An image grab taken from footage broadcast by Iran's state-run Arabic-language Al-Alam TV on August 20, 2010, shows an image from an undisclosed location of what Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said was the test firing of the Iranian surface-to-surface missile Qiam, entirely designed and built domestically and powered by liquid fuel, a day before Iran was due to launch its Russian-built first nuclear power plant

Iranian scientists have already managed to enrich enough radioactive material to successfully produce not just one, but four nuclear bombs, Israel’s military intelligence chief has announced.

General Aviv Kochavi broke the news at a security conference on Thursday. The intelligence chief says he believes Iran would need a year from the word go to actually producing a crude device, and another year or two to manufacture a nuclear warhead that can be installed on a ballistic missile.

Kochavi also claimed that “Iran is very actively pursuing its efforts to develop its nuclear capacities, and we have evidence that they are seeking nuclear weapons. “However, no actual evidence was produced or even referred to at the conference.

The Israeli Deputy PM added fuel to the fire, claiming that Iran has also succeeded in building a long-range missile capable of putting the US within its reach. Moshe Ya’alon, who had just returned from Washington where he discussed the Iran situation with President Obama’s administration, chose to echo Kochavi’s words of warning, saying “The Israeli government will stop Iran one way or another.”

These latest statements are very much in line with the position of Israel and its allies who are accusing Iran of using its nuclear industry to mask plans to develop nuclear arms, a charge official Tehran has frequently and vehemently denied.

Israel, backed by its key ally the United States, has long pushed for tougher sanctions against Iran. Top level officials in both Tel Aviv and Washington DC have recently said they do not rule out a military attack against the Islamic Republic.

As sparks continue to fly around the powder keg of Iran’s supposed nuclear ambitions, the Middle Eastern state is not playing dead either. A defiant President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Thursday that the country is planning to double its military spending over the next year; a sign that is being interpreted by many as “taking a stand” against pressure from the West.

The United States and their NATO allies are also flexing their muscles, with recent transfers of US fighter jets and other military planes to the region. Troops have also been reportedly arriving at various American military bases in the Persian Gulf, with another ten thousand soldiers recently transferred to Israel – allegedly to test the US anti-ballistic missile defense system.

On top of that, two US Navy aircraft carriers – the USS Abraham Lincoln and Carl Vinson – are on patrol in the Persian Gulf and are expected to be joined by the USS Enterprise in March. The USS Annapolis, a nuclear submarine, was earlier reported to have entered the Red Sea and is rumored to be heading towards the Gulf as well.

Together with the US military bases already established in the region – for example, the 5th Fleet, stationed in Bahrain – all of this is interpreted by many as nothing shy of intimidation, and some experts believe the US is trying to provoke Iran into making the first move.

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Two ships of the US Navy, the nuclear submarine USS Annapolis and the destroyer USS Momsen have passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Although their destination is confidential, they are now getting dangerously close to the Persian Gulf.

­The ships’ passage was a major operation for the Suez administration as due to safety reasons they had to close off the canal to all other traffic and even shut down the bridge, disrupting the link between the banks for some four hours. The traffic on the roadways alongside the canal was also restricted, Interfax news agency reports.

There are no reports regarding the destination of the vessels, but the news come amid the ongoing crisis in the relationship between the US and Iran. There is mounting speculation that the Annapolis and the Momsen are heading to the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US naval forces already present in the region.

Currently the US has two aircraft carrier groups in the region headed by USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Carl Vinson. It is expected that another aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, will join the strike force in March.

Since the EU placed a new round of sanctions on Iran by putting an embargo on Iranian oil, Iran is once again threatening to use military force to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti maritime official said on Monday that the Gulf Cooperation Council group of Arab countries have contingency plans for coastguards and naval forces should there be an attempt by Iran to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

­‘US imperial agenda is now concentrating on Iran’

­Tehran has offered IAEA officials the chance to extend their mission and says it is ready to prove its atomic ambitions are peaceful. But Ralph Sсhoenman, the host of radio program ‘Taking Aim,’ told RT that IAEA’s quest in Iran is hopeless.

“I say hopeless because the United States and the European capitalist spouse will always up the ante,” Sсhoenman explained. “You can be absolutely sure that the reports back from one or more of these inspectors functioning as intelligence operatives will say: ‘Well, there is evidence that they may be doing this and they may be doing that.’”

