RUTHFULLY YOURS

Erdogan’s ideological love affair with Hamas is obligatory for all Islamists in this part of the world, and they do not tend to forget it. In February, a deported Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) board member, Sami al-Arian, denounced the United States as “our enemy.”

For Turkey’s Islamist leaders, Hamas is not a tactical alliance or a geopolitical necessity for the country. It is an age-old feature of political Islam capturing not just minds but hearts.

Despite the nominal ‘normalization’ of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel, Ankara is still fully supporting a terrorist organization — one that Washington, among others, lists as terrorist. The Shin Bet’s report, the Istanbul conference and its contents, the official Turkish support for that conference and Turkish Foreign Ministry’s explicit support of Hamas make new evidence that Turkey insists on siding ideologically with a terrorist organization — ironically at a time when Erdogan claims Turkish troops are fighting terrorists in Syria.

In 2014, Turkey hosted Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas commander whom the Palestinian Authority had accused of planning multiple attacks against Israeli targets. At that time, the newspaper Israel Hayom called Turkey’s important guest “an infamous arch-terrorist believed to be responsible for dozens of attacks against Israelis”.

In August 2014, speaking at the World Conference of Islamic Sages in Turkey, Arouri admitted that Hamas had instigated the “heroic action carried out by the al-Qassam Brigades [the military wing of Hamas], which captured three settlers in Hebron.” The “heroic action” consisted of Hamas operatives kidnapping and murdering three teenage boys, an incident that triggered the spiral of violence that led to the 50-day war in Gaza.

In December 2014, a Hamas leader confirmed that his organization was using NATO member Turkey as a refuge for logistics, training and planning terrorist attacks. The same month, then-Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hosted the chief at that time of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, at a high-profile party congress in Konya, Central Turkey. Taking the stage at the event, Mashaal congratulated the Turkish people “for having [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and Davutoglu.” His remarks were received passionately, with thunderous applause, the waving of Palestinian flags and thousands of party fans shouting, “Down with Israel!”.

1. Intel has announced a $4.5BN-$5BN expansion of its southern Israel plant (in Kiryat Gat) – which is one of the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing facilities – for the next three years, following a 2016-2017 $6BN upgrade of the same facility. The two rounds of investment are, probably, related to Intel’s March, 2017 $15.3BN acquisition of Mobileye, the Jerusalem-based developer of advanced vision and autonomous-driving assistance systems. Intel acquired eight Israeli companies.

Intel employs, in Israel, 11,000 persons (in addition to Mobileye’s 1,000 employees) in three research & development centers and one manufacturing plant, which exported $3.7BN in 2017 (before the current expansion). Since 1974, when Intel launched its Israeli operations, it invested $35BN in Israel, and exported $50BN from Israel.

Since 1998, “Intel Capital” has invested in 18 Israeli startups.

During the last decade, Intel’s total purchase of Israeli goods and services was $10BN (Globes Business Daily, February 19, 2018).

2. Israel has attracted over 300 global high tech companies due to its brain-power, which has been enhanced by a “do-or-die” state of mind – militarily, economically, educationally, agriculturally, irrigation-wise and balance of trade-wise, yielding game-changing, ground-breaking solutions and technologies.

3. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway expressed confidence in Israel’s (ailing-recovering) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, buying 1.8% of its stock for $358MN, which surged Teva’s share price 8.64% on the NYSE (Globes, Feb. 15).

4. According to Bloomberg (Feb. 19), a 10 year, $15BN deal to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt is about to be concluded between Noble Energy and Delek Drilling, the exporters, and Dolphinus Holdings, the importer, enhancing the Egypt-Israel cooperation, and advancing Egypt’s ambition to become a regional energy hub. It follows the 2016, 15 year $10BN natural gas agreement with Jordan.

UNITED NATIONS—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called at the United Nations on Tuesday for an international conference in 2018 to restart peace negotiations, in a clear jab at Washington’s historically central role in resolving the peace crisis.

Mr. Abbas, addressing a monthly Security Council meeting on the Middle East, said the goal of the conference would be to expand the role of multiple world powers—including the five permanent members of the Council—along with regional actors in helping Israelis and Palestinians reach a two-state solution. Washington, he said, had “contradicted itself and its own commitments and has violated international law.”

Mr. Abbas was referring to President Donald Trump’s decision in December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Under international agreements and U.N. Security Council resolutions, Jerusalem is considered a “final status” issue to be determined in the last stages of peace negotiations.

“It has become impossible today for one country or state alone to solve a regional or interactional conflict,” Mr. Abbas said. “To solve the Palestine question, it is essential to establish a multilateral international mechanism emanating from an international conference.”

Mr. Abbas’s proposal was quickly countered by Israel and the U.S. Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said the only way forward would be direct talks between Israel and Palestinian leaders and criticized Mr. Abbas for leaving the room after his speech, saying he was “running away.”

The two rival parties, Fatah and Hamas, are prepared to lay aside their differences and work together to foil US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East, the details of which remain unknown. Thwarting Trump’s peace plan has become a top priority.

Although the details of the Trump plan still have not been made public, Palestinians across the political spectrum say they will never accept any peace initiative presented by the Trump administration.

The Palestinians know that no US peace plan would comply with their demands. Abbas’s Fatah is demanding 100% of the territories Israel secured in 1967, namely the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Hamas, for its part, is demanding 100% of everything, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. As Hamas leaders repeatedly affirm, the goal is to “liberate all of Palestine,” meaning all of Israel.

Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction are continuing to contest control of the Gaza Strip.

However, the two rival parties are prepared to lay aside their differences and work together to foil US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East, the details of which remain unknown.

Thwarting Trump’s peace plan has become a top priority for Hamas and Fatah. This is a mission that seems to be much more important than alleviating the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where 65% of families live under the poverty line.

Although the details of the Trump plan still have not been made public, Palestinians across the political spectrum say they will never accept any peace initiative presented by the Trump administration. Whatever the peace plan will be, the answer is No.

In the eyes of the Palestinian leaders, the US administration has shown unprecedented “hostility” towards the Palestinians.

Will this be another “peacemeal” destruction of Israel? rsk

AMMAN, Jordan—President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East is “fairly well advanced,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday, offering a rare insight into progress on the administration’s proposal for solving the decades-old conflict.

The peace plan, being developed by the White House in a closely held process overseen by President Donald Trump’s aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been on Mr. Tillerson’s agenda while traveling across the Middle East this week.

“I have seen the plan, the elements of the plan,” Mr. Tillerson said in Jordan. “It’s been under development for a number of months. I have consulted with them on the plan, identified areas that we feel need further work.” He added that “it will be up to the president to decide when he feels it’s time and he’s ready to put that plan forward.”

The U.S. is sharply at odds with Palestinian leaders after Mr. Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing the contested city as Israel’s capital. Palestinians have sought to replace the U.S. as a peace broker, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to address the United Nations Security Council next week.

Mr. Tillerson spoke to reporters alongside Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, after the pair signed a new foreign-assistance agreement. Under the agreement, the U.S. will commit $1.275 billion a year to boost Jordan’s security and economy.