USA WANTS PEACE BY END OF 2014
by Elad Benari (Arutz Sheva News)

The United States intends to achieve a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) by the end of 2014, American Jewish leaders who were briefed by envoy Martin Indyk said on Thursday.

The leaders who spoke to Channel 10 News said that Secretary of State John Kerry’s framework agreement, which was originally scheduled to be presented at the end of January, will be presented within weeks.

According to these Jewish leaders, who were not named, Kerry’s agreement mentions a Palestinian state with borders based on the 1949 Armistice lines and with land swaps between Israel and the PA. 75 to 80 percent of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria would remain in their homes even after a permanent agreement.

The agreement will include a reference to the PA’s incitement against Israel and will also include a reference to compensation for Jewish refugees who came from Arab countries, the leaders told Channel 10 News. The Arabs would recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Israel would recognize the Palestinian state, and the two sides will announce the end of the conflict, they said.

The Jewish officials further noted that even after the agreement is presented, the sides will not be forced to agree to it and the parties will be allowed to present their reservations, though they would be required to continue the negotiations based on the principles that appear in the document.

As for the status of Jerusalem, the participants in Indyk’s briefing told Channel 10, Kerry’s framework agreement will not go into too much detail on this issue and will only mention “general principles and aspirations.”

Much has been said in recent weeks of the framework agreement that Kerry is planning to bring forward, but nothing official has been made public yet.

On Wednesday, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times published some details of Kerry’s plan which, he said, will call for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria based on the 1949 lines, with “unprecedented” security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley.

The Israeli withdrawal will not include certain settlement blocs, but Israel will compensate the Arab side for this with Israeli territory. The deal will call for “Palestine” to have a capital in Arab East Jerusalem and to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. It will not include any right of return for Palestinian refugees into pre-1967 Israel, Friedman said.

The plan was blasted by Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, who declared that “it is not going to happen.”

“Israel will not split Jerusalem nor will it withdraw to the pre-1967 lines,” Danon said, adding, “The only thing good about this plan is that the Palestinians will recognize Israel as a Jewish state. It’s about time.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made clear last week that whatever Kerry brings forward would not be an agreement but ” a suggestion for a framework for negotiations.”

“This is not an agreement, but a path to making progress,” Netanyahu told reporters in Davos.

He also clarified that he will not evict any Israeli communities as part of a peace agreement. A senior source within the Prime Minister’s Office later told Arutz Sheva that when Netanyahu stated that “I do not intend to evacuate any settlements or uproot a single Israeli,” he meant “not just settlements and Israelis in the Jordan Valley, but any settlements and any Israelis.”

AUSCHWITZ BORDERS TO COMPLETE HOLOCAUST
by Ari Yashar

Attorney and current affairs analyst Yoram Sheftel remarked that this week, following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is particularly timely to remember the global complicity in the Holocaust, and heed the warnings not to rely on the world again.

“Precisely this week it’s important to remember the crimes of the European countries, Russia and the US that secretly in their hearts hoped (Nazi leader Adolf) Hitler would finish the job” and wipe out the Jewish people, commented Sheftel to Arutz Sheva.

This week Mark Langfan, Chairman of Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI), noted that historical documents indicate the US purposely chose not to bomb Auschwitz and halt the genocide, out of a fear that if they did so there would be an influx of Jews to America.

Sheftel said that while the Holocaust may have been carried out by the Nazis and their helpers, in fact the attempted genocide was a wide-reaching global initiative. “It only took place because of the silent agreement of all the European nations, aside from the Danish and Hungarians, that wanted the continuation of the destruction.”

The attorney specifies that the British and Americans could have stopped the genocide, but chose not to.

“Britain closed the gates of the land of Israel, and refused to bomb the death camps. The American government under President (Franklin) Roosevelt, a hater of Israel, stood firm against bombing the death camps, spreading lies about a lack of military ability, but the truth is they knew that bombing the camp would reduce the murder of Jews in Europe,” charges Sheftel.

