some things don't change(Hitler on the Munich Agreement with Chamberlain) If ever that silly old man comes interfering here again with his umbrella, I'll kick him downstairs and jump on his stomach in front of the photographers.
(Weasel) Otherwise known as mission accomplished for Barack.
(JPost) —The UK would not support an Israeli strike on Iran, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in an interview with NBC published Thursday.
“I don’t think as we stand today that military action by Israel would be justified.” Cameron said. “I don’t think the Israelis should take that action now, we’ve told them they shouldn’t, and we’ve said that we wouldn’t support it if they did.”
In a bid to dispel the idea that there might be a rift in Israel-UK relations, Cameron added that “we are a friend of Israel. Israel has a right to exist as a democratic state. It’s very important that Israel knows it has strong allies like America and like the United Kingdom.”
That said, Cameron stressed that sanctions remain the preferred tactic for ending the Iranian regime’s nuclear program. “I don’t support action now because, frankly, we’ve got more road to run in putting in place sanctions, in putting in place tough measures against the Iranian regime
Showing posts with label David Cameron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Cameron. Show all posts
After Meeting With Obama British PM Cameron Says UK Would Not Support Israeli Attack On Iran
British throne Don't Ask Don't Tell [UPDATED]


(bbc) On scrapping the ban on future monarchs marrying Roman Catholics, Mr Cameron said: "Let me be clear, the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England because he or she is the head of that Church. But it is simply wrong they should be denied the chance to marry a Catholic if they wish to do so. After all, they are already quite free to marry someone of any other faith."
David Cameron: ''The idea a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he's a man... is at odds with the modern countries we have become'"
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the elimination of the "unjust discrimination" against Catholics would be widely welcomed."At the same time I fully recognise the importance of the position of the established church [the Church of England] in protecting and fostering the role of faith in our society today," he said.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond also welcomed the lifting of the ban but said it was "deeply disappointing" that Roman Catholics were still unable to ascend to the throne.
"It surely would have been possible to find a mechanism which would have protected the status of the Church of England without keeping in place an unjustifiable barrier on the grounds of religion in terms of the monarchy," he said.
"It is a missed opportunity not to ensure equality of all faiths when it comes to the issue of who can be head of state."
In her opening speech to the summit, the Queen did not directly mention the royal succession laws, but said women should have a greater role in society.
"It encourages us to find ways to show girls and women to play their full part," she said.
Notice they don't mention anything other then Catholics.
FIONA: They
didn't mention anyone other than Roman Catholics because the Act of
Settlement 1701 only prohibited the monarch, heir apparent or heir
presumptive from marrying a Roman Catholic and still remaining in the
line of succession. The heirs...
could still marry an RC, but they would no longer be in the line of
succession. Theoretically, any heir could marry a Jew (or any other
faith) and still be in the line of succession. However, the monarch must
*be in communion" with the Church of England as the monarch of the head
of the Church (like the Roman Pope is head of the RCs), so if a male
monarch married a Jewish woman, that child would presumably need to
convert to Anglicanism and hence become an Jewish apostate. This is no
way a certainty however as it had never been tested.
Ok... I guess I just didn't care before about these people... all I can say is I wonder why the world doesn't bitch about the British being a Christian state officially and then turn around and make such a stink about Israel.
Has the UK's New Conservative Party Ceased to Exist?
(A. Millar) Former shadow Home Secretary David Davis said last week that the Conservative Party's "conservatism" has been "significantly diluted" by its alliance with the country's third party, the Liberal Democrats.
In power just over a year, the Conservative-LibDem coalition Government has more or less continued the policies of the much-detested former Labour Government. It is not worse, perhaps; it is simply that there has been no discernable positive change. Yet, to blame the LibDems is merely to shift the blame. The Conservatives dominate the coalition. They would also have won a historic number of seats in Parliament had they discussed the substantive issues, and promised essentially conservative measures, during the election campaign.
A coalition was necessary only because, as far as possible, the big issues – Islamism, immigration, the European Union – were kept off the table, and because David Cameron had already entrenched the worst aspects of political correctness in the party ideology and its hierarchy. Notably, the "army" of community organizers he promised to create if he were elected Prime Minster was credited to the work of Marxist Revolutionary, Saul Alinsky.
It is true, of course, that during the election campaign of early 2010, David Cameron – now the UK Prime Minister – was forced, finally, to address the issue of immigration. He promised to cut it dramatically, from several hundred thousand a year to "tens of thousands." Since the election, however, immigration has risen 21%. No less significant, while 400,000 new jobs have been created in the UK, 87% - that is to say, nearly nine out of ten – have gone to immigrants. The proportion is even higher than under the previous New Labour Government. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that Britain saw the highest rise in unemployment claims in two years this May, 2011.
Uncontrolled immigration has created serious problems that will affect Britain in the short and long term. In 2006, Rear Admiral Chris Parry claimed that mass immigration could ultimately lead to a situation for Britain comparable to "the 5th century Roman empire facing the Goths and the Vandals." Uncontrolled immigration, he predicted, would mean a "reverse colonization" of European states, with those from other countries using the internet and cheap flights to retain a distinct identity and an allegiance to their own group. "When you combine the lower prospects for communal life with macho youth and economic deprivation you tend to get trouble, typified by gangs and organized criminal activity," Parry observed. "When one thinks of 20,000 so-called jihadists currently fly-papered in Iraq, one shudders to think where they might go next."
Gang culture and immigration have been back in the news in recent weeks. Documents recently published by Wikileaks show that in Sweden, "immigrants or Individuals with at least one immigrant parent perpetrated about 45 percent of all crimes during the period 1997-2001. In regard to the most serious felonies - murder, manslaughter, assault and rape - the percentage was even higher."
According to a study, funded by the University of Nottingham's Integrating Global Society group, "following the [recent] riots [in England] people felt more threatened in specifically two ways. First, people were more likely to feel that their safety was threatened, i.e. they were more fearful of increasing violence and vandalism in their neighbourhood. Second, they were more likely to feel that wider British culture and society was under threat, i.e. they were more fearful that British culture is threatened."
From video footage and photographs, the perpetrators, sadly, seemed to be almost exclusively Black. Areas were also "defended" by groups that were of one ethnicity and/or religion – Turkish and Middle Eastern Muslims, Sikhs, and Whites. If this was not an illustration of how the country could split along racial and religious lines at some future point, with the potential for inter-group conflict, then one wonders what might be.
