Elections, Palestinian and Israeli

Mustafa Barghuti (Middle East Online photo)

Israel's 'punishment' of Palestine begins: 31 Palestinians killed since election
International Middle East Media Center 2/20/2006
A promise by Israeli leaders to 'punish' Palestinians for electing the Islamic Resistance party, Hamas, in Jan. 25th legislative elections, appears to be coming to fruition as ongoing invasions and aerial attacks on Palestinian areas have resulted in the deaths of 31 Palestinians, and 74 Palestinians injured since the elections. Still, the monthly total for February has not reached the average of 59 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces each month since September 2000. The most Palestinians killed in a single month during the last five years was in April 2002, when 245 Palestinians were killed, mainly civilians killed in a massive attack on Jenin refugee camp which Palestinians have termed the 'Jenin Massacre'.

IDF: J'lem neighborhood at risk
YNetNews 2/15/2006
Senior IDF officer tells Ynet dozens of shooting attacks against neighborhood of Gilo foiled in 2005; army bracing for wave of terror attacks after Hamas' election victory -- The defense establishment is concerned that terror groups are planning to renew shooting attacks at residents of Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood. “They have the experience and the intension and I have the Tanzim in mind,” a senior IDF official told Ynet. The IDF is bracing for a wage of terror attacks after Hamas' election victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. According to the official, dozens of shooting attacks against Gilo were foiled in 2005.... “as long as we have freedom of action in Bethlehem and good intelligence, these attempts will be thwarted. ”

Israel arrests 19 in W Bank raids
BBC 2/14/2006
Nineteen suspected Palestinian militants were arrested by Israeli troops in overnight raids in the West Bank, the Israeli military has said. Seven members of Hamas, which won last month's elections, were arrested with an Islamic Jihad activist in Hebron. Meanwhile, six Fatah members were arrested in Nablus, two Islamic Jihad members in Qalqilya, and one Fatah-Tanzim member in Ramallah. Israeli raids on Monday resulted in 18 other Palestinians being detained. [end]

Hamas suicide bombers' videotape: 'We drink Jews' blood'
Ha'aretz 2/15/2006
A Hamas Web site recently published the videotape wills of two suicide bombers, with two main messages: One is directed to the Jews whose blood Hamas pledges to drink until they flee from the land of the Muslims, and the other is devoted to a mother who helps her son plan a suicide attack, according to Palestinian Media Watch, which presents the video shown on the Hamas site after its victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. The video shows Idham Ahmed Majila and Maumin Rajab Rajab, who blew themselves up at the Karni crossing at the end of 2004. "My message to the hated Jews: There is no God but Allah," Majala says.

PNA urges world to press Israel to stop assassinations
ReliefWeb 2/6/2006
GAZA, Feb 6, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Palestinian Interior Ministry urged the international community on Monday to press Israel to stop assassinations against Palestinian activists. In a press statement sent to reporters, the ministry called on the international community to force Israel to stop its policy against the Palestinians. Israeli army resumed targeted killings against Palestinian activists in the Palestinian territories following the Palestinian parliamentary elections on Jan. 25, but the army announced that it had stopped this policy.

Diplomacy..

EXPECTANT: Palestinians wait outside a polling station in the West Bank town of Jericho during Thursday's municipal elections. Hamas battled Fatah for voter support. MUHAMMED MUHEISEN/AP

Letter: Office of the Special Envoy for Disengagement
Washington Post 2/25/2006
Letter by James D. Wolfensohn, Quartet Special Envoy for Disengagement -- Dear Colleagues, Following our telephone conference on Monday and further to my note from yesterday I am providing, as requested, an update on the PA's financial situation. Unless a solution is found, we may be facing the financial collapse of the PA within two weeks. And the first target is even sooner -- I am advised by the Acting PA Minister of Finance that he requires $60-80 million next week to begin to pay wages. I know I do not need to tell each of you that the failure to pay salaries may have wide-ranging consequences - not only for the Palestinian economy but also for security and stability for both the Palestinians and the Israelis. And it comes at a time when Israel prepares for elections.

Ismail Haniyeh to The Washington Post: We’ll Recognize Israel if …
Palestine Media Center 2/26/2006
The Washington Post - http://www. washingtonpost. com - Saturday, February 25, 2006 -- Since Hamas won control of parliament in the recent Palestinian elections, policymakers in Washington and Jerusalem have been faced with a dilemma: how to deal with a democratically elected government that is also on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. Last week, Newsweek-Washington Post's Lally Weymouth interviewed Hamas's new prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, by phone in his home in the refugee camp where he lives with his wife and 12 children in Gaza. Were you surprised by the size of the Hamas victory? Hamas entered the elections planning to be victorious. -- See also: Haniyeh denies quotes that Hamas would recognize Israel

Livni: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is 'irrelevant'
Ha'aretz 2/27/2006
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday evening that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is "irrelevant" because of Hamas' victory in last month's elections and the militant group's subsequent takeover of the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet. Livni said the Hamas government must decide about Israel's demands for recognition and renunciation of terror, and Abbas "in this regard is not relevant. "In the past, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon used the term "irrelevant" to describe and push to isolate Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat. "Abu Mazen [Abbas] cannot serve as a fig leaf to a terrorist authority. Abu Mazen cannot be the pretty face of the ugly terror hiding behind him," Livni told Israel Radio.

UN: Israel's tightened security exacting heavy humanitarian toll
Ha'aretz 2/28/2006
Israel's tightening of security procedures has exacted a heavy humanitarian toll in the territories since the Palestinian parliamentary elections last month, according to a United Nations report obtained by Haaretz on Monday. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also warns that Jerusalem's withholding of VAT and customs funds intended for the Palestinian Authority would place the PA in danger of collapse, limiting its ability to provide basic services such as health, education, water and electricity, sewage and garbage collection, and policing to the population in the West Bank and Gaza. "The non-payment of salaries to [the PA's] 73,000 security staff could risk a rise in criminality, kidnapping and protection racket," the report said. "Dependence on PA salaries is greatest in some of the poorest governorates, including Jenin, Tul Karm, Qalqilya, Tubas, Salfit, and the Gaza Strip. "

Qatar amir pledges support to Hamas
AlJazeera 2/27/2006
Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifah Al Thani, the amir of Qatar, has pledged backing for Hamas following its victory in the recent Palestinian elections, rejecting Israel-led efforts to isolate the Islamic group. Shaikh Hamad was speaking in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Monday after talks with Hosni Mubarak, the visiting Egyptian president. "Hamas came [to power] through elections that might be the most transparent polls in the Arab world," said the Qatari amir, whose government has put off until later this year at the earliest the emirate's first ever elections to a consultative assembly. "That is why we should support Hamas in this period," he said in comments broadcast by Aljazeera.

