Category: Politik

Donald Trump: I Like 2 State Solution But I’ll Leave It Up To Israel And Palestinians

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he likes the concept of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, expressing his preference on the issue for the first time since sparking international criticism for appearing to back away from the longstanding bedrock of Middle East policy.

But in an interview with Reuters, Trump stopped short of reasserting a U.S. commitment to eventual Palestinian statehood and instead said again that he would be “satisfied with whatever makes both parties happy.”

Trump’s comments put a new twist on a statement he made at a Feb. 15 joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting that his administration would no longer insist on the creation of an independent Palestinian state as part of any future peace accord.

It could also send a signal to both sides, as well as the international community, that the principle that has long underpinned U.S.-led peace diplomacy will not be discarded if the Trump administration moves forward, as he has promised, with an initiative to restart long-stalled peace efforts.

“No, I like the two-state solution,” Trump said when asked whether he had backed away from the concept during his joint White House appearance with the right-wing Israeli leader. “But I ultimately like what the both parties like.”

“People have been talking about it for so many years now. It so far hasn’t worked,” he added. But he then repeated his revised position, saying: “I like this two-state solution, but I am satisfied with whatever both parties agree with.”

Trump’s comments provided nuance to his earlier comments.

“I’m looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like,” he said at last week’s news conference. “I can live with either one.”

Those words were welcomed at the time by the Israeli right but denounced by Palestinians, who seek a state of their own.

A one-state solution would be deeply problematic for both sides. One concept would be two systems for two peoples, which many Palestinians would see as apartheid and endless occupation. A second version would mean equal rights for all, including for Palestinians in an annexed West Bank, but that would compromise Israel’s Jewish character.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned against abandoning the idea of a two-state solution, saying there was “no alternative,” and Egyptian and Jordanian leaders also renewed their commitment to that goal.

Trump’s revised language could soften such criticism, but still fails to meet demands that he explicitly re-commit to seeking a two-state solution.

At the news conference, Trump pledged to work toward a peace deal but said it would require compromise on both sides. He also surprised Netanyahu by urging him to “hold back on settlements for a little bit,” a vague appeal to curb construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

But at the news conference he offered no new prescription for achieving an accord that has eluded so many of his predecessors, and Palestinian anger over his strongly pro-Israel stance could make it difficult to draw them back to the negotiating table.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 24, 2017
The Strange Route Benjamin Netanyahu Took To Get From Singapore To Sydney

For many people flying from Singapore to Sydney, the flight can take as little as seven hours or so. But not if you are Benjamin Netanyahu. In the Israeli prime minister’s case, it can take more than 11 hours.

As you can see in the map above, created using data from FlightAware, the Israeli leader took an unusual detour when traveling from Singapore to Australia overnight. The Guardian newspaper confirmed this unusual route with Netanyahu’s delegation.

This detour added several hours to his journey.

Netanyahu’s plane wasn’t taking the scenic route by choice. Instead, the carrier — El Al, Israel’s national airline — was deliberately avoiding Indonesian airspace.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population. Like other Muslim-majority nations, the country has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel because of the latter’s conflict with Palestinians. Some implications of this are well known — Israeli passport holders are refused entry to a number of Muslim-majority nations, except in special circumstances, although Israeli citizens are permitted access to Indonesia on tourist visas.

However, the strange route of Netanyahu’s plane shows another effect of Israel’s diplomatic situation. Indonesia doesn’t grant El Al access to its national airspace, necessitating a circuitous route around it.

And Indonesia isn’t the only country to restrict access. A quick look at Netanyahu’s earlier flight from Tel Aviv to Singapore shows how the Israeli prime minister took an unusual route, which may have been designed to avoid the airspace of Saudi Arabia or another nation.

Representatives of El Al didn’t respond to clarify what airspace they were prohibited from flying over.

Netanyahu’s awkward journey around Indonesia comes at a time when the Israeli leader is hoping for a closer relationship with Jakarta. The two countries were reported to be informally upgrading their relations in 2012, with Indonesia opening a consulate in the West Bank city of Ramallah that would include a diplomat who would unofficially serve as ambassador to Israel.

However, when Netanyahu called upon Indonesia to normalize diplomatic relations last year, the Indonesian government said it would do so only when the Palestinians are granted an independent state.

Source: WashingtonPost

February 23, 2017
Israel PM Describes ‘Battle For Future Of Humanity’ During Singapore Visit

In the first visit to Singapore by an Israeli head of state in 30 years, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday issued a call for greater diversity and tolerance.

Netanyahu gave a roughly 10-minute speech to Jewish community members gathered at the tightly guarded Maghain Aboth Synagogue, built in Singapore in the late 1800s.

Netanyahu spoke of his recent visits to Muslim-majority countries Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, noting that he visited a synagogue in the latter.

“Jewish children in Kazakhstan were singing Hebrew songs as they sang here, in a Muslim state and that reflects the kind of world we like to see: a world of tolerance, a world of diversity as opposed to the world that is being challenged today by the forces of barbarism and intolerance,” he said. “This is a battle for the future of humanity.”

