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IDF troops kill 2nd Palestinian fire-bomber in span of two days
Eli Ashkenazi and Reuters, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Israel Defense Forces soldiers shot dead a Palestinian in the West Bank on Wednesday during a violent demonstration in protest at the killing of another man a day before, residents and hospital officials said. They said the 21-year-old was shot in the chest as Palestinians burnt tires to block a road north of the hub city of Ramallah, 100 meters from the heavily guarded Jewish settlement of Beit El. He later died of his wounds. An IDF spokesman said troops shot a protester who had been preparing to attack them with a fire-bomb. Palestinian witnesses confirmed that the man who was shot was at the protest but did not say to what extent he had taken part. The demonstration was called in memory of an 18-year-old from a Palestinian refugee camp near Ramallah who was shot dead Tuesday by IDF soldiers from the same unit, part of the Kfir infantry brigade’s Lavi battalion. more.. e-mail
Four young Palestinians seized by Israeli forces in the West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Bethlehem Maan Israeli forces seized on Wednesday morning four Palestinians in the West Bank town of Al-Khadr, south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, and in Deir Abu Mashal south of Ramallah in the central West Bank. Local sources in Al-Khadr told Maan that more than ten Israeli military vehicles raided the old city at dawn. Israeli troops ransacked several houses for inspection before they seized three young men. The sources identified the detainees as Muhammad Abd As- Salam Salah in his twenties, whose brother was arrested on Saturday at the Jericho checkpoint after attending the football match between Al-Khadr and Sur Bahir. In the same neighborhood, Israeli forces detained two brothers, Ahmad and Muhammad Hasan Salah. Separately, in Deir Abu Mashal, a Palestinian young man was arrested after Israeli force raided the village. more.. e-mail
Palestinian fire-bomber shot by IDF dies
Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
A Palestinian man who was shot by the IDF whilst holding a fire-bomb died of his wounds early Thursday morning, according a Ramallah hospital. A military spokesman said the 20-year-old was shot during a violent riot north of Ramallah, in which Palestinians hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers. The soldiers identified the man about to throw the fire-bomb and shot at him. The soldiers apparently belonged to the same unit which on Tuesday shot and killed a Palestinian youth holding a lit Molotov cocktail. The force, from the Kfir Brigade’s Lavie Battalion, was conducting an ambush near Beit El in light of a proliferation of Molotov cocktail attacks in the area recently. The troops spotted three suspicious figures approaching Beit El, one of them holding a lit Molotov cocktail and preparing to hurl it into the settlement. more.. e-mail
House arrest for Palestinian-Israeli who drove on Yom Kippur
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/16/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities Wednesday released into house arrest a Palestinian-Israeli who drove his car during the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday in an incident that sparked four nights of rioting in the northern town of Acre. "The Haifa court decided to continue his detention but commute it to house arrest for a week," said police spokesman Eran Shaked. "The court also suspended his driving license for one month, because he is dangerous," Shaked told AFP. Tawfik Jamal had spent three days behind bars, accused of reckless endangerment and "harming religious sensitivities," for driving on October 8 during the Yom Kippur holiday when Israeli Jews respect a religious ban on driving as the observant fast and pray. At least three people were injured during the clashes that broke out after Jamal drove through a conservative Jewish neighborhood of Acre. more.. e-mail
Suspicion: Soldiers planned to sell stolen grenades
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Three soldiers suspected of stealing stun, gas grenades from Border Guard jeep while patrolling south Mount Hebron area -Three IDF soldiers were arrested for suspicion of planning to sell grenades they had stolen from Border Guard officers. The grenades were found at the home of one of the soldiers. An indictment is expected to be filed in the case within days. Ten days ago, the Duhifat Battalion soldiers, of the Infantry Corps Kfir Brigade, allegedly stole grenades from a Border Guard jeep, while patrolling the South Mount Hebron area. The soldiers then took the grenades back to their base and hid them in a sack. A Military Police investigation revealed that the soldiers got rid of four grenades by secretly placing them among the belongings of one of their commanders, while the remaining grenades were taken to one of the soldier’s homes with the intent of selling them. more.. e-mail
IDF shoots two Palestinians with fire bombs in two days
Eli Ashkenazi, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Israel Defense Forces soldiers shot and critically wounded a Palestinian who threw a fire bomb at them near Ramallah. The incident took place close to the village of Jilabun. The man was taken to a Palestinian hospital for treatment. Troops from the same unit, part of the Kfir infantry brigade’s Lavi battalion, on Tuesday shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian who tried to throw a fire bomb at the West Bank settlement of Beit El. Soldiers found next to the teen’s body a cache of 10 other fire bombs, which he apparently planned on hurling at the settlement. According to the IDF, two other Palestinians fled the scene. An IDF spokeswoman said that in light of a number of recent attacks in and around on the settlement, an army squad had decided to ambush the Palestinian after dark on Tuesday. Palestinian officials identified the dead teen as Abdel Kader Zeit from Jalazoun. more.. e-mail
Palestinian shot after throwing Molotov dies of wounds
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/16/2008
Troops open fire on youth who hurled Molotov cocktail near Ramallah, arrives in hospital in critical condition but succumbs to wounds in late evening hours. On Tuesday a Palestinian teen throwing rocks, Molotovs at Israeli cars in same region was killed - Muhammed al-Ramahi, A 17-year-old Palestinian was critically wounded on Wednesday evening after being shot by IDF troops in the Jilazun refugee camp near Ramallah. He was evacuated by Palestinian paramedics to the Ramallah hospital, but died of his wounds in the late evening hours. The army said the soldiers opened fire after the youth hurled a Molotov cocktail. The incident occurred in close proximity to where 16-year-old Abdel Rahman Badwi was killed on Tuesday under similar circumstances. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 101508
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 10/15/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. imemc. org for Wednesday October 15. 2008 Palestine became today a permanent member of the International Parliamentary Union, as the Israeli military killed earlier in the day a Palestinian boy in Ramallah city. Meanwhile, the Palestinian national unity talks in Cairo are going on with no concrete progress. These news and more are upcoming, stay tuned. During a meeting of the International Parliamentary Union’s member states in Geneva, a vote gave Palestine a permanent member status at the union. Palestinian officials regarded the move a historic achievement for the Palestinian people. It is the first time in modern Palestinian history that Palestine be accepted as a full member of an international organization. more.. e-mail
Israelis kill Palestinian youth
BBC Online 10/15/2008
Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank. The military says the youth had been preparing to throw petrol bombs at the cars of Jewish settlers. Abdul Qadir Zeit was shot close to the Jalazoun refugee camp where he lived. The army says it found 10 petrol bombs close to his body. Tension is rising across the West Bank with each side, Israeli settlers and Palestinians, complaining of violent attacks by the other. Israel has settled about 450,000 of its citizens in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since it occupied the areas in 1967. Settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. [end]
Soldiers injure Palestinian near Ramallah after molotov attack
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Bethlehem Maan A young Palestinian man was injured near Ramallah on Wednesday when Israeli troops fired toward him, Israeli sources told Maan. He was injured in Al-Jalazoon, a town near Birzeit University outside of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers reportedly opened fire after he threw a molotov cocktail in their direction. On Tuesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a different young man in Ramallah. He was also accused of attacking soldiers with a molotov cocktail. [end]
Israeli soldiers detain Palestinian man, child during horse search
Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008
Nablus Maan Israeli forces imposed a curfew on Kaftr Qaleel, a village south of Nablus, on Saturday for several hours in response to a horse allegedly stolen from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Yeztsahar. Local sources told Ma’an that the Israeli army, "backed by dozens of military jeeps and accompanied by Israeli settlers" invaded the village of Kafr Qaleel, imposing a tight siege on the village as forces searched for the horse. Sources added that after two hours of searching, soldiers discovered the lost animal in a deserted house in a central area of the village. It was moved back to the settlement by bus. Sources also said that soldiers seized 30-year-old Faed Najeh Abu-As-Suud and his nine-year-old nephew during the invasion. Both denied involvement. more.. e-mail
Palestinian farmers, settlers clash near West Bank settlement of Yitzhar
Reuters, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
Palestinian farmers said they were attacked by Israeli settlers while trying to pick olives near a West Bank settlement on Saturday. The Israeli military said the settlers and Palestinian villagers clashed near the settlement of Yitzhar. The army said soldiers separated the two sides and briefly fired in the air. Ali Eid, mayor of the nearby village of Burin near Yitzhar, says the two sides fought with sticks and stones. He says two farmers and one settler were lightly hurt. In recent years, there has been growing friction between farmers and settlers during the olive harvest. Palestinians complain that they frequently come under attack from militant settlers. The army says it has put together a plan to keep the peace during the harvest. Yigal Amitai, a spokesman for the Yitzhar settlement, said settlers and soldiers caught. . . more.. e-mail
IDF foils alleged settlement breach
Tovah Lazaroff And Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 10/11/2008
The IDF stopped three Palestinians on Saturday afternoon who were suspected of trying to infiltrate the Har Bracha settlement in Samaria. According to the military, the three came very close to the settlement’s security fence when they were stopped by the army. The three Palestinians managed to escape, but the IDF captured two of them, who are now being held for interrogation. Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the nearby settlement of Yitzhar, Yigal Amitai, said that the settlement’s security forces alerted the IDF after spotting Palestinians olive harvesters near their settlement around 10 a. m. The sight surprised them, said Amitai, since they had not been told that Palestinians would be harvesting in that area. They contacted the army which said that no harvesting activity had been coordinated by them. more.. e-mail
Resident seriously wounded near Nablus
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 10/11/2008
The Maan News Agency reported that one resident was seriously wounded on Saturday evening after an Israeli military jeep deliberately slammed into his vehicle on a bypass road, northwest of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Soldiers apparently left the scene without even calling for help. The agency stated that resident Awni Abu Shousha, 30, was seriously wounded when the army jeep slammed into his vehicle causing it to collapse in Jeet Valley. Resident Ala’ Al Amoudi, who works at a concrete factory owned by Abu Shousha family, said that Ala’ spoke to him using a walkie-talkie device and asked him for help. Awni was then moved to the Arab Specialized Hospital and his wounds were described as moderate to severe. more.. e-mail
Acre riots
Jerusalem Post 10/11/2008
While most Israeli Jews spent Yom Kippur in prayer, contemplation or communing with their bicycles, a troublesome minority exploited the Day of Atonement to sin against public order. In Kiryat Motzkin, Haifa, Beersheba, Holon, Rehovot and Jerusalem, loutish Jewish youths - overwhelmingly not haredi - stoned MDA ambulances in displays of juvenile delinquency that have become all too common in recent years. Violence of a different order broke out in the northern town of Acre, where the population of 50,000 is about one-third Arab. Here, at about 11:30 p. m. , Jewish youths hanging out on Yom Kippur took umbrage when Tawfik Jamal, an Arab resident of Acre’s Old City, drove his car along Avraham Ben Shoshan Street in the Jewish part of town. Some of the youths claimed they feared he was about to carry out a vehicular terrorist attack - similar to those recently committed in Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
Akko Riots lead to 2 cases of arson
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Relative calm restored in Akko after night of rioting that led to 12 arrests, three civilian injuries, and massive property damage resulting from fires set in two apartments owned by Arabs -A tentative calm has been restored to Akko after the late-night riots that surged through the city Friday, a third night of violence ending with 12 arrests, two cases of apartment arson, and three civilian injuries. At around 3 am firefighters and police were alerted to two different apartments owned by Arabs, which had been ignited by rioters. The fires were extinguished and no injuries sustained, though severe property damage had been caused. An investigation into the origins of the fires has been launched. The evening’s rioting recommenced at 9 pm, when Arabs began to throw stones at dozens of Jewish youths who formed a crowd in one of the city’s eastern neighborhoods. more.. e-mail
Akko Arabs denounce Yom Kippur drive
Sharon Roffe-Ofir, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Leaders of Arab community in riot-raged city spread flier criticizing motorist who drove through Jewish neighborhood on Yom Kippur; representatives from both sides to meet later in the evening - The Arab community in Akko has announced it will distribute a flier condemning the use of a vehicle by an Arab resident on Yom Kippur. Three days after the tentative coexistence between the city’s Jewish and Arab residents deteriorated into violent riots, leaders from the Arab sector say it does not matter if Tawfiq Jamal’s decision to drive that night was justified or not, but he should have made an effort to find an alternative way home. Representatives from both sides are expected to meet later this evening to discuss the situation. MK Abas Zkoor (United Arab List - Ta’al), himself a resident of Akko, spoke with Ynet prior to the meeting: "We’ll talk candidly about our pain. more.. e-mail
Israeli town hit by Jewish-Arab clashes
Middle East Online 10/11/2008
ACRE, Israel - Police clashed with Jewish protesters in Acre on Friday on the third day of violence between Arabs and Jews as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni travelled to the northern Israeli city to appeal for calm. Police fired a water cannon at a crowd of about 200 people as some demonstrators hurled bottles and stones at security forces. Chanting "death to Arabs," the protesters were headed from a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood to the house of an Arab when police intervened. The incident occured hours after Livni, who is trying to form a new government and replace outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, issued in Acre what she said was "a message of reconciliation and cooperation to calm tempers within the population. " Police deployed an additional 500 officers to help the 200-strong local force after violence broke out on Wednesday night as Jews observed Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. more.. e-mail
Police official meets with Akko’s Arab leadership
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Northern District Police Chief Shimon Koren holds Saturday meeting with Arab contingents, awaiting Shabbat’s end to conduct meeting with Jewish counterparts. Police will act determinedly against obstructers of law, he says, "whether they are Arab or Jewish’ - A tense calm pervaded the streets of Akko on Saturday evening, a welcome change from the riots that paralyzed the city for three consecutive nights. In the hopes of maintaining the newfound calm, Northern District Police Chief Shimon Koren met Saturday afternoon with Akko’s Arab leadership to discuss the situation and the police’s response to the riots. The police said a similar meeting would be held with the city’s Jewish representatives later in the evening, after Shabbat. Present at the meeting were MK Abbas Zkoor (United Arab List-Ta’al), radio presenter Zoher Bahalul and additional prominent figures from the Arab community. more.. e-mail
Akko sees fourth night of riots
Al Jazeera 10/12/2008
Jewish and Arab rioters have clashed for a fourth straight night in the northern Israeli city of Akko. Police fired water cannons to disperse crowds and arrested 32 people from both sides on Saturday, and three Arab homes were torched and damaged, Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman said. Israeli media said that three people were hurt in the clashes on Saturday night, despite a reinforced police guard that barricaded a section of the city after nightfall to contain stone-throwing protesters. Rosenfeld said that more than 700 officers remained on patrol in the coastal city to try and contain the violence. Businesses closedMany shops and restaurants in the old town, a popular tourist destination, were either closed or bereft of any business on Saturday. more.. e-mail
’Acre could be just the beginning,’ fear mixed-city mayors
Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
Jews and Arabs in mixed cities on Saturday warned that riots similar to the ones that erupted in Acre over Yom Kippur could take place in cities like Lod, Ramle and Jaffa, each of which has a combination of underprivileged Jewish and Arab communities. Community activists in Lod said over the weekend that they feared clashes between the Jewish and Arab communities. "I don’t know if it will happen in a day, two days or two months but it’s certainly a possibility," said Bothaina Debit, a community activist in Lod. That city’s Arab community, she said, is suffering from socio-economic distress that it will have trouble sustaining for much longer. "It happened in Acre, but I thought it would happen in Lod because there are masses of Arab residents who have nothing to lose, and the poor Jews are also stuck here. more.. e-mail
Akko riots resume, mayor demands firmer police hand
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 10/12/2008
Violence threatens to paralyze city’s streets for fourth consecutive night since Yom Kippur, Mayor Lankry rejects gesture of condemnation from Arab leaders, demands police take action to end ongoing public disturbance - The series of violent riots that erupted on Yom Kippur evening in Akko resumed on Saturday evening for the fourth consecutive day. As night fell the clashes between the city’s Jewish and Arab residents erupted once more, with both sides hurling rocks towards the others’ homes and businesses. Three people were lightly wounded. Police have thus far arrested 10 rioters. An Arab house was set on fire, and an initial investigation into the arson indicates it was set ablaze by Jewish rioters wielding a Molotov cocktail. Firefighters were alerted to the scene and are currently battling the flames. more.. e-mail
Riots resume in Acre after lull
Jack Khoury, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
A fourth straight day of rioting in Acre ended yesterday with Jews torching an empty Arab house, three Jews lightly wounded by Arab stone-throwers, and three other Jews arrested for throwing stones at policemen and Arabs. Since Wednesday, police have arrested some 30 rioters, both Jewish and Arab. Some of them were subsequently released because they are minors. The day began without incident, and many Acre residents hoped that the violence was finally at an end. But a few hours after sundown, it erupted anew, with the city’s eastern neighborhood once again the focal point. Hundreds of Jewish rioters clashed with policemen, and Jewish and Arab mobs threw stones at each other. This followed a series of violent incidents on Friday that included the torching of three other houses. "Everyone thinks that only Jews are being hurt in the eastern neighborhood, and nobody’s paying. . . more.. e-mail
Eyewitness: ’This is our city’
Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 10/12/2008
It’s Friday afternoon in eastern Acre, and outraged crowds are beginning to gather in the Jewish neighborhoods that make up this part of the city. Two nights of rioting have rocked Acre since an Arab resident of the Old City drove into this neighborhood on Yom Kippur, in what the police describe as an intentional provocation. Responding to false rumors that the driver had been badly wounded, around 500 Arabs - some armed with axes according to eyewitnesses - then marched into the eastern neighborhoods, chanting "Death to the Jews" as the mob smashed hundreds of cars and stores. Today, a segment of the city’s Jewish population will try to take their revenge. "This is our city. What happened on Yom Kippur was a pogrom. We had to hide in our own homes and turn off the lights as the mob passed," said Datya Bracha Malka, a middle-aged resident of the city, en route to a demonstration held to protest Yom Kippur’s events. more.. e-mail
Body of young Palestinian found shot at Egyptian border
Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an A young Palestinian man was found dead Thursday night on the Egypt-Gaza border near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian medical sources 22-year-old Jihad Abu Shab died of a bullet wound and was transferred to Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. The body of the young man will be transferred to the Gazan Forensic Medicine lab for further investigation. [end]
Fresh clashes between Arabs and Jews erupt in Acre
Jack Khoury Jonathan Lis Fadi Eyadat and Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 10/11/2008
Clashes between Jewish and Arab residents of the northern town of Acre resumed Friday evening as rioting raged in the city for a third day. Police forces securing the area fired water cannons to disperse the crowd and arrested two rioters. Calm has been restored for the time being, as 24 suspects remained in custody since the violence erupted before dawn Thursday, when a group of Jewish residents allegedly assaulted an Arab man, saying he had driven his car into a Jewish neighborhood and played loud music during the holy day of Yom Kippur. On Friday, dozens of Jewish rioters gathered in front of an Israeli Arab family’s home on the city’s Ehad Ha’am street, upon which a number of masked figures - apparently Arabs - were standing. Large police forces succeeded in separating the sides, and later managed to enforce calm in the city, according to Israel Radio. more.. e-mail
Israel opens Jericho checkpoints after two-hour closure
Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008
Jericho - Maan - Israeli security forces reopened all entrances to the West Bank city of Jericho after a two-hour closure on Friday. A Maan correspondent reported that Israeli soldiers had closed its multiple military checkpoints installed at the entrances of the city, obstructing residents movement in the Jordan Valley in response to what they say were gunshots heard coming from the illegal Israeli settlement of Betsael, which is adjacent to the Al-Fasayel village. But Palestinian Authority (PA) commander Khalid Abu Kamel told Maan that the Israeli procedure was unjustifiable, claiming that the Israeli allegations about the shooting were false. Israeli commanders reportedly told Kamel that its military coordination office had moved an injured man from the area in an ambulance headed toward Jericho. more.. e-mail
Stabbing attack at Cave of Patriarchs foiled
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/10/2008
Border Guard officers operating checkpoint near religious site overpower 16-year old Palestinian resident of Hebron attempting to carry out stabbing attack on worshippers in cave -A stabbing attack at the Cave of the Patriarchs near Hebron was foiled Friday, when Border Guard officers stationed at the scene succeeded in preventing a 16-year old Palestinian resident of the city from assaulting worshippers in the cave with a knife. The incident occurred at 3:30 pm, when a Palestinian boy arrived at the Border Guard checkpoint near the religious site. The boy arrived from the Kasbah, and the officers began to suspect him of wrongdoing when they noticed a strange bulge in his sock. The officers called on the boy to halt a number of times, but their cries were not heeded. The boy then knelt, drew a knife from his sock, and began to advance on the officers. more.. e-mail
Clashes continue between Arab-Jewish residents of Acre
Jpost.com Staff And Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 10/10/2008
In the third consecutive evening of clashes between Jewish and Arab residents of Acre, police were yet again forced to respond to riots taking place in the northern city’s eastern neighborhood early Friday night. At least four Jewish residents were arrested while police subdued the crowds. Police closed off the eastern entrance and special forces and Border Police forces armed with crowd control gear were preparing to enter the area if called. On Friday afternoon, the clashes which ensued over Yom Kippur were renewed after dozens of Jewish residents hurled rocks at Arabs living in the northern city’s eastern neighborhood. Police forces arriving at the scene managed to disperse the crowds and several arrests were made. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni said that Israel would not allow citizens to take the law into their own hands. more.. e-mail
Palestinian MKs call to halt attacks inside Israeli boundaries
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 10/10/2008
Nablus -- Jamal Zahalka of the National Democratic Assembly in the Israeli Knesset requested quick intervention to stop the attacks against Palestinians in Acre. Jewish youth began attacks two days ago in the city within Israeli boundaries. Another Palestinian member of the Knesset, Abas Zkoor, was victimized midweek. He said it was unsafe to return home. Zahalka is shouting for practical steps to end what could deteriorate into "real disaster," he says, if the mobs attacking Arab citizens are not stopped. Wasil Taha, also a Palestinian member of the National Democratic Assembly in the Knesset, spoke with the Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter looking for results. He outlined a "dangerous" and "critical" situation in Acre with "extremists from Jewish neighborhoods attacking Arab neighborhoods and destroying property. " more.. e-mail
Shops vandalized, cars flipped over as riots spread through Acre
Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008
Bethlehem Maan On the Jewish high holiday, Israelis broke into Al-Aqsa mosque, rioted in Acre streets, and beat one Palestinian. Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement, it is the day when devout Jews observe 25 hours of fasting, during which time no machines are operated or work done. Shortly before sunset on 8 October this year, radio stations went off the air, television channels across Israel ceased to transmit programs, and the countries highways were all but deserted. Before the sun rose on 9 October, a group of about 100 Israeli extremists broke into the Haram Ash-Sharif compound surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and, according to the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Islamic Waqf and Heritage, "carried out several failed attempts to break into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. " On the Day of Atonement, the moment in which ones fate for the year ahead is. . . more.. e-mail
Acre theater festival postponed
Yaakov Lappin And Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/10/2008
The Acre Municipality decided Friday to postpone the city’s upcoming Festival of Alternative Theater, which was scheduled to take place on Succot, due to the Jewish-Arab riots over Yom Kippur. The municipality cited concerns over the possibility of renewed clashes when the thousands of Israelis visit the city. Acre Mayor Shimon Lancry said in a statement that in light of the residents’ anger, holding the festival would "show a lack of taste. " Festival director Albert Ben-Shushan emphasized that the festival was not canceled altogether, but merely postponed. "The atmosphere is not conducive to holding a festival which is supposed to be one of celebration," he told Army Radio. "When it is all over and the dust has settled, we will decide what to do, but it is too early to make a decision. " RELATEDYom Kippur riots garner. . . more.. e-mail
Israel on alert after Akko clashes
Al Jazeera 10/10/2008
Israeli police have raised their alert after two days of clashes between Arabs and Jews in the northern city of Akko during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Calm returned to Akko, one of the few mixed cities in Israel, on Friday, but police said they were prepared in case the violence spread to other parts of the country. "We have increased our forces in the city," Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said. Five hundred officers have been sent to assist the 200-strong local force. "We have also raised our level of alert throughout the country so that similar incidents do not occur again in Akko, or elsewhere. "Rioters from both sides hurled rocks at each other and the police used tear gas to disperse them in a second night of clashes on Thursday night, according to local media. more.. e-mail
Akko Riots rebound, 3 injured by stones
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 10/10/2008
After hours of relative calm, Jewish youths begin to crowd in eastern neighborhood of city, prompting stone-throwing from many Arab residents; police detain nine residents, raid home from which stones were flung -On a third successive night of rioting in Akko, Arabs threw stones at dozens of Jewish youths who formed a crowd in one of the city’s eastern neighborhoods. Three people were injured, including a man who was walking his dog, who sustained a mild head injury from a stone that was flung at him. Police detained five Jewish protestors and four Arabs, and began to disperse the remaining crowd with the help of stun grenades, tear gas, and water hoses. Officers also raided a home from which stones had been flung, detaining three family members found within. more.. e-mail
