The International Context of the U.S. Veto at the UN Security Council
Israel needs to prepare for the possibility that the UN Security Council will be asked to decide on the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines.
Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza Is Legal, Necessary
The Israeli blockade is legal and necessary and its removal would lead to a flood of heavy Iranian weaponry, including long-range missile systems, coming to Hamas.
The Dangerous Bias of the United Nations Goldstone Report
Last year’s report by the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza War, known more popularly as the Goldstone Report, is not going away. Originally, it was the initiative of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, which named South African Justice Richard Goldstone to head it. It was promoted at the time by Cuba, Egypt, and Pakistan—not exactly the beacons of human rights—and had no support from Western democracies. However, the number of states backing the report has been growing. And yet, it
Diplomatic Dispute Obscures Israel’s Invaluable Help to U.S. Military
Even after the Cold War, Israel continues to be a vital American strategic partner. In 2007, the U.S. ambassador to Israel revealed that Israeli technology was being used by the U.S. armed forces in Iraq to protect them from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that were responsible for most U.S. casualties in the Iraq War. In short, Israel was helping save American lives in Iraq.
What Happened to the Jordan Valley?
Prime Minister Netanyahu has explained that to create effective security arrangements for Israel and safeguard the demilitarization of the West Bank in the event of an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, it was vital for the IDF to maintain a military presence along the points of entry to the territories from the east – alluding to the critical importance of the Jordan Valley for the future security of Israel.
The Struggle for Jerusalem
The issue of Jerusalem is particularly sensitive and a topic of dispute in every negotiation. Distortions, half-truths, and outright lies are frequently voiced about the struggle for and Israel’s right to Jerusalem. This runs counter to the reality that since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and even prior to that, Israel’s rights to sovereignty in Jerusalem were firmly anchored in history and international law. There are even many Israelis who are insufficiently aware of their rights according to international law.
The Gaza-Egypt Smuggling Tunnels Must Be Closed
When Israelis look back on what caused the current conflict in Gaza, they point to their government’s decision in September 2005 to leave the narrow “Philadelphi Route” that runs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. More than Israel’s disengagement from the Strip as a whole, the abandonment of this strategic area made full-scale war inevitable.
Banging Square Pegs Into Round Holes
Throughout 2008, U.S. mediation on the outlines of a settlement were once again the equivalent of banging a square peg into a round hole: the territorial demands of the Palestinian leadership did not fit into the territorial space Israel could afford to vacate without compromising its minimal security needs as well as its most important historical rights, especially in Jerusalem.
A Conversation between Ambassador Dore Gold and Barak M. Seener
The Mecca Agreement served the function of not renouncing violence along with the generic demands of the international community. It also created a fusion between the alleged moderate branch of the Palestinian Authority headed by Fatah leader Abbas, and Hamas that maintains links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
• It was precisely whilst the US was actively engaged in conflict management between Israel and the Palestinians that al-Qaeda was planning terrorist attacks.
• Islamist organizations, like al-Qaeda, may raise specific political grievances at times from the Balkans, Chechnya, or Kashmir, but what empirically has really helped these organizations surge in strength is their sense of victory from the battles in any of these clashes. Withdrawal in the face of radical Islam only strengthens the present worldwide militant wave and empowers its adherents.
• Recent apocalyptic Sunni and Shiite literature perceives the recovery of Jerusalem as a trigger to a new wave of global jihad. This doctrine predicts an imminent clash between the Mahdi – a Muslim saviour – and the Islamic antichrist, known as the Dajjal in the Holy City. Thus begins a new stage of worldwide violence extending to Rome and the entire West.
To Retain Credibility, U.N. Must Insist Syria Behave
The U.N.’s oil-for-food scandal was placed center stage last year, but with Iraqi elections fast-approaching, there is another scandalous development at the U.N. that is beginning to receive national attention: How Syria, which served as a member of the U.N. Security Council from early 2002 through the end of 2003, has been continuing to back international terrorism and even turning itself into the main line of supply for the current insurgency in western Iraq.
“Tower of Babble” – Interview with Jamie Glazov
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Dore Gold, Israel’s U.N. ambassador from 1997 to 1999. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Hatred’s Kingdom and of the new book, Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos.
From Arafat to al-Zarqawi
Western diplomats may have been stunned by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s blatant effort to ward off the newest coalition offensive against terrorist strongholds in Fallujah, but they should not have been surprised.
“The War on America Is Not Over” – A conversation with Saudi watcher Dore Gold
Dore Gold, former Israeli representative to the United Nations, is author of Hatred’s Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism. He spoke to NRO last night about the attacks in Riyadh earlier this week.
The Kingdom of Incitement
Even with the U.S. winning a lightning victory in Iraq, the question will remain about how to win the overall war on terrorism. The war in Iraq reminds us that the Saudi role in global terrorism still needs to be addressed. The organizational link between Iraq and al Qaeda, identified as Ansar al-Islam by Secretary of State Colin Powell during his address before the U.N. Security Council, was not just a product of Iraqi policy.
Reining in Riyadh
Much of the pre-war negotiation between the United States and its allies centered around the question of what should be the next steps in the Middle East after the removal of Saddam Hussein.
