UPDATES 10 am Israel time, Thursday, August 15 2013:
*According to Israel media reports, cracks have begun to develop in the “peace negotiations process.”
To begin with, Israel has two negotiators, the effusive “wannabe celebrity” Tzipi Livni, and the quiet and “keep your cards close to the vest” Tommy Molcho. Livni fashions herself the grand czarina of peace and wants to be free to give away all of Israel to the Palestinians. Molcho is apparently there as Netanyahu’s right hand man to put the brakes on Livni. To make a long story short, Livni is not happy with Molcho.
Secondly, John Kerry’s appointment of Martin Indyk as the “neutral U.S. facilitator of negotiations” was recognized from the beginning by Israel as disingenuous in the extreme. Far from being an honest broker, Indyk is only in the negotiating room to support the Palestinian perspective–a perspective that Kerry and Obama fully agree with. Israel is now making it known that it does not want Indyk to be present in every “negotiating” meeting that takes place. What is more, it is not merely Indyk, but also Frank Lowenstein, Kerry’s deputy Middle East envoy, who has commandeered a seat at the table to make sure that Israeli concessions are made as planned.
*The Egyptian situation grows more confusing by the minute. The latest information is that following yesterday’s street battles, police and military forces are being withdrawn from entire districts including Port Said, Marsa Matrouh, and perhaps even the Sinai. A few hours ago a car bomb was detonated at a military checkpoint on the outskirts of El-Arish causing dozens of deaths and injuries.
TODAY’S BLOG:
One of the many pictures streaming out of Egypt today: a pro-Morsi protest tent goes up in flames.
There is something almost refreshing about the events in Egypt over the last 48 hours.
True, the news this morning is not good (see updates above), and the death toll from yesterday is high (current numbers stand at about 300 pro-Morsi Islamist supporters and 45 Egyptian security personnel killed), but what is invigorating is the manner in which Egyptian Chief of Staff Abdul Fatah Al-Sissy has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood in the face of condemnations from United States, the European Union, the United Nations and a plethora of other entities that make a living kowtowing to Islamists.
Simply put, Al-Sissy knows what the danger is as does everyone in the West, but unlike anyone in the West, Al-Sissy knows that action must be taken. What he realizes is that one cannot afford to be politically correct in the face of ever-spreading Islam.
Think about how hollow these statements sound today:
“The United States strongly condemns today’s violence and bloodshed across Egypt. It’s a serious blow to reconciliation and the Egyptian people’s hopes for a transition towards democracy and inclusion.” John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State
“I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the security forces to act with restraint. Leaders on all sides must work to reduce the risk of further violence. Only then will it be possible to take vital steps towards dialogue and reconciliation.” William Hague, British Foreign Secretary
“Reconciliation, transition towards democracy, inclusion, act with restraint, reduce the risk, dialogue”: the political correctness spewing from the West is so deep that it would take an army of manure removers to get to the bottom of the pile.
And, once again, despite the condemnations all around, Al-Sissy could care less. He sees an Islamist takeover of his country in progress and is determined to stop it. Whether he will be able to only time will tell.
One final note: isn’t it interesting that we have the Egyptian Army standing up to fight against Muslim extremists, while here in Israel, the Israeli government has cravenly succumbed to being arm-twisted into releasing Muslim extremist murderers?
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A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.