MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Hey, Mr. Prime Minister Recep “This-Is-The-Reason-For-War” Erdogan, when Turkey apologizes for the genocide of over one million Armenian Christians, then maybe Israel will think about apologizing for the unintended deaths of nine violent ‘peace activists’ …

“Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Saturday that relations with Israel may ‘never be normal again’ as tensions continue to rise after Israel refused to apologize over a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last year in which Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed nine Turkish citizen.

‘We gave our warnings to Israel. This is the reason for war. This is something you cannot do in international waters. But as a great state, we have been very forgiving. That’s why we have been very patient,’ Erdogan said in an interview on CNN’s ‘Fareed Zakaria GPS’ to be aired on Sunday.

Turkey has demanded that Israel apologize, pay compensation and lift the Gaza embargo.

‘If these demands are not met, the relations between Turkey and Israel will never become normal again. We have got nothing against the people of Israel but against the attitude adopted by the administration of Israel,’ Erdogan said.

He continued, saying ‘if you are insistent on creating a source of unrest, you are bound to become lonelier and lonelier. They used to be great friends of ours. And this solitude is Israel’s fate under these circumstances.'” Read more.

“Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed hope for a favorable UN Security Council outcome that would grant full membership to Palestine and recognize its statehood, as he had requested the US president to reconsider a predicted US veto of the Palestinian bid.

‘Palestine needs nine votes in the UN Security Council; it would be a great development for them if they manage to get the votes,’ Erdoğan told Charlie Rose, a host on the US-based PBS television during an interview the channel aired on Wednesday. The Turkish premier noted that in case Palestine, whose sovereignty Turkey strongly supports, fails to get the votes it needs for full UN membership, it would apply to the General Assembly for an observer state status much like that of the Holy See in the international body.” Read more.

The man who could trigger a world war – “The greatest threat to the world’s peace, at this moment, comes from a man named Recip Tayyip Erdogan. He is the prime minister of Turkey, at the head of the Justice and Development Party (‘AK,’ from the Turkish). A former mayor of Istanbul, he was arrested and jailed when he publicly recited Islamist verses (‘the mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets are our bayonets,’ etc.), in defiance of the old secularist, Ataturk constitution, which made it an offence to incite religious and racial fanaticism… The West is just watching, while Erdogan creates pretexts for another Middle Eastern war: one in which Israel may be pitted not only against the neighbouring states of the old Arab League, but also Turkey, and Iran, and Hamas, and Hezbollah. This is what is called an ‘existential threat’ to Israel, unfolding in live time. It could leave the West with a choice between defending Israel, and permitting another Holocaust. In other words, we are staring at the trigger for a genuine world war. With Recip Erdogan’s twitching finger on it.” Read more.

Turkey Still Receives Cordial Treatment From Obama Administration Even While Declaring It Is Now ‘Too Late’ For Mediation With Israel – “As Turkey’s leaders intensify efforts to isolate Israel internationally, the cordial treatment they are receiving from the Obama administration this week will add to concerns some Americans have about the strength of its support for Israel… While Israeli leaders have expressed a desire to heal the rift between the one-time allies, Turkey imposed sanctions on Jerusalem and declared its intention to use all international forums to make its views on Israel known.” Read more.

By AMY TEIBEL and MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH – “UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of troubled negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would reenergize their quest for an independent homeland.

In the West Bank, the core of that hoped-for state, a Palestinian man was shot dead in a clash with Israeli soldiers and settlers as antagonisms flared over the statehood bid.

Earlier in the week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rebuffed an intense, U.S.-led effort to sway him from the statehood bid, saying he would submit the application to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as planned.

‘We’re going without any hesitation and continuing despite all the pressures,’ Abbas told members of the Palestinian diaspora at a hotel in New York on Thursday night. ‘We seek to achieve our right and we want our independent state.’ Shortly before noon on Friday, Ban’s spokesman tweeted, ‘President Abbas just handed the Palestinian application to the Secretary-General UNSG.'” Read more.

Bloodshed in West Bank before Abbas speech – “Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian in the West Bank on Friday during a confrontation between Palestinians and settlers in the village of Qusra, a local Palestinian official said. Hany Abu Murad, the mayor of the village where the violence occurred, named the dead person as Essam Kamal Badran, 35. The incident occurred in Qusra, southeast of the Palestinian city of Nablus. Earlier Friday, violence broke out in and around the East Jerusalem area on Friday when Palestinian youths hurled rocks at security forces in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud.” Read more.

Abbas: ‘I respond to them with a final answer. We shall not recognize a Jewish state’ – “Friday afternoon, Abbas said he is adamant about not recognizing Israel as the Jewish state. ‘They talk to us about the Jewish state, but I respond to them with a final answer: We shall not recognize a Jewish state,’ Abbas said in a meeting with some 200 senior representatives of the Palestinian community in the US, shortly before taking the podium and delivering a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinian leader, who appeared fatigued, shared with his audience the global pressures exerted on him in an effort to prevent him from presenting the PA’s statehood bid at the Security Council.’We are withstanding these pressures, and I’m telling you that I am going to the Security Council and will never change my mind, regardless of the pressure,’ he said.” Read more.

By Natasha Mozgovaya and Barak Ravidu – “NEW YORK – Despite heavy pressure from the West, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas remains determined to formally apply for UN recognition of a Palestinian state today.

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Abbas last night in an effort to convince him not to seek Security Council recognition, warning that the U.S. would use its veto power to block it. Lower-level American officials also met with Abbas several times, but to no avail.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reiterated yesterday that Abbas’ statehood bid will not contribute to the peace process and will merely delay the start of negotiations – which, she added, are the only way the Palestinians can actually achieve independence.

American officials also continued their effort to mobilize enough Security Council votes to defeat the statehood bid without a U.S. veto. Germany has already announced it won’t vote yes, and Rice said she is convinced other countries will do the same. America, she said, is not the only country to realize that the UN gambit is unproductive.” Read more.

Day before Abbas speech, still unclear where PA is headed – “Fierce US resistance, as well as even some European opposition, may force Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to jettison plans to bring his statehood bid either to the UN Security Council or the General Assembly anytime soon, Israeli diplomatic officials said on Thursday. The comments came some 24 hours before Abbas was finally expected to reveal his hand during a much-anticipated speech to the General Assembly. During that speech he is expected to say whether he is going forward with a request to the Security Council for full UN membership, as he has said he would do; whether he would be satisfied with an upgrade for ‘Palestine’ from observer to nonmember-state observer in the General Assembly; or whether he will pursue both initiatives.” Read more.