IDF kills One + Hamas accepts truce [says official]

In der Nacht zum Donnerstag wird durch bei einem Luftangriff in Beit Hanoun ein palästinesischer Zivilist getötet und zwei verletzt. Desweiteren verletzen israelische Bodentruppen mit Kampfhubschrauberunterstützung bei einer Operation im selben Ort mindestens sechs Personen, darunter auch Bewaffnete. Östlich von Beit Hanoun werden bei einem späteren Luftangriff drei Bewaffnete verletzt. Während am Vortag sieben Qassam-Raketen auf israelisches Territorium abgeschossen werden verhält man sich heute ruhig. [Die israelische Presse in Form der Haaretz verbreitet dabei Unwahrheiten: One Palestinian militant was killed and three wounded in an Israel Air Force attack near the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian security officials reported.] Nach israelischen Angaben werden seit gestern etwa eine Million Liter Treibstoff für das Elektrizitätswerk im Gazastreifen geliefert um eine Versorgung für etwa drei Tage zu gewährleisten. [Israel once again pumped industrial diesel to the Gaza Strip's sole power plant on 23 April, just hours before it was scheduled to stop operations due to a lack of fuel. An Israeli official told IRIN about one million litres would be sent in, provided no "security incidents" took place. The plant said it needed about 3.5 million litres a week, though Israel has committed to transferring only 2.2 million. Speaking to reporters in Gaza, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry called on Israel to restore sufficient fuel supplies to Gaza and allow the passage of humanitarian and commercial goods. "The collective punishment of the population of Gaza, which has been instituted for months now, has failed," Serry said. He made his comments following an announcement by John Ging, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, that his organisation and the World Food Programme would have to stop distributing food due to the shortage of fuel for their vehicles.] Nach jüngsten Angaben will die Hamas den Waffenstillstand auf Basis ägyptischer Vermittlung mit den Israelis ratifizieren: Hamas will tell Egyptian mediators on Thursday that it is prepared to accept a truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip with a timetable for extending it to the West Bank, a Palestinian official close to the talks said. "Hamas's position is that they agree to a calm in Gaza and the West Bank but it would begin in Gaza at this stage and then apply to the West Bank after an agreed and specified period of time," said the official, who declined to be named. Zuvor hatte Polit-Führer Haniyeh sich wie folgt geäußert: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday said that a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas must include the West Bank as well as Gaza, in addition to hinting that the Palestinian militant group would respond positively to an Egyptian-brokered truce proposal. Aufgrund der israelischen Sicherheitsarchitektur ist ein Waffenstillstand in der Westbank vollkommen unmöglich. Bei einem Dutzend sicherheitsrelevanter Ereignisse in der Westbank werden in den letzten 36 Stunden 15 Personen verhaftet und eine Person angeschossen. Zusätzlich wurden sieben Hamas-Mitglieder durch die Fatah verhaftet. [...] Bei den Studentenwahlen an der Birzeit-Universität wird ein enorm hoher turnout mit fast 83% notiert: Fatah 25 seats, Hamas 19, PFLP 5, Islamic Jihad 1 und PPP [Kommunisten] 1 seat. Sehr schön repräsentativ: Die Alleinregierung der Fatah ist unmöglich. Mehrheiten gibts nur mit der Hamas. Über ein Viertel der jungen Intellektuellen vor Ort haben Hamas gewählt, oder fast 1500. + A group of left-wing activists, foreign peace activists and Palestinians arrived at the illegal Yad Yair outpost near Ramallah Thursday and attempted to take over one of the caravans, which is used as an improvised synagogue. Der palästinensische Staatsbesuch in Washington entpuppt sich derweil für Präsident Abbas als einzige PR-Katstrophe: Ehud Olmert, the current Israeli prime minister, said this week that Bush's letter gave the Jewish state permission to expand the West Bank settlements that it hopes to retain in a final peace deal, even though Bush's peace plan officially calls for a freeze of Israeli settlements across Palestinian territories on the West Bank. In an interview this week, Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weissglas, said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed this understanding in a secret agreement reached between Israel and the United States in the spring of 2005, just before Israel withdrew from Gaza. ... Israeli officials say they have clear guidance from Bush administration officials to continue building settlements, as long as it meets carefully negotiated criteria, even though those understandings appear to contradict U.S. policy. Derartig in der Presse vor dem Treffen mit Bush abgewatscht zu werden hat etwas von offiziellem Rausschmiß. Zudem: Aaron David Miller, who spent two decades as a Middle East negotiator, said he did not expect the White House meetings this week to produce much. "The main event in the Arab-Israeli peace process is not right now an American story," Miller said. "It is a story about two politicians, Abbas and Olmert, who for their own reasons may see an interest in reaching an agreement. And it's a story about torturous negotiations between Israel and Hamas, both of whom understand that it may be in their own interest right now for a temporary standoff." Die Hamas hat iÜ nun das Problem das sie durch ein solches Verhalten so oder so der Gewinner ist. Sorgt sie für eine anhaltende Waffenruhe steht sie als "Partner" der Israelis da auf den man sich verlassen kann und der unter zähem Ringen palästinensische "Interessen" hochhält, während Abbas wegen Geld den Kopf in den Hintern der Zeitgeschichte steckt und Palästina verrät. Schießt die Hamas weiter gilt das Gleiche nur unter dem Titel "bewaffneter Kampf". Related: President George W. Bush hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday to try to bolster him and shore up a fragile U.S.-backed peace effort with Israel.

