U.S. offers Israel warplanes in return for new settlement freeze (F-35)

Haaretz ^ | 14.11.10 | Barak Ravid & Natasha Mozgovaya

[sukhoi-30mki]

U.S. offers Israel warplanes in return for new settlement freeze

Netanyahu presents security cabinet with Clinton's incentive of 20 F-35 fighter planes and security guarantees in exchange for 90-day West Bank building moratorium.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's seven-member inner cabinet discussed Saturday an offer by the United States to reinstate a freeze on West Bank Settlement construction in return for a package of incentives.

Netanyahu presented Saturday the U.S. offer, which was discussed by Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday, to the forum of seven.

According to the offer Israel would stop construction in the West Bank for 90 days. The freeze includes construction that began after the end of the first settlement moratorium on September 26.

The moratorium would not apply to construction in East Jerusalem. The U.S. will not ask Israel to extend the new moratorium when it expires.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, said the Americans had not officially informed the Palestinians about the details of the proposal, "but they know we have a major problem in not including east Jerusalem".

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will put the U.S. plan before Palestinian decision-makers and call for an immediate session of Arab League officials before announcing an official decision, Erekat said.

In return for an Israeli freeze, the U.S. government would deliver 20 F-35 fighter jets to Israel, a deal worth $3 billion. Moreover, if an Israeli-Palestinian agreement is achieved, the U.S. would sign a comprehensive security agreement with Israel. The U.S. and Israel are to discuss the nature of the new security arrangements in the next few weeks.

According to "The Cable" blog, White House Middle East adviser Dan Shapiro told a group of American Jewish leaders on Friday that U.S. was committed to fighting delegitimization of Israel,

[sukhoi-30mki]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at their meeting in New York, November 11, 2010.

Photo by: Reuters

[FroggyTheGremlim]

I say, don’t trust her Bibi. Wait until the jets are in Israeli hangars. Make sure they start up and fly.

[Truth29]

Ah yes, a 90 day freeze now in exchange for a promise of F35s some years in the future and subject to many additional approvals by future bureaucrats and Administrations. PT Barnum pick up the white courtesy phone.

[screaminsunshine]

F-35 is useless against Iranian nukes.

[sukhoi-30mki]

As per an earlier agreement to buy 20 F-35s, Israel was supposed to get those fighters after 2015. With repeated delays, that seems supposedly impractical. So we are talking about a period of several years-maybe delivery towards the end of this decade.

http://www.newbernsj.com/news/air-92249-aircraft-first.html

[ROTB]

Surely there is an equation for F-22’s now instead of F-35’s later.

And for 90 days of no building? Seems like a score.

Then again, there must be something symbolic about a 90 day freeze beyond my comprehension that makes it something worth trading for.

[Venturer]

Why don’t we just let Israel tend to the business of governing Israel and stay the hell out of it?

[Netz]

This is very worrisome. Promising Israel all kinds of goodies just to halt a construction freeze to please the Arabs? Bad omen.

[avital2]

did i miss the part about what the Palestinians will have to do in the moratorium period? or is it just give, give, give Israel as per usual (rhetorical question...)

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Maybe if that “construction” in Jerusalem included building some airplane factories....

[Gen.Blather]

On the face of it the offer of 20 as yet un-designed, and not close to production, warplanes in exchange for a 90 day settlement freeze is ridiculous. Do something right now and sometime in the future you’ll be rewarded. Short term meaningless lack of action now for long term substantial reward. As another poster pointed out, there are a lot of if’s evolved with future governments.

What I find interesting is the childishness of the offer. Liberals reward “good” behavior in their “children” now with television privileges a month from now. As someone else pointed out, we could give them F22’s right now.

What happens to this deal when, 90 days from inking it, Israel decides to build settlements? I’d say that deal will be taken out and waved in their face. This will be repeated every 90 days until Obama and Clinton are out of office and we have adults running the country again.

The other carrot (or sweet) was the potential for another agreement with Israel when a final deal with (for lack of a better term) Palestinians, is finally signed. What guarantees that a.) Obama will give them a significant treaty and, b.) that he will honor it when Israel finds itself under attack from every direction.

Fortunately, Bibi is Israel’s Winston Churchill.

[Hardraade]

So, if Israel folds to O’s Arabs, the US *may* at some point deliver some F-35 that was already negotiated.

How about this: If O’s Arabs, and O himself, and Iran, crawl back under their rock, Israel promises not to nuke the Arabs, O, and Iran into obliovion? For another 90 days, at least?

[greenhornet68]

Hey, Hillary. In case you haven’t heard it, WE’RE BROKE!

[A.A. Cunningham]

PT Barnum pick up the white courtesy phone.

David Hannum would be a better choice.

[nolongerademocrat]

Bibi is probably just waiting for a different President to take over. He’ll smile and play along...for now.

[A.A. Cunningham]

F-35 is useless against Iranian nukes.

You more than likely held the same opinion about the F-16 prior to Operation Opera.

[Zeppo]

This is turning into the standard modus operandi of the Obama regime: in order to achieve something that is a key part of Obama's agenda, but which is ultimately damaging to this nation and which will not withstand independent scrutiny on its merits alone, the Obamites will offer inducements to the other side which will never actually materialize in the future, but which will permit the Obamists' nefarious goals to be advanced or achieved and which can never be undone.

If the goodies that Obama is offering are indeed good policy choices, then they should not be used as bargaining chips, rather they should be enacted because the policies themselves are good (in a sane world, that is).

This is the tactic that was used regarding (knowingly false) promises for no government abortion funding in return for wavering Democrats' support of the health care "reform" bill. It is exactly how Obama is trying to convince key Senate Republicans to support the START treaty revisions with Russia.

Who would be stupid enough to accept a promise from a crypto-Marxist extremist? Wake up, people - these are all Trojan horses...

[LibLieSlayer]

hildebeast just gave them another 150 million of our hard earned dollars, to help them continue to kill Israelis and spread satanic death cultism across the planet. That is all that the obama administration requires of the muzzies.

LLS

[cookcounty]

Bibi should agree and state that the 90 days will begin the day that the 20th F-35 is delivered.

[cookcounty]

How about a 90 day freeze in exchange for the Palestinians trashing their anti-Jewish school textbooks and replacing them with something more serious and honest?