Queen Rania has sent me...

Es gibt etwa 70 000 Photos von ihr. Sie hat diesem blog das Beste zur Verfügung gestellt.

Israel + Syria want to have peace, too

Nun, ich bin ja schon eine Weile dabei, aber so etwas ist mir auch noch nicht untergekommen: Eine [partielle] Einigung rivalisierender libanesischer Kräfte, angehende israelisch-syrische Friedensverhandlungen, eine mögliche Waffenruhe zwischen Gaza und Negev? Diese Tendenzen sind in erster Linie einer natürlichen Bewegung geschuldet, der Gegenbewegung gegen die iransiche Einflußnahme. Die Historie lehrt das LICs [low intensive conflicts] gerne abwartend bis positiv auf größere Konflikte reagieren. Man nehme den Kurdenkonflikt als Beispiel, man nehme das disengagement als Beispiel, man nehme die Intifada II als Beispiel. Die amerikanische Landnahme im Irak sorgte nicht für ein Zusammenbrechen der Raumordnung, sondern für ein überbordendes Machtpotential dessen Auswirkung zwar sektiererische Anwandlungen aller Orten verstärkte, aber die betroffenen Länder in klassische Politikfelder zurück fallen ließ. Interne Querelen und eine allgemeine Mißgunst führen letztlich dazu mit dem Feind lieber zu verhandeln als mit dem "Freund" Krieg zu führen. Verdeutlichen wir es uns mit dem Fattah-Hamas-Konflikt. Nach dem versuchten Putsch durch Dahlan in der Hamas-Zone Gazstreifen wurde latent versucht den Eindruck zu erzeugen das die Fattah die Hamas wieder verjagen könne. Demonstrationen und sektiererische Ausbrüche wurden als Startsignal gesehen. Versandet ist dies nicht wegen der irrealen Auffassung dieser Möglichkeit in westlichen Kreisen [Geld gegen iranische Unterstützung], oder gar einer Allianz mit den Israelis, sondern ausschließlich aus dem Impuls heraus im Deckmantel des kommenden Krieges gegen den Iran lieber die Regionalmacht zu behalten als sie langfristig zu verlieren. Ein Kunststück von Kriegen bei denen hinter jedem neuen Dorf eine neue Macht das sagen hat und die Staaten eher substanzlos agieren, weil sie letzlich jeden Krieg verlieren. Schwedenkönige, oder marodierende Franzosen im 30-jährigen Krieg können ein Lied davon singen. Das sich islamistische Verbände wie Hamas und Hezbollah ihrer Schlüsselfigur in dieser Geschichte bewußt sind darf bezweifelt werden. Trotzdem gehören sie als Faktoren eingebettet in jegliche Verhandlung und jedes strategisches Denken. Die Rückkehr zu der islamistischen Grundidee einer Überzeugung durch Lebenswandel und nicht durch Brutalität und Waffen kann man nicht von Figuren erwarten, die ihre Söhne reiehenweise in den bewaffneten Kampf schicken. Trotzdem soll dies der Schritt werden ihnen die Menschlichkeit zurück zu geben, die ihnen die amerikanische Lügenliga genommen hat. Diese Rückkehr zu einem Kriegsprinzip, das es egal ist ob einer nun evangelisch sei oder katholisch, alawitisch oder shiitisch, das die Hauptsache sei das er sich an das ausgemachte hält befällt den Nahen Osten eben sehr spät. Die Frage ob dies ein konvulsischer Ausbruch der vorhandenen Gewaltvision aller Beteiligter ist, oder ein Zufallsprodukt launischer Gegebenheiten mag dahin gestellt sein. Geschichte wird immer nach vorne geschrieben und wir werden es sehen.

Trotzdem kann das Fazit nur lauten: Ein großer Tag für den Nahen Osten. Es ist zu hoffen das es mehrere davon in naher Zukunft gibt.

Related: "Israel and Syria have begun indirect peace talks with the Syrians, under the auspices of Turkey," the statement read. "The two sides have declared their intention to conduct the negotiations in good faith and with openness."

Mabrook Lebanon

Finally a deal to end the crises reached in Qatar
Doha - The presidential election will take place either on Thursday or latest this Friday, depending on the arrival dates of the MPs currently in Qatar according to the deal reached in Qatar aimed at ending the political crisis in Lebanon, officials in Qatar said.

The agreement was reached at about 3:00 AM Doha, Qatar time after intensive negotiations that lasted for 5 days between supporters of the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-led opposition

Lebanon has been without a president since November 23, 2007 when the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term

Lebanon has witnesses the worst political crises since the last civil war last week Lebanon came too close to start another civil war , following the so called "Hezbollah coup against the state which resulted in the killing of 81 and the wounding of 200. The Government's resolutions to outlaw Hezbollah's illegal telephone network and to fire Beirut airport's security chief triggered the Hezbollah violence. The government had to rescind both resolutions in order to end the violence after an Arab League committee visited Lebanon and intervened

The breakthrough came after Qatar proposed 2 sets of proposals ( on electing a new president, power-sharing in the new cabinet and the electoral law) and asked the parties to agree on one of the proposals for final settlement. When the parties could not agree on either proposals because of the electoral law , Qatar officials formed a Quartet committee (of 2 representative from each side ) to discuss and provide recommendation on the last sticking issue , which was the electoral law for the parliamentary elections that are expected to take place next year .

Around midnight it became clear that an agreement was near , since all parties voiced optimism and promised they will not leave before an agreement

MP Walid Jumblatt , a key leader of the March 14 alliance which backs the government said "The Lebanese people have the right to be angry at us if we return to Lebanon without agreement and we are doing every thing possible to reach an agreement "

Similarly opposition MP Ali Hassan Khalil sounded optimistic when he said that he expected a parliamentary vote to elect a president on Thursday or Friday.

Last year , the rival groups had agreed on electing army chief Gen Michel Suleiman to succeed the former President Emile Lahoud, but they could not agree on anything else and for this reason the presidential elections were delayed 20 times . The first election date was scheduled for Septem,ber 25, 2007

Lebanon has been in political crisis since late 2006 when the six ministers of Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition resigned from the democratically elected cabinet. The opposition followed this move with a sit-in demanding more power and a veto over government decisions.

The deal: Here are some sketchy details that appeared in the Arabic Daily An Nahar about the deal agreed in Qatar. On Wednesday the details of the deal will be announce by the Arab committee in Doha, Qatar

A- To Form a national unity government based on 16 ministers of the majority, 11 of the opposition (one third with veto power) and 3 to be picked by the President.

B- Distribution of The parliamentary seats in Beirut electoral region will be distributed as follows :
10 in Mazraa electoral District
5 in Ashrafieh electoral District
4 in Bachoura electoral District

C- The final statement on the agreement will include a reference to the weapons of organizations that are not under the direct control of the army and this issue will be finalized by the new president in Beirut

And last but not least all the above is conditional to the election of Army Chief General Michel Suleiman as the president of the republic of Lebanon no later than this coming Friday May 23, 2008.

IDF kills Five

Als Antwort auf verschiedene Angriffe seitens palästinensischer Milizen auf israelische Grenzstädte zum Gazastreifen tötet die israelische Armee im Verlauf des Dienstag fünf Personen. Am Morgen hatte eine Einheit des Islamic Jihad die Stadt Sderot mit zwei [drei] Raketen unter Beschuß genommen. Nach unterschiedlichen Angaben soll ein zügiger Luftangriff die ausführende Einheit getroffen haben [IDF], wobei allerdings ein 13-Jähriger getötet und zwei weitere Zivilpersonen verletzt werden, so das die palästinensische Seite von einer Ansammlung von Zivilisten spricht. Auf ähnluiche Art und Weise wird kurz danach ein palästinensischer Landwirt von einer Tankgranate vor Beit Lahia getroffen und getötet. Sein Sohn wird durch einen Kopfschuß schwer verletzt. [IDF: Bewaffnete wurden unter Feuer genommen, Kollateralschaden.] Bei Juhor ad-Dik wird erneut ein Zivilist durch eine spätere IAF-Rakete verletzt. Am Nachmittag wird der Vorort Zaytoun durch israelische Artillerie beschossen: Zwei Tote, darunter ein Hamasnik und weitere fünf Verletzte. Israelische Aktionen werden auch aus Maghazi gemeldet. Gegen Mittag beschießen DFLP mit zwei Raketend den Kissufim-Militärkomplex und die PRC die Stadt Sderot. Etwas später beteiligen sich auch PFLP und Fatah, drei Raketen werden auf Ashkelon und Sderot abgeschossen. Es soll am Karni-Crossing und im "nördlichen" Gazasreifen zu weiteren Luftwaffeneinsätzen gekommen sein, die keine unmittelbaren Opfer forderten. Trotz dieser Ereignisse sind die Möglichkeiten für eine grundsätzliche Einigung über eine Feuerpause eher gestiegen: The cease-fire (tahdiyeh) being negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip is expected to go into effect in a number of days, following developments at the end of meetings held by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday with the Egyptian leadership. The Egyptian Chief of Intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, who has been mediating between the parties, is scheduled to meet Tueday with the heads of the Palestinian factions in the Strip. Israel is waiting to learn from Suleiman whether the Palestinian groups, headed by Hamas, will agree to an unofficial deal on a cessation of terrorist activities in the strip, in return for an end to IDF attacks. + A senior Egyptian official said on Tuesday night that Israel had accepted in principle a proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip, according to the official MENA news agency. "Israeli leaders [have informed us] of their support for and understanding of the Egyptian proposals for a truce," the news agency quoted the unidentified official as saying. It added that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman had relayed the news to a Hamas delegation from Gaza earlier in the day. [...] Seven municipal leaders from Israel's south sent a harsh letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday, urging him to act against ongoing rocket attacks sustained by southern communities. ... Mittlerweile wird auch gegen den Bürgermeister von Sderot wegen sexual harrassment ermittelt... AP-Bericht: Despite violence, Israeli officials say Gaza cease-fire is close. Und latest: Israel is preparing for the possibility that efforts to secure a lull agreement vis-à-vis Hamas will fail, prompting the IDF to embark on a wide-scale military operation against Gaza terrorists. Senior officials in Jerusalem said Tuesday night that following the planned meeting in Cairo between Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman and Hamas representatives, as well as members of other Gaza terror groups, the National Security Cabinet is expected to decide whether Israel will be heading to a ceasefire or embarking on a military operation.

