TEL AVIV – The White House has released what it says is a map of
Israel. The only problem is that Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Golan
Heights are missing.
An Obama administration video
highlighting the president’s plans for his Mideast trip depicts
Jerusalem, the Golan and the West Bank – also known as Judea and Samaria
– as non-Israeli territory.
The Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the discrepancies,
noted the video shows the Golan Heights as part of Syria; Jerusalem is
depicted as part of the West Bank; and northern Israel is shown as part
of Lebanon.
WND reported in August 2012
when the White House refused to name the capital of Israel – not once,
but twice – as the two most senior White House correspondents cornered
Obama’s press secretary, doggedly questioning him on whether the Obama
administration considered Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to be the capital of the
Jewish state.
The itinerary on the White House website further implies that
Jerusalem is not Israel’s capital or even part of Israel, reported the
Free Beacon. Obama’s schedule lists two stops in “Tel Aviv, Israel” and
one in “Amman, Jordan,” while his trip to Israel’s capital city is
identified as taking place only in “Jerusalem.”
The itinerary is consistent with information first released by WND
disclosing Obama’s planned visit already has secured Israeli and
Palestinian pledges to restart so-called land-for-peace talks that aim
to see Israel relinquish the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, according
to informed Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.
The officials disclosed the Obama administration told both sides the
talks would be aimed at creating a Palestinian state in what is known as
the 1967 borders, meaning an Israeli retreat from some of the strategic
West Bank and possibly some eastern sections of Jerusalem.
According to the informed officials, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu agreed that once the talks begin, there will be a silent,
undeclared freeze on all Jewish construction in the West Bank and
eastern Jerusalem with the exception of what are known as main blocs –
Maale Adumin, Ariel and Gush Etzion.
The officials said the White House was adamant that Israeli talks
with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas begin regardless of
the position of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Still, the U.S. is supporting Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey in
back-door efforts to broker a national unity deal between Abbas and
Hamas during the same time period that the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations are set to take place, the officials said.
There is already close coordination between the White House and
members of Netanyahu’s government coalition, who are known to be
sympathetic to creating a Palestinian state, primarily former opposition
leader Tzipi Livni.
Further, WND was told that Livni and former Minister Haim Ramon are
currently coordinating the renewal of talks with the PA’s chief
negotiator, Saeb Erekat.
Regarding Jerusalem, the informed Israeli and Palestinian officials
said the White House has been nonspecific other than to champion talks
based on what is known as the Clinton parameters.
The formula, pushed by President Bill Clinton in the Camp David talks
in 2000, called for Jewish areas of Jerusalem to remain Israeli while
the Palestinians get sovereignty over neighborhoods that are largely
Arab.
WND previously reported Palestinians are building illegally in Jewish-owned areas of Jerusalem, creating Arab majorities in certain neighborhoods.
Screen shot of Israel map shown in White House video
The informed officials, meanwhile, said the White House expects the
issue of Jerusalem to be a key impediment to reaching a deal and is
therefore discussing the formation of an international committee to help
smooth the process.
Previous Israeli-Palestinian talks saw the U.S. naming an envoy meant
to broker between the two sides. According to the officials speaking to
WND, the White House has expressed interest in naming an envoy but has
doubts about whether such a point man will be successful.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/white-house-map-of-israel-erases-jerusalem-biblical-territories/#broHiZEs2uTDsXHU.99