It is not only on immigration that the Conservative Party appears not to be in any way conservative.
Under Prime Minister Cameron, the party has abandoned its long-standing support of Israel, and has instead become one of its louder critics. Notably, Cameron himself stood on stage in 2010 with his Turkish counterpart, in Ankara, and denounced Israel for turning Gaza into a "prison camp," even though it has been wholly autonomous for over five years, ever since the Israelis forcibly removed their own citizens from it -- and for preventing a weapons-loaded flotilla from reaching Gaza.
This only one area in which the Conservatives appear to have relinquished their conservatism to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), whose leader, Nigel Farage, had earlier publicly attacked Israel-bashing and anti-Semitism.
Perhaps Cameron is a pacifist. While the tax payer-funded, but anti-British, politically correct and appallingly tendentious BBC television and radio broadcasts operate on an annual budget of more than $4 billion annually, both the armed forces and the police are facing huge budget cuts, introduced by the coalition Government. The country's aircraft carriers are likely to be scrapped, leaving the Falkland Islands vulnerable to potential Argentine aggression again; and thousands of troops will also be made redundant. Similarly, large cuts in the police force ironically came in the aftermath of the worst rioting Britain has ever seen, and which, in many areas, the police seemed unable to control.
Then there is the questionable alliance with the European Union. In 2007, Cameron wrote an article for The Sun newspaper, giving a "cast-iron guarantee: If I become PM a Conservative government, we will hold a referendum on any EU treaty that emerges from these negotiations." Cameron's signature was even printed along with his article, giving it the look and feel of a contract. Having become Prime Minister, however, Cameron has reneged. There will be no referendum on membership of the EU, or any further relinquishing of British sovereignty, so long as the word "treaty" can be avoided – which it will be.
There are also significant issues relating to "Englishness" and devolution. In Scotland's Parliament, dominated by the Scottish National Party and Labour, the Conservative Party barely exists, and there has been much talk of the Scottish Conservatives disbanding and forming a new center-Right Party for Scotland which would be allied to the Conservative Party elsewhere. If the Scottish Conservative Party does fold, it will add even more weight to calls from Scotland for the nation to leave the United Kingdom.
England has also seen a rise in nationalism in the last decade, due to institutional hostility, and discrimination against the English. Unlike other regions of the UK, England does not have its own Parliament, and English taxpayers have been forced to subsidize Scotland to keep the issue of independence off the table.
****After more than a year in power, the verdict on the Conservative Party is damning. For those who support Israel; who believe the UK should withdraw from the EU; who believe in law and order and strong military deterrence; who want to see immigration cut and the English treated fairly, there is simply no possibility of supporting the party as it currently exists under David Cameron.
This is something that the United Kingdom Party's leader, Nigel Farage, understands. He believes that his party will not only pick up the protest vote (which has previously gone in large part to the LibDems), but will continue to pick up more Conservative votes, as the party's faithful realize that they have elected merely a version of New Labour.
In his speech at UKIP's recent annual conference, Farage railed against Cameron, the Conservatives, and the political class as a whole, which he aptly described as being "so hidebound by the European Union and political correctness that they simply refuse to stand up for the nation." Among UKIP's most noteworthy positions, Farage suggested that it was now the party of the working class. There had, he said, been a "betrayal of working class people in this country by [the] Labour [Party] by pursuing an open door immigration policy depriving British workers of jobs." Clearly, the situation has only become worse under the Conservative-dominated coalition Government.
While Farage announced that UKIP will campaign for an English Parliament, he also suggested that the issue was bigger than that. "There is a growing feeling in England – and certainly I feel it," said Farage at the conference, "that our leaders are ashamed of the very word 'England'. We are discouraged from describing ourselves as English. Our leaders seem to reel in horror at the idea of [the flag of England,] the cross of St. George."
Neither of these positions seems to be on UKIP's natural ground. Like the Conservative Party, UKIP has a largely middle class base. Interest in England specifically also appears myopic for an anti-EU party with "United Kingdom" in its title. Farage, however, knows that this is precisely the territory that his party – or any up-and-coming center-Right party in England – needs to occupy. Earlier in the year, a Populus poll found that 48% of the population would consider supporting a new party committed to cutting or stopping immigration; tackling Islamist extremism; and that "would support policies to make it statutory for all public buildings to fly the flag of St George or the union flag."
Although Farage's message will resonate with some former Labour and LibDem supporters, it is clear that he has set his sights on disgruntled conservatives who had naively looked on Cameron as the last best hope to revive England. Many had already realized that, under his leadership, the Conservatives had turned into little more that a version of New Labour, and had defected prior to the election.
In 2010 the UKIP vote cost the Conservatives ten seats and an outright majority. Farage is clearly aiming for more than that in the next election. He wants to win seats and to replicate the success his party has had in EU elections, and in local and UK national elections. "If you're a patriotic, Euro-skeptic, Conservative voter," Farage announced at the annual conference, "under David Cameron you're party has now ceased to exist. If you want to vote for what you believe in, you must come and vote UKIP."
If Cameron wants to prove Farage wrong, time is running out.
via hudson-ny.org
UK Abandons Durban III @ the UN in NYC
The United Kingdom has bowed out of the Durban III conference. The Prime Minister is understood to have personally made the decision that the UK should not take part in the event at the United Nations headquarters later this month. (MORE)
The scandal with Blair, Brown and Qaddafi proving that the UK was cowering to Islamic whims might of had something to do with it. If the Conservatives looks as bad a Labor did then they have nothing to hold onto for an election.
News Corp.'s Tangled Web
News Corp. closed its British tabloid newspaper, News of the World, founded in 1843, on July 10 after allegations that it obtained phone, medical, and bank records from as many as 3,870 people ranging from celebrities, politicians, and the police.
This is what happens when you have Conservatives that think they can do business with the Saudis. Those of us that support Israel are not shocked at this at all.
Data: Bloomberg, The Guardian; Photos: Bloomberg; ABACA; AP Photo (6); Corbis (5); Getty Images (18); Newscom (4)
via businessweek.com
this is bigger then I thought. Shariah controlled News corp and David Cameron (no friend of Israel's) are in some deep shit.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has been among those publicly decrying the hacking, blasting Murdoch's company Wednesday as he launched a high-powered judge-led investigation into the nation's press.
