Israel's Enemies Closing In

It doesn't take long to scan the news and see this reality: Things are closing in around Israel and it is only a matter of time before the attempted destruction of Israel begins. The stage is being set:

Frustrated Kerry's Peace Critique A Heavy Slap In Netanyahu's Face

Thursday, he loosened the diplomatic straitjacket, and we all got a much better look at what John Kerry really thinks about progress — and blame — in the new peace effort he worked so strenuously to revive a little over three months ago. He turned directly to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and showed them rather more of his true colors. To the prime minister, it is safe to assume, they did not look particularly blue and white.

For the first time since he managed to restart the talks in July, Kerry dropped his statesman-like public impartiality, and clearly spoke from the heart — and what emerged were a series of accusations that amounted to a forceful slap in the face for Netanyahu. It was a rhetorical onslaught that the prime minister cannot have expected and one he will not quickly forget.

In an extremely unusual joint interview with Israel’s Channel 2 and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, a very frustrated Kerry basically blamed the Israeli government for stealing the Palestinians’ land and the Israeli public for living in bubble that prevents them from caring much about it. If that wasn’t enough, he railed against the untenability of the Israel Defense Forces staying “perpetually” in the West Bank. In warning that a violent Palestinian leadership might supplant Mahmoud Abbas if there was not sufficient progress at the peace table, he appeared to come perilously close to empathizing with potential Palestinian aggression against Israel.

“If we do not resolve the issues between Palestinians and Israelis,” Kerry warned early in the interview, “if we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel [and an] increasing campaign of delegitimization of Israel.

Kerry seemed to place the blame for the failure to make rapid and major progress in negotiations overwhelmingly on Israel, with no acknowledgement — in his statements as broadcast Thursday — of two intifadas, relentless anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian territories, the Hamas takeover of Gaza and the constant rocket fire from the Strip. (It is important to note that Channel 2 aired only part of the full interview on Thursday. More is set to air Friday evening.)

“Well, I’ve got news for you,” he said, apparently addressing the Israeli public. “Today’s status quo will not be tomorrow’s or next year’s. Because if we don’t resolve this issue, the Arab world, the Palestinians, neighbors, others, are going to begin again to push in a different way.”

That line of thinking reflects much international conventional wisdom on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — the assumption that Israel could attain peace with the Palestinians if only it wanted to, but that it just doesn’t want to enough. Many Israelis, Netanyahu most certainly among them, would counter that Israel cannot impose terms on a Palestinian leadership that, among numerous other problematic negotiating positions, still demands a “right of return” that would constitute suicide for the Jewish state. Many Israelis, their prime minister among them, too, would note that Israel is only too aware of how easily the relative calm could deteriorate, and thus are wary of relinquishing territory to a Palestinian leadership that, relatively moderate though it may be, might not be in a position to retain power and honor any accord amid sweeping regional instability.

For Netanyahu, watching Kerry’s from-the-heart interview must have topped what was already a pretty lousy day. In Geneva, the six world powers were inching toward a deal with the Iranians that the prime minister fears would leave Tehran with an enrichment capability even as the sanctions are eased — something Netanyahu considers a “historic error.”

Kerry weighed in on that, too, in the interview. Ultimately, if Iran doesn’t “meet the standards of the international community,” said the secretary unhappily, “there may be no option but the military option.” But, he quickly insisted, “we hope to avoid that.”

Just the sort of message Netanyahu has been urging the US not to deliver to Tehran.

U.S.: John Kerry Will Head To Geneva To Push Iran Deal In Unexpected Visit

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Geneva on Friday in an effort to help secure a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, a senior US State Department official said.

"Secretary Kerry will travel to Geneva, Switzerland on Friday at the invitation of EU High Representative (Catherine) Ashton in an effort to help narrow differences in negotiations," the official said.

Diplomats in Geneva said work on a possible deal aimed at ending a decade-long nuclear standoff between Iran and the West was continuing. Iranian officials said on Thursday that they were cautiously optimistic about prospects for an agreement but noted that nothing had been finalized.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said on Thursday the international community could slightly ease sanctions against Iran in the early stages of negotiating a deal on Tehran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he disliked the outlines of an initial deal being hinted at in Geneva since it would allow Iran to keep a nuclear capability.

"Israel totally opposes these proposals," he said in a speech. "I believe that adopting them would be a mistake of historic proportions. They must be rejected outright."

A senior Iranian negotiator said on Thursday that it was too early to say with certainty whether a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers would be possible this week, though he voiced cautious optimism that an agreement was close.

"Too soon to say," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi told reporters after the first day of talks between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. "I'm a bit optimistic," he added when asked about the possibility of a deal this week. 

Let us never ever forget who John Kerry is:

So-Called 'War Hero' 

Meanwhile, we should take a closer look at just who Kerry is forging a deal with: 

Iranian TV Airs Animated Strike On Tel Aviv

Iranian state television aired a computer-animated video that showed an imagined Iranian missile strike on Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Dimona, malls and IDF bases.

The video was also posted online by the pro-regime website Iran’s View, which said Thursday the four-minute clip was part of an “hour long documentary [that] includes a video simulation of Iranian respond [sic] to an airstrike by Israel against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

The video glamorizes such a strike, showing computer-generated video of Iranian missiles being pointed upward against a backdrop of scenic skies and swelling musical accompaniment.

In the animated video, the missiles launch toward Israel, where some are destroyed by Israeli ground-based anti-missile systems reminiscent of the IDF’s Iron Dome, Arrow and David’s Sling batteries. But Israeli systems, depicted as a translucent dome over Israel, fail to stop all the missiles. The video then depicts the missile’s-eye view, zooming in on targets throughout the country using footage that appears to have been gleaned off online video-sharing and mapping sites.

The targets include a few military and governmental sites, including IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv’s Kirya military base, at least one airbase, the Dimona nuclear installation in the Negev, and others. But it also includes civilian targets, such as a bank in Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, the iconic Azrieli Mall and Ben Gurion International Airport.

According to Iran’s View, the full documentary was “about Iran’s missile capabilities in confronting external threats and responding to any strikes against its soil.”

“In March 21 [sic],” at a speech in honor of the Persian new year, “Iran’s supreme leader ayatollah [sic] Khamenei said his country will destroy Israel [sic] cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if attacked,” the website noted.