Sсhoenman believes that the US “imperial agenda, which makes countries their targets in sequence, is now concentrating on Iran.”

“The very idea that Iran is somehow obliged to open its frontiers to inspectors who are essentially penetrated and permeated by the Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad expresses what I am attempting to say to you,” he explained. “This is outrageous, this has no legitimacy and it should be repudiated and exposed for what it is.”

Journalist and author Afshin Rattansi says that there are no reasons why Iran would need another visit from such a biased organization as the IAEA.

“There are cameras, surveillance equipment over all the different sites,” he said. “The IAEA inspection regime, I think most analysts would say, is a front for a WMD [weapons of mass destruction] inspection that we have seen previously in that region.”

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Israeli and American officials put plans for a massive missile drill mysteriously on this month, but now the exercise, originally slated for this spring, will be scheduled for October 2012.

The drill, which will also signal a surge of American troops to Israel by the thousands, will mark the biggest test of its type for both nations. As tensions worsen between the US and Iran — as well as Israel and its Islamic Republic neighbor — Tehran authorities fear that the exercise will try out more than just the missile capabilities of the allies. Also being put to the test is Iran’s patience.

The United States has already equipped almost every nation surrounding Iran with weaponry and mobilized a fleet in the adjacent Strait of Hormuz. The postponement of the exercise, which RT reported last week, was viewed by some to be a response from Israel over America’s lack of initiative in actually putting the heat on Iran. Overseas news outlet Debka, which has close connections with the Jewish state’s intelligence community, suggested that the snag in the plans occurred after Israel grew irritated at America’s hesitance to bite, instead only barking at Iran. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon called the Obama administration “hesitant” earlier this month, which was followed by a warning only a day later by the nation’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which he urged the US to “move from words to deeds.”

At the time, one Israeli authority speaking under condition of anonymity told Reuters, “It’s for a host of reasons, mainly logistical, but not the reason you cited [tensions with Iran].”

Now after a brief delay, America will send thousands of troops and its anti-missile defense systems to Israel, albeit a few months later than planned. With the exercise back in the books, it could mean that an eventual war between the US and Iran is still in the works — and now the world has a timeline to see it through.

Speaking off the record, both US and Israeli authorities tell the JTA news wire that tensions with Iran indeed played a role in the rescheduling, but declined to say how exactly. Captain John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, tells the outlet that the plans were put on hold for routine reasons of wanting “optimum participation” by both the US and Israel.

“We remain dedicated to this exercise and naturally want it to be as robust and as productive as it can be,” adds the captain.

Parts of the program involve a troop surge in the thousands as well as the deployment of America’s Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system and the ship-based Aegis system overseas. Israel’s own Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome missile systems will work in cooperation with their US counterparts. The US troops, estimated to be at a tally of 3,000, could arrive in Israel as early as next week. They will join forces with around 2,000 Israeli’s involved in the country’s own missile program.

Earlier this month, the US deployed 15,000 troops to the nearby nation of Kuwait. Israel has also in recent weeks increased its defense budget to the tune of $700 million.

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The buddy-buddy relationship between American and Israel could falter as it is revealed that Mossad intelligence officers posed as CIA agents in order to recruit and train Iranian terrorists, all unbeknown to US authorities.

American intelligence officials have come clean with details surrounding Israel’s attempt to infiltrate the network of the Iranian terrorist group Jundallah. According to internal memos just released, Washington was initially unaware that agents working for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, were recruiting Iranian terrorists under the guise that they would be hired and trained by the CIA.

The memos that reveal the CIA’s then discovery of the program come from the last year of the George W Bush administration, and it is unsure if such campaigns still exist overseas today. What is known, however, is that Mossad — who is largely funded by the CIA and typically works hand-in-hand with their American counterpart — did not approach American officials for authorization in fronting as US agents in their attempt to infiltrate Jundallah.

“It’s amazing what the Israelis thought they could get away with,” an intelligence officer speaking on condition of anonymity tells Foreign Policy’s Mark Perry. “Their recruitment activities were nearly in the open. They apparently didn’t give a damn what we thought.”

The account has been confirmed to Foreign Policy by four retired intelligence officers who have either worked with the CIA or in conjunction with Mossad.

