Free Republic

Palestinian security forces in Ramallah on Monday arrested a suspect in the murder of Samir Rantisi, a local journalist and spokesman for former PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. Rantisi, 42, had for years urged Palestinians to endorse non-violent methods in their confrontation with Israel and was strongly opposed to suicide bombings. He was murdered early Monday morning while he was sleeping in his bedroom in the Sateh Marhaba neighborhood. A lone gunman who broke into his apartment in the Shkukani Building shot him twice in the head in front of his wife. The wife managed to identify the suspect,...

Nov. 26, 2003Who backs Beilin? By URI DAN Billionaire George Soros recently announced that he would spend money like water to prevent President George W. Bush's re-election. He explained that he opposes Bush's foreign policy, especially the war against Saddam Hussein. This doesn't surprise me. Soros has also long adopted a pro-Palestinian posture in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike many Jewish millionaires, Soros hasn't learned the lessons of the Holocaust, despite being one of the few survivors of Hungarian Jewry. Bush made a stand against extremist Muslim fanaticism which threatens the free world. Israel is fortunate that Bush created a common...

Nov. 26, 2003 Powell optimistic about road map By JPOST.COM STAFF U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed optimism about renewed movement toward peace in the Middle East in an interview released Wednesday, but said the new Palestinian government must first show it is acting against terrorism. "We should not say that the 'road map' is dead," Powell was quoted as saying in the interview, to be published in Thursday's edition of the German weekly Die Zeit. "We have not only a new Palestinian leadership but also movement on the Israeli side." Powell cited among the encouraging signs "interesting comments...

Nov. 26, 2003 Katzav hosts Geneva Initiative architects By GIL HOFFMAN President Moshe Katzav hosted the Palestinian signatories to the Geneva Initiative at Beit Ha-Nassi (the President's residence) Wednesday. At the start of the meeting, former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabo said that his delegation is "extending the hand of peace to Israel." "We are looking for the support of all Israelis who want peace in this land to help create a bridge to peace," Abed Rabo said. "Both sides have suffered a lot. We hope to put an end to the suffering and start a new era of friendship,...

Hefty Geneva document mailed to every home Some households torch alternative pact in protest JERUSALEM—Peace landed on Israel's doorstep with a thump this week, all 47 pages of it. Whether it's worth the paper it is printed on remains to be seen. But as of today, the contentious Geneva Agreement, a document crafted behind the backs of the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships, stands as something unprecedented in the century-plus history of the world's most intractable conflict. Never before have Israelis and Palestinians so intricately mapped out an answer to the conflict by mutual accord, replete with detailed solutions for the...

Why They Don´t Like the Geneva Initiative 11:44 Oct 27, '03 / 1 Cheshvan 5764 Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA has studied the Geneva initiative in depth, has interviewed several of its promoters, and has found many points that are likely to prove harmful to Israeli interests. Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA ("www.imra.org.il") has studied the Geneva initiative in depth and has interviewed several of its promoters. He spoke with Tzvia Greenfield, for instance, whom he described as "an ultra-orthodox public figure active in support of withdrawal... [who] has been interviewing with the media as part of the promotion campaign...

Oct. 26, 2003 Shalom: France, Belgium giving $7 million to 'Geneva' group By HERB KEINON France and Belgium have pledged $7 million to the developers of the "Geneva Initiative" freelance peace plan drawn up by Israeli and Palestinian former government officials and politicians, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday. Shalom told the weekly Cabinet meeting that the government has registered protests with the two countries for their support of this unofficial, non-government venture. He did not elaborate at the meeting on the nature of the protest. The initiative's developers, led by Yossi Beilin, were in Europe last week seeking support....

Here We Go Again by Jo-ana D'Balcazar Oct 15, '03 / 19 Tishrei 5764 Unquestionably, the Arab-Israeli conflict, which goes back to biblical times, took a modern form since the partition of Palestine on November 27, 1947 by UN Resolution 181, and it appears a favorite topic for politicians. Since then, Arabs who first rejected the partition and Israelis who accepted it have been involved in constant battles with no real solution. The "peace" cycle continued after the failed 1993 Oslo Accords with the handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, the fruitless 2002...

Oct. 15, 2003 Israel angered by Swiss sponsorship of "Geneva Initiative" By ASSOCIATED PRESS Israel's government is angered by Swiss sponsorship of an unofficial peace plan worked out between former Israeli and Palestinian politicians and veteran peace negotiators, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday. The still-unreleased 50-page document, worked out primarily under the sponsorship of Switzerland, has no official standing, but outlines a solution to generations of conflict and includes a map of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel. On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said the government was peeved at the Swiss, who helped fund the...

Oct. 15, 2003 Straw commends "courage" of Geneva Initiative negotiators By DOUGLAS DAVIS LONDON Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Photo: AP British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw yesterday praised the "courage" of Israeli and Palestinian "negotiators" who were involved in the Geneva Initiative. According to some media reports, British officials played a central behind-the-scenes role in drafting the "agreement," which would give Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount while nullifying the Palestinians' right to return. Addressing parliament, Straw did not refer to Britain's involvement, but he said: "I commend the courage of all of those involved, especially Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed...

Oct. 13, 2003 Ministers steer clear of 'Geneva' deal By GRACE B. MCMILLAN Not a single minister in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet is expected to support the Geneva Initiative hammered out over the weekend by a team of Israeli leftists and Palestinians in Amman. Former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, who initiated the plan, had expressed hope of attracting support from Shinui and Likud MKs. The two sides in Amman agreed to bring the deal to their governments for approval. But Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid released a statement criticizing the initiative and National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Partitzky, who considers...