Drawing from the message of the Holocaust, Sheftel warns against the current pressure from Europe, which is linked to the pressure from America as reports indicate US Secretary of State John Kerry is orchestrating the European boycotts. The pressure aims to force Israel into territorial withdrawals to the 1949 Armistice lines.

“Without the passivity of the European nations and the US, the scope of the Holocaust would have been half as small, therefore it’s clear that the attempts today to return the state of Israel to the Auschwitz borders is meant to complete what they didn’t complete then,” remarked Sheftel.

Sheftel has previously warned that America should not be relied on, and that Kerry is displaying clear enmity to Israel.

YAALON: “WE WILL HURT THOSE WHO HURT US!”
by Tova Dvorin (Arutz Sheva News)

Ya’alon spoke at a ceremony from Germany’s Platform 17 Friday, where he vowed to hold Hamas accountable for Thursday’s rocket fire on Israel.

“We view Hamas as responsible for what is happening in Gaza, and if it doesn’t know how to impose its authority over the terror cells that fire rockets and attack Israel, it will pay a heavy price,” Ya’alon declared. “The IDF and security forces will continue to pursue anyone who shoots at Israel or tries to carry out attacks against it, and will not hesitate to hurt him and the people who send him.”

Tensions escalated between Israel and Hamas Thursday, after Hamas terrorists fired rockets into southern Israel. No injuries were reported. The “Code Red” siren was sounded in the surrounding communities. It was the first time since Israel’s counterterrorism Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012 that a Gaza rocket struck near Netivot.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) responded Thursday night with air strikes, eliminating all targets with direct hits. Targets reportedly included a weapons facility and a terrorist center in northern Gaza, as well as a weapons storage site in southern Gaza.

“The IDF views all firing at Israeli territory as very serious and will continue to act strongly against anyone who carries out terror against the State of Israel,” an IDF spokesperson’s office release stated of the attack.

Ya’alon reiterated calls to defend Israel Friday at the ceremony, where he connected the message of the Holocaust to the right of Israel to protect itself.

“I stand here today in Germany on platform 17, from which German Jews were deported to ghettos and concentration camps just because they were Jews,” Ya’alon stated. “I stand here both as Defense Minister of Israel, and the son of Batya Smolinsky of the Zilber family of blessed memory, a survivor of the Holocaust who lost her family during the horror.”

“My mother survived the worst years of persecution, and did not know what the future will hold,” Ya’alon recounted. “She was only 18 years old, hiding in the woods, a member of the partisan fighters. After the war, she remained alone – without her parents and her sisters – and came to Israel to rebuild her life.”

“I stand here today at the railway platform which, like others, is the symbol of evil,” he continued. “I stand here as the Defense Minister of Israel, a country that in its 66 years of existence has become a rare and unique wonder of quality and excellence, a role model for the entire world.”

“A country with a rare military power that will reach out its hand in peace, but will not allow the systematic murder of Jews just because they are Jewish,” he continued. “A country that sanctifies human values and upholds morality.”

“I stand here today and remember my 6 million brothers and sisters – men and women, old and young – who less than 80 years ago were brought to their deaths just because they were Jews. And I vow in the name of the State of Israel: ‘Never Again!’,” he concluded.

THE “NEW” KERRY PLAN
By JPost.com staff

Thomas Friedman reveals “Kerry Plan,” says Israel to compensate Palestinians for settlements kept, deal could cause Netanyahu to lose coalition.

The “Kerry Plan” is likely to be unveiled soon, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote on Tuesday in a column titled “Why Kerry is Scary.”

The “Kerry Plan,” writes Friedman, is expected to “call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines).”

Friedman also said that there will be “unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley.”

According to Friedman, some settlements will remain under Israeli control and Israel will “compensate” Palestinians for the land.

The plan will set east Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. It will also demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The plan, Friedman continues, will not include any right of return for Palestinian refugees into Israel.

