70 Nations Will Gather In Paris To Discuss Israel's Future

[ShofarSoGood]

January 15th: 70 Nations Will Gather In Paris To Discuss The Future Of Israel



BY MICHAEL SNYDER/ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

On January 15th, representatives from 70 different countries will gather in Paris, France for an unprecedented global conference. The stated goal of this conference is to promote a "two-state solution" as the way that lasting peace will be brought to the Middle East.



In Israel, there is a tremendous amount of concern that whatever is agreed upon at this conference will immediately be used as the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide the land of Israel and create a Palestinian state.



But things would have to move very rapidly in order for that to happen, because Barack Obama's time in the White House comes to an end on January 20th, and Donald Trump has already made it exceedingly clear that he would never support such a resolution.



The UN Security Council resolution that was passed on Friday was one of the most significant events that we have witnessed in decades. Resolution 2334 made all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem illegal, it set the 1967 ceasefire lines as the border between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and it granted every single inch of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians.



But it stopped short of giving official UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state, and that is why this conference on January 15th is so important.



The Israeli government is reportedly fearful that any guidelines agreed in Paris would be turned into another UN resolution before Trump's inauguration.



A spokesman for Netanyahu claimed to have "ironclad evidence" that the Obama administration had plotted behind the scenes to promote the UN resolution. Israel has said it will present evidence against the Obama administration to the incoming Trump team.



If what an Egyptian newspaper is claiming is true, then there may very well be an international conspiracy at work against Israel. According to a transcript published by the Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper, John Kerry and U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice met with Palestinian officials in early December and presented Kerry's plan to them at that time...



In a meeting in early December with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Palestinians that the US was prepared to cooperate with the Palestinians at the Security council, Israel's Channel 1 TV said, quoting the Egyptian Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper.



Also present at the meeting were US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and Majed Faraj, director of the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Service.



Kerry is quoted as saying that he could present his ideas for a final status solution if the Palestinians pledge they will support the proposed framework. The US officials advised the Palestinians to travel to Riyadh to present the plan to Saudi leaders.



The Obama administration is denying all of this of course. But if it is true, then the betrayal of Israel by Obama is much deeper than any of us realized.



With less than a month to go in his presidency, Barack Obama has decided to launch an all-out attack on Israel. Once Resolution 2334 passed and the uproar against it was limited, that emboldened the Obama administration to go for broke.



Now it looks like they actually could try to get a Palestinian state created before he leaves office on January 20th, and if that happens it will be absolutely catastrophic for America.



You see, the truth is that we have been warned for many years that our land will be divided after the land of Israel is officially divided into two states. Many of us have been watching for the creation of a Palestinian state for a very long time, and now we may be right on the verge of it happening.



When Donald Trump takes office he would not be able to reverse the creation of a Palestinian state, but one thing that he could do would be to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.



If that happens, the Palestinians are promising to throw a massive temper tantrum...



When asked how the Palestinians would react if Trump carried out his promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, Erekat reportedly said the Palestine Liberation Organization would rescind its recognition of Israel and ask Arab states to expel their US envoys.



Erekat made precisely that threat in a December 19 conference call organized by the Wilson Center policy forum. He said he would immediately resign as the chief Palestinian negotiator, and that "the PLO will revoke its recognition of Israel" as well as all previously signed agreements with Israel.



Furthermore, said Erekat, all American embassies in the Arab world would be forced to close -- not necessarily because Arab leaderships would want to close them, but because the infuriated public in the Arab world would not "allow" for the embassies to continue to operate.



Ultimately, everything that is happening now is setting the stage for the biggest war in the Middle East that we have ever seen.



So instead of this "peace process" being the solution, it is actually going to cause the Middle East to explode in violence.

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[schwartzie]

Paris Peace Summit to Urge Netanyahu, Abbas: Disavow Officials Who Oppose Two-state Solution

read more: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.763974?&ts=_1484137775745

The link takes you to Haaretz's premium content site, so you can't read the whole thing, but here's what John Haller had to say about it:

"As best as I can tell, this is the draft that will be considered at the Paris Summit on Sunday, January 15, 2017:

I) Following the Ministerial meeting held in Paris on 3 June 2016, the Participants met in Paris on 15 January 2017 to reaffirm their support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They reaffirmed that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.