Study: Jewish settlements doubled over 10 years
Palestinian Information Center 10/10/2008
TULKAREM, (PIC)-- A study published by the Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem (ARIJ) said that the Israeli occupation increased the area of Jewish settlements in the West Bank by 85% between 1996 and 2007. The study further added that Jewish settlements are the cornerstone of the Israeli policy of Judaizing the occupied Palestinian lands. According to the study the process building the Jewish settlements in various parts of the West Bank and in particular in the Jerusalem district started immediately after the occupation in June 1967 to impose changes on the ground in an attempt to get control of most of the occupied Palestinian lands. Various Israeli occupation governments encouraged the building of new settlements and the expansion of the existing ones at the expense of Palestinian lands which were confiscated at various pretexts, the study noted. more.. e-mail
Several residents wounded, one seriously, in an Israeli invasion of Nablus
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 10/8/2008
Dozens of Israeli under-cover troops backed by a number of military vehicles invaded morning the Al Far’a refugee camp on Tuesday morning, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and surrounded a number of homes while firing indiscriminately. Several residents were wounded; one seriously. The source stated that the army was targeting Sami Mohammad al-Ghoul, 29, member of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. Troops surrounded his house in order to force him to surrender. During the invasion, Omar Sbeih, 36, was wounded by Israeli military gun fire while he was in his own shop near the surrounded house. He was moved to a hospital in Nablus suffering serious injuries. Medical sources reported that Sbeih lost a lot of blood before receiving medical help because soldiers barred the medics from entering the area. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces sieze five teens in dawn raids near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008
Tulkarem Maan Israeli forces seized five Palestinian teenagers at dawn on Wednesday in the towns of Qaffin and Anbata, near the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. Witnesses and a Palestinian official said that the Israeli troops overran Qaffin and attacked locals and farmers on their lands and detained 14-year-old Qusay Ayed Khaled Harsha and 15-year-old Nabil Amad Jamil Khasib, taking them both to Salim military prison near Jenin. In Anbata, Israeli soldiers forced their way into houses and17-year-old detained Muhamad Issam Salim Nassar and 17-year-old Islam Abdel Karim Hussein Ali and 17-year-old Zeid Burhan Tawfiq Al-Hamdullah. It is not known where they are being held. more.. e-mail
East Jerusalem resident indicted over plan to murder Jews
Aviad Glickman, YNetNews 10/8/2008
Khader Jaabis of Jabel Mukaber neighborhood charged with conspiracy after attempting to buy a gun, bragging about future attack. Acts said to be inspired by friend who ran over soldiers in capital’s Tzahal Square -The Jerusalem District Prosecution on Wednesday filed conspiracy charges against Khader Jaabis, 18, a friend of the terrorist who ran over soldiers in the capital’s Tzahal Square about two weeks ago, injuring 17 people. Jaabis, a resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, is believed to have been a close friend of Kasem Mugrabi, who carried out the Jerusalem attack. According to the indictment, filed with the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, Jaabis decided to stage a killing spree of his own shortly after Mugrabi carried out the attack, during which he was killed. more.. e-mail
E. J’lem Arab accused of plotting attack
Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/8/2008
An east Jerusalem Arab was indicted on Wednesday in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for connection with acts of terror. Hadad Ja’abis, 28, of Jebl Mukaber, was a friend of Kassem Mughrabi, who was killed when he rammed his BMW into a group of soldiers and civilians at Jerusalem’s Kikar Tzahal two weeks ago. The 28-year-old was accused of attempting to purchase a hand gun in order to carry out a terror attack in the city, allegedly in either the suburb of Neve Ya’akov, or at the Haas Promenade in Armon Hanatziv, also in Jerusalem. According to the charge sheet, Ja’abis went to console mourners at the Mughrabi house, and was asked to acquire a weapon "to murder Jews. "He apparently made the decision to plan an attack shortly after his friend perpetrated the Kikar Tzahal attack. The court ordered Ja’abris to house arrest on Tuesday, and he was remanded again on Wednesday until proceedings continue next week. more.. e-mail
MKs: Police can’t fight settler violence
Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
Only five police cars are in service in the whole of Judea and Samaria, the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee claimed on Tuesday. Committee chairman Ophir Paz-Pines pleaded with police commissioner Insp. -Gen. Dudi Cohen to increase funding to what he described as a beleaguered force struggling to cope with a rising tide of settler violence. Police said the figure was inaccurate, adding that at least 18 police vehicles serve the district during every shift. In a letter sent by Paz-Pines to Cohen, a copy of which was also sent to Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, Pines-Paz lamented the lack of resources available to the force, citing a small budget and shortage in manpower, as well as a "lack of means for carrying out law enforcement duties in Judea and Samaria. "As an example, we learned that only five police cars operate in Judea and Samaria," Pines-Paz added. more.. e-mail
Alqassam brigades of Hamas warns of an Israeli invasion of Gaza
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/8/2008
The Alqassam brigades, the military wing of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, warned on Wednesday of an imminent Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, given notable Israeli military exercises to the east of the Strip. In a statement emailed to press, spokesman of the brigades, called Abu Obaida, said that underway Israeli military exercises on the Israeli side of Gaza-Israel border lines indicate Israel’s ’aggressive/criminal intentions’. Abu Obaida responded to an Israeli military spokesman’s remarks that such trainings are conducted for defense purposes, as ’ ironical’, saying that the upcoming days would likely reveal the real purposes for such exercises. He also preserved what he called the Palestinian resistance’s right to defend any Israeli attack on the coastal region , despite a ceasefire deal, brokered four months ago by Egypt. more.. e-mail
Hamas military wing: Israeli forces have aggressive plans for Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008
Gaza Maan Hamass military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said on Tuesday that Israeli forces have plans for an aggressive assault on the Gaza Strip. A spokesperson for the group claimed that increased surveillance of Israeli troops holding drills near the border, sky and sea indicates the army is planning a major assault. Brigades Spokesman Abu Ubayda said: To say these drills are for defensive purposes is ridiculoussince when has the occupation taken defensive steps? These drills, in fact, reveal what they prepare for the coming days. They enhance the Palestinian resistances right to train and prepare for the coming stage, despite the ceasefire, he said. Ubayda added that the Brigades would inflict a heavy toll on Israeli soldiers if they attempted to cross into Gaza, and insisted that the armed movement would never cease its activities until Palestinians live free from occupation. more.. e-mail
As the Palestinians start the olive pucking season, settlers increase their attacks
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 10/9/2008
As several Palestinian villages stated the olive piking season, extreme Israeli settlers increased their attacks against them and against several Palestinian villages. Nablus district, in the northern part of the West Bank, was the main target by the settlers especially in areas close to the settlements of Alon Moreh, Itamar and Yitzhar. In an unprecedented statement, Ghadi Shamney, the Israeli general in charge of the West Bank Israeli army brigades, said that the settlers have significantly increased their attacks against the Palestinian residents and even attacked Israeli soldiers. Shamney added that in the past, the attacks were carried out by dozens of settlers but now hundreds of settlers are carrying these attacks. He also said that this is a very serious issue and claimed that most of the settlers in the West Bank are not violent. more.. e-mail
IOF troops kidnap eight Palestinians, prevent farmers from harvesting olives
Palestinian Information Center 10/8/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The IOF troops kidnapped eight Palestinians from villages near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem and stopped farmers from reaching their land to harvest their olive crop. Local sources in the village of Qaffin, to the north of Tulkarem, said that IOF troops kidnapped Qusai Ayed Hirsha (14 years) and Nabil Khasib (15) from their fields in Qaffin while they were helping their families harvest the olive crop. In the village of Anabta, to the east of Tulkarem, the IOF troops kidnapped three youths from their homes on Wednesday at dawn; Muhammad Isam Nassar (17), Islam Abdel-Karim Ali (17) and Zaid Burhan Hamdallah (17). The IOF troops also raided the homes of Zeyad Saadah and Izz Toum, but could not find them. The IOF troops had earlier kidnapped Ersleen Sawalha from Dhennaba east of Tulakarem and who works as an accountant with a charity there. more.. e-mail
Two Islamic Jihad men seized by Israeli forces in Qabatiya
Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008
Jenin Maan Israeli forces on Wednesday seized two activists affiliated to Islamic Jihads military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin. Islamic Jihad sources said that a massive Israeli force raided the town overnight firing gunshots and sound bombs into the air. They carried out house to house searches before arresting Hani Kamil and Maysarah Kamil, both aged 23. Israeli forces, according to the sources, have been pursuing the two since months. An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed the news. [end]
Israeli military detains two Jenin residents
International Middle East Media Center News 10/8/2008
The Israeli military detained on Wednesday morning two residents from the West Bank city of Jenin, after breaking into the city earlier today, Palestinian security sources and witnesses reported. A large Israeli army contingent stormed earlier today the city under a barrage of heavy gunfire and sound grenades shooting, as the soldiers ransacked houses, rounding up two residents. Palestinian security sources identified the detainees as Maysara Abu Zaid, 22 and Hani Kmail, 26. Israel’s military in the West Bank conduct almost daily arrest campaigns, as Israel continues to hold more than 11. 500 Palestinians including women and juveniles inside many detention facilities of its own. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 100808
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 10/8/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 30s || 3. 20 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. imemc. org for Wednesday October 8, 2008. As Palestinian national dialogue is underway in Cairo, a Hamas leader in Gaza warned of failure of such dialogue. Meanwhile, Israeli authority prevented access of Israeli and Arab doctors into Gaza. Theses stories and more are coming up, stay tuned. Ahmad Yousef, advisor to Palestinian Prim Minister of the deposed Hamas government, Ismael Haniyeh, warned on Wednesday of failure of the underway intra-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo. Yousef stressed the need for reaching a national consensus among the Palestinian political faction and mainly the rival Hamas and Fatah parties, so that the Palestinian national interests "are not scattered. more.. e-mail
PA security kidnap 160 citizens and IOF troops kill five others during last month
Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement reported that in the context of the PA-Israeli security coordination in the West Bank, the PA security apparatuses kidnapped during last September 160 Palestinian citizens affiliated with Movement while the IOF troops killed five others. According to a report issued by Hamas and received by the PIC revealing the violations committed during the last month by the PA and Israel against Palestinian citizens, the IOF troops kidnapped and killed a number of Palestinians during 150 incursions in the West Bank and one incursion in the Gaza Strip, east of Khan Younis. The report also noted that the Israeli siege has claimed the lives of 250 Palestinian patients since it was imposed on Gaza. In a new development, the PA security apparatuses have kidnapped Tuesday five Palestinian citizens in different West Bank areas after storming their houses and work. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian man shot by Israeli forces following failed raid in Nablus camp
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Nablus Maan Israeli special forces shot and wounded a Palestinian man during a failed arrest raid in Al-Fara Refugee Camp, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday. According to local sources, undercover Israeli troops invaded the camp in search of a wanted Palestinian fighter affiliated to Islamic Jihads armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades. The troops, who were riding in a Palestinian dairy truck, shot 32-year-old Umar Subeh in the stomach and harshly assaulted his 22-year-old disabled brother Yousif during clashes that followed the aborted raid. The undercover forces surrounded house of 28-year-old Al-Quds Brigades member Samer Al-Ghoul, but was unable to capture him. Failing to apprehend Al-Ghoul, a large number of uniformed Israeli soldiers invaded the camp to support the special forces, provoking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians. more.. e-mail
Assault on northern West Bank leaves several people wounded
PNN, Palestine News Network 10/7/2008
Jenin -- Israeli special forces invaded the northern West Bank’s Far’a Refugee Camp Tuesday and shot Omar Hosni in the stomach with two live bullets. Beginning before noon today the undercover Israelis entered the Jenin camp in a civilian car, as reported by a PNN special correspondent. While aiming for a member of Saraya Al Quds who the Israeli forces had ostensibly come to arrest, they missed their targeted man and hit a girl instead. Several people are reported injured. During the raid targeting the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad, Israeli forces tore through several homes in Far’a Refugee Camp, including that of citizen Omar Hosni. The soldiers shot him with two live bullets in the stomach and the man is now in Nablus City’s Rafidiya Hospital receiving treatment. Eyewitnesses report that Israeli soldiers injured Ali Sobh and also severely beat his special needs younger brother. more.. e-mail
19 Palestinians taken by Israeli forces during overnight raids
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Bethlehem Maan Israeli forces seized 19 Palestinians during overnight raids in the West Bank cities of Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Hebron and Bethlehem, the Israeli military said on Tuesday morning. Bethlehem - Five were taken from Bethlehem. Palestinian security sources identified the detainees as: 18-year-old Mohammad Zawahrah, 20-year-old Mohammad Sajadi, 18-year-old Adham Al-Eiwi and 18-year-old Mohannad Al-Humouz, all from Ad-Duheisha Refugee Camp andthe neighboring town of Ad-Doha. In the village of Al-Khadr, 21-year-old Nidal Sbeih was arrested. Security sources also said that Israeli forces assaulted Ashraf Az-Zghari and Ahmad Sajadi while holding them briefly in custody. Sajadi was then transferred to the Beit Jala public hospital for treatment. Hebron -In the city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, Israeli forces seized three people, including a policeman and a university student. more.. e-mail
Israeli forces seize three Palestinians near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Nablus Maan Israeli forces apprehended three Palestinians from the northern West Bank village of Asira Al-Qibliya near Nablus, local Palestinians say. Palestinians in the village told Maan that more than ten military vehicles stormed the area, inspected several homes and then seized 38-year-old Yahya Salih and his son, 16-year-old Abdullah, as well as 23-year-old Ammar Salih. [end]
Israeli military detains several West Bank residents
Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/7/2008
The Israeli military detained several Palestinian residents from a number of West Bank areas on Tuesday, including Jenin and Bethlehem, Palestinian sources reported. An Israeli contingent broke into the city of Jenin early today and cordoned off the Marah Sa’d neighborhood, detaining two residents after ransacking houses and vandalizing furniture inside, witnesses said. Witnesses added that the Israeli soldiers fired gas canisters into a crowd of people, injuring two sisters n their twenties. The sisters were evacuated to a nearby hospital for suffocation from gas inhalation. In the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Israeli troops detained five residents from Dehaisha refugee camp and the town of Alkhader, Palestinian security sources reported. The sources said that a large military force stormed the refugee camp and broke into several houses detaining five residents were detained. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 100708
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 10/7/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www. imemc. org for Tuesday October 07, 2008 As national unity talks are about to start in Cairo today, the Fatah Party of President Abbas refused to accept Hamas’ declaration on the legality of Abbas’ presidency after January 08, 2009, these stories and more are coming up, stay tuned. On Tuesday, the spokesman of the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fahmi al-Zareer, refused the Hamas parliamentary bloc’s consideration of Abbas as just an ordinary citizen after January 08, 2009, when Abbas’s term in office is supposed to end. Al-Zareer also stated that Abbas will continue to assume his responsibilities in accordance with the Palestinian law and constitution, ’which contravene with Hamas’s views’. more.. e-mail
PLO on Israeli violations during Al Aqsa Intifada
Palestine News Network 10/7/2008
Palestine Liberation Organization Department of Arab and International Relations - Overview of Israeli Violations: 30 September 2000 -- 30 September 2008 1- Willful Killings, Wounds & Palestinian Patients:During the past 8 years, 5526 Palestinian citizens were killed by the IOF troops, 1010 children, 340 female, 664 school students, and 11 journalists, were among the victims. 32,000 Palestinian citizens were wounded by the IOF troops, 7500 were disabled and 3600 of whom were left with permanent disabilities; another 33,000 Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation. 247 Palestinian patients that were denied permissions to cross the Gaza borders for further treatment abroad have passed away. 2- Houses Demolition:8300 Palestinian houses were demolished by the IOF; different sorts of weapons were used during the demolitions. more.. e-mail
Settler Leader Charged with Assaulting Police Officers
Raanan Ben-Zur, MIFTAH 10/7/2008
Daniela Weiss, the former head of the northern West Bank settlement of Kedumim, was charged Friday with assaulting a police officer, obstruction of justice and obstructing police actions. The charges, filed with the Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court, also named a second defendant, Kedumim resident Shoshana Shilo. The two were indicted for a clash they had with police officers on Thursday. According to the indictment, three policemen dispatched to a Palestinian olive grove which was set on fire near Kedumim, spotted three suspects fleeing the scene in a vehicle. The officers began pursuing the car, which was eventually found in one of Kedumim’s streets. The officers began searching the vehicle and lifting fingerprints, at which point Weiss, 63, arrive at the scene, and despite the officers’ request to stay away, began placing her hands all over the car, potentially contaminating evidence. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers attack olive harvesters near Tulkarem
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/5/2008
As the olive harvest season begins in full swing, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians harvesting their olives are on the rise as well. After the attack two days ago in Hebron, another series of attacks has been reported in the Tulkarem area, in the northern part of the West Bank. The latest attacks were centered in two areas: Ar-Ras village in southern Tulkarem, and Kafr Qaddum, also south of Tulkarem. Other incidents of settler violence have been reported in Nil’in, near Ramallah. In the attacks near Tulkarem, over the last three days Israeli settlers have fired guns at Palestinian olive harvesters, tried to steal the olive harvest from Palestinian farmers, and prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching their lands. In Ar-Ras, a family of olive harvesters were forced off their tractors at gunpoint by Israeli settlers, who were supported by Israeli soldiers, and forced to carry. . . more.. e-mail
Continued settler aggression in Nablus
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 10/5/2008
Nablus -- In a move aimed to deprive residents from access to their land and olive harvests, Israeli settlers from Elon Moreh placed four mobile homes on the land of eastern Nablus’ Deir Al Hatab. President of the Village Council, Abdul Karim Hussein, said today that settlers overtook the route to at least 500 dunams of olive groves. The olives are ready for harvest, Hussein noted, "with the settlers continuing the provocations including overtaking the water source. "He described the scene, "They were coming during the Jewish holidays and dipping their children in the town’s water source in a bid to seize it as a holy shrine. "The spring is the source of drinking water for residents. Hussein added that the harvest is tainted with danger this year leaving the financial situation unknown and the fate of Deir Al Hatab’s water supply uncertain as well. more.. e-mail
IDF officer: Major Fatah assault on Hamas close
Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
There are signs that Fatah is preparing to launch a major operation against Hamas in the West Bank in the coming weeks ahead of expected turmoil when Mahmoud Abbas’s term as PA president ends in January, a top IDF officer has told The Jerusalem Post. Abbas’s presidential term is scheduled to end on January 9, and the IDF Central Command is preparing for the possibility that Hamas will try to take advantage of political instability in Ramallah to take over West Bank towns and cities. In the absence of elections or a compromise with Hamas, according to the Palestinian Authority constitution, Abbas will be replaced by the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Abdel Aziz Dweik, a member of Hamas who has been in an Israeli prison since August 2006. The senior IDF officer said there was evidence that Fatah forces were planning a widespread West Bank operation. . . more.. e-mail
Nine Palestinians taken by Israeli forces in raids in West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Bethlehem Maan Israeli forces on Sunday early morning seized nine Palestinians in the West Bank what the Israeli military claimed were security reasons. According to the Israeli army, five of the arrestees were in Ramallah in the central West Bank, and four from Bethlehem in the south. Army sources have not revealed identities of the arrestees. Local Palestinian sources in Bethlehem said Israeli forces stormed the town of Tuqu east of Bethlehem and detained 33-year-old Umar Nawawra. Separately, in DuheishaRefugee Camp, south of Bethlehem, another Israeli force raided the camp and nabbed 17-year-old Mustafa Al-Ghari and 18-year-old Murad Al-Ghari. Invading Israeli forces also ransacked several homes overnight in both neighborhoods before they arrested the three young men. more.. e-mail
Huwwara checkpoint closed following alleged bomb threat
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Nablus Maan Israeli forces on Sunday closed the Huwwara checkpoint on the main road south of Nablus preventing Palestinians from leaving or entering the major West Bank city. Eyewitnesses told Maan that Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint arrested a young Palestinian man carrying a bag on his way out of Nablus. The soldiers then immediately announced the checkpoint was closed. They claimed that the man was carrying a bomb. The witnesses added that Israeli soldiers fired into the air to force commuters to evacuate the area. No casualties have been reported. The closure of the checkpoint severs the main link between the nothern West Bank and points to the south, inclusing the administrative center in Ramallah, as well as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. more.. e-mail
Israeli army claims pipe bombs transported by Nablus man closed checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Nablus Maan The Huwwara military checkpoint south of Nablus was closed for two hours Sunday afternoon after Israeli soldiers found iron material they said were pipe bombsEyewitnesses told Maan that Israeli forces closed after detaining the young man, was carrying a medium sized package and standing in line to pass through the checkpoint out of Nablus. According to Palestinian security sources the man detained was 25-year-old Fadi Bassem Ibrahim Tharifah a resident of Nablus, who is currently unemployed. Fadis family told Maan that he lives with his father in Wadi At-Tuffah to the west of Nablus and he left his work in furniture store after a misunderstanding with his boss. They added that he left early in the morning and they were surprised when they heard that he was detained by Israeli army at the checkpoint. more.. e-mail
ANALYSIS / IDF plans to use disproportionate force in next war
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
What will the next war look like? Recent statements from several senior Israeli military officials offer a surprising answer: Perhaps much like the last one. Following on the Israel Defense Forces’ failure in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the army is likely to resume fortifying its maneuvering capability, represented by the Armored and Infantry Corps, at the expense of its firepower, particularly that of the Air Force. However, a recent interview with GOC Northern Command Gadi Eisenkot, and articles written by two senior reserve officers, indicate that the IDF will continue to give first priority to firepower, even if the targets it chooses are different than those chosen in previous conflicts. This is not merely a theoretical matter. Though neither Israel nor Hezbollah seems particularly interested in another round of fighting, another conflagration is certainly possible. more.. e-mail
West Bank: Palestinian olive groves closed off to Israelis
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/5/2008
IDF fears additional settler violence during olive harvest; 3,000 Palestinians allowed entry to Seam Line area olive groves -The olive harvest in the West Bank region commenced Sunday morning amid heightened tensions between the Jewish settlers and the Palestinians. As part of its effort to prevent additional violence, the IDF has closed off Palestinian olive groves to Israelis. The harvest is expected to continue through December. In the framework of the preparations, Civil Administration officials held talks with their Palestinian counterparts, leaders of villages and Palestinians working in the olive oil industry. During the meetings, the sides agreed on a timetable for the harvest. Israel has permitted the entry of some 3,000 Palestinians to olive groves located in the Seam Line area ahead of the harvest. more.. e-mail
Yesha Council launches non-aggressive campaign
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/5/2008
While prime minister states all territories should be ceded to Arabs, settlers attempt to gain popularity by saying Israelis ’yearn for Jewish truth’ - The Yesha Council has launched a counter campaign following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s remarks that all territories should be ceded to the Arabs. Using green billboard signs and internet banners, the settlers are stating that "Judea and Samaria is every Jew’s story. " In this new PR campaign, the Yesha Council abandons its aggressive tone in an attempt to gain the public’s sympathy in a different way. "Today the public yearns to connect to the Jewish and and Zionist truth, something the education system has emptied, and this is the right time," explains Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan. The new ads mention biblical stories and other stories from Jewish history which took place in the West Bank. more.. e-mail
IDF thwarts smuggling of pipe bombs
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Alertness of soldiers stationed at Hawara checkpoint prevents terror attack. Two pipe bombs found in Palestinian man’s parcel detonated in controlled manner; no injuries reported - Troop’s alertness prevents terror attack:Two pipe bombs were found Sunday morning in a parcel carried by a Palestinian man upon his arrival at the Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus. The explosive devices were detonated in a controlled manner, without causing any injuries. The Palestinian arrived at the checkpoint in possession of a bag which raised the soldiers’ suspicion. A sapper dispatched to the area found two small pipe bombs in the parcel and detonated them in a controlled manner. The Palestinian was taken in for questioning by security forces. About two weeks ago, a Palestinian youth was arrested at the checkpoint after pulling out a 10-centimeter (4-inch) knife and attempting to stab a soldier. more.. e-mail
Olive groves torched after outpost evacuation
Nadav Shragai and Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
Police suspect that right-wing extremists set fire to two Palestinian olive groves near the northern West Bank village of Kadum yesterday. The fires broke out shortly after the security services demolished two structures in the nearby illegal outpost of Shvut Ami B. Police arrested two men, both residents of settlements in the southern West Bank, on suspicion of starting the blaze. The men had taken refuge in the house of former Kedumim mayor Daniella Weiss, who was herself detained for allegedly striking a police officer. She and her husband were also questioned on suspicion of abetting the arsonists. Weiss accused soldiers of pointing their rifles at her and at a group of youths. The demolition of the buildings surprised right-wing activists, who had no prior warning of the operation. more.. e-mail
American technology stopping Hamas?