Yet he has his own ties to the scandal, given his relationship with Andy Coulson.
Coulson resigned as News of the World editor in 2007, after his former royal editor and a private detective were convicted of conspiracy to hack into royals' voice mails. But while offering his resignation, he insisted he had been unaware of the crimes and he was not charged at the time.
After last year's election, Cameron became prime minister -- and appointed Coulson as his communications director.
Coulson resigned as Cameron's spokesman in January when the scandal blew up afresh.
Cameron hosted Coulson overnight in March at Chequers, the prime minister's country estate, a Downing Street source said Friday. The aim of the invite, added the source, was to thank his former communications director for his work on Cameron's behalf.
Earlier this month, Coulson was arrested in connection with claims of phone hacking and corruption dating to his days as the News of the World editor.
After the arrest, the prime minister took full responsibility for hiring Coulson. But while not denying this personal connection, Cameron has maintained public pressure against News Corp.
Meanwhile, the FBI is also investigating News Corp. after a report that employees or associates may have tried to hack into phone conversations and voice mail of September 11 survivors, victims and their families.
Murdoch's News Corp. encompasses Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Harper Collins publishers in the United States. News International -- a British subsidiary of News Corp. -- owns the Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain.
Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was arrested Sunday in connection with British police investigations into phone hacking and police bribery, her spokesman told CNN.
She is being quizzed by police in London after having come in by appointment, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.
Brooks did not know she was going to be arrested when she arrived, her spokesman Dave Wilson said.
She resigned on Friday as chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International, which published the News of the World.
The company also did not know she was about to be arrested when it accepted her resignation, a News International source told CNN Sunday, asking not to be named discussing internal corporate affairs.
Brooks had agreed to testify Tuesday at a House of Commons hearing on the scandal. It's not clear how her arrest will affect the hearing -- committee member Louise Mensch, a Conservative MP, said the committee chair was "taking legal advice" on the situation.
via cnn.com
Free Palestine is CODE for KILL THE JEWS!
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and yet a CNN Poll Shows Highest Support for Israel; Lowest for Palestinians in History

The Blind Accordion Player (Ben Shahn) via Modern Art 2011 | Those who survived were a red-eyed phalanx of psychos who snorted vodka, smoked trees, dammed rivers with human heads, played Poland like an accordion and parked their tanks on top of Hitler's house. Not pretty, but more effective at getting rid of Nazis than Futurist poetry, innovative camera techniques and endless speccy speeches. via alfanalf.blogspot.com |
Cameron resigns as Jewish National Fund patron
Palestine on an institutional level is more interested in burning people and the land of Israel down then actually saving it:
JNF are a progressive organization that plants trees. if anything they plant trees where Muslims live too. I have a feeling this is more about Cameron's weakness more then anything to protect his own people from the assault of Islam more then anything else. He also could be completely stupid... that too.![]()
Palestine Against Trees?
Due to pressure from a pro-'Palestinian' group, British Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned as a patron of the Jewish National Fund.
A pro-Palestinian group is claiming responsibility for British Prime Minister David Cameron's stepping down as a patron of the Jewish National Fund.The next thing we will hear is that someone in the British government belongs to the IHH.
Cameron's name was removed from the JNF's list of honorary patrons in recent days; earlier this month the pro-Palestinian Stop the JNF campaign sent a letter to Cameron calling on him to end his association with the charity.
Cameron recently stepped down from several charities, his spokesperson told the British newspaper The Guardian. His predecessors Gordon Brown and Tony Blair remained associated with JNF throughout their terms in office, according to the newspaper.
"Following the formation of the coalition government, a review was undertaken of all the organizations and charities the prime minister was associated with. As a result of this review, the prime minister stepped down from a number of charities – this included the JNF," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
"There has been a change in public opinion and awareness about Israel's behavior and there was specific pressure on [Cameron] to step down from the JNF," Sofiah Macleod of the UK-based Stop the JNF Campaign told The Guardian. "We believe he has stepped down as a result of this political pressure. Given the establishment support that the JNF has received, it's not a decision he will have taken lightly."
Soeren: Europeans Threaten to Recognize Palestinian State Unless Israel Negotiates With Terrorist Group
Several European countries are threatening to recognize an independent Palestinian state -- on the basis of the pre-1967 boundaries to include the West Bank, Gaza, and with East Jerusalem as its capital -- if Israel refuses to return to the negotiating table with the Palestinian Authority by September. Given the new "reconciliation deal" between the rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, Europeans are effectively demanding that Israel negotiate with Hamas, an Islamist terrorist group unambiguously committed to Israel's destruction.
The Palestinians say they are on track to unilaterally declare statehood at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly when it opens in New York in September. More than 110 countries -- more than half of all UN members -- have already recognized Palestine diplomatically. These includes European Union members Hungary, Poland and Romania. In recent weeks, however, the momentum to recognize a Palestinian state has been building in larger, more influential European countries.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy, in an interview with the L'Express newsmagazine on May 5, said: "If the peace process is still dead in September, France will face up to its responsibilities on the central question of the recognition of a Palestinian state. The idea that there is still plenty of time is dangerous. Things have to be brought to a conclusion" before September. Sarkozy also said that during the next few months, European countries would try "to relaunch the peace process along with the Americans, because Europe cannot be the main one paying for Palestine and yet remain a minor figure politically in the matter."
On April 21, Sarkozy hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Élysée Palace in Paris to discuss Palestinian statehood. Ahead of that meeting, the French Foreign Ministry said the Palestinians are "more than ever ready to establish a state and run it in a credible and peaceful way." On April 22, French Ambassador to the United Nations Gérard Araud said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is an option that we are currently thinking about, with our European partners." On March 22, French Prime Minister François Francois Fillon said that "2011 must be the year of the creation of a Palestinian state." On March 15, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said the recognition of a Palestinian state by the European Union is a "possibility that should be kept in mind."
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 3 that Britain is prepared to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state in September unless Israel opens peace talks with the Palestinians. That warning came after Netanyahu told Cameron that the so-called unity pact between rival Palestinian factions Fatah, which rules the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement that rules Gaza, is a "tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism." Palestinian leaders say the deal is a major step towards an independent state, but Israel fears the reconciliation will open the door to Hamas militants being deployed in the West Bank.
