Israeli News: A Daily Analysis May10, 2009-Syrian Terror in Iraq Enrages Obama Administration, Budget Talks Continue

A Daily Analysis

May 11, 2009-Netanyahu Meets Mubarak, Pope In Israel, Netanyahu Gives in on Budget Cuts

It was a busy day in Israel today. The Pope arrived, Prime Minister Netanyahu went to Sharm el Sheik to meet President Mubarak of Egypt, and the budget crisis was resolved.

Netanyahu's visit with Mubarak was the first opportunity for him to present his “peace plan”, which he has held as a closely guarded secret. By all accounts, the visit went well, not so much due to Netanyahu, but because Israeli and Egyptian interests are aligned to a degree that has never been the case before. Therefore, the Egyptians are more interested in working together to stop Iranian influence than to work on behalf of the Palestinians. The next question is how President Obama is going to react to Netanyahu's plans.

Meanwhile, regarding Gilad Shalit, Netanyahu has reportedly established a precondition for talks: Hamas must return with a new list. Reportedly Egypt agrees with Netanyahu’s approach. The change in Egypt is palpable. A leading Egyptian journalist being interviewed on Egyptian television stated that Israel would be crazy to withdraw to 1967 borders, in return for a 10 year ceasefire from Hamas. He said their [Israel's] parliament building would be under rocket fire. One Israeli expert stated that he has heard expressions of understanding of Israeli security needs in closed door meetings with leading Egyptians, but never before has he heard it expressed publicly.

The Pope's visit seems not to have started on the best foot. Israeli news described his reception as 'cool'. There was criticism of his speech that it did not go far enough since he did not apologize. I am not sure what people want, I heard most of his speech and he seems to have said all the right things. The Pope was willing to say the right things while he was still in Jordan even though it enraged some of the Muslims. Some Israeli observers shared my bafflement at what people wanted from this Pope.

On the economic front, Netanyahu has given in to all the criticism of the budget plan and cancelled all the cut backs. He enraged the workers at the Ministry of Finance who believe they were ignored and left out to dry.

There is an interesting article in Haaretz that is worth reading by