Ein anderer und hoffentlich etwas realistischerer Durchbruch: Rival Lebanese leaders were close to agreeing a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that has pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war. A senior Lebanese opposition official at the crisis talks in Doha said a deal resolving disputes over a parliamentary election law and how to divide seats in a new cabinet would be announced imminently. "We are very close to the announcement of a deal," Ali Hassan Khalil, an MP and a senior aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Arab-mediated talks in Doha. Zuvor: Talks between rival Lebanese political leaders in Qatar made progress on the composition of a national unity government on Tuesday, but the shape of a new electoral law remained a key stumbling block. After agreeing to adopt the qada (or smaller district) as the basis for constituencies, the parties remained at odds over how to divide Beirut.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has detained dozens of people in the West Bank city of Bethlehem as a part of a security clampdown in advance of the Palestine Investment Conference, which opens on Wednesday, various Palestinian sources said. Two sources in the Palestinian security forces, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that approximately 30 people had been detained and are being held in the Muqata'a, the government headquarters in Bethlehem. [...] U.S. officials said on Tuesday they aim to address economic roadblocks in the Palestinian territories -- including actual Israeli roadblocks and security risks -- at an investment conference in Bethlehem this week. The Palestine Investment Conference will include announcements of hundreds of millions of dollars in public-private business grants, loan guarantees, venture capital funds and affordable mortgages to spur the Palestinian economy, officials from the U.S. delegation told a news briefing. "The conference is intended to spur investor interest in the Palestinaian Territorites by showcasing business opportunities and projects ready to be launched," said Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, who is heading the U.S. delegation. [...] Mazen Sinokrot wants foreigners invited by the Palestinian government to an investor conference this week to get the right idea -- so he'll be publicly taking delivery of $12 million in business funding. When the conference starts in Bethlehem on Wednesday, his family conglomerate will sign a deal with a local investment group to fund a turkey processing unit. The deal was in the works anyway, but Sinokrot wants to drive home the message in public that there are Palestinian businesses worth investing in. "There is an opportunity now to do business in Palestine," the chairman of Sinokrot Global Group said, adding that his own new poultry venture could create 600 jobs. [Es dürfte wenig überraschen das der Mann Fatah-Minister für Wirtschaft gewesen ist. Im Übrigen verantwortlich in der disengagement-Zeit.] Investors began to trickle into the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday as organizers put the finishing touches on arrangements for the Palestine Investment Conference. [...] Israelisches Störfeuer hält sich weitgehend zurück. Nach dem die Identität des gestern am Huwwara-Checkpoint erschossenen Pipebomträgers geklärt wurde wird er den "Battalions of Struggle and Return" zugerechnet, einer Al-Aqsa-Abspaltung die verantwortlich für mehrere Messerangriffe zeichnet, darunter dem mit Todesfolge für einen israelischen Wachmann am 24.01.08 an einem Checkpoint in Shuafat/Jerusalem.

The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's bid to block a key witness from giving a deposition in a corruption probe against him. [...] Assemblyman Dov Hikind said on Monday that he saw then-Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert take an envelope full of cash following a Brooklyn fundraiser for the New Jerusalem Foundation in the 1990s.

The top uniformed US military officer told Congress Tuesday that Iran is directly jeopardizing peace in Iraq, prompting fresh calls from senators that the US pursue diplomatic talks with Teheran. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "irresponsible actions" by Iran's Revolutionary Guard "directly jeopardize" peace in Iraq. "Restraint in our response does not signal lack of resolve or capability to defend ourselves against threats," Mullen told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. [...] The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure. The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow. [...] The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Manche fragen sich bei solchen Ergebnissen [Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation while Israel ranked 136th out of 140 nations, according to the "Global Peace Index," compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.] warum das so ist. Die Antowrt ist recht einfach: Orthodox Jews have burned hundreds of New Testaments in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in Israel. Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of the central Israeli town of Or Yehuda, says he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and urged people to turn over hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material recently distributed by missionaries. Verrückte bekommen immer Bonuspunkte.

IDF kills One

Vor Nablus am Huwwara-Checkpoint wird am Abend ein 20-jähriger, mit drei Rohrbomben bestückter Palästinenser von Soldaten erschossen. Eine Fraktionszugehörigkeit ist noch nicht bekannt. Nach angaben von Ryad al-Maliki sind die Vorbereitungen für die am Mittwoch in Bethlehem statt finden sollende Investorenkonferenz abgeschlossen. Als Nebenprogramm wird der eröffende Präsident aller Palästinenser Mahmoud Abbas den österreichischen Verteidigungsminister treffen. Die offizielle Webseite befindet sich hier. [Etwas älter schon: Der internationale Aachener Friedenspreis geht in diesem Jahr an die israelische Frauenorganisation MachsomWatch und den evangelischen Pfarrer der Weihnachtskirche in Bethlehem, Mitri Raheb. Die Preisträger engagierten sich auf vorbildliche Weise „von unten“ für den Frieden im Nahen Osten heißt es zur Begründung. ... Der Aachener Friedenspreis ist mit je 1.000 Euro dotiert und wird am 1. September verliehen. Zur Preisverleihung sind – wie in jedem Jahr – alle Bürgerinnen und Bürger herzlich eingeladen. Porträt: MachsomWatch +++ Porträt: Mitri Raheb.]

Über den defacto-truce zwischen Israel und Gaza streiten sich die Geister. Unbestätigten Angaben zu Folge soll es ab dem Nachmittag zu entweder 4 Qassam-Abschüssen, oder zwei Mörsergranatenangriffen, oder zu einem Schußwechsel in Rafah gekommen sein. Oder auch gar nichts. Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that there can be no truce or cooling off period between Israel and Hamas unless there is an end to rocket attacks on civilians. Barak spoke to reporters following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, to whom he outlined Israel's concerns and conditions over any possible truce deal with Hamas. Wie ich gestern ausführte ist der Premier nur noch repräsentativ im Amt und schickt zeitgleich zu Baraks Besuch seinen Dobermann vor die Presse: Vice Premier Haim Ramon on Monday acknowledged that Israel was holding talks with Hamas, in violation of a government decision not to conduct talks with the Islamist Palestinian group until it complies with the demands of the Quartet. .. Ramon, speaking at a Kadima faction meeting, criticized Israel's negotiations with the militants group and voiced hope that the cabinet would soon make a strategic decision not to accept the Hamas presence along Israel's southern border. [Erstens hat Israel bereits eine Kabinettsentscheidung für diese strategische Entscheidung getätigt -enemy entity-, wobei Zweitens dort nicht drin steht das man nicht verhandeln darf. Drittens hat der Herr Premier höchstpersönlich nie ein Go für eine militärisch umfängliche Lösung der Hamasfrage erteilt und braucht jetzt hier und heute nicht rumgreinen.] Unterdessen keilt Ägypten gegen Bush zurück: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit says that the presence of Israeli and U.S. tanks on Arab soil is leading to more instability in the region. Aboul Gheit's made his remarks at a panel Monday on regional stability during the World Economic Forum on the Middle East at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. + Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office announced Monday he will undergo a routine test as part of his treatment for prostate cancer. In a statement, Olmert's office said the two-hour magnetic imaging test would monitor the tumor and take place Monday evening. [Nachdem meine ursprüngliche Spekualtion das Olmert deswegen nach Winograd ausscheiden wird war ja für den Müll. Jetzt halte ich mich zurück.]

Israel will not release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah, it recently informed the Lebanese organization. And if Hezbollah continues to insist that Palestinians be included in the deal, Israel may break off the negotiations, a senior official familiar with the talks told Haaretz. [...] Qatari-led Arab mediators stepped up efforts to salvage talks aimed at ending Lebanon's crisis on Monday after negotiations between the U.S.-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition suffered a setback. Rival leaders appeared back at square one on the fourth day of intense bargaining in Doha but mediators managed to get the talks going and maintained hope that a deal could still be reached to pull Lebanon back from the brink of a civil strife. [...] Hopes for a breakthrough to solve Lebanon's 18-month-old political deadlock dimmed considerably on Monday with neither camp willing to make concessions at talks being held in Qatar's capital, Doha. An indication of how convoluted the talks were came late Monday evening, when Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani joined talks with the rival leaders for the second day in a row in a bid to help break the impasse - or at least to keep the talks going. [...] Editorial: Among Lebanon's diverse (and sometimes highly divided) communities, it is somewhat rare to find a political stance or position upon which large majorities can wholeheartedly agree. But the prevailing sentiment in Lebanon right now is one that is shared by opposition supporters and government loyalists alike: The leaders who are gathered in Doha for talks on the Lebanese crisis should not return until they have reached a settlement to all of the outstanding issues that have needlessly plagued this country - and even threatened to bring about its demise. [...] another editorial: Most of Lebanon's top political figures are on an excursion to a foreign country in hopes (one assumes) of improving the situation in their own. The dazzling Doha hotel serving as their venue happens to have the shape of a stylized pyramid, a convenient reminder that taking inspiration from outside one's homeland is not necessarily a bad thing. It should be recalled, too, that it was the ministrations of the Arab League and the Qatari government - not any demonstration of visionary leadership in Lebanon - that got our feuding political parties to start negotiating again. Nonetheless, it is the Lebanese who have to seal the deal, and they cannot so unless and until they put their own country's interests above those of all others.