British diplomats described Cameron's threat to recognize a Palestinian state as one of Britain's few "levers" to press Israel to join talks with Palestinian officials. "The best way for the Israelis to avoid a unilateral declaration is to engage in peace talks," a British official told the Guardian newspaper.
Despite promises to the contrary, the British government still has not amended a universal jurisdiction law that permits pro-Palestinian activist groups to bring lawsuits against Israeli politicians and military personnel for purported war crimes. On May 3, Israeli Major General Yohanan Locker was locked out of Britain. An integral member of Netanyahu's circle of advisers and deputy head of the Israeli Air Force during Operation Cast Lead, Locker was forced to remain in Israel rather than risk arrest in London on charges of "war crimes."
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has moved closer to other European countries in adopting an increasingly tough stance toward Israel. In February, Merkel chided Netanyahu for failing to make "a single step to advance peace." On February 18, Germany (along with Britain and France) voted in favour of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement-building in disputed territory as illegal.
Nevertheless, Germany remains one of the only major European countries explicitly to say that it will not recognize a Palestinian state without Israel's acceptance. Ahead of a visit to Berlin by Mahmoud Abbas on May 5, a German government spokesman said: "The policy of the German government remains what Chancellor [Angela] Merkel said after talks with Israel's Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu in April: that in her view a unilateral recognition would not contribute to the goal" of a two-state solution. Merkel had said after her talks with Netanyahu on April 7 that any German recognition of a Palestinian state would be within the context of mutual Israeli-Palestinian recognition.
In Norway, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in an interview with Haaretz newspaper on March 3, said that his country would consider recognizing a Palestinian state if no progress is made in the peace process by September 2011. He said Israel runs the risk of being seen internationally as a "permanent occupier" if the stalemate in the peace process continues. "Europe," he said, "is watching for results and initiatives toward a settlement of this conflict. The major challenge for Israel in this century is that it stands out as an occupier in breach of international law. This to me is a big challenge to the quality of Israel -- which is to be a democracy and a player in the first division in the world. I think that in key European capitals the hope to see that change is thinner than it used to be."
In Spain, Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez said on February 9 that 2011 would be a "crucial year" for Palestinian statehood: "Spain is firmly committed to the creation of a Palestinian state. We are going to put all of our efforts and capacities to achieve it." Spain and neighbouring France have been laying the political groundwork for the European Union to recognize a Palestinian state for more than a year.
Former Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos and former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in February 2010 penned an influential article entitled, "A Palestinian State: When?" which laid out their vision for Europe's role in creating a Palestinian state.
The article reminded readers that the European Union is the biggest single provider of financial aid to the Palestinians. Often described as a "payer but not a player" in the Middle East, the authors argued that the European Union must work more aggressively in bringing about Palestinian statehood. They also argued that time is of the essence and that the European Union "must not confine itself to the … outlines of the final settlement" and "should collectively recognize the Palestinian State.… There is no more time to lose. Europe must pave the way." The authors say the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the Madrid peace conference, which was convened in October 1991, would be a good moment to recognize Palestinian independence.
In a separate interview with the Paris-based Journal du Dimanche, Kouchner said: "The issue currently before us is the building of a reality. France is training Palestinian police and businesses are being created in the West Bank.... It follows that one can envision the proclamation soon of a Palestinian state, and its immediate recognition by the international community, even before negotiating its borders." He added: "If by mid-2011, the political process has not ended the [Israeli] occupation, I would bet that the developed state of Palestinian infrastructure and institutions will be such that the pressure will force Israel to give up its occupation."
In Brussels, the European Union adopted a resolution in December 2009 that for the first time explicitly calls for Jerusalem to become the future capital of a Palestinian state. The EU declared: "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states." Israel has always maintained that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, regardless of any future peace settlement with the Palestinians. This has been the declared policy of all Israeli governments, both left and right.
Meanwhile, several European countries have already upgraded their diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority. On March 9, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Denmark would upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation in Copenhagen to a mission. On March 8, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced London's decision to upgrade its presence in Jerusalem from a delegation to a mission. On January 25, Ireland decided to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Dublin to the status of an official embassy. Cyprus, France, Portugal and Spain have also in recent months upgraded their diplomatic relations with the Palestinians.
In an interview with France 24 television, Abbas said "a certain number of European countries have recently sent additional delegations and official representatives to the Palestinian territories. From our side, we are already treating them like ambassadors."
The Palestinians say they are on track to unilaterally declare statehood at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly when it opens in New York in September. More than 110 countries -- more than half of all UN members -- have already recognized Palestine diplomatically. These includes European Union members Hungary, Poland and Romania. In recent weeks, however, the momentum to recognize a Palestinian state has been building in larger, more influential European countries.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy, in an interview with the L'Express newsmagazine on May 5, said: "If the peace process is still dead in September, France will face up to its responsibilities on the central question of the recognition of a Palestinian state. The idea that there is still plenty of time is dangerous. Things have to be brought to a conclusion" before September. Sarkozy also said that during the next few months, European countries would try "to relaunch the peace process along with the Americans, because Europe cannot be the main one paying for Palestine and yet remain a minor figure politically in the matter."
On April 21, Sarkozy hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Élysée Palace in Paris to discuss Palestinian statehood. Ahead of that meeting, the French Foreign Ministry said the Palestinians are "more than ever ready to establish a state and run it in a credible and peaceful way." On April 22, French Ambassador to the United Nations Gérard Araud said: "The recognition of a Palestinian state is an option that we are currently thinking about, with our European partners." On March 22, French Prime Minister François Francois Fillon said that "2011 must be the year of the creation of a Palestinian state." On March 15, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said the recognition of a Palestinian state by the European Union is a "possibility that should be kept in mind."
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 3 that Britain is prepared to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state in September unless Israel opens peace talks with the Palestinians. That warning came after Netanyahu told Cameron that the so-called unity pact between rival Palestinian factions Fatah, which rules the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement that rules Gaza, is a "tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism." Palestinian leaders say the deal is a major step towards an independent state, but Israel fears the reconciliation will open the door to Hamas militants being deployed in the West Bank.