They emphasized the importance for the parties to restate their commitment to this solution, to take urgent steps in order to reverse the current negative trends on the ground and to start meaningful direct negotiations.


They reiterated that a negotiated two-state outcome should [meet Israeli security needs and the rights of Palestinians to statehood and sovereignty, end the occupation that began in 1967], and resolve all permanent status issues on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), 1850 (2008), the Madrid principles (1991) and the Quartet Roadmap (2003). They also underscored the Arab Peace Initiative as a vision for a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, thus contributing to regional peace and security. They welcomed the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 on 23 December 2016, which clearly condemned settlement activity, incitement and violence, and called both sides to take steps to advance the two-state solution on the ground.


They took note of the report of the Quartet of 1 July 2016 and its recommendations for both sides to take concrete steps to preserve the two-state solution and to create the conditions for final status negotiations.


They noted with particular interest United States Secretary of State’s remarks on 28 December 2016, in which he stressed that no solution could be imposed and outlined his vision of principles for a final status agreement.


They further emphasized the importance for both sides of complying with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including accountability.


II) The Participants highlighted the potential for security, stability and prosperity for both parties that could result from a peace agreement. They expressed their readiness to exert necessary efforts toward the achievement of the two-state solution and to contribute substantially to arrangements for ensuring the sustainability of a negotiated peace agreement, in particular in the areas of economic incentives, the consolidation of Palestinian state capacities, and civil society dialogue. Those could include, inter alia:

a European special privileged partnership; other economic incentives and increased private sector involvement; support to further efforts by the parties to streamline economic cooperation;

concrete support to the implementation of the Palestinian Statehood Strategy, including further meetings between international partners and the Palestinian side to that effect;

convening Israeli and Palestinian civil society fora, and rekindling the public debate.

They called for these different strands of work to be pursued diligently.


III) Looking ahead, the Participants:

expect both sides to restate their commitment to the two-state solution, and to disavow official voices on their side that reject this solution;

call on each side to independently demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution and refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations, in order to rebuild trust and create a path back to meaningful direct negotiations, in line with the recommendations of the Quartet report of 1 July 2016;

restate the validity of the Arab Peace Initiative and highlight its potential for stability in the region;

reaffirm that they will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations; also reaffirm that they will distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967;

welcome the prospect of closer cooperation between the Quartet and Arab League members to further the objectives of this Declaration and enhance, if necessary, existing mechanisms;

welcome the readiness of interested Participants to review progress and further the set of incentives; their findings could be conveyed to the United Nations for the reporting under 0P12 of UNSCR 2334.


France will inform the parties about the international community’s collective support and concrete contribution to the two-State solution contained in this joint declaration.

[ShofarSoGood]

I expect we'll be hearing a lot about this meeting in the next couple of days. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say about in on Sunday's prophecy updates.  Since Paris is way ahead of us time-wise (5 hours or more in the US), maybe something will be finalized by then.  I'm sure they'll all have something to say about it.  We're getting close!  

IN PARIS, FURTHER MANEUVERS AGAINST ISRAEL INDICATE OBAMA 'HAS GONE ROGUE'

Written by Brian Schrauger Tuesday, January 10, 2017 News and Views


What can Israel expect from the Paris conference of seventy nations that starts on Sunday? According to Anne Bayefsky, it should expect further diplomatic attacks under the guiding hand of President Barack Obama who "has gone rogue."

✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡



In a video interview posted yesterday by the Wall Street Journal, Anne Bayefsky was asked what further steps the UN might take against Israel in the aftermath of upcoming talks in Paris Middle East Peace conference that starts in five days, on 15 January.



Bayefsky is Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust. She is also a regular analyst on major media networks in the US and Canada.



According to Bayefsky, the Paris talks are all about Barack Obama who, behind the scenes, has engineered the confab. "The situation," she says, "is that the President of the United States has gone rogue."



What she means is that, "essentially, he is upending the transition of power" to US President-elect Donald J. Trump.



The Paris conference is a case in point and may be the pièces de résistance of his anti-Israel "rogue" endeavors before leaving office on 20 January.