The attempt to enter the ranks of Jundallah is arguably warranted for the Israelis, but doing so by training terrorists under the supposed name of America — and then sending them off to kill in the name of America — could largely worsen what relationship, if any, exists between Tehran and Washington. Since its inception in 2003, the Jundallah army has been linked to the massacre of at least 150 Iranians and injuring many more. While American officials have distanced themselves to a degree from hostilities in Iran, specifically shrugging off any allegations that the US has ties to the recent assassination of an Iranian scientist, the reality of this discovery is that Mossad might very well be training Iranian terrorists and then sending them back out into the world with the impression that they are new CIA recruits. If captured during a botched intelligence mission for Mossad, those phony CIA agents could be forced into revealing their “true” identity — with only Israel really aware of the operation.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta denied claims that America was linked to the execution of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the 32-year-old nuclear scientist, saying, “We have some ideas as to who might be involved…. but I can tell you one thing: The United States was not involved in that kind of effort. That’s not what the United States does.” Speaking for the Israeli Army, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai wrote on Facebook, “I have no idea who targeted the Iranian scientist but I certainly don’t shed a tear.”

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pinned the blame on both Israel and America, however, and told the state’s IRNA news agency, “We will continue our path with strong will … and certainly we will not neglect punishing those responsible for this act.”

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US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has described Iran as a regional threat, saying Washington will resort to “all necessary means” to stop Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We’ve said and I say again that all options are open … President (Barack) Obama clearly and consistently says that he will do everything and resort to all necessary means to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, and he means every word,” Shapiro said in an interview with the Hebrew-language daily Ma’ariv, Xinhua reported.

The US and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the “option” of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran’s nuclear work may consist of a covert military aspect.

They have also used this allegation as a pretext to sway the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran.

In its latest move to force Iran to abandon its peaceful nuclear program, Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank on December 31.

The bill requires foreign financial firms to make a choice between doing business with Iran’s Central Bank and oil sector or with the US financial sector.

However, Shapiro acknowledged that despite the United States having “upped the pressure (on Iran) to its highest level ever,” the sanctions have not been able to dissuade Tehran from continuing its nuclear program.

The US, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran.

Tehran has categorically refuted Western allegations, saying as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.

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Norman Paech, a retired German professor and politician

Former German lawmaker Norman Paech says any Israeli venture to launch a military strike against Iran would spell the end of Tel Aviv regime.

A war with Iran would be different from the one with Gaza; it would mean the downfall of Zionist Israel, Norman Paech wrote on the German-based daily Jung Welt.

Paech said that in a study released on 12 February 2009, the CIA predicted that if Israel persists with its trend of warmongering policies in the Middle East, it would be destroyed within 20 years.

Referring to the recent remarks by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, Paech said Washington is facing a real dilemma with regards to Tel Aviv.

Paech said on the one hand the US wants to save the Israeli regime, which is increasingly showing signs of a “failing state”, and on the other, they want to eliminate the Iranian government that is growing more and more dominant despite the sanctions engineered by Washington.

The US has failed in its attempts to build a “Greater Middle East”, which foresaw the alignment of all countries from Turkey to Pakistan to US interests – “by all means necessary,” Paech said.

The former German lawmaker added that Iran remains the “last anti-American bastion in the Middle East,” despite being surrounded by US protectorates and vassal governments.

He further referred to Der Spiegel’s interview with former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei in which he said Americans and Europeans sought to change the establishment in Iran.

“The Americans and the Europeans withheld important documents and information from us. They weren’t interested in a compromise with the government in Tehran, but regime change — by any means necessary,” Mohamed ElBaradei told the Der Spiegel on April 20, 2011.

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The Jewish community in the U.S. is one of the largest in the world with over 5.5 million people. The majority of them are business people and those who have “white collar” jobs, though it was not always the case. There is no wonder that there is a powerful U.S. Jewish lobby that supports Israel. However, the relations of Israelis and American Jews have certain issues.

For historical reasons, Jews have special relationship with the U.S. During the persecution of Jews in Germany and later in other European countries occupied by the Nazis, the American continent has become a safe haven for many of them. Back in the 1930s, hundreds of Jews arrived by boat to the U.S. from Germany. By the Second World War the community counted 4.5 million. At the end of the Holocaust, immigration from Europe to the U.S. continued.