Normalerweise bin ich kein Freund von Texten von Parteibuchschreibern, egal bei welcher Stiftung sie sich die Brötchen verdienen. Heute eine Ausnahme: Here is a fascinating personal account of recent events in Lebanon from Heiko Wimmen, a German journalist and political analyst who resided in Beirut for the better part of the past fourteen years. He would like to share it with readers of Syria Comment. Hier sein deutschsprachiger Text auf der Böll-Stiftungswebseite. "Kernursache der Krise im Libanon" Ein Externer. Basierend auf der syrischen Besatzung 1976 des Libanon gibt es zwei Modelle der "Kernursachen". Das die Böllstiftung gerne "imperialistische US-Einflüsse" ursächlich am Wirken sieht versteht sich. Eine historische Übersicht findet sich hier, zB auf den Seiten vor 290.

Updates

France said on Monday it had held talks with Hamas, in an apparent softening of its support for the US-led policy of isolating the Palestinian Islamist group that seized control of the Gaza Strip last year. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed a report in the French daily Le Figaro quoting a retired ambassador who it said had met senior Hamas officials about a month ago. [Dans la plus grande discrétion, une première rencontre a eu lieu, il y a un mois environ, à Gaza, entre Yves Aubin de La Messuzière, diplomate français de haut rang en retraite depuis janvier, et les principaux responsables du Hamas, révèle Le Figaro. Ancien ambassadeur en Irak et patron de la direction Afrique du Nord, Moyen-Orient au Quai d'Orsay, La Messuzière s'est notamment entretenu avec Ismaël Haniyeh et Mahmoud Zahar, avant d'informer le Quai d'Orsay de ses discussions.] [...] Der Zeitpunkt ist sehr günstig: Senior Hamas leaders are traveling to Egypt on Monday to resume talks with Egyptian mediators in hopes of hammering out the terms of a ceasefire with Israel. The Hamas delegation in includes founder Mahmoud Zahhar, Jamal Abu Hashim, and Khalil Al-Hayyah, all of whom are based in the Gaza Strip. Exlied leaders Mousa Abu Marzouq, Muhammad Nasr and Imad Al-Alami will also join the meetings. [Maan, incl. Schreibfehler "exlied" - "exiled"] Zuerst wurde eine Verschiebung auf Ende der Woche angesetzt und wie hier bereits vermutet die Falschmeldung verbreitet Suleiman würde im Gazastreifen am Sonntag weilen. Nun verbleibt die Terminologie wie ursprünglich geplant, wobei ich kaum Erfolgschancen erkennen kann. Zwar wäre ein gegenseitiger Waffenstillstand technisch machbar [Israel plans to accept the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire proposal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but does not intend to officially declare a commitment to it. Instead, Israel will treat the deal struck indirectly with Hamas as a series of steps beginning with a lull in hostilities, followed by gradual relaxation of the financial blockade of Gaza. Ehud Barak, who will discuss the cease-fire with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh Monday, is skeptical about the chances of achieving long-term quiet with Hamas, and his feelings are shared by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.], aber ohne Aufhebung der Blockade wenig von Nutzen. Andererseits kann eine wohlinszenierte extralegale Tötung eines Islmic-Jihad-Führers in der Westbank jederzeit die ruhigere Lage platzen lassen. Der aktuelle Waffenstillstand kann mit Beginn Samstag 00:00 terminiert werden, womit die zentralen player Hamas und Islamic Jihad gemeint sind. Für die gezeigte Disziplin auf täglicher Basis eine gewisse Menge an Treibstoff und Gas, allerdings nur ein Bruchteil des benötigten Stoffs. Andere Gruppen verüben kleinere Attacken auf den Sufa-Crossing und angebliche israelische Ziele im Gazastreifen in der Nähe des ehemaligen Flughafens. Zu notieren ist das nach den Bush-Infektion mit Kriegslüsternheit auch die Presse wieder bereinigt ist und peacenik-Artikel veröffentlichen darf: Say yes to a lull - Major op in Gaza would not solve rocket issue, put Shalit’s life in danger. Auffällig ist jedoch das das Wörtchen Iran häufiger erwähnt wird: The Shin Bet announced Monday that it arrested last month a Palestinian terrorist who had undergone training in Iran. ... State officials said that his arrest proves that Iran is directly involved in Palestinian terrorism. [Den lieben state officials sei an dieser Stelle gesagt das Geständnisse die unter Folter zu Stande gekommen sind in Rechtsstaaten keinerlei Bedeutung haben.] [...] Helena Cobban glänzt mit einem historischen Abriß. [...] Israeli worries about gunrunner tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip are overblown as the greater smuggling threat is from the Mediterranean sea, a senior Israeli lawmaker said on Monday. ... But Grad and Katyusha-style rockets favoured by Hamas and other factions for hitting targets deep in Israel are too big to be dragged through the underground passages, the sources said. [1. Nein, nicht zu "groß". Zu viel Personal wird benötigt. In den letzten Verschüttungen wurden jeweils über ein halbes Dutzend Menschen verschüttet. 2. Die Kanister-Theorie ist aufgrund der Seeüberwachung eher schwer zu glauben.]

Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that he believes the Knesset elections will be moved up and held by the end of the year or the beginning of 2009. [Wirklich erstaunlich der Mann. Bereits die Zweite Verschiebung in kurzer Zeit. "There is no reason to rush and that we should keep cool." Die Umfragewerte sind im Keller und cool bleiben kann allerhöchstens Livni. Während der Skandal um Olmert der Kadima aufgrund personeller Alternativen kaum schadet, schadet Barak dem Ansehen der Avoda mächtig.] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's lawyer, attorney Eli Zohar, said Monday that the decision to accept early testimony from American millionaire Morris Talansky is a blatant disruption of the balance between the right to fair trial and public interest. ... On the other side, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador stood before the court, in what had already been described as an unusual legal maneuver, and explained why the preliminary testimony was crucial. Talansky himself, the State said in response to the petition, is a suspect and his promise to return to Israel and testify cannot be counted on. "The investigation into the conduct of the two suspects in question (Olmert and Zaken) pertains to the years in which Olmert was industry, trade and labor minister, his two tenures as mayor of Jerusalem, and his tenure as the health minister prior to that. "His duties required him to travel extensively and meet with certain elements as a public persona," continued Lador. "The allegations being investigated today go to his long involvement with Mr. Talansky, who is a known fundraiser and is affiliated with many Jewish organizations in the United States. "Official contacts aside, the State believes that during that time Olmert received cash payments from Talansky, both in Israel – via his bureau chief and in the US, via sporadic encounters between them… The State will offer evidence as to the nature of the payments, including specific amount, which were provided in cash, in the form of dollars-filled envelopes." [...] The state has thus far spent over NIS 6 billion on settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in August 2005, according to the Disengagement Administration, known as Sela. This cost, which averages out to NIS 3 million per family, includes direct compensation payments, investment in infrastructure for the evacuees' new communities and social assistance aimed at helping to ease the trauma of the evacuation. In addition, the Knesset recently approved an increase in compensation payments that will total some NIS 640 million. [no comment]

Less than a week after a speech by US President George W. Bush spurred condemnation from Palestinian Authority officials - who accused the American leader of being one-sided in peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis - PA President Mahmoud Abbas has come to the conclusion that peace talks have failed, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Monday. Citing PA sources, the article said that prior to his departure from Sharm e-Sheikh Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the paper, the report was given to Abbas from a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel, and that the US was "allowing Israel full freedom to take a stance which would serve its policies, its security, and its interests alone." ... die Abbas-Sprecherschaft kommt kaum mit dem dementieren nach: Palestinian Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh denied reports on Monday that President Mahmoud Abbas plans to resign if a final agreement is not reached in negotiations with Israel within six months. Der obige Bericht wurde noch nicht dementiert. In der Westbank gehen die recht sinnlos vorgetragenen Unternehmungen weiter: Palestinian forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas have arrested two Islamic Jihad leaders, a Palestinian security official said on Monday, in a U.S.-backed law-and-order campaign in the occupied West Bank. Abdel Fatah Khuzaimiah, who was detained on Sunday, was the most senior militant taken into custody in the northern West Bank since hundreds of pro-Abbas security men deployed in the city of Jenin two weeks ago. [In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Hamas security forces questioned Osama al-Fara, an Abbas loyalist and the governor of the southern town of Khan Younis, for four hours, sources in Abbas's Fatah movement said.] Über das Wochenende werden weit über 40 Personen von marodierenden IDF-Einheiten verhaftet, Häuser gelootet, Menschen an Checkpoints mißhandelt und in Hebron gar ein Checkpoint kompensationslos abgebaut. Und noch eine andere "Praktik" wird endlich mal öffentlich gemacht: Israeli authorities have been holding a major shipment of electronics ordered by Palestinian firms at the Israeli port of Ashdod for eight months, the Palestinian minister of Telecommunications Kamal Hassuna said on Sunday. Israel has been detaining at Ashdod Port electronic equipment which the Palestinian ministry of telecommunications has imported since 8 months, Palestinian Minister of Telecommunications Kamal Hassuna said on Sunday. Hassuna was speaking to the press in Cairo after he participated in the Telecom Africa conference and exhibition. He said that Israel deliberately held the equipment because it was imported directly while the Israelis wanted the imports go through Israeli companies. He explained that importing directly is less costly than using Israeli agents. He appealed to the international community and the concerned organizations to pressure on Israel to get the electronic equipment released. [Maan] Tja, wie bereits erwähnt sollen die internationalen Hilfsgelder doch auch den eigentlichen Herrschern des Landes die Taschen füllen.