Bayefsky says the 70 nations gathering in Paris are an "international mob ...that will attempt to impose some kind of deal" between Israel and the Palestinians. It is a deal, she says that will create a terror state.



Her claim has merit. Israel's left-wing paper Ha'aretz reported yesterday that it has draft of the conference's summary statement.



According to that statement, "participating countries will not recognize unilateral changes to 1967 borders, including Jerusalem."



If this happens, especially in addition to recent passage of anti-Israel UN Security Council Resolution 2334, Bayefsky says it will be a "catastrophe."



Her justification for the descriptor is that Paris declaration added to Resolution 2334 will further "license terror, because it takes away the possibility of negotiations. The Palestinians will never negotiate again as long as they [get] what they want out of the United Nations Security Council or some ...international gang in Paris."



Bayefsky's advice to President-elect Trump and the US Congress is that they must immediately "weigh in," and do so "in a far greater way than they have so far."



Instead of ...legislation or bills that have no teeth, they have the power of the person in respect to the United Nations, and they have to use it."



How? For one thing, Trump can refuse assistance requested by European leaders.



"How dare [UK Prime Minister] Theresa May come cap in hand, and the rest of the EU, expecting favors" when, at the same time, "they are going to Paris!"



Can Trump undo actions Obama has taken against Israel - and might still take? In short, probably not.



UNSC Resolution 2334, Bayefsky says, cannot be easily rescinded. And while it stays on the books, it provides a kind of license for anti-Israel terrorists as well as for international Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) efforts. It also lays the groundwork for legal efforts, using national courts - or the International Court - "to stymie Israel in all kinds of other ways."



"The French initiative," she says, "promises to do it again. They are looking to go either to the Security Council for a resolution or what they call a Presidential statement. That will tie the hands of the next President.



"That’s why the President-elect has to do something, some signal to those international players that it is not going to be cost free."



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[PrisonerOfHope]

I find the number of nations particularly interesting.  If you look at the Table of Nations in the Bible (Gen. 10-11), there were 70. As the rabbis say, "Coincidence is not a kosher word."  I'm posting a study on it in the Bible Studies forum.

Meanwhile, is anyone surprised that Frankie is giving instructions to his minions the day before? The only question that remains, IMO, is, "Is Pope France 'just' the False Prophet, or is he actually the Antichrist?"


Pope to host Palestinian president Abbas on January 14



10 January 2017


Pope Francis will grant Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas an audience at the Vatican on Saturday, the Holy See confirmed indirectly Tuesday by announcing arrangements for media coverage of the visit.



It will be the third time Francis has met Abbas following an encounter during the pontiff's 2014 trip to the Holy Land and the Palestinian leader's 2015 visit to the Vatican to attend a canonisation ceremony for two Palestinian nuns.



Relations between the Holy See and Palestine were upgraded in 2015 with the signing of an accord expected to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian embassy in the Vatican at some point this year.



Israel was angered by the accord, which came two years after the Vatican recognised Palestine as a state. Relations with the Jewish state were also strained by Francis describing Abbas as an "angel of peace" during the two men's May 2015 meeting.



Saturday's meeting will come against a background of deep concern among Palestinians over US President-elect Donald Trump's declared intention of moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.



The Palestinians fear the move would consolidate Israeli control over the ancient city and make it harder for them to have Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.



Saturday's meeting will also take place on the eve of an international conference in Paris at which some 70 countries are due to discuss the situation in the Middle East and reiterate support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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[shalom]

Abbas to hold bilateral talks in Paris ‘in coming weeks’Palestinian leader speaks to French president ahead of peace confab this weekend

BY AFP AND TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF
January 12, 2017, 11:28 pm
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Paris “in the coming weeks” for bilateral talks, an official at the French president’s office said on Thursday.




The announcement came after Abbas spoke by telephone with President Francois Hollande ahead of an international Middle East peace conference to be hosted by Paris on Sunday.



The conference, said to be attended by representatives from some 70 nations, is aimed at exploring ways to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.



Abbas has not confirmed his attendance but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday dismissed the conference as “rigged,” and his government has refused to play any role in the summit



Netanyahu has said instead that he is willing to hold direct talks.