British diplomats described Cameron's threat to recognize a Palestinian state as one of Britain's few "levers" to press Israel to join talks with Palestinian officials. "The best way for the Israelis to avoid a unilateral declaration is to engage in peace talks," a British official told the Guardian newspaper.
Despite promises to the contrary, the British government still has not amended a universal jurisdiction law that permits pro-Palestinian activist groups to bring lawsuits against Israeli politicians and military personnel for purported war crimes. On May 3, Israeli Major General Yohanan Locker was locked out of Britain. An integral member of Netanyahu's circle of advisers and deputy head of the Israeli Air Force during Operation Cast Lead, Locker was forced to remain in Israel rather than risk arrest in London on charges of "war crimes."
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has moved closer to other European countries in adopting an increasingly tough stance toward Israel. In February, Merkel chided Netanyahu for failing to make "a single step to advance peace." On February 18, Germany (along with Britain and France) voted in favour of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement-building in disputed territory as illegal.
Nevertheless, Germany remains one of the only major European countries explicitly to say that it will not recognize a Palestinian state without Israel's acceptance. Ahead of a visit to Berlin by Mahmoud Abbas on May 5, a German government spokesman said: "The policy of the German government remains what Chancellor [Angela] Merkel said after talks with Israel's Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu in April: that in her view a unilateral recognition would not contribute to the goal" of a two-state solution. Merkel had said after her talks with Netanyahu on April 7 that any German recognition of a Palestinian state would be within the context of mutual Israeli-Palestinian recognition.
In Norway, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, in an interview with Haaretz newspaper on March 3, said that his country would consider recognizing a Palestinian state if no progress is made in the peace process by September 2011. He said Israel runs the risk of being seen internationally as a "permanent occupier" if the stalemate in the peace process continues. "Europe," he said, "is watching for results and initiatives toward a settlement of this conflict. The major challenge for Israel in this century is that it stands out as an occupier in breach of international law. This to me is a big challenge to the quality of Israel -- which is to be a democracy and a player in the first division in the world. I think that in key European capitals the hope to see that change is thinner than it used to be."
In Spain, Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez said on February 9 that 2011 would be a "crucial year" for Palestinian statehood: "Spain is firmly committed to the creation of a Palestinian state. We are going to put all of our efforts and capacities to achieve it." Spain and neighbouring France have been laying the political groundwork for the European Union to recognize a Palestinian state for more than a year.
Former Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos and former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in February 2010 penned an influential article entitled, "A Palestinian State: When?" which laid out their vision for Europe's role in creating a Palestinian state.
The article reminded readers that the European Union is the biggest single provider of financial aid to the Palestinians. Often described as a "payer but not a player" in the Middle East, the authors argued that the European Union must work more aggressively in bringing about Palestinian statehood. They also argued that time is of the essence and that the European Union "must not confine itself to the … outlines of the final settlement" and "should collectively recognize the Palestinian State.… There is no more time to lose. Europe must pave the way." The authors say the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the Madrid peace conference, which was convened in October 1991, would be a good moment to recognize Palestinian independence.
In a separate interview with the Paris-based Journal du Dimanche, Kouchner said: "The issue currently before us is the building of a reality. France is training Palestinian police and businesses are being created in the West Bank.... It follows that one can envision the proclamation soon of a Palestinian state, and its immediate recognition by the international community, even before negotiating its borders." He added: "If by mid-2011, the political process has not ended the [Israeli] occupation, I would bet that the developed state of Palestinian infrastructure and institutions will be such that the pressure will force Israel to give up its occupation."
In Brussels, the European Union adopted a resolution in December 2009 that for the first time explicitly calls for Jerusalem to become the future capital of a Palestinian state. The EU declared: "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states." Israel has always maintained that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, regardless of any future peace settlement with the Palestinians. This has been the declared policy of all Israeli governments, both left and right.
Meanwhile, several European countries have already upgraded their diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority. On March 9, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Denmark would upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation in Copenhagen to a mission. On March 8, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced London's decision to upgrade its presence in Jerusalem from a delegation to a mission. On January 25, Ireland decided to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Dublin to the status of an official embassy. Cyprus, France, Portugal and Spain have also in recent months upgraded their diplomatic relations with the Palestinians.
In an interview with France 24 television, Abbas said "a certain number of European countries have recently sent additional delegations and official representatives to the Palestinian territories. From our side, we are already treating them like ambassadors."
Soeren Kern
Hudson New York
12 May '11
http://www.hudson-ny.org/2110/europeans-threaten-to-recognize-palestinian-state
via calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com
Cameron promises that Libya is 'not another Iraq'
it certainly indicates that the forces being assisted by the US in Libya are probably no more sympathetic to US interests than Gaddafi is. At a minimum, the data indicate the US has no compelling national interest in helping the rebels in overthrow Gaddafi.
Discussion of military action brings a different atmosphere to the chamber of the House of Commons: quieter, less disputatious, more consensual. In opening the debate, the Prime Minister took a huge number of interventions including a large number from those MPs who are most sceptical of this intervention. All were heard respectfully and answered respectfully. Cameron’s desire to find consensus was part of his broader message that this is ‘not another Iraq.’ He stressed that the action in Libya was necessary, legal and right and that any kind of occupying force is ruled out. He argued that the intervention had been ‘in the nick of time’ to prevent a massacre in Benghazi. In his peroration, Cameron argued that the country should be proud of this action because it is in line with Britain’s values as well as its interests and because now ‘the people of Libya have a much better chance of determining their own future.’
On the two questions of the day, whether the coalition is pursuing regime change and whether Gaddafi is a target, Cameron had little news. ‘I think Libya needs to get rid of Gaddafi,’ Cameron declared, but he emphasised that this remains a matter for the Libyan people. As for whether or not Gaddafi is a target, Cameron simply said that he was ‘not giving a running commentrary on targeting’, which is what the government’s line should have been from the beginning.
via spectator.co.uk
image via doppelganger
Allied military intervention in Libya has commenced
Reports are coming in that French jets have fired the first shots in the UN-supported intervention in Libya. The coming conflict will determine, in the short term, whether the Gaddafi regime is toppled and, in the longer term, whether the international community rediscovers its appetite for intervention which had been so diminished by the controversies over Iraq and the difficulties of the Afghan mission.