Arabs, OIC, Sweden and Russia Rushing to ‘Aid’ PNA
Palestine Media Center 2/21/2006
UN Envoy Alvaro de Soto: Israel’s Decision Unhelpful, Premature -- The Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Sweden, Russia, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are rushing to help the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) survive a “choking financial crisis” resulting from Israeli economic sanctions and withholding US and EU donors’ aid following Hamas landslide victory in the legislative elections on January 25. Israel on Sunday fired the opening salvo in an economic war on the PNA, halting monthly tax transfers, imposing other sanctions, bracing for additional embargos, severing contacts with Palestinians, and urging the international donors to stop their aid as well, as President Mahmoud Abbas warned that the PNA is facing “a real financial crisis. ”

President Abbas Receives UN Special Envoy
WAFA 2/22/2006
GAZA, February 22, 2006 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas received Wednesday in the Presidential HQ in Gaza, the UN Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Alvaro de Soto. President briefed de Soto over the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, the second legislative elections ran in January 25 and the readiness to form the new government. For his part, de Soto described his meeting with the President as "very useful", mentionning that "I am traveling this weekend to New York to brief the UN Security Council on the situations in the Middle East... "

Haniya seeks secular groups' support
AlJazeera 2/21/2006
A Hamas official to be charged with forming a new Palestinian government is seeking to build a coalition with secular groups, including Fatah. Ismail Haniya, 43, a former university administrator and student organiser for the Islamic resistance group, was nominated for the post by fellow-members after Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections last month. On Monday in Gaza he met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, and a spokesman said Abbas would hand him a written request to form a government in a second round of talks on Tuesday.

Hamas at crossroads, Rice says
AlJazeera 2/21/2006
The US secretary of state has said that the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas has to choose between "terror" and "politics". "You can not have one foot in the camp of terror and another foot in the camp of politics," Condoleezza Rice said during a joint news conference with Ahmed Abul Gheit, the Egyptian foreign minister. Rice was speaking on Tuesday during a visit to Egypt, on the first leg of a five-day tour of US regional allies aimed at mustering support for Washington's policies in the Middle East. Hamas defeated the mainstream Fatah movement of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, in last month's parliamentary elections and is expected to form the next Palestinian government.

Olmert: No strategic threat in north
YNetNews 2/21/2006
Acting prime minister tours northern border with defense minister, IDF officials; Mofaz: Hamas' win strengthens Hizbullah -- Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday that "Hamas' victory in the (Palestinian parliamentary) elections strengthens Hizbullah in Lebanon. " Mofaz spoke while touring the northern border with Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Olmert warned of Hizbullah's attempts to kidnap IDF soldiers at the border and thus destabilize the situation in the area.... "Hizbullah is trying to upgrade its status in Lebanon and to integrate into global Jihad," a military official said.

OIC Considers Extending Financial Aid to Palestine
WAFA 2/21/2006
PUTRAJAYA, February 21, 2006 (WAFA) - The Malaysian PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is considering extending financial aid to Palestine which faces the prospect of a financial squeeze following Hamas' recent victory in parliamentary elections,. "I have already spoken to some leaders about it. We want to help them (Palestinians)," Bernama the Malaysian National News Agency quoted Badawi who is also the OIC chairman, as saying. He urged those who had helped the Palestinian people before this to continue doing so, notwithstanding the leadership change in their country.

Summary of remarks by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the CFSP, following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
ReliefWeb/European Union 2/16/2006
Ramallah, 16 February 2006 - The following is a summary of remarks to the press made by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) at the end of the meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud ABBAS. This meeting was part of a tour by Mr Solana to the Middle-East Region. "I am delighted to be in Ramallah today. I met President ABBAS at a moment of complex transition, following the Palestinian Legislative Council elections that took place last month. We fully respect the choice the Palestinians made in a free and fair democratic contest.

Israel Slaps Sanctions Against Palestinians
Palestine Chronicle 2/19/2006
'The Israeli freeze of monthly transfers of tax revenues to the Palestinians is a daylight theft,' an Arab Knesset member told Al-Arabiya. --OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The Israeli cabinet approved on Sunday, February 19, a package of sanctions and restrictions against the Palestinian people, describing the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority as a "terrorist. " "As we stated immediately after the PA elections, upon the conclusion of the transitional government, Israel will immediately cease the transfer of funds to the PA," acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the weekly cabinet meeting, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Carter: Don't punish Palestinians
BBC 2/20/2006
Former US President Jimmy Carter has urged Israel and the US not to punish the Palestinians for giving Hamas a victory in parliamentary elections. The two allies have already taken steps to withhold funds from a government led by the militant Islamist group, which they brand a terror organisation. "The likely results will be to alienate oppressed and innocent Palestinians," Mr Carter wrote in a US newspaper.... Mr Carter's human rights organisation was one of a number of groups that monitored the poll. As president in the 1970s he worked on the breakthrough Camp David accords - the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country, Egypt.

U.S. envoy to visit region for first time since Hamas win
Ha'aretz 2/20/2006
The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, C. David Welch, will visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority over the weekend, in the first visit of a high-ranking American envoy since Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections last month. Welch will meet with Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the ramifications of a Hamas government. He is also set to examine the consequences of the sanctions Israel plans to impose on the Palestinians and will assess whether there is reason to continue negotiating with Abbas.

Israel: Cabinet adopts a series of measures vis-a-vis the PA
ReliefWeb/Government of Israel 2/19/2006
Upon the conclusion of the PA transitional government, the PA will become a terrorist authority unless Hamas, which controls the PA, fully accepts the threshold conditions as determined by Israel and approved by the Quartet. The Cabinet has decided to immediately implement series of measures vis-à-vis the PA. At the weekly cabinet meeting today (Sunday, 19 February 2006): 1. Ministers were briefed on Palestinian affairs following the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections and determined policy in light of the swearing-in of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Acting Prime Minister Olmert made the following remarks...

THE SITUATION: Behind Tough Talk, Israel Torn on Hamas
Forward 2/17/2006
Official Treads Lightly as U.S. Denies Destabilization Story -- Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, visiting Cairo this week, refused to confirm or deny a controversial New York Times report that the United States and Israel were discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government and force new elections. "Stories break every morning," Mofaz told reporters after his February 14 meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "I can't relate to all of them. " Mofaz's non-reply easily could be read as diplomatic waffling. Israel is deeply alarmed by the victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas in last month's Palestinian elections, and wants urgently to blunt its effect. But the Times report embarrassed Washington, which champions Arab democracy, and prompted an immediate, emphatic American denial, which Israel couldn't contradict.

Hamas demands to come off US terror list
AlJazeera 2/18/2006
Hamas has demanded that it be removed from the US list of suspected terror organisations as the Palestinian movement prepares to enter government for the first time. Moussa Abu Marzouq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said the inclusion of Hamas on the US list could not be justified, especially when the movement is "deeply rooted" in Palestinian society as demonstrated by its victory in last month's legislative elections. He said: "No state shouldering its responsibility in the region could keep Hamas on the list of terror organisations, because Hamas is a national liberation movement that confines its struggle to the occupied territories and had never targeted its weapons outside Palestine. "

Meshaal will hold talks with senior officials of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Palestine Chronicle 2/17/2006
ANKARA - A delegation of senior Hamas leaders arrived in Turkey on Thursday, February 16, for talks with Turkish officials, and will travel to Moscow in the next few days after receiving an official invitation for talks. "The expectations of the international community following the Palestinian elections will be clearly conveyed during the talks," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP). It added that Hamas had asked to send a delegation to Turkey. The visiting delegation is chaired by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and includes four of the group's senior officials.