Etwas wichtiger ist der Dammbruch der in Sachen Syrien durch verschiedenste Äußerungen und Aktivitäten ausgelöst wurde. Die Taktik der Bush-Admin die Syrer als rouge-state zu deklassifizieren um eine pro-amerikanische libanesische Präsidentschaft zu installieren fliegt den Strategen um die Ohren.
1. A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer convinced the Israeli government and the Bush administration that North Korea was helping to construct a reactor similar to one that produces plutonium for North Korea's nuclear arsenal, according to senior U.S. officials who said it would be shared with lawmakers today. The officials said the video of the remote site, code-named Al Kibar by the Syrians, shows North Koreans inside. It played a pivotal role in Israel's decision to bomb the facility late at night last Sept. 6, a move that was publicly denounced by Damascus but not by Washington. [Nun, ein Videobeweis wäre ein Beweis den man anerkennen könnte. Wobei das Argument schon zählt: Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha yesterday angrily denounced the U.S. and Israeli assertions. "If they show a video, remember that the U.S. went to the U.N. Security Council and displayed evidence and images about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I hope the American people will not be as gullible this time around," he said.] Das Problem für beide: But beginning today, intelligence officials will tell members of the House and Senate intelligence, armed services and foreign relations committees that the Syrian facility was not yet fully operational and that there was no uranium for the reactor and no indication of fuel capability, according to U.S. officials and intelligence sources. David Albright, president of Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) and a former U.N. weapons inspector, said the absence of such evidence warrants skepticism that the reactor was part of an active weapons program. "The United States and Israel have not identified any Syrian plutonium separation facilities or nuclear weaponization facilities," he said. "The lack of any such facilities gives little confidence that the reactor is part of an active nuclear weapons program. The apparent lack of fuel, either imported or indigenously produced, also is curious and lowers confidence that Syria has a nuclear weapons program." Der Bau eines Reaktors an der IAEA vorbei ist against the rules. Die Ausschaltung des Komplexes unter Berücksichtigung möglicher Gegenschläge ist nicht nur völkerrechtswidrig, sondern fahrlässig. Ein Reaktor der gerade gebaut wird in der Größenordnung wie dargestellt könnte waffenfähiges Plutonium nicht unter einem Zeitraum von 5 Jahren herstellen, wobei die Anlage bereits 2003 ihren Baubeginn feierte, es also höchst fraglich ist ob eine Anlage die 2007 in eher rohem Zustand nach vierjähriger Bauzeit wirklich ein verstärktes Interesse an Atomwaffen signalisiert. Die Kernfrage hier wird sein wann die Videoaufnahmen gemacht wurden: video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer, wäre eine Wiederaufnahme was allerhöchstens zu dem arabischen Trend der Nuclearisierung der Elektrizitätswirtschaft paßt. Da anders als im Libanonkrieg das Versagen der einzelnen israelischen Befehlsteile und Politiker nicht transparent dargestellt wird muß abgewartet werden welcher Hornochse hier zuständig ist. Bedenkt man Punkt zwei hätte man dies schon vor einem halben Jahr haben können. Libanon hätte einen Präsidenten und möglicherweise wäre ein Problem im Nahen Osten der Lösung näher.
2. Israel ready to return Golan: Israel has passed a message to Syria that it would withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace, according to a Syrian government minister. The expatriates minister, Buthaina Shaaban, said the message had been passed on by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She said Mr Erdogan had informed the Syrian President Bashar Assad of the offer by telephone on Tuesday morning. [...] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad confirmed this week that his country exchanged messages with Israel via third parties to explore the possibility of resuming peace talks. Cham Press, which cited unidentified diplomatic officials for the report on Erdogan, didn't provide details. Erdogan called the Syrian president yesterday and relayed the same message from Israel, Al-Watan reported from Damascus. The daily didn't provide additional information. Editorial: Peace with Syria is once again knocking at our door, and it even seems to be meeting with a less-frosty reception on the Israeli side. The time is ripe for negotiations with Syria, especially since U.S. President George W. Bush's reign is drawing to a close, and among his potential successors, whether Democrat or Republican, there is a willingness to negotiate with Bashar Assad instead of boycotting him. [...] Leaders of communities in the Golan Heights held a special meeting in Katzrin on Thursday following recent reports suggesting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is willing to cede Israeli control of the Golan in exchange for comprehensive peace with Syria. A statement issued after the meeting concluded asserted that "all construction and development projects in the Golan are going ahead as planned, propelled by the certainty that any attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty in the Golan will cause severe damage to state security and thus is doomed to fail." The Golan Heights, stressed the statement "belongs to the people of Israel, who will never agree to give it up." [...] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a warning to Syria on Thursday not to side with the Americans. "We must always be prepared to thwart the plans of the US in the region," Ahmadinejad told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Teheran.

To be continued...