Alex Fishman, YNetNews 10/2/2008
US and Egyptian soldiers pair up in recent weeks in a project to uncover Palestinian weapons’ smuggling tunnels; 42 tunnels discovered in less than a month -American soldiers have teamed up with Egyptian troops in the Sinai in recent weeks for an operation designed to uncover Palestinian weapons’ smuggling tunnels underneath the Philadelphi Route, along the Egypt-Gaza border. The operation has already yielded important fruits: Thanks to new, secret American-developed technology, the US Army’s Corps of Engineers uncovered 42 tunnels running between Egypt and Gaza in less than a month, an unprecedented number in such a time span. The joint American-Egyptian initiative was agreed upon half a year ago, during Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to Egypt. American experts arrived in the region a few weeks ago, making an effort to keep a low profile by using civilian dress. more.. e-mail
Settler suspected of shooting at Palestinian village
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Samaria police detain resident of Yitzhar accused of involvement in riots following stabbing of Jewish boy by Palestinian; police to investigate whether gun was fired in air or at village residents - The Samaria police department arrested a resident of the Yitzhar settlement, Thursday, on suspicion that he had shot at the village of Asira al-Kabliya with an M-16 rifle some two weeks ago, after a Palestinian from the area infiltrated the settlement, stabbing a nine-year-old boy and setting a house on fire. The settler will be remanded Friday at the Kfar Saba magistrate’s court, while police attempt to determine whether he fired the gun in the air or aimed it at residents of the village. Palestinian residents of Asira al-Kabaliya claimed that shortly after the stabbing, some hundreds of settlers rioted in retaliation - looting Palestinian property and firing guns - leaving at least four Palestinians injured. more.. e-mail
MK decries media coverage of ’Sternhell Festival’
Shelly Paz, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
A tempest broke out in the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee on Thursday morning after MK David Rotem (Israel Beiteinu) described the media coverage of the pipe bomb attack on Israel Prize laureate Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell last week as "Sternhell’s Festival. " "I want to condemn the ’Sternhell’s Festival’ that has been celebrated over the past 10 days - and you are heading it," Rotem told committee chairman Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor). Paz-Pines called on Rotem to retract his statement, but Rotem reiterated that automatically attributing the attack to the Right slandered an entire sector of the population. Sternhell, a political scientist from the Hebrew University known for his vocal criticisms of the settler movement and IDF actions in the West Bank, was lightly wounded when the bomb exploded outside his Jerusalem home on September 25. more.. e-mail
Settler youth say ’don’t mess with us’
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
Minutes after security forces completed demolishing the wooden structures in the illegal West Bank outpost of Shvut Ami B, cellular phone text messages and e-mails were already circulating among rightist activists delivering the appropriate message. No one was told to torch Palestinian fields, block roads or vandalize Israel Defense Forces property. The messages contained two dry facts: Shvut Ami B has been evacuated and the future home of Rivka Meirtchak and David Cogan, a couple set to be wed next month, has been demolished. But that sufficed, and a response came within a few hours when a Palestinian olive grove near the settlement of Kadum was set ablaze and Highway 60 was blocked for an hour. Every time the IDF evacuates an outpost, or Palestinians attack settlers or their property, rightist youths set out on a rampage and damage Palestinian, police or IDF property. more.. e-mail
Former Kedumim mayor arrested
Tovah Lazaroff and Abe Selig, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
Police on Thursday arrested former Kedumim Mayor and well-known right-wing activist Daniella Weiss and at least seven others, in what settlers have charged is a "witch-hunt" in the aftermath of last week’s attack on left-wing professor Ze’ev Sternhell. The arrests followed the evacuation and destruction by security forces of the two temporary structures situated at the Shvut Ami outpost, just outside of Kedumim in Samaria, erected last year by the Eretz Yisrael Faithful group. After the two structures were destroyed, police said, settlers torched fields belonging to Palestinians. The fire threatened a nearby IDF base and police station near the Palestinian village of Kadum before being brought under control. Nadia Matar, of Women in Green and the Eretz Yisrael Faithful, said that she knew nothing of the blaze and that Weiss was not near Shvut Ami at the time of its evacuation. more.. e-mail
Settlers cleared from West Bank outpost; Palestinian olive grove set on fire
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 10/2/2008
IDF, Civil Administration clear Jewish settlers trying to set up tent at Shvut Ami outpost; settler leader Daniela Weiss arrested for allegedly attacking police officer. Olive grove belonging to Kadum residents set ablaze short while later -IDF forces and Civil Administration officials Thursday morning cleared settlers from the northern West Bank outpost of Shvut Ami, and two hours later a nearby olive grove belonging to Palestinians from the village of Kadum was set on fire. Former Kedumim Council head Daniela Weiss arrived at the scene and was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Investigators later reported that two suspects of the arson had been found hiding in her home. Both are 25-year-old settlers, one from Hebron and one from Adi-Ad. Hebron police detained the two and also arrested Weiss’ husband on charges of obstruction of justice. more.. e-mail
Settler leader detained after clashing with police during outpost evacuation
Jonathan Liss and Yuval Azoulay, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Prominent settler leader and extreme right-wing activist Daniela Weiss was detained Thursday for attacking police officers near the settlement of Kedumim, of which she is local council head. Weiss’ clash with the police came following Thursday’s evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost of Shvut Ami by a combined force of police and the Israel Defense Forces. Witnesses say there was no one in the outpost as the forces vacated it, but that right-wing activists came to the area shortly after and confronted the police. During the clashes, the activists set a Palestinian-owned olive grove on fire in a nearby Arab village. Related articles: Police, IDF complete evacuation of illegal outpost of Yad YairIDF, police begin deploying near Amona outpost Palestinians: Settlers throw stones at boy, steal his donkey . . . more.. e-mail
Israeli soldiers ’showered with stones’ near Qalqiliya
Ma’an News Agency 10/2/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - At least six Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded as a result of stone attacks near the village of Azzun, north of Qalqiliya, Wednesday night. Israeli sources say the soldiers were "showered with stones" inside seven vehicles. One woman, a settler, was injured after being struck in the head with a rock inside her car. Israeli forces imposed a curfew on the village of Azzun as a result of the attack. [end]
Israeli forces evacuate settlement as olive trees burn
Ma’an News Agency 10/2/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian’s olive trees on Thursday, prompting military forces to evacuate an outpost nearby, police said. Israeli forces shut down the Shavut ’Ami illegal outpost in response to the attack on the Palestinian’s property in the village of Kafr Qaddum in the northern West Bank. [end]
Palestine Today 100208
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 10/2/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 4 m 30s || 4. 12 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www. imemc. org for Thursday October 2, 2008. LEDE: Israeli settlers assaults on Palestinians and Israeli soldiers are increasing, the Palestinian petroleum corporation warns of fuel crisis in Gaza during the coming winter, if the siege continues, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Israeli settlers in the West Bank have recently increased their assaults against the Palestinians, Israel’s chief military officer in the occupied West Bank, Major-General Gadi Shamni said on Thursday. Shamni told the Israeli online paper Haaretsz, that settlers are also escalating attacks on Israeli soldiers who occasionally intervene in settler attacks and assaults against Palestinians. more.. e-mail
Israeli settlers assaults against Palestinians escalate recently
IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center News 10/2/2008
Israeli settlers in the West Bank have recently increased their assaults against the Palestinians, Israel’s chief military officer in the occupied West Bank, Major-General Gadi Shamni said on Thursday. Shamni told the Israeli online paper Haaretz, that settlers are also escalating attacks on Israeli soldiers who occasionally intervene in settler attacks and assaults against Palestinians. "In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds," Shamni told Israeli reporters on Thursday describing this escalation as significant. The general went on to describe the settler attacks as "conspiratorial actions" against citizens, not just sporadic acts of violence by individuals. Settler attacks have doubled during the year 2008. The United Nations (UN) had already reported 222 separate incidents of settler violence. . . more.. e-mail
Israel evacuates an illegal outpost in the northern part of the West Bank
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/2/2008
Israeli soldiers and policemen evacuated on Thursday at noon an illegal Israeli settlement outpost called Shavot Ami near Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank. Settlers clashed with the soldiers and hurled stones at them; no injuries were reported. The Israeli police arrested the head of the Qadumim settlement council, Dani’ella Vice, on suspicions that she attacked a number of policemen during the evacuation process. The police are also probing an act of sabotage in which Palestinian lands, which belong to the residents of Kufur Qaddoum, near Nablus, were set ablaze. Meanwhile, Gabi Shamny, member of the Central Command of the Israeli Army, criticized West Bank settlers for repeated attack against Palestinian residents and Israeli soldiers in recent weeks. He told Haaretz Israeli newspaper that the right wing settlers "carried radical attacks, and that these attacks increased. . . more.. e-mail
Israel: Settler attacks on Palestinians, Israeli soldiers increasing
Ma’an News Agency 10/2/2008
Jerusalem - Ma’an - Jewish settlers are committing hundreds of acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, Israel’s chief military officer in the occupied West Bank said on Thursday. Settlers are also escalating attacks on Israeli soldiers who occasionally intervene, the general said in an interview with Ha’aretz. "In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds," Major-General Gadi Shamni told Israeli reporters on Thursday. "That’s a very significant change," he added. According to the Israeli army commander, settler attacks against Palestinians occur not as sporadic acts of violence, but as "conspiratorial actions" against citizens. Shamni said that the "grave phenomenon" was gaining new levels of scrutiny by the Israeli populace, as many attacks are committed or planned by Jewish rabbis. more.. e-mail
Rightists: Shin Bet behind attack on Sternhell
Ofra Edelman, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
A right-wing organization urged Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Thursday to open an investigation into whether the pipe bomb that wounded Prof. Zeev Sternhell last week was a provocation carried out by the Shin Bet security service. The Campaign for Saving the People and the Country claims that the bombing, generally believed to have been carried out by right-wing extremists in response to Sternhell’s left-wing political activism, was a provocation aimed at turning public opinion against the settlers to make future evacuations easier. The timing and nature of the operation leave no room for doubt it was the work of a provocateur," it wrote. [end]
Protestors support targeted Sternhell
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Some 150 demonstrators stage support rally outside home of left-wing professor targeted last week with pipe bomb. ’This is the beginning of a civilian uprising,’ says former MK Chazan at the event -A group of nearly 150 people gathered outside the home of Professor Ze’ev Sternhell in central Jerusalem on Thursday evening in a show of solidarity with the left-wing academic who was targeted with a pipe-bomb last week. " Your presence here demonstrates clearly that we can do this, that we will not live in fear, that we will not be intimidated," Sternhell told the crowd. The support rally drew the participation of prominent figures from various left-wing groups, who welcomed Sternhell with thundering applause. "My dear friends, I wish to thank you for taking these matters of state and society to heart. more.. e-mail
Pines: Police must fight settler attacks
Shelly Paz And Abe Selig, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
The Israel Police must do more to fight the recent surge in settler violence and more resources must be allocated to assist them in that endeavor, MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor) said on Thursday. "The Judea and Samaria District is the most neglected [police] district in Israel," Paz-Pines told Israel Radio in an interview. "It’s no wonder they struggle in their efforts to bring people to justice throughout the area, when they don’t have the adequate means to do so. They are understaffed and under equipped to deal with such problems. What do you expect? " Paz-Pines spoke after a special session of the Knesset Committee on Internal Affairs and the Environment, which he chairs, that discussed the rise in settler and right-wing violence as well as last week’s pipe bomb attack, allegedly by such extremists, against. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian girl arrested for suicide attack threat
Ali Waked, YNetNews 10/1/2008
Shin Bet apprehends 16-year old Jenin girl in Netanya after Palestinian officials allege she disappeared after telling family members she would carry out suicide attack in Israel -Ynet has learned the Shin Bet arrested a 16-year old Palestinian girl Wednesday after she threatened to carry out a suicide bombing. The intelligence reportedly came from Palestinian sources. The girl is currently still being questioned, and investigators are still unsure as to whether she genuinely intended to make good on her threat. Palestinian sources in Jenin told Ynet that the girl was apprehended in Netanya. She reportedly declared her intent to carry out a suicide attack inside Israel to family members, disappearing soon thereafter. Palestinian authorities received word of her disappearance a day after she had gone missing. more.. e-mail
IDF West Bank commander: Rightist violence encouraged by settler leaders
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Israel Defense Forces GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni has leveled harsh criticism against extremist West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinians and IDF soldiers in recent weeks. In an interview with Haaretz over the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Shamni said the radical behavior among rightists has grown in light of encouragement they receive from the settler leadership, rabbis and public. As the officer heading Central Command, Shamni is responsible for the entire West Bank. "There has been a rise in Jewish violence in Judea and Samaria. In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds. That’s a very significant change. These hundreds are engaged in conspiratorial actions against Palestinians and the security forces. more.. e-mail
Palestine Today 100108
IMEMC News - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center News 10/1/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 4 m 0s || 3. 66 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www. imemc. org for Wednesday October 1, 2008. LEDE: The family of a Palestinian prisoner in a Palestinian jail says their son died of torture, Hamas states that none of its members and leaders were released from PA jails in west Bank,, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Hamas dismissed media reports that the Fatah-allied Palestinian government in Ramallah has released 38 of its members and leaders in the West Bank. The Islamic movement said in a statement to the press that Fatah is not interested in making the internal dialogue a success. In Hebron, Hamas published a press release calling on its leaders not to participate in the Cairo talks on the national unity government. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - IDF securing Golan minefields as hikers flock north for holidays
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 10/1/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for October 1, 2008. With the Jewish holidays entering full swing, Israeli hikers are flocking to north. Alongside them, the Israel Defense Forces has deployed additional troops to the Golan Heights to keep travelers on the trails and off the minefields. Syria and Israel are both responsible for scattering hundreds of thousands of landmines around the Golan, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981. Despite demining efforts by the United Nations peacekeepers, mines continue to hurt and even kill residents, hikers, and troops. Related articles:Israel to complain to UN after six mines thrown from Syria found in Golan Heights IDF officials: Mines in Lebanon could have been laid by Syria, HezbollahUN troops rescued unharmed from Golan Heights minefield Also on Haaretz. more.. e-mail
PA in Jenin: ’Normal girl from normal family’ was planning suicide attack
Ma’an News Agency 10/1/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - A 16-year-old Palestinian girl was arrested for threatening to execute a suicide operation on Wednesday, Israeli intelligence sources said Wednesday. Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service told reporters that Palestinian informants contacted the agency over the girl’s alleged threats, according to a Hebrew newspaper. Intelligence officials say they are still holding the girl for questioning, and are unsure how serious she was about carrying out an attack. Other Palestinian sources in Jenin reportedly told Israel’s Yediot Arohonot newspaper that the girl was arrested in Netanya. One source added that she announced the plan to family members before leaving her home, according to the paper. A day after she went missing, Palestinians say her family reported the threats. more.. e-mail
Palestinians hurls rocks at cars in West Bank; none wounded
Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/1/2008
Palestinians threw rocks at cars at Ma’ale Hashomron junction Wednesday night. Magen David Adom teams that were called to the scene reported that rocks hit five cars, but no one was wounded. [end]
Diplomacy
Israel leads ME in arms purchases
Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post 10/16/2008
For the first time in years and in the face of Iran’s nuclear drive, Israel surpassed Saudi Arabia in arms purchases in 2008, reaching just over $20 billion, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Last year, the US Department of Defense approved plans to sell Israel that amount of arms, including stealth fighter jets, transport aircraft, state-of-the-art missile ships and satellite-guided "smart bombs. " Total deals approved by the US to all countries surpassed $60b. The United Arab Emirates finished a close second, after receiving Pentagon approval to buy advanced weapons systems for more than $18b. Saudi Arabia was third with approved sales of just over $12b. , including a $9b. contract for 72 Eurofighters signed last September. Iraq was also approved deals reaching just over $12b. Between 2001 and 2004, Saudi Arabia was the top arms buyer in the Middle East with arms deliveries totaling $19b. more.. e-mail
Palestine a permanent member of the International Parliamentary Union
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/15/2008
From now onwards, Palestine will be represented in the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) as a permanent member, a meeting of the union’s member states, excluding Israel, decided Wednesday. The decision read that the Palestinian National Council will be representing Palestine at the IPU in Geneva. Palestinian officials voiced their happiness for the decision, considering it as a historic day in the life of the Palestinian people. Abdullah Abdullah, an advisor to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who participated in the vote, was quoted by Palestine News Network (PNN) as saying, "This is a historic achievement for the Palestinian people. " Ambassador of Palestine to the United Nations in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraisha, described the decision as, "A big national festivity for the Palestinian people, as the participants clapped loudly for the Palestinian people’s right to such an international organization. more.. e-mail
Palestinian representative accepted as full member to IPU
Fadi Yacoub, Palestine News Network 10/15/2008
PNN -- The representative of the Palestinian National Council was admitted into the Inter-Parliamentary Union as a full member by unanimous vote in Geneva Wednesday. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah told PNN from Geneva today that IPU acceptance "puts us on the international political map which recognizes our independent state. "Representatives of parliaments throughout the world voted in what is being described as an "historic achievement. "Palestine as a state in the modern sense of the definition is now in view on the international map The only absence during today’s vote was the Israeli representative. Meetings began in Geneva on Monday with members of the Palestinian national and legislative councils including Palestinian Legislative Council member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, PLC member Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, PLC member and Secretary General of the Palestinian People’s Party. . . more.. e-mail
PNC granted full membership in Inter-Parliamentary Union
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Bethlehem Maan The Palestinian National Council (PNC) was granted full membership in the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) after a vote by the organizations members. Israels representative boycotted the session. The PNC is the pre-Olso precursor to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the parliamentary body elected by residents of the West Bank and Gaza. According to officials in the PNC however, the PNC encompasses the PLC, as all PLC members are members of the PNC. The Palestinian delegation to the IPU is headed by Tayseer Qubah, the deputy PNC president. It also includes Dr Hanan Ashrawi, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Bassam As-Salihi, Zuheir Sanduqa, Ibrahim Khreisha, secretary general of the PLC. IPU members on Monday voted on a new amendment to the organizations constitution to guarantee acceptance of Palestine as a full member. more.. e-mail
Palestinian MPs in Israeli jails calls for supporting Akka people
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
NABLUS, (PIC)-- On behalf of the Palestinian lawmakers imprisoned in Israeli jails, MP Dawood Abu Sair, a prisoner in the Megiddo prison, called on the Palestinian factions and all Islamic and national forces to support the Palestinians of Akka against the assaults committed by Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli police. In a leaked letter received by the PIC, MP Abu Sair warned that the Zionist state aims to empty Palestine from its native people in the context of its occupation schemes, hailing at the same time the popular marches which were staged in the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the people of Akka. In another letter leaked from Israeli jails, the lawmakers of the Hamas parliamentary bloc strongly denounced the Israeli military court for sentencing MP Azzam Salhab to 46 months in prison on a charge of running for election as a candidate of the Hamas bloc. more.. e-mail
Qurei criticises Abbas for considering negotiations as the only option
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
AMMAN, (PIC)-- The Palestinian chief negotiator, Ahmad Qurei criticised the line of politics pursued by President Mahmoud Abbas, during a meeting with the PA ambassadors to Arab states. In a report published by the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi it was stated that Qurei criticised Abbas’s slogan which says that negotiations is the only strategic option open to the Palestinians describing such a slogan and the practical implementation of it as a serious political blunder and that the Palestinian people should have many strategic options instead of being restricted to negotiations, considering the shape of the present negotiations. Qurei was also reported to have said during the meeting, which took place in Amman last Monday, that to consider negotiations as the only strategic option is a bet that is not compatible with the great sacrifices of the Palestinian people and does not take. . . more.. e-mail
Haneyya gov’t: The Aqsa Mosque and all holy places are in real danger
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya warned Tuesday that the Aqsa Mosque, occupied Jerusalem, and all Islamic and Christian holy places are in real danger and need Arab and Islamic protection. In a statement issued following the weekly cabinet meeting and a copy of which received by the PIC, the government highlighted that the building of a Jewish synagogue near the Aqsa Mosque refers that there are accelerated intentions to seize Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, considering the synagogue a new advanced outpost to control the holy Mosque. The statement called on the Arab countries to increase their concern about the holy city and protect it from the clutches of the Zionist movement. The statement hailed the Jerusalem conference held in Doha and the Arab and Islamic countries for voicing keenness during the conference on protecting Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque from the Zionist threats. more.. e-mail
Abbas, Olmert to Meet Friday
The Jordan Times, MIFTAH 10/15/2008
Outgoing Israeli PRIME Minister Ehud Olmert is to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a new round of peace talks this week, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Monday. " [Abbas] will meet Prime Minister Olmert on October 17 within the framework of their regular meetings," Riyad Malki said at a news conference in Ramallah. Olmert and Abbas have been meeting about twice a month since the peace process was relaunched at a US conference in November. Hounded by a series of corruption scandals, Olmert formally resigned on September 21 after the governing Kadima Party elected Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as its new leader. Livni is trying to form a new coalition government so she can also take over as prime minister and avert early elections. Last month, Olmert said Israel must give up almost the entire occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem as the price for peace with the Palestinians. But he later said the comments, made in a newspaper interview, reflected his private view and were not binding for Livni. more.. e-mail
Palestinian police help Israelis destroy tunnel in Hebron
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/16/2008
HEBRON, Occupied West Bank: Palestinian police discovered a tunnel running under a shop in the Occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday that was subsequently dynamited by Israeli sappers, sources from both sides said. No one was hurt when the tunnel, said by an AFPcorrespondent at the scene to be dozens of meters deep, was destroyed. A Palestinian security source said several people had been detained and were being questioned about the tunnel, in which no weapons or explosives were found. An Israeli Army spokeswoman said an investigation had been opened to determine what the tunnel was being used for. Hebron, located in the southern Occupied West Bank, is a predominantly Palestinian city, but there is a small colony of radical Jewish settlers in the center of the city and tensions often run high between the two communities. more.. e-mail
IOA hails PA security apparatuses for unearthing resistance tunnel
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli security apparatuses have hailed Wednesday what it described as "big security cooperation" of the PA security apparatuses under PA chief Mahmoud Abbas in fighting "terrorism", in allusion to the Palestinian resistance. The Hebrew Maariv newspaper quoted high-ranking security officials in the Israeli occupation government as commending Abbas’s security forces in unearthing a tunnel in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil a couple of days ago before the IOF troops detonated it. According to Israeli security force, big numbers of IOF Saber units were dispatched to the tunnel location after receiving information from the PA security forces about it, adding that elements of the Saber units combed the tunnel using robots for fear that the tunnel could be bobby-trapped. more.. e-mail
Convention signed implementing the initiative 'Support for Children of the Palestinian Territories. Medicine at the Service of Peace'
Government of Italy, ReliefWeb 10/15/2008
Rome 15 October 2008- A convention has been signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Directorate General for Cooperation and the regional administration of Tuscany implementing "Support for Children of the Palestinian Territories. Medicine at the Service of Peace", an initiative to which Minister Frattini made a personal commitment on his visit to the Palestinian Territories this past July. The project’s overall cost of 5. 7 million euro is to be divided equally between the foreign ministry and the following regions: Tuscany, the initiative’s leader, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Umbria. The project will be carried out by two NGOs: Israel’s "Peres Center for Peace" in Tel Aviv and Palestine’s "Panorama" located in Ramallah. The initiative is a new and major undertaking by the Italian government with regard to the Palestinian Territories. more.. e-mail
Islamic Jihad committed to ceasefire in spite of Israeli violations
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Gaza Maan Islamic Jihad remains committed to the Gaza Strip ceasefire in spite of Israels violations of the June agreement, a spokesperson for the movements military arm said on Wednesday. Palestinian resistance has not so far retaliated for Israels violations of the ceasefire only to avoid disagreement amongst resistance factions, said Abu Ahmad, the spokesperson of the Al-Quds Brigades said in a press statement. Israel has violated ceasefire the several times, Al-Quds Brigades calculate these violations one at a time, and we update Palestinian people on them, he added. He explained that his military organization agreed to ceasefire in an attempt to help the besieged Gaza Strip to get the minimum requirements of life which almost vanished as a result of Israels crippling siege. We were interested in opening border crossings, specifically the Rafah crossing which is the only outlet to the external world, he added. more.. e-mail
Saraya Alquds Brigades preserve the right to terminate ceasefire with Israel
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/15/2008
Spokesman of the Saraya Alquds brigades of the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, Abu Ahmad, said on Wednesday that his armed faction reserves the right to end the ceasefire with Israel, yet the faction is considering a Palestinian consensus on the matter. In a statement emailed to media outlets, the spokesman was quoted as saying, "Our refrain from responding to the Israeli breaches of the ceasefire in Gaza stems from our concern over national consensus and unity of the internal front. " Abu Ahmad pointed a finger at Israel as breaching current ceasefire for keeping the commercial and travel crossings closed, particularly the Rafah crossing terminal, which is the sole outlet to the outside world for Gaza’s 1. 5 million residents. He explained that his faction agreed to the ceasefire deal, based on its interest in easing the debilitating Israeli blockade being enforced on the people for the past 16 months now. more.. e-mail
Goldwasser: Why are we bailing out Gaza?
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Miki Goldwasser slams government inaction towards freeing Gilad Shalit, calls on ministers ’to devote just a bit of the energy you put into your battles over cabinet seats to the fight for Shalit. ’ Speaking to teenagers at rally, bereaved mother also demands to know why Israeli shekels are saving Gaza’s banks - After her son Ehud’s body was returned to Israel as part of the exchange deal with Hizbullah, Miki Goldwasser vowed she was now a soldier for the Shalit family, pledging she would not rest until Gilad too came home. In a speech before 1,500 teenagers from the ’Young Maccabi’ movement in the Golan Heights on Wednesday, she continued to live up to her promise. Hammering the government for busying itself with coalition negotiations rather than securing the kidnapped soldier’s freedom, Goldwasser called on Israel’s ministers to "devote just a bit of the energy you put into your battles over cabinet seats to the fight for Shalit. more.. e-mail
35,000 take part in Jerusalem March
Abe Selig, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
More than 35,000 people took part in the annual Jerusalem March on Wednesday, thronging the streets of the capital in celebration of Succot. Despite forecasts of rainy conditions, more than 15,000 Israeli hikers from around the country made their way along one of three routes in the morning from the outskirts of the city toward Jerusalem’s Gan Sacher, recreating the pilgrimage atmosphere from the days of the Temple. The most robust of hikers made a 22-kilometer trek starting from the Castel, the site of the Independence War battle in Mevasseret Zion, while the easiest route was a five-kilometer walk from the Sherover Promenade. Thousands of others began at lower Sataf for a 10-kilometer route that went through Nahal Sorek before climbing up the hills toward Hadassah Hospital. more.. e-mail
Double Standard Watch: Why I support Israel and Obama
Alan Dershowitz, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
I am a strong supporter of Israel (though sometimes critical of specific policies). I am also a strong supporter of Barack Obama (though I favored Hillary Clinton during the primaries). I am now getting dozens of emails asking me how as a supporter of Israel I can vote for Barack Obama. Let me explain. I think that on the important issues relating to Israel, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama score very high. During the debates each candidate has gone out of his and her way to emphasize strong support for Israel as an American ally and a bastion of democracy in a dangerous neighborhood. They have also expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against the nuclear threat posed by Iran which has sworn to wipe Israel off the map and the need to prevent another Holocaust. more.. e-mail
Obama, Rev. Jackson disclaim reported tirade against ’Zionists’
Ynet, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Democratic candidate’s campaign tries to distance itself from gaffe-prone civil rights leader Jesse Jackson after latter proclaims America under Obama ’will not longer be under the control of the Zionists. ’ McCain seizes on comments ahead of upcoming debate - US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign sharply rejected on Wednesday an interview with prominent civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson in which he says an Obama administration would crush ’the Zionists clout’ in Washington. Speaking with New York Post columnist Amir Taheri, Jackson predicted to a policy forum in France last week that "decades of putting Israel’s interests first" would end and added in an interview that Zionists would lose a great deal of their clout if Obama is elected. "Obama is about change," Jackson told Taheri. more.. e-mail
Jackson: My comments were distorted
Hilary Leila Krieger And Allison Hoffman, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
The Obama campaign rejected comments made Wednesday by one of its most controversial supporters, Jesse Jackson, that an Obama administration would tamp down the influence of "Zionists," even as Republicans seized on them to push Jewish voters toward John McCain. The "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" would lose much of their power if the Democratic presidential candidate entered the White House, Tuesday’s New York Post quoted Jackson as saying. In an interview with Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri on the sidelines of the World Policy Forum in France last week, Jackson reportedly said an Obama win would usher in "fundamental changes" in US foreign policy, most significantly regarding the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel’s interests first" would end. Jackson himself in a press statement issued Wednesday accused Taheri of "selectively. . . more.. e-mail
Obama dismisses Jackson’s Israel remarks
Natasha Mozgovaya, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Barack Obama’s campaign yesterday dismissed Rev. Jesse Jackson’s assertion that as president, the Democratic candidate would rid the United States of years of "Zionist control. "The New York Post quoted the veteran civil rights leader on Tuesday as having said that although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they will lose much of their clout when Obama enters the White House. In response, Obama campaign national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said: "Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is not an adviser to the Obama campaign and is therefore in no position to interpret or share Barack Obama’s views on Israel and foreign policy. "Morigi stressed Obama’s commitment to a strong U. S. -Israel relationship. She also said that commitment was shared by the candidate’s advisers: Dennis Ross, Daniel Kurtzer, Rep. more.. e-mail
UN official tells ’Post’ he loves Israel
Allison Hoffman, Jpost Correspondent In New York, Jerusalem Post 10/16/2008
The head of the UN General Assembly claims he was slandered by "irresponsible" suggestions that he hates Israel. President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, an ordained Catholic priest, told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview Tuesday that he loves Israel and believes the Jewish people "have suffered more perhaps in time than any other people. " "I don’t hate any country, but Israel I happen to love," d’Escoto said. The 75-year-old Nicaraguan, a former diplomat for the Sandinista government, has been sharply criticized in the past weeks for hugging Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad moments after he gave a speech to the UN in which he described Israel as a "cesspool. " D’Escoto has also refused to condemn Ahmadinejad’s comments that Israel be "wiped off the map. " He told the Post he "did not like" the comments, but said he believed Iran’s antipathy toward. . . more.. e-mail
Thousands of Christians display support for Israel in Jerusalem parade
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Thousands of Christians from all over the world descended on centralJerusalem, Wednesday, in a colorful show of support for Israel. Waving the blue and white Israeli flag, the pilgrims marched in the annual Jerusalem parade marking the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, or Feast of the Tabernacles, which began Monday and ends October 21. The holiday march is the latest display of the growing alliance between evangelical Christians and the Jewish state. Christian Zionists are among the staunchest supporters of Israel, providing generous financial support and political backing. But some dovish Israelis are uncomfortable with the warm ties with evangelists because of their support for West Bank Jewish settlements and criticism of peace efforts with the Palestinians. more.. e-mail
Universities union denies Israel motion overstepped mark
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 10/15/2008
The University and College Union has denied exceeding its legal powers in asking its members to question their contacts with Israel, following a court threat by its own members. According to the UCU, it would be lawful for any English university considering setting up links with an Israeli counterpart to consider the moral and political debate surrounding Israel’s actions towards the Palestinian people. The union is facing a court threat from some of its own members unless it retracts a resolution, passed at this year’s national conference, which asks academics to consider the ethical implications of their links with Israeli institutions. Solicitors Mishcon de Reya say that a group of as yet anonymous litigants, who are UCU members, are demanding repayment of any union funds spent on carrying out the conference resolution. more.. e-mail
Cleric slams political use of Bible to steal Palestinian land
Middle East Online 10/15/2008
VATICAN CITY - A Lebanese prelate Tuesday denounced before a synod of Vatican bishops those using the Bible [Old Testament] in Israel as a pretext to justify annexing Palestinian territories and denying the rights of the Palestinian people. "For Jews in general and especially for certain religious fundamentalists, the Bible is considered a sort of land register carving out Israel’s borders," said Guy-Paul Noujaim, Maronite patriarchal vicar for the diocese of Sarba, according to a transcript of his remarks distributed to the press. Many Christians also "take to the letter" the idea of land promised by God to Israel, Noujaim said. Some persons take this literally, even today, Noujaim warned. "Some among them claim the Palestinian people have no right to possess territory in Palestine," he told the synod, which is gathering between October 5-25. more.. e-mail
Campaign shines light on Republican Jewish ads
Ron Kampeas / Jta, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
A campaign by a new dovish pro-Israel group to get Jewish newspapers not to run Republican Jewish Coalition attack ads has raised questions about what’s kosher and what isn’t in this fraught political season. The new group, J Street, helped flood many Jewish newspapers with letters in recent days urging them not to run the RJC ads attacking the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill. ). Letters were even sent to newspapers in which the ads did not appear. "I was saddened to see that the Republican Jewish Coalition’s vile, fear-mongering advertisements have been printed in your publication," read one typical letter. "Since when do Jews go along with smear campaigns? By all means tolerate genuine dissent but please, draw the lines at hateful, dishonest caricatures. " In addition to initiating the letter-writing campaign, J Street organized a petition calling on papers not to publish the ads. more.. e-mail
U.S’s Rice: all possible efforts should be exerted for Palestinian-Israeli peace
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/15/2008
U. S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated yesterday that all possible efforts should be exerted for reaching a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal before the end of President George W. Bush’s term in office early next year. Rice’s remarks were reported during a conference of businessman investing in the occupied Palestinian territories and held in the American capital of Washington on Tuesday. The U. S Secretary of State also emphasized that she still believes in making more efforts for the sake of peace between Palestinians and Israelis, based on the two-state solution put forward by last year’s Washington-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis. However, she admitted that the road to such a peace is still ’thorny’, asserting, "We would certainly fail if we do not try to reach a solution. " Rice’s statements come as her current administration is about to come to an end in. . . more.. e-mail
Canberra scraps plan for legal action against Ahmadinejad
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/16/2008
SYDNEY: Australia has dropped moves to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice over comments he made about Israel, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in May the government was taking legal advice on launching a case against Ahmadinejad. In October of 2005 Ahmadinejad made a speech in which, according to a translation by the US-based Middle East Media Research Institute, a hard-line Zionist think tank, he quoted the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as saying, "This regime that is occupying Quds [Occupied Jerusalem] must be eliminated from the pages of history. "Western media attributed the quote to Ahmadinejad and portrayed him as saying: "Israel must be wiped off the map. "This quote has been much repeated in Western media despite denials of its accuracy by Farsi experts. more.. e-mail
IAF developing system to better predict Iran missile targets
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
The Israel Air Force is developing a computerized system to predict where a missile will land with considerable accuracy, very shortly after it is launched. That would enable the Home Front Command to order people into shelters only in a relatively small area, rather than in broad regions of the country. Currently the country is divided into 10 large districts for the purpose of missile alerts, and at every missile launch, everyone in the relevant district is ordered into shelters. But when the new system is completed, in an estimated 18 months, the country will instead be divided into about 100 districts. As an interim step, the army hopes to be able to divide the country into 27 districts by next year. The idea behind the system is that if fewer people have to run for shelter every time a missile falls, the country will be better able. . . more.. e-mail
Play the news / Will Israel strike Iran’s nuclear sites?