The role of the Americans in the creation of Israel and its subsequent economic and military support are obvious. For many decades, the U.S. had been accused of using Israel as their puppets in the Middle East. However, the Soviet Union also engaged in inciting the neighboring Arab states to direct aggression against Israel.

Meanwhile, the role of the Jewish community in the economic and political life of the United States continued to grow steadily. If at the beginning of the 20th century most of them lived in the ghetto and were employed to do “blue collar” jobs, several decades later the situation has changed. By 1957, 70 percent of Jews had “white collar” jobs, while among other white Americans this number is only 35 percent. In 1970, 87 percent of Jews in the U.S. worked as clerks. In addition, the earnings of Jews were 72 percent higher than the earnings of other Americans.

By the beginning of the 21st century Jews managed to achieve even more stunning results. In 2008, 46 percent of Jews earned over 100 thousand dollars a year. Of the 400 Americans who made it to the ranking of Forbes, more than a quarter belong to the Jewish community. Perhaps it has to do with the thirst for education which was encouraged in the Jewish families more than, say, in Irish ones.

By the 1990s, Jews managed to obtain a much greater weight in American politics and finances. They conquered Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the Congress and the White House. After the 1992 elections the number of Jews in the Congress reached its maximum of 33 people.

Today, the community’s impact on the American political life is determined by the presence of a large number of its own publications. One of the largest information resources that distributes news reviews around the world is the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. In addition, there are nearly 80 weeklies, not counting other resources. There are also a number of radio and television programs of local communities.

In the beginning of the 21st century due to the growing number of Muslims the issue of possible conflicts of interest of Muslims and Jews in the United States became particularly acute. It is believed that by 2000 their communities became equal in size. Of course, so far there is no confrontation between the communities. However, some researchers have pointed to the fact that Muslims, unlike Jews, have no such influence in politics. This is partly due to the lack of consolidation among Muslim immigrants from different countries of the Middle East.

At the same time, it is important to emphasize that American Jews cannot remain aloof from the conflict between the administration of Barack Obama and Tel Aviv (which in turn is caused by the continuation of the eternal Arab-Israeli War). In 2009-2011, the U.S. administration pressured Israel to end the settlements.

This caused discontent, especially among Zionist Americans who felt these unfriendly moves to be inappropriate at a time when Israel is already in a dangerous position. In general sympathy of ordinary Americans to a greater extent is on the side of the Israelis rather than the Palestinians (according to opinion polls, the ratio is ten to one).

However, American Jews are mostly engaged with their internal issues rather than the support of their ally in the Middle East. “The number of supporters of Zionism among the Jews in North America declined steadily, especially among young people. At the same time the significance of Israel in the eyes of the Jews of USA and Canada is diminishing, reported the portal Zman.com.

Anyway, in today’s America, the political weight of the Jewish community is very significant. The question of the Jewish lobby in the U.S. has always engendered a great deal of political controversy and speculation at home and abroad. Nevertheless, from a historical point of view, their active participation in national life is justified as we are talking about over five million U.S. citizens.

At the same time, the traditional link between the American Jews and Israelis is not as strong as it would seem. American financial aid in recent years has slightly declined. In addition, the resumption of settlement building received a mixed assessment of the American Jews. This proves that they are not always united with the motherland of their ancestors.

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Deputy head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission David Danieli

Israel has once again refused to acknowledge international calls for transparency in its covert nuclear program during a meeting held by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

During the nuclear-free Middle East conference in Vienna, deputy head of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission David Danieli said on Monday that Tel Aviv would not begin talks on the issue.

“Experience shows that such a process can only be launched when normal, peaceful relations exist in the region, when the threat perception of all regional members is low,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

“Political instability, open hostilities, deep mistrust and noncompliance with international obligations are too common in many parts of the Middle East region,” he argued.

This is while participants at the gathering condemned Tel Aviv’s response, saying Israel’s massive nuclear arsenal and total lack of transparency will make the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East completely impossible.

Syria said Israel is posing a “grave and serious threat” through its undeclared atomic arsenal.

