US Presidential candidate Sam Brownback, a senior Republican senator has endorsed the new Israeli Initiative peace plan put forth by MK Benny Elon, head of the National Union party.

Sen. Brownback’s endorsement was announced at a Wednesday Jerusalem press conference. “I think this is an exciting and bold proposal,” Brownback said. “I’m delighted that Benny Elon has put this forward. I hope a number of people look at it very carefully… It moves away from the idea of land for peace – which has not worked. We have tried this in multiple ways – the Oslo Accords and others. And it just simply has not worked.” [video:122945]

Brownback cited both Gaza and southern Lebanon as examples of relinquishing land that did not bring peace or stability. “Peace did not come. In fact, the opposite came: more war, more bloodshed, more problems…The re-engagement of Jordan and not the creation of a separate Palestinian state is a positive discussion and a moving forward toward a long-term status for the Palestinian people, for the Israeli people and for Jerusalem remaining the united, undivided capital of Israel. I think those things are important."

The senator qualified his statements by saying that he did not support all of the details of the proposal: “I don’t think we should be doing away with the Palestinian Authority in total. I think there needs to be some organizing capacity for the Palestinians. But here is a realistic proposal and a different way forward, so that we don’t go back to old solutions that haven’t been working.”

MK Elon Unveils Plan
Elon told those present that an urgent campaign is needed to convey how important the Arab refugees who fled in 1948 are to the continuation of the state of war against Israel. “The public must be made to realize that they completely believe that Israel is a passing phase that will come to an end and allow them to return to Jaffa and Haifa”. He warned that they are being saved as pawns by the Arab world to activate as the final move in the plan to liquidate the Jewish State.

MK Benny Elon at the press conference unveiling the Israeli Initiative

Elon noted that Fatah chief and PA Chairman Mahmous Abbas refuses to relinquish the so-called “right of return” in his negotiations with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, ahead of the U.S.-backed Annapolis summit.

“We stole from them, according to what they say - their homes, their gardens, their olive trees. We have to take the lead in rehabilitating them with assistance from other entities and states,” Elon said. He sees the rehabilitation of the refugees by the international community, instead of the UN, which currently oversees the maintenance of the camps, as central in ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The National Union head said that a paradigm shift toward a regional solution is critical, as the concept of strengthening various terror groups is a failed one. “The idea of creating another Arab state in addition to the 21 already in existence, has no chance to survive. The creation of a Palestinian state will only bring chaos and steps toward it have not brought any good to Palestinians on the ground,” Elon said. “I don’t want peace with Hizbullah. I don’t want to negotiate with Hizbullah. I want peace with Lebanon. I don’t want peace with Hamas in the south. I want peace with Egypt and with Jordan…Now, we are sitting and deciding which terrorist organizations are stronger - Hamas or Fatah. And you think these groups are united? In each group there exist splinter gangs and militias – complete chaos. I want to convince everyone that instead of local solutions trying to create an independent Palestinian state through choosing terror groups, we have to return to the concept of a regional solution.”
 
MK Elon dismissed claims that the plan is impractical. “I understand that Jordan is afraid. But I have met with high officials in Jordan, including Prince Hassan a few years ago, and afterwards, with many others. And they say, ‘Look, we cannot take a risk. You brought them [Yassir Arafat and the PLO] from Tunis. You created this monster. We have to save ourselves.’ And I understand it. But if the U.S. and the world would back it, if it will be clear that we have a new concept of this logical regional solution, and end the discussion of peace with terrorist organizations…[then] it is not impossible.”

Notable in Elon’s new plan is the removal of the concept of transfer, a central part of his Moledet faction’s platform. “There are Palestinians that are not in refugees camps,” he said at the press conference. “There are Palestinians that were here hundreds of years and have nice houses in Judea and Samaria. They have to stay there. And they can have again Jordanian passports, and people in airports all over the world will treat them with respect. Not like now when they come with passports from the Palestinian Authority and everyone is running away – everyone is afraid.”

With Prime Minister Ehud Olmert preparing to offer parts of the Old City of Jerusalem to the Arabs next month, an apolitical association has begun a public campaign to prevent it from happening.

The campaign is being run by the "If I Forget Thee - On Behalf of Jerusalem's Future" Association not only in Israel, but also in Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora.  The goal is to emphasize the need to prevent Jerusalem from becoming a negotiable issue, and find ways to ensure that this does not occur.

The association's ads have run in all of Israel's major newspapers - but have been rejected for airing on Israel's Second Television and Radio Authority, a governmental body, because they are said to be "politically controversial."  On Wednesday afternoon, the Authority instructed its regional radio stations to remove the ads that were already accepted and not to air them. 

