shual

Miki

2009-01-08T02:54:00.002+01:00

Report „Al-Fakhora“ 01/07/09 – Vol. „Miki“ - unedited

1. Exceptional Strategic Advancement +++ „This time, Israeli military commanders are leading from the front, not trying to direct the infantry from television screens. This time, the military has clear plans, in stages, drawn up with a year’s preparation. This time, there is no illusion about winning a war only from the air.“ [1] Especially in the stages I and II of the current war, preparation [+of ethnic skills] and plans, and foremost the integration of the civillian question in combat tactics showed an unpredicted low percentage of civillian casualities. The systems law of the strategical inevitability of civillian casualities is not broken, but its influence was diminished. All structures of IAF and IDF show operational progress in implementing theoretical material. [2] IAF and IDF showed that you can combine successes on the ground with international „laws“.
2. One of the major failures of all stages, with a proportional rise [analytic failure – civillian casualities], is that structures of IAF and IDF were not able to solve the question of an unwilling and unable Hamas regarding the civillians evacuation. Even quite important texts about the Lebanon war [2] hide sometimes behind political themes: „Hide in civillian facilities“. [= Al-Fakhora-case in initial statements of the Army and the propaganda] The truth is that Hezbollah won civillian support in Lebanon not cause of „Multiplier Effects“ in the media, or high casualities under civillians. They won the support with an perfect evacuation, especially in Beirut, and later and still! with a system of assistance. Todays IAF-result [„Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets over the Rafah refugee camp, urging residents to flee because of planned Israeli strikes. The leaflet addressed Rafah residents of a strip of neighborhoods that run parallel to the Egypt border. .. The leaflet included the names of four neighborhoods expected to be hit by the IDF, and instructed locals to immediately leave their homes.“ [3]] of 5000 Rafah citizens beeing „evacuted“ to „temporary emergency centers“ of the UN is no number to disdain. A Hezbollah-style „evacuation“ would bring the possible number up to 20 000. Other combinations: Winter vs Summer, Food-Sanctions since November, destructing UNRWA-capabilities and not bolstering them in front of the war that is „on the table“ -a years's preparation-, besides other problems of combat units [length, drugs, ambition] had to lead into a situation of unnecessary civillian casualities.
3. Al-Fakhora list of violations [Basis: Geneva Convention – Swiss version 08.17.1982]
Hamas violated Art. 37.1 [c], partially Art. 44.3 and Art. 51.7
IDF violated Art. 48.1, Art. 50.3, Art. 51.4, Art. 51.5 and Art. 57.
[Inside – Outside-Question] IDF violated Art. 65 [Warning + Aprropriate time to hide]
Note: Public information and internal and external discussions showed no evidence that can weaken this list of violations. It strongly recommended to install an military-investigation. It is not recommended to follow the demand of UN [international – independent investigation], cause such investigations need years and are fragile -political influence-. It is strongly recommended to create another panel of experts that discuss the influence of the enemies capabilities and willingness to evacuate civillian population.
4. A leadership issue? [Alpher -1] A very popular way in Israel to deal with war-related cases [„mishaps“] is to blame a) the political and b) military leadership. One writer, two examples: „A sovereign government must be able to identify connection between reasons and causes, means and targets - unless it was officially decided to hand over the management of the country to talkback writers.“ +++ „Yet the minimum that we could ask of the official, sane Israel was an expression of deep regret over the death of innocents.“ [4+5] Instead of that, the first two days after the Al-Fakhora-incident show again the demand of a broad political initiative to reconstruct the system of political education in Israel. For years, including several wars and conflict scenarios the political class has „successful“ extracted democratic values. Texts like the Geneva Convention, no matter how hard it is to implement them in any military action, are ultimative achievements of democratic thinking. Nobody and not a single government can guarantee the perfect conversion. But they are a basis to take a rational [and democratic transparent] decision: This is blue and this is white. Reaction of Israelis all over the political spectrum again show a an emotional string of different colours, nobody can be found that takes the responsibility to say: This time its blue. One of the reason for it is the constant feeling that texts like the Geneva Convention are a burden and that any single violation will be multiplied via „foreign“ medias. Another reason is that the political agenda has implemented a special Israeli law that the „war against terror“ is to extract from democratic achievements, mostly based on „possible dangers in the future“ [law of „threat to the existence"]. One can understand a large part of this constant and find the reason in „historic events“ that work in the Israeli soul. But after the military showed a quantum jump in the rigth direction, one has to ask why the rest of Israel seems to take a step into ... the other direction. Emotion – Emotion and even more emotions. Several thousand Israeli citizens in uniform figth their way through Gaza. The rest of Israel figths with the own soul, or the soul of the neighbor. It is strongly recommended to install a panel of experts that analyze the system of political communication. And it is strongly recommended that the EU should demand reforms in that specific part in the future negotiations about a „quasi“-EU-membership-status scheduled for April 2009.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/middleeast/07military.html?_r=1
[2] Example: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/07spring/kreps.htm
[3] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3652553,00.html
[4] http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3495412,00.html
[5] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3652275,00.html