Hamas-Moscow talks in early March
AlJazeera 2/16/2006
A high-level delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas will hold talks with Russian officials in Moscow early next month. The Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday said: "We have reached an agreement in principle about the arrival in early March of a delegation of the Hamas leadership to Moscow. "The group's victory in recent parliamentary elections has prompted threats from the US and European Union, which threaten to cut off massive aid to the Palestinians unless Hamas - responsible for scores of suicide attacks and designated a terrorist organisation by many Western nations -recognises Israel and renounces violence.

Hamas leader in surprise Turkey visit
AlJazeera 2/16/2006
A senior Hamas leader is on a surprise visit to Ankara for talks with Turkish diplomats. Turkey said they would use the meeting with Khalid Mishaal, the exiled supreme leader of Hamas, on Thursday to put forward international demands for the resistance group to renounce violence. A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said: "The expectations of the international community following the Palestinian elections will be clearly conveyed during the talks," adding that Hamas had asked to send a delegation to Turkey. Mishaal is on a tour to muster support from Muslim states to counter Western governments' efforts to step up the pressure on the party that won last month's Palestinian elections.

Palestinians ordered to return US aid
AlJazeera 2/17/2006
The United States has asked the Palestinian Authority to return $50 million in US aid because Washington does not want a Hamas-led government to have the funds. The money is being demanded as part of a review of all US aid for the Palestinians which began soon after the resistance group Hamas won last month's legislative elections. The US State Department expects to finish the review in the next few weeks. Sean McCormack, the US State Department spokesman, on Friday said the caretaker government of Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to return the $50 million, which was given to the Palestinian Authority last year for infrastructure projects after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Cheshin calls PA 'enemy gov't'
Ha'aretz 2/16/2006
Supreme Court Justice Mishael Cheshin called the Palestinian Authority an "enemy government" during a High Court of Justice hearing yesterday on family unification. Yesterday's hearing was the last before the court hands down a ruling on petitions submitted in 2003 against the amendment to the Citizenship Law, which bans Palestinians from joining Israeli Arab family members in Israel. During the hearing, Cheshin discussed the security situation in the wake of Hamas' victory in last month's Palestinian Authority elections and the ramifications it could have on the court's ruling. "The Palestinian Authority is an enemy government, a government that wants to destroy the state and is not prepared to recognize the State of Israel," Cheshin, who is set to retire, said.

U.S. lawmakers: Bush's Mideast policy led to rise of Hamas
Ha'aretz 2/16/2006
WASHINGTON - Mistakes in U.S. Middle East policy have made America less safe and aided the militant group Hamas's victory in Palestinian elections, Democratic and Republican lawmakers told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday. Hamas's win last month in the Palestinian territories and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood's rise in Egypt have fueled criticisms over U.S. President George W. Bush's strategy of pushing for democracy in the Middle East. "This administration seems to have a tin ear when it comes to the Middle East and that tin ear is making us less safe," Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, told Rice at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Senators criticise Rice on Middle East
AlJazeera 2/15/2006
Republican senators have criticised the Bush administration over its policies in Iraq, Iran and the Palestinian territories. The criticisms came on Wednesday, as Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, made her first testimony to Congress in months, exposing her to a grilling from some members of her own party. Senator Chuck Hagel told Rice, as she appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "I don't see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they're getting worse in Iraq. I think they're getting worse in Iran. " Rice also had a tense exchange with moderate Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee over the pace of progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace and the implications of the Hamas victory in Palestinian legislative elections last month.

Russia: Engaging Hamas will foster peace
YNetNews 2/15/2006
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia’s invitation to Hamas realistic way to advance future peacemaking after Islamic group won Palestinian elections -- Russia’s invitation to Hamas to talks, which has dismayed Israel, is a realistic way to foster future peacemaking after the Islamic terrorists won the Palestinian elections, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. Moscow’s move has upset both the Jewish state and the United States by challenging their campaign to isolate Hamas, classified as a terrorist group in the West, until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel’s right to exist. PA Envoy: Likud behind Muhammad cartoons and PLO: Likud inflaming relationship between West and Muslims

Aid to Palestinians depends on recognition of Israel: Canada
ReliefWeb 2/14/2006
OTTOWA, Feb 14, 2006 (AFP) - Canada will only provide aid to the new Palestinian government if the leadership recognizes Israel and renounces all forms of violence, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday. "Future assistance to any new Palestinian government will be reviewed against that governments commitment to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the roadmap" to peace, Harper said. The prime minister made his comments following a telephone call with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas, but his message was clearly aimed at the Islamic group Hamas, the winner of January 25 legislative elections.

CNI calls on U.S. to deal with new democratic forces in Middle East
Electronic Intifada/CNI 2/13/2006
“Our officials in the Middle East,” Elizabeth Viering said, “are not listening to the people. They are isolated and cut off. ” -- February 10, 2006 -- A delegation from the Council for the National Interest that participated as international observers to the recent Palestinian elections and met with government and opposition figures in six Middle East countries called yesterday on President Bush and his administration to deal honestly and openly with the new Islamist opposition that has been brought to power by democratic means in several Middle East countries. The members of the delegation, including two ambassadors, were among the first American retired foreign service officers to meet with Hamas leaders Mahmoud al-Zahar and Khaled Meshaal, whom they described as eager to talk to American officials, and even to reach a peace with Israel.

U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster
New York Times 2/14/2006
JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 — The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats. The intention is to starve the Palestinian Authority of money and international connections to the point where, some months from now, its president, Mahmoud Abbas, is compelled to call a new election. The hope is that Palestinians will be so unhappy with life under Hamas that they will return to office a reformed and chastened Fatah movement. The officials also argue that a close look at the election results shows that Hamas won a smaller mandate than previously understood.

Hamas dismisses 'unsettling' US report
AlJazeera 2/14/2006
Hamas, which last month won a landslide victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, has scoffed at a report claiming America and Israel plan to isolate and destabilise the new government. On Tuesday, the party called the New York Times report "insidious and expected". The report stated that the United States and Israel were considering a campaign to bring down a Hamas government by starving the Palestinian Authority of cash, but the US has denied the allegations. Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, said: "There is no plan, there is no plot. "

President Abbas Receives German Foreign Minister
WAFA 2/14/2006
RAMALLAH, February 14, 2006 (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas received Tuesday in the Presidential HQ, in Ramallah, the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. President Abbas briefed Steinmeier over the Israeli military escalation against the Palestinian people, as well as imposing the status quo policy, the Israeli unilateral plans, the assassination crimes against Palestinian citizens and the intensive bombardment on Palestinian territories. They also discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian Territories and the outcome of legislative elections.