The "If I Forget Thee" people say that the Second Authority officials simply don't know Israeli law, and that if they don't change their mind, "we will take them to court."

"Jerusalem's status as a united and complete city," says Jerusalem City Councilman Nir Barkat, a leader of the Association, "is anchored in law.  Clause 1 of Basic Law: Jerusalem states clearly, 'Jerusalem, united and complete, is the capital of Israel.'  There is nothing political or controversial about this.  It appears that the Second Authority has a misunderstanding of the law."

"By relating to us as a political body," Barkat says, "the Second Authority is simply making a grave mistake, bordering on slander.  We are simply a group of public figures who love Jerusalem and who are working to strengthen Jerusalem in a totally apolitical framework." 

"I do not understand why the Second Authority clerks think they have the authority to determine that Jerusalem's sovereignty is a controversial issue, thereby placing themselves above the Knesset that legislated differently," Barkat concludes.  He is currently abroad, raising support and money for the initiative.

Barkat has run, and plans to run again, for Mayor of Jerusalem.  His spokesman told Arutz-7 that while the association currently does not include well-known figures, "many people from across the spectrum have turned to us and wish to take part.  By next week, I believe I will be able to give you some names."

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas hardened his stance Wednesday, telling PATV viewers that he will accept nothing less than a new Arab state along the lines of the 1949 Armistice.

Abbas’s proposed state would include all the parts of Jerusalem that were restored to the Jewish state in the 1967 Six-Day War, including decades-old Jewish neighborhoods such as Gilo, Ramot and Talpiot. The ancient Old City of Jerusalem would become the centerpiece of the new PA state.

Abbas has previously made the same demands, but his appearance on television prepares the Arab population to expect no Arab concessions on the issue.

No Israeli leader, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has ever agreed to withdraw from the neighborhoods of Jerusalem where 250,000 Jews have moved since they were liberated in 1967.

"We have 6,205 square kilometers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," Abbas stated. "We want it as it is." He also demanded that the scheduled Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland include an agreement with Israel on "Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements, water and security."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly has now agreed to put Jerusalem on the negotiating table but has not been specific as to who will receive the spoils.

The Arabic Al Quds Al-Arabiya newspaper reported Monday morning that Olmert had reached an agreement with Jordan that Arabs in eastern Jerusalem would be granted Jordanian citizenship.

The plan would also place Jerusalem's Muslim holy sites under the control of the Hashemite kingdom, according to the report.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement denying the report, however. “The idea never existed,” said the PMO.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected back in Jerusalem this weekend, hoping to shepherd Israel and PA officials through cobbling a joint statement before the November 26 Mideast summit.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he believes the meeting will lead to direct negotiations on final status issues between Israel and the PA.

An acerbic editorial published in The New York Sun newspaper by Rick Richman noted dryly that the PA has yet to pass the first hurdle in meeting the demands of the U.S.-sponsored Roadmap plan, which both Abbas and Olmert insist is the basis for their negotiations. The plan calls for temporary borders for a new Arab state to be located within the current borders of Israel, followed by the creation of permanent borders if the PA and Israel fulfill their previous commitments.

"Under the Roadmap, final status negotiations were to occur only after a sustained and effective effort by the Palestinian Authority to dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructure, Phase I, and then only after the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders and limited sovereignty, Phase II,” Richman noted.

“With respect to Phase I, the PA has yet to dismantle a single terrorist organization, or arrest a terrorist leader, in the four years since the Palestinians accepted the Roadmap," he observed.

Within the last four months alone, approximately 1,000 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israeli targets from Gaza, the stronghold of the Hamas terrorist organization. Ynet quoted IDF statistics showing that about 350 rockets (often called "Kassams") and 650 mortar shells have been fired at Israel in that time – an average of almost 8.5 attacks per day.

"The terror organizations, with Hamas' sponsorship, are trying to maintain a steady stream of terror against Israel," an IDF source said. "The use of simple mortars… doesn't lead to a large scale response by the IDF, and enables Hamas to continue building its strength inside Gaza."

It has now been released for publication that the attempted terror attack on a western Negev community in August was carried out by Fatah, headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The gag order was removed Thursday on the fact that two terrorists involved in the thwarted August 25th attack in Netiv Ha'asara were arrested later that day in a joint IDF/Shabak (General Security Service) operation in Gaza. The men had managed to escape back into Gaza.

Two terrorists were shot dead during the attempted attack. Heavy fog enabled them to cross the Gaza security fence into Israel with the help of a rope ladder and remain undetected for almost an hour. Once discovered, they threw hand grenades at soldiers injuring two lightly.

The terrorists who were killed were Hader Ukal, 21, and Mahamed Tzaker, 20. Bombs, fragmentation grenades, an AK-47 assault rifle and two military vests were found on their bodies.
 
