Updates

An einem verhältnismäßig ruhigen Tag mit nur zwei Qassam-Raketenabschüssen auf israelisches Territorium aus dem Gazastreifen meldet die al-Hayat vom Besuch des ägyptischen Geheimdienstchefs Suleiman bei Amos Gilad [Maj.-Gen. res. Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau head] Verhandlungen über die Wiederöffnung des Rafah-Grenzübergangs und das Überbringen von ägyptischen Warnungen in Bezug auf eine möglicherweise anstehende israelische Offensive im Gazastreifen. [In Ägypten selbst finden derzeit Massenverhaftungen in Muslim-Bruderschaft-Zirkeln statt. [...] Das Augenmerk sollte man auch auf die anhaltende Inhaftierung eines marokkanischen Bloggers richten. Text von Laila Lalimi: Free Mourtada - Two weeks ago, a computer engineer by the name of Fouad Mourtada was arrested by Moroccan police in Casablanca for creating a fake Facebook profile of Prince Moulay Rachid, the king's brother. Mourtada's family found out about his arrest through the news, and had to wait a week to be allowed to see him. Mourtada says he was tortured when he was taken into custody. There are thousands of fake profiles for politicians, royals, and celebrities, but Mourtada has been charged with identity theft and risks up to five years in prison. Several Moroccan bloggers, including this one, are maintaining radio silence today. You can visit the Mourtada family website here.] Die Hamas präsentiert den Top-Finanzier eines Anschlagsversuchs auf Ismail Haniyeh, einen ehemaligen Fatah-Sicherheitsoffizier. [...] Nachbericht zur Zerstörung der YMCA-Bilbliothek in Gaza City: A recent attack on a Christian library in the Gaza Strip has caused concern among civil society organisations that such violence might escalate unless police arrest the perpetrators. There is talk of "security chaos" in the Strip, and apprehension about a further decline in personal security. [...] Die Yedioth Achronot spekuliert über Iranische Experten die im Gazastreifen der Hamas die Herstellung von Dronen bei bringen möchten. [Dr. Ahmad Yusuf, warned on Wednesday that the situation will explode with surprising consequences if the international community does not make serious efforts to end the siege on Gaza and allow Hamas into the international community. Dr. Yusuf pointed out in a press release sent to Ma'an that Gaza is seen by some as a time bomb waiting to explode as he warned everyone not "to count on Gaza's patience."]

Dramatisch gestaltet sich der über die Medien ausgetragene interne Machtkampf unter den Ramallahnern: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, responding to an aide's call on Wednesday for a unilateral declaration of statehood if peace talks with Israel continued to falter, ruled out taking any such step soon. "We will pursue negotiations in order to reach a peace agreement during 2008 that includes the settlement of all final status issues including Jerusalem," Abbas said in a statement. "But if we cannot achieve that, and we reach a deadlock, we will go back to our Arab nation to take the necessary decision at the highest level," he said, without mentioning any options. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team with the Israelis, told Reuters that if they could not reach a deal with Israel, the Palestinians could consider declaring independence like Kosovo did on Sunday. [...] Drawing an analogy to Kosovo, he said: "Kosovo is not better than us. We deserve independence even before Kosovo, and we ask for the backing of the United States and the European Union for our independence." "This is what the Israelis are driving us to," he added, in an interview with the Voice of Palestine radio station. However, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, quickly quashed the idea of a unilateral declaration, saying it was never brought before the Palestinian leadership. "Decisions should be taken and then declared, and not be declared and then be taken," Qureia said, in an apparent reprimand of Abed Rabbo. [Für die Standfestigkeit von Ahmad Qurei in der Angelegenheit ob man über Jerusalem nun geredet habe oder nicht taucht eine erkläriende Nachricht auf: Israelische Siedler aus Ariel hätten über die letzten Monate einige Herden von Wildschweinen frei gelassen, die in palästinensischen Feldern wüten würden -es gibt sogar Fotobeweise-. Auch wären schon Personen angegriffen worden und wohl hat auch eine Wildschweinrotte Qurei überrant und seine mentalen Fähigkeiten schwer geschädigt. Diese wahrhaft schweinische Kriegsführung wird natürlich auf dieser Webseite strikt verurteilt.] Salam Fayyad, der palästinensische Superminister hat hingegen andere Probleme: Nach seiner Ankündigung für ein Investorentreffen in Bethlehem für Anfang Mai 2008[?] mußte dieses sofort auf Ende Mai verschoben werden, da die Geburtstagsfeierlichkeiten der israelischen Nachbardemokratie ein Höchstmaß an Bewegungsunfreiheit in der Westbank mit sich bringen. Ist doch klar, wenn die Demokraten feiern müssen die Schmuddelkinder fern bleiben. Trifft aber auch andere: Damit während den Feierlichkeiten ja kein göttliches Zeichen das Land in einer Tsunamiwelle vernichtet müssen israelische Homosexuelle für zwei wochen dringend das Land verlassen... [The recent earthquake that was felt across Israel was the result of the "homosexual activity practiced in the country", Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri said Wednesday.] oder eine schriftliche Erklärung beeiden das sie ihren sexuellen Verkehr auf ein das Land nicht gefähredendes Maß von Null reduzieren. Gerüchte das Shlomo Benizri in seiner Freizeit verkleidet palästinensische Unterhändler verfolgt bestätigten sich bislnag nicht. [...] Da fehlt natürlich nur noch der Beitrag eines Landes das sich mit Homosexuellen auskennt: Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday that lack of positive response from Israel to initiatives for Middle East peace would make Arab nations review their position. "We hope that Israel responds positively to our quest and efforts, to avoid desperation that would force us to review our options," al-Faisal said in a speech at the opening a meeting of Latin American and Arab nations' foreign ministers in Buenos Aires. Al-Faisal said Arab participation in last November's conference in Annapolis, Maryland to launch a new bid for Middle East peace was based on the idea of entering a new era of talks. Schwul oder nicht schwul, gebaut wird trotzdem: A new neighborhood comprising 27 trailers is currently under construction at the settlement of Eli, north of Ramallah, even though Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed publicly after the Annapolis conference that any such building would cease. Even though some of the trailers are being set up on land privately owned by Palestinians, the authorities are taking no action. Ein anderer Rechtsausleger meldet sich nach einer gewissen Ruhezeit zu Wort: Likud leader and chairman of the opposition MK Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Olmert government is taking measures to divide Jerusalem, and urged the key Shas party to bolt the coalition and topple the government in order "to save Jerusalem." Netanyahu was reacting to ongoing wrangling between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over Olmert's assertion that the sides had agreed to defer discussions over the status of Jerusalem to a future final phase of negotiations. Zwölf Palästinenser werden in der Nacht zum Mittwoch westbankweit verhaftet.