Last year, the 189 members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) decided to convene a UN-sponsored conference on establishing a Middle East nuclear-free zone in 2012. This year’s meeting was an incentive for most of the nations to meet with Israel for the exploratory Vienna talks.

Despite international condemnation, Tel Aviv still remains unclear whether it will even attend the 2012 talks.

Israel is considered to be the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. It refuses to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities or to join the NPT based on its policy of nuclear ambiguity.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Berlin-based Friedrich Ebert Foundation, more than 50 percent of European people believe Israel is the most serious threat to global security.

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Concerns: Israel has test-fired a missile, thought to be a Jericho missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead today.

Israel’s military has test-fired a missile which is reportedly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to any part of the Middle East and probably as far as Europe. It comes amid speculation that Tel Aviv is planning a military strike on Iran.

­The test on Wednesday was reported with little detail by Israel’s Defense Ministry.

“Israel today carried out the test-firing of a rocket propulsion system from the Palmachim base,” a ministerial statement said. “This had been long-planned by the defense establishment and was carried out as scheduled.”

The plume left by the missile went almost straight upwards and could be seen from most parts of central Israel, reports Reuters citing eyewitness accounts.

Both local and international media believe that the missile tested was the long-range ballistic missile Jericho III. The specifications of the weapon are classified, but estimates by military experts believe it to be a three-stage solid propellant missile with a payload of more than 1,000 kilograms, which is enough to carry a nuclear warhead. It may have range of more than 11,000 kilometers and could carry a payload MIRVed warheads of smaller yield.

The news comes amid a flurry of media reports in Israel, which say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet are contemplating an attack on Iran. The reports have not been officially commented on. Some analysts believe that the government is playing a strongman card to appeal to voters after Israel’s failure to prevent Palestine’s admission to UNESCO.

Israel and its allies are calling to put pressure on Iran over its alleged intention to produce a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies the allegations. In the past Israeli air forces have attacked sites which were believe to be nuclear facilities, in Iraq in 1981 and in Syria in 2007.

The Jewish State itself has neither confirmed nor denied having a nuclear arsenal, but is widely believed to have such weapons in its possession.

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In a letter to Netanyahu, Knesset leaders urge for sanctions against the Palestinians, expansion of settlements, and annexation.

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, several right-wing factions in the Israeli Knesset argued that Israel should annex West Bank settlements as punishment for the recent Palestinian bid for United Nations membership.

The letter was signed by Likud chairman Ze’ev Elkin, Shas chairman Avraham Michaeli, Habayit Hayehudi chairman Uri Orbach, and the leader of the National Union faction Yaakov Katz.

The right-wing leaders urged Netanyahu to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, cut aid money, gradually annex the entirety all West Bank settlements, accelerate settlement construction, cancel PA officials’ VIP ID cards, and prohibit any Palestinian construction on Israeli Defense Force controlled land.

This kind of pressure has apparently manifested into policy already, as Tuesday also saw the announcement of a major new settlement expansion in Gilo, one of the “ring neighborhoods” created in territory conquered by the Israeli military in 1967, which will include 1,100 new housing units. Indeed, this year has seen a dramatic increase in settlement expansion.

Such moves to grab land and marginalize the Palestinian leadership may be more widely supported in the Knesset than some expect. The deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset Danny Danon, who recently appeared with Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry in a speech on the conflict, has said openly he does not believe in a two state solution. And Prime Minister Netanyahu has suggested multiple times that all of Judea and Samaria – the West Bank – belong to the Jewish people.

The letter warned of the “serious damage that could befall Israel if it chooses to avoid repines,” and that if it did, Israel would “completely lose its deterrence, thus stimulating the Palestinians to continue their actions against it in the international arena.”

“In fact, the international damage that Israel could suffer in the wake of the UN vote is significantly smaller than that it would suffer if it doesn’t follow up on the principle you set a decade ago – ‘If they give, they’ll get; if they don’t give, they get nothing.’”

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Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has gone on the warpath against the West at the United Nations again, sparking a mass walkout by outraged US and European delegations.

The Iranian leader accused the US of using the “mysterious” September 11 attacks as a “pretext” to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.

He also repeated comments casting doubt on the origins of the Holocaust and criticised the United States for killing Osama bin Laden rather than bringing him to trial.