The two terrorists arrested later were Abdel el-Rahman Makadmeh, 21, and Mamduh Tanani, 20, both members of Fatah’s Al-Aksa Brigades terrorist group in Gaza. The men admitted in interrogation that the entire attack had been planned by Al-Aksa Brigades handler Rafeh Shahin, in cooperation with the Popular Resistance Committee, a group that handles coordinated terrorist activity for Hamas, with funding from Hizbullah.

Tanani revealed during interrogation that he had received training from both Fatah and Hamas and had taken part in firing rockets on Israeli towns.

Fatah Terrorist Who Worked as PA Policeman Killed in Jenin
Border Police killed a Fatah terrorist in Jenin on Thursday morning who they say was planning a terror attack.

Local sources said the man was a member of PA security forces, which are trained by the United States. He recently joined the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades and was wanted for terrorist activity.

The IDF confirmed that an undercover force in Jenin shot and killed a terrorist who opened fire on them.

Ten wanted terrorists were arrested elsewhere in Judea and Samaria overnight.

Kassams and Shelling
A Kassam rocket was fired by Gaza terrorists toward Jewish towns in the western Negev Thursday morning. The Air Force responded, targeting the launchers and wounding one terrorist.

Terrorists continue to launch mortar shells from throughout Gaza that land in areas patrolled by the IDF near the perimeter fence.

Wednesday marks six years since the assassination of Rechavam "Gandhi"  Ze’evi, who was Israel’s Tourism Minister at the time of his murder by an Arab terrorist on October 17, 2001.

Ze’evi, an IDF general and renowned historian, headed the Moledet party and promoted a platform of voluntary transfer of Arabs from Israel, including Judea, Samaria and Gaza. 

He was shot dead at Jerusalem’s Hyatt Hotel, now the Regency, by terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Ze’evi’s eldest son Palmach was interviewed on Army Radio Wednesday morning. Host Razi Barkai asked him where his father would be today if he were still alive.

“He would be prime minister,” Palmach said. “There are a good chances that even you would give him much more credit today after all that has happened. Much has changed since they used to throw tomatoes at the idea of transfer.”

Barkai: So if he was prime minister, he wouldn’t go to Annapolis? He wouldn’t make a deal with Abu Mazen? He wouldn’t give up territory?

Ze’evi: I’ll tell you something, my father would always ask himself, ‘What has changed that we are suddenly deciding to take these steps? Have the Arabs changed? Has Islam changed?’…We have sat with all the so-called moderates, and even they haven’t given up the Right of Return…We are falling over ourselves to receive a hug from the world and endangering the country.”

Barkai: You have to admit, morality aside, that transfer is simply not do-able, it is not practical today. It just can’t be done in the Middle East today.
 
Ze’evi: Razi, let’s stop this demagoguery. If you and all those who repeat the mantra that transfer is impossible would hold a serious discussion on it for once, it would be considered seriously. It is serious if you desire life. Two nations cannot split the land. That has not worked anywhere in the world and certainly not in the Middle East. This is the reality. There are many ways to implement it, but to come and say let’s make two camps so we can live here, and to say that transfer is racist and impractical, is really not dealing with the issue.

Barkai: So who should lead the country today?

Ze’evi: I won’t evade the question completely, but I will tell you that ideology is sorely lacking in nearly all members of the leadership today…I will say that the most worthy of all the possibilities today is Binyamin Netanyahu.

Memorial Ceremony
A memorial ceremony for Ze’evi is scheduled for Thursday at 3 PM at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. It will be attended by dignitaries, friends and family. The public is invited to take part.

Thousands of people took part in an emergency protest rally this week at the World Lubavitch Center in Brooklyn, New York.  The rally lasted until late at night, with protestors railing against the planned division of Judaism's holiest city, Jerusalem, and other Israeli concessions scheduled for the international summit.  The summit is set to be held in Annapolis, Md., in late November.

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, an Orthodox Jew, said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a "danger to the welfare of the Jewish Nation in the Diaspora."

The rally was organized by the World Task Force to Save the Nation and Land, headed by Chabad Rabbis Wolfe and Rapp. The two spoke forcefully about the dangers of giving away Old Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and Rabbi Rapp said that such a move would be an "act of treason, liable to the death penalty or life in prison according to Israeli law."

The main address was delivered by Hikind, who spoke of Israel's difficult situation and of the public's apathy in the face of such great dangers.  "Olmert is a danger not only to Israel," he said, "but also to the Jews of the Diaspora.  His consent to divide Jerusalem and give up so much of Judea and Samaria helps Iran and Al-Qaeda, and Israel will then face an existential threat."