This Palestinian Life is a film about the Palestinian nonviolent struggle in the face of Israel’s occupation and annexation of their land. Israel maintains control over a majority of Palestinian land. Surrounding the valleys of many Palestinian villages lie Israeli communities, called settlements, a majority of which according to international law are illegally built on Palestinian village land. The Israeli army protects Jewish settlers as they violently attack school children, prevent Palestinian shepherds from tending to their flocks of sheep, or raze ancient trees. This system threatens the very way of life of Israel’s Palestinian neighbors. [Trailer mit der hübschen Jeanette. Ich werde die Projektfortschritte genau beobachten. Natürlich nur aus politischen Gründen. :-)] Ähm. Ja: Phillip Rizk, im Übrigen auch Deutscher ist auf diesem blog kein Unbekannter und wurde schon verlinkt. Genau weiß ich es nicht, aber ich glaube er hat mit diesen Leuten zu tun. Seeehr interessant finde ich Jeaneee... nein, dieses Projekt von der mir bislang unbekannten Julie Norman. Photo-Bereich.

For Defacto Truce call 1-800-Livni-Moans

Dem amerikanischen Aussenministerium wurden unlängst verschiedene Audiobeweise zugespielt, deren sehr amüsanter Inhalt baldmöglichst auf regierungseigenen XXX-Webseiten veröffentlich wird: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are privately discussing a peace agreement and the talks should intensify in the next several months, U.S. Secretary of State Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark said on Sunday. "I do know how seriously they are discussing all of the key issues," Rice told reporters aboard Air Force One as she returned from a Middle East trip with President George W. Bush. "I think you're going to see them intensifying those discussions over the next several months." [Was? Also für mich ist Sex generell das wichtigste issue. Politik? Kaum vorstellbar. Denn schließlich hat Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark verschiedene hohe Regierungsbeamte zum Sonnen nach Israel entsandt um die Friedensheuchelei zu monitoren. Es kann natürlich bei der amierkanischen Aussenministerin immer sein das sie lügt, klar.] [...] Selbstverständlich kann es auch sein das sie die Flughöhen nich verträgt. Ihr zu unterstellen, sie würde Amtshilfe für undemokratisch ablaufende Prozesse leisten [Fifteen members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are demanding an urgent session on the discussion of core issues with the Palestinian Authority. They are demanding reports from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and chief negotiator Brigadier General (Res.) Udi Dekel on the matter, and are demanding that Olmert report on the exchange of messages, via Turkey, with Syrian President Bashar Assad.] wäre an dieser Stelle abenteuerlich. Denn schließlich wird ja Israel von demokratisch gesinnten Siegertypen regiert, die kein Wässerlein trüben können und nicht von einer Horde looser, gegen die verschiedene Korruptionsermittlungen laufen. Der top-Siegertyp: Continuous rocket barrages fired by Palestinians against Israeli towns in the western Negev cannot persist and a decision on how to act on the matter is near, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Sunday. "We are very close to a decision point regarding every issue in Gaza," Olmert told ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "The present situation cannot continue." [Es regnet seit 7 Jahren Qassam-Raketen auf Israel. Und jetzt ist die Entscheidungszeit was man damit anfangen soll nahe. Wahrscheinlich kommt auch morgen der Messias, am Donnerstag schneit es in Jerusalem und am nächsten Sonntag fliegen Schweine aus Zypern ein um gegen die Ungleichbehandlung von Muslimen und Juden gegenüber den Christen zu demonstrieren. Übernnächste Woche werden dann sanfte Drogen legalisiert um die Befriedung des Nahen Ostens einigermaßen erträglich zu machen.] Die Qassam-Einheiten haben vorbehaltlich israelischer Gegenmaßnahmen das Feuer seit zwei Tagen eingestellt. Ein kleiner Gefallen an den ägyptischen Unterhändler: Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said Sunday that if Israel agreed to the terms of a truce deal with Gaza militant groups, he could set a date for starting the cease-fire as early as Monday. Ein erneutes Zeichen das Olmert vollstädnig ausgehebelt in der israelischen Politik dasteht: Eine verklausulierte Kriegserklärung die das Diktat des Fürstens der Finsternis George Bush aus seiner Knesset-Rede umzusetzen vermeint am Tag vor einem enorm wichtigen Besuch zweier Minister -Aussen und Verteidigung- in Ägypten, die dort über einen Waffenfrieden verhandeln möchten ist neben der obigen Non-Transparenz in Sachen anderer Verhandlungen Beweis genug dafür das der Regierungschef mittlerweile nur noch repräsentativen Charakter an den Tag legt. Auffällig wird das Verhalten kaum mehr da lameduck Olmert sich darauf verlassen kann das lameduck Bush für mehr Aufsehen sorgt: US-Präsident George W. Bush hat auf der letzten Station seiner Nahostreise in Ägypten die arabischen Staats- und Regierungschefs brüskiert. Arabische Politiker sprachen nach Bushs Rede von einer "Unverschämtheit". Brüskiert werden auch die lieben Merkel und Cos in seinem Hintern die Länder, [wie Ägypten] ... auf einem Reform- und Veränderungskurs ... sehen. Derweil ist außerdem die künftige Aussenministerin der Amerikaner auf Antrittsbesuch: Washington must assert to the rest of the world that if they want to be friends with America, they need to do more to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, visiting US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Sunday in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post. [Und ich dachte immer man müsse nurn Burgerkingimperium aufbauen, genetisch veränderten Dreck essen, möglichst viele Waffen kaufen und das Aussenhandelsdefizit bezahlen. So kann man sich täuschen.] Ich befürchte allerdings das uns hier ein Generationenwechsel von verbraucht und harmlos zu Großmachtdenken der anderen Art bevorsteht. Pelosi said that to stop Iran's nuclear march, short of a military strike - something she did not rule out as a last resort - "you have to go all the way. And people have to know you are deadly serious that if you want to be our friend, if you want the benefit of our friendship, a central pillar of our foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Kennen wir das? Jau: The proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons ("weapons of mass destruction") and of the means of delivering such weapons, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and [I] hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. Kommt uns noch bekannter vor: Just prior to this hearing, he handed me copies of the documents he downloaded from a site in Finland describing the nature of the fission and fusion processes, the basic principles of fission weapon design, and assembly techniques for achieving supercriticality. Now while I am not a physicist, and cannot judge the level of sophistication of all of this data, I nevertheless cannot help but think that this information might be useful to someone, somewhere, who may want to build a bomb and who may not otherwise have access to it. [Richtig, der Frauenschützer Duncan Hunter, der Frauen aus Kampfzonen bannen wollte.] Es ist nach über 14 Jahren sehr interessant das die "Argumente" immer noch die gleichen sind und sich die Proliferationsspirale vor der möglichen Barak-Präsidentschaft durch Sarkozy und Bush im kompletten Nahen Osten ausgedehnt hat, während die "rouge states" immer noch die gleichen sind. Ein scheinbar sehr nützliches Thema.