European countries use the Holocaust as an excuse to pay “ransom to the Zionists”, he said. The “diabolical” aims of the West are the cause of wars and the financial crisis, Ahmadinejad stormed.

In a repeat of walkouts at the United Nations and other international events in recent years, a US diplomat monitoring the speech in the UN General Assembly left halfway through the 20 minute discourse on Thursday.

The 27 European Union nations then followed in a coordinated protest move.

“Mr Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people’s aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories,” said US mission spokesman Mark Kornblau.

The German delegation said in a statement that it was protesting over the “crude, anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-West tirade by the Iranian president”.

And a French spokesman called Ahmadinejad’s attacks “unacceptable”.

The Iranian president caused a UN walkout last year when he alleged the US government could have been behind the September 11 attacks. He has also used speeches in the past to call for the destruction of Israel and cast doubt on the existence of the Holocaust.

Israel and Canada were among countries which had no diplomats in the assembly even for the start of Ahmadinejad’s latest speech.

Ahmadinejad told the UN summit that the United States and its allies use the Western media to “threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military action”.

Some European countries “still use the Holocaust, after six decades, as the excuse to pay fine(s) or ransom to the Zionists.” The United States considered Zionism as “sacred” while they “allow sacrileges and insult” against other religions.

The Iranian leader said he had been threatened by the US government after he last year alleged American government involvement in the attacks and called for an independent investigation.

Moving to the US operation to kill bin Laden, Ahmadinejad said the al-Qaeda leader should have been brought to trial “in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin World Trade Centre towers”.

In a general blast at the West, Ahmadinejad said: “Hypocrisy and deceit are allowed in order to secure their interests and imperialistic goal.”

“Drug trafficking and killing of innocent human beings are also allowed in pursuit of such diabolic goals,” he added.

“They weaken countries through military intervention and destroy their infrastructures, in order to plunder their resources by making them all the more dependent.”

Western diplomats said they had expected a tough speech by Ahmadinejad and had prepared walkout plans in advance.

White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed Ahmadinejad’s remarks. “Our views on Iran’s behaviour and its vile mistreatment of its own citizens are well known. I find it rich that the Iranian president has such criticisms.”

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The Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, warned on Wednesday that a possible unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood will have “serious consequences.” The statement comes after the Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO) reiterated on Tuesday that they will request from the United Nations the above mentioned admission.

Lieberman made the remarks during a conference on agriculture held in Kibbutz Revivim, in southern Israel.

The Foreign Minister of Israel gave no details of what the “serious consequences” are that the Palestinians will face.

In his speech, he said his country “has shown great generosity towards the Palestinians, but that has not brought us peace.”

The president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, on 22 September prompted the Security Council of the UN to admit Palestine to independent and full membership in the organization.

Tired of peace talks, stalled for almost a year and a continued and significant loss of territory, the Palestinians have said that dialogue can no longer be the only way to achieve independence.

Israel has expanded Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, regardless of human rights violations and against international law.

For his part, Lieberman stated that Israel will not abide by any unilateral Palestinian declaration and expressed his confidence that “common sense will prevail” and it is possible to “achieve a modus vivendi that will allow the negotiations.”

The Chancellor, in this context, agreed with the statements of the Israeli minister for Diaspora and Public Diplomacy, Yuli Edelstein, who considered the Palestinian decision to resort to the Security Council of the UN as “part of the campaign to isolate Israel.”

In the same way, the minister for the diaspora said his government is prepared to respond “according to the text of the resolution.”

“All options are open, if there are aggressive decisions we are obliged to take responsibility and do everything possible to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens on the ground,” said Edelstein.

On Tuesday, more than one hundred nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the Gaza Strip signed a statement supporting the Palestinian initiative to petition the UN for recognition as an independent state.

The signatories expressed “support for the Palestinian leadership’s attitude and refusal of pressure to force the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations instead of going to the UN,” said the general coordinator of NGOs in the country, Mohasen Abu Ramadan.

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Netanyahu Addresses US Congress in Unfettered Unapologetic Strange Love Fest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for approximately 50 minutes to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The politicians/sycophants greeted the Jewish leader with a four minute standing ovation along with another 26 standing ovations and 30 rounds of applause. They know who their master is!