That there is intervention at all in Libya is down in no small part to David Cameron and William Hague. Hague played a key role in ensuring that Arab countries were prepared to commit to putting planes in the air in this operation, something that was crucial to moving the vacillating Obama off the fence. Indeed, I am told by British government sources that two to four Arab nations will now take part. By moving the American position, Cameron and Hague have demonstrated—as Blair did over Kosovo—that despite being the junior partner in the special relationship, Britain can, with bold leadership, nudge Washington into changing policy.
Hague was also key to keeping the Lebanese on board when the resolution proposing a no fly zone became a more robust one promising all necessary means. It is worth noting that the resolution does not rule out ground forces. What it does rule out is an occupying force but that is distinct from the use of ground forces for a specific tactical objective.
The Libyan crisis has shown why an EU foreign policy is such a risible idea, EU members very rarely take the same position on a matter as demonstrated by the German abstention in the Security Council and the failure of the EU to back a no fly zone. All of which, makes it rather odd that Cathy Ashton, the EU’s ineffective foreign policy commissioner, attended today’s Paris summit.
via spectator.co.uk
I'm not sure this is a good thing. If Europe wants to be so involved then let them take care of it. There is no signal yet that the rebels want to be friendly with AmericaGermany's new Interior Minister: Islam does not belong in Germany
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BINGO! It doesn't belong anywhere but in role play in back street fetish clubs. Here is Rihanna just because... I think it is healthier then this sicko Islam shit.
Hans-Peter Friedrich's comment comes in context of probe into killing of two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt Airport believed to be motivated by radical Islamist beliefs.(Haaretz) Just three days into the job, Germany's new interior minister is already causing his government a headache after wading into a highly delicate debate about multiculturalism and claiming Islam was not a key part of the German way of life. "Islam in Germany is not something supported by history at any point," Hans-Peter Friedrich told journalists on his first day as Thomas de Maiziere's replacement on Thursday.
Friedrich was speaking in the context of a probe by German authorities into last Wednesday's killing of two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt Airport, in which it is believed the 21-year-old Kosovan suspect Arid Uka was a lone operator motivated by radical Islamist beliefs. His comments were a play on words, turning on its head an earlier remark made several months ago by German President Christian Wulff, who said Islam now "belongs to Germany" because of the 4 million Muslims who live there.
Friedrich's foray into the subject of immigrant religion and multiculturalism is in tune with comments made by other European leaders recently. British Prime Minister David Cameron said last month that multiculturalism has failed in Britain and left young Muslims vulnerable to radicalization, arguing for a more active policy to heal divisions and promote Western values.
Germany is home to Western Europe's second-biggest Islamic population after France. The single biggest minority is Turkish. In contrast to the situation in Britain or France, where simmering racial tensions sometimes explode into violence, German Muslims live relatively peacefully alongside mainstream society, but a lack of integration has long posed a problem.
Opposition member Dieter Wiefelsputz of the Social Democratic Party referred to Friedrich's comments as "rubbish," saying that the minister began his term with "poor judgment."
Cameron in bed with the Lebanese Defense Forces which are really Hezbollah who are the murderers of Hariri Elder
Hariri to Cameron: I Don't Think Assad Had Anything to Do with My Father's Murder translation: Bombing Jews is more fun then the reason for my father's death. Cameron in bed with the Lebanese Defense Forces which are really Hezbollah. Jews are dying because of Western funded murderers. The enemies of justice have shown their face and it is time for the Americans who just voted and care to wave goodbye to the Queen and England
I do not think that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had anything to do with my father's murder, Prime Minister Saad Hariri has told the British daily The Times.
Asked by The Times who he now believed killed his father, Hariri said: "I'm the Prime Minister. I do not have the luxury of speculating these days."
"I believe a relationship with a country is simply bound to the interests of two countries and not by personal issues," he added.
"The relationship (with Syria) is geographically and historically important, and I should act as a prime minister, not as Saad Hariri."
The premier said he does not believe that the blood of his slain father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri, "will or should cause strife in the country."
On Tuesday, Hariri held talks with his British counterpart David Cameron.
Talks were attended by Lebanese Ambassador to London Inaam Osseiran, Hariri's chief of staff Nader Hariri and advisors Mohammed Shatah and Hani Hammoud, and, from the British side, by British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy, National Security Advisor of the British Government Sir Peter Ricketts, Cameron's foreign affairs advisor Tom Fletcher and his advisor Richard Freer.
Upon receiving Hariri, Cameron said: "We have a very strong relationship, but I think we can make it stronger still. We want to do everything we can to support the stability and security of Lebanon. We think that this is absolutely vital."
"We fully support the Special Tribunal (for Lebanon) process and we want to see that properly completed and we want to do everything we can to help you with the work you are doing in your country. You are very welcome here today," Cameron told Hariri.
After the meeting, Hariri spoke to the press.
"We discussed the issues of the region and the challenges that Lebanon is facing, and especially the Israeli threats and our problems with Israel. We also spoke about ways to improve the economic relations between the two countries," said Hariri.
"PM Cameron also underlined Britain's support for the Special Tribunal. We also asked for military assistance for the military and security forces in Lebanon, and there was a large receptivity from Britain regarding this issue," added Hariri.
Asked about Cameron's position regarding the STL, Hariri said: "You have heard his declaration regarding the tribunal. PM Cameron stressed that Britain fully supports the Tribunal, which was formed by a U.N. resolution, and that Britain will not retract on this issue."
Asked if Cameron had expressed any fears regarding the repercussions of the indictment of the STL, Hariri answered: "We did not tackle this issue."
via naharnet.com
Cameron is awarding attacks on Jews... not to mention non Hezbollah Lebanon. Syrians and Iran plans to take control of Beirut if indictment by international Tribunal
The report said that Hizbullah, Amal and other pro-Syrian groups were in close contact and coordination relating to a plan to take control of Beirut, the road to the south of the city, and neutralizing Christian and Sunni areas. The sources said that the groups were already plotting zones of who would control which areas, in a day-after scenario.