Warum das Verhör verschoben wurde? Police will confront Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with new evidence in connection with the ongoing corruption investigation against him, Channel 2 reported on Friday. According to the report, police have requested that Olmert make himself available for questioning either Saturday night or Sunday, during which they will seek explanations from the prime minister before the scheduled May 25 court deposition of a key witness, U.S. fundraiser Morris Talansky. [...] Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Sunday said he doubted a decision could be reached in the near future on the ongoing corruption probe against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "I am not certain that in the coming weeks we will make a legal decision, this is an unrealistic attitude," Mazuz told Channel Two's Ilana Dayan in an interview broadcast on Sunday. [...] The commander of the National Fraud Investigations Unit, Shlomi Ayalon, contacted Olmert's attorneys Thursday with a request for an interview as soon as possible. Sources involved in the investigation said Saturday they expected such a meeting would be held soon, possibly Sunday or Monday. But at the Prime Minister's Bureau, as well as among members of his legal counsel, there was surprise at the rush for another interview. ... Law enforcement sources said in recent days that their aim is to "lock" Olmert on one version of events before Talansky gives his public deposition. Investigators are concerned that if Olmert is not interviewed before Talansky's deposition, the PM's version of the affair may be "doctored" to avoid his being incriminated in the case. The investigators are planning to provide Olmert's lawyers with the material they have so far collected, so that his defense team will be able to cross-examine Talansky in court. [...] The prosecutors' assertion was included in the state's response to appeals filed last week by attorneys Eli Zohar, Ro'i Blecher and Nevot Tel-Tzur, who are representing Olmert, and Micha Fetman, who is representing the prime minister's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken. "With regard to the claim [by the appellants] regarding the large amount of evidence in the possession of the prosecution and the difficulty to prepare for the cross-examination of [Talansky] according to the timetable that has been set, it should be pointed out that the lower court's decision was conveyed to the parties on Friday afternoon (May 9)," the prosecutors wrote. "The state informed the counsel for the appellants that it was ready to hand over most of the evidence by Friday evening! Nevertheless, the defense, for its own reasons, did not do anything to receive the material up to this very moment." Es wäre wohl hilfreich wenn die Ermittler in der nächsten Woche Druck durch die "versehentliche" Veröffentlichung etwaiger Details aufbauen würden. [...] Since the latest investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was announced, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has greatly accelerated her political activity within Kadima. Party sources say that last week her camp stepped up their recruiting efforts, taking hundreds of party membership applications from party headquarters. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz also went into high gear last week; his party workers grabbed over 1,000 sign-up forms. [...] Public Security Minister Avi Dichter has said that he is considering running for the leadership of Kadima. ... On Friday, several Kadima MKs gathered at the home of MK Isaac Ben-Israel to discuss the ongoing investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. This is the first meeting of this kind since the news first broke regarding Olmert's probe, but the participants maintain that the nature of the meeting is merely a "theoretical discussion" and not an attempted putsch. [...] Jordan's King Abdullah II has told Israel to set the conditions necessary for peacemaking so that an agreement with the Palestinians can be reached this year. Abdullah's remarks came in a meeting Sunday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, his royal palace said. Das Abdullah auf Livni setzt wird im unteren Bereich näher erläutert: About two weeks ago Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dined in Petra, Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and with King Abdullah. In the meeting, which was defined as "good and warm". Das Treffen war so gut und warm das sich Abbas mal wieder zu dramatischen Ausbrüchen gezwungen sieht: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday threatened to resign if he does not reach a peace settlement with Israel within six months, Israeli MK Yossi Beilin said. Die Rede von Bush vor der Knesset wird als ultimativen Beweis für die großangelegte Verarschung der Palästinenser ausgelegt: "In principle, the Bush speech at the Knesset angered us, and we were not happy with it. This is our position and we have a lot of remarks (about the speech) and I frankly, clearly and transparently asked him that the American position should be balanced," Abbas said. Der Versuch von Bush das Porzelan zu kitten schlug mehr als fehl: a state "would be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes place in the Palestinian territories." Da ist wohl ein Viertel des Libanon nach dieser "suffering"-Definiton dem Palästinenserstaat zuzuschlagen. Zuletzt noch die Gegenüberstellung zu oben: I told the President that I am absolutely committed to working with he and his negotiators, as well as the Israelis, to get a state defined. + privately discussing.

Related: Israel has agreed to release 71 Palestinian prisoners in return for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, a senior Hamas official said during an interview with the London-based pan-Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat. [...] Sources in the Strip told Ynet on Sunday evening that as opposed to what had been the original outline of the truce negotiations between Hamas and the Egyptian mediators, the issue of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is proving to be central to the talks. [...] Time to free Barghouti - Releasing popular Fatah leader may be only way to stop Hamas expansion [...] Head of Egyptian Intelligence General Omar Suleiman has warned Hamas that the failure to include kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit in a prisoner exchange with Israel will lead to a wide-spread IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, according to a report in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.

Three Palestinian citizens were injured on Saturday in a fight between the Hamas-affiliated de facto government's police and the members of an Islamic group called Ahl Al-Kitab Wa As-Sunna (followers of the Qur'an and the Prophet's teachings) in the northern Gaza Strip. [...] Assailants detonated a bomb outside a popular cafe in Gaza City early Sunday morning, apparently part of a campaign by shadowy extremists to eliminate perceived symbols of Western influence. [...] The West Bank is open for business after years of bloody turmoil. That's the intended message of this week's international investors' conference where the Palestinians are seeking backing for nearly $2 billion in development projects, from fish farms to a new city of 25,000. The three-day gathering of hundreds of potential investors in the biblical town of Bethlehem is to signal a turning point for the Palestinian economy, battered by Israeli-Palestinian fighting and a stifling Israeli closure regime of hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks.

Updates

Die kindische Logik mancher Politiker ist schon erstaunlich: Israel has asked Egypt to incorporate a deal to free abducted soldier Gilad Shalit into Hamas truce talks being mediated by Cairo. The cease-fire talks will resume next week, Haaretz has learned. A Hamas official said that the group does not oppose including Shalit in the truce deal but would agree to such a move on its own terms, Israel Radio reported on Friday. Eigentlich wollte man ja den Gazastreifen nun zurückerobern. Nach Angaben von Ayma Taha, Hamas-Sprecher wird die Delegation erst in einer Woche nach Ägypten reisen. Über die Verlegung des Treffens, bei dem Äußerungen der Israelis an Ägyptens Geheimdienstchef Suleiman von Anfang dieser Woche disutiert werden sollen [man beachte die 12 Tage die dazwischen liegen] gibt es keine Angaben, was so viel bedeutet das Suleiman der Delegation vermittelt hat man bräuchte nicht erscheinen. Auffälliger Fehler des anzustrengenden Separat-Waffenstillstands für Mubarak ist die Tatsache das seine ursprüngliche Absicht eine Reconciliation zwischen Fatah und Hamas zu erwirken fehl geschlagen ist. Die im Link angegebene Variante "Egypt's intelligence chief, General Omar Suleiman, will meet a delegation of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip on Sunday" halte ich für eine Falschmeldung. Nach morgendlichen Angriffen aus dem Gazastreifen beschießen israelische Kampflugzeuge bewaffnete Hamas-Einheiten. Keine Opferberichte. Hernach bricht Ruhe aus. Vor der Rosary Sister School, einer katholischen Einrichtung in Gaza City wird ein Brandanschlag verübt. [...] The recent visit by Egyptian intelligence chief Gen Omar Sulaiman to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories was supposed to help advance a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, headed by Hamas, and the Jewish state. However, the likelihood of this is low, many analysts here say, with the most probable best case scenario being a reduction in the intensity of the conflict, lessening the chances of civilians on both sides of the Gaza-Israeli border getting hurt or killed.

In der Westbank ist verhältnismäßig sehr ruhig, mit Ausnahme der üblichen freitäglichen Freundschaftstreffen: Dozens of settlers from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar rioted in the village of Asira al-Kabaliya, Palestinian sources reported Friday. According to the report, several Palestinians were beaten up by settlers, who also caused extensive property damage in the village. However, according to the settlers, Palestinians from a nearby village provoked the latest clash after setting a wheat field owned by Yitzhar residents on fire. The settlers said that teams who arrived on the scene to put out the fire were stoned by Palestinians, and claimed that this was the third time in the past two weeks that villagers set fields on fire.

Die Erfolge des Bush-Besuchs und seiner Initiative zur Verbesserung der Verhandlungsgeschindigkeit von "core issues" im Austausch von Israelis und Palästinensern sind erheblich: Israel ruled out all debate on letting Palestinian refugees return in any peace deal, as U.S. President George W. Bush ended a visit on Friday that left Arabs dismayed by his outspoken support for Israel's "chosen people". As Bush flew out after three days of celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary, an Israeli government spokesman said Palestinian insistence on the right of return for 4.5 million refugees and their descendants was "the ultimate deal breaker". Six months into negotiations sponsored by Bush in the hope of a deal before he leaves the White House, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman used some of the toughest Israeli language yet to insist that President Mahmoud Abbas abandon 60-year-old refugee claims if he wants to establish a Palestinian state. "This demand, which does not exist under international law, for right of return, is the ultimate deal breaker. You cannot have peace and this demand at the same time," Mark Regev said. [Kommentar von Naomi Bubis] Vor lauter Angst vor der Rückkehr der Flüchtlinge behandelt man die eigene muslimische Gemeinde wie folgt: Israel’s Arab minority has a lower life expectancy than that of Jewish citizens; the Arab community suffers from higher infant mortality rates; and in relative terms the number of elderly Arabs without teeth is very high. A new report says these are some of the signs of discrimination within the health care system. [Bush also told them that just as the US changed its treatment of minorities, he hoped that Israeli society could also change the way it treats its minorities.]

Shimon Peres hingegen hat wohl ein wenig zu viel hasbara geraucht: "Don't forget," continued Peres, "he is now going to Saudi Arabia, an Arab country. He knows exactly to whom his words are directed," adding, "he sent a strong and unequivocal message of peace.": President George W. Bush and King Abdullah formalized new cooperation on Friday between the kingdom and the United States on a range of topics, including the development of civilian nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia and US protection of Saudi oil fields. Immerhin entfällt bei den Saudis das Raketentesten, da die vorhandenen und bestellten Waffensysteme atomwaffentauglich sind.

