking about Norway next to us,” he said. Rather, Israel is facing one of the most “lethal, barbaric organizations in the world.”
Bennett stressed that Israel must “totally change direction” and that Hamas and other radical Islamist organizations must know that “kidnapping children will bring more and more headache…We will make Hamas membership a ticket to hell.”
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Photo Credit: Amos Ben Gershom GPO/Flash90
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni announced on Thursday that the planned upcoming fourth release of terrorists has been cancelled, ostensibly because the Palestinian Authority broke the terms of the peace talk and unilaterally tried to join 15 UN connected international conventions.
In further response, Israel has cancelled all high level communications between Israeli ministers and the PA, and all communications will now be handled an IDF representative.
In addition, Israel has frozen various ongoing cellular communications projects with the PA.
Livni said that if the PA backs down from their unilateral moves, Israel would sit back down with them for further peace talks.
But the PA isn’t interested in talking more, and instead has come up with a list of new, and rather ridiculous preconditions for continuing talks, including: releasing 1200 terrorists, releasing terror chief Marwan Barghouti, a building freeze in eastern Jerusalem, Israel recognizing East Jerusalem as the PA capital, Israel acknowledging the 1967 armistice line with Jordan as the border with the PA, granting Israeli citizenship to 15000 Palestinian Authority citizens, barring the IDF from Area A, giving the PA more authority in Area C, and stopping the weapons blockade on Gaza, and a few more – and that’s just as a precondition to talk.
Later in the evening, the Gazans launched 3 rockets towards Sderot. They landed in open fields, and no damage or injuries were reported.
Bayit Yehudi Minister Naftali Bennett had his own response to the PA’s threat to join more UN groups, and that is that Abbas is financing terror, and Bennett plans to put Abbas and the PA in the international legal and diplomatic cross-hairs.
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