Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

A check of the Foreign Ministry website www.mfa.gov.il/MFA finds absolutely
no mention of the issue of problems relating to UNSC 1701 on the opening
page of the website

Buried inside a press release covering FM Livni's meeting with UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on 31 July:

FM Livni stated that "Even if the situation in southern Lebanon has changed,
the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Lebanon requires an immediate
response. Syria must understand that it is unacceptable." - hardly the
strong statement required regarding the need for the UN forces to tak a more
serious role than the "see no evil" position they take today.

For those wondering why it seems that the OLmert-Livni team is doing the
absolute minimum in publicly fighting the terrible problems Israel is having
as a result of UNSC 1701 and how it is being enforced consdier this:

Referring to Barak's vocal criticism of UN Resolution 1701, which brought
the Second Lebanon War to an end, Olmert said that "if some ministers spoke
less of Resolution 1701 that brought nothing but peace and quiet to the
north, we wouldn't be seen as weak."

Olmert: Barak blocking cabinet debate on defense issues
By Tal Levy, TheMarker and Haaretz Service Last update - 21:08 17/08/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1012415.html

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of
blocking cabinet debate on issues of security.

"Because of you, it is impossible to conduct a serious discussion on the
defense establishment," Olmert told Barak during the cabinet's weekly
meeting in Jerusalem.

The criticism came amid debate on the 2009 defense budget, which according
to Olmert, was never even raised for cabinet discussion, after National
Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer attacked the Treasury's
proposal the cabinet decides whether to invest in defense or welfare.

"We can't choose one over the other," Ben-Eliezer said. "Haven't we learned
the lesson from Georgia?"

Neither was Ben-Eliezer left off Olmert's sarcasm. "Why not?" The prime
minister asked. "I can assure you we will not attack Russia."

Ben-Eliezer did not seem amused. "If we cut the defense budget Israel will
be weak," he said.

Referring to Barak's vocal criticism of UN Resolution 1701, which brought
the Second Lebanon War to an end, Olmert said that "if some ministers spoke
less of Resolution 1701 that brought nothing but peace and quiet to the
north, we wouldn't be seen as weak."

Barak then interjected: "Does anyone have any complaints about the quietest
six years [from the 2000 IDF pullout from southern Lebanon to the Second
Lebanon War] we've seen?"

"Yes, but these were six years during which so many things were neglected,"
Olmert replied.

The Labor Party later said that "Olmert is in no position to give lessons
while an entire country is still recuperating from the failed war he
embroiled us in."

During the meeting, the prime minister also slammed Public Security Minister
Avi Dichter for not doing enough to put a halt to organized crime in Israel.

Finance Minister Roni Bar-On, meanwhile, warned that the coalition must not
let its "political games" influence the state economy.

"In the last few months we have worked hard to isolate the Israeli economy
from the political game. Don't break this rule and do not turn Israel's
economic policies into an instrument of factional taunting," Bar-On told
ministers during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

"The building of economic faith is a long and arduous process which occurs
bit by bit over the course of years, but takes just seconds to destroy,"
Bar-On warned.

Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting had been expected to set the stage for a
tense verbal jousting session between the Labor Party, which objects to the
Treasury's planned cuts, on one side, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Bar-On on the other.

Olmert indeed called on ministers in his Kadima party to oppose the 2009
budget. The Labor Party also opposed the proposed budget, arguing that the
suggested cuts would harm the weaker sectors of society.

"Israel doesn't have the luxury to cut the defense budget," Defense Minister
Ehud Barak said Saturday. "A responsible leadership must find a way to
invest in both [defense and welfare] at the same time."

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, who is in the midst of a race for
leadership of Kadima, was also expected to oppose the proposed budget and
demand that all discussions over the budget be postponed until after
Kadima's primary, which is scheduled for September. Mofaz believes the
candidate that wins the contest be given an opportunity to form a government
and to exert influence over the budget framework.

Senior Kadima members noted that Mofaz's motive for requesting a delay stems
from his desire to leave the budget open for discussion so as to allow
greater flexibility in possible talks with prospective coalition partners
should the former defense minister be tasked with forming the next
government.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is eager to see the government approve the
budget before the primary, which would in essence limit the "extortion
ability" of parties seeking to enter a coalition under her leadership should
she defeat Mofaz.

The Treasury outlined its proposals during Sunday's meeting, with cuts in
defense and welfare spending among the hot-button provisions.

Olmert and Bar-On were likely demand the ministers choose one of the two
cuts before the budget is submitted to a vote next week. Senior Labor
figures note that Mofaz is the key factor in the equation. If the
transportation minister opposes the cuts, there is a strong likelihood that
Bar-On and Olmert will be forced to offer a third alternative.

MK Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee, and
six subcommittee heads have sent a letter to Olmert and other senior
government officials urging them not to cut the Defense Ministry's 2009
budget.

The letter stated that the ministry's current budget is a "red line that
must not be crossed." Earlier this week, the Finance Ministry recommended
cutting the defense budget by NIS 2 billion. According to the committee's
letter, the Second Lebanon War "painfully demonstrates to all of us the
price of neglecting the army and the cuts in defense-spending made in the
years prior to the war."