IDF kills Three

Am heutigen morgen werden im Gazastreifen bei einem Luftangriff der IAF auf ein Trainingsgelände der Hamas zwei Milizionäre getötet und zwei weitere verletzt. Über den gestrigen Tag wurden nur zwei Granatangriffe auf israelische Einrichtungen an der Grenze gemeldet. In Ramallah stirbt ein Zivilist am Montag an Schußverletzungen die er bei einer Aktion marodierender IDF-Milizionäre in at-Tira erlitten hatte. Während die FReilassung von 429 Gefangenen aus Ketziot abgeschlossen ist Zu der Verhaftungswelle der Israelis über Sonntag Nacht gesellen sich 31 Palästinenser die in der Westbank durch PA-Sicherheitskräfte verhaftet werden. Darunter sollen 24 Hamasniks sein. Derweil meldet Riyad al-Maliki den Abschluß der Fatah-Aktion gegen Hamas-"infiltrierte" charity-Organisationen. Über 100 wurden geschlossen, bei "mehreren Dutzend" die accounts eingefroren. Von einer einvernehmlichen Lösung ist keine Rede mehr. Das Geld wird an fatahtreue korrupte Kommissionen zur Veruntreuung übergeben. Auf Eis gelegt wurden vorerst Pläne der Israelis der Fatah 25 russische, gepanzerte Truppentransporter zu erlauben. Die Fatah hatte sich eine Bewaffnung mit automatischen Gewehren gewünscht.

Für helle Aufregung sorgt ein Bericht zum iranischen Atomprogram. "U.S.: Iran Halted Nuclear Weapons Program in 2003": Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 in response to international pressure, and while it continues to develop an enriched uranium program, it apparently has not resumed moving toward a nuclear capability, according to a consensus judgment of the U.S. intelligence community released today by Director of National Intelligence John M. McConnell. The assessment states "with moderate confidence" that "Tehran had not restarted its nuclear weapons program" as of mid-2007, but suggests that Tehran continues to keep that option open. "Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," according to one of the key judgments of the new assessment. Two years ago, the intelligence community said publicly that it had "high confidence that Iran was currently determined to have nuclear weapons," a senior intelligence official said today. After that assessment was released, the community increased its clandestine and open collection of information about Iran's program, actions that led to today's reassessment, the officials said. ... Intelligence officials noted that by ending the covert weapons program, Iran could continue trying to develop the capability to process uranium for use in power plants and remain within its treaty obligations, as long as its efforts were conducted openly. They added that gaining the capacity to enrich uranium could aid a future weapons program, should Iran want to resume one. ... The major shift in the intelligence community's judgment about Iran's nuclear weapons intentions is contained in unclassified material from a new, classified National Intelligence Estimate sent to Capitol Hill today. The document represents the consensus opinion of the U.S. intelligence community. Weitere Berichte: Political sources in Israel said Monday night that it appears that the Bush administration has lost the sense of urgency and determination to carry out a military strike against Iran in 2008. The same sources said that the United States is unlikely to strike Iran in 2008, and will make do with more severe sanctions against Tehran. Rosner/Benn: "Iran study pulls military option of the table" + At the White House, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the findings confirm that the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon remains "a serious problem." He said the administration has been trying to solve the Iranian nuclear dilemma without using force, and "the estimate offers hope that the problem can be solved diplomatically. "It suggests that the president has the right strategy: intensified international pressure along with a willingness to negotiate a solution that serves Iranian interests, while ensuring that the world will never have to face a nuclear-armed Iran. The bottom line is this: for that strategy to succeed," Hadley added, "the international community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation, United Nations sanctions and with other financial pressures, and Iran has to decide it wants to negotiate a solution." + The Bush administration’s new intelligence assessment that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 is likely to complicate efforts to impose new sanctions on Iran at the United Nations Security Council, European officials said Monday. The officials, who declined to be identified under normal diplomatic rules, stressed that their governments were formally studying the new assessment of Iran’s nuclear intentions and capabilities by the administration’s intelligence agencies. + Stephen Lee Myers, "An assessment jars a foreign policy debate": Rarely, if ever, has a single intelligence report so completely, so suddenly, and so surprisingly altered a foreign policy debate here.

Key findings of the report. Mein erster Kommentar? Der Schlüsselsatz befindet sich hier: We judge with high confidence that Iran will not be technically capable of producing and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015. Damit wäre man endlich so weit sich um die realen Probleme mit dem Iran zu kümmern von denen es zu Hauf gibt. Für die Israelis würde die Annahme der Nachricht bedeuten zum ersten Mal in der Existenz des Staates ohne existenzbedrohenden Gegenspieler in der politischen Landschaft zu gehen. Die Enttraumatisierung wird etwa 4 Jahre dauern. Und natürlich darf sich unsere Deutsche CDU freuen. Sie ist in die aussenpolitisch vollständige Bedeutungslosigkeit versunken.

Weitere Nachrichten: Das Rote Kreuz berichtet vom Einverständniss der Hamas einen brief des entführten Soldaten Shalit zu übergeben. Die Hamas dementiert. ++++ Akiva eldar, "Lieberman's cigar test": While MKs from all the parties crowded into the Knesset cafeteria to watch the television broadcasts from Annapolis, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman pushed aside the sign that bans smoking in the sitting room at the end of the main auditorium. It was clear he did not care a bit about the controversy over the joint declaration's content. Nor did the decision to begin accelerated talks about a final-status agreement arouse much excitement in right-wing circles, inside and outside the coalition. ++++ US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Jerusalem Post Monday she sees a "strong desire" in Israel to help with Palestinian economic development, though she acknowledged the difficulties posed by security concerns. ++++ Aluf Benn, "Barak Coss like Dove"

Jamil Theyabi: "The Gulf: Between Postponing and Procrastination": It has been over a quarter of a century and the Gulf-based organization has barely achieved half the ambitions and aspirations of its people. How many resolutions have been passed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summits but remained either postponement or neglect, and have remained without execution till now, either because of the slow, procrastinating and bureaucratic government institutions in the ministries of the Council members. For 28 years, citizens in the Gulf have adapted to living with resolutions that are iterated at the end of every summit but which face one fate, postponement, while chanting "One Gulf….one destiny." ++++ Walid Choucair, "Syrias advances in Annapolis": By attending the Annapolis Summit, Syria has made an advance to the United States, the European countries, Israel and what are known as the moderate Arab states. ++++ Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a Kadima faction meeting Monday that he considered last week's Annapolis peace summit to be a success, citing the high turnout from Arab states. "I know that from the beginning, people tried to minimize and discount Annapolis, but the presence of 40 states at the foreign minister level, along with all the leading Arab states, at an event with the declared goal of making peace with Israel - that is a big achievement," he said. ++++ Zouheir Kseibati, "The horses are tied in Lebanon": It is ironic that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "reassured" the Lebanese that US President George Bush "won't betray" their country for the sake of normalization with Syria; normalization here involves Washington and Damascus, not Damascus and Beirut. In any case, no Lebanese wants to buy Olmert's goods, however great the campaigns of mutual doubt among their country's political forces, which have sent political rhetoric to its lowest levels.

Dr. Salim Nazzal, "Shame" ++++ Khalid amayreh, "Our great palestinian negotiators"

Ramzy Baroud, "Demoralization and Absence": A once profound and widely read commentator recently claimed he no longer writes about the Palestine/Israel conflict because "Palestinians are killing each other". Feeling his words have ceased to carry weight he simply decided not "to take sides".

Miftah-report: "The Mecca Agreement and the National Unity Government"

Amira Hass, "Israels Dumping Ground"