Speaking by cable hook-up to the rally from Israel were MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), Noam Arnon of Hevron, and Atty. Elyakim HaEtzni of Kiryat Arba.

The Task Force held the rally as its opening move of a new campaign against the intentions to divide Jerusalem and give away Judea and Samaria.  Chabad has waged similar giant-scale campaigns on similar issues, including support for Binyamin Netanyahu in the 1996 election and "The Land of Israel is in Danger" drive.

In the latest disappointing twist to what has been a convoluted, international intrigue ongoing for over 20 years, Germany has apparently given up on ever receiving information about captured Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad. Germany is therefore planning to release from prison an Iranian terrorist who was to have played a role in a three-way deal to receive information on the missing Israeli. This, according to a report on Israel's Channel One television news program Tuesday night.

The story began in late 1986 when two Israelis, an IAF pilot and his navigator Arad, were downed over Lebanon; the pilot was rescued by Israeli forces, but Arad was captured by local Arabs, who took or sold him to Syria and Iran.  Though a letter written by him in 1987 was received, he has never been seen since, and it is not known if he is alive.

In 1989 and 1994, respectively, IDF forces kidnapped two Lebanese terrorists known to have had a hand in Arad's capture and disappearance.  However, this achieved nothing on behalf of Arad: Israel learned little from them, and the Iranians who were presumably holding him were apparently not moved by their continued captivity.  In 2004, after years of legal wrangling, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the two could no longer be held as negotiating pawns towards Arad’s release and must be freed.

Tenenbaum and Arad
 Israel made another well-publicized effort to obtain information on Ron Arad in January 2004, when it released hundreds of imprisoned terrorists in exchange for the bodies of three captured-and-killed Israeli soldiers and captured drug dealer Elchanan Tenenbaum.  The deal was only narrowly approved by the Cabinet - and probably passed only because it involved a second stage, involving Arad, to be carried out later.

This second stage was to see Hizbullah transfer to Israel solid information on Ron Arad - either DNA, or, if he was no longer alive, proof of death.  In return, Israel was to release Lebanese murderer Samir Kuntar, who killed an Israeli father and his 4-year-old daughter in Nahariya in 1979.

This second stage also involved a third party, Germany, which mediated between the sides.  As a goodwill gesture, Germany promised to release from its prison Kazam Darabi of Iran, as well as a Lebanese citizen, who had collaborated on the murder of an Iranian government opponent in a Berlin restaurant in 1992. 

Hizbullah Doesn't Come Through
However, Hizbullah was never able to procure the requested information on Arad, despite making what Israeli security officials called a serious effort to do so.  Others say that it was clear from the start that Hizbullah would never come through. Esther Pollard, whose husband Jonathan has been in US prison since a year before Arad was captured, wrote at the time that the deal for Arad was "a pack of lies."

Mrs. Pollard wrote to the Arad family that then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was so anxious to free Tennenbaum "that he [referred to it as] 'the commandment of redeeming of captives' - an expression that he never used in the past for Ron Arad, an IDF pilot, or for Jonathan, an Israeli agent. Sharon claimed that there would be a 'second round' in which Ron's freedom would be obtained. Time has proven to all of us how much of an unsubstantiated pack of lies that was."  She noted that both her husband and Ron Arad were "taken captive as a result of their actions on behalf of the security of Israel - Ron as an IDF pilot and Jonathan, who was acting under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense" - but that both had been let down by the government. (see below)

Despite all, many Israelis were hopeful that the Arad case would take a positive turn.  Several months later, the Hizbullah terror organization handed over what it claimed was a bone belonging to Arad, but tests revealed it was a fake. By December, the government had apparently given up on Hizbullah, and together with the “Born to Freedom Foundation” - set up on behalf of Arad’s family and friends - it offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the finding of the missing navigator.

German Move Closes Another Door
Now, Germany's consent to release the Iranian means that another option to learn of Arad's fate has been sealed shut.  Arad's only child, his daughter Yovel, and his brother Chen, are to travel to Germany next week, in an attempt to convince the country's District Attorney to block the release.  In an eerie coincidence, their meeting with her will be held on October 16 - the 21st anniversary of Ron Arad's capture.

Similarly eerily, the day after the meeting will mark exactly 8,000 days that Jonathan Pollard has been in prison.  Pollard was sentenced to life, despite having been convicted of one count of passing classified information to an ally - Israel - without intent to harm the United States.

A7 Radio's "Alex Traiman Show"

Ehud Olmert is getting set to make a 'Declaration' regarding the future of Israel, and doesn't even need Knesset Approval. Dr. Aaron Lerner from Independent Media Review & Analysis (www.imra.org.il) discusses the declaration and the forthcoming Annapolis Conference. Plus, Jerusalem Post Political Correspondent discusses Olmert's growing strength.

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