Frieden breitet sich auch anderweitig aus: The United States and Israel agree on the need for "tangible action" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said after a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush. "We are on the same page. We both see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday. Regev described diplomatic efforts so far to exert pressure on Iran as "positive", but added: "It is clearly not sufficient and it's clear that additional steps will have to be taken". Asked about the option of using military force, Regev said: "Leaders of many countries have talked about many options being on the table and, of course, Israel agrees with that." Bush ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Tehran in a speech to Israel's Knesset on Thursday, saying critics' calls for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were comparable to the "appeasement" of Adolf Hitler before World War Two. [...] Democrat Barack Obama accused President George W. Bush on Friday of "fear-mongering" for suggesting Democrats wanted to appease terrorists and vowed to meet leaders of hostile nations like Iran if elected. Obama, relishing a long-distance debate with Bush on foreign policy, said the president had contributed to Tehran's rise in the Middle East by launching the Iraq war, which he said had removed Baghdad as a counterweight to Iran. [...] McCain, meanwhile, is guilty of hypocrisy. I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and believe that she was right to say, about McCain's statement on Hamas, "I don't think that anybody should take that seriously." Unfortunately, the Republicans know that some people will. That's why they say such things. But given his own position on Hamas, McCain is the last politician who should be attacking Obama. Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News's "World News Tonight" program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange: I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?" McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

David Ignatius, "The squeeze on the Middle East's moderates" [...] Qatar's emir formally opened talks on Friday between rival Lebanese leaders which aim to resolve a protracted political conflict that has pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war. [...] Was wurde eigentlich aus der Jemenitischen Initiative Hamas-Fatah? [...] After 48 hours of talks, the delegation of nine Arab foreign ministers and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Thursday revealed a six-point plan to end the sectarian strife that left almost 70 dead and 200 injured across Lebanon in one week. [...] Ghassan Charbel, "Questions for the opposition"

First Think, Act later + IDF kills One

"After the events of yesterday the blood boils and the gut wants to react," Barak said during a speech in Jerusalem. But he added: "It is more important to exercise judgment and to follow a policy of think first, act later." [Bei Gelegenheit werde ich das mit den guts bei Tzippi Livni überprüfen.]
"The government will work toward an absolute end to Qassam rocket fire, and we are not talking about a prolonged period of months," he said while on a visit to Ashkelon where a rocket struck on Wednesday, wounding some 90 people in various conditions. Barak added that Wednesday's attack "proves that despite our military action in Gaza, the militants are still firing. If the rocket had hit the main rafter near the building's roof, we would be attending funerals today and not just inspecting the situation on the ground." Vielleicht sollte Barak sogar vor dem Sprechen das Denken erlenen. In der Mehrzahl richten sich Operationen des Militärs nur an die "Infrastruktur", selten werden aktive Qassam-Einheiten vor dem Abschuß am Abschuß gehindert. Neben den Schlampereien ["There was no need to inform the residents that the alarm system was not working," the officer said. "It is not clear how the Home Front Command will act differently in the future in light of the large number of false alarms."] ist das Attackenniveau einem falschen Einsatzkonzept geschuldet. Hier wurden schon die untätig am Boden verbleibenden Helikopter der Armee und die Wut der Piloten darüber besprochen. Weshalb man eine Rakete, die auf Sderot geschossen wird nicht abschießen kann liegt in der kurzen Zeitspanne begründet. Eine Rakete auf Ashkelon ist jedoch über eine 1/4-Stunde unterwegs. Eine Ewigkeit, die israelische Radiologen nutzen um der Rakete beim Fliegen untätig zuzusehen. Die internen Abnutzungserscheinungen, die im command bis runter in die Einheiten sich hier zeigen resultieren aus der gestern schon erwähnten richtigen Annahme das Zufallstreffer nicht verhinderbar sind. Häufen sich die Zufallstreffer [wie heute auf eine Synagoge] darf man annehmen das die Qassam-Einheiten aus den Fehlern die Streuungen adaptieren und die Ziele bewußter aussuchen. Einerseits der fatalistische Ansatz der Gewöhnung und andererseits die unerträgliche Fehlkalkulation man könne die Hamas-Regierung mit einer Blockade "entmilitarisieren" deuten an das der Grad an intellektuellem Kapital das in die Geschichte investiert wird am unteren ende der Skala sitzt. Ein strukturelles Problem der IDF/IAF: Man sitzt am Supergehirncomputer und spioniert mit höchstem technischem Aufand allerhand Länder aus, simuliert weitläufige Attacken auf gewisse Atomanlagen fremder Länder. Es fällt da offensichtlich schwer sich um profane Probleme wie Qassam-Beschuß zu kümmern. Zudem kommt das die obige Aussage "if ... main roof" ein geradezu kindliches Mißverhältnis zu den Realitäten zeigt: Hätts einen Falafel-Stand vor dem mall getroffen wäre der Satz vielleicht richtiger. Der Herr Verteidigungsminister hat sich entweder nicht richtig informieren lassen, oder die Armee hat ihn nicht richtig informiert. Besonders belustigend ist der Absatz "Security sources told Haaretz that after the visit to Israel by U.S. President George W. Bush, which ends on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces would step up offensive operations in the Gaza Strip. But the source said that at this time there are no plans to permanently take over parts of Gaza." Dies stand schon in der Maariv weit vor der Attacke auf den Ashkelon Mall. Als erstes wurden die größten jemals abgehaltene Manöver der an einer Occupation beteiligten Armeeteile auf den Sonntag angekündigt. Seit etwa einem 3/4-Jahr geht es so: Fordern, Üben, Abblasen. Verschiedenste Versionen, von Gaza-Teilung, Wiedereroberung, "nogo"-Zone 2 Meilen, extralegaler Tötung von Hamasniks usw. wurde alles besprochen und immer wieder behauptet man habe "grünes Licht" bekommen. Nur geschehen ist nichts. Dies deutet nur daraufhin das man keinerlei Ahnung hat was zu tun ist und wenn man jetzt etwas unternimmt wird man planlos und erfolglos im Gaza-Sand enden. Noch ein letztes Wort zum Thema Katyusha: Man hat bei der ganzen Sache vergessen das die Behauptungen eine BM21-Modifikation iranischer Bauart würde latent auf israelsiches Gebiet geschossen den kleinen Nachteil aufweisen das diese Gattung ... chemical warhead fähig ist. Man stelle sich mal vor die Hamas hätte den Fallafelstand vor dem Mall damit getroffen.

Eigentlich war US-Präsident Bush angereist, um Israel zum 60. Staatsjubiläum zu gratulieren. Doch seine Rede vor der Knesset geriet zur Kampfansage an alles Übel in der Welt. Seine Nahost-Friedensinitiative versandet. [...] The creation of a Palestinian state should bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Thursday. "With the establishment of the Palestinian state, we want to see an end to the conflict," she said. [...] Six Qassam rockets were fired towards Sderot on Thursday evening from northern Gaza, leaving none injured by damaging a synagogue. Several people were treated for shock and a fire that had broken out after a rocket crashed into a wheat field near a kibbutz in Shaar HaNegev Regional Council was put out. [...] Westbankverhaftungen zu Ehren George Bushs: 19. [...] Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has told Haaretz that in two years time every community within 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip border could be vulnerable to rocket attacks. [...] Hundreds of Palestinians marched towards the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza on Thursday afternoon as part of the day's protests in commemoration of the 'nakba' – or catastrophe. Palestinian have reported that several youths were wounded by IDF gunfire as troops tried to prevent the group from reaching the crossing. [...] "Israel is on a collision course with Hamas in Gaza that is reaching its conclusion." [...] U.S. Democrats erupted in outrage on Thursday after President George W. Bush suggested a pledge by the party's presidential front-runner Barack Obama to meet Iran's leader was akin to appeasement of Nazi Germany. Bush's comments, made in Jerusalem to the Israeli parliament during celebrations for Israel's 60th anniversary, stirred up the campaign for the November election and prompted Obama to accuse him of engaging in "the politics of fear." [...] Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman was made to wait two weeks to present his brokered peace proposal which bound Hamas with the other 12 politically-affiliated resistance groups operating in Gaza to an initiative for a “comprehensive and reciprocal period of calm to be applied progressively, first in Gaza and then in the West Bank”. Despite the escalation in violence and the initial perception of the agreement as “not serious”, Israel extended an invitation to the Egyptian mediator to present the proposal, but only after Israel had finished celebrating the 60th anniversary of their independence. [...] Rival Lebanese leaders are scheduled to talks in Qatar on Friday aiming to end a protracted political conflict that pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war. Leaders of the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition will try to forge a deal to end the standoff which has paralysed government for 18 months and left Lebanon without a president since November. An Arab League mediation mission sealed an agreement on Thursday which ended fighting between ruling coalition supporters and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. [...] Arab League mediators announced a deal Thursday to end the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since the civil war, after the U.S.-supported government backed down in its conflict with Hezbollah. [...] Ein palästinesisches Collateralopfer einer pinpoint-Operation der IDF im Gazastreifen verstirbt in einem israelischen Krankenhaus.

Daniel Levy, "Road Map to nowhere": This is one of those times of maximum mismatch between the optimistic rhetoric of peace process declarations and expectations and the gloomy reality of daily experience and prospects on the ground. The Annapolis architect, President George W. Bush, is back in the Middle East, still declaring the worthy goal of peace in '08. But the fundamentally flawed logic of the process initiated last year is increasingly transparent.