Haaretz.com Staff, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
In June, former U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton predicted that Israel would strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities before the end of George W. Bush’s term in 2009. Iran’s uranium enrichment - considered a sure sign of progress toward nuclear weapons - continues despite pressure from the West to stop. Israel considers a nuclear Iran an existential threat. Others fear Iran could transfer weapons to militant groups, yet Tehran maintains its nuclear industry is ebing built for peaceful purposes. Will Iran and Israel go to war or can a compromise be found? Haaretz. com has teamed up with playthenewsgame. com to bring our readers a new and exciting interactive experience - a game that lets you put your news savvy to the test. The idea is simple: Take one hot topic and try to predict the outcome. more.. e-mail
In the shadow of war and peace with Iran
Kaveh L Afrasiabi, Asia Times 10/16/2008
The George W Bush administration is reportedly on the verge of officially requesting a consular office in Iran and, if implemented, this would be a timely step in the right direction. Given the contrary news of two weeks ago, that the administration was withdrawing this idea largely in deference to the Republican presidential hopeful, Senator John McCain, this shows that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is intent on leaving office with a more praiseworthy legacy with regard to Iran than simply as the promoter of sanctions and coercive diplomacy - that has failed to yield any results. This is not yet a done deal, and a potential mini-breakthrough in the long-stalemated US-Iran relations could be thwarted by the traditional forces opposed to such a development. There are such complicating factors as the continuing US and Israeli saber-rattling against Iran and the prospect of military more.. e-mail
Australia drops threat to sue Ahmadinejad for inciting against Israel
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Australia on Wednesday withdrew a threat to take the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice for inciting violence against Israel. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said his government had mulled over the option for months before deciding that a trial could distract attention from international efforts to end Iran’s nuclear program. "We determined to avoid pursuing a case which would give further profile to these obscene remarks," Smith told Parliament. "Most importantly, the Australian government would not want such legal action to complicate or distract from the international community’s efforts to address the serious concerns about Iran’s nuclear program," he said. The government said in May it was considering bringing a case againstAhmadinejad for repeatedly making anti-Semitic. . . more.. e-mail
Aussie FM: We won’t sue Ahmadinejad
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
Australia on Wednesday withdrew a threat to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for inciting genocide against Israel, a development a leading advocate of such action termed as "terrible, just terrible. " Elihu Richter, head of the Genocide Prevention Program at Hebrew University’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine, said the Australian action will be seen as acquiescence in Teheran. "[Prime Minister] Kevin Rudd and the government of Australia are going from being opponents of Ahmadinejad and trying to stop him, to becoming a bystander, and this is terrible," Richter said. "If I were an Iranian I would view such a step as the melting away of resolve. " Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said his government had mulled over the option of taking Ahmadinejad to the ICJ for months before deciding that. . . more.. e-mail
Australia drops Ahmadinejad case
BBC Online 10/15/2008
Australia had considered a charge of inciting genocide against Israel - The Australian government has abandoned plans to take international legal action against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr Ahmadinejad has made several anti-Israel remarks in past speeches. Australian foreign minister, Stephen Smith, told parliament he did not wish to "give further profile to these obscene remarks". He also cited the complexity of the issues and the high legal threshold required to bring forward a case. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd threatened in May to take Mr Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice for inciting genocide against Israel. The Islamic Republic does not officially recognise the Jewish state. Since becoming president in 2005, Mr Ahmadinejad has provoked outraged reactions by predicting that Israel is doomed to disappear. more.. e-mail
Australia drops bid to take Iran to court over Israel comments
AFP, YNetNews 10/15/2008
FM Stephen Smith says his government ’determined to avoid pursuing case which would give further profile to these obscene remarks’ -Australia has dropped moves to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the International Court of Justice over comments he made about Israel, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in May the government was taking legal advice on launching a case against Ahmadinejad after the Iranian leader said the Jewish state should be wiped off the map. Smith said the government would no longer proceed with the case against Ahmadinejad, whose comments he described as "appalling by any standard". "The Government has given exhaustive consideration to international legal action against Iran for these statements," Smith said. more.. e-mail
German official was at anti-Israel rally
Benjamin Weinthal, Jpost Correspondent In Berlin, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
German Ambassador to Iran Herbert Honsowitz violated EU guidelines by allowing a military attachĂŠ to attend an anti-Israel military parade in Teheran late last month, according to a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry’s Iran section. "Israel must be wiped off the map" was one of the slogans painted on Shihab-3 missiles featured at the event in Teheran, which commemorated the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. The presence of a German defense attachĂŠ at the military parade was a source of enormous embarrassment for the ministry in Berlin. In uncharacteristically strong language and disciplinary action, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered Honsowitz to return to Berlin on September 29. more.. e-mail
The Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian People donates medicines and medical supplies to Palestinian camps in Lebanon
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in, ReliefWeb 10/15/2008
Beirut, 15 October 2008 - Supervised by His Royal Highness, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, The Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian People donated medicines and medical supplies to Palestine refugees in Lebanon in the amount of (3,750,000) three million and seven hundred and fifty thousand Saudi Riyals, the equivalent of one million Dollars, within the framework of the humanitarian efforts of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia to help those affected by disasters and wars in various parts of the world. The agreement on the first batch of medicines and emergency medical supplies needed by Palestinian refugees in the camps was signed on October 15, 2008 in the presence of the representative of the Commissioner General of UNRWA Mr. Peter Ford, and the Chairman of the Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian People, Dr. more.. e-mail
Hamas calls on Palestinian masses to support Akka
Palestinian Information Center 10/11/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has called on the Palestinian masses in Gaza Strip to participate in the rally that it would organize Saturday night in solidarity with Palestinian citizens in Akka city. According to a statement issued by the Movement information bureau and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, the rally was meant to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in Akka city, and to prove that the Palestinian people are one people wherever they are. The coastal city of Akka was occupied by the Israelis in 1948, and since then, the successive Israeli governments tried to "Israelize" its inhabitants and to change their Arab and Muslim identity. Events on the ground prove that they failed in achieving this mission as the Akkans were determined to preserve their Palestinian and Muslim identities. more.. e-mail
Egypt’s Carrot, Stick for Hamas
Mahmoud Ali, MIFTAH 10/11/2008
Egypt has presented Hamas with a package proposal to solve the long-running Palestinian inter-factional crisis, threatening sanctions for whichever faction foiling the initiative. " The Egyptian paper calls for the resignation of the Gaza-based government of Ismail Haniyeh and the Salam Fayyad cabinet in the West Bank," a well-placed Egyptian source told IslamOnline. net. " It also calls for forming a government of independents or technocrats or a national unity government acceptable to Fatah, Hamas and other factions," he added. " The mission of the new government will be ending the months-long siege on Gaza Strip, preparing for legislative and presidential elections, restructuring security agencies and reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization. " The Egyptian paper, seen by IOL, was presented to a high-level Hamas delegation during a meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. more.. e-mail
Conciliation Government Just Beyond Reach [October 5 October 11]
MIFTAH, MIFTAH 10/11/2008
The jury is still out regarding the Cairo talks over whether Hamas and Fateh can come to an agreement on national conciliation or not. Apparently, Hamas has denied earlier reports from Egyptian sources and from Fateh veteran Nabil Shaath that the movement had given its approval to the plan, which said the Islamic movement had agreed to extend President Abbas’ term in office. On October 11, Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said it was "too early" to talk about such developments, saying the movement would accept an extension to his term if they reached a consensus over the formation of a national conciliation government. The Cairo talks, which began on October 6, got off to a rocky start, with Hamas saying its participation in the dialogue was contingent on four "no’s", including a rejection of a technocrat government or any amendments on the security forces in Gaza without similar amendments to the West Bank government under Abbas. more.. e-mail
Abbas lands in Damascus for talks; Fayyad in Washington
Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008
Bethlehem - Maan - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Damascus on Saturday to meet with the Syria’s deputy minister of foreign affairs for talks on discussions underway in Cairo. Deputy Minister Faisel Meqdad welcomed the president at the airport Saturday evening before the two headed to a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Abbas’s spokesperson told the press that the Palestinian president "did not appoint anyone to hold secret or public dialogues with the Hamas movement. " "President Abbas did not appoint anyone to give any statements on the dialogue" taking place in Egypt. He clarified that the official delegation at the meetings are "the only ones designated to talk" about it. In the United States, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad arrived in Washington, DC Friday to deliver the keynote address at the third annual gala organized by the American Task Force on Palestine. more.. e-mail
Abbas arrives in Syria for talks with Asad
IMEMC News & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/11/2008
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, arrived on Saturday in Syria for talks with the Syrian President, Bashar Asad, and several Syrian officials. Abbas was quoted as saying that he will hold talks with the Syrian President and Syrian officials on the peace process in the Middle East and the ongoing efforts to end the internal Palestinian unrest. . Abbas will be meeting with Asad on Sunday and is expected to brief him on the outcome of recent meetings between Hamas and Fateh in Egypt. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Prime Minister begins official visit to the US
Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008
Bethlehem Maan Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad began an official visit to the United States on Friday. During the visit, Fayyad is scheduled to take part in the Palestinian Business and Investment Forum to be held in Washington DC. The conference will investigate investment opportunities in the Palestinian territories, and look for ways to ensure market stability. The conference will be held under the auspices of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. [end]
6th Jerusalem conference to be held tomorrow in Qatar
Palestinian Information Center 10/11/2008
DOHA, (PIC)-- Under the auspices of Al-Quds international institution, the sixth conference of Jerusalem will kick off on Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha, in the presence of the institution’s board members, members of the global network of the institutions working for Jerusalem and a number of notables. Dr. Akram Al-Adlouni, the secretary-general of Al-Quds institution, told a press conference on Thursday that the institution is keen on launching practical initiatives aimed to support Jerusalem and adopt fundamental issues such as the reactivation of the Qatari initiative to build Al-Quds tower and endow its proceeds in favor of service projects in Jerusalem. Dr. Adlouni revealed that the institution intends to open a branch in Qatar to coordinate permanently with official and popular circles for the service of Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
Jordan Islamists protest imports of fruit grown on ’land taken by Zionists’
Reuters, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
Hundreds of Jordanian Islamist and left-wing activists on Saturday staged a sit-in at the country’s wholesale food market to protest against exotic Israeli fruits and vegetables being sold. The protesters, holding anti-Israeli banners, urged merchants to suspend imports from Israel of a variety of exotic fruits from mangoes, pineapple, avocado, to kiwi along with carrots and tomatoes sold in groceries and supermarket. The organizers of the protest, the powerful Professional Associations who represent over 170,000 doctors, nurses and engineers, have been long-time bastions of dissent and opposition to the kingdom’s pro-Western policies. They led popular opposition towards normalization with Israel after the treaty in 1994 that ended a 46-year state of war. "We are protesting because these fruits are planted in our Arab land. . . more.. e-mail
Jordan opposition protest Israeli fruit imports
Reuters, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Jordanian Islamist, leftist activists demonstrate against import of Israeli produce. Anti-normalization advocate says, "We are protesting because these fruits are planted in our Arab land that was taken by Zionist settlers by force’ - Hundreds of Jordanian Islamist and leftist activists on Saturday staged a sit-in at the country’s wholesale food market to protest against exotic Israeli fruits and vegetables being sold. The protesters, holding anti-Israeli banners, urged merchants to suspend imports from Israel of a variety of exotic fruits from mangoes, pineapple, avocado, to kiwi along with carrots and tomatoes sold in groceries and supermarkets. The protest organizers, powerful professional associations who represent over 170,000 doctors, nurses, engineers and others, have been long-time bastions of dissent and opposition to the kingdom’s pro-Western policies. more.. e-mail
Islamic Action Front in Jordan to boycott Euro-Mediterranean conference
Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008
Bethlehem Maan The Jordanian Islamic Action Front Party announced their intention to boycott the Euro-Mediterranean conference scheduled to start Saturday in Jordan. The group objects to Israeli participation in the meeting, and has withdrawn its delegation. According to sources in the Islamic Action Party, Israels representation in the conference constitutes normalization, which would indicate that the party does not object to Israeli actions in Palestine and the Middle East. The three-day conference will be held on the eastern beach of the Dead Sea and will discuss the peace process in the Middle East and the question of Palestine. [end]
Report: Shalit talks renewed in Egypt
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Asharq Al-Awsat quotes Hamas sources saying Egypt is proposing to strike accord ending Hamas-Fatah conflict while coordinating prisoner swap with Israel, though ’Hamas has not changed stance or conditions despite Egyptian pressure’ -Negotiations on a deal to release kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit have been renewed through the mediation of Egypt but have had no breakthroughs as of yet, the London based Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday. Hamas has denied linking Shalit’s case to the recent dialogue with Fatah, which is attempting to bridge the growing rift between the two factions. However Palestinian sources reported that Egypt is attempting to seal a deal that will bring the Hamas-Fatah conflict to an end as well as a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. Official Hamas sources told the paper that "Hamas has not changed its stance or its conditions, despite Egyptian pressure. more.. e-mail
Negotiations begin again to exchange political prisoners for captured soldier
PNN, Palestine News Network 10/11/2008
Ramallah -- Negotiations to exchange the captured Israeli soldier for a short list of Palestinian political prisoners resumed with no result. The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is on his way to Cairo to discuss the issue. Al Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida told the Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper that no Israeli proposal has been agreed to. He said that Hamas maintains its condition to exchange the soldier for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, the ill, women and children. Israeli security sources say that there is more going on than is made public. According to sources the heavy military attack that Israeli forces have planned on the Gaza Strip is being held off because of soldier Gilad Shalit whose release they reportedly believe would be compromised. A breakthrough on the stalled exchange is essential according to the Egyptian diplomats who are working to broker a deal. more.. e-mail
Asharq Al-Awsat: Schalit negotiations renewed
Jerusalem Post 10/11/2008
Negotiations for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit have been renewed with the mediation of Egypt, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday. The paper added, however, that no significant progress had been made in the talks. According to the report, Egypt is attempting to reach a broad deal that would tie between the release of Schalit and a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah. The Jerusalem Post could not independently confirm the report. However, Hamas told the paper that the two issues were unconnected. A spokesman for the organization’s military wing, Abu Obeida, said the group’s demands remain the same, and include the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, as well as female prisoners, sick prisoners and those who have yet to turn 18. RELATEDHamas and Fatah to hold. . . more.. e-mail
Shalit negotiations resumed with Egyptian mediation
Ma’an News Agency 10/11/2008
Bethlehem Maan Negotiations over the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit resumed with Egyptian mediation on Saturday. According to the London-based Arabic newspaper Ash-Sharq Al-Awsats Saturday edition, no progress has yet been made. Egypt, which is also in the middle of brokering unity talks with fighting Palestinian factions in Cairo, is working towards securing the release of Shalit as part of the unity negotiations. Hamas, however, denies completely that there is any connection between Palestinian reconciliation dialogue and the Shalit issue. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchners visit to Cairo, said the newspaper report, was basically to discuss the Shalit case. more.. e-mail
’06 dispute blocked chance to prevent Shalit kidnapping
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
A dispute within the Israel Defense Forces’ General Staff over the timing of the arrest of two Hamas operatives delayed the procurement of intelligence that could have prevented the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, defense sources told Haaretz. Just a few hours after the kidnapping occurred, on June 25, 2006, one of the operatives gave the Shin Bet security service detailed information about the plot. Some IDF officers thus believe that had the arrest not been postponed for 24 hours, this information would have been obtained in time to foil the abduction. A few weeks before the kidnapping, the Shin Bet gave the IDF a general warning about a major attack planned by Hamas and other terrorist organizations along the Gaza-Israel border. Then, slightly more than 24 hours before the abduction, new information came in. more.. e-mail
The Shalit kidnapping / Olmert leaving, but Gilad not home
Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
The approaching end of Ehud Olmert’s term as prime minister has coincided with a wave of media reports about Gilad Shalit’s abduction and the ongoing negotiations over his release. Why now? Because it seems as though Olmert, despite his recent efforts to find a compromise that would salvage the negotiations, is likely to end his term with Shalit still in captivity. Thus this is an appropriate time for an interim assessment. The gloomy picture includes a lot of bad blood, both personal and organizational. Everyone involved in the affair, from the kidnapping itself to the negotiations, has failed; thus they all have an interest in trying to shift some of the blame to others. This is not just a matter of the strain between Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak; it includes tension between the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service and within the IDF itself. more.. e-mail
Professional syndicates: Attack on Akka is practical translation of Annapolis
Palestinian Information Center 10/11/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The federation of the Palestinian professional syndicates have hailed Saturday the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land in occupied Palestine, urging the Palestinian people to unite in confronting the atrocities of the Israeli occupation government. The federation also denounced the Israeli crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian citizens in the 1948-occupied Palestinian city of Akka, revealing that Palestinians in the city were beaten and wounded, and their homes were attacked and smashed at the hands of the Israeli extremist groups with full support from the Israeli occupation police. "The federation was anxiously observing the escalation of Israeli attacks on Akka city, and the wounding of tens of Palestinian citizens at the hands of Jewish extremists that. . . more.. e-mail
Report: IDF to withdraw from Ghajar
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Lebanese paper reports UNIFIL received unofficial announcement from IDF stating it would transfer northern part of border-divided village to UN by end of month, followed by southern part as soon as Livni assembles new government -United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Headquarters received an unofficial message from the IDF regarding Israel’s intention to withdraw from the northern part of the village of Ghajar and transfer the territory to the UN, a Lebanese daily reported Saturday. Foreign diplomats in Beirut told a-Safir that UNIFIL has completed a deployment plan for the northern part of the border-divided village, and is currently awaiting a date for its deployment in the southern part. According to the paper, the IDF informed UNIFIL that it would withdraw from the southern part of the village soon after the new government, presided over by Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, is assembled. more.. e-mail
For U.S. Jewish groups, crisis means less in donations, more needy
Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz U.S. Correspondent, Ha’aretz 10/12/2008
As the U. S. economic crisis mounts, American Jewish organizations face both a growing need for their services at home and declining contributions. The result is likely to be a sharp drop in donations to overseas projects, including in Israel. The New York Jewish Federation has already announced that in order to service the ballooning needs of its own community, it will dip into its reserves - a last resort for emergencies. The last time it utilized its reserves was to help residents of northern Israel during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. "This is a completely new situation for us," said Susie Gelman, chairwoman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. "My 88-year-old father remembers what happened during the 1930s, but I’ve never in my life experienced such a crisis. more.. e-mail
Haniyeh: American Empire is collapsing
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/11/2008
Enemies of US exalt in financial crisis wracking Western nations, despite toll it has taken on region. Muslim clerics, al-Qaeda leaders: ’Allah is punishing America’ - America’s opponents in the Middle East are gloating at the financial meltdown in the United States, describing it as the divinely inspired collapse of an overstretched empire. Hardline clerics across the region as well as representatives of US opponents like Hamas and al-Qaeda have described the plummeting stocks and frozen credit markets in the United States as a kind of retribution for American misdeeds. "We are witnessing the collapse of the American Empire," Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip, told worshippers during Friday prayers. "What’s going on in America is a result of the violation of the rights of people in Palestine, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Muslims around the world. more.. e-mail
Think Again: Ignore the grandchildren
Jerusalem Post 10/11/2008
The Obama campaign is encouraging Jewish kids to fly Florida to visit their grandparents over Columbus Day weekend. The Web site for the initiative features comedienne Sarah Silverman instructing Jewish youth in Lysistrata tactics: Threaten to withhold future visits unless granny agrees to vote for Barack Obama. Here’s another suggestion: Tell them that if they don’t vote for Obama, "the goodest person we’ve ever had as a presidential choice," it can only be because they are racists. My guess is that bubbie and zaidie will not be too impressed by such bullying; nor should they be. The grandchildren will seek to prove that Obama is good for Israel, but their identification with Israel bears no relationship to that of their grandparents. For them the Holocaust is the stuff of history books, not a living memory. more.. e-mail
PFLP welcomes Egyptian efforts to end the internal Palestinian crisis
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/10/2008
The Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) issued a statement on Friday welcoming the Egyptian efforts which aim at ending the internal Palestinian crisis and helping the Palestinian factions restore national unity. A spokesperson of the PFLP stated on Friday that national unity is the only means to protect the Palestinian national rights, especially the Right of Return of the Palestinian Refugees, independence and self determination. He added that comprehensive national talks are the way to end all internal divisions, and that these talks should be focused on the national interests of the Palestinian people instead of the interests of a certain faction. "Factionalism will only lead to more failure, and more strategies of dominance instead of partnership", the spokesperson said, "drowning in internal conflicts and divisions only serves the occupation and its collaborators". more.. e-mail
Hamas: assaults on Palestinians in Akka one of the fruits of Annapolis
Palestinian Information Center 10/10/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas said, on Friday, that the escalation of assaults by Zionist occupiers against the Palestinian residents of the city of Akka, in northern occupied Palestine, is one of the fruits of the Annapolis conference which stressed the concept of occupied Palestine being the homeland for the Jews. Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said, in a statement to PIC, that the escalation of attacks against Palestinians in 1948-occupied Palestine, the last of which were the attacks taking place over the past two days in Akka, is a clear indication of the increase in the levels of Zionist racism against Palestinians. He added that his movement considers these attacks as a fruit of the Annapolis conference, which was held last November and tried to consolidate the concept of 1948-occupied Palestine being the homeland for the Jews, encouraging more racism against. . . more.. e-mail
Islamic Jihad: Acre riots beginning stage of ’a third intefadeh’
Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008
Gaza - Maan - Islamic Jihad called for demonstrations in support of Palestinians living in Acre who were attacked by Israeli citizens on Thursday and Friday, a spokesperson said. Waleed Hilis said in a press statement that what is happening is an indication of a third intefadeh’led by Palestinians living in Israel. " He said the attacks carried out by Israeli extremists over the past two days confirm the need to respond in solidarity with Palestinians living inside Israel. He also called the attacks barbaric and discriminatory. Hilis urged Palestinians to confront these acts and to cling to their homes and land. He said that the past 48 hours events demonstrate the Israeli plan to expel the Palestinians from their homes, just like in 1948. Israeli extremists attacked Palestinians in Acre on Thursday and Friday, which led to violence by Arabs and Jews across the city. more.. e-mail
Islamic Jihad call for popular protests in support of Akka Palestinians
Palestinian Information Center 10/10/2008
"Death to Arabs" chanted Jewish rioters in Akka GAZA, (PIC)-- The Islamic Jihad movement called for popular protest to support the Palestinian residents of Akka (Acre), in northern Palestine, who are facing "the racism and barbarism of occupation and herds of settlers. " Walid Hillis, the Islamic Jihad spokesman, said in a statement on Friday: "The assaults carried out by extremist Jewish settlers over the past two days confirm the barbarism and racism of the occupation against our people in the city of Akka and the rest of Palestinian cities inside the occupied [Palestinian] lands. "He called on the Palestinian residents in Akka to remain steadfast in the face these aggressions and to hold to their homes and land as this is the start of implementing a plan to uproot the remaining Palestinians from their homes, similar to what happened in 1948. more.. e-mail
Haneyya government condemns the assaults on the Palestinians of Akka
Palestinian Information Center 10/10/2008
A Palestinian protestor in Akka being arrested by Israeli police on FridayGAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian government under Prime Minister Ismael Haneyya condemned the assaults by Jewish settlers on the indigenous Palestinian residents of the city of Akka in northern Palestine. Taher al-Nono, spokesman for the government, said that such attacks confirmed, if a confirmation was needed, the racist nature of Zionism and the prevalence of extremism in the Zionist entity. Nono described the acts committed against the Palestinians in Akka by extremist Jewish settlers as acts of terror, adding that these events should serve as a wake-up alarm to those who are betting on reaching peace with an occupation that rejects everything Palestinian or Arab. Nono also expressed concern that these events could be the start of the final phase of ethnic cleansing of the 1948-occupied Palestine. more.. e-mail
'Terror' groups call for 3rd intifada
Ali Waked, YNetNews 10/10/2008
Islamic Jihad, PRC say events in Akko will lead to ’Palestinian attack from within’, call on all Palestinians to take to streets in solidarity with Akko Arabs - The Islamic Jihad movement called on Friday for Palestinians to take to the streets in solidarity with the Arabs of Akko and Arabs inIsrael, in general, "due to the racist aggression and brutality of the occupation and the bullying of the settlers. " "The extreme Jewish attacks and the crimes of the settlers during recent days are a manifestation of the brutality of the occupation and its racism, in Akko and in other Palestinian villages in occupied Palestine," said the group’s spokesman Walid Hilam. [end]
Israel hires PR firm on 60th birthday for a political facelift
Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem, The Guardian 10/11/2008
Israel has hired British public image consultants to give the conflict-battered nation a political facelift for its 60th birthday this year. Acanchi, which has built its reputation on altering international perceptions of nations such as Lebanon and Bahrain, has been contracted to counter anti-Israel "mindsets". "Our research shows that Israel’s brand is essentially the conflict," Ido Aharoni, head of the brand management unit within Israel’s foreign ministry, told Israeli daily, Haaretz. "Even those who recognise that Israel is in the right are not attracted to it, because they see it as a supplier of bad news. The conclusion is that it is more important for Israel to be attractive than to be right," he said. Israel signed the contract with Acanchi six weeks ago but the idea to remake the nation’s image was proposed by its New York consulate seven years ago. more.. e-mail
S. Africa’s Jews praise president’s greetings
Jerusalem Post Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/10/2008
South African Jews have been encouraged by "warm and appropriate" messages from the country’s new leadership regarding both the Jewish community and the Middle East, according to the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). In his first week of office, newly appointed President Kgalema Motlanthe sent Rosh Hashana greetings to the Jewish community. Motlanthe noted "the renewal that comes with Rosh Hashana," and said that, in this spirit, the South African government and nation "proclaim to the Jewish community that you have earned your place in the South African nation as equal citizens. . . On the occasion of Rosh Hashana, we are committed to living together in peace and harmony with our Jewish brothers and sisters. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life. " In a statement issued on Tuesday, SAJBD’s national director Wendy Khan noted that the Jewish community has a. . . more.. e-mail
Israel grants rare entry to cancer-stricken Iranian boy
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/11/2008
A 12-year-old cancer-stricken Iranian boy arrived at an Israeli hospital on Friday for emergency treatment on his brain tumor. The boy - who was identified only as Roy, to protect his privacy - was wheeled on a stretcher into the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, after treatments in Iran and Turkey failed. His face was puffy, apparently due to the drugs administered to ease his pain. Israel granted the child a special permit to enter the country and he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday. The rare arrangement was mediated by an Israeli businessman of Iranian origin. The boy was accompanied to the hospital by his father and veiled mother, who were also granted special entry permits into Israel. Iran and Israel are bitter enemies and have no formal relations. more.. e-mail
Palestinian FM signs technical cooperation agreement with Sri Lanka
International Middle East Media Center News 10/10/2008
Palestine and Sri Lanka inked an agreement on Technical Co-operation and Practical Training at the Presidential Secretariat when the visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held bilateral discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The two Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka and Palestine, Rohitha Bogollagama and Dr. Riyad al-Malki sign the agreement on behalf of their respective governments. President Abbas thanked the Sri Lankan President for establishing diplomatic links with the Palestinian authority and extended an invitation for President Rajapaksa to visit Palestine. Delivering a short address at the signing of the bilateral ’Framework Agreement for Technical Capacity Building’ President Abbas said he was delighted to visit Sri Lanka at a time when Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was President of the country. more.. e-mail
Nobel Prize goes to Finnish diplomat who led fact-finding mission in Jenin
Ma’an News Agency 10/10/2008
Bethlehem Maan Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize for his many contributions to long-term conflict resolution on 5 continentsAhtisaari was also the head of a UN fact-finding mission in 2002, charged with investigating the actions of the Israeli army in 2002 during the Battle of Jenin, which was part of the Israeli Operation Defensive Shield after the outbreak of the second Intifadah in 2000. Israel had targeted the Jenin refugee camp, saying that it had acted as a launch site for several attacks against Israeli targets. Observer missions estimate that 52 Palestinians were killed during the two weeks of attacks, as well as millions in structural damage to homes and shops as Israeli troops blasted through thin concrete or cinderblock walls in the pursuit of wanted Palestinians. more.. e-mail
Lebanon to complain to UN about ’Israeli threats’ to destroy villages
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 10/11/2008
Lebanon’s government said on Friday it planned to complain to the United Nations about Israeli threats to destroy Lebanese villages if they are used to fire missiles on Israel. Speaking after a late Friday Cabinet meeting, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said the recent Israeli threats should be taken seriously. He said Prime Minister Fuad Saniora will write to the United Nations on the subject. [end]
Israel bars Hamas delegates in W. Bank from going to Cairo
Palestinian Information Center 10/8/2008
CAIRO, (PIC)-- MP Khaled Tafesh, a member of the Hamas parliamentary bloc, reported Tuesday that the IOA prevented the Hamas delegation in the West Bank from traveling to Cairo to participate in the talks with Egyptian leadership which are aimed to end the inter-Palestinian discord. "We went in the early morning hours towards the Karama crossing on the Jordanian borders, but the IOA detained us for four continuous hours and then one of the soldiers came holding a decision banning us from travel permanently," MP Tafesh explained. The lawmaker underlined that Egypt handed a list of the West Bank delegation members to the Israeli side days ago to facilitate their travel through the crossing. The lawmaker said that Israel through this ban decision proved its attempt to keep the state of division in the Palestinian arena because it is the sole beneficiary of all that. more.. e-mail
Hamas, Fateh, and Egypt likely to hold a meeting before the end of October
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/8/2008