Friedman also claims that if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to agree to the terms of the “Kerry Plan,” his coalition will collapse and Netanyahu will face many challenges.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kerry said during a speech that the US remained committed to the Israeli Palestinian peace process but that at the end of the day it is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach an agreement on how to end the conflict.

The US Secretary of State met with Netanyahu at the conference in a closed-door meeting.

Kerry said in his speech that if the peace talks fail, the Palestinians risk losing their last chance for an independent state. He said for Israel, failure would mean that demographics would not allow Israel to remain a democratic and Jewish state.

Kerry stressed that the continuation of the status quo between the Israelis and Palestinians was not possible and that failure of the talks would empower extremists.

EREKAT: “THERE WILL BE NO SETTLERS IN PALESTINE!”
by Elad Benari (Arutz Sheva News)

As expected, the Palestinian Authority (PA) reacted with outrage on Sunday to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s idea that if a Palestinian state is established in Judea and Samaria, Jews who wish to remain in that state should be allowed to do so.

While Netanyahu did not publicly make this statement, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office told reporters that Netanyahu believes there is no reason for the Palestinian state, if it is created, to be “mono-ethnic.”

The source explained that the idea is a continuation of Netanyahu’s statement in his speech at Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, in which he made clear that he does not intend to evict Jews from any communities in Judea and Samaria.

Responding to the idea, the PA’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, told The Associated Press (AP), “Anyone who says he wants to keep settlers in the Palestinian state is actually saying that he doesn’t want a Palestinian state.”

“No settler will be allowed to stay in the Palestinian state, not even a single one, because settlements are illegal and the presence of the settlers on the occupied lands is illegal,” he declared.

Erekat’s comments should not come as a surprise to anyone, as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has vowed not to allow a single Jew to live in “Palestine.” He has stated this several times, the last time being during his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week.

The PA was not the only one to react with outrage to the idea attributed to Netanyahu. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) quickly shot down the idea in a Facebook post.

“The idea that Jewish communities will live under Palestinian sovereignty, as expressed by the Prime Minister’s Office, is a very grave matter, and it reflects a panicked loss of values,” said Bennett.

“2,000 years of longing for the Land of Israel did not transpire so that we could live under Abu Mazen’s rule,” he added, noting the idea “pulls the ground out from beneath our settlement of Tel Aviv” as well.

Members of Netanyahu’s Likud party were quick to reject the idea as well. Deputy Minister of Transportation, MK Tzipi Hotovely, said that “a diplomatic plan that relegates the Jewish settlement enterprise to Palestinian sovereignty will not receive political backing in Likud. The commitment not to uproot settlements is not enough. It is important that Israeli sovereignty be maintained.”

Deputy Defense Minister MK Danny Danon rejected the plan and said, “Whoever thinks that Jews will live under Palestinian control in Judea and Samaria is invited to try and visit Gaza today and understand the meaning of ‘tolerance’ in the Middle East.”

Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis shot down the plan, saying, “The idea of leaving Israelis under Palestinian rule can be described in one word: surreal.”

Meanwhile, an official with the Prime Minister’s Office responded to Erekat’s comments and said they proved that the Arabs were not willing to make peace with Israel.

“Nothing reveals more the unwillingness of the Palestinian Authority to reach a settlement with Israel than their extreme and reckless response to an unofficial publication,” said the official, who was quoted by Kol Yisrael radio.

ARAB MK WARNS: “PALESTINE JEWS WON’T BE LOYAL CITIZENS”
by Gil Ronen (Arutz Sheva News)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s bluff regarding the idea of leaving the Jews of Judea and Samaria inside a future state of “Palestine” – assuming it was a bluff, as sources in Netanyahu’s bureau claim – appears to be working brilliantly in exposing Palestinian hypocrisy.

According to Dani Dayan, the chief foreign envoy for the Yesha Council – a Judea and Samaria leadership forum – MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) spoke on Haifa Radio Monday morning and rejected Netanyahu’s suggested solution – explaining that Jewish setlers who live inside “Palestine” will not be loyal citizens in the new Arab state.