15 Injured in Ashkelon Mall Attack + IAF kills Two

[Related: Ein jüngster Bericht in der Maariv über eine nach dem Bush-Besuch fix angesetzte "Operation" israelischer Streitkräfte im Gazastreifen wird momentan in mehreren Foren beworben. Der im nächsten Bereich diskutierte Vorfall wird nun als ultimativer Grund angesehen. Ich lehne diese These vollinhaltlich ab. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ist eine groß angelegte militärische Offensive israelischer Streitkräfte zu 86% unwahrscheinlich und nicht mit dem Führungswechsel in der IAF vereinbar. Politisch können sich die Großkoalitionäre mitnichten ein Massensterben im Gazastreifen im Bereich 1000+x leisten. Hingegen dürften solcherlei Nachrichten "IAF kills two militants, wounds 4 others in two strikes in Gaza" zunehmen.]
Vier schwer, zwei moderat und 9 leicht-Verletzte dazu über 60 Schockopfer fordert der Einschlag eines Projektils in einem shopping mall, der nach meinen Informationen im südlichen Industriegebiet von Ashkelon liegt, was die weit verbreitete Meldung eines "Katjusha-Einschlags" nicht unbedingt stützt. [Mal zum Kontrast die Berichterstattung bei stürmer.online.de: 14 schwer verletzte Israelis, darunter eine Mutter mit Kind: Die Rakete aus dem Gazastreifen traf ein Einkaufszentrum im Stadtzentrum von Aschkelon.] Die Darstellung: of a busy shopping mall in central Ashkelon kann nicht anhand von Kartenmaterial verifiziert werden. Die Verletzten dürften zur Hauptsache der Bauweise entsprechend Trümmern geschuldet sein. Nicht unwichtig, wenn man an einen Seiteneinschlag und Schrapnellwirkung denkt, was zu verschiedenen Todesopfern geführt hätte. Die Zeugenangabe das kein Warnsignal zuvor ertönte bleibt mal so im Raum stehen [The IDF confirmed it had identified the rocket being launched in real time, and following reports from local residents in Ashkelon that the alert sirens had failed to sound prior to the attack - admitted the system had been disconnected as of late, due to a large number of false alarms]. Einige Politiker fluten daraufhin Ashkelon und äußern sich entsprechend wortgewaltig. Man wird wohl in der Kommandoebene den Leutchen sagen das ein Zufallstreffer dieser Art beim derzeit recht aktiven Niveau von durchschnittlich drei Raketen auf Ashkelons Süden die berühmte Wahrscheinlichkeit dient. An der Rechtwidrigkeit auf internationaler Gesetzesebene gibts keinen Zweifel. In einer ersten Reaktion kommt es zu Luftangriffen auf Bewaffnete im Gazastreifen in deren Verlauf zwei Hamas-Milizionäre getötet werden. Vier weitere werden verletzt. [In an interview with Army Radio, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said that Israel must break the Hamas stronghold in Gaza. Sneh explained that the Qassam rocket was manufactured in Iran and launched from Gaza, with the intention of hitting Ashkelon. He added, "This is part of the Iranian war on Israel, which intends to gain control of the Middle East." Sneh said that Wednesday's attack was a reminder of why Israel is not interested in negotiating with Hamas. "There is no foundation for it and we got the proof for that today."] Ich habe oben schon mal meine Meinung über solche Großsprecher geäußert, die seit der Machtübernahme der Hamas im Gazastreifen bellen aber nicht beißen. Dies hat sogar die Hamas kapiert. Es wäre im Übrigen schön gewesen man hätte sich seitens der Politik auch über den heute erschossenen 14-Jährigen Palästinenser so aufgeregt.

The details of a May 6 hearing at the Jerusalem District Court, in which the state requested that U.S. businessman and fund-raiser Morris Talansky give a preliminary testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, were released on Wednesday. The Jerusalem District Court earlier on Wednesday ruled that preliminary testimony from Talansky will be heard on May 25, and that his testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be videotaped and transcribed. The state on Tuesday asked the Jerusalem District Court to take a statement from Talansky as soon as possible, in light of the fact that the injunction barring him from leaving the country was set to expire on May 21. [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised to build about 600 housing units in contentious West Bank settlements, a political ally of the prime minister said Wednesday, adding new tensions to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. [...] The Jerusalem municipality has begun the process of approving a plan for a new housing complex, including a synagogue, in the heart of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan south of the Old City. [...] The approval rating of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government has dropped considerably since January, and the president would have trouble winning if elections were held now, according to a poll published Wednesday. The poll also indicated that Marwan Barghouti is by far the most popular Palestinian leader. [...] Ein Interview mit Olmert. [Könnten Sie sich vorstellen, dass Dortmund an jedem Tag der letzten sieben Jahre mit Raketen angegriffen worden wäre, ohne dass Sie etwas gegen diejenigen unternommen hätten, welche die Raketen abfeuern? A: Nein, Dortmund liegt außerhalb der Reichweite holländischer Qassam-Raketen.]

The United States plans to speed assistance to Lebanon's army but has no plans to increase current military aid to respond to the latest crisis, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. [Gerüchte werden laut, die Saudis hätten Sunni-Milizen mit Waffen beliefert.] Lebanon's government cancelled measures on Wednesday that angered the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement and triggered the worst internal conflict since the country's 1975-90 civil war. [...] Hizbullah's action in Lebanon during fighting with pro-government supporters was a "legitimate defense" to a coup attempt, the official Syrian press said on Wednesday. [...] Pity George W. Bush as he comes to review his foreign-policy carcasses [...] THomas L. Friedman, "The next American president will inherit many foreign policy challenges, but surely one of the biggest will be the Cold War. Yes, the next U.S. president is going to be a Cold War president - but this Cold War is with Iran..."] [...] Niqnaq: "The children mewl and puke in Washington"

Dion Nissenbaum: "In the wake of its fatal attack on a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, the Israeli military has issued a rather blunt statement to journalists: IDF Clarification: Movement of Journalists in Combat Areas - Under Their Own Risk"

Und zum Abschluß Neues von den [drei?] Wiener Würstchen: The directors of OMV, the largest oil and gas company in Central Europe, were asked uncomfortable questions on Wednesday about the moral and financial propriety of the €22 billion deal OMV signed in April 2007 to produce liquefied natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field.

IDF kills Four

Bei zwei separaten, kleineren Bodenoffensiven im Gazastreifen in vorgelagerten Örtchen vor Jabalia und Khan Younis werden zwei Hamas-Milizionäre und zwei Zivilisten, darunter nach palästinensischen Angaben ein 14-jähriger durch Granaten und Raketen getötet. Über 15 Personen werden teiwlweise schwer verletzt. [...] Unterdessen wird im israelischen Fernsehen von einem 4-Stufenplan berichtet, den die Ägypter diese Woche den Israelis zum ablehnen vorgelegt hätten: Stage one proposes both Hamas and Israeli halt hostilities against each other in the Gaza Strip. + In stage two, the rest of Palestinian military groups will stop launching homemade projectiles against Israeli targets, and in exchange, Israel forces will stop hostilities against these groups in the Gaza Strip. + In stage three, Israel will provide the Gaza Strip with basic needs through the border crossings after negotiations over captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit are resumed. + Stage four will be the completion of the prisoners swap, in exchange for the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. [...] Nach meiner Bauchschätzung dürften schon 25% der Gesamtbevölkerung so gehandelt haben, jetzt aber der erste medial aufgearbeitete Fall: Some 40 families from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, have decided to leave the area. "We decided to leave the kibbutz until things quiet down, and unfortunately, it will be with white flags," Dudi Doron, a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, said Tuesday. "Neither I nor my children will be Israel's hostages. We will come back when there is a solution to life," Doron said. ... Vilnai: "I recommend that our enemies not interpret restraint as a lack of confidence. There is no solution to a Qassam barrage, but we are determined to provide quiet to the residents of Sderot and the Gaza border area, whether through gestures or through military action." [...] Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Egyptian mediator Omar Sulieman has invited Hamas officials to hear Israel's response to a proposed Egyptian truce deal. ... Egypt will reopen the Rafah crossing to Palestinians even if Cairo's initiative to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fails, according to assessments by Israeli defense officials. The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, is taking steps to be able to limit mass marches to the fence separating Gaza and Israel. Although Egypt denies it, evidence is mounting that Cairo and Hamas recently reached an understanding to open the crossing regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. + Nach Angaben des Hamas-geführten Landwirtschaftsministeriums belaufen sich die durch israelische Militäraktionen angehäuften Schäden auf 2,5 Millionen US$. [Die Schäden für die israelische Wirtschaft auf der Gegenseite sind bei weitem höher.] [...] Trying to make economics support the political process, Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, announced on 13 May a series of moves agreed upon by the Israelis and Palestinians which would allow for an improvement in the quality of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. ... However, Blair did announce progress on Gaza's sewage projects, which will allow certain stages of work to go ahead now that clearance has been granted for the import of basic materials, as well as goods needed by the water utilities agency in Gaza, CMWU, which provides drinking water and sanitation services. [...] Editorial, "Educating Hamas": Israel is interested in a cease-fire with Hamas and there is no point in pretending that this is not so. The disengagement from the Gaza Strip was also an attempt to achieve calm on this front, and the partial restraint in response to the firing of rockets, which are already reaching Ashkelon, can also be considered an attempt to achieve quiet. Israel is interested in quiet even more than Hamas, because Iran (which is supporting Hamas) increases its involvement in the region the more the ground is burning. A peace agreement with Hamas is not in the cards, so all that can be wished for is a cease-fire that lasts, however long it lasts. We will always be able to return to the current situation.

Mittlerweile ist Friedensesel Bush im Heiligen Land gelandet. Die Haaretz eröffnet ihre eigens zur Plumpsklo-Konferenz geschaffene Webseite. [Nachdem Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark die letzten deartigen Anlässe zu verschiedenen outings nutzte dürfen wir gespannt sein was ihr dieses Mal einfällt. Vielleicht "Als kleines Mädchen hatte ich schon den Wunsch jüdisch zu werden."?] Jeremy Ben-Ami, "Five Myths on Who's Really 'Pro-Israel'". [...] In an attempt to provide Israeli youth with an alternative way to view their compulsory military service, the activist group New Profile has sponsored an advertisement featured on Israeli websites calling on young people to "think before they enlist". Dieser Lotan Raz ist wahrlich ein auffälliger Kerl. [...] Wie man sich am allerbesten blamiert zeigen uns israelische Sicherheitsleute die einen diplomatischen Affront gegen die aktuelle EU-Präsidentschaft zelebrieren.