Hollande stressed that the Paris conference would be an occasion “for the international community to underscore its interest in a two-state solution and the need for direct dialogue between the two sides,” the president’s office source said.



The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations have failed to yield results



Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.



The conference comes on the heels of a landmark UN Security Council resolution passed on December 23 calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building on land the Palestinians claim for a future state.



In a rare move, the United States declined to use its veto and abstained, allowing the measure to pass 14-0.



Israel fears Sunday’s conference will produce measures that could then be taken to the Security Council and approved before January 20 — when Donald Trump takes over as US president.

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[J.J.Gibbs]

A little more info here...


70 Nations to Meet in Paris Will Publicly Commit to Dividing the Land of Israel

10:30AM EST 1/11/2017 MICHAEL SNYDER


A draft of the summary statement that will be released at the conclusion of the 70-nation conference in Paris on Sunday has been leaked. As you will see below, this communique is going to call for the division of the land of Israel, for the establishment of a Palestinian state, for the 1967 borders to serve as the basis for final negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians and for the condemnation of any officials that refuse to support a two-state solution.



Of course this comes on the heels of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which many believe represented America's greatest betrayal of Israel. Israeli government officials are publicly warning that there is a possibility the principles agreed upon at this conference may form the basis for another Security Council resolution before Jan. 20, and this is something we should all be watching for very closely.



Haaretz exclusively obtained a copy of a draft of the summary statement that will be released following the conference on Sunday, and you can read it for yourself right here. Reportedly, there was a major meeting of diplomats last Friday, and the latest draft reflects feedback that was received from those diplomats during that meeting:



Last Friday, there was a meeting of senior diplomats from the dozens of Western and Arab countries that will attend the conference. The French delegate, Pierre Vimont, presented them with the first draft of the conference's summary communiqué and asked for comments.



According to Western diplomats, Vimont said France wants to reach a consensus among the participating states on a balanced statement that would stress the centrality of the two-state solution to the international community, but would take this month's transfer of presidential power in the United States into account.



In many ways, the document closely tracks the language of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334. Here are some of the things that really stood out to me in the draft.



- It makes a clear commitment to "two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."



- It insists that there must be an end to "the occupation that began in 1967".



- It calls on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to publicly renew their commitment to a two-state solution.



- It also calls on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to publicly renounce any of their officials who do not support a two-state solution.



- It states that the 70 nations gathered in Paris only recognize the June 4, 1967 borders and that the only future changes to those borders they will recognize will come as the result of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. And just like U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, Jerusalem is specifically mentioned. So according to this document, Israel does not own the Wailing Wall, the Temple Mount, a single inch of the West Bank or a single inch of East Jerusalem.



- The summary statement will also call on all countries to clearly distinguish between the state of Israel and territories that would belong to the Palestinians based upon the 1967 borders in all of their dealings.



Needless to say, this is a horribly anti-Israel document, and the Israeli government is already strongly denouncing it.



At this point, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is most alarmed about the possibility that this summary statement could be used as the basis for another U.N. Security Council resolution just a few days later.



Netanyahu fears that the final communiqué of the Paris conference will be adopted next Monday by the EU foreign ministers' council and the foreign ministers of the Quartet, and might also be the basis for another resolution at the Security Council, which is scheduled to convene next Tuesday for its monthly debate on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.



"We find ourselves only a few days before the Paris conference and, only a few days later, a Security Council debate," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. "We are making a great effort to prevent another Security Council resolution."



By organizing this conference and trying to lead the way in the effort to divide the land of Israel, France is in danger of greatly cursing itself.



Recently, I was asked why God cares so much about Israel. I think a very basic illustration can help us to understand this better.



If you want to enrage any man, just go after his home and his family. This will be true in just about any culture all across the globe.



Similarly, when the rest of the world attempts to divide the land of Israel and hurt the Jewish people, they are going after the family Jesus was born into and the city where He will rule and reign for 1000 years after He returns.



When Jesus was being crucified, Roman soldiers divided up his clothing, a deeply disgraceful act.



But now, just before Jesus returns, the entire globe is trying to divide up both His land and the one city on the entire planet He has identified as His own (Matt. 5:35).