Netanyahu made it clear to any independently thinking person that Obama was playing the world for a fool with his speech last Thursday implying Israel would have to go back to its 1967 borders. After meeting with Netanyahu Obama gave a speech at the conference of the overly powerful Israeli lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In that speech he made it so clear that his comments a few days earlier regarding Israel returning to its 1967 borders were so meaningless that Israeli politician Carmel Shama-Hacohen said, “President Obama gave an explicit, emphatic ‘no’ to the ’67 lines and Hamas [while expressing] boundless support for the State of Israel as a Jewish and a democratic state whose security is insured.”

Politicians are not patriots or revolutionaries; politicians are mere careerists. They will sellout anyone or anything if they believe it will help them further their career. The overwhelming vast majority of politicians in both parties and in Congress and the White House have sold out America and her people to Israel for the benefit of favorable media coverage and large financial donations. They know opposing Israel is in almost every case a death sentence to their career as a political whore.

Jewish groups tied to AIPAC have contributed over $10 million in just one election cycle in just federal elections. Add to this the very excessive Jewish influence in the media which has the power to make a politician appear any way it wants and it becomes painfully obvious why the politicians, who value their political careers over America, Americans and what is right and wrong, grovel at the feet of Israel and the Israeli lobby.

One great example of how the Jewish dominated media in the U.S. shows Americans the world through Jewish/Israeli eyes is CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, aka Zev Barak. Wolf worked for the Jerusalem Post from 1973 through 1990. He even worked directly for AIPAC as an editor for their monthly Near East Report. Anyone who thinks such a zealot for Israel and Zionism as Wolf is capable of providing his viewing audience, the American public, with unbiased honest objective reporting needs to have their head examined.

The stomach-turning spectacle Congress made at the feet of Netanyahu makes it very clear that instead of being an American Congress in the spirit of America’s founders, today’s Congress is a very kosher (kosher being used as it should be, in a very derogatory way) Congress. Just as the Biblical myth of kosher is nothing but a scam raking in millions of dollars for rabbis at the expense of Americans, so the kosher Congress is scamming Americans for their own political careers and for the Jewish state of Israel at the astronomical expense of America and Americans who pay for it through blood and treasure. The more we tolerate it the more politicians will continue to sacrifice our soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors as well as our tax dollars on the alter of a greater Israel.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long criticized for being passive and reactionary, is under pressure to exhibit the Zionist legacy of risk-taking and initiative in his address to Congress today.

Four days after publicly spurning President Obama’s vision for ending the Israeli-Arab conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from supporters and critics alike to present an alternative plan for peace as he addresses a joint session of US Congress.

In the shadow of regional change, Mr. Netanyahu has been attacked for taking a passive, reactive stance that favors his own political survival over meaningful progress with the Palestinians. Now, with Palestinians gaining momentum on a United Nations vote to establish a Palestinian state without Israel’s approval, his country faces a growing threat of isolation and attacks on its legitimacy.

Many see Netanyahu’s speech today as an opportunity to take the diplomatic initiative, tapping into an Israeli legacy of risk-taking, initiative, and creativity that stretches from the country’s founding fathers to today’s technology entrepreneurs. That spirit – summed up in Zionist leader Theodore Herzl’s phrase, “If you will it, it is no dream” – has been seen in everything from preemptive military attacks to a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

“The basic premise of Zionism is that the Jews need to take responsibility for their fate, and what distinguishes Israelis from Jews in the past is that we can be masters of our destiny,” says Yossi Klein Halevy, a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

“To say that there is nothing for Israel to do to improve its situation is to commit an act of heresy against Zionism, and so some Israelis see Netanyahu’s seeming paralysis as a negation of the national ethos,” he adds.

‘Start-Up Nation,’ or stagnant nation?

The criticism is mostly heard from Israeli doves, but there have also been some on the right who have said that, instead of just blaming the Palestinians for setting preconditions for peace talks, Mr. Netanyahu needs to come forward with his own vision.

Erel Margalit, an Israeli venture capitalist who is running for the leadership of the opposition Labor Party, said Netanyahu should look to former Israeli prime ministers like David Ben Gurion – who accepted a 1947 UN plan to partition Palestine into two states – and Ariel Sharon who unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip.