Updates

2008-05-25T19:57:00.003+02:00

Nun ist es amtlich: Michel Suleiman, aktiver Armeechef wechselt in den Posten des Präsidentens im Libanon. Das Ergebniss: 118F - 6A -3N. Vorberichte: President Michel Suleiman, the army chief elected Lebanon's head of state on Sunday, kept the military unified through three years of turmoil that pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war. [...] Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday invited Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his government to take part in the scheduled Parliament session Sunday to elect head of Lebanese Armed Forces General Michel Suleiman as president after earlier reports said Berri was not willing to invite the government, which the opposition describes as illegitimate. [...] Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Michel Suleiman as head of state on Sunday, reviving paralyzed state institutions after an 18-month standoff between a U.S.-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition. Die Erwartung: Die Streitparteien zu einem konstruktiven Politstil führen, die Aussengrenzen sichern und Schritte in eine Entwaffnung einleiten. Die Aussichten: Nach der Hezbollah mit der zweitstärksten Kämpfermasse ausgestattet hat er gute Aussichten seine Amtszeit produktiv zu gestalten. Erst die nächsten Krisen werden zeigen ob er sich in Ihnen maßgeblich durchsetzen kann. Das Ausland wird seine helle Freude an ihm haben:
"We look strongly to brotherly ties between Lebanon and Syria in the context of mutual respect of the sovereignty and borders of each country and diplomatic ties which will bring good for both of them." ... "Our weapons should only be directed towards the enemy." [Ob er damit nun Anatolien meint?] Direkte Aufgaben. [...] Warme Worte: It was a setback for the United States, which had strongly backed the Lebanese government for three years and is concerned that Iran's influence is spreading in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the United States has welcomed the political agreement in Lebanon. "I am confident," President George W. Bush said in a statement, "that Lebanon has chosen a leader committed to protecting its sovereignty, extending the government's authority over all of Lebanon and upholding Lebanon's international obligations under UN Security Council resolutions."

In der Westbank wird die Investorenkonferenz mit dem Ergebniss von Zusagen in Höhe von 1.4 Milliarden bis 2.0 Milliarden für Projekte, die [It was also announced that the Palestinian government has formed a ministerial committee to enable Fayyad to work with a committee of private sector institutions. The first meeting of the joint committee resulted in an agenda which includes developing legislations and laws concerning the economic process, planning management and developing services and tackling Israeli impediments to strengthening the Palestinian economy.] entsprechend gerecht verwaltet werden. Ein Löwenanteil wurde schon besprochen, der zweitgrößte erscheint ein Internetdeal zu werden: Promoting the expansion of wireless internet connectivity in the West Bank is the goal underlying a 480,000 US dollar grant USTDA Director Larry Walther signed at the Palestinian Investment Conference in Bethlehem. USTDA awarded this grant to BCI Communications & Advanced Technologies Ltd. (BCI), which is headquartered in Ramallah, for technical assistance on the deployment of a WiMax system. The grant signing marks the first USTDA assistance in the Palestinian Territories since 1995. Als erstes sollten die Herren mal versuchen Ihre Webseite ... selbst sehen und staunen. Besser läufts mit Risikoversichern. [...] Palestinian officials close to peace talks said Sunday that Israel has offered a West Bank withdrawal map that leaves about 8.5 percent of the territory in Israeli hands, less than a previous plan but still more than the Palestinians are ready to accept. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and other PA officials, however, told The Jerusalem Post that the report is unsubstantiated. [Die Aufgabe des Jordantals ist wahrlich kaum vorstellbar.] Über das Wochenende finden einige Auseinandersetzungen statt. So schießt ein israelischer Wachman vor al-Ramlah einen 16-jährigen an, der in mit einem Auto erst ärgerte und dann überfahren wollte. Am Samstag wird in Nablus beschießen marodierende IDF-Milizionäre einen Straßenzug und zerstören ein Restaurant und verschiedene Autos. Die PA verhaftet insgesamt 18 Hamas-Mitglieder, bei einer Aktion der Israelis in Jenin wird ein Palästinenser verletzt und ein weiterer fest genommen. Die bisherigen Auswirkungen der blühenden Landschaften des Tony Blair, dessen Flugzeug um ein Haar von der israelischen Luftreinigungsstaffel entsorgt worden ist beschreibt dieser Bericht: The Report depicts a much degraded employment and labour situation. The plight of the Palestinian people has not improved in any fundamental way. Indeed, in a number of respects it has deteriorated alarmingly. With the near total closure of the Gaza Strip following the break up of the national unity government and the continuing impediments to the movement of persons and goods in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, economic and political life is highly fragmented. One in three persons of working age is employed. Ein konkreter Bericht über das hier: The Israeli military removed 103 barriers, but imposed another 144 checkpoints, roadblocks and other obstacles, a net increase of 7%, seit September liegt noch nicht ausführlich vor.