Initial reports from Egypt revealed that a trilateral meeting between the rival Hamas and Fateh movements along with Egyptian officials will most likely to take place before the end of this month. An Egyptian source that Hamas and Egyptian officials held a meeting on Wednesday, and that the meeting was described as positives. The source added that Egypt agreed with Fateh and Hamas on holding a trilateral meeting which will most likely take place on October 25. Furthermore, a Palestinian source told the Palestine News that Wednesday’s talks which included the Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman, and Hamas’ Political Bureau deputy chief, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouq, were very positive and could indicate an anticipated end to the Hamas-Fateh rift. The source added that based on the results of these talks, the Egyptian leadership decided to hold a trilateral meeting with Fateh and Hamas on October 25. more.. e-mail
IDF finalizes new PA troop deployment in Hebron
Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
Brig. -Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the head of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, will meet next week with his Palestinian counterpart to discuss a request to move up the planned deployment of a company of PA soldiers in Hebron. The move, first reported in The Jerusalem Post three weeks ago, has drawn the ire of settlers from Gush Etzion and the South Hebron Hills, who held an emergency meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the "irresponsible and dangerous" move. South Hebron Hills Regional Council head Tzvika Bar-Hai told the Post that Palestinians from Hebron had long been involved in terrorist attacks throughout Israel and that this new plan would only further endanger Israeli lives. "The writing is on the wall," he said. On Tuesday morning, Bar-Hai hastily called a meeting of local leaders, activists and rabbis in his office so that they could organize to combat the plan. more.. e-mail
Khudari deplores Israel for barring doctors from entering Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 10/8/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee against the siege, strongly denounced Wednesday the IOA for barring a medical delegation from the 1948 occupied lands from entering the Gaza Strip, saying that Israel wants to prevent any efforts to help the Gaza people. In a press release received by the PIC, MP Khudari stated that the delegation is from the organization of physicians for human rights and was intending to perform surgeries and provide medical consultations for patients. The lawmaker pointed out to the deterioration of the health situation and the deaths of about 250 patients as a result of the Israeli siege on the Strip, the latest victims were two young men in the prime of life who died during the past two days. Nine doctors were expected to arrive in Gaza on Wednesday to perform surgeries for about 380 patients, but the IOA prevented them from entering through the Beit Hanoun crossing, north of Gaza. more.. e-mail
’Israel has Agreed to Allow PA Troops into Hebron’
Ali Waked, MIFTAH 10/8/2008
Israel is backing a bid by the Palestinian Authority to reassert control over Hebron, a senior Palestinian defense official told Ynet on Monday evening. According to the official Israel has authorized the request made by the PA to deploy security forces in the West Bank city as part of the effort to push back Hamas, which is poised to seize control there. At present time Israel has yet to confirm such an agreement. According to the source the deployment will be carried out as soon as next week, around October 15th. The Palestinian force will be comprised of more than 1,000 armed men. Israel has so far authorized the deployment of 250 members of the Presidential Guard and an identical number of police officers. The PA is hoping to add another 500 troops from the national force. The unique force will be tasked with battling Hamas’ extensive political efforts, which have been picking up more.. e-mail
Palestinians in Europe conference to be held in Italy next year
Palestinian Information Center 10/8/2008
MILAN, (PIC)-- The secretariat of the Palestinians in Europe conference announced that the seventh annual conference will be held in Italy in the spring of next year. This announcement was made during an event organized in Milan city by the Palestinian assembly in Italy and focused on the ways to improve the Palestinian activities in the Italian arena and the preparations for the next conference. The event was attended by prominent pro-Palestine European figures, representatives of organizations and unions, and Palestinian and Arab notables. Adel Abdullah, the secretary-general of the Palestinians in Europe conference, underlined that the next conference will be more important than the previous ones because Italy has a balanced and fair role in dealing with the Palestinian cause. more.. e-mail
Moscow makes no promises on arms sales to Syria, Iran
Yossi Melman, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
MOSCOW-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday he received assurances that Russia would not allow Israel’s security to be threatened, but offered no indication he won the concrete promises he sought on Russian arms sales or sanctions on Iran. After meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Olmert also said Israel was not prepared to tolerate a situation in which Iran possesses nuclear weapons, but will not take the lead in preventing it from gaining nuclear capability. Olmert did not receive a clear commitment that Russia would refrain from supplying Syria with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles or sell advanced weapons to Iran. However, he said he succeeded in getting Medvedev to understand his fears that Russian-made missiles and other technology could fall into the hands of anti-Israeli militants in the region. more.. e-mail
Russian PM cancels meeting with Olmert; Putin refuses to 'even see him'
Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli sources described outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s visit to Russia yesterday as a failure. Though Olmert met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin refused to even meet with the Israeli leader, sources said. The leaders discussed the Iranian nuclear program and Russian arms transfers to states and groups that are hostile to Israel. But the Israeli prime minister failed to attain a firm pledge from Russia that it would halt weapons sales to Iran and Syria. Such an agreement was the Israeli leaders main aim for the trip and the subsequent talks, Israeli press reported. [end]
Fatah applauds French envoy’s visit to Nablus
Ma’an News Agency 10/8/2008
Nablus Maan The Fatah movement on Wednesday applauded French Consul General in Jerusalem, Alain Rémy for his visit to the West Bank city of Nablus, a city that has been devistated by a ring of Israeli checkpoints. Fatah described the visit as a first step towards renewing international interest in Nablus. The visit by the French consul general along with representatives of 27 European countries to Nablus to discuss European aid to the area and to promote the upcoming Palestine Investment Conference scheduled for November marks the beginning to restore the citys status. The visit will also provide aid to the city and help get rid of Israeli military checkpoints, the statement said. The statement added that there was no legal justification for the presence of those Israeli checkpoints, and so there should be international and regional efforts to remove the roadblocks. more.. e-mail
MSF on statement by French Foreign Minister
Médecins Sans Frontičres - MSF, ReliefWeb 10/8/2008
MSF wishes to emphasize that independence from all governments and interests (political, religious, economic and military) is central to its definition of humanitarian action. - During an October 5, 2008, press conference at the French consulate in Jerusalem, French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, made the following statement: "Officially, we have no contact with Hamas, but unofficially, international organizations working in the Gaza Strip - in particular, French NGOs - provide us information. " The French section of Médecins Sans Frontičres (MSF) is one of the NGOs working in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and, specifically, in the Gaza Strip. MSF has never transmitted political information - officially or unofficially - regarding Hamas or any other Palestinian political group to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. more.. e-mail
’Israel backs withdrawing from Ghajar’
Yaakov Katz And Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/8/2008
The commander of UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon has offered Israel and Lebanon a plan for IDF withdrawal from the border village of Ghajar, Israel Radio reported Wednesday morning. UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane said that both countries had been presented with the plan, and that both responded positively to it. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report, though last month officials said no decisions had been made regarding withdrawal from the village. On Monday, Israeli defense officials said Israel was in advanced talks with the UN on the plan, in which the IDF would be replaced by UNIFIL troops, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) would not be able to enter the village. Israel suspects LAF have been filled with Hizbullah supporters. Israel has occupied the northern section of the split town since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. more.. e-mail
Nasrallah: We have not abandoned plan to avenge Mughniyeh
Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 10/9/2008
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah reiterated his promise on Wednesday to avenge the assassination of his deputy Imad Mughniyeh, for which he blames Israel. Mughniyeh, the Hezbollah operations chief, was killed in a Damascus car bombing in February. Israel has denied involvement in the incident. The editor of the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar Ibrahim al-Amin quoted Nasrallah as saying "We have not abandoned our commitment to avenge the assassination, nor have we abandoned the big surprise that awaits our enemies. "According to the report, Nasrallah made the remarks during a Hezbollah leadership meeting several days ago. Nasrallah’s remarks echoed the Lebanese militia’s threat, published by al-Amin on Monday, that a "big surprise" awaits Israel should it decide to engage in another conflict with the group. more.. e-mail
Report: Hezbollah says Ron Arad died in 1988
Reuters, Ha’aretz 10/9/2008
An Israel Air Force airman captured in Lebanon in 1986 escaped two years later but probably died while trying to reach Israel on foot, the Hezbollah guerrilla group said in a report published by Maariv, an Israeli daily, on Wednesday. Hezbollah gave Israel the secret reporton Ron Arad’s fate as part of a UN-mediated prisoner swap in July. That deal went ahead though Israel, which officially assumes Arad to be alive, dismissed the Hezbollah report as "absolutely unsatisfactory". Arad was seized by Shi’ite militiamen after bailing out of his crippled warplane over Lebanon. Maariv quoted the Hezbollah report as saying that Arad was first held in Beirut and then moved to the eastern village of Nabi Cheit. "The Israeli pilot escaped from his holding cell on the night between May 4-5, 1988 and headed south, toward what. . . more.. e-mail
Obama threatens dire consequences if Iran doesn’t change its ways
Haaretz Service and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 10/9/2008
U. S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told an audience at the second U. S. presidential debate on Tuesday that he would deliver a tough and direct message to Iran that if they did not change their behavior there would be dire consequences. Obama’s opponent, Republican John McCain, reiterated that he would never allow a second Holocaust to take place, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats to "wipe Israel off the map. "The Republican candidate also repeated his criticism of Obama’s willingness to hold direct negotiations with the Islamic republic, without preconditions. The debate, which was town-hall style, included questions from an audience of 80 selected voters, identified as undecided. The candidates were also asked questions sent via the Internet, and selected by moderator Tom Brokaw, during. . . more.. e-mail
McCain, Obama would toughen sanctions on Iran
News agencies, YNetNews 10/8/2008
US Democrat, Republican presidential candidates clash repeatedly over causes, cures for worst economic crisis in 80 years, Iraq war in their critical second debate, but both agree Tehran should not be allowed to build atomic bomb - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain clashed repeatedly over the causes and cures for the worst economic crisis in 80 years and the Iraq war Tuesday night in their critical second presidential debate. Both candidates shied away from the rancor and character attacks of the days leading up to the face-off. They both said they would work if elected to toughen sanctions on [end]
BoI suddenly slashes interest rate as recession looms large
Tal Levy, Yuval Maoz and Moti Bassok, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
The Bank of Israel yesterday utterly shocked the markets with a half-percent interest rate cut, 20 days ahead of the scheduled monthly monetary announcement. Impelled to swift action by the escalating global panic, which has affected the relatively resilient Israeli marketplace too, Governor Stanley Fischer cut lending rates by 0. 5% to 3. 75%, effective October 12. The surprise move spurred a rally on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where the Real Estate-15 index soared by nearly 20%. (See Page 11. ) A central bank spokesman said that the move was designed to address the spiraling uncertainty in global financial markets. Analysts had been wondering whether the central bank would lower lending rates for November: Inflation remains high, they pointed out. The Bank of Israel’s sole mandate is to keep prices steady. But under the circumstances, say bank sources, supporting growth and stability. . . more.. e-mail
Holland says Israeli Minister Ami Ayalon persona non grata
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Bethlehem Maan Israeli Minister Ami Ayalon has been declared a persona non grata in the Netherlands, after having a case filed against him in the Dutch courts accusing him of torturing Palestinian Khalid Al-Shami during his time as head of Israels Shin Bet. It was revealed on Tuesday that secret negotiations had taken place during Ayalons visit to the Netherlands in May 2008. Just prior to his arrival in the country, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) alongside the Amsterdam law office of Böhler Franken Koppe Wijngaarden approached the courts asking for an arrest warrant for Ayalon. According to PCHR Director Raji Sourani the evidence presented to the Dutch attorney-general was sound and satisfied all legal requirements. The group initially received a positive response from Dutch court officials but no arrest warrant was ever issued. more.. e-mail
Agha: The IOA executes 'agricultural holocaust' against olive trees
Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian agriculture minister Dr. Mohammed Ramadan Al-Agha has accused Tuesday the Israeli occupation authorities of carrying out an agricultural holocaust in Palestine with the aim to destroy the olive season for this year. He cited the persistent aggressions of the Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers against the Palestinian farmers, especially in the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley and the occupied city of Jerusalem among other cities. In a press conference he held in Gaza on the matter, Agha accused the Israeli occupation soldiers of assisting the settlers in blocking Palestinian farmers and denying them access to cultivate their farms. He said that such Israeli practices would inflict big losses on olive producers this year that will also add to the losses inflicted on the farmers as a result of burning the olive trees and confiscating their lands at the hands of the IOF troops and the armed Israeli settlers. more.. e-mail
’NGOs exploit int’l law to bash Israel’
Shelly Paz, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
Non-governmental organizations exploit the international justice system to further their campaign against Israel and officials who operate on the state’s behalf, a new study claims. NGO Monitor, an Israeli organization established to promote accountability and to advance discussion on NGOs’ human rights reports and activities in the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict, held a press conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday to present their third study, "Lawfare. " The Lawfare research examines at least 10 cases of lawsuits against Israeli officials filed at international courts between 2001 and 2008 - nine of which, the research reveals, were dismissed by the international court judges. The 10th case, filed at the International Court of Law in Spain by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) against National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, is still pending. more.. e-mail
500 Palestinian police officers to deploy in Hebron next week
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Hebron Maan Israel has reportedly granted the Palestinian Authority (PA) permission to deploy 500 new police officers in Hebron, an Israeli newspaper published on Tuesday. Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published an interview with a Palestinian official who said the deployment would begin next week. The new arrivals will be half police and half presidential guard officers, he said. Hebron Governor Hussein Al-Araj said that the city needs more than that number because it is so densely populated. We are trying to impose security and order, he said. Hebron has experienced a number of security operations as the result of operations seizing fugitives and escapees over the past few months. The security chaos in Hebron has been accompanied by increasing levels of violence between clashing families. more.. e-mail
Settlers to Barak: Don’t give PA security control of Hebron
Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
Settler leaders on Tuesday urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to transfer the security control of the West Bank town of Hebron to the Palestinian Authority. The leaders, from Hebron and the nearby settlements of Kiryat Arba and Gush Etzion, made this plea in a letter they sent in the wake of recent reports about the potential transfer of security control over the town. In the letter, rabbis expressed shock and outrage about the proposal, which they say would transfer control to what they call "the Fatah and Tanzim terrorists known as the Palestinian Authority. "They added, "Similar steps in the past have always lead to terrible bloodshed. "The letter detailed a number of terror attacks in which Jews were murdered by Palestinians in the area, including the killing of 10-month-old Shalhevet Pas and 12 Israel Defense Forces Soldiers. more.. e-mail
Mayor, attorney general brief Tony Blair on Jenin progress
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Jenin Maan Middle East Quartet Envoy Tony Blair expressed interest in improving the security situation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin during a visit and press conference there on Tuesday. Blair said he hoped the city would one day be a model for development, as well as political and economic stability. Speaking at the citys municipal building, Blair was joined by Jenin Governor Qaddura Mousa and Palestinian Minister of Justice Ali Khashan, who was accompanied by Ahmad Al-Mughanni, the Palestinian Authority (PA)s attorney general who chairs the Ali Muhanna lawyers union. Blair reportedly visited Jenin in order to check up on a number of donor projects underway in the city, as well as to discuss legal and judicial issues with leaders there. The former British prime minister said he had noticed a great change over the past three months, which he. . . more.. e-mail
EU envoy: PM’s remarks on pullback to be point of reference
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s comments about Israel needing to make a nearly complete withdrawal to the pre-1967-lines will certainly be a reference point in the future, although Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have insisted they are not binding, EU envoy Marc Otte told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. Otte’s comments came after a press briefing in which he termed Olmert’s comments, made in a pre-Rosh Hashana interview, "courageous," and said he was not surprised by them. "Everyone who has been engaged in the negotiations is bound to come to that sort of conclusion," Otte said, adding that - as Olmert did in the interview - it is not easy for anyone to say that the positions he held before were wrong. "I am encouraged that the Israeli leadership is willing to face the challenges," Otte said. more.. e-mail
Blair hails policing progress in Jenin
Donald Macintyre in Jenin, The Independent 10/8/2008
Unlike some of her classmates Asil Zakarna was precise about the name, if not the job, of the important visitor whose hand she shook after he arrived in the middle of the fifth grade Arabic lesson at Khaula Bint Al Azwar school yesterday. "He is Tony Blair", the 10-year-old said. "My teacher told me. I think he is the security commander. "Asil’s description was understandable, given the extent to which security is a preoccupation in this northern West Bank city. For Jenin, scene in 2002 of one of the bloodiest Israeli incursions launched against armed militants during the intifada, is now gaining a reputation as a model of improved performance by the Palestinian Authority’s partly Western-trained police and security forces. Mr Blair, the international community’s Middle East envoy, was visiting Asil’s school because it is in the process of being upgraded by international donors through. . . more.. e-mail
EU reps meet in Nablus to discuss November investment conference
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Nablus Maan Representatives from 27 European countries convened on Tuesday at An-Najah National University in the northern West Bank city of Nablus to discuss their countries roles in promoting the upcoming Palestine Investment Conference scheduled for November. French Consul General Alain Rémy said in a press conference following the discussions that the meeting, which included representatives from Jerusalem and Ramallah, was the first of its kind. The governor of Nablus Jamal Muheisin attended the meeting as well as president of An-Najah University Rami Hamdallah and Dr Samir Hleila, who will coordinate the investment conference. Consul General Rémy said that France, which is currently the rotating president of the European Union (EU) and a major donor to the Palestinian Authority (PA), would continue to fund projects in Nablus and other areas in Palestine. more.. e-mail
Qurei: no peace deal without Jerusalem; Israeli policies undermine two-state solution
Ma’an News Agency 10/7/2008
Ramallah Maan Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Qurei reiterated on Tuesday that the Palestinian leadership will not under any conditions sign a peace agreement with Israel that does not settle the question of Jerusalem. Qurei said in a statement sent to Maan, The negotiations are hard and tiring and they look at substantive issues such as refugees, borders and Jerusalem, which we refuse to divide or fragment. Two state model threatened’The head negotiator said that while the negotiations are going on, Israels policies are undermining the possibility of a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that Israels strategy of isolating Jerusalem from the larger West bank, constructing the separation wall, and building settlements all threaten the idea of a Palestinian state. more.. e-mail
Israel, Russia to upgrade strategic ties
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
Israel and Russia will upgrade their strategic dialogue and use that forum to share intelligence assessments and discuss Russian arms sales to the region, a senior source in the Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday, following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. Olmert raised the issue of arms sales, including the proposed sale of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and Iran, with the Russian president, the source said, adding that the Israeli team left the meeting feeling that "[the Russians] understand more clearly now our concerns. " The source would not say, however, whether Moscow committed not to sell the weapons system, which could severely curtail the IAF’s freedom in the skies. more.. e-mail
Medvedev to visit Israel
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Russian president accepts PM Olmert’s invitation to visit Jerusalem, says ’Russian influence in regional issues very important to Israel’ - MOSCOW - During a meeting with outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted an invitation to visit Jerusalem and said his country would "continue to play an important role in the (Middle East). " Olmert responded that "Russia is a world power and, as such, its influence in regional issues is very important - also toIsrael. The two leaders were also expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear program and the transfer of Russian arms to Syria, Iran and terror groups such as Hizbullah. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also participated in the meeting. Medvedev told Olmert that the relations between the two countries were "very important,". . . more.. e-mail
Olmert wins no firm pledge from Russia on arms sales to Iran, Syria
Yossi Melman and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apparently failed on Tuesday to win a firm pledge that Moscow would halt the sale of advanced weapons to Iran and Syria. Wrapping up a two-day visit, Olmert said only that he had succeeded in getting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to understand his fears that Russian-made missiles and other technology could fall into the hands of anti-Israel militants in the Middle East. "My feeling is the Russian government understands well the Israeli position and is aware the possible influence such supplying could have on stability in the region," Olmert told reporters traveling with him. But he gave no direct response to the question of whether Russia had agreed not to sell the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Tehran, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence, saying: "We discussed issues of weapons sales and the possibility of weapons sales. more.. e-mail
Olmert, Medvedev discuss weapon sales
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Prime minister concludes visit to Russia, says sides will set up forum to ’upgrade strategic dialogue’ on potential Russian arms sales to Iran, Syria; adds ’Medvedev opposes nuclear Iran, expressed sharp criticism of Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric toward Israel’ -In his final days in office, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been seeking to improve ties with Moscow, and emerged from his visit to the Russian capital with an aura of satisfaction. He concluded the official visit after a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Olmert said the sides had agreed to set up a forum that would "upgrade their strategic dialogue," and that the discussions would touch on Israel’s concerns about potential Russian arms sales to Israel’s enemies in Iran and Syria. Olmert’s Visit to MoscowMedvedev to visit Israel / Russian president accepts PM Olmert’s invitation to. . . more.. e-mail
Israel’s Olmert in Russia for talks
Middle East Online 10/7/2008
MOSCOW - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in Moscow on Tuesday for talks expected to touch on the Middle East peace process, the Iran nuclear crisis and possible Russian weapons sales to Syria. Olmert, who stepped down on September 21 but remains at the helm of a transitional government, was due to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at 1000 GMT, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin said talks would focus on bilateral trade and the Middle East peace process. Media reports suggested talks would also center on Iran and Syria. Both Israel -- the only nuclear armed state in the Middle East -- and its staunch ally the United States accuse Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons, charges Tehran denies. Israeli officials have also expressed concern at reports that Russia was willing to sell weapons to Syria. more.. e-mail
Russia’s Jerusalem land claim worries Israelis
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Olmert’s cabinet agrees to hand over small tract known as Sergei’s Courtyard to Russian control. Legal Forum for the Land of Israel says deal ’breach of Israeli sovereignty’ and may set precedent for other land claims -The Russians are coming to downtown Jerusalem, reclaiming ownership of a landmark with the approval of the Israeli government, just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Moscow to try to iron out serious policy differences that have sprung up between the two countries. After years of contacts, Olmert’s cabinet agreed Sunday to hand over the small tract known as Sergei’s Courtyard. The area, which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, now houses offices of Israel’s Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The property includes a lush garden and the massive buildings around it - a. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli security sources: prisoner swap deal out of the question
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/7/2008
Israeli security sources warned Tuesday of the limited possibility of a prisoner swap deal in exchange for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gil’ad Shalit in Gaza. According to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, the sources said that time is running out, with little hope of achieving any progress regarding a potential swap deal and that this would hamper negotiations over the case. The sources confirmed that Hamas might increase demands in return for releasing Shailt which would explode the situation near the Gaza-Egypt border lines. The sources also believed that Egypt, a principal mediator, might reduce its influence and that a Shalit guardsman might harm Shalit, ending the case once and for all. Several rounds of Egyptian mediation efforts have so far failed to bring in any progress to a prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel. more.. e-mail
Barak at IDF memorial: We’ll do everything for Gilad
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Defense minister addresses bereaved families at evening honoring fallen paratroopers, speaks of painful absence of founder of Unit 101 - Ariel Sharon. ’We are committed to making sure the State of Israel is worthy of the sacrifice made by the fallen’ - Speaking at a memorial event honoring the fallen soldiers of the Paratrooper Corps on Tuesday evening, Defense Minister Ehud Barak paid tribute to one of the corps’ most influential commanders. " Again we find ourselves missing the man who founded the 101st and the 202nd Brigade - as it was then called, and for whom the spirit of the paratroopers was such an integral part of his path - former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. " Barak spoke of the moral decree inherited from the fallen soldiers. "We come back here again and again and again, out of a deep sense of wanting to return to the source of our values, to the foundations. . . more.. e-mail
Thousands rally in Rabin Square to ask Shalit for forgiveness
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 10/7/2008
The family of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will hold a rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Monday evening, to ask for his forgiveness ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Thousands of supporters gathered at the event, which began at 8 P. M. . Shalit was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in June, 2006. Shalit’s father, Noam, addressed the crowd, along with Shlomo Goldwasser, whose son Eldad was abducted and killed by Hezbollah in July2006, and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Mezger. A host of artists were also perform songs dedicated to Shalit. Rallies calling for Shalit’s release are held at Rabin Square on a near weekly basis ,to ensure that the issue remains on the public agenda. Meanwhile, the exiled leader of Hamas earlier Monday said talks with Israel over. . . more.. e-mail
Paris campaign calls for Shalit’s freedom
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 10/7/2008
French PR firm launches bid to rope public interest in fate of kidnapped soldier; 16th Arrondissement first to respond in campaign advocates hope will sweep Europe -A public relations firm in France has launched a new campaign promoting public interest in the case of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, with the hope of putting pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government to act on the issue. The campaign’s first step was to post a giant sign before the municipality building of Paris’ 16th Arrondissement. Giant poster unveiled in 16th Arrondissement (Photo: AP)The campaign was conceived two weeks ago, at which time Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, was visiting the French capital. The PR agency, Euro RSCG, applied to the heads of Paris’ various municipalities, and the first to respond was the 16th Arrondissement. more.. e-mail
Bid to halt Egypt-Israel gas deal
Al Jazeera 10/7/2008
A lawyer in Egypt has demanded that the government halt its gas exports to Israel, Al Jazeera reports. Ibrahim Yossri, 65, arrived at the court on Tuesday to call on the Egyptian government to stop exporting natural gas to its Middle East neighbour. Yossri, who used to work as director of international treaties in the Egyptian foreign ministry, said the deal was illegal and costing the Egyptian taxpayer $9 million a day. "There are visible signs of public discontent and dissatisfaction over their government’s relations with Israel," he said. A $2-3bn agreement to supply natural gas to Israel was signed by Binyamin Ben Eliezer, the Israeli infrastructure minister, and Sameh Fahmi, the Egyptian oil minister, in June 2005. more.. e-mail
Egypt to Host ME Summit in November
Mohammed Mari, MIFTAH 10/7/2008
Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East Quartet will meet in November to review progress in US-backed peace talks launched nearly a year ago, according to a senior Israeli official. The official told the Israeli daily Haaretz that the Israeli and Palestine Authority participants would brief the Quartet over progress made in the ongoing peace talks. The meeting would be held in Egypts Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Nov. 27, the one-year anniversary of the Annapolis conference that relaunched the negotiations. The Quartet representatives, including its Middle East envoy, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will participate as well as officials from Jordan and Egypt. The gathering is said to be the result of a compromise worked out between the US, Israel and the Palestinians. In recent months US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been urging both sides to draft a document detailing the points of agreement. more.. e-mail
Israeli security warning of tragic end for Shalit issue
Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- High-level security sources warned that the passage of time might threaten the chances of releasing Israeli captive soldier Gilad Shalit safely and make the situation more complicated. The Israeli Haaretz newspaper quoted these sources as saying that there is a series of developments which may hamper the negotiations in this regard and thus lead to a tragic end. The sources emphasized that several contingencies must be taken into account such as the rise of Palestinian demands in exchange for releasing Shalit or the explosion of the situation on Gaza borders. The Egyptian-sponsored talks between Hamas and Fatah which started today may include an Egyptian proposal on the Palestinian prisoner swap deal with Israel. more.. e-mail
PLC committee warns of Israeli escalations against Jerusalem and Aqsa
Palestinian Information Center 10/7/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The parliamentary committee of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque warned Monday of the continued Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem which escalated during last September, calling on Arab and Islamic countries to swiftly and effectively move to save the holy city and Mosque. MP Ahmed Abu Halabia, the head of the committee, told a press conference held in the Ramattan headquarters that the Israeli infringements varied between home demolition, assaults on Jerusalemite citizens and banning mosques in Jerusalem from calling for prayers. In light of this, MP Abu Halabia called on PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to stop all frivolous negotiations with the Israeli occupation and not to resume them under any justification. He also called on the Arab League and the organization of Islamic conference to activate their roles and assume their religious and historical responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its holy places. more.. e-mail
More US ears in Israel
Ardeshir Ommani, Asia Times 10/8/2008
At a cost of US$89 million to the American taxpayers, the US Senate, with no hesitation, passed a bill that was attached by Republican Senator Joe Kyle, to the federal defense budget to deploy another sophisticated long-range radar system to Israel. What was the rush that the US military amid the country’s financial and economic crisis had to speed up the deployment of a most powerful and therefore expensive system, called AN/TPY-2 forward-based X-band, a year earlier than it was scheduled previously? The X-band system, deployed to Israel on September 26, was originally scheduled for delivery in 2009 for joint training exercises, according to the US European Command mission (EUCOM). For reasons not explained by the US Senate Intelligence Committee, the ownership of Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance remains with Washington and will be installed and operated permanently by 120 US military personnel drawn from US units stationed in Germany and across the rest of Europe. more.. e-mail
Brown lauds Israel as ’symbol of hope’
Jonny Paul, Jpost Correspondent In London, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the tenacity and achievements of the Jewish people and said that Israel is "a symbol of hope from which all the world can learn. " Speaking on Monday night to the annual fundraising dinner of the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), the largest Jewish charity in Europe, he spoke about the role hope has played in Jewish history and the work done by the charity, not just for the Jewish community but for Britain as a whole. Paying tribute to everyone involved in the charity, he said how his wife Sarah was "moved and inspired" by the work of one of UJIA’s Israel experience programs which she visited in Jerusalem recently. He was impressed, he said, with the charity’s partnership with Israel but in particular with communities of the Galilee, "where you are not simply sending charity but investing fully in the sustainability of that region. more.. e-mail
Hamas blames Jews for global crisis
Haviv Rettig, Jerusalem Post 10/7/2008
A Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip stated on Tuesday that the banking crisis rocking US and world financial markets was caused by "bad administrative and financial management and a bad banking system put into place and controlled by the Jewish lobby," AFP reported. Fawzi Barhum, spokesman for the organization, blasted American leaders, and particularly President George W. Bush, for failing to acknowledge the role of "the Jewish lobby that put the US banking and financial sector into place. " The lobby "controls the US elections and defines the foreign policy of any new administration in a manner that allows it to retain control of the American government and economy. " The Jerusalem Post could not independently confirm the AFP report. more.. e-mail
Hamas blames US ’Jewish Lobby’ for financial crisis
AFP, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Islamist group spokesman Fawzi Barhum says crisis due to ’bad banking system put into place and controlled by Jewish lobby’ -The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip on Tuesday blamed what it called a "Jewish lobby" in the US for the global financial crisis. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement that the crisis was due to "bad administrative and financial management and a bad banking system put into place and controlled by the Jewish lobby. " While pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into a rescue package, US President George W. Bush has remained silent about "the Jewish lobby that put the US banking and financial sector into place," he said. He said the lobby "controls the US elections and defines the foreign policy of any new administration in a manner that allows it to retain control of the American government and economy. more.. e-mail
Hamas: ’Jewish Lobby’ in U.S. to blame for global financial crisis
News Agencies and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Tuesday accused a "Jewish Lobby" in the United States of fomenting the global financial crisis. The crisis was the result of "bad administrative and financial management and a bad banking system put into place and controlled by the Jewish lobby," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement. Barhum said that despite approving a bailout plan of $700 billion dollars, the U. S. government was ignoring the role of "the Jewish lobby that put the U. S. banking and financial sector into place. " This lobby, said Barhum, "controls the U. S. elections and defines the foreign policy of any new administration in a manner that allows it to retain control of the American government and economy. "The Anti-Defamation League reported last week a major upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic postings. . . more.. e-mail
OPT: USAID concludes $45 million water project to benefit 550,000 in Hebron area
United States Agency for International Development - USAID, ReliefWeb 10/7/2008
Bani Naim, West Bank –The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) held an inauguration ceremony on Tuesday for the Eastern Hebron Bulk Water Supply Project, which will significantly improve the quality and quantity of drinking water in the Southern West Bank. The Governor of Hebron Hussein Al Araj, the Chairman of Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad Attili and the Mayors of the benefiting communities attended the event, together with USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka, and a number of other American and Palestinian officials. During the event, USAID officially handed over the $45 million water project to the Palestinian Water Authority, which will oversee its operations. The project will increase the supply and distribution of potable water in the Hebron Governorate, benefiting 550,000 Palestinians, who have suffered from limited water resources. more.. e-mail
Al-Zahar to openly discuss issues during national unity talks
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/7/2008
Dr. Mahmoud aL-Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza, denied yesterday that his party would vote "No" during the upcoming national unity talks in Cairo, stating that the party will openly discuss all issues. Al-Zahar’s remarks came in response to media reports that revealed that the Islamist ruling party in Gaza had set forth four main conditions for an Egyptian-mediated dialogue. This include the following demands: that security services reconstruction should be comprehensive, that there shall be no technocrat government beyond the 2006’s elections results, that there shall be no end to the the parliament’s legal term and that Gaza should not be dealt with seperately from the West Bank. Al-Zahar added on his way to Cairo that the abovementioned criterions are merely his own assessment of one of the party’s leaders and that, "Rather, we are going to listen. more.. e-mail
Barak: Syrian border is calm
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Defense Minister travels to Golan on anniversary of Yom Kippur War, emphasizes that border is pastoral but it’s important to remain wary - Thirty-five years after the Yom Kippur War broke out "the border along the Golan Heights is the quietest in Israel," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday during a visit with a regional division. "The hemorrhage is along the border with Lebanon but it’s still important to be wary of what’s happening" along the border with Syria, he said. "Thirty-five years ago, upon these very hills, Avigdor Kahalani sat along with a tank unit. They fought one of the hardest, most demanding battles in the history of Israel and, due to their courage, saved the nation," he said. Barak, speaking to soldiers in the Golan Heights (Photo: Ariel Harmoni) "Now these hills are pastoral, but in the north you can never now how quickly things. . . more.. e-mail
Kuntar victim’s family outraged by his return to terror
Yael Levy, YNetNews 10/7/2008
Notorious terrorist released in exchange for soldiers’ bodies filmed training with rocket launcher, family of policeman he killed lament realization of their worst fears: ’We feel sorry for the next family’ - Eliyahu Shahar’s family were perturbed, but not in any way surprised by the images displayed to the world this week of Samir Kuntar engaging in weapons training. Shahar was killed by a terror cell led by Kuntar into the northern coastal town of Nahariya in 1979. It was during that raid that Kuntar also murdered Danny Haran and his four-year-old daughter Einat. An appeal filed by the Shahar family to prevent Kuntar’s release was rejected by the High Court of Justice. He was repatriated to Lebanon along with several other terrorists and the bodies of hundreds of Lebanese fighters in return for the remains of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Footage shows freed terrorist Kuntar training with Hezbollah
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 10/8/2008
Recent video footage from Lebanon shows freed terrorist Samir Kuntar engaging in Hezbollah weapons training this past week. Samir was part of a cell that killed four Israelis in a particularly gruesome attack after infiltrating northern Israeli in 1979. He was released in July in a prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah. The footage shows Kuntar attending a Hezbollah arms exhibition and training with members of the Lebanese guerilla group. [end]
Lebanon to sue Israel for marketing hummus as its own
Jenny Percival, The Guardian 10/7/2008
A new war has broken out between Lebanon and Israel - but this time it is over chickpeas and fava beans rather than guns and territory. A Lebanese official says Lebanon is preparing to file an international lawsuit against Israel for claiming ownership of traditional dishes it believes are originally Lebanese. The president of the Lebanese Industrialists’ Association, Fadi Abboud, accuses Israel of "stealing" Lebanon’s cuisine by marketing dishes such as hummus as its own. He says that while Lebanon is partly to blame because it has never registered its main food trademarks, Israel’s adoption of these dishes causes Lebanon to lose millions of dollars in trade. Reports in the Arabic media say Abboud is also concerned about Israel’s marketing of not just of hummus but falafel and tabbouleh. more.. e-mail
U.S. Jewish committee recruits former Israeli defense officials for pro-Obama ad
Natasha Mozgovaya, and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
A Jewish political action committee that supports Barack Obama’s bid for the American presidency has "recruited" former senior Israeli defense officials to the campaign by collating flattering statements about the Democratic senator from seven such officials into a new advertisement that will begin running on Monday. However, it seems that some participants - including former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy and Brigadier General (res. ) Uzi Dayan - were unaware they were aiding an Obama campaign ad. The ad was produced by the Jewish Council for Education and Research, which is already responsible for two other projects aimed at attracting Jewish voters to Obama, JewsVote. org and the Great Schlep. The new effort is meant to reassure Jews who fear that Obama’s conciliatory approach to diplomacy will result in his being soft on terrorists, and hence bad for Israel. more.. e-mail
British pressure secures safe passage through Israel for 21 Gazan students
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Jerusalem Maan The British consulate general in Jerusalem has made the necessary arrangements with Israeli authorities to guarantee the safe passage of 21 Gazan students to the UK, where they have been accepted to study. Several of the students were awarded prestigious scholarships to study at the British institutions, and are relieved to travel before the study term starts so they can ensure that the prizes are kept for them. Other students have been permitted to bring a family member along with them. The consulate explained that Israeli authorities prevented Gazans accepted at foreign universities from travelling to their institutions until 26 June, when theBritish, European Union and US authorities pressured Israel to allow at least those students with scholarships to leave the Strip. Israeli permission was necessary since they control more than 80% of the land crossings out of the area, and have prohibited sea travel. more.. e-mail
Rafah crossing open Sunday to allow Hajj pilgrims returning from Mecca
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Gaza Maan Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the the Gaza Strip on Sunday to allow the first group of Hajj pilgrims returning from Mecca to return home. A spokesperson of the de facto government Interior Ministry in Gaza, Eyhab Al-Ghussein, says the Egyptians have informed the Palestinian side that the crossing will be open today for pilgrims only. According to Al-Ghussein, 70 pilgrims will cross today, 140 on Tuesday and 100 will cross on Wednesday. Egyptian officials said nothing about opening the crossing in both directions to allow passage of students stuck in the Gaza Strip to leave to Egypt. The crossing was opened for one day during the third quarter of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and 1,200 Hajj pilgrims crossed en route to Saudi Arabia. Though it was supposed to remain open to allow students to cross into Egypt, Egyptian. . . more.. e-mail
Obama campaign vows not to cut aid to Israel
DPA, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
U. S. Senator Barack Obama has promised not to cut foreign aid to Israel if he is elected president in November, a spokeswoman for the Democratic candidate has said. The spokeswoman told Globes yesterday that Obama would honor existing agreements pertaining to foreign aid and as such was committed to "increasing aid to Israel to $30 billion over 10 years. "In the vice presidential debate last week, Obama’s running mate Senator Joe Biden said their administration would have to hold back on plans to double foreign aid in general in light of the financial crisis in the U. S. [end]
Obama good for Israel, say former Israeli generals
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Jewish Council for Education and Research features former defense establishment officials in endorsement video of US Democratic presidential hopeful. Clip aimed at relieving concerns Jewish voters may have about candidateWASHINGTON Seven prominent figures of the Israeli defense establishment have voiced their support of US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. All seven have given short interviewes featured on an online endorsement video, in which they praise Obama’s Middle East policies. The video "stars" former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy, former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, past head of the National Security Council, General (Res. ) Uzi Dayan, Amram Mitzna former chief of the IDF Central Command, and Brig. -Gen. (Ret. ) Giora Inbar, who headed the IDF’s Lebanon Division. Also featured are past IDF Gaza Sector Commander Brig. -Gen. (Res. ) Shaul Arieli, Brig. -Gen. (Ret. ) Shlomo Brom of the Air Force Intelligence and former Mossad official Yossi Alpher. more.. e-mail
Obama aide: We’ll honor aid arrangement with Israel
Ran Dagoni, Washington, Globes Online 10/5/2008
"While the new financial constraints might mean it will take longer to achieve this goal, Barack Obama remains committed to implementing the memorandum of understanding, increasing aid to Israel. " Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will honor the US aid arrangement with Israel, and will not cut aid if he is elected president, states an official campaign statement sent to "Globes". The statement added that an Obama administration might slow down the rate of increase in the aid. The statement came in response to rumors in the US Jewish community that US military aid to Israel was at risk if Obama were elected. Unpinning the rumor was a report that Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden had in the past threatened to halt US aid to Israel because of the settlements. Fears were raised by recent statements by the Democratic candidates that implied that Obama saw foreign aid as a target for cutting in the financial crisis. more.. e-mail
Canada’s Liberals sack candidate over ’anti-Semitic’ remarks
Ohad Pas and agencies, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Party’s Winnipeg candidate Lesley Hughes asked to step down after old penned article containing anti-Semitic views resurfaces. Hughes defends piece, says she is ’a lifelong friend and supporter of the Jewish community’ - Canadian Liberal parliamentary candidate Lesley Hughes was asked to forfeit her place on the party’s election roster last week, after being accused of making anti-Semitic remarks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported. Hughes, who was a candidate for the party’s Winnipeg roster in the central Canadian province of Manitoba, was admonished by Liberal Leader StĂŠphane Dion for an article she wrote six years ago, in which she suggested that the Israeli intelligence services warned the US administration of the coming September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, and that Israeli businesses were told to vacate the towers before the attack. more.. e-mail
Livni tells France’s Kouchner: I oppose Olmert’s peace plan
Barak Ravid and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her French counterpart Bernard Kouchner that she opposes the agreement in principle that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "I do not believe in far-reaching proposals and an attempt to expedite matters, especially in light of the political situation," Livni, the prime minister-designate, told Kouchner on Sunday. In the morning, Kouchner met with Olmert, who said he was frustrated that Abbas had not accepted his proposal. "You’ve read what I said in the interview," Olmert told Kouchner, referring to his statements in Yedioth Ahronoth favoring concessions. "Still, the Palestinians do not want to sign. " Kouchner raised the matter later when he met with Livni and asked why she objects to Olmert’s proposal. more.. e-mail
Palestinian foreign minister: Israeli settlement expansion makes peace process impossible
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/5/2008
In a statement to the press on Sunday afternoon, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki stated that Israel has thus far failed to uphold its end of the agreements made in Annapolis in October 2007, and settlements on Palestinian land have expanded, thus rendering peace impossible. "In Annapolis it was promised that by 2008 we would have an independent state and that we would have a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," said al-Maliki at the press conference, adding, "There are three more months left until the end of the year, we’ll wait and see but for now all we can see is a flagrant violation of the Annapolis agreements, which we believed would end the suffering of both peoples. " Al-Maliki stated that the Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are the primary problems, as the prevention of settlement expansion was Israel’s first and only commitment to the Palestinians during the Annapolis talks. more.. e-mail
Palestinian FM: Settlements are ticking bombs
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Riyad al-Maliki accuses Israel of violating Annapolis commitments, warns failure to achieve genuine progress in peace talks strengthens Hamas’ position - Israel failed to uphold the commitments it made to the Palestinian Authority at the Annapolis peace summit in 2007, Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki charged on Sunday afternoon. Speaking at an Israeli conference held by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on policy and strategy, al-Maliki lamented the lack of progress"In Annapolis it was promised that by 2008 we would have an independent state and that we would have a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," he said. "We believed in what was promised; that this year would be different, but we are already in October, and we are losing hope that by the end of the year we will see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and the end of the occupation. more.. e-mail
Time running out for peace, says Livni
Associated Press in Jerusalem, The Guardian 10/6/2008
Israeli prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni yesterday warned that time is running out for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, with extremists gaining strength as negotiations stumble. In her first foreign policy speech since her appointment to form a new Israeli government, Livni said Israel must press ahead with peace talks because "doing nothing has its own price". Israel and the Palestinians resumed talks last November at a conference hosted by President Bush. They set a target date of January 2009, when Bush leaves office, for completing a peace deal, but apparent little progress has been made, and both sides cast severe doubt about meeting the target. Livni, who heads the Israeli negotiating team, warned there are dangers in letting the process drag on indefinitely. more.. e-mail
Livni: We dream of peace but our feet are rooted in reality
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in her first foreign policy address since winning the Kadima primary last month, took veiled issue on Sunday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Rosh Hashana interview calling on Israel to cede nearly all of the territories won in the Six Day War. "We have passed the stage where we have to prove that Israel wants peace with everyone," Livni said at the Foreign Ministry’s Conference for Policy and Strategy. "Israel wants to reach peace with all its neighbors, including Syria. Lebanon and the Palestinians. " She said Israel had proven this through entering numerous peace negotiations, and by leaving the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, in an apparent criticism of Olmert, she said the issue was not only for Israel to talk about what concessions would need to be made, "but we have an additional responsibility, to run this process correctly. more.. e-mail
Kouchner: Livni to lead peace process
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Visiting French FM tells Foreign Ministry conference he’s certain Kadima chairwoman will succeed in forming new coalition. Adds: France determined to fight rising anti-Semitism -"I believe in Tzipi Livni, trust her and am certain she will succeed in forming a new government," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said of his Israeli counterpart on Sunday. Livni was recently elected new chairwoman of the ruling Kadima party in place of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and was subsequently tasked by President Shimon Peres to form a new coalition. Speaking at the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s conference on policy and strategy, the French FM went on to say that "It is not simple to work with your minister; it is even rather difficult. (Livni) is courageous and talented, and it is her beliefs that will determine the course of the peace negotiations. more.. e-mail
MP Mansour: The world should act for the release of kidnapped lawmakers
Palestinian Information Center 10/5/2008
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Palestinian lawmaker MP Muna Mansour of the Hamas bloc in the PLC has urged Saturday the international community as well as legal and human rights institutions to work for the immediate release of kidnapped Palestinian legislators in Israeli jails. Mansour was addressing relatives and families of the kidnapped Palestinian parliamentarians during a rally organized by Hamas lawmakers Mariam Saleh, Ayman Daraghma, Abdul Jaber Foqaha, in addition to Mansour to honor those families. She also condemned the humiliating treatment of the duly and democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people, explaining that the court and the Israeli prosecution only ask for adjourning the hearing for long periods with the aim to retain those lawmakers in jail as long as they could. "This is an Israeli political maneuver with the aim to cover up its failure in dealing. . . more.. e-mail
Barak: Russia destabilizing Middle East
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 10/5/2008
Defense minister calls on Moscow to cease controversial weapon sales, play positive role in regional peace process. In meeting with French foreign minister, Barak urges Kouchner to use Paris’ influence to stop Hizbullah’s armament -Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Russia to "play a positive role in the Middle East peace process, instead of providing weapons system which could destabilize the area. " Sunday’s controversial statement was made a mere 24 hours before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was scheduled to leave for an official visit to Russia. Barak began his work week by meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Jerusalem. The two had a short private session, after which they were joined by Labor Knesset Members Colette Avital and Avishay Braverman. more.. e-mail
Blair to visit Jenin and Tubas Tuesday
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Jenin Maan Envoy for the Middle East Quartet Tony Blair is scheduled tovisit Jenin and Tubas on Tuesday, where he will meet local governors and launch a water supply project between the villages of Meithalun and the Qabatiya. Blair will meet Jenin Governor Qaddura Musa, the Palestinian Minister of Justice and local judges for updates on projects initiated under funding raised during the Paris conference initiated by the Quartet. [end]
Israeli analysis: Israel plans to use massive force against Lebanon
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 10/5/2008
According to statements by Israeli military analysts, another attack on Lebanon by Israel would look much like the last one: massive civilian casualties, environmental ecocide and millions of cluster bomblets left unexploded throughout the country. Israel was widely criticized for its 2006 invasion of Lebanon in which an estimated 1,000 of the 1,200 Lebanese casualties were civilians. Israel suffered around 130 casualties, about half of which were civilians. However, Israel’s main ally, the United States, did not criticize Israel’s violations of international human rights conventions and instead rewarded the Israeli army with a gift of thousands of additional of cluster bombs after Israel began to run out after several weeks of non-stop bombardment of Lebanon. Israeli Northern Command General Gadi Eisenkot in an interview Friday with the Israeli daily ’Yedioth Ahranoth’, laid out. . . more.. e-mail
’Israeli threats don’t scare Hizbullah’
Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
The war of words between Israel and Hizbullah continued on Sunday, with a top official in the guerrilla group brushing off "threats" made by IDF Maj. -Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, in which the latter said that the next war would have serious consequences for the villages which support Hizbullah. "The resistance is completely ready and Israel’s threats do not scare [us]," Sheikh Nabil Kaouk said during a rally in southern Lebanon. His comments were published by United Arab Emirates newspaper Al-Hilaj on Sunday. "This paper tiger state will collapse at the hands of resistance fighters, which achieved a glowing victory in 2000 and 2006 against this thieving entity which has taken Palestinian land," Kaouk continued. "The liberation strategy of the resistance has proven its effectiveness, and has demonstrated its success on the highest levels," he said. more.. e-mail
Al Tirawi looking to Syria to help with internal schism
PNN, Palestine News Network 10/5/2008
Nablus -- Palestinian lawmaker and Fateh member from the northern West Bank’s Nablus, Jamal Al Tirawi is asking that the Syrian president play a positive role in the internal dialogue. A former leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades, Al Tirawi said today that Syria and President Bashar Al Assad have an historic role in the Palestinian cause and other Arab issues, adding that the country is in a position to "resolve the dispute and end the Palestinian crisis. "President Mahmoud Abbas will be meeting with his Syrian counterpart on 14 October to discuss progress in overcoming the internal schism and the Palestinian -- Israeli negotiations. Al Tirawi also said that the Palestinian issue on the international scene is "at a critical juncture" because of the internal crisis deeming that the most pressing issue. more.. e-mail
Meshaal calls for thaw in Saudi-Syrian ties
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/6/2008
RIYADH: Exiled Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal has called for a thaw in ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria during a recent visit to Gulf kingdom, an Arab diplomat said on Sunday. "During meetings with Saudi officials, Meshaal raised the issue of Saudi-Syrian relations, which have long been tense, and stressed the importance of improving those ties," the diplomat told AFP, requesting anonymity. Relations between Riyadh and Damascus have been tense since the February 2005 assassination of Lebanese former Premier Rafik Hariri, a close Saudi ally, in a bombing widely blamed on Syria. Meshaal, who lives in exile in Syria, visited the Saudi holy city of Mecca in September to perform the umrah, or lesser pilgrimage, and to meet with Saudi officials. Fresh tensions between Syria and Saudi Arabia surfaced after a deadly car bombing in Damascus last month that killed 17 people, with Syrian official. . . more.. e-mail
Egypt’s plan: factions to meet in November; create back-up government if talks fail
Ma’an News Agency 10/5/2008
Gaza Maan Palestinian factions are moving towards the establishment of a national agreement to be placed up for discussion in November when all parties meet in Cairo to discuss the initiative. According to Walid Al-Awad member of political office of Palestinian Peoples Party (PPP) and member of the PPP delegation in Cairo, says Egypt has a detailed plan to ensure the success of the discussions next month. Egyptian officials will execute the following plan in the lead up to the full-scale dialogue, known as Phase One. 1. Assure the level of seriousness and commitment to a comprehensive national dialogue of all parties participating in the discussion. 2. Work to form a Palestinian government that would take power the day after any premature break in the agreements to ensure safety and continuity3. more.. e-mail
PA forces thwart recent suicide bombing bid by Hebron terrorists
Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
Palestinian security forces have thwarted an attempted suicide bombing within the Green Line, Palestinian sources told Haaretz recently. The security service in the West Bank arrested two senior wanted members of Hamas’ military wing in Hebron, who were found in possession of weapons and an explosives belt, the sources said. The suspects, who were arrested three weeks ago, were also in possession of a great deal of cash, which they were thought to be planning to use in carrying out the attack. One of the suspects is Wail al-Bitar, one of the heads of Iz al-Din al-Qassam in the area. Neither of the Hamas operatives resisted arrest. Both are said to be part of a Hamas network that planned and carried out a suicide bombing in Dimona in February that killed an Israeli woman and seriously wounded her husband. more.. e-mail
Foreign Min., PR firm rebrand Israel as land of achievements
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
By the end of this year, Israel will have a new international image, if the Foreign Ministry’s rebranding project is successful. The British firm Acanchi, which the ministry hired to craft the new image, is now in the final stages of preparing to launch the new brand. Fiona Gilmore, Acanchi’s founder and a leading expert in rebranding countries and cities, toured the country last week and met with a wide range of Israelis - public figures, businessmen, academics and activists in various causes. Her mission is to create a brand disconnected from the Arab-Israeli conflict that focuses instead on Israel’s scientific and cultural achievements. The contract with Acanchi, which has helped to rebrand locales ranging from Lebanon to Northern Ireland, was signed about six weeks ago. The rebranding idea was first proposed by the Israeli consulate in New York following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks there. more.. e-mail
Iran cannot rely on Western nuclear fuel - Mottaki
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/6/2008
TEHRAN: Iran will continue with uranium enrichment, the focus of international fears about its nuclear program, even if the country is promised supplies of nuclear reactor fuel, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday. Iran’s "unchangeable policy is to be self-sufficient in fuel production for [nuclear] plants," Mottaki told reporters. "We are determined to continue peaceful nuclear work until reaching full self-sufficiency. " The minister was asked whether the Islamic Republic would suspend uranium enrichment if it received international guarantees of a fuel supply. Mottaki said Iran cannot rely on assurances by world powers and most notably the United States, which have not delivered on their nuclear contracts with Iran made before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has been slapped with three sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment,. . . more.. e-mail
Kouchner sends garbled signal on Iran-Israel tensions
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/6/2008
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned in comments published on Sunday that Israel would strikeIran before it had the potential to develop nuclear weapons. "I honestly don’t believe [a nuclear weapon] will give any immunity to Iran," Kouchner said in an interview with Israel’s mass-selling Haaretz newspaper during a two-day visit to the region. "First, because you will hit them before. And this is the danger. Israel has always said it will not wait for the bomb to be ready. I think that [the Iranians] know. Everyone knows. " The newspaper’s print edition quoted Kouchner as saying that Israel would "eat" Iran, but in a written statement the foreign minister said he had used the word "hit," and that he regretted any "phonetic confusion. ""During the interview in English with journalists from Haaretz, [I] used the word ’hit’ and not ’eat’ about a possible. . . more.. e-mail
Iran: We won’t halt enrichment even if nuclear fuel supply guaranteed
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
Iran’s official news agency says Tehran will not give up uranium enrichment even if the West guarantees a supply of nuclear fuel to the country. Sunday’s IRNA report quotes Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying Iran could not trust Western countries, especially the U. S. , to provide nuclear support because they had backtracked on cooperation in the past. Mottaki said Iran would continue to enrich uranium and would provide it to other countries under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The UN Security Council has passed sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. The U. S. and many of its allies fear Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies. Iran last week said they would consider stopping sensitive uranium enrichment if guaranteed a supply of nuclear fuel from abroad. more.. e-mail
NGO appeals decision to hand over J’lem compound to Russia
Barak Ravid , and Haaretz Sevice, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday over the government’s decision to hand over ownership of the Sergei Courtyard site in Jerusalem to the Russian government. The non-profit organization claims that by deciding to transfer the site to the Russian government the Olmert administration overstepped its boundaries as an interim government. The decision to hand over the Sergei Courtyard, which Russia claims was expropriated by Israel without compensation, was meant as a good-will gesture to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the eve of outgoing prime minister Ehud Olemrt’s trip to Moscow. The courtyard, located on Heleni Hamalka Street, is named after Sergei Alexandrovich, the heir apparent of Czar Nicholas II, who was executed by the Bolshevik revolutionaries. more.. e-mail
Cabinet transfers Sergei building to Russian ownership
Barak Ravid and Yair Ettinger, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
The cabinet today voted to transfer the Sergei building in Jerusalem’s Russian Compound to the ownership of the Russian government, following negotiations that have been underway since the beginning of the 1990s. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will inform Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of the decision when he arrives in Moscow today. A number of groups have protested the move, including the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which petitioned the High Court of Justice yesterday against it. The building, on the corner of Queen Helene and Monbaz streets in downtown Jerusalem, has for many years housed offices of the Agriculture Ministry, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The agreement between Israel and Russia stipulates that these organizations will continue to occupy the premises. more.. e-mail
Cabinet gives Russia Sergei’s Courtyard
Herb Keinon, Dan Izenberg, and Ehud Zion Waldoks, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
The cabinet on Sunday gave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a gift to take to the Kremlin when he visits Russia Monday: transfer of ownership of Sergei’s Courtyard in downtown Jerusalem to the Russian government. The cabinet stipulated, however, that rights to use of the property by the Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) must not be harmed, except by agreement between the two governments. The decision ends years of negotiations over the matter between Moscow and Jerusalem. The site was built in 1890 to accommodate Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and was named after Tsar Alexander II’s son, Sergei Alexandrovich. RELATEDMinisters okay Moscow’s property claimAnalysis: What’s killing the Russians? Olmert off to Moscow to discuss Iran, weapons sales. . . more.. e-mail
US wants ’The Analyzer’ in prison
Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 10/6/2008
Israeli computer hacker Ehud Tenenbaum, better known as "The Analyzer," has been arrested in Canada on a US extradition warrant following suspicions that he led an international hacking ring that stole millions of dollars from financial bodies in several countries, including Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Turkey. Tenenbaum is no stranger to prison - in 1998 he was arrested in Israel after breaking into the Pentagon computer system and Web sites hosted at a number of major American air force bases. He served 15 months of an 18-month prison sentence in Ramle Prison. Tenenbaum, 29, who currently resides in Montreal and is originally from Hod Hasharon, was arrested while attempting to post bail of $30,000 Canadian in a Calgary police station, where he was has been held since August 28 due to a separate charge that he stole $1. more.. e-mail
’US considers lifting Syrian sanctions’
Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
Washington is considering a change to its Syria policy in the near future that would entail lifting sanctions against the country but would not include returning the US ambassador to Damascus, Israel Radio quoted senior US officials as saying on Sunday. The officials said discussions were being held on how the US could best influence Syria, in light of the country’s recently improved relations with France and President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Damascus last month. A US official said there were several encouraging signals from the Syrians, including the decision to open diplomatic ties with Lebanon. On Thursday, a senior Israeli diplomatic official said Jerusalem had no problem with the US engaging in dialogue with Damascus. The Israeli official spoke in response to two US-Syrian meetings held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York earlier last week. more.. e-mail
President Abbas to lay foundation stone for Palestinian Embassy in India
International Middle East Media Center News 10/5/2008
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will leave for India on a four-day visit on Monday, during which he will meet with Indian President Prathiba Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. [end]
’Something has to be done with Iran’
Ap And Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/5/2008
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told Israel Radio on Sunday that his country was worried over the strengthening of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and knows something had to be done, either peacefully or by means of a military strike. Kouchner hopes political instability in US, Israel won’t hurt Mideast peace efforts - Kouchner called on the Israeli people to remember the Palestinian peace process even during a period of political instability, as he assessed that solving the Palestinian issue would make it easier to resolve the Iranian crisis. The French foreign minister was in the region for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials. He met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli leaders in Jerusalem. Kouchner said that he was told of "real progress" in peacemaking during his talks but he added that he feared parties were waiting for the Israeli and US political situations to clear up. more.. e-mail
Nigeria’s Ibos: Members of the Tribe?
