"Bibi" Claims that September 11, 2001 Attacks on Twin Towers and The Pentagon were "beneficial" to Israel
BBSNews 2008-04-16 -- The Israeli daily Haaretz reported this afternoon that Benjamin Netanyahu claimed during a conference at Bar-Ilan University on the division of Jerusalem that the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States "swung American opinion in our favor."
Haaretz reported that Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv quoted Netanyahu as saying, "We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq." Netanyahu was Prime Minister of Israel from 1996-1999. He reportedly made the comments while discussing the expected division of Jerusalem when Palestine becomes a viable state.
This comes on the heels of the visit to the region by Jimmy Carter who has been shunned by Israel's current government leaders, with the exception of Shimon Peres, a three time Prime Minister of Israel who, at least during the Carter visit, has been called a mere figurehead or "ceremonial" President of Israel in an attempt to lessen the view that there is any support for Carter's mission in Israel at all.
Former President Carter is being ostracized by officials in Israel because of his contention that Israel is maintaining a system of Apartheid where Palestinians are concerned, and because he has met with senior Hamas officials in order to gauge the position of the resistance group in achieving peace under the Arab Initiative, a plan set for by the Arab League first adopted in March 2002 and affirmed yet again in March 2007. Haaretz reported in March that 64% of Israelis also believe that talks with Hamas are critical in reaching a lasting peace agreement.
Carter also is planning to meet Hamas leader Khalid Mashal on Friday in Damascus, Syria. Analysts believe that it is important that Syria also be brought into the process, Israel also occupies the Syrian Golan Heights as well as the Lebanese territory known as Shebaa Farms.
Carter has been denied proper security arrangements between the US Secret Service and its counterpart in Israel, Shin Bet. This may result in increased danger to the former US President in light of Israel's increasingly restive right wing who oppose any possible peace deal with the Palestinians.
Most analysts find that Annapolis cannot succeed without including the legitimately elected government of the Palestinians, a government with a majority made up of Hamas after they won elections in 2006. Since the elections, the United States and Israel have isolated The Gaza Strip to such an extent that the region is seen by many as the "world's largest open-air prison."
Following the Annapolis conference, plans for thousands of units of housing have been announced in Israel on land that is disputed, they are seen as an "impediment" to the process by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as they are contrary to agreements made by Israel to stop building of settlements and dismantle illegal outposts in areas that Palestinians expect to be returned to them to form a viable state.
Israeli officials are also reported to be incensed at Carter's description of the system of Apartheid that has been instituted in the West Bank. Many Americans are upset at such a characterization as well. The US press largely ignores the United Nations Fragmentation Map of the West Bank that shows former President Jimmy Carter is quite correct in his description. The entire West Bank has been carved up by Israeli settlements, with separate roads, closed areas, and the Apartheid wall that shuts off Palestinians from farms, families and livelihoods.
Editor's Note: A fourth plane, United Airlines flight 93, thought to be brought down by passengers trying to prevent it from reaching its destination of the White House or by the hijackers trying to prevent passengers from gaining control, crashed near Shanksville, PA. There were no survivors.
The mastermind of the attack, Usama Bin Laden, is still at large. The current US administration turned its focus from finding Bin Laden and destroying Al Qaida to instead attack Iraq.
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