Latest news with #EhudBarak
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Looking Back On Oslo One Last Time
Camp David II ended in utter failure in 2000. However, what concerns us most, here, is how extremists' campaigns undercut the talks and contributed to that failure. In addition to the fact that they were held during the last year of Clinton's term, both Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat were outdoing one another with their displays of weakness and haste to achieve, in one fell swoop, outcomes that suit one side but not the other. Obsessed with opinion polls according to frequent press reports, Barak behaved as though he were in a position to impose a take it or leave it ultimatum: either Arafat accepts Israel's terms for a permanent and final settlement or there would be no agreement. However, his governing coalition was falling apart, and things worsened after Barak's lengthy negotiations with Assad came to nothing. To Arafat, the ideal 'solution' would neither kill the peace process nor lead to a settlement. Fearing the one-upmanship of his rivals, Arafat was determined not to offer anything that could leave him embroiled in a quagmire, especially since Israel's negotiations with Assad had marginalized him further. It is true that Ehud Barak went further than any Israeli prime minister had been willing to go at the time, but his offer did not come close to meeting terms Yasser Arafat felt he could accept, especially with regard to the status of Jerusalem. While he received no explicit outside encouragement to accept Barak's proposal, Arafat seemed obligated to take Muslim governments' positions and reactions into account. As for granting the Palestinians an absolute right of return, this was a demand that no Israeli who worries about the demographics of the 'Jewish' state could accept, especially since there was nothing appealing about the state of inter-religious, sectarian, and ethnic relations in neighboring Arab countries. Soon after the summit collapsed, Ariel Sharon made his visit to the Temple Mount and the Noble Sanctuary, and the Second Intifada erupted. The man who had been deemed 'unelectable' was thus elected, and security became synonymous with politics. Under the pretext of ensuring security, Sharon began building the apartheid wall; talk of a 'two-state solution' came to be seen as nonsensical, and most Israelis became convinced that peace was anathema to security. Terrorist operations resumed with the Second Intifada, with dozens of attacks launched in major cities, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades emerged from the ranks of Fatah. More than 1,200 people were killed and many more wounded as a result of these attacks, while Israeli forces stormed Palestinian cities in Area A, violating the Oslo Accords. As this intifada raged on and the Israeli crackdown continued with it, New York was rocked by the attacks of 9/11, strengthening the tendency of those who oppose Palestinian rights to conflate the Palestinian struggle with Islamist terrorism. Their task was made easier by the scenes, in some Palestinian camps, of gunshots fired in celebration of al-Qaeda's attack. However, it was with the Karine A Affair of 2002- when the Israelis intercepted a ship carrying an arms shipment that they alleged had been bound for the Palestinian Authority- that relations were completely and irreparably severed. With the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia during the 2002 Beirut Summit, the Arab states offered recognition in exchange for peace. However, the Syrian regime, as well as the Lebanese regime under its thumb at the time, prevented Arafat from taking part in the deliberations. Worse than that, on the opening day of the Summit, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover, Hamas carried out what had been the largest ever attack of its kind, killing over thirty Israeli civilians and injuring 140 others in Netanya. As a result, rather than feeling compelled to engage with the nascent peace plan, or at least finding themselves on the defensive, Israel and the Sharon government ignored the summit entirely. Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield and besieged Arafat in his compound, with no regard for its obligations under the Oslo Accords. As his health deteriorated, Arafat passed away shortly afterward amid rumors that he had been poisoned. True, Gaza remained under occupation even after Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005, since Israel retained full control over all entry and exit points. However, this state of affairs was not inevitably bound to endure. Any progress in the peace process would have surely left an impact, though it is likely that change would have come gradually or unevenly. However, the exact opposite happened: Israel imposed a blockade and suffocated the Gaza Strip following Hamas's victory in the 2006 elections, and that was before Tel Aviv tightened its grip further after Hamas took control of the Strip through a bloody coup in 2007. With its takeover of the Strip, the Islamist movement withdrew Gaza from the contractual commitments of the Oslo Accords and the responsibilities that came with it. While Israel has always been ready to renege on its commitments, Hamas had now offered the Jewish state the pretext of facing a party that does not recognize its right to exist in the first place, opposes peace, and whose 1988 charter insists that 'Jihad is the only solution for the Palestinian cause.' Oslo has essentially ended, and only lukewarm attempts have been made to revive the peace process. In 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were brought together at the Annapolis Summit for talks overseen by President George W. Bush. However, Iran and Hamas called for a boycott of the summit and 'popular action' to delegitimize the talks, while Israeli radicals waged their own political and media war against it, and the talks failed to pave a practical path forward. Later, in 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried to resume negotiations, but these talks collapsed after just a few months. Foiling the Oslo process would not have demanded all of this effort if one of the parties had been unequivocally opposed to any peace agreement from the outset.
Middle East Eye
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Former Israeli PM urges 'civic revolt' against Israeli government
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has called for "civic revolt" against the Israeli government. The Times of Israel reported that Barak, who was prime minister from 199 to 2001, made the remarks at an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv. He said: "A black flag of illegitimacy flies over every one of [the government's] actions, and it's our civic duty to act in every way possible toward its downfall, before it marches us into the abyss." Barak also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "acting impulsively like a caged animal".