Hamas emphasizes need for Israeli withdrawal
International Middle East Media Center 2/14/2006
Khalid Mashal, a leader-in-exile of the Palestinian Hamas party, stated Monday in an interview that Israel must withdraw its troops from Palestinian territories as a prerequisite for peace talks. "If Israel recognises our rights and pledges to withdraw from all occupied lands, Hamas, and the Palestinian people together with it, will decide to halt armed resistance. "Hamas has faced the challenge of forming a new Palestinian government since winning a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections on January 25th. As a resistance movement, Party leaders have assured supporters that their ongoing focus will be on resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, an occupation ruled illegal by international law.

Venezuela ready to receive Hamas
AlJazeera 2/13/2006
Venezuela has said it will welcome leaders from Hamas "with pleasure" if they visit the country as part of a South American tour after victory in Palestinian elections. Asked whether the Venezuelan government will receive the Islamic resistance group, Jose Vicente Rangel, the country's vice-president, told reporters on Monday: "Of course we will. What is the problem? "If they come, with pleasure. They've just won an election. " The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have insisted they would not deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid unless the group recognises Israel and renounces violence.

Israeli envoys to play up Hamas links to Chechen separatists
Ha'aretz 2/13/2006
Outraged by Moscow's overtures to Hamas, Israel has told its diplomats to play up alleged ties between the Palestinian militants and Chechens fighting to break away from Russia, Israeli political sources said on Monday. They said the Foreign Ministry supplied embassies in Russia and elsewhere with an information pamphlet linking the Hamas and Chechen causes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week he wanted to invite leaders of the Islamic group to visit. Putin's move raised hackles in Israel and the United States by challenging their campaign to isolate Hamas, which won Palestinian legislative elections last month, until it renounces violence and recognises the Jewish state's right to exist.

Abbas Receives Letter from Putin
WAFA 2/12/2006
RAMALLAH, February 12, 2006 (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas received on Sunday a letter from the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, handed by Russian representative to the PNA, Alex Poghodine. During a meeting in the Presidential HQ in Ramallah, Abbas briefed the Russian representative on the latest developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) after the legislative elections and the exerted efforts to push the peace process forward. For his part, Poghodine told reporters that he discussed with Abbas the upcoming visit of Hamas leaders to Russia, saying that Russia will continue support the PNA.

Putin Breaks Western Siege of Hamas, Israel Furious
Palestine Media Center 2/11/2006
France Agrees, EU Divided and US Seeks Russian Clarifications -- The Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday invited Hamas to Moscow, thus breaking the Israeli and US-led Western diplomatic siege of the Islamic Resistance Movement, which won the Palestinian January 25 legislative elections in a landslide, creating a political crisis with Israel, a rift with the co-members of the Middle East Quartet and cracks in the anti-Hamas pro-Israeli ranks, though he warned that “it is necessary (for Hamas) to leave behind the extremist positions, to recognize Israel's right to exist and to have relations with the international community. ”

"What Putin doesn’t know about Hamas"
YNetNews 2/11/2006
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center document says Hamas supports Chechen rebels in battle for independence against Russian regime, considers them part of global Jihad -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a Madrid press conference Thursday that Russia is holding talks with Hamas and that he plans on inviting the group’s leaders to Moscow soon. Hamas rose to power in democratic elections and the choice of the Palestinian people must be respected, Putin said.... However, a document distributed by the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies reveals that Hamas supports the Chechen rebels in their battle for independence against the Russian regime and considers them part of the global Jihad.

Majority of Palestinian people do not want violence, Annan says
ReliefWeb/United Nations News 2/10/2006
Palestinians voting in recent elections are seeking peace, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in New York, noting that the international community will be closely watching developments in the region. “I believe that the clear majority of the Palestinian people do not want to pursue violence or terrorism against Israeli civilians,” said Mr. Annan, calling the recent elections a “watershed” event. “I believe they also understand and accept that Israel, which is a Member State of the United Nations, has a right to exist as a State, alongside the State of Palestine that Palestinians deserve and want to achieve. ”

Solana to Meet President Abbas during a visit to Middle East
WAFA 2/10/2006
BRUSSELS, February 10, 2006 (WAFA)- EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana, will meet President Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to the Middle East from next Monday to Thursday. "Mr. Solana will review with Palestinian leaders the situation following the recent elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and developments concerning the formation of a new government committed to the Middle-East peace process," said a press information issued Friday in the EU High Representative office. "The High Representative will be visiting the Middle East in the aftermath of the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed and the violent events that ensued, said the press information.

German foreign minister to visit Israel and PA for talks on Sunday
Ha'aretz 2/11/2006
BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will travel to the Middle East Sunday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials following Hamas' election victory, a spokesman said. Steinmeier will travel to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan and plans also to visit Turkey, ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said Friday. Steinmeier will discuss the dispute over Iran's nuclear program as well as Israeli-Palestinian relations after the elections that brought the militant Hamas to power, Jaeger said.

President Receives Quartet Envoy
WAFA 2/9/2006
RAMALLAH, February 9, 2006 (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas received on Thursday in the Presidential HQ in Ramallah, the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East Peace process, James Wolfensohn. During the meeting, Abbas briefed his guest on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, especially after the Legislative elections. For his part, Wolfensohn told reporters that he tackled with Abbas the Palestinian efforts to form the new government, saying that the international community is waiting to know its policy. He added that he came to hear President's advices on possibilities how to continue the international aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Mofaz to meet with NATO defense ministers in Sicily
Ha'aretz 2/9/2006
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is to head to Sicily on Thursday to take part in a meeting with defense ministers belonging to NATO. Mofaz's participation in the meeting is an effort to further solidify Israel's relations with the the mutual defense organization of United States and Europe. Mofaz will meet with his counterparts from Turkey, Britain and Italy. He is also to deliever an address on the danger of extremist groups in countries that support peace following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections.

FM Tzipi Livni says Hamas-led PA would be 'terror entity'
Ha'aretz 2/9/2006
WASHINGTON - Commenting on Hamas' victory in the Palestinian elections, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday that a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority will become a terrorist entity. "When a state is run by terrorists, it becomes a terrorist entity," Livni said. Rice did not react to Livni's statement, but an Israeli diplomatic source said that Rice did not appear "thrilled" with it. Since its landslide victory in elections, the radical Islamic group Hamas has categorically rebuffed Israel's and the international community? s demands for it to recognize Israel's right to exist and to disarm before entering government.

Hamas Refuses Government with Reduced Authority
WAFA 2/8/2006
CAIRO, February 8, 2006, (WAFA)- Mr. Khaled Mishal, the Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, said that Hamas will not accept a government with "reduced authority". In a press conference held in Cairo, Mishal said that Hamas (the winner of the Palestinian Legislative elections) has the right to supervise all profiles including politics and security bearing in mind the (internal) understanding. Mishal praised the role of Egypt for providing Hamas leaders to meet in Cairo with Palestinian leaders and others. He asserted that Egypt has not practiced any pressure on Hamas regarding the forming of new government.