Der Gazastreifen vermeldet weitere teils schwere Attacken, während ein möglicherweise letzter Versuch von Amos Gilad in Cairo einen Durchbruch der Waffenruhengespräche zu erzielen wohl fehlschlagen wird. Erste Umschichtungen: In unprecedented decision, army instructed to evacuate soldiers serving near Erez crossing due to volatile security situation in area, was zu schwerer Kritik von Rechts Aussen führt. Am Samstag regnet es Qassams im Dutzendpack, meist auf zivile Ziele, ohne Verletzte. Hamas likely possesses rockets capable of reaching areas beyond Ashkelon, perhaps as far as Ashdod and Kiryat Gat, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin said Sunday at the weekly Cabinet meeting. Kleinere Gefechte im Gazastreifen selbst, durch Artilleriebeschuß werden in Khan Younis an die acht Personen verletzt, vier weitere durch einen Luftangriff. Sowohl aus Rafah als auch aus der kompletten Gegend zwischen Shuja'iyya, einem Vorort von Gaza City und dem Sufa Crossing werden anhaltende Gefechte berichtet, die allerdings ohne Opfer bleiben. Am Sonntag konzentrieren sich palästinensische Attacken auf Sufa und Nazal Oz [Mörsergranatenbeschuß] und eine Qassam wird auf Sderot abgefeuert. Derweil bittet eine palästinensische Delegation in Ägypten um Treibstoff, während Politchef Meshal in Teheran weilt und dort fröhlich verkündet das die Gaza-Besatzung die "prime human rigths violation" der Welt darstellen würde. Schade das er nicht gerade einen slum in Südafrika besucht und als Ausländer identifiziert wird. Nach etwa Aufregung um einen Kreislaufkollaps von Despot Ahmanidejad wegen israelischer Verhandlungen mit Syrien glätte bei dieser Gelegenheit jedoch Aussenminister Mottaki die Wogen: “We support the liberation of Golan Heights as well as other occupied lands and believe that Syria should retake its own land and not compromise on the rights of the Palestinian nation.“

Zum Abschluß jetzt ein Bericht über eine anstehende Parteigründung: Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh held a special press conference Sunday, announcing he was leaving the Labor Party and forming a new party, named "Strong Israel". The name, said a proud Sneh, "symbolizes both social and military resilience." [Erstaunlich lange gab es keine Kabinettsumbildung mehr.]

IDF kills Two and Hamas talks fail

2008-05-23T00:02:00.003+02:00

Eine delikate Situation für die Regierigen in Israel dämmert morgen früh, da man sich im Falle des Scheiterns von Verhandlungen über eine Waffenruhe mit dem Gazastreifen militärtechnisch sehr weit aus dem Fenster gelehnt hat. Total deplatziert erscheint unser Freund Bernard Kouchner, seines Zeichens französischer Aussenmister mit der bei einem Besuch in den Territorien vorgetragenen Einschätzung: "There is this good atmosphere ... in Lebanon, as well as with Syria and also in Gaza." Am Nachmittag wird die gute Athmosphäre im Gazastreifen mit etwas Blei angereichert: Hamas-Demo am Karni-Crossing, ein Toter 17 Verletzte. Die IDF bezichtigt die Hamas eine Schießerei und des Steinewerfens und möchte in Notwehr zurück geschossen haben. Andere israelische Quellen berichten genau Gegenteiliges: "opend fire when demonstrators approached the border fence, believing the movement to be terror related". Daneben wird ein Scheitern berichtet: A bid by Egypt to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has faltered after the radical Palestinian group failed to secure a pledge to lift an Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza, Palestinian officials said Thursday. ... "We haven't decided yet the hour when cease-fire begins.", soll wohl ein Witz sein. Olmert möchte jetzt entscheiden und wenn er jetzt wieder den Schwanz einzieht verleiert er den Rest seiner Glaubwürdigkeit. Laberschnalla Livni gibt zum Besten: "The attempted attack this morning at the Erez crossing point should demonstrate to the international community that, while it demands that Israel take care