Netanyahu added that the relationship between Singapore and Israel had expanded beyond the defence ties which were set in the mid-1960s, when Singapore became independent of Malaysia.

“It’s not only that we’re both innovation nations. It’s not only that we’re small people that have defied the limitations of our size. It is that we’re committed to a better world. A world of diversity, a world that follows the values that we as a people have held for so many years,” he said.

Netanyahu said he had held talks with Singapore’s government earlier in the day and that the talks would continue later. His speech at the synagogue coincided with the reading of Singapore’s budget in Parliament.

Netanyahu’s visit to Singapore comes hard on the heels of the Israeli prime minister’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the U.S. last week, but that visit went unmentioned.

Netanyahu’s visit to Singapore on Monday was quieter than the last visit of an Israeli head of state to the island-nation.

In 1986, Israel’s then-President Chaim Herzog became the first Israeli head of state to visit Singapore. But when the Israeli embassy in Singapore announced the visit about a month ahead of time, protests erupted across Muslim-majority countries Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, and Singapore faced diplomatic ire and pressure to cancel the visit.

Source: www.cnbc.com

February 22, 2017
Upgrading To Bigger Motorbikes? Maybe Not With Latest Taxation System

He was planning to replace his current five-year-old Ducati 848 with a new Ducati Panigale this year, but Mr Kevin Liew now has to consider cheaper options instead.

The change of plans came after Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a new tiered tax system for motorcycles while delivering the Budget on Monday (Feb 20) in Parliament.

Under the new system, the 15-per-cent Additional Registration Fee (ARF) will stay for motorcycles with an open market value (OMV) of up to S$5,000. The subsequent S$5,000 of its OMV will incur an ARF of 50 per cent, and the remaining OMV above S$10,000 will come with an ARF of 100 per cent.

The Ducati Panigale that Mr Liew was eyeing was estimated to cost around S$40,000, but with the changes, it would cost “around S$50,000 or S$60,000”, the 27-year-old marketing manager said.

“Bikes are already overpriced in Singapore compared to other countries because of the COE (Certificate of Entitlement),” Mr Liew added. “With this new scheme, they are only going to get even more expensive.”

Mr Heng said that a small but rising number of buyers are getting expensive motorcycles, with OMVs similar to those of small cars. To address this, the tiered ARF would be introduced for motorcycles registered with COEs obtained from the second February bidding exercise onwards.

He added that, going by current registration trends, more than half of new motorcycle buyers would not have to pay more.

Although the new tax scheme is meant to target luxury-bike owners, some owners of “working class” motorcycles said that they would be affected as well. And the bikers community is upset over the move, lamenting that it would cause a spike in motorcycle prices.

Mr Justin Khaw, 25, who rides a Honda Trial Bike and was planning to switch to a Honda Africa Twin, said: “Nowadays, most bikes in the open class 2A category cost close to S$10,000 and above.”

With the new ARF, instead of paying S$32,000 for the Honda Africa Twin, Mr Khaw, an undergraduate, will have to fork out around S$36,000 to S$40,000. He has since decided to look for something cheaper.

Mr Khaw remarked that the move would do little to reduce vehicular traffic. “If Singapore’s goal is to curb congestion on the roads, then perhaps alternative transport such as motorcycles should be considered. So why are the taxes for motorcycles increasing? Shouldn’t it be decreasing instead?”

Given that cars and motorcycles do not contribute to congestion equally, he said, he wondered why bikers are “taxed and subjected to the same vehicle control policies as cars”.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 22, 2017
Budget 2017: Price Hikes Affect Poor More Than Rich

Water is a vital resource and a basic human right. Yet, the Government of Singapore sees it fit to use utilitarian or volume based pricing model for the provision of water.

Such a model affects both the rich and poor and some say, the poor are more adversely affected than the rich.

A 30% price hike will be a stretch for the poorer families while the rich has the means the ride the price hike.

If it was the intention of the government to elicit any kind if behavioural change in the consumption of water, we’ll probably see the poor conserve a lot more.

One spokesperson from IPS said that the 30% price hike is to create awareness. It’s a poor choice of words even for a PAP apologist on the IPS payroll. What’s he smoking?

Call a spade a spade a price hike is not a water conservation campaign or an awareness programme.

In an article written by Leong Hze Hian, he said that the water price in Hong Kong is priced 14 times lower. Perhaps they have better technology but whatever the reasons are, it’s definitely merits a discussion in parliament.

The budget seems to benefit the middle class more than the underclass. The 20% tax relief capped at S$500 benefits the middle class for sure.

Perhaps a tax on manual car wash and a closer watch on how water is used is F&B outlets when dishes are washed is much needed.

With the advancement in smart metering technologies, it is possible to have different pricing structures for industrial versus residential users by districts, flat-types and household income.

A different pricing structure definitely adds complexity to the pricing regime but it will definitely have the intended effect of changes in consumption patterns.

Source: www.theindependent.sg

February 22, 2017