Meshaal: Resistance and power not incompatible
Middle East Online 2/8/2006
Head of Hamas's Damascus-based politburo says there will never be moment when Hamas stops resistance. -- CAIRO - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal vowed Wednesday to combine resistance and the exercise of power following his Islamist movement's victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections last month. "Hamas will rule and continue resistance and the people will see how we can reconcile resistance and the exercise of power," he told reporters in Cairo. "Power is not a goal in itself for Hamas but there will never be a moment when Hamas stops the resistance. "

Will Hamas ever recognise Israel?
BBC 2/7/2006
One of the most fraught and contentious issues to follow the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections is question of its pledge never to recognise Israel. The issue of recognising Israel is emerging as the chief international objection to the Islamic militant movement's taking its place as the Palestinians' elected representative on the world stage. Hamas is also being pressured to renounce the "armed struggle" and respect existing agreements with Israel - but these pale in comparison with the significance of its accepting the Jewish state.

President Arrives in Amman After Talks with Emir of Kuwait
WAFA 2/7/2006
AMMAN, February 7, 2006 (WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas arrived Tuesday Amman after holding talks in Kuwait City with the Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.. During the meeting, President Abbas briefed the Emir over the latest developments in the Palestinian territories in the wake of Israeli military escalation against the Palestinian people, the outcome of the legislative elections. The President congratulated the Emir on taking office, and expressed his proud of Kuwait stances in supporting the Islamic and Arabic issues.

US seeks to delay Hamas government
Globes 2/7/2006
The US is also pressuring the World Bank to release aid to the Palestinian Authority despite violations. -- “The New York Times” reports that the US is trying to postpone the date that Hamas assumes power in the Palestinian Authority (PA) until after the Israeli elections on March 28. The US is trying to gain time to give the PA enough money to pay salaries to tens of thousands of employees. The US administration is also pressuring the World Bank to release $60 million to the PA. The World Bank suspended the payment, scheduled for December, when the PA raised salaries for 140,000 employees, including 58,000 armed members of the PA security forces, thereby violating an explicit commitment to institute a responsible fiscal policy. The bank prefers returning the money to the donor countries to undermining its position in favor of structural reform.

Hamas to hold talks with Arab League head
ReliefWeb 2/7/2006
Cairo_(dpa) _ Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal is expected to meet Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa later Tuesday at the league's headquarters as part of the group's visit to Egypt for discussions forming a new Palestinian government. The Hamas-Egypt talks are expected to discuss Hamas' stand on the recognition of Israel, the adherence to previous agreements made by the Palestinian Authority and forming a national unity government that includes Fatah and other factions. Hamas leaders held talks on Monday with Egyptian chief of intelligence Omar Soliman in which Egypt urged the Islamist group that has achieved a sweeping victory in the legislative elections to adhere to the program of the current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Tuesday.

Livni meets Jordan's Abdullah in D.C.
Ha'aretz 2/8/2006
WASHINGTON - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni began her visit to the United States yesterday by meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, and later delivering a closed lecture at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Speaking to reporters after her meeting with Abdullah, who is set to meet President George Bush tomorrow, Livni said that Hamas' victory in the Palestinian legislative elections is "very problematic. ""It is important to us to bolster awareness in the international community and the need to speak about this loud and clear and not start retreating down the slippery slope - something I presume the Palestinians will try to drive toward," she said.

Dan Ayalon: Palestinians should receive humanitarian aid
Ha'aretz 2/7/2006
Israel favors giving international humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people so long as it does not go directly to a Hamas-led government, Israel's ambassador to the United States said on Monday. In an interview with Reuters, Ambassador Danny Ayalon stressed Israel did not want to see the Palestinian people suffer after the militant group Hamas' surprise win in the January 25 parliamentary elections. Hamas, sworn to the destruction of Israel and responsible for many suicide bombings of Israelis, has rejected demands by Western donor governments that it recognize Israel's right to exist.

Statement on Palestinian elections by bureau of committee on Palestinian rights
ReliefWeb/United Nations General Assembly 2/7/2006
The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the holding of the Palestinian Legislative Council elections:“The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People would like to send its congratulations to the Palestinian people and to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on the successful holding of the Palestinian Legislative Council elections on 25 January 2006. These democratic elections for the legislature, the first ones in 10 years and the second ever in Palestinian history, were conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner, for which the Central Elections Commission, and all of the Palestinian people deserve high praise.

Abbas, Olmert agree to continue dialogue
International Middle East Media Center 2/6/2006
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Israeli leadership to continue to consider him as the chief negotiator for the Palestinians, despite a major win of opposition party Hamas in January 25th legislative elections. Meanwhile, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel would not negotiate with any Hamas-led Palestinian government -- despite the fact that Hamas was elected in transparent, democratic elections. "As long as it doesn't contain a Hamas government, we will speak and cooperate with the [PA] with caution and responsibility - with the intention of strengthening those who acknowledge the right of Israel to live without terror and within safe borders. "

Livni tells Merkel: Palestinian Authority headed by terror group
Ha'aretz 1/31/2006
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Moshe Katsav, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday before leaving for Ramallah to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Referring to the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections, Livni told Merkel that democracy was not intended to legitimize terror organizations. "The reasons for the Palestinians' voting for Hamas are irrelevant," Livni said. "At the end of the day a terror organization will be heading the Palestinian Authority. "Livni called on the international community to demand Hamas disarm, cancel its covenant calling to annihilate Israel, renounce violence, and recognize all the signed agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

Abbas sets tough conditions for Hamas government
ReliefWeb 2/1/2006
CAIRO, Feb 1, 2006 (AFP) - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Egypt took a tough line with Hamas Wednesday, setting a renunciation of violence and the recognition of Israel as conditions for the Islamist movement to form the next government..... Palestinian representative to the Arab League Mohammed Sobeih told AFP earlier that a meeting was scheduled to take place in Gaza Friday during which Abbas and Hamas officials were expected to discuss the formation of the government.... Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned recently that Israel could halt the transfer of customs duties to the Palestinians following Hamas' victory last week in parliamentary elections.

Congress Moves to Legislate against Hamas-led PA
Palestine Chronicle/Ha'aretz 2/1/2006
The bill seeks to prohibit direct assistance to the PA, the PLC, and municipalities that are governed by individuals associated with Hamas. -- WASHINGTON - Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, from Florida, submitted on Tuesday the first legislative response to Hamas' landslide victory in Palestinian elections last week. The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, from California, includes a number of extremely harsh measures against the radical Islamic movement. However, sources in Washington predicted that some of the provisions will not be included in the final draft of the bill. There is reason to believe that the administration will try to moderate its tone during negotiations with legislators, which are expected to last a few weeks.