Dayan calls Zahalka’s statement “the definition of hypocrisy.”

Dayan did not spell out the reason for this statement, because Israeli citizens are already well acquainted with the antics of Zahalka and his fellow Arab Members of Knesset, and realize that they are the last ones who can speak honestly about loyalty to their state.

Here are some of Zahalka’s accomplishments as a member of Israel’s Knesset:

Immediately after former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died, Zahalka said that he should be put on trial posthumously for war crimes, in order “to make an example out of him.”

In November, MK Zevulun Kalfa (Jewish Home) filed a complaint with the Knesset’s Ethics Committee against Zahalka after Zahalka allegedly physically and verbally attacked him during a stormy debate at the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee. The debate degenerated into a shouting match as Arab Knesset Members used threatening words and aggressive body language to disrupt the meeting. Zahalka called Kalfa a “fascist, racist, settler, occupier” and then reportedly proceeded to try and physically push him out of the room. Knesset ushers prevented him from doing so.

Last August, Zahalka was involved in a heated exchange between Jewish and Arab MKs in the plenum, regarding the idea of a national referendum on possible concessions to the PA. When MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) shouted at Zahalka that “the Land of Israel belongs to the nation of Israel,” Zahalka replied: “We were here before you. I was here before you. And we will be here after you! So stop dreaming.”

Hearing this, Prime Minister Netanyahu went up to the podium and replied: “You said, ‘We were here before you… and we will be here after you.’ The first part is not true. And the second part will not happen.” With that, Netanyahu strode off from the podium, leaving the Knesset speaker to restrain MKs from the applause that they spontaneously engaged in.

On other occasions, Zahalka said Jews were enemies of peace, refused to condemn a terrorist’s stabbing of a father of five, denounced Israeli “apartheid” during a visit abroad, counseled PA politicians on ways of “taking advantage” of Israel, and traveled to India in an effort to undermine Israel’s ties with that country – all within the space of less than four years.

While most nationalist reactions to Netanyahu’s idea were intensely hostile, veteran activist and resident of Samaria (Shomron) David Ha’ivri thought Netanyahu was indeed bluffing.

“I don’t like his policies,” wrote Ha’ivri on Facebook, “but, I must admit that Bibi Netanyahu is a brilliant politician, he calls everyone’s bluff and walks on leaving them gasping for air.”

JOHNNY RAY WATSON – WITH THE LORD!

One of God’s great singers is now with the Lord He loved so much! Johnny Ray was my friend, and always a blessing at our HOPE for TODAY Prophecy Conferences. His great smile and love for people was one of those wonderful memories. His wonderful baritone voice was such a blessing to our hearts – and he will be sorely missed by hundreds of people who came to love him and be blessed by his ministry of music. We pray for his wife and family at this time – that the Lord will comfort their hearts and that his life and music will long be a blessing to them!

What a wonderful day it will be when our Lord comes to take us all home – there will be a great reunion – I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to be blessed by the ministry of our dear friend, Johnny Ray Watson!

Love to all – David Hocking

CANADA’S IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
By David M. Weinberg (Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Harper and his team should be warmly welcomed in Jerusalem this month as super-valuable allies and trusted friends.
JNF Canada Honors Canadian PM Stephen Harper

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen J. Harper, who is to visit Israel in nine days, Canada has emerged as Israel’s staunchest ally in the world.

Yet many observers dismiss Canada as a bit player on the international scene, and write off the relevance of its interventions on behalf of Israel.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

The record shows that Canada’s support for Israel is comprehensive, concrete and weighty. It is frequently a step ahead of the rest of the world, setting a principled, pro-Israel precedent and example. It is of significant, often critical, diplomatic value.

The senior-most political and diplomatic officials in Jerusalem deeply respect and appreciate Canada’s backing.