In der Westbank eskaliert die Situation an einem Checkpoint vor Qalandia. Die angaben sind jedoch derzeit noch nicht ausreichend um das Ausmaß zu beschreiben. Zwischen "mehreren Dutzend" [rechtsabnorme Presse] und "über 200" [Radio] hätten angeblich gegen den Bush-Besuch demonstriert. Die Rechten behaupten die Protestierer hätten die armen Unschuldsengelsoldaten und Polizisten durch Steine werfen gezwungen Tränengas in die Menge zu schießen. Tbc. Im Verlauf verschiedener Marodierungen werden in der Westbank 12 Palästinenser verhaftet. [...] Israel and the Palestinians have been discussing an almost complete transfer of security responsibility to the Palestinian Authority security forces in order to turn the area into a "model region" - where Israeli presence is almost non-existent. Sources in the Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that talks on the new security arrangements were underway with American mediation and that of Quartet representative Tony Blair. ... To strengthen the PA, Israel has agreed to the construction of a new prison in Jenin to replace the one Israel destroyed in the second intifada. Israel also approved four new police stations for the area. The PA will also open a new court in Jenin. Israel has also agreed to remove roadblocks in the northern West Bank to ease the movement of Palestinian vehicles into Jenin and to Nablus and the Jordan Valley, in keeping with security considerations.

Uzi Benziman, "Tzipi the knife": In a well-orchestrated manner, the prime minister's supporters in Kadima immediately held a rally; at public events, his fans sit up front and shower him with hugs and kisses; the cabinet ministers from his party meet for a pep talk and then appear before the cameras and microphones to express their faith in the prime minister, repeating the message his advisers seem to have dictated: Nothing has happened that obliges the prime minister to resign or step aside; the investigation should be allowed to take its course. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's response was unusual: She is keeping her distance from Olmert and has not joined her colleagues. Livni, it seems, has her own opinion on Olmert's circumstances, and she is showing it in her behavior. [...] Sixty years after its establishment, the State of Israel is facing threats unlike any before, incoming Israel Air Force Chief Major General Ido Nehushtan on Tuesday said during his inauguration ceremony at Ramat David Air Force base in the Jezreel Valley. [...] Evidence uncovered in the new criminal investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should implicate him in a second bribery case as well, the Israel Police's former chief investigator, Cmdr. (ret.) Moshe Mizrahi, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday evening.

A high-level Arab League delegation began a mediation mission in Beirut on Wednesday to try to pull Lebanon back from the brink of civil war. [...] The army’s pledge to use force if necessary to impose law and order puts the only fully functioning national institution into the centre of Lebanon’s violent crisis. But although strained, analysts say the military remains united. “There is no civil authority in the country now, so the army is under tremendous pressure,” said Timor Goksell, a security expert and former spokesman of UN peacekeeping forces who coordinate with the military in south Lebanon. [...] Hizbullah's television station rushed to warn its viewers about the close ties between Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Israel, following a flawed interpretation of an article written by Yedioth Ahronoth columnist Nahum Barnea. [...] Ein 24 Jahre alter regierungskritischer Blogger ist in Syrien nach Angaben einer Menschenrechts organisation zu drei Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Die Verurteilung Tarek Bayassis wegen Beschmutzung des nationalen Ansehens sei empörend und völlig inakzeptabel, erklärte die Nationale Organisation für Menschenrechte in Syrien am Mittwoch. Bayassi solle sofort wieder freigelassen werden. Der 24-Jährige war im vergangenen Mai festgenommen worden, nachdem er Internetseiten der Opposition besucht und verschiedene regierungskritische Blogeinträge verfasst hatte. Ein Gericht in Damaskus hat die Strafe am Dienstag von ursprünglich verhängten sechs Jahren auf drei Jahre begrenzt, wie die Organisation erklärte.

IDF kills One +++ Adelson/Abrams jump into the Olmert-probe-pool

Nach übereinstimmenden Angaben wird ein 21-jähriger Hamasnik als Teilnehmer einer Mörsergranaten-Einheit am Dienstag östlich von al-Qarara durch eine israelische Rakete tödlich getroffen. Zwei weitere Hamasniks werden verletzt. Von palästinensischer Seite werden bis zu sechs Projektile auf israelisches Gebiet abgeschossen. Am Dienstag wurde die für drei Tage offene Grenze in Rafah wieder geschlossen. Über Handel-Aktivitäten gibt es keine Angaben, ein Personenaustausch in der Größenordnung 1000 wechselt die Grenze. [...] Eine auch hier verbreitete Geschichte nimmt eine überraschende Wendung: Muhammad al-Harrani, a father of six from Gaza diagnosed with cancer who reportedly died while waiting for a permit to enter Israel, miraculously "came back to life." This was not the result of a miracle, but rather, just part of the tactics used by al-Harrani's family in a bid to secure a permit for him. [...] President George W. Bush should urge Israel to reverse its strict closure policy towards the Gaza Strip, three human rights groups said in a letter to the US president today. Human Rights Watch and two Israeli human rights groups, Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, called on Bush to dissociate the United States from the closure policy, which is causing grave harm to Gaza’s civilian population. [...] Die politische Front vermeldet einen eher kleinlauten Ehud Barak der vor Regionalführern der Negev eine Entscheidung über einen massiveren Militäreinsatz oder die Annahme eines Waffenstillstandsvertrags auf Wochen vertagt. [...] Ian Black, "The Gaza Strip is the elephant in the room of the Middle East's longest-running crisis, effectively ignored by all participants in the so-called Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the knowledge that without its involvement, peace in any meaningful sense is simply unattainable." [...] But it should be made clear that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian government in Gaza denies the Nazi Holocaust. The Holocaust was not only a crime against humanity but one of the most abhorrent crimes in modern history. We condemn it as we condemn every abuse of humanity and all forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, gender or nationality. [...] The defense establishment is examining the possibility of transferring the Sufa and Kerem Shalom border crossings, through which goods enter the Gaza Strip, deeper into Israeli territory, a move that would enable the crossings to operate continuously despite the recurring threats of Palestinian terrorism. The new plan being mulled by security officials entails moving the inspection points for cargo trucks further east of its current location, out of range of Palestinian projectiles.

Déjà vu: Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Tuesday unveiled a package of steps designed to allow greater movement in the West Bank, and help the Palestinian economy grow in a way in which he said would be consistent with protecting Israeli security. 1. "have agreed on the steps which he said could begin to change the reality on the ground." Hat er schon vor einem Monat wortgleich behauptet. 2. Unveiled hat er das package schon im Januar. Es enthält ausschließlich alte Pläne. Blair verkommt hier zum Schönwetteronkel für den anstehenden Bush-Besuch. Die eigentlichen Verhandlungen und Ergebnisse [Vilnai/Herzog + Fayyad/Tycoons] sollen verschleiert werden damit nicht klar wird in welcher Art und Weise das palästinensische Volk von seiner alleinvertretenden Fatah abgezockt wird. Dumpinglöhne und neue Villenviertel für betuchte Fatahisten stehen bereits zur genüge. Für die Flüchtlingslager ist weiterhin die IDF zuständig, die den dortigen "Mob" knechten darf. Alles alt, alles schlecht, alles nicht ausreichend. [...] Der folgende link wird nicht wegen den hübschen Mädels des Advertisers verlinkt, auch wenn dort die gleiche dümmliche Verarschung statt findet wie im unteren Text: Hours before the arrival of US President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday evening that "real progress" has been achieved in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, and that "understandings and agreements have been reached on important matters, although not on all issues." Und so einen wichtigen und erfolgreichen Mann darf man natürlich nicht zum Rücktritt bringen. Der "wahre Fortschritt" sieht nach Angaben des wahren fortschrittlers Salam Fayyad so aus: : "We are addressing the international community which turned a blind eye to the Nakba, saying to them that 'today you can not turn a blind eye to what is happening in Palestine' … [Israel's actions] threaten what is left of the Palestinian lands and the life of the Palestinians. The intervention of the international community becomes more necessary than ever in order to prevent the addition of a new chapter to the Nakba." Der Superpalästinenser Abbas stellt sogar konkrete Forderungen an Olmert, die dieser jedoch gerade in den letzten Wochen strikt abgelehnt hat. Man kann der Fatah-Bande alles mögliche vorwerfen, aber eines unterscheidet sie dann doch vom Mafia-Zirkel unter Olmert: Die Realitätsferne der Kadima-Bande ist kaum zu toppen.

Anläßlich des Bush-Besuchs werden die Aktivitäten marodierender IDF-Einheiten fast gänzlich eingestellt, einige Umbauten im Checkpoint-System vor Nablus sollen einen "Abbau" symbolisieren [Einer wird zugemacht und statt dessen die Ausfallstraßen mit Straßensperren mobiler Natur belegt.] Derweil steigt die heimatliche Häme für den Friedensengel Bush beträchtlich: President Bush heads off to the Middle East today for a five-day tour through a political landscape of false predictions and broken promises. Möglich ist im Übrigen alles, und ich verweise darauf das es wohl Bushs letzter Besuch in der Region werden wird, so daß dadurch die Chancen bedeutend steigen: Ahead of a visit to the Middle East, US President George W. Bush expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough when he arrives in Israel on Wednesday. His Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on Tuesday said reaching such a deal within the next eight months "might be improbable but it's not impossible." Da obfuscated wieder Eine. Das Rice nun mittlerweile alleine an der Westbank-Aufgabe fast ein Jahr erfolglos rumdoktort und nun noch ein Jahr brauchen will ist extrem beschämend.

Die Investigation der Ermittler in Sachen Talansky-Olmert erhielt heute eine neue Dimension: The focus of the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continued on Tuesday to focus on the search for any quid pro quo that Olmert might have provided to U.S. businessman Morris Talansky in exchange for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he is suspected of giving to Olmert. Police questioned billionaire U.S. businessmen Sheldon Adelson and S. Daniel Abraham in connection with the investigation. Both men are in Israel to attend the Presidential Conference. [Die Nummer mit den Küh