U.S. State Department to investigate failure to foresee Hamas victory
Ha'aretz 2/2/2006
The United States is examining why it was caught off guard by Hamas' victory in Palestinian legislative elections last week, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged earlier this week that she was surprised by Hamas's defeat of the Fatah party, which had dominated Palestinian politics for years. "She's asked her staff to look into that. Why is it that we didn't see this coming? " US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Takeover of Egypt part of Hamas' plan?
YNetNews 2/1/2006
Palestinian terrorists have close alliance with neighboring Muslim Brotherhood - Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily -- Following Hamas' victory by a large margin in last week's Palestinian parliamentary elections, experts watching the terror group closely tell WND it has been aligning itself more than ever with its hard-line Islamic counterpart in Egypt and point to worrying signs the new Palestinian powerbrokers might have designs for an eventual Egyptian takeover. Sources close to the group say a major Egyptian opposition figure has been serving the past year as spiritual leader of Hamas.

Israel halts tax payments to PA
BBC 2/1/2006
Israel has decided to suspend the payment of taxes and customs duties to the Palestinian Authority, a spokesman for acting PM Ehud Olmert has said. Ranaan Gissin told the BBC payments would cease because the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, had won last week's parliamentary elections. The Oslo accords oblige Israel and the PA pay each other for various services. Palestinian Economy Minister Mazen Sunnuqrut has said such a move would be an "irresponsible and grave decision". Mr Sunnuqrut said the move amounted to collective punishment. "This is our money and Israel is not a donor country," he told Reuters news agency. "Israel should immediately release the money because it belongs to the Palestinian people. "

Russian FM Says Dealing With Hamas Government Possible
International Press Center 2/1/2006
GAZA, February 1, 2006 (IPC + Agencies) - The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his government would deal with a Palestinian government formed by Hamas movement, which won a majority in the legislative elections. Following a meeting for the Quartet Committee in London, Lavrov told reporters that it would be possible for Russia to deal with Hamas. During a press conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, the Russian President Vladimir Putin considered the victory of Hamas as a "major blow to the US efforts in the Middle East. "

Human Rights..

On January 9, 2005 Palestinians living in the occupied territories will elect a president of the Palestinian Authority and new members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the second general elections in nearly eight years. (Helga Tawil photo)

Israel releases one jailed legislator, extends term of another
International Middle East Media Center 2/15/2006
Wednesday morning, Israeli Prison Authorities released a jailed Palestinian legislator, and extended the the detention of another elected legislator for an additional eight days. The two legislators are members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and were elected to the Legislative council during the January 2006 general elections. Legislator Ahmad Ali Al Haj, 66, from Nablus, was recently elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, and released from Israeli prison on Wednesday. He was imprisoned in the Negev detention camp.

Egyptian Diplomat Kidnapped in Gaza
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 2/10/2006
PCHR strongly condemns the kidnapping of the Egyptian diplomat, Husam El-Mousili, in Gaza on 9 February 2006. This crime is another in a series of organized crimes, which have undermined the rule of law in the OPT, particularly since the announcement of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) election results. Similar crimes were carried out prior to the elections but failed to undermine or delay the elections. PCHR’s initial investigations indicate that on Thursday, 9 February 2006, unidentified gunmen travelling in a “Volkswagen” stopped the car of the Egyptian diplomat, Husam El-Mousili, in Gaza city.

Aid cuts will hit Palestinians
Electronic Intifada/Aid cuts will hit PalestiniansReport, Christian Aid, 3 February 2006Out with the old, in with the new: 2/3/2006
After Hamas' victory in last week's elections, foreign donors have warned the Palestinian Authority it could face aid cuts, plunging the population further into crisis. The so-called Quartet Powers – the European Union, US, Russia and the United Nations – said on Monday that a new Hamas-led government must commit to non-violence, recognise Israel and accept current peace agreements, or it could lose the financial support it receives from the international community. The Israeli government says it also wishes the new administration to accede to these same demands and has suspended the payment of taxes and custom duties owed to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

A call from Hebron
International Solidarity Movement 2/1/2006
A Call from Hebron to the Israeli government to respect Israeli commitments toward Palestinians in Hebron on (January 17th, 1997) - “Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron” -- Since Hammas won in the Palestinian elections the entire world is putting conditions for dealing with the Hammas government. Here in Hebron we want to know why no one puts conditions on dealing with the Israeli Likud government? I am sending this letter to the world to ask you to put pressure on Israel to respect their commitment towards the Palestinians in Hebron and open the wholesale market and open Al-Shuhada street which connects the two part of the city (H1& H2), and let Palestinians to use the area to get to their houses, schools, hospitals, shops and to let the customers to shop freely in that area.

People..

Yossi Beillin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, leaders of the so-called Geneva Accord

JMCC Poll of Palestinians: 56.2% support suicide bombing operations against Israeli civilians
IMRA/Jerusalem Media & CommunicationCenter 2/20/2006
A random sample of 1,200 people over the age of 18 was interviewed face-to-face throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 8th and 12th of February 2006. The margin of error is 3 percent, with a confidence level of 95. Results:Q1. In General, What is the extent of your optimism towards the Palestinian Future? Would you say you are optimistic, somewhat optimistic, or pessimistic? Optimistic 41. 2 Somewhat Optimistic 38. 6 Pessimistic 19. 6 No answer 0. 6 Q2. To what extent would you say the elections process was free and fair? Fair 77. 6 Somewhat fair 16. 4 Wasn't fair 4. 1 No answer 1. 9 Full Report (PDF)

Peace Index: January 2006 / Survey finds wide and varied responses to Hamas' political victory
Ha'aretz 2/15/2006
By Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann -- Unlike the reactions of Israeli and foreign leaders, the Hamas victory does not seem to have created for the Jewish public a sense of emergency that would warrant, for example, postponing the elections or changing one's voting intentions. Nor does the public show any uniform pattern in assessing the new situation. Indeed, a majority believes that Hamas's victory constitutes an existential danger to Israel, and a large majority also believes that, unlike the PLO, there is no chance that Hamas will eventually recognize Israel... [but]... close to half say it is now the Palestinian people's legitimate representative in every way and that negotiations should be conducted even with a Palestinian government that it forms, despite the meager chances of such negotiations leading to peace.

“Globes” survey: Kadima vote remains stable
Globes 2/9/2006
The joint National Religious Party-National Union list will win eight Knesset seats. -- 50 days before the March 28 elections, the battle is for second place. The latest “Globes”-Smith survey shows the Kadima party stable at around 40 Knesset seats, its level for the past month, and support for the Likud and Labor Party are almost unchanged. Despite Hamas’s victory in the Palestinian elections two weeks ago, the violent evacuation of the Amona settlement, the terrorist attack in Petah Tikva, and kassam rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli communities, support for Kadima is stable. The survey also found that voters are not switching to either Labor or Likud, and the battle is for second place.