They hold Prime Minister Harper in the highest regard.

Canada was the first country in the world to immediately suspend direct aid to the Palestinian Authority when Hamas was elected in 2006, because of that terrorist organizations’ refusal to meet the criteria for international legitimacy: an end to violence, unconditional recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements.

Prime Minister Harper said: “If institutions committed to terrorism are playing a role in the Palestinian state… that is an indication to me that the road to Palestinian democracy has not been traveled very far.
Democracy and the continued advocacy of terrorism are fundamentally incompatible objectives.”

Canada’s position was quickly adopted by the US and the EU.

Canada was the first country in the world to withdraw its support from the second UN World Conference Against Racism, known as Durban II.
Noting the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate-fest into which the original Durban conference degenerated, the government of Canada led the boycott of the 2009 meeting, and was one of only 15 countries to boycott the Durban III summit in 2011. Again, other Western allies followed Canada’s lead.

Canada was the first country in the world to robustly defend Israel’s operation against Hizbullah, early during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Harper said that “responsibility for the escalating violence in the Middle East rests entirely with those who have kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Israel has the right to defend itself.” When many countries urged restraint on Israel, Harper said “the onus to end this escalation is on the other side, and I would urge them to return the prisoners.”

When other countries accused Israel of over-reacting and using disproportionate force, Harper said, “I think Israel’s response under the circumstances has been measured.”

In the aftermath of the war, Prime Minister Harper opposed a one-sided statement at the Francophonie summit that sought to deplore the war and recognize the victims of Lebanon.

Harper insisted that the resolution recognize losses on both sides.

Canada’s steadfast position ultimately won the support of the other Francophonie members and led to a balanced consensus resolution.

During Operation Cast Lead in 2009, Canada likewise stood by Israel against Hamas aggression from Gaza.

Then-foreign minister Lawrence Cannon stated: “Israel has a clear right to defend itself against the continued rocket attacks by Palestinian militant groups which have deliberately targeted civilians. First and foremost, those rocket attacks must stop.”

At the G-8 summit in 2011, Prime Minister Harper blocked American draft language that specified Israel’s pre-1967 borders as the starting point for peace talks, because this ignored other key negotiating framework factors such as recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and demilitarization of a Palestinian state. Harper stood up to pressure from US President Barack Obama and then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy. In the end, G-8 leaders conceded the merit of Stephen Harper’s position, and issued a balanced statement urging Israel and the Palestinians to resume negotiations (with no mention of the ’67 lines).

During Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, Canada vigorously supported Israel’s right to defend its citizens and blamed terrorists in Gaza for the escalation in violence. Foreign Minister John Baird described Israel’s right to self-defense in the context of the broader conflict between terrorism and democracy: “Far too often, the Jewish people find themselves on the front lines in the struggle against terrorism, the great struggle of our generation… Canada condemns the terrorist group Hamas and stands with Israel as it deals with regional threats to peace and security.”

Canada also has consistently stood up for Israel, often as a lone voice, in the G-20, the UN Human Rights Council (UNCHR), International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN General Assembly. Over three years that it sat on the UNCHR in Geneva, Canada stood alone in defense of Israel – eight times casting the only “no” vote against unfair condemnations of Israel. Also in Geneva, Canada played a critical role in getting Israel membership for the first time in the UN’s Western European and Others Group, a status that Israel has sought for years.

In November 2012, Foreign Minister Baird personally cast Canada’s vote against General Assembly recognition of Palestinian statehood. Canada was among only nine countries that voted against this resolution, making the case that it undermined direct Israeli- Palestinian negotiations as the basis of Middle East peace. Baird said: “We took a principled stand. We believe that statehood is a product of peace with Israel, and the Palestinian Authority is trying to go around Israel to the UN to get what they couldn’t get at the negotiating table.”

