The Canterbury Tells...

.... that socioeconomic hardships caused by the West Bank security barrier are contributing to the decline in the Christian population in the Holy Land. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday: "I recently met with Christians in Bethlehem, people by no means extreme, and they told of the daily burdens driving in and out of the city that were created by the wall."

Westfront: Low intensive "gunbattles" über den Tag ohne größere Luftwaffeneinsätze. "Central" Gaza wird dabei ein Islamic-Jihadist getötet. Ein Einsatz der IDF in der Gegend südlich von Rafah wird wohl wegen starkem Widerstand abgebrochen. Im Bereich Khan Younis nur vereinzelte israelische recon-Aktivitäten. Man traut wohl dem Frieden nicht recht = unlängst wurde von der Hamas vermeldet man habe die wichtigste Kollaborateuer-Gruppe der Israelis zerschlagen. Seither steigen die Verlustraten der IDF dramatisch an. Ostfront: Ein bewaffneter Palästinenser wird an einem Checkpoint in Hebron verhaftet. Israelische Einheiten verhaften zudem sieben Palästinenser in Aussenbezirken von Nablus und Salfit. Deutlich zurück gegangen scheint die Verhaftungswelle der Fatah gegen Hamas-Sympathisanten. Ein Zeichen das sich die Fatah einerseits sicherer in der Westbank fühlt und andererseits ihre Strukturen geordnet hat. Als lächerlich ist hingegen der Auftritt von Palestinian Intelligence Chief Tawfiq Tiraw im israleischen Fernsehen zu bezeichnen, der den Israelis vorhielt sie würden sowohl Reisetätigkeiten als auch Bewaffnung von Hamas-Mitgliedern unterstützen. [Ein zarter Hinweis darauf, das sich die Israelis letzterdings nur um Fatahisten "gekümmert" haben.]

Attack on Syria, Part XXXV: A U.N. watchdog inquiry into a suspected Syrian covert nuclear site bombed by Israel may end inconclusively without more information than satellite pictures that are already available, a diplomat said on Wednesday. Western analysts say a tall boxy building on the site may have contained a nuclear reactor under construction similar to North Korean design, and find it suspicious that the structure appeared to have been razed after the September 6 air raid. Syria denies the speculation and says it is hiding nothing from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. The IAEA has been studying before-and-after commercial aerial photos of the site and has asked Syria for explanations. But Syria has not replied and the pictures alone are unlikely to yield conclusions, the diplomat told Reuters. "IAEA experts are looking back at the evolution of this facility. But with these pictures alone they feel they may be unable to draw conclusions," the diplomat, familiar with IAEA affairs but not authorised to speak on the record, told Reuters. "If the IAEA got credible indications from anyone of nuclear procurement or activity, that would be different. But imagery of a tall building shaped like a square, that's not enough (to tell whether or not the site may have been a nuclear site)."

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction ordering that a plot of land in the predominantly Jewish town of Rakefet be set aside for an Israeli Arab couple who had been previously denied entry to the community for "lack of suitability." +++++ Israeli Arab lawmakers responded angrily Wednesday to proposed legislation that would prevent anyone who travels to a country classified as an enemy state from serving as a Knesset member. +++++ German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad on Wednesday to present a European Union plan for boosting U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts. [Ein Plan. Muhahahahahaha]

Israel can destroy Iran's growing nuclear program, a senior IDF officer was quoted as saying by 'The Canadian Jewish News' Web site on Wednesday. During an October 22 press briefing in Toronto for a few Jewish journalists, the unnamed brigadier-general said that Israel had the military capability to destroy or damage Iran's program. "Delay can also be helpful," he said. "We have to be prepared for any eventuality," he was quoted as saying. The general also said that the UN sanctions had had "some positive effects," although they haven't deterred Iran from pursuing nuclear capabilities. "We don't see anyone trying to stop Iran," he added.