Hattit concluded that "if this scenario does take place, Hizbullah would be able to seize power in three days, or a week at most," and that the "era of Hariri in Lebanon" would end forever.
via jpost.com
Here's the latest from Naharnet:The Syrian-backed Opposition reportedly plans to take control of Beirut in the event an indictment by the international Tribunal was issued.Pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on Tuesday quoted a well-informed Lebanese source as saying reports were being circulated among Lebanese security authorities that Hizbullah and AMAL Movement as well as other forces allied with Syria have been holding extensive, periodic meetings to discuss "coordination" in the presumed battle for the control of Beirut.It said the meetings discussed "zoning" of the areas such as each group will have its own confrontation zero hour map.
via elderofziyon.blogspot.com
It's been five years since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister and billionaire Rafik Hariri by a truck bomb in downtown Beirut. In the aftermath, a United Nations tribunal has puttered and sputtered but finally appears poised to hand down indictments, which could explode the combustible Lebanese political scene, perhaps, new reports suggest, even leading to a Hezbollah coup.
All signs point to a high level of Syrian involvement in the hit, which killed 22 others along with Hariri. In late 2005, Syria's top intelligence officer in Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, "killed himself" (many believe he was either killed or ordered to carry out the suicide) after he was questioned by a U.N. investigator. However, Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, who is now Lebanon's prime minister, has already acquitted Syrian President Bashar Assad in statements that recall an earlier act of supplication -- when Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt forgave Syrian President Hafez Assad (Bashir's late father) for killing his father, Kamal Jumblatt.
But if Syria is let off the hook -- as appears likely -- that still leaves Hezbollah, the civil-war era Shiite militia group that has morphed into the country's strongest political party and a proxy warrior (for Iran and Syria) against Israel. Hezbollah is planning a coup if its members are charged in the assassination, according to a report in the Arabic international newspaper Asharq Alawsat, which was picked up by Haaretz, an Israeli daily.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Nasrallah has called on Lebanese not to cooperate with U.N. investigators, since reports last year that the investigation was likely to indict several Hezbollah members.
via aolnews.com
Investigators Violently Attacked in Lebanon While Probing 2005 Hariri Assassination The investigators were "unexpectedly and violently attacked" by a group of angry, screaming "women wearing niqabs and veils". It is also believed that "men in women’s garb among them."
(CNSNews.com) – An attack on international investigators probing the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is seen as part of a campaign by Hezbollah to obstruct the inquiry before it indicts members of the Shi’ite terrorist group.
The controversy surrounding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has sparked fears that Lebanon’s fragile U.S.-backed government could collapse, and that a fresh outbreak of Shi’ite-Sunni violence could allow Hezbollah to tighten its grip on the small country, with serious implications for the wider region.
The United States and France, two of the Western countries most heavily invested in Lebanon’s stability, have reiterated their support for the politically explosive investigation, which Hezbollah and Syria actively are trying to sabotage.
Two STL investigators accompanied by a Lebanese interpreter were attacked Wednesday by scores of screaming women as they sought medical records at a clinic in a Hezbollah-controlled suburb of south Beirut.
Lebanon’s Murr Television reported that the group included women wearing niqabs and veils, and that there were likely men in women’s garb among them.
The Hague-based STL said in a statement that “a large group of people showed up unexpectedly and violently attacked the investigators and their female interpreter.”
“The Lebanese army extracted the three staff members and brought them back safely to the STL Beirut Office where they were provided with medical attention,” it said, adding that the violence would not deter the tribunal from its mission.
During the melee, a briefcase belonging to one of the team was snatched. The tribunal did not say what documents it contained.
A senior member of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s March 14 alliance, Farid Makari, issued a statement saying the “method of using ordinary people” to carry out such attacks was a “registered trademark” of Hezbollah.
More... pucker up!
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Asked if Cameron had expressed any fears regarding the repercussions of the indictment of the STL, Hariri answered: "We did not tackle this issue.
ignorance with Iranian Nuclear Situation hits world leaders. Cameron says Iran already has a Nuke and Obama is warned Jews are about to attack? duh!
It's become an adventure every time he opens his mouth.
Britain's Labour party blasted Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday as a "foreign policy klutz" with his feet "firmly planted in his mouth" over remarks he made on Iran's nuclear program. Taking questions from the public about his support for Turkish membership in the European Union during an appearance in Hove, Cameron said Turkey could be an important influence in helping solve problems "like the Middle East peace process and the fact that Iran has got a nuclear weapon".What a moron.
Western powers accuse Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons, despite the Islamic Republic's denials. Cameron's office said it was "perfectly clear that he is talking about the pursuit of a nuclear weapon". Recently he described Gaza as a "prison camp".
I assure the world that Israel will not attack first if Iran already has Nukes aimed at them. crikey... people are stupidSo, will Israel bomb Iran this month?
A group calling themselves Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity or VIPS sent a memo to President Obama warning him that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau is ready to go unilateral on Iran. They told Obama to be careful for Netanyahu might "blindside" the White House.The whole of the memorandum cold be read here. I read it, and so can you. But does it bear thinking of standing up and going out in this heat and humidity just for the sake of bombing somebody somewhere? Nah...
On the other hand, who knows?
The veterans call on Obama to warn Israel firmly, immediately and publicly form attacking Iran.No, really, people: I've looked at the weather in Washington, DC, it's even worth, at least humidity wise, than here. Don't bother him, I'll talk to Bibi myself...
Besides, "Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said that "Zionists" have hired mercenaries to assassinate him, Agence France-Presse and the BBC reported." So let's wait and see what happens first, I suggest. One can't jump to conclusions. Or to anything else, not in this heat and humidity.
but wait.... maybe Iran really is getting close? Could these VIPS be merely trying to cover their Jew Hating asses because they know Israel's hand will be forced?
TEHRAN (AFP) — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is working on a three-stage rocket to carry a satellite 1,000 kilometres (more than 600 miles) into space, Fars news agency reported on Thursday....
"Last time, we sent a satellite to 250 kilometres... Next year it will be sent to 700 kilometres, and the year after that to 1,000 kilometres," he said....
.... [Iran] also unveiled another home-built rocket designed to carry satellites, dubbed Simorgh (Phoenix) equipped to carry a 100-kilogram (220-pound) satellite 500 kilometres (310 miles) into orbit.
Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said then a refinement of the Simorgh design would allow satellites to be placed in a 1,000-kilometre (more than 600 miles) orbit.