Poll: Hamas victory did not affect Kadima, but weakened Likud
Ha'aretz 2/1/2006
A month after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left the public stage and a week after Hamas's victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, an Haaretz-Channel 10 poll reveals Israeli voters remain consistent in their positions and voting intentions. The poll was conducted on Tuesday by Dialog under the supervision of Professor Camil Fuchs. Six hundred fifty people were surveyed. It is quite boring to recite: Had the elections taken place now, Kadima, which last week presented its impressive Knesset candidate list, would have won 43 seats (one seat less than in the previous week) and Labor would have won 21 seats (no change). The Hamas' victory did not strengthen Likud as predicted, and the party even lost a seat compared to last week (13 seats compared to 14).

International..

Maliki allies triumph in Iraq provincial polls
Middle East Online 2/19/2009
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s allies triumphed in the January 31 provincial polls, final results showed on Thursday, boosting his position in war-battered Iraq after fiercely contested elections. Candidates backed by Maliki dominated in Baghdad and also won a majority in all nine of Iraq’s Shiite provinces, in a huge vote of confidence for the premier whose standing has grown steadily at home and abroad in the past year. Just over half of Iraqis voted in the largely trouble-free elections, which were seen as a vital test of the country’s progress since the US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein from power almost six years ago. Maliki, a Shiite, did not stand in the provincial council polls but threw his backing behind State of Law Coalition candidates. The polls held in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces were seen as a referendum on Maliki’s performance.

Mohammad Khatami criticizes rival Ahmadinejad over Iran’s isolation
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 2/12/2009
The top reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential race has criticized hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the country’s international isolation. The comments were the first by Mohammad Khatami about the president since Khatami entered the race last weekend. They signaled that his campaign will likely focus on Iranians’ worries that Ahmadinejad’s fiery anti-Western rhetoric has worsened the country’s status in the world at a time when Iran is suffering economic woes. Khatami, a liberal cleric who was president from 1997-2005, told a group of his supporters that the current situation in the country is not desirable, according to Khatami’s Web site. Khatami warned at the meeting late Wednesday that if the situation continues, the country’s social capital and international reputation will be damaged even more.

Iraq’s Parliament fails to elect new House speaker
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 2/9/2009
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Parliament remained deadlocked on the election of a new speaker on Sunday, just two days after US Vice President Joe Biden said Iraq needed to push ahead with political reform. The failure is a blow to the fledgling democracy, which without a speaker cannot debate or approve a new budget and oil laws deemed crucial to the reconstruction of the country. There are five candidates vying for the post, but rival Sunni politicians cannot agree on who should get the job. "A group of parties left the hall today and there were not enough MPs to choose a new speaker," said Jamal al-Butikh, chief of the National Iraqi List, the parliamentary group headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Outspoken Mahmoud Mashhadani quit as speaker on December 23, triggering political wrangling over a replacement. He resigned after Kurdish and Shiite MPs clamored for him to go because. . .

Iraq’s Sadrists complain of vote fraud
Middle East Online 2/7/2009
BAGHDAD - Iraqi politicians backed by the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday said they would lodge an official complaint about votes being excluded during last weekend’s provincial elections. Allies of Sadr said that preliminary results declared by election authorities were markedly different from estimates compiled by the party’s observers during the hotly-contested vote. "There is a big difference in some provinces between the figures we have, through our agents and observers, and those that were declared," said Amir al-Kinani, secretary general of the Free Independent Movement, backed by Sadr. "We will submit the appeal in the results of a number of Baghdad areas and other provinces, including Najaf, Maysan, and Diwaniyah," he said. The Free Independent Movement finished second in the capital Baghdad with nine percent of the vote, which left them 29 percent behind candidates backed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Israel, Iran, Pakistan world’s least popular nations - poll
Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, Daily Star 2/7/2009
WASHINGTON: Israel, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan are widely seen as exerting the most negative influence on world affairs, according to the latest in a series of annual global surveys by the BBC’s World Service on popular perceptions of the world’s most powerful or newsworthy nations. The survey, which questioned some 13,500 respondents in 21 countries around the world, found that perceptions of Russian and Chinese influence also became considerably more negative during 2008. At the same time, views of the United States, which rivaled those of Israel and Iran just two years ago, continued improving modestly last year but remained predominantly negative despite the victory of Barack Obama in the November 2008 presidential elections. "Though BBC polls have shown that most people around the world are hopeful that Barack Obama will improve US relations with the. . . "

Maliki: Iraq elections ’changed political map’
Middle East Online 2/6/2009
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Friday that Iraq’s provincial elections had "changed the political map" and were a success for the country’s citizens. "It is a success for all Iraqis," he told reporters in Baghdad, in his first comments since results showed on Thursday that candidates backed by him had triumphed in fiercely contested polls held six days ago. "Sure, there are changes to the political map, because the citizens voted to see the changes," said the Shiite premier, who has adopted a notably secular political outlook. "Iraqis voted based on the programme presented by candidates and not on a sectarian affiliation," he said. "I am more happy for that than the fact that our list topped the vote. " Maliki did not stand in last Saturday’s elections but campaigned vigorously for candidates in the State of Law Coalition, who swept the poll in Baghdad and in eight of Iraq’s nine Shiite provinces.

Initial results indicate triumph for Maliki in provincial polls
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 2/6/2009
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki’s allies triumphed in weekend elections, preliminary results showed Thursday, delivering him a popular mandate after fiercely contested polls in the war-torn nation. Candidates backed by Maliki took the biggest vote in Baghdad and eight of the country’s nine Shiite provinces, in a huge vote of confidence for the premier, whose standing has steadily grown at home and abroad in the past year. Just over half of Iraqis voted on Saturday in the election, which was seen as a vital test of the country’s progress since a US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein from power almost six years ago. Maliki, a Shiite, did not stand in the election but threw his backing behind candidates from the country’s State of Law Coalition. The preliminary tally released by the Iraqi High Electoral Commission showed that the coalition had a resounding success in Baghdad, achieving 38 percent of the vote.

Arabs heed Obama’s call for change
Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera 2/4/2008
If it were not for Barack Obama, many Arabs would not even bother to follow the results of the US presidential race on Super Tuesday. Such gloomy views could be attributed to Arabs’ negative attitudes toward governments and politics in general. Arabs have been living under authoritarian governments, many of them US allies, for decades. And the US’s traditional support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, coupled with the war on Iraq, has meant Arab mistrust of the US has dipped to new lows in recent years. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why many Arabs will not be following the latest news from the US presidential primary elections. ’Offensive’ rhetoric Many do not see any serious differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates who are taking part in the race.

Ahmadinejad battles on the home front
Khody Akhavi, Asia Times 2/5/2008
WASHINGTON - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, Israel and his government’s alleged support of Shi’ite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in Ahmadinejad’s office." Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonize almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad Caught Between Reformists and Hardliners
Khody Akhavi, Inter Press Service 1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, Jan 28(IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, the existence of Israel, and his government’s alleged support of Shiite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in the office of the president. "Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonise almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

Mideast press urges action on Gaza
BBC Online 6/14/2007
The Palestinian press makes an urgent appeal for action to prevent the violence in Gaza from turning into a full-blown civil war, urging President Abbas to call a state of emergency and ask for intervention from the region’s Arab states. Papers in the wider Middle East blame the violence on Palestinian leaders and demand fresh elections to resolve the power struggle between the Hamas and Fatah factions. In Israel, commentators ponder how the country should react to the Palestinian infighting, with one advocating a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied territories. - Palestinian AL-QUDS -- It seems we have reached the point of no return in this infighting and are witnessing the beginnings of civil war.