Arab Times
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
The intelligence of Israel and the stupidity of the Zionists
The events of October 7, 2023 were not entirely unexpected, and will ultimately serve the Palestinian cause, regardless of Hamas' intentions behind the attacks or the catastrophic consequences. Since the establishment of the State of Israel 76 years ago, many of its leaders have understood that security and stability cannot be guaranteed for their continued existence in the surrounding environment without the complete elimination of Palestinian demands. This can only be achieved by eliminating the Palestinians themselves. Efforts to normalize relations with Arab states, and to weaken and disperse their efforts are merely a means to achieve this goal. This explains the unprecedented brutality in the treatment of the people of Gaza and the Israelis' categorical rejection of the ' two - state solution.' Some opponents of the Palestinian resistance repeatedly assert that Israel created Hamas. They argue that the October 7 attack could not have taken place without Israel's knowledge, thus providing justification for destroying Gaza, killing as many of its residents as possible, and forcing the rest to leave their land. If this is the case, why hold Hamas responsible and accuse it of treason? Why lament the massive destruction in Gaza? Why do they describe Hamas as 'criminal,' even though they themselves have previously condemned Hamas for being a tool of Israel? If I were Palestinian, especially from Gaza, and believed that Israel's survival depended on my destruction, with no state willing to offer me protection or security after being abandoned by most, and knowing I had no homeland, no future, no dignity, and no freedom, would I hesitate to carry out, or at least support, any form of resistance, even if it meant sacrificing myself? Several Israeli leaders and officials, including Ehud Barak and others, have acknowledged the Palestinians' right to resist, a right that some Arabs continue to deny. Many Palestinians have already been martyred, and many more will face the same fate in the future. This is the painful reality of history and the inevitable fate of any oppressed people fighting for justice, dignity, and freedom. Numerous Palestinian cities have been destroyed, and their people displaced, with more cities and more lives at risk in the future. This, too, is the harsh reality of history. There is no struggle without sacrifice. Those who endlessly call for a shift toward peace and the pursuit of a peaceful solution to the issue have repeatedly failed to present a viable vision for achieving peace, given Israel's continued intransigence and its insistence on annihilating the people of Gaza, by any means and at any cost. What they are advocating for is, in fact, the same as what the Zionists demand: complete surrender to their fate and acceptance of whatever terms they choose to impose. The attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 led to a series of dangerous and unprecedented consequences, many of which inadvertently advanced the Palestinian cause. An increasing number of countries, particularly major Western powers, have acknowledged the Palestinians' right to an independent state. There has also been growing discussion in various Western circles about the exaggerated numbers of Holocaust victims. More people are now recognizing the parallels between the treatment of Palestinians by the Zionists and the atrocities committed by the Nazis against Jews in Germany and Europe. Furthermore, the extent of the alliance between the Zionist lobby and the US administration has been laid bare, highlighting its significant influence, even within the American legislature. The cause has also garnered the sympathy and deep understanding of many of the world's leading thinkers, opinion leaders, and commentators, including Jewish scholars. This marks a revolution that few could have anticipated just a few years ago. Establishing the truth requires patience and struggle. As Palestinian poet Abdel Rahim Mahmoud said: 'I will carry my soul in my palm and throw it into the abyss of destruction. Unless I lead a dignified life, I would rather die.' Those who fail to understand this are often unaware of the true value of dignity.
CNN
06-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
On GPS: Israel is ‘switching gears' in Gaza
This week Israel declared a new strategy in its war against Hamas: to divide up Gaza and seize more territory there. Fareed sits down with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to discuss where the war is headed.
Al Jazeera
31-01-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
WhatsApp says its users targeted by Israeli spyware company Paragon
An official at Meta's popular WhatsApp chat service has said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions targeted 90 of its users, including journalists and members of civil society. The official told the Reuters news agency on Friday that WhatsApp had sent Paragon a cease-and-desist letter following the hack. The official declined to say who, specifically, was targeted but confirmed that WhatsApp is referring targets to the Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab. He declined to say how WhatsApp ascertained that Paragon was responsible for the breach. He said law enforcement and industry partners had been informed, but would not go into detail. In a statement, WhatsApp said the company 'will continue to protect people's ability to communicate privately'. WhatsApp also told the United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper that it had 'high confidence' the users in question had been targeted and 'possibly compromised'. Paragon declined to comment. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton told Reuters that the discovery of Paragon spyware targeting WhatsApp users 'is a reminder that mercenary spyware continues to proliferate and as it does, so we continue to see familiar patterns of problematic use'. Paragon sells high-end surveillance software to government clients. They typically advertise their services as critical to fighting crime and protecting national security. Similar spy tools – which allow remote access to mobile devices without the victim's knowledge – have been discovered on the phones of journalists, activists, and at least 50 US officials, raising concerns about the unchecked proliferation of spyware technology. Several reports in recent years have found that Israeli-made Pegasus spyware has been used by governments across the world to spy on activists, journalists, and even heads of state. Paragon, which was co-founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, was reportedly sold to a US private equity firm, AE Industrial Partners, for $900m in 2024. The company's website advertises 'ethically based tools, teams, and insights to disrupt intractable threats'. Natalia Krapiva, senior tech-legal counsel at the advocacy group Access Now, said Paragon had the reputation of being a more responsible spyware company, 'but WhatsApp's recent revelations suggest otherwise'. 'This is not just a question of some bad apples — these types of abuses [are] a feature of the commercial spyware industry,' she told Reuters.