The 27-metre (90 foot) tall multi-stage rocket weighs 85 tonnes and its liquid fuel propulsion system has a thrust of up to 100 tonnes.
British Foreign Office Undersecretary married to PLO official

Well, this fits right in with David Cameron's program, doesn't it?What is it with these Caucasians and their Orientalist mistresses?
Britain has recently appointed a new Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The appointee, Simon Fraser, will take office in late August.Come to think of it, if she's really Fatah, she might disagree with Prime Minister Cameron's characterization of Gaza as a 'prison camp.' Heh.
Fraser's appointment may cause concern in Israel. According to the Telegraph, Fraser left an earlier post, working as private secretary to former Foreign Office minister William Waldegrave, in order to marry an official from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
Fraser resigned in 1990 after becoming involved with Shireen, the woman who eventually became his wife. The two met at a time when the organization still openly supported terrorism against Israelis, and was itself considered a terrorist group by Israel and the United States.
A former colleague of Fraser's confirmed to the Telegraph that Fraser had stepped down due to his relationship, saying, “Simon considered his position and decided that this relationship, which was a loving one, could cause problems among the government and in his professional life.”
Flotilla Update : David Cameron to Turkey. Join Us In the E.U.
Cameron uses enemy talking points
but I thought only the so called Liberal was a hater
Britain's new prime minister has proven himself no better than the last. He's given a speech in Ankara, Turkey (via Commentary's Contentions), where he said:
I know that Gaza has led to real strains in Turkey ’s relationship with Israel. But Turkey is a friend of Israel. And I urge Turkey, and Israel, not to give up on that friendship. Let me be clear. The Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla was completely unacceptable. And I have told PM Netanyahu, we will expect the Israeli inquiry to be swift, transparent and rigorous. Let me also be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp. But as, hopefully, we move in the coming weeks to direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians so it’s Turkey that can make the case for peace and Turkey that can help to press the parties to come together, and point the way to a just and viable solution.So he too has joined the anti-Israel rhetoric, and probably spouts the worst of all. Peter Wehner makes clear that the blockade was justified, yet Cameron fails to take notice of any of the facts.
By the way, what was Cameron doing in Turkey? Backing their bid for EU membership, what else? The man is a downright dhimmi.
Prime Minister David Cameron on Israel

UK's New Prime Minister David Cameron quotes and the conservative party's stated positions on Israel and the Middle East.
“The unbroken thread of Conservative Party support for Israel that has run for nearly a century from the Balfour Declaration to the present day will continue. Although it will no doubt often be tested in the years ahead, it will remain constant, unbroken, and undiminished by the passage of time.” Speech to the Balfour dinner, 3 November 2008
“If I become Prime Minister, Israel has a friend who will never turn his back on her...I passionately believe in the right of Israel to exist, to defend itself and to live in peace and security.”
"There are some in the West who see some sort of equivalence between Israel and Hamas. I do not. Israel is a democracy – Hamas want to create a theocracy. Israel strives to protect innocent life – Hamas target innocent life. And so there can be no doubt, and let me make clear we won’t judge Hamas just on words. Our test is whether their actions show that they are going to end the terror, recognise Israel and accept all previous peace agreements.
“The actions of Hamas in the current conflict and in the past have demonstrated that it is an organisation that is prepared to use violence in the most ruthless fashion against not only Israelis, whether military or civilian, but the Palestinian people themselves. We have to understand the sort of organisation that it is and the events that took place when it staged its coup d’état in the Gaza strip a couple of years ago. HoC Debate, 15 January 2009
“Any of you who have been to Gaza will recognise that Hamas is not the government of Gaza - it is the foreign policy arm of Tehran. It is being used there as a proxy in case it has to hit back at Israel for any action that Israel may take in light of Iran’s nuclear programme. There are Fajr II missiles being dismantled, taken through the tunnel and being reassembled by Hamas – able to hit Tel Aviv, able to hit Ben Gurion airport and, very openly, many of them will say, if Israel tries to do anything against our nuclear programme, we will use Hamas, we will use these weapons to strike into the heart of Israel itself. CFI Event at the Conservative Party Conference, 6 October 2009
“I will stand firm against anti-Semitism in all its forms and wherever it occurs...These are incredibly worrying times for the Jewish community in Britain… And is our Government doing enough? My answer is no.” CFI Annual Business Lunch, 18 June 2009
“The behaviour of Hamas over Gilad Shalit remains a constant reminder of what they really are a terrorist organisation that refuses to observe the basic human decencies required by international law. No amount of democratic posing can hide it.”Oral Question, 25 June 2009
“Israel shares borders with Syria and with Lebanon, one of the region’s most unstable countries, and Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets and missiles has grown remorselessly in the last two years. In the Conservative Party we know this. We understand that Hezbollah poses an unacceptable threat to Israel. The British government has not yet banned it in its entirety in the UK. We have urged it to do so.” Speech to the Balfour dinner, 3 November 2008
“It was clear to me that the staff at Kerem Shalom were making determined and very professional efforts to ensure that those goods which are not subject to an embargo are delivered into Gaza, and I was also struck that some material in the same category was allowed out. It’s clear that a good deal of thought and expense had gone into this operation and to describe this as a heavy handed ‘siege’ is clearly not supported by the evidence on the ground.
“The crossing point clearly operates in a very tense situation and evidence of the physical threat it is under were readily apparent, however the operations were carried out in a remarkably calm and sensitive manner considering the circumstances.” CFI Delegation, 11 September 2009
“The situation is awful, and it is not as though the Israelis do not know that it is awful. It is not as though the leaders of Hamas do not know that, either, and I have the appalling impression that Hamas has come to a calculated opinion that the more Palestinians who die, the more extreme Israel appears and the better Hamas’s cause is served. That is why it uses civilians as human shields and schools from which to launch rockets. In 2007, I visited Sderot. I spoke to schoolchildren and went into two of their bomb shelters. I spoke to parents and learned about the daily trauma with which their children grow up.” HoC Debate, Thursday 15 January 2009
“I find the actions of the TUC and other unions on this issue astonishing. Why single out Israel? Why Israel in particular? Why waste valuable conference time on attacking a democratic state given there are so many dictatorships in the world? Why have motions on boycotts when you know that this word in particular has sensitive connotations for the Jewish people?” CFI Event, 6 October 2009
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