Marc Perelman, Ha’aretz 10/6/2008
LAGOS, Nigeria - Efraim Uba was born and raised Catholic in southeastern Nigeria, the homeland of the Ibo ethnic group. He spent 17 years as a Pentecostal preacher before joining a messianic congregation where members wore yarmulkes and tallits but praised Jesus. In 1999, one congregant traveled to Israel and came back claiming that the Ibos were Jews. He convinced the whole congregation to embrace Judaism. "We believe we are from Israel, and we only recently discovered that so many old Ibo traditions were in fact Jewish ones," said Uba, 60, who was wearing a large silver Jewish star around his neck. In 1999, he founded the Association of Jewish Faith in Nigeria, an organization with some 20 congregations, most of them in his native region. He is one of an estimated 30,000 Nigerians - a fraction of the nation’s 135 million people - who claim to be Jewish. more.. e-mail
Experts doubt Syria has ’resumed’ nuke activity
Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
A pan-Arab newspaper quoted Israeli military officials Thursday saying that Damascus had resumed its nuclear weapons program one year after Israel allegedly bombed what was believed to be a partially constructed nuclear reactor in Syria. But at least two Syria experts said they were skeptical of the unsourced report in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat for a number of reasons. "We have to be highly suspicious of this kind of news," said Syria expert Joshua Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma. "It’s a Saudi paper; it has an extremely anti-Syrian view. . . It’s not reliable in that sense. They may be getting this from the Syrian opposition or from the Lebanese. "They say they are getting it from Israelis. " more.. e-mail
Report: US troops uncovered dozens of tunnels under Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 10/2/2008
Jerusalem - Ma’an - US soldiers are aiding Egyptian officials in the search for illegal smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, according to a report published by a major Israeli newspaper on Thursday. Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot said Thursday that American soldiers--operating under the guise of civilian contractors--discovered 42 tunnels under Rafah over the past month. US forces found the tunnels with advanced American technology and help from other engineering experts, the paper reported. The tunnels were supposedly used for smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip. Sources also said that US troops were deployed around Gaza after American officials struck an agreement with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at a Cairo meeting over six months ago. It was not immediately clear if American soldiers had actually entered the Gaza Strip or were working solely from the Egyptian side. more.. e-mail
Marines ’83 Beirut chief: Mughniyeh death ’overdue justice’
Amir Oren, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
The assassination of senior Hezbollah operative Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus in February was "long overdue justice," says Colonel (ret. ) Timothy J. Geraghty, the commanding officer of the Marine unit devasted by the suicide bombing of its barracks near Beirut in 1983. In an article in Proceedings Magazine, the flagship publication of the U. S. Naval Institute, Geraghty says Mughniyeh was a key organizer in the two suicide bombings that day. The article marked 25 years since the attack. Minutes after the blast that killed 241 troops, 58 French soldiers were killed in an explosion at their base in Ramlet al-Baida. Mughniyeh devised the tactic - later adopted by Al-Qaida - of simultaneous suicide attacks, Geraghty says, noting that Mughniyeh met Osama bin Laden in Sudan in 1996. Geraghty sees a direct correlation between the Americans’ "timidity of response" to the 1983 attacks and the Islamists’ attack on America on September 11, 2001. more.. e-mail
Top IDF general: Don’t be fooled by the quiet in the North
Amir Oren, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
The Israel Defense Forces GOC Northern Command has warned against believing that Israel’s peaceful northern border means the country is no longer under threat from Lebanon and Syria. "The two years that have passed since the end of the [Second Lebanon] War have been characterized by quiet and serenity, but we cannot let the quiet to fool us," said Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot last week. Eizenkot issued the warning at a meeting with officers who fought in the Yom Kippur War. The meeting was held in honor of the publication of a new book on the 1973 conflict, titled "The Syrians on the fence: The Northern Command in the Yom Kippur War. " Referring to the Second Lebanon War, he said that, "I and the commanders under me have no excuse - despite the tough conditions during the outbreak of the 1973 [war] - the Northern Command fulfilled. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli-Palestinian meeting in November in participation of the Quartet
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/3/2008
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that the Palestinians and the Israelis will discuss for the first time details on the situation of their peace talks during a summit which will take place in Egypt along with members of the Quartet. The official added that the location or exact time of the meeting are not finalized but will most likely take place in Sharm Al Sheikh Egyptian resort in November. He also said that Palestinian and Israel negotiators will present the main points of agreement and disagreement which emerged during their talks since the negotiations were resumed in November 2007 after the Annapolis Summit, in the United States. Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported that the meeting will take place in Sharm Al Sheikh on November 22 which also marks one year since the Annapolis summit. more.. e-mail
Top Hizbullah official in South says Israel ’only understands language of power’
Daily Star 10/3/2008
SOUTH LEBANON: Hizbullah’s top official in South Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, said on Thursday the liberation of the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshuba Hills and Lebanese side of Ghajar would be achieved "soon. ""The Zionist enemy only understands the language of power," Qaouk added during a visit to the border region of Abbasieh, near Ghajar to mark Eid al-Fitr. "The resistance’s strategy is Lebanon’s main source of power, enabling it to recover the remaining occupied lands," Qaouk said. According to the Hizbullah official, diplomacy has reached a dead end. "Betting on liberating land via diplomacy and politics is a sterile bet," he said. "The only guaranteed way to recover the remaining occupied land is the resistance and nothing else. "Israel seized the northern side of Ghajar and the Shebaa Farms, whose Lebanese ownership is disputed by the UN and Israel, when it captured the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967. more.. e-mail
Israelis guard Haredis’ return from Kiev
Zohar Blumenkrantz, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
Israeli security guards were dispatched to the Kiev airport to safeguard the return of some 14,000 Bratslav Hasids to Israel, in view of Hezbollah’s threats to avenge the murder of its "operations chief," Imad Mughniyeh, earlier this year, Airport Authority sources revealed yesterday. An "aerial shuttle" consisting of some 80 flights brought the Hasids back home yesterday. They had flown to Ukraine on the eve of Rosh Hashanah to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. This is an annual pilgrimage that dates back to 1811, the year after Rabbi Nachman was buried in the city of Uman. On Rosh Hashanah eve, advertisements showing scantily-dressed women were removed from Ben-Gurion Airport to spare the Hasids’ feelings as they passed through. The duty-free shops also removed pictures and advertisements that might embarrass the ultra-Orthodox pilgrims. more.. e-mail
Iran hints at nuclear rethink if gets guarantees
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Tehran envoy to IAEA says Islamic Republic may reconsider its uranium enrichment program if international community guarantees it regular supply of fuel for nuclear plants - A leading Iranian nuclear envoy on Thursday suggested the country could reconsider its uranium enrichment program if it gets cast-iron guarantees of regular international fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants. "We are going to continue as long as there is no legally binding internationally recognized instrument for assurance of supply," said Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, he declined to clarify whether that meant that Iran would halt its enrichment program in return for such international guarantees, suggesting it might have to continue at a diminished level in case the outside supply stops. more.. e-mail
Iran hints at nuclear program rethink
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
A leading Iranian nuclear envoy on Thursday suggested the country could reconsider its uranium enrichment program if it gets cast-iron guarantees of regular international fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants. "We are going to continue as long as there is no legally binding internationally recognized instrument for assurance of supply," said Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, he declined to clarify whether that meant that Iran would halt its enrichment program in return for such international guarantees, suggesting it might have to continue at a diminished level in case the outside supply stops. Iran has steadfastly rejected international pressure to give up enrichment, a potential source of both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material. more.. e-mail
’Rice warned Moallem’ against trying to revive role in Lebanon
Compiled by, Daily Star 10/3/2008
The US government has warned Syria against any attempt to restore its formerly dominant position in Lebanon, the pan-Arab daily Al-Haayat said Thursday Arab and Western diplomatic sources quoted by Al-Hayatsaid Damascus had asked Beirut for security cooperation to control the common borders between the two countries. The issue was raised during a meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and another meeting between Moallem and David Welch, the US assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week. According to Al-Hayat sources, Rice told Moallem that Syria would pay a "political price" should it seek to renew its military presence in Lebanon. The sources said Rice and Welch warned Moallem that it was not right for Syrian forces to cross the border and enter Lebanese. . . more.. e-mail
Report: Damascus ’renews’ nuclear activity
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Asharq Al-Awsat quotes Israeli officials as saying Damascus, with North Korea’s help, constructing military nuclear plants according to Iranian model. ’Nuclear Syria red line that must not be crossed,’ one source says -Israeli security officials have accused Syria of resuming the construction of nuclear facilities in its territory for military purposes, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Thursday. In a briefing to reporters on Wednesday, Israeli military sources said the country would not allow a repeat of the Iranian model in Syria and would not wait for Damascus to complete the construction of a nuclear reactor before using all means at its disposal to stop the program. According to the report, following last year’s bombing of the alleged Syrian nuclear facility near Dir A-Zur, Damascus resumed the construction of a number of new plants. more.. e-mail
Report: Israel believes Syria ’renewing’ its nuclear activity
Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Israel believes that Syria has renewed its nuclear activity with the intention of attaining weapons along the Iranian model, the Arabic-language A-Sharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday. According to the report, Israeli military officials are concerned that Syria hopes to construct a number of nuclear facilities across the country simultaneously. The military officials, who were apparently cited during a briefing of "a group of journalists," said that Israel would not allow Damascus to imitate the Iranian model, and would work tirelessly to halt any such Syrian effort. Al-Sharq al-Awsat on Wednesday quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem denying the Israeli accusation that his country was arming Hezbollah. "It is not correct that Syria is supplying Hezbollah with weapons and equipment, as is claimed. more.. e-mail
Report: Syria blast killed nuke plan officer
Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
Syria has resumed its nuclear program, and last week’s car bombing in Damascus, which killed 17 people, was aimed at a senior official involved in that program, an Arabic-language newspaper cited senior Israeli military officials as saying yesterday. The Israeli officials also said that Jerusalem would use force to halt the program’s progress, the London-based Asharq Al Awsat reported. The paper quoted the Israelis as saying that Syria is following the Iranian model by spreading its nuclear development among several sites. The program is based on knowledge obtained from North Korea, the report added, and a team of North Korean nuclear experts visited Syria recently to help with the project. The Israeli officials said that the blast was intended for a colonel in the Syrian army who is involved with the nuclear program, and, in addition,hinted that a string of attacks. . . more.. e-mail
Israel lobbies against Syria’s efforts to join IAEA board
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 10/3/2008
Israel will be carefully watching Friday’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna to see whether the UN’s atomic watchdog will admit Syria to its Board of Governors. Syria is reportedly determined to push forward with its attempt to get on the board, representing the Middle East and South Asia regional group. Syria’s bid got a boost when Iran dropped out of the running on Wednesday, apparently after realizing that its chances of winning a seat were very slim. Israeli officials, who have spoken to various countries in the IAEA about the absurdity of letting a country that allegedly developed a covert nuclear facility onto the board of the nuclear watchdog, said that Afghanistan is Syria’s main competitor for the seat, and that it appears that most of the 145 countries on the General Conference would prefer Afghanistan. more.. e-mail
Damascus presses unlikely drive for seat on IAEA board
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/3/2008
VIENNA: Despite opposition from the West and the United States in particular, Syria appears determined to pursue its bid for a seat on the UN atomic watchdog’s board, now that Iran is officially out of the running. But in a looming clash at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) general conference here this week, Afghanistan - a US ally - also announced its candidature on Wednesday. Diplomats said Kabul enjoys the support of most of the IAEA’s 145 member countries. The matter comes up for discussion on Friday and could be forced to a vote. Members of the IAEA’s 35-strong board of governors are designated and elected each year by the body’s highest policy-making body, the General Conference. Decisions are traditionally adopted by consensus, but if no consensus is possible, it goes to a vote. A seat has become free for the so-called Middle East and South Asia (MESA) group with the expiry of Pakistan’s one-year term. more.. e-mail
Bahraini foreign minister under fire over Israel remarks
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 10/3/2008
MANAMA: Lawmakers and opposition activists in Bahrain on Thursday slammed the foreign minister of the Gulf state, a staunch US ally, after he called for a regional grouping of Arabs and historic foe Israel. "The minister should revoke his remarks. . . If he doesn’t, he will have to answer members of Parliament," Jalal Fayruz, an MP for the opposition Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), the main Shiite political formation, told AFP. Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa proposed the creation of the bloc, which would also include Iran and Turkey, in an interview published on Wednesday. "Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organization," he was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. "Aren’t we all members of a global organization called the United Nations? "he asked. more.. e-mail
Analysis: Bye bye Austrian-Israeli relations?
Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post Correspondent, Berlin, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
The success of two far-right parties in Austria, who together got almost 30% of the vote in Sunday’s general election, jolted Israel’s Foreign Ministry into issuing a rebuke of rising anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic sentiments in the Alpine nation. "We are very concerned about the increased power of people who promote hatred of foreigners and Holocaust denial and support neo-Nazis, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said shortly before Rosh Hashana. "We consider this a disturbing development and are following the matter with great attention. " At the same time, Palmor stressed that it is still too early to reevaluate Israel’s diplomatic relations with Austria. While the Social Democrats, who won 29. 71% of the vote, reject a coalition with the two extremist parties - the Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria - the conservative People’s Party is flirting with both of them. more.. e-mail
ADL: Financial crisis sparking upsurge in anti-Semitism on internet
Shlomo Shamir, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
The Anti-Defamation League reported Thursday a major upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic postings on the internet relating to the financial crisis engulfing the United States. The Jewish-American organization cited hundreds of posts regarding the bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers and other institutions affected by the subprime mortgage crisis. The messages railed against Jews in general, with some charging that Jews control the U. S. government and finance as part of a "Jew world order" and therefore are to blame for the economic turmoil. Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said: "We know from modern history that whenever there is a downturn in the global economy, there will be an upturn in the level of anti-Semitism and bigotry, and that is what we are seeing now. more.. e-mail
UK students slam honor for ’anti-Semite’
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
The London School of Economics’ student union has criticized the university’s decision to accept a donation that will require it to name a lecture hall after the late ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Zayed bin Sultan, who was allegedly an anti-Semite. Harvard University rejected a donation from the emir’s family in 2000 because a think tank that he funded had published a report claiming that Zionists caused the Holocaust and that Jews celebrate Purim by murdering people and drinking their blood. LSE is currently building a Middle East studies center in cooperation with the UAE. In addition, a donation of 2. 5 million pounds from the bin Sultan family financed some 20 percent of a new lecture hall that is due to open this month. The student union said that taking donations from the dictator of a state with a long history of human rights violations was unacceptable, while. . . more.. e-mail
Jewish-Christian NPO paid exec $824,000 salary
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 10/3/2008
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, received an annual salary of $824,000 last year, according to a tax return that the nonprofit organization filed in the United States. The IFCJ, founded by Eckstein in Chicago 27 years ago, raises millions of dollars each year from the evangelical Christian community, mostly in the U. S. , for Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. According to the tax return, the IFCJ raised $75 million in 2007, out of which it distributed some $42 million in donations to various programs and paid $30 million in wages and administrative expenses. The IFCJ finances a variety of charity projects, including aid to poor and elderly Jews in both Israel and the Diaspora. For years, the organization drew fire for allegedly helping missionary groups. more.. e-mail
ADL: Financial crisis sparking wave of online anti-Semitism
Allison Hoffman, Jerusalem Post Correspondent New York, Jerusalem Post 10/2/2008
The worldwide financial meltdown has triggered an uptick in anonymous anti-Semitic comments blaming Jews for the crisis on mainstream Web site message boards, the Anti-Defamation League said on Thursday. "Jews are greedy, rotten slimeballs," wrote one surfer on a Yahoo Finance group, according to the ADL statement. "It’s difficult, if not impossible, for one honest investor to neutralize the efforts of thousands of Jewish swindlers," another added. A YouTube video titled "The Court Jewsters" includes a montage of Jewish figures involved in the crisis - from Lehman Brothers chief Richard Fuld to US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Benanke - and includes a shot of a dollar bill emblazoned with "In Zionist bankers we trusted. " TA Stock Exchange registers sharp losses The comments were similar to those posted on white supremacist. . . more.. e-mail
ADL sees surge of anti-Semitism following market crisis
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Internet forum, blogs rife with newfound wave of ’virulent’ anti-Jewish rhetoric tied to ongoing financial calamity. ’Whenever there is trouble or uncertainty in the economy or world events, Jews become the scapegoats,’ says ADL director - WASHINGTON -The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a report on Thursday warning of a sharp resurgence of anti-Semitism in the wake of the financial crisis. Internet discussion boards and blogs dealing with the meltdown on Wall Street are being flooded with hate speech, ADL says. "We know from modern history that whenever there is a downturn in the global economy, there will be an upturn in the level of anti-Semitism and bigotry, and that is what we are seeing now," said ADL National Director Abe Foxman. "The age-old canards about Jews and money are always just beneath the surface. more.. e-mail
Russia’s Chief Rabbi: Living in Israel weakens faith
Neta Sela, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Immigrants lose their faith upon moving to Israel, asserts Rabbi Lazar ahead of holiday season. While Israeli society is to blame for this phenomenon, he says, it can be reversed if one moves back to Russia - Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar has harsh words for Israeli society, particularly the ultra-Orthodox community, in regards to its treatment of Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel. In an interview to the European rabbinical publication ’Hanaaseh Vehanishma’ ahead of Rosh Hashana, Rabbi Lazar was asked whether he encouraged immigration from Russia to Israel. "The grim reality is that many of the Jews who came to Israel have lost their grip on faith. Sadly, the haredi community did not embrace them," he replied. Lazar went on to say that "some action is being taken regarding this matter, but barely. more.. e-mail
Bahraini FM calls for Mideast forum that includes Israel, Iran
Yoav Stern and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Bahrain’s foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday that Middle East nations should form a regional organization that includes Israel and Iran to try to resolve their disputes. It was a rare call for Arab countries to create a broad grouping alongside Israel, with which most of them do not have diplomatic relations, and Persian Iran, whose growing influence on the region is a cause of concern for them. "The organization needs to include everyone, beyond differences of religion and race. The Middle East is the cradle of monotheistic religions. . . They should sit together in one organization," Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told the Arab daily Al-Hayat. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations that have peace deals with Israel and have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. more.. e-mail
PM slammed for West Bank, J’lem comments
Jonny Hadi And Ap, Jerusalem Post 9/29/2008
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert drew fire from both right and left for telling Yediot Aharonot that Israel would have to give up nearly all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem if it wants peace with the Palestinians. In the farewell interview, published Monday, Olmert also said Israel would have to leave the Golan Heights to make peace with Syria. In the interview, Olmert said, "We have to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, one meaning that we will withdraw in practice from nearly all of the territories, if not from all of them," Olmert said. Olmert said Israel would keep "a percentage" of the West Bank but would have to give Palestinians the same amount of Israeli territory in exchange, "because without this there will be no peace. " He also said Israel would have to leave parts of east Jerusalem, saying Israel couldn’t hope. . . -- See also: VIDEO - Erekat skeptical over PM's statements more.. e-mail
Abbas says hopes Olmert’s statements ’deposit’ for next government
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Speaking to Muslim clerics at Eid al-Fitr celebration, Palestinian president says that if territorial concessions laid out by Israeli PM in recent interview were to be implemented ’we could have peace in two days time’ - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he hopes the statements made by Prime Minster Ehud Olmert regarding sovereignty over Jerusalem, the territories and the Golan Heights will serve as a "deposit" for the next government. Speaking to religious clerics on Wednesday evening to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Abbas said that if the views expressed by Olmert ahead of Rosh Hashana could be implemented "we could have peace in two days time. " It seems even Abbas was surprised by the candid interview Olmert granted Yedioth Aharonoth on the Jewish New Year as he prepares to leave office. more.. e-mail
Egypt to host ’Annapolis 2’ summit in Nov.
Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
An international summit is to be held in Egypt in November, with representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the members of the Quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. According to a senior official in Jerusalem, the Israeli and PA participants will brief the Quartet over progress made in the ongoing peace talks. The gathering is said to be the result of a compromise between the U. S. , Israel and the Palestinians. In recent months U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been urging both sides to draft a document detailing the points of agreement in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. She suggested they compile an "inventory" detailing progress on each of the core issues, such as Jerusalem, borders, refugees’ right of return, security, settlements and water rights. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Khateebs call on Arabs and Muslims to break the unjust siege
Palestinian Information Center 10/1/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian Khateebs (preachers) have called Tuesday on Arab and Muslim countries to immediately mobilize to break the unjust US-Israeli economic blockade on millions of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, urging Egypt to swiftly open the Rafah crossing point. "There are 1. 5 million Palestinians in Gaza Strip suffering as a result of the repressive siege that inflicted many adverse repercussions on them; yet, no body moves to end the tragedy"Ś we call on the international community, in general, and the Arabs and Muslims, in particular, to immediately work for the end of the blockade", the Khateebs stressed during their Eid Al-Fitr Khutba (sermon). They added that there were thousands of sick Palestinian citizens waiting for medicine and proper medical treatment; but, they added, the Israeli occupation government blocked entry of medicine and basic foodstuff into Gaza. . . more.. e-mail
IDF to end use of US-manufactured cluster bombs
Ma’an News Agency 10/1/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Israeli army declined to purchase US-made cluster bombs in order to avoid civilian deaths, according to official military sources. The Israeli army is also concerned that unwanted media attention could discourage soldiers and officials during operations, such as during the 2006 Lebanon War. "We are cognizant of the civilian deaths in Lebanon and the lessons learnedfrom the cluster-bomb issue received especially close attention," an Israeli official said. Over 100 countries have banned the weapon as it is nearly impossible to identify targets in an urban environment, which leads to unintended deaths. [end]
Asad: 'Peace with Israel will not affect relations with Iran'
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/1/2008
Syrian President Bashar Asad stated on Tuesday that an Israeli-Syrian peace deal will not have any impact on the relations between Syria and Tehran and will not affect the relations between Syria and any other Arab country. Asad added that the American regime is not interested in pushing the Middle East towards peace, and added that the US Middle East policy is based on military might and war instead of on diplomacy. He also said that Europe can help the United States in "taking a more serious position towards peace in the Middle East". The Syrian president stated that the relations between his country and the United States are improving and the Wall Street Journal stated in a Tuesday report that senior US and Syrian officials held a number of meetings. The main meeting was between the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid Moallem. more.. e-mail
Syria’s unlikely shepherd
Jim Lobe, Asia Times 10/2/2008
WASHINGTON - A series of meetings between United States and Syrian diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, at the United Nations over the past week are stirring speculation that Washington may at last be moving toward engaging Damascus. Instead of focusing on specific issues of special interest to the US - mainly Washington’s demands that Syria crack down hard against the infiltration of Sunni extremists into Iraq and stop supplying Hezbollah in Lebanon - the discussions also reportedly covered other topics as well, notably Damascus’s appeals for Washington to involve directly itself in a burgeoning peace process between Syria and Israel. Both Damascus and Tel Aviv have called for US engagement as a way of furthering year-old indirect talks that have been mediated by the Turkish government. more.. e-mail
’Israel not interested in real peace’
Jerusalem Post 10/1/2008
Israel is uninterested in attaining real peace, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awasat on Wednesday morning. The Syrian official was also quoted by the paper as saying that it was impossible to control the border between his country and Lebanon. Asked how he felt about President Shimon Peres’s latest remarks calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to follow in the path of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and enter direct negotiations with Israel, Moallem replied that it was a sign that Jerusalem was uninterested in attaining a real peace. He likened the Israeli president’s comments to "putting the cart before the horse. " Moallem told the paper that it would be impossible "to control the common border" between Syria and Lebanon, saying that such a move would require its demarcation as well as a security agreement between the two countries. more.. e-mail
Khamenei: Iran will stand by Hamas, ’holy warrior’ Haniyeh
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 10/1/2008
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will stand beside the Hamas government in Gaza and that Israel is weakening and on the path to eventual destruction, state television reported. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, called Hamas’s prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, a "mujahed", or holy warrior, saying "the Iranian nation will never let you be alone. " Khamenei said Israel "has weakened day by day. . . Today, officials of the Zionist regime acknowledge that they are moving towards weakness, destruction and defeat," according to state television. "Definitely, the world of Islam will see that day and hope the existing generation of the Palestinian people will watch the day Palestine is at the disposal of the Palestinian people, in the hands of the landlords," he said at prayers marking the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the holy month of Ramadan. more.. e-mail
Khamenei: Iran won’t let Palestinians be alone
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/1/2008
Iranian supreme leader foresees collapse of Zionist regime, pledges world of Islam ’will watch the day Palestine is at the disposal of the Palestinian people’ - Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will stand beside the Hamas government in Gaza and that Israel is weakening and on the path to eventual destruction, state television reported. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, called Hamas’ prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, a "mujahed", or holy warrior, saying "the Iranian nation will never let you be alone. ""Unity in the world of Islam is the only way to counter enemies’ all-out offensives. Since they feel helpless in the face of huge movement of Islamic awakening, enemies resort to discord through lies and deception," said Khamenei at prayers marking the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the holy month of Ramadan. more.. e-mail
Iran supreme leader: Israel is on a path to destruction
Natasha Mozgovaya and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said his country will stand beside Gaza’s Hamas rulers and that Israel is on the path to eventual destruction. According to Iranian state-run TV, Khamenei called Hamas’ prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, a "mojahed," or soldier of holy war, saying the Iranian nation will "never let you be alone. "It also quoted him as saying Israel’s Zionist regime is moving toward weakness, destruction and defeat and that the current generation of Palestinians will see "that great day. " Khamenei, who was speaking at prayers marking the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday, has predicted Israel’s downfall in the past, like Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Khamenei has repeatedly called Israel a cancerous tumor that need to be removed from the Middle East. more.. e-mail
Khamenei: Iran will never abandon Hamas, Haniyeh
Natasha Mozgovaya and the Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Ayatollah Ali KhameneiIran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday his country will stand beside Gaza’s Hamas rulers and that Israel is on the path to destruction. According to Iranian state-run television, Khamenei called the Hamas’ prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh, a "mojahed," or soldier of holy war, saying the Iranian nation will "never let you be alone. "It also quoted him as saying Israel’s Zionist regime is moving toward weakness, destruction and defeat and that the current generation of Palestinians will see "that great day. " Khamenei, who was speaking at prayers marking the Muslim Eid el Fitr holiday, has predicted Israel’s downfall in the past, as has Iran’s hard-line President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Khamenei has repeatedly called Israel a cancerous tumor that need to be removed from the Middle East. more.. e-mail
US expert: Iran 2-5 years from nuke bomb
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/2/2008
Former head of American weapons-hunting team in Iraq warns Tehran already 80% of the way to nuclear weapon. ’You’ve got a clear record of country that is damned determined at some point to develop nuclear weapons,’ says David Kay - Iran is two years to five years away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, the former head of the US weapons-hunting team in Iraq said Wednesday. But David Kay said the US should not consider bombing Iranian nuclear facilities unless the weapon was about to be transferred to a terrorist group. Kay, who led the Iraq Survey Group from 2003 until early 2004, said the US should line up international support to pressure Iran to give up on a nuclear weapon, while also preparing for the strong possibility that effort will fail. Preparations could include offering security guarantees to Iran’s neighbors and shoring up Middle East stability and economic growth. more.. e-mail
Ex-U.S. weapons hunter: Iran 2-5 years from bomb
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
Iran is two years to five years away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, the former head of the U. S. weapons-hunting team in Iraq said Wednesday. But David Kay said the U. S. should not consider bombing Iranian nuclear facilities unless the weapon was about to be transferred to a terrorist group. Kay, who led the Iraq Survey Group from 2003 until early 2004, said the U. S. should line up international support to pressure Iran to give up on a nuclear weapon, while also preparing for the strong possibility that effort will fail. Preparations could include offering security guarantees to Iran’s neighbors and shoring up Middle East stability and economic growth. Iran is 80 percent of the way to a nuclear weapon, Kay estimates, but the last 20 percent of development is the most difficult. more.. e-mail
Reporter’s Notebook: ’Remember the submarines; don’t mention the war’
Amir Mizroch, Jpost Correspondent In Berlin, Jerusalem Post 10/1/2008
Sixty years after World War II and the Holocaust, and according to intelligence sources approximately 18 months until Iran can create a nuclear bomb, the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Germany is moving into high gear as Jerusalem presses Berlin to lead the EU in isolating Teheran. Jerusalem and Berlin agree that Iran is the biggest destabilizing force in the Middle East, but disagree on how to deal with that threat. Israel, working behind the scenes to isolate Iran diplomatically and financially, is frustrated at the continued trade between German industrialists and Iran. Israel wants Germany to sever all trade and diplomatic ties with Iran [Israel is a much bigger trade partner to Germany than Iran is], and would like Berlin to implement sanctions out of the UN Security Council framework as that is being sabotaged by Russia and China. more.. e-mail
Compromise near on IAEA Israel dispute
News agencies, YNetNews 10/1/2008
Diplomats at international conference say compromise near on resolution singling out Israel for criticism on nuclear activities; meanwhile Syria, Afghanistan battle for seat on board of UN nuclear watchdog agency - Diplomats at a 145-nation conference say that a compromise is near on a resolution criticizing Israel’s nuclear activities. At issue is an Arab draft resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency conference expressing concern about Israel’s nuclear capabilities. Although Israel has never confirmed it has nuclear weapons, it is widely believed to possess them. With the conference split on the draft resolution, its introduction would likely force a vote. That would heighten tensions between developed nations backing Israel and developing countries supporting the Muslim countries. more.. e-mail
Iran’s Khamenei says Hamas will ’never be left alone’
Ma’an News Agency 10/1/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran would "stand by" Gaza’s Hamas leaders, according to the Islamic republic’s state-run television station. Khamenei told viewers that de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would "never be left alone," and that the leader is a "mujahid," or holy warrior. The agency also quoted the Iranian spiritual leader that Israel’s "Zionist regime is moving toward weakness, destruction and defeat," while Palestinians would soon see "that great day" when Israel is defeated. Khamenei spoke at a prayer service marking ’Eid Al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Israel’s ambassador to the United States issued a statement saying that "not since World War II has the world faced such a dangerous and significant threat. more.. e-mail
Bahrain calls for Mideast organization including Israel
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/1/2008
Foreign Minister al-Khalifa says Middle East nations should form regional organization that includes Israel and Iran to try to resolve their disputes - Bahrain’s foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday that Middle East nations should form a regional organization that includes Israel and Iran, the Arab countries’ top rivals, to try to resolve their disputes. It was a rare call for Arab countries to create a broad grouping alongside Israel and Iran. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations that have peace deals with Israel and have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Other Arab nations have said they won’t establish ties with Israel until it signs peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria. Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in the interview with the Arab daily al-Hayat that a regional organization should be formed "even if we don’t recognize each other. " more.. e-mail
Bahrain FM calls for grouping of Arabs, Israel
Middle East Online 10/1/2008
DUBAI - The foreign minister of staunch US ally Bahrain has called for the creation of a regional grouping of Arab states with historic foe Israel, as well as Iran and Turkey, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. "Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organisation," Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa was quoted in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat as saying. "Aren’t we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not come together on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There’s no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years. " Al-Hayat, which interviewed the Bahraini chief diplomat in New York, said he had proposed the establishment of a regional bloc in a speech to the UN General Assembly. The tiny Gulf kingdom is a major ally of the United States and has a free trade agreement with Washington. more.. e-mail
Middle East: Bahrain calls for new regional organisation with Israel
Ian Black Middle East editor, The Guardian 10/1/2008
Middle Eastern countries should set up a new regional organisation that includes all Arab states as well as Israel, Iran, and Turkey, the pro-western Gulf state of Bahrain has urged. The highly unusual call " which is likely to provoke controversy " came from Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, the country’s foreign minister. "Why don’t we all sit together even if we have differences and even if we don’t recognise each other? " he told the London-based daily newspaper al-Hayat. "Why not become one organisation? "Aren’t we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not [come together] on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There’s no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years. "Asked if that should include Israel, he replied: "With Israel, Turkey, Iran and Arab countries. Let them all sit together in one group. " more.. e-mail
Bahraini calls for ME forum with Israel
Herb Keinon And Ap, Jerusalem Post 10/1/2008
Israel had no formal reaction Wednesday night to the Bahrain foreign minister’s suggestion that all Middle East nations - including Israel and Iran - form a regional organization. A senior official in Jerusalem said it was an "interesting idea," but one that would almost certainly not get off the ground. Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that a regional organization should be formed "even if we don’t recognize each other," and that the purpose would be to try to resolve disputes. In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Sheikh Khaled called for such a Middle East organization to include countries "without exception. " Asked by Al-Hayat if it would include Israel, he replied, "With Israel, Turkey, Iran and Arab countries. more.. e-mail
NY judge: PLO can’t disguise terror as war
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/1/2008
US court says Palestinian organization cannot win dismissal of 2004 lawsuits by victims of Jerusalem bombings by claiming attacks were act of war rather than terrorism - The Palestine Liberation Organization cannot win dismissal of a lawsuit by victims of bombings in Israel by claiming the attacks were acts of war rather than terrorism, a judge ruled Tuesday. US District Judge George Daniels said the 2004 lawsuit on behalf of victims and their families can proceed toward trial. It seeks up to $3 billion in damages from attacks between January 2001 and February 2004. The lawsuit alleges that the PLO carried out the attacks to pressure the United States and Israel to submit to its demands and to terrorize, intimidate and coerce the civilian population of Israel into acquiescing to its political goals. more.. e-mail
Palestinian president says Washington trip ’a successful visit’
Ma’an News Agency 10/1/2008
Ramallah - Ma’an - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday said that last week’s trip to Washington, DC was "a successful visit. " Abbas told reporters that he and American President George W. Bush included "clear and frank discussions and points. " "We have exactly what is required and I think it was a successful visit," Abbas said. In response to questions on the potential that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni could become prime minister, Abbas said that "we don’t choose their prime minister. " "They are the ones who choose, and we deal with their choice," he said. The Palestinian president offered congratulations to Muslims worldwide who are celebrating ’Eid Al-Fitr. He also said that the new year would see "national unity and an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. more.. e-mail
Putin supporter tapped to head Russia’s United Jewish Appeal
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 10/2/2008
One of the Russian Jewish community’s most prominent supporters of President Vladimir Putin is set to be appointed head of the country’s Keren Hayesod, also known as the United Israel Appeal. Boris Spiegel, a deputy and committee chairman in the Russian parliament, already serves as president of the World Congress of Russian Jewry, an organization that works with the Kremlin as a bridge with the millions of Jews who emigrated from the country. Keren Hayesod is the central fundraising body for Israel around the world, with the exception of the United States. It raises tens of millions of dollars annually for efforts such as absorbing immigrants into Israel, developing communities in the periphery and Jewish education in the Diaspora. Spiegel’s selection surprised many observers in Russia, as he is widely viewed as following the Kremlin’s official line regarding Russian-speaking Jews. more.. e-mail
US Congress quiet on Jewish New Year
Associated Press, YNetNews 10/1/2008
Capitol building largely deserted as national lawmaking body marks Rosh Hashana; House to be on recess on Yom Kippur as well - A day after the House of Representatives defeat of a financial bailout plan that sent Wall Street into a frantic downward spiral, the Capitol building was largely deserted Tuesday as Congress marked the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. Congressional leaders were still actively talking, trying to develop an alternate plan that Congress will approve. But the House was in recess both Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Senate will have no votes until after sundown Wednesday, the end of the holiday according to Orthodox and Conservative synagogues. Rosh Hashana in LAIsraeli flag raised outside consulate for 1st time/ Yitzhak Benhorin Los Angeles rings in Jewish New Year with ceremony including raising of an Israeli flag brought. . . more.. e-mail
GovernmentAbbas rejects request by Egypt for talks with Hamas
Jerusalem Post 10/16/2008
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has turned down an Egyptian proposal to hold separate talks with Hamas officials in Cairo before the end of the month, a senior PA official in Ramallah said Wednesday. Abbas’s decision drew sharp criticism from Hamas, which said this provided further evidence that the PA president and his Fatah faction were not really interested in ending the power struggle between the two parties. The Egyptians were hoping to host Fatah-Hamas negotiations in Cairo ahead of a "national reconciliation" conference that would bring together at least 12 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah. The conference is scheduled to be held in the Egyptian capital sometime next month. Earlier this week, Hamas informed the Egyptians that the movement supported the idea of holding separate talks with Fatah to prepare for the planned conference. more.. e-mail
West Bank teachers on strike demanding unpaid salaries
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Nablus Maan Palestinian teachers in the West Bank went on strike on Wednesday in protest of the Palestinian governments refusal to regularly pay the salaries of 6,000 recently-hired teachers. The 6,000 teachers were appointed in both the West Bank and Gaza during and after the tenure of the Hamas-led Tenth Palestinian government. Bassam Naim, a member of the union told Maan, The strike itself is not a goal, but it is rather a means to achieve teachers goals as 6,000 teachers have not received salaries since 2006. The strike was ordered by the General Secretariat of the union and will continue until Thursday. With Wednesdays strike, West Bank teachers will join their counterparts in Gaza, who have been on strike since late August in protest of the policies of the Hamas government there. Naim told Maan that in addition to pay, the union is seeking an agreement. . . more.. e-mail
PA Mukhabrat withholds salaries from 6,000 teachers
Palestinian Information Center 10/16/2008
A general strike by the Palestinian Teachers’ Union on Wednesday shut down all public schools in the West Bank, forcing nearly a million pupils to stay home. The two-day strike was carried out to protest the Salam Fayyadh government refusal to pay regular salaries for some 6,000 Palestinian teachers the Palestinian security agencies doubt their loyalty to the American-backed regime in Ramallah and especially to the Fatah organization. Bassam Na’im, a member of the union described the strike as "a mere warning," calling the government’s refusal to pay the teachers their salaries "utterly unacceptable. " "Our aim is not to enter into a confrontation with the government, we only seek justice for these wronged teachers. more.. e-mail
Hamas Locks Out Striking Gaza Teachers
Ibrahim Barzak, MIFTAH 10/15/2008
The Hamas government announced Tuesday that it will not permit thousands of striking teachers to return to their jobs, further heightening tensions with its political rivals in the West Bank. The strike was called Aug. 24 by the West Bank-based teachers’ union. It was seen, in part, as an attempt to disrupt life in Gaza and weaken Hamas, which seized control by force in 2007 and defeated troops loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Most of Gaza’s 10,000 public school teachers are still paid by the Abbas government. Despite the strike, Hamas kept schools running and hired some 2,200 new teachers and administrators. Deputy Education Minister Yousef Ibrahim of Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that striking teachers will not be allowed to return to work. He also said legal action would be taken against those on strike, but did not explain further. In the West Bank, union chief Bassam Zakarneh said Tuesday’s decision "reflects the real face of this government, the face of oppression and using force. " more.. e-mail
Palestinian Leaders Call for Reconciliation
Albert Aji, MIFTAH 10/15/2008
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday the rift between his mainstream Palestinian faction and archrival Hamas must end. The Hamas leader, meanwhile, said the time is right for reconciliation. Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since the latter’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Following the takeover, Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led government from his base in the West Bank and formed a new administration excluding the more radical group. Abbas was in the Syrian capital for a two-day visit to brief the Syrian leadership, which holds enormous sway with Damascus-based Palestinian groups including Hamas, on Palestinian reconciliation efforts. " No one is happy to see the current divisions continuing," Abbas told reporters in Damascus following a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad. "No one would ever respect us if we go on," he added. more.. e-mail
Cairo broadens contacts for intra-Palestinian talks as dialogue standstill
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 10/15/2008
Cairo will broaden contacts for Palestinian national unity talks underway in the Egyptian capital, Palestinian media sources reported. According to the sources, the upcoming contacts will involve a number of Palestinian public figures who will arrive in Cairo in a few days time in order to hold discussions with Egyptian mediators. Egypt’s reason for such a move is to explore new ideas for a successful dialogue between the rival Hamas and Fatah parties in a bid to end current division, the sources said. Among those to hold talks shortly in Cairo are religious dignitaries and local community leaders, in order to convince those negotiating over unity that the Palestinian higher national interests are the most significant. Meanwhile, in the presence of Egyptian officials, the rival Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced Wednesday that it has not yet received. . . more.. e-mail
Hamas-Fatah tensions rising
Alex Fishman, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Looming end of Palestinian president’s tenure has Israeli defense establishment on high alert, as tensions between rival Palestinian factions in West Bank make for volatile situation. Israel concerned Hamas may try to assassinate senior Fatah officials -The nearing end of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ tenure has the defense establishment on edge, as it has formed a joined team with the Shin Bet and the Foreign Ministry to prepare for January 9 - Abbas’ last day as Palestinian Authority president. The main concern is intelligence indicating thatHamas’ military wing may begin targeting senior Fatah and Palestinian security officials via abductions and assassination attempts. The general consensus within the Israeli defense establishment is that if the Palestinian Authority and Hamas fail to reach an understanding about postponing the presidential. . . more.. e-mail
Barhoum: Fatah rejection to sit with Hamas big blow to Egyptian efforts
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement has strongly condemned Wednesday Fatah’s rejection to sit with the movement, considering the unsolicited refusal as "big regression" and "strong blow" to the Egyptian efforts to reconcile the Palestinian factions. In a statement he issued over the matter, and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC, Fawzi Barhoum, the spokesman of Hamas in Gaza Strip, asserted that the insistence of Fatah faction and its leaders, including PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, to sit and talk to Hamas as previously agreed upon with the Egyptian officials was a strong setback to the Egyptian mediation. But Barhoum stressed his Movement’s adherence to the Egyptian vision to start inter-Palestinian dialogue that would ultimately lead to comprehensive national reconciliation between the Palestinian factions. According to Barhoum, Egypt had presented a nationally-accepted vision. . . more.. e-mail
Procedural battles may derail Hamas-Fatah talks before they begin
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Bethlehem Maan Squabbling between Hamas and Fatah may derail planned reconciliation talks before the rival parties even sit down at the negotiating table. On Wednesday Fatah rejected a request by Hamas to meet face to face before Egyptian-backed unity talks begin next month in Cairo. A senior Fatah official in Amman, Jordan told Reuters that Hamas has tried to change the Egyptian plan by requesting a bilateral meeting with Fatah which excludes the other 11 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions. We adhere to the Egyptian plan which calls for a meeting of all the factions. Nimir Hammad, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Maan that previous bilateral meetings have been inefficient and only worsened the division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Fatah to hold preliminary meeting in Amman
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Ramallah Maan Fatahs leadership said on Wednesday that it plans to hold meetings in Amman, Jordan to prepare for its annual conference in November. The meetings will prepare for the core functions of an expected national agreement in Palestine, as well as the final drafts of other political and national programs, a spokesperson said. Ahmed Qurei said the preparatory committee would build on previous agreements, particularly organizational workshops held in the past. The group will also set a date for the party-wide conference, he said. He also thanked Arab and Egyptian leaders for their efforts for national reconciliation, expressing hope that the meetings would have a positive effect for Palestinians searching for a liberated state. more.. e-mail
Fatah: We must put an end to the disunity in Palestine
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Ramallah Maan Fatah is still committed to the ongoing national dialogue in Cairo, according to a statement received by Maan on Wednesday. The Palestinian political party said it would put an end to disunity for the sake of Palestinian safety, Fatah spokesperson Fathi Az-Zaarir said on Wednesday. There is not agreement on any bilateral meetings adopted by the Egyptians, he said, in an attempt to reassure Palestinians that the Palestinian Authority (PA) had no control over the outcome. The PA is currently controlled by Fatah. Fatah is committed to the Arab and Egyptian mechanism, he added. Az-Zarir also noted that his party is determined to make every possible effort to ensure the success of the national dialogue. more.. e-mail
Mofaz in Akko: Riots intolerable
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Transportation minister visits northern city week after eruption of fierce Jewish-Arab clashes, says ’we must respect one another’s religion and faith’ -"The reality of what happened in Akko on Yom Kippur is intolerable," Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday during a visit to the northern city a week after fierce clashes erupted there after an Arab motorist entered a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on the holiest Jewish day. "To preserve coexistence we must respect one another’s religion and faith and not take the law into our own hands," he said following a meeting with Mayor Shimon Lankry and other local officials. [end]
Peres Visits Acre in Wake of Clashes, Says We are Destined to Live Side by Side
Agence France Presse, MIFTAH 10/15/2008
Israeli President Shimon Peres traveled on Monday to the northern city of Acre where he appealed for tolerance after four days of clashes between Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish residents. "I was surprised by the extent of appeals for peaceful coexistence issued by leaders from both sides," the Israeli politician told journalists. " We are destined to live side by side, and a bright future awaits Acre," said Peres, who was accompanied by Interior Security Minister Avi Dichter and Israel’s two chief rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar. The four nights of clashes in the ethnically mixed Israeli city left at least three injured people requiring hospitalization. Israeli police said that the clashes broke out on Wednesday when a Palestinian resident drove through a conservative Jewish neighborhood with music playing on his car stereo. more.. e-mail
Hamas: PA security detains 13 affiliates
Ma’an News Agency 10/15/2008
Nablus Salfit Maan The Hamas movement said in a statement released Wednesday that Palestinian Authority security forces arrested 13 of its members in the West Bank. According to the statement, one Hamas loyalist was detained in Nablus in the northern West Bank, eight in Hebron in the south, two from Salfit in the north and two others from Qalqilia district, also in the northern West Bank. [end]
Al-Qassam: The Palestinian people will revolt against the PA security
Palestinian Information Center 10/15/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, highlighted Tuesday that it lost hope that the PA security apparatuses and leadership could have a shred of national affiliation to Palestine, adding that the Palestinian people would revolt against these apparatuses if they persisted in their collaboration with the Israeli occupation. In a statement published on Al-Qassam website, Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Brigades, said that the PA security apparatuses’ braging about hunting Palestinian resistance fighters, exposing their plans and foiling their operations is big evidence of these apparatuses’ national and moral degradation. Abu Obeida underlined that the Brigades would not remain silent forever, but everyone should realize the magnitude of the international conspiracy against Al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank. more.. e-mail
Meretz ’optimistic’ after coalition talks with Livni
Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 10/16/2008
Party chairman says meeting with Kadima prime minister designate in her Tel Aviv home positive, sees ’a mutual interest to have Meretz in the government. ’ Meanwhile meeting with Shas postponed - After Labor and before the ultra-Orthodox parties - is Meretz headed for the coalition? Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni sat down with Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron for a private two-hour meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the possibility of bringing the latter’s left-wing party into a government under Livni, the prime minister designate and minister of foreign affairs. MK Oron described the meeting as positive, and the two have arranged for their respective party negotiators to meet on Thursday morning that the Foreign Affairs Ministry offices in Tel Aviv for talks. Oron said Livni appears interested in having Meretz join Labor in her fledgling coalition. more.. e-mail
Shas stalls talks, Livni fast-tracks Meretz, UTJ deals
Mazal Mualem and Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Shas and United Torah Judaism have decided to coordinate their coalition negotiations with prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni. In particular, both are conditioning their entry into the coalition on the addition of NIS 1 billion to the budget for child allowances. The joint front essentially thwarts Livni’s decision, which senior members of her Kadima Party had announced earlier yesterday, to look into establishing a government without Shas unless coalition negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox party made progress quickly. This scenario called for her to try to replace Shas with UTJ and Meretz. Livni was supposed to meet with Shas Chairman Eli Yishai last night, but the meeting was canceled. A statement released jointly by their bureaus said the cancelation was due purely to family obligations on Yishai’s part, and had nothing to do with the progress of the negotiations. more.. e-mail
Israeli Official Says Livni Closer to PM Post
Karin Laub, MIFTAH 10/15/2008
Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni’s Kadima Party initialed a partial agreement Monday on bringing the Labor Party into a new governing coalition, but several issues remained to be settled before a formal pact, a Labor official said. Livni also will need to attract support from smaller parties to form a new government to replace the one headed by former Kadima leader Ehud Olmert, who resigned as prime minister under the cloud of a corruption investigation. If Livni fails to put together a coalition in the coming weeks, early elections would have to be called, further disrupting Israel’s peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Lior Avnon, a spokeswoman for Labor, said her party’s leader, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Livni would try to produce a final agreement at a meeting Tuesday evening. She did not give any details on the unresolved issues. Labor would be Kadima’s key partner in any coalition and a deal would make it easier for Livni to bring in the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party and reach a majority in parliament. more.. e-mail
Kadima terms Labor deal 'a bargain'
Lilach Weissman, Globes Online 10/15/2008
The cost of the coalition agreement between the two parties stands at NIS 2 billion. Leaders of Kadima today described the coalition agreement signed with Labor before the start of the Sukkot holiday as a "bargain. "The cost of the coalition agreement between the two parties stands at NIS 2 billion, of which NIS 250 million will be added to the 2009 budget. The government will now have to change the budget for 2009 and add funds for social spending that Labor party chairman Ehud Barak insisted on. In exchange, Labor will vote for the budget at all three readings in the Knesset. Under the coalition agreement, old age pensions will rise significantly from 2009 through 2011. Funding for pensions will be increased by NIS 150 million in 2009. It will be increased again by NIS 400 million in 2010 for a total of NIS 550 million, and in 2011 it will be increased by a further NIS 400 million, giving a total increase of NIS 950 million. more.. e-mail
Yishai-Livni talk put off at last minute
Gil Hoffman And Jpost.com Staff, Jerusalem Post 10/15/2008
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni invited Shas chairman Eli Yishai to her Tel Aviv home late Wednesday night for a meeting that could have decided the fate of her efforts to form a new government, but Yishai postponed the talks, which had been set to begin after midnight, citing "personal reasons. " The invitation came after Shas officials warned Livni that Kadima’s deal with Labor would distance Shas from her new government, because it gave Labor chairman Ehud Barak a veto on legislation and the government’s agenda. Livni’s associates said that despite much support in Kadima for a Shas-less government, she was not seriously considering forming a narrow 60-MK coalition without Shas and with Labor, Meretz, and the newly reunited Pensioners Party. "I don’t think a government will be formed if Shas doesn’t join the coalition," Kadima negotiator MK Tzahi Hanegbi, who is close to Livni, told Israel Radio. more.. e-mail
Yishai cancels meeting with Livni due to personal reasons
Mazal Mualem , and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
Shas party chairman Eli Yishai cancelled a meeting with Prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni on Wednesday evening in which the pair were to discuss the ultra-Orthodox party’s demands for entering the next coalition. Yishai said the cancellation was due to personal reasons, and was unrelated to the negotiations. The pair were to attempt to bridge differences between their positions, mainly over Shas’ demand for another NIS 1. 5 billion for child allowances, an issue the party says is a deal-breaker. Kadima MK Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel Radio earlier Wednesday that Livni, the Kadima chairwoman, will not hesitate to call early elections if Shas presents demands that are considered too extravagant. Hanegbi, who is considered one of Livni’s trusted aides, said there is no point in establishing a coalition without Shas, since such. . . more.. e-mail
Shas fears Livni-led coalition will lean towards Left
Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Haredi party says will demand guarantee from Kadima that Barak’s expected appointment as deputy PM would not result in ’extreme’ concessions in peace negotiations -Sources close to Shas Chairman Eli Yishai told Ynet on Tuesday that as part of the ongoing coalition talks the religious party would demand a guarantee from Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni that the expected appointment of Labor Chief Ehud Barak as deputy prime minister would not tilt the new government she is forming towards the Left. According to the coalition agreement between Labor and Kadima, which is expected to be finalized after the holiday season, Barak will have greater influence on issues regarding the contact with Syria and the Palestinian Authority, and cabinet decisions will not be made without his support and ratification. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem may name street after Adir Zik
Ronen Medzini, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Municipal street names committee to discuss proposal to name one of capital’s streets after late Arutz Sheva DJ who supported claims that Rabin assassination was a conspiracy - Jerusalem’s municipal advisory committee on naming streets has proposed that one of the capital’s streets be named after the late right-wing radio DJ Adir Zik, a recommendation that has many up in arms as Zik was a leading proponent of the existence of a vast conspiracy theory surrounding the assassination of late-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The proposal to honor one of Arutz Sheva’s top celebrities was put forward by Deputy Mayor Shmuel Shkedi (National Religious Party). The municipal committee is scheduled to convene in a week’s time to discuss the proposed recommendations, the majority of which it usually accepts. Committee member Saar Netanel (Meretz) said he had been shocked to discover Zik’s name was up for consideration. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem street likely to be named after right-wing extremist
Jonathan Lis, Ha’aretz 10/16/2008
The Jerusalem municipality is expected to allow a street to be named after right-wing radio presenter Adir Zik, whose extreme remarks attacking former prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon caused outrage. The street naming committee will discuss a further suggestion from the advisory committee, to name streets in Jerusalem after Zevulun Hammer, former Education Minister and leader of the National Religious Party, as well as eleven rabbis. The suggestion by City Council member Sar Netanel to name a street after actor and producer Yossi Bannai will apparently not be up for debate. Zik was the host of popular Channel 7 radio program, Zikukim shel Adir (Adir’s Fireworks) for 15 years. He died several years ago after a prolonged illness. The Jerusalem municipality issued a response, saying "the street naming committee has not discussed the issue nor has it reached a decision. more.. e-mail
Jewish group: Porush at peace with Arab sovereignty over Temple Mount
Kobi Nahshoni, YNetNews 10/15/2008
Movement for Establishment of the Temple calls on supporters not to back Jerusalem mayoral candidate after he said he would uphold rabbinical decree prohibiting Jews from entering Temple Mount area -The Movement for the Establishment of the Temple has called on its members not to back Jerusalem mayoral candidate Meir Porush, citing a recent interview in which the Knesset member (United Torah Judaism) said he was in favor of upholding Arab authority over the Temple Mount. In a message sent to thousands of its supporters via email, the movement quoted Porush as telling Israel Radio thatIsrael must uphold a decision reached following the Six Day War according to which "the Arabs are the owners of the Temple Mount, the Jews pray at the Western Wall and both sides respect each other’s authority. more..