Very slow news

[Auffällig war diese Woche Etwas das nicht geschah. Ein angekündigter Rice-Besuch in der Gegend. Jetzt schwebt sie Sonntag ein.] Public Security Minister Avi Dichter trifft Tony Blair und erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen Ägypten wegen unterbleibender Maßnahmen gegen den Waffenschmuggel in den Gazastreifen. Zuvor hatte Israel [etwas sehr verspätet] sehr scharf auf die Einreiseerlaubnis von zwei Partien Hamas-Islamic Jihad-Mitglieder in Form einer Protestnote an die Amerikaner reagiert. Zudem sind direkte Verhandlungen zwischen der Hamas und Ägypten ein Dorn im Auge der Israelis. Top-Mann Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, der allerdings den Status eines "outgoing" besitzt verschärft etwas den "large ground-operation"-Ton. Die Aktionen der IDF sind in der Realität vermindert worden, von größeren Truppenbewegungen oder Abzügen von der Nordfront war bisher nicht die Rede. Eine Operation in Al-Bureji fordert am Donnerstag 4 Verletzte und 40 Palästinenser werden verhaftet. Die Hamas-Leader Haniyeh und Meshal hingegen warnen erneut Abbas vor territorialen Zugeständnissen. Weitaus freundlicher als sein Aussenminister wird der türkische Armeechef Buyukanit bei den Israelis aufgenommen werden. Die extreme Rechte Israels widmet sich Filmprojekten. Die andere extreme Rechte Israels ist endlich da angekommen wo sie hin wollte. Olmert sei Dank ist er jetzt Zünglein an der Waage. [A decision to place core issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - including final borders, right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem - on the agenda of a US-sponsored Middle East parley in Annapolis could break up the government, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday. "Right now, the nations of the world need to concentrate most on security and economic issues in the Middle East," Lieberman told Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair during a meeting.] Die Ultra-Orthodoxe Rechte Israels kündigt größere Demonstrationen gegen Absichten an die Stadt Jerusalem teilen zu wollen. Die Neonazis Israels kommentieren die Situation nicht.

Thema Iran: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took issue Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that there is no evidence Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, asserting that Tehran has prevaricated about its nuclear activities. [Ganz, ganz schwach. Ich glaube als sie "obfuscation" gesagt hat, und versucht hat ihren kühlen Augenaufschlag anzubringen mußte Putin aufs Klo zum Lachen.]

Thema Türkei: Wie nicht anders zu erwarten schäumt das politische Establishment wegen der "Armenien-Affaire". Nur keine Angst, wenn der Bush den Türken vorzählt wie viel Geld er in ihre Wirtschaft gepumpt hat werden sie wieder ruhiger. [Schön aufgearbeiteter Hintergrund hier.]

Ich kann Rosner nicht leiden. Ich weiß gar nicht warum, möglicherweise stimmt bei mir etwas nicht. :-)

Raghida Dergham: "The Need for Bravery and Frankness before the Peace Option" - Of course, the Syrian government has the right to make the recovery of the Golan Heights a priority, whether through peaceful negotiations with Israel or liberating the area through armed resistance. Certainly, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is right when he said, "I'm the president of Syria and not the president of Palestine, and I have to work for the interest of my country. It's important to see the Palestinians regarding their rights and their land, but this is not a comprehensive peace." For peace to become comprehensive, it doesn't require making things conditional on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track. The Palestinian leadership doesn't need competition when it comes to ending the Israeli occupation of Arab territory; it is going to try to make the biggest possible efforts through policies of renewal and self-criticism, unlike the Syrian leadership.

Hasan Afif el-Hasan: "Mideast Conference and the Illusive Peace" - Until recently, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials including Abbas had been expressing reservations about the US sponsored November peace conference. Despite the repeated warnings that Abbas may not attend the conference unless certain conditions are met, he and the so called Arab moderates will not turn the invitation down. They are desperate for any action on the Palestinian issue and they have no control over events on the ground. Abbas government which is wholly dependent on the Americans, politically and financially, is not in a position to rebuff its main supporter, the US. And besides, the conference will be the only game in town. Abbas government officials now sound optimistic about the conference because according to one official "when [US Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice was in the area lately, she told [Abbas] that the US administration was determined to turn the conference into a successful event. She also promised to exert pressure on Israel to soften its position”. Palestinian officials say that the conference “will launch permanent status treaty negotiations”. Abbas appeared confident that the conference would meet his expectations when he talked to reporter in Amman after meeting with King Abdullah II. He said "We are negotiating with Israel a joint agreement that will be presented to the international conference to be approved and adopted. Negotiations on final agreement will begin immediately after the conference", he said. But if the Israelis are ready to attend the meetings and negotiate, they are not ready to give up the spoils of war.

Khaled Amayreh: "Pearls for Coal" - Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began a series of secret meetings on Monday in an effort to draft a joint document for the upcoming US-sponsored peace conference, scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland, in November. The two sides continue to be deeply divided on the major issues at the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. + Palestinian-Israeli negotiations which began in secret on Monday are no more than a prelude to the collapse of the November peace summit, writes Saleh Al-Naami