“We are considered a ‘Start-Up Nation,’ ” says Mr. Margalit, referring to the recent New York Times bestseller about Israel’s entrepreneurial spirit. “But Netanyahu is turning us into a stagnant nation.”

“The Arab Spring is not just a threat but it’s also bringing hope to the Middle East,” he adds. “Israel needs to go back to being proactive rather than reactive.”

Hints of a new concession, but hesitance, too

“Anyone who has played chess knows the advantage of being one step ahead,” says an Israeli official. “But there is a debate in Israel about whether we should or whether we can take an initiative vis-à-vis the Palestinians.”

Among the reasons for Israel’s hesitancy is the recent Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal, which unites Israel’s Palestinian partners for peace with a group both Israel and the US have branded a terrorist organization; regional upheaval as a result of the Arab Spring, and doubt about Palestinian political will for negotiations.

A week ago, in an address to the Israeli parliament, Netanyahu dropped hints of a fresh move when he emphasized Israel’s large settlement blocs as core requirements for peace — implying he’d be willing to cede control over other settlements in the West Bank.

But that was quickly overshadowed by a public clash with President Obama over his endorsement of the 1967 line as a basis for negotiations as well as an Israeli announcement of new Jewish neighborhoods in disputed parts of Jerusalem.

Make-or-break speech for Netanyahu

Analysts believe the unprecedented public confrontation with Obama was initiated by Netanyahu to shore up political support back in Israel, but note that it carries the risk of alienating the US administration. The stakes will be even higher today when Netanyahu goes before the Republican-controlled House; Israeli newspapers portrayed it as a make-or-break speech for Netanyahu’s career at home and abroad.

“He is trying to go over Obama’s head. He is embroiling himself, and trying to use a domestic American sphere to make his case,” says a Western diplomat based in Jerusalem.”He has allowed [Israel] to be painted as the refuser, as the one who is saying no. Usually it’s the Palestinians that play that role.”

To be sure, many in Israel don’t believe that a final status peace agreement with the Palestinians is possible at present because the gaps between the sides are too large. But that doesn’t excuse an Israeli prime minister from suggesting his own plan, says Shlomo Avineri, a political science professor at Hebrew University and a former director general for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

“Between the status quo and the final status agreement there are a whole list of steps that can be taken,” says Mr. Avineri, adding that Netanyahu’s passiveness is not unique; Israeli prime ministers in the past four decades have generally lacked will and power to embark on dramatic initiatives. “The alternative is not doing anything and hoping for a utopian final status agreement. This would be not helpful because Israel should not appear as being passive and leaving the initiative to others.’’

Many Israelis see peaceniks and settlers alike as reckless, impatient

The impatience with Netanyahu also comes from core supporters. While they applauded his rejection of returning to the 1967 borders, they want the prime minister to annex West Bank settlements to Israel in response to the Palestinian move.

“If you believe that you have the right to annex Judea and Samaria because it’s your land, then what are you waiting for?’’ says Yishia Fleisher, director of Kumah.org, an organization which promotes Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. “Why does Israel always to have to always be reactionary?”

But Mr. Halevy argues that Netanyahu’s perceived inaction doesn’t bother the average Israel, and instead reflects widespread disillusionment from ideological movements at opposite ends of the political spectrum that have fallen from popularity.

“Many other Israelis have reached the opposite conclusion: that the recklessness of both the peace movement and the settlement movement, both of which believed that they could bring peace and security to Israel, and instead brought the opposite. For them that’s what brought us to the dead end that we’re in.”

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Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected U.S. President Barack Obama’s call for Israel’s 1967 borders to be taken as the starting point for talks on a future Palestinian state.

In a landmark speech to the State Department on Thursday, Obama said the peace negotiations should result in “a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel.”

“The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states,” the U.S. president said.

Netanyahu’s office said the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war were “indefensible.”

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said Israel appreciated “President Obama’s commitment to peace” but believed that for peace to endure “the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state.”

Netanyahu is meeting Obama for talks at the White House later on Friday.

The statement said Netanyahu was expecting Obama to reaffirm U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004.

“Among other things, those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines,” the statement said.

“Those commitments also ensure Israel’s well-being as a Jewish state by making clear that Palestinian refugees will settle in a future Palestinian state rather than in Israel.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Obama’s effort to start fresh negotiations with Israel.

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