Prime Minister Harper’s government has taken a lead role at the IAEA in Vienna and other international forums in opposing the Iranian drive for nuclear weaponry, and in backing sanctions against Iran. In 2012, Canada suspended diplomatic relations with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran and expelling all Iranian diplomats from Ottawa. It also outlawed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act. Canada expanded its sanctions in 2013 by announcing a prohibition on all imports and exports from Iran, and by banning a series of Iranians and Iranian entities under the Special Economic Measures Act.

Canadian resoluteness in opposing Iran has drawn in other Western countries. Many joined the walk-out boycotts that Canada annually led of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speeches at the UN. Almost all Western nations have supported the tough General Assembly resolution on Iran’s horrendous human rights record that Canada sponsors every year.

Canada also led the world in expressing deep skepticism of the November interim agreement in Geneva between the P5+1 and Iran.

At the time, John Baird said: “Today’s deal cannot be abused or undermined by deception. The Iranian people deserve the freedom and prosperity that they have been denied for too long by the regime’s nuclear ambitions Until then, Canadian sanctions will remain tough, and in full force… We will evaluate today’s deal not just on the merits of its words, but more importantly on its verifiable implementation and unfettered access of all Iranian nuclear facilities.”

Since then, world leaders have been forced to acknowledge the validity of Canada’s doubt about Iran’s compliance intentions and the soundness of Canada’s concern about premature withdrawal of sanctions. Some have accepted Canada’s contention that the scope of the talks must be broadened to include Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism and its systemic violation of human rights.

Sometimes, nations lead by simply demonstrating friendship. Again, Canada is the example par excellence.

Twenty ministers in the Harper governments (since 2006) have visited Israel to advance bilateral ties, including the ministers of agriculture, citizenship and immigration, defense, environment, finance, foreign affairs, industry, international trade, natural resources, public safety, public works, transport and treasury.

It is furthermore important to note that Prime Minister Harper’s government has significantly enhanced defense, intelligence and law enforcement ties between Canada and Israel.

Cooperation accords have been signed in sensitive areas, and there have been frequent high-level exchanges, including reciprocal visits by the defense ministers, military chiefs of staff, intelligence chiefs and national security advisers of the two countries. Observers should not underestimate the quiet professionalism and outsized reach of Canada’s security personnel across the Middle East and around the world.

Speaking to the Herzliya Conference in January 2012, Foreign Minister Baird forthrightly said that “Israel has no better friend in the world than Canada; no stronger ally who will stand up for you. We won’t stand behind you; we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel. Canada will not remain silent while the Jewish state is attacked for defending its territory or people.”

No country in the world is as generous in its trailblazing support of Israel, without apologies or hesitations.

Canada speaks out and acts to defend Israel, consistently before anybody else, without feeling the need to be “politically correct” and to “balance” its statements with (im)moral ambiguities about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Prime Minister Harper and his team should be warmly welcomed in Jerusalem this month as super-valuable allies and trusted friends.

FORMER CANADIAN MINISTER SHOCKED AT RESTRICTIONS UPON JEWS AT THE TEMPLE MOUNT

A former Canadian minister who visited the Temple Mount on Sunday was shocked to learn of the discrimination shown by Israeli police officers towards Jews.

Stockwell Day, who served as Canada’s Minister of Public Safety between 2006 and 2008, visited the Temple Mount following a coincidental meeting with a resident of Jerusalem, Yosef Rabin, who regularly visits the Temple Mount compound.

Rabin, who spoke to Arutz Sheva on Monday, said that his meeting with Day took place over Shabbat, when he visited friends for a Shabbat meal also attended by Day.

During the meal, Rabin said, he told the former Canadian minister about the situation on the Temple Mount where police, in an attempt to appease the Muslim Waqf which was left in charge of the compound after the 1967 Six Day War, ban Jews from praying or performing any other form of worship. Police sometimes close the Mount to Jews altogether in response to Muslim riots – for days or weeks at a time – despite evidence that such violence is usually planned in advance for the specific purpose of forcing Jews out.