Why are our leaders being so foolish? In the Scriptures, God specifically warns us that in the last days, He will judge the nations for dividing up His land. This is what Joel 3:1-2 says in the Modern English Version...



In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there regarding My people and My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.



Those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed.



And the 70 nations that are gathering in Paris, France on Sunday are literally in danger of cursing the entire planet.



Let us just pray there will not be another U.N. Security Council resolution following this conference, because that would be absolutely disastrous for Israel, for the United States and for the rest of the globe.

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[shalom]

Biblical Origins of the 70-Nation Anti-Israel Paris Conference

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 5, 2017 , 11:30 am


“They have said: ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Yisrael may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; against Thee do they make a covenant.” Psalms 83:5-6 (The Israel Bible™)







Illustrative: dignitaries gather for a crucial meeting. (Photo: Breaking Israel News)

High ranking officials from 70 nations of the world will gather in Paris on January 15th in an attempt to force Israel to accept a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority. By so doing, they will be fulfilling a momentous Biblical prophecy foretold thousands of years ago.



When Israeli statesman Shimon Peres passed away in September, leaders and dignitaries from 70 nations gathered in Jerusalem to pay their last respects. The symbolism is no mere coincidence; the very same number of representatives will gather in Paris, but this time to deny the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.


“Everyone knows already what the purpose of the conference is: it will be used as another opportunity to try to impose a settlement on Israel and avoid direct negotiations between Israel and it’s neighbors,” Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman, director of Ohr Chadash Torah Institute, told Breaking Israel News. “What’s interesting is that it isn’t just one or two enemies with a specific grudge, like the Arabs or the Nazis. It is 70 nations, which in Torah terms, means all of the nations,” explained Rabbi Trugman.



Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf, a prominent Jewish educator and bestselling author, told Breaking Israel News that seeing 70 nations written in the headlines caught his attention.



“There is no question that the aspect of specifically 70 nations gathering is significant, the point being Israel is not one of them,” said Rabbi Apisdorf, citing the book of Numbers.



Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Numbers 23:9



“We are fundamentally different,” stated Rabbi Apisdorf. “And as a light unto the nations, we are supposed to be separate and different.”



Rabbi Trugman understood a different message in the gathering of the 70 countries.



“There is no doubt this is a fulfillment of the prophecies that in the end of days, all the nations will come out against Israel,” noted the rabbi. He quoted the commentary of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, an 11th century French commentator known by the acronym ‘Rashi’, on the first verse in the book of Genesis.


“1,000 years ago, Rashi said that in the future, the nations of the world will come and say we stole the Land of Israel. This is precisely what we are seeing now,” Rabbi Trugman said. “The majority of the nations say we have no claim to Israel, and the rest say we only have a claim to a small section of Israel.”



“Rashi told us how to answer this claim,” said Rabbi Trugman. “We need to remind them that the same God who created the heaven and earth gave it to them, and then he took it from them and gave it to us.”



The concept of 70 nations has its source in the 70 grandsons of Noah listed in the Bible.



These three were the sons of Noach, and of these was the whole earth overspread. Genesis 9:19







Jacob’s Ladder (Publisher of Bible Card/Wikimedia Commons)

According to Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of homiletical teachings compiled around 400 CE, each nation is appointed an angel, except for Israel, which is protected by God Himself. According to Midrash Tanchuma, homiletical teachings believed to have been compiled around 500 CE, Jacob’s vision was of these national angels ascending and descending a ladder, determining the fortune of their nations.



And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12



Jacob’s vision is interpreted as a message that the nation of Israel was no longer part of this natural process. Though other nations will rise and fall, eventually disappearing into the sands of time, Israel will never disappear.



The concept of 70 nations also appears in reference to the 70 oxen offered in the Temple throughout Sukkot (the feast of the tabernacles) which the Talmud (Sukkah 55b) teaches are for the merit of the 70 nations.



In the wake of the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 declaring Jewish housing in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem to be illegal, the outcome of the Paris conference seems certain. A two-state solution would call for Israel to relinquish territories conquered in the 1967 Six-Day War, and subsequently create a Palestinian State. This would include establishing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, thereby removing the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Temple Mount from Jewish control. It is unclear whether the 800,000 Jews living over the 1949 Armistice Lines, comprising approximately 13 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, will be required to relocate, as they were when the Israeli government dismantled the communities of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in 2005.