A 22-year-old Jenin resident was arrested Wednesday for posing as an Israeli citizen in order to receive medical treatment. According to suspicions, the young Palestinian woman passed herself off as an Israeli in order to undergo complicated lung surgery at Haifa's Rambam Hospital. The woman arrived at the hospital a week and a half ago and presented herself as a citizen of Israel. During the course of her treatment, the hospital staff discovered that that her blood type does no match that that of the Israeli woman whose identity she stole. Despite this, and because of her sensitive condition, the suspect underwent the operation. Hospital staff only notified the police of the crime after the patient was healthy enough to be discharged. [Sehr ziviles Verhalten, da können sich die Olmerts und Netanjahus was von abschneiden.]

Amira Hass, "If the land isn't private?": Not long ago the greengrocer in Ramallah recalled - between weighing locally grown zucchini and stripped hyssop leaves - that his family owns the land on which the gas station at the old entrance to the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the West Bank is located. He would not be surprised by the figure that the Peace Now movement has succeeded in officially extracting from the defense establishment, after more than a year of fighting for the freedom of information: About one-third of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank (44 out of 120) were built on privately owned Palestinian land that was seized, by means of confiscation orders, for "security needs."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon promised Wednesday to respond "firmly" to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal attacks on Israel, which he called "intolerable." Ban made the promise in a meeting with Israel's Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, who requested the meeting with the UN chief following the Iranian president's Wednesday attack calling Israel a "filthy germ." Ahmadinejad's remarks were broadcast on Iranian television on Wednesday, in which he called Israel a "filthy germ" and "savage beast" established by Western states in their bid to dominate Middle East nations. [...] IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi warned the army on Wednesday to be ready for a new conflagration in the region. An exiled Iranian opposition group [Königstreue - unsolide] on Wednesday claimed that Tehran has accelerated its alleged nuclear weapons program, including the production of nuclear warheads. [...] Some 15 Knesset members from a broad spectrum of parties will soon embark on a tour of Europe and the Far East to explain the dangers of Iran's nuclear program and urge that sanctions against the Islamic Republic be intensified.

Noch eine gute Nachricht aus der Türkei: Religiöse Minderheiten in der Türkei sollen ihr in den 70er Jahren vom Staat konfisziertes Eigentum zurückerhalten. Das beschloss das Parlament in Ankara am Mittwoch mit 242 gegen 72 Stimmen. Es wird erwartet, dass Staatspräsident Abdullah Gül das Gesetz mit seiner Unterschrift in Kraft setzen wird. Die Türkei hatte 1974 das Eigentum von Stiftungen, die etwa von christlichen oder jüdischen Organisationen betrieben wurden, konfisziert. Darunter waren Kirchen, Schulen oder Waisenhäuser. Mit der Rückgabe des beschlagnahmten Eigentums erfüllt die Türkei eine der Forderungen der Europäischen Union für eine Aufnahme in die EU.