Posted on 07/26/2014 7:19:39 PM PDT by markomalley
Sure enough, Barak Ravid, a well-regarded reporter for the left-wing Israeli Haaretz newspaper presents a chilling tale of John Kerry’s complete incompetence in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Kerry’s latest cease-fire plan: What was he thinking?
The draft Kerry passed to Israel on Friday shocked the cabinet ministers not only because it was the opposite of what Kerry told them less than 24 hours earlier, but mostly because it might as well have been penned by Khaled Meshal [the political head of Hamas who lives in Qatar]. It was everything Hamas could have hoped for.
The document recognized Hamas’ position in the Gaza Strip, promised the organization billions in donation funds and demanded no dismantling of rockets, tunnels or other heavy weaponry at Hamas’ disposal. The document placed Israel and Hamas on the same level, as if the first is not a primary U.S. ally and as if the second isn’t a terror group which overtook part of the Palestinian Authority in a military coup and fired thousands of rockets at Israel.
It gets worse, as I suspected Kerry is seeking to make Hamas a post-war power, Ravid reports:
On Saturday, the State Department distributed photos of Kerry’s meeting with Qatar and Turkey’s foreign ministers in Paris. [See video above] The three appear jovial and happy-go-lucky. Other photographs show Kerry carousing romantically with the Turkish foreign minister in the pastoral grounds of the U.S. ambassador’s home in Paris, as if the Turkish official’s prime minister didn’t just say a few days ago that Israel is 10 times worse than Hitler.
The secretary of state’s draft empowered the most radical and problematic elements in the region – Qatar, Turkey, and Hamas – and was a slap on the face to the rapidly forming camp of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, who have many shared interests. What Kerry’s draft spells for the internal Palestinian political arena is even direr: It crowns Hamas and issues Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with a death warrant.
This is consistent with reporting from The Times of Israel’s Avi Issacharoff, another well-regarded reporter, ‘Kerry told Hamas many of its demands would be met under ceasefire deal’:
US Secretary of State John Kerry informed Hamas via Qatar last week that under his proposal for a ceasefire with Israel, based on the original Egyptian initiative, the US would guarantee the fulfillment of many of Hamas’s demands for an end to the war, Palestinian sources told The Times of Israel on Saturday…
The guarantees promised to Hamas by Kerry under a ceasefire, as relayed to The Times of Israel by the Palestinian sources, pertain to the following issues: an easing of restrictions on the passage of goods from Israel to Gaza; an easing of restrictions on the passage of traders and businessmen from Gaza to Israel; expansion of the permitted Gaza fishing zone to 12 miles off the coast; the opening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, to be manned by Palestinian Authority officials; and a promise to ensure the transfer of salaries to Gaza’s government employees.
Kerry made no promises on the issue of the Hamas demand for the release of prisoners, other than a pledge to discuss the matter. There was also no mention of the establishment of a seaport in Gaza, as demanded by Hamas.
There is something dangerously incompetent about Kerry. He is seeking to bolster Hamas, while bringing the lunatic Turkish leadership — which hates Israel with a passion — into the fold.
Ravid at Haaretz notes that Kerry seems delusional (emphasis added):
Kerry isn’t anti-Israeli; on the contrary, he’s a true friend to Israel. But his conduct in recent days over the Gaza cease-fire raises serious doubts over his judgment and perception of regional events. It’s as if he isn’t the foreign minister of the world’s most powerful nation, but an alien, who just disembarked his spaceship in the Mideast.
Seems like a fair, maybe too kind, assessment.
Are the Israelis and Palestinian Authority leaking to reporters? Sure. But it makes complete sense in light of Kerry’s public actions and pronouncements.
Meanwhile, Hamas is seeking North Korean help to rearm quickly, according to The Telegraph, Hamas and North Korea in secret arms deal:
Hamas militants are attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications equipment that will allow them to maintain their offensive against Israel, according to Western security sources.
Security officials say the deal between Hamas and North Korea is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and is being handled by a Lebanese-based trading company with close ties to the militant Palestinian organisation based in east Beirut.
Hamas officials are believed to have already made an initial cash down payment to secure the deal, and are now hoping that North Korea will soon begin shipping extra supplies of weapons to Gaza.“Hamas is looking for ways to replenish its stocks of missiles because of the large numbers it has fired at Israel in recent weeks,” explained a security official. “North Korea is an obvious place to seek supplies because Pyongyang already has close ties with a number of militant Islamist groups in the Middle East.”
By not only saving, but empowering Hamas, Kerry’s delusion is dangerous.
Wow, just like the judge in my divorce. They merely transposed her demands into the decree.
I hate to say it, but it's true. The American people are still mostly good, but our government is just evil.
Im surprised in the proposal Kerry didnt offer to kill some Jews for Hamas..then they could have been BFF’s forever
John Effen helped the NVA during the 70s, helped the Sandinistas during the 80s.
Is anyone surprised he is helping the terrorists in this decade?
The USA is an evil country and we side with other evil countries.
I hate to say it, but it’s true. The American people are still mostly good, but our government is just evil.
So true. Either way, Israel will be okay. Israel has God’s promise. That’s worth a whole lot more than anything offered by the clowns this nation put in office.
I hate to say it, but it's true. The American people are still mostly good, but our government is just evil.
I have been seeing that sentiment more and more from outside the country. Things like "I like Americans, they are nothing like their government."
Kerry empowered the killing fields of SE Asia and would do the same with Israel.
Pray America wakes up
The American people are mostly still good, but the majority in this country still voted in Obama..not once but twice..whenever I see someone who is still happy they voted for Obama twice I want to punch them in the face..yes that includes members in my own family..there is no cure for stupidity
John Kerry’s complete incompetence?? Nope, I think he was just the messenger boy for Hamas.
BUT ISRAEL IS RIGHT NOW EXTENDING THE CEASE-FIRE. WHY???
“because it might as well have been penned by Khaled Meshal”
Might???
It probably WAS written by him.
John Kerry’s complete incompetence?? Nope, I think he was just the messenger boy for Hamas.
I said that earlier today
Didn’t Kerry ‘negotiate’ a peace settlement in Paris once before ?
AND offered to meet all the demands of the other side ?
Kerry = Flying Surrender Monkey sent by the Wicked Witch of Hyde Park.
Any cargo ship from North Korea heading towards Gaza is going to get sunk.
Shouldn't we be encouraging the latter alignment and confronting the former?
Zero is doing it again: empowering our enemies and screwing our allies. It's "The Obama Doctrine"!
Well, isn’t that special.
"Earth to John FN. Please pick up the ET courtesy phone."
That is not factually true. Only the majority of those who voted voted for this "Great ObamaNation". A huge number refused to vote because the choice was between a Huge RAT and a subservient RINO. We need third, forth and fifth parties.
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