Lebanon factions resume talks
AlJazeera 3/22/2006
Leaders of Lebanon's rival factions have resumed talks on the fate of the country's pro-Syrian president and a UN call for the disarmament of the Hizb Allah group. The talks come amid signs that an agreement remains elusive on the two issues that threaten to destabilise the country. The discussions, which began on 2 March, have focused on a 2004 UN Security Council resolution that calls for disarming Hizb Allah and Palestinian fighters. The resolution also urged new presidential elections. It was passed in September 2004, days before Lebanese legislators extended Emile Lahoud's term for three years.

Chirac vows 'voice of reason' on Iran
Daily Star 3/6/2006
French president labels cartoon row a 'clash of ignorance' -- RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president's wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members.

Palestinian Americans Push Religious Pluralism in P.A.
Forward 2/17/2006
WASHINGTON — Palestinian American activists are vowing to lobby Hamas against turning the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic theocracy. Anxious about the victory of the Islamic fundamentalist group in last month's Palestinian parliamentary elections, Palestinian American leaders say that they will push for laws favoring American-style church-state separation, pluralism, equality and inclusiveness. "We are at the time when defining decisions may very well be made in Palestine," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. The task force is a prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy group in Washington.

Disagreement With Gaza Disengagement Sours Orthodox on Bush
Forward 6/24/2005
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, cracks were emerging in the coalition of Jewish conservatives that rallied this past November around the claim that President Bush was "the best friend Israel ever had in Washington." Many influential Republican loyalists and non-Orthodox hawks appear to be remaining firm in their support of Bush. But a growing number of Orthodox activists who were avidly courted by Bush in the 2004 election are feeling distinctly dismayed as the administration embraces Israel's Gaza disengagement plan and presses for more aid to the Palestinians.

Elections give hope to Palestinian refugees
Daily Star 6/7/2005
BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees living in squalid and overcrowded camps dare to hope the legislative elections will directly improve their lives. "I have been monitoring the elections to see if they will bring change," said Mohammad al-Daoud, 21, outside Beirut's Chatilla camp where portraits of candidates jostle those of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 refugee compounds in South Lebanon, where conditions are often harsh and permanent citizenship is denied to all. Fouad Abed, 36, complained that the candidate he was rooting for lost in the first part of the four-stage elections that took place May 29.

El Salvador group opens park in honor of late Palestinian leader Arafat
Ha'aretz 5/25/2005
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A new plaza on Jerusalem Avenue was inaugurated Wednesday in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, despite criticism from the Israeli Embassy in El Salvador. "We are making a monument to the maximum leader of the struggle for the liberation of Palestine," said one of the promoters, businessman John Nasser, as the square with a large bust of Arafat was inaugurated. Migrants from Palestine flowed to El Salvador for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and several families became prominent in business and politics. Both President Tony Saca and his rival in last year's election, Schafik Handal, are sons of families that migrated from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

AIPAC Losing this Fight
Electronic Intifada 3/7/2005
Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- AIPAC has been taken aback by new Mideast resolutions. Last month the House and the Senate each passed their own resolutions expressing support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of their successful presidential elections. The Washington Jewish Week reported that many on the Hill feel the Israel lobby was caught asleep on this one. The problem for the lobby was simple: popular support and optimism after the Palestinian presidential elections took the wind out of any possible grounds for raising opposition to the resolutions.

Arabs warmly welcome Abbas election
Middle East Online 1/10/2005
Analysts, officials hail election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, pay tribute to strong voter turnout. -- Arabs gave a warm welcome Monday to the election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, admiring a successful exercise in Arab democracy and hoping that a strong voter turnout will bolster his position. Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah of Cairo's Al Ahram Center of Strategic Studies said the high turnout and the strong result for Mahmud Abbas "gives him the necessary legitimacy for his plans to resolve the conflict" with Israel.

Press Review: 'The hour of truth has arrived'
The Guardian 1/11/2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins but how will events now develop? -- Times, Editorial, January 10 - "After [Sunday's] election ... there was a palpable feeling that something had changed ... Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist favoured by Israel and the outside world ... won a triumphant victory ... to succeed the late ... Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority ...

Economy..

Wheat shortage in Gaza due to closed Karni crossing
Ha'aretz 2/28/2006
The closing of the Karni crossing, the main outlet for Palestinian exports and imports to the Gaza Strip, has caused a wheat shortage in the Strip, according to a United Nations report obtained by Haaretz on Tuesday. On Sunday all the flour mills in the Strip were closed due to the wheat shortage. No flour shortages are expected in the near future due to the large stocks held by Gaza Strip merchants. However, flour prices are expected to rise and flour shortage may be experienced in a matter of weeks. Israel has stepped up security precautions since the Palestinian elections last month, exacting a humanitarian price in the PA territories, the UN report says.

OCHA: Humanitarian Update Jan 2006
ReliefWeb 2/28/2006
Special Focus: Emerging humanitarian risks -- UN agencies(1) recently undertook an analysis of the humanitarian situation in the oPt. This update reports their findings. 1. IMMEDIATE TRENDS - Since the Palestinian elections in particular, there has been a sharp deterioration in humanitarian situation due to Israel’s tightening of security procedures. The Karni crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip – the main crossing for commercial and humanitarian supplies in and out of Gaza – closed for 21 days between 15 January and 5 February resulting in an estimated loss of $10. 5 million. (2)The IDF stated that it closed Karni crossing because of security threats and concerns over the spread of avian flu. On 26 February, it was announced that all Gaza Strip flour mills would close as wheat grain stocks are depleted following the closure of Karni crossing.

International Development and Humanitarian Aid Agencies call upon the international community and donor governments to continue providing aid to the Palestinian people
ReliefWeb/Caritas Jerusalem 2/14/2006
Jerusalem, 14 February 2006 - While the international community reacts to the recent Palestinian Legislative Council elections, international aid agencies stress that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories remains grave, and may even deteriorate further if current and additional humanitarian and development activities are jeopardized. Currently, 60% of the population live under the poverty line. The humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people and their children have not changed as a result of recent political developments.

'Hamas victory deters tourists'
YNetNews 2/9/2006
Slowdown noted in tourist reservations for flights to Israel since PA elections, El-Al chairman says -- The tourism industry has seen a slowdown in the number of tourist reservations for flights to Israel since Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, El-Al Chairman Izzy Borovich said Wednesday. Borovich, who spoke during the IMTM Tourism Exhibition in Tel Aviv, added that "an airline's policy should be examined at periods of crisis, and since Hamas' rise to power we have seen signs of a slowdown in reservations. "