Even if the 70 nations at the conference decide in favor of the two-state solution it is unclear how this plan will be practically implemented. On January 20, five days after the conference is set to take place, Donald Trump will take the seat in Oval Office, and he has already made his opinion clear that, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he believes the only solution to be face-to-face negotiations without pre-conditions between the Israelis and Palestinians.




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[shalom]

Nevertheless, the division of Israel will happen...in Hashem's perfect timing.

70 Nations Paris Peace Conference Total Dud, Anti-Israel Gathering Defeated

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 16, 2017 , 1:30 pm


“For thus saith Hashem of hosts who sent me after glory unto the nations which spoiled you: ‘Surely he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” Zechariah 2:12 (The Israel Bible™)







The Paris Peace Summit, January 15, 2016, did not have the effect organizers had hoped. (Screenshot)

In what should have been an all-out Israel hate-fest with possibly disastrous consequences for the Jewish state, 70 nations gathered in Paris for a “peace” conference on Sunday – but at the end of the day, the results were lackluster and failed to accomplish anything significant against Israel.



The conference in Paris, set forward one year ago by former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, was expected to have dire repercussions for Israel. Fabius envisioned it as a way of forcing Israel to accept the two-state solution. His original proposal called for France and the other nations at the conference to recognize a Palestinian state inside Israel’s borders if an agreement was not signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.



The present incarnation of the conference was markedly toned down by the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. At a conference in Paris last June setting the parameters for Sunday’s conference, the threat of recognizing a Palestinian state was removed.



Many feared Sunday’s conference would be an echo of the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, passed three weeks ago, declaring Jewish presence in Judea, Samaria, and the Temple Mount to be illegal. But the conference in Paris stopped short of placing the blame entirely on Israel, concluding instead with a plea for direct negotiations. Though the final declaration made reference to the UN resolution 2334, it amended the language of the resolution which declared Israeli settlements to be “illegal”. The Paris conference merely referred to the UN resolution “which clearly condemned settlement activity”. No mention was made of their legal status.



Yuval Rotem, Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, considered the conference to be a victory for behind-the-scenes Israeli diplomacy.



“The fact that the Paris conference has no follow-up is, from our perspective the most meaningful accomplishment,” Rotem told Israel Radio Monday morning. “Even though we did not attend the conference, we succeeded in getting across our position.”


Perhaps the most significant reason for Israel to breathe a sigh of relief was the specific point concerning Jerusalem. The UN resolution referred to East Jerusalem as “Palestinian territory” with Israel’s claim to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall having “no legal validity”. The Paris conference dialled that back considerably, warning against any acts that would “prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem”. This ambiguous statement was also intended as a subtle warning to US President elect Donald Trump, who promised American voters and the Israeli government that he would move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.



The Paris conference also saw at least one major player having a change of heart. Britain, which played a major role in advancing the UN resolution, attended the Paris conference as an observer, choosing not to sign the final statement.



The British government released an official statement to the press, which read:



“We have particular reservations about an international conference intended to advance peace between the parties that does not involve them – indeed which is taking place against the wishes of the Israelis – and which is taking place just days before the transition to a new American President when the US will be the ultimate guarantor of any agreement. There are risks therefore that this conference hardens positions at a time when we need to be encouraging the conditions for peace. That’s why we have attended in an observer status and have not signed up to the communique.”



Indeed, Trump’s impending inauguration loomed over the conference, dulling the anti-Israel edge. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at his cabinet meeting on Sunday, ““This conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different — and it is very near.”



With four days left to Obama’s presidency, Secretary of State John Kerry, who attended the Paris conference, promised Netanyahu that there would not be any follow-up action to the Paris conference and that Washington would oppose any further political action at the Security Council.



Perhaps the most telling sign that the conference was not as anti-Israel as intended was PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ last-minute decision to cancel his meeting with French President Francois Hollande, scheduled for Sunday. French Authorities announced on Monday that no new date for the meeting has been scheduled.





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