“When I told Day about the situation on the Temple Mount, it pegged his interest and he asked me to arrange a visit for him,” said Rabin.

After the Sabbath, Rabin got in touch with LIBA project coordinator Yehuda Glick, who accompanied Rabin and Day to the Temple Mount the next day.

“The former Canadian minister was shocked over how Jewish police can do these things to Jews. He did not understand how one can talk about the reunification of Jerusalem while at the same time Jews are not allowed to open their mouths on the Temple Mount,” said Rabin, who added that during this particular visit, he encountered a new phenomenon whereby Jews were forbidden to speak with tourists who asked questions about the Temple Mount. Police forbade Israelis to speak with tourists about the compound, claiming it bothers the Waqf, he added.

Former minister Day, said Rabin, could not believe his eyes when he saw the long lines of Jews waiting to get in, the Arab disturbances on the compound, the conduct of the Waqf and the endless shouting. “He could not understand how the Israeli government could do this to Jews.”

Rabin told Arutz Sheva that Day is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel and would bring up the issue of the Temple Mount during the meeting.

Day, a former leader of the Canadian Alliance party which later merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to become the Conservative Party of Canada, lost the party’s leadership to Canada’s current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in 2002. Nevertheless, he remained on good terms with Harper, who is also currently visiting Israel, and served as a minister in his cabinet before retiring from political life.

The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site and the location of the two Holy Temples of Jerusalem, the latter of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Despite that fact, Jewish visitors face severe restrictions upon ascending the Mount, while the Waqf works to remove any Jewish presence on the Mount and consistently destroys Jewish antiquities on the compound in a direct violation of a ruling by the Supreme Court.

ABBAS TO HARPER: THERE WILL BE NO ISRAELIS IN “PALESTINE”
by Elad Benari (Arutz Sheva News)

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday that there will be no official Israeli presence in the future Palestinian state, reported the Ma’an news agency.

“We want an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital that includes all the lands that were occupied in 1967 and that lives side by side with Israel in security and stability,” Abbas said in a joint press conference with Harper in Ramallah.

“Anything else said or interpreted on our behalf matters only to those who interpret it,” he added, according to Ma’an, dismissing rumors that he had agreed to concessions in ongoing negotiations with Israel.

Abbas thanked Canada for the aid it sends to Palestinian Arabs and said he hoped for the improvement of bilateral relations between Canada and the PA.

He added that he briefed Harper on peace negotiations and reiterated the PA’s position on a future state.

Abbas’s comments are a continuation of his ongoing policy of announcing that unless all his demands are met, there will never be peace with Israel.

This was also not the first time that he has declared that the future Palestinian state will have no Israeli presence whatsoever.

AFP reported that Harper, for his part, said during the press conference that Canada would provide additional financial support for Abbas’s Ramallah-based government.

“I have the pleasure to announce today that Canada will this year give additional (financial) support for the economic development of the West Bank,” Harper told reporters, saying this was key for “social stability” and for advancing peace.

He did not elaborate on details about the aid, noted AFP.

Abbas said he respected the Canadian decision to vote against the PA’s unilateral statehood bid in the UN in late 2012, explaining that Canada is “an independent sovereign state, and it’s their right to decide what it wants and to recognize who it wants.”

Canada was one of only nine countries to vote against the resolution to recognize “Palestine” as a non-member observer state in the UN. Harper had reportedly personally intervened, unsuccessfully, to pressure Abbas to drop his bid for upgraded status at the UN.

Harper is currently on his first visit to the region since becoming Prime Minister and on Monday he became the first Canadian leader to address the Knesset.

Harper told MKs that Canada would stand with Israel no matter what, “in fire and water.”

The bonds between the two countries, said Harper, were “very strong. Our friendship has its roots in history, and is nourished by our shared values,” as well as the trade between the countries.

In addition, he said, Israel and Canada were close military allies, with Israeli-made equipment and technology saving the lives of many Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, where they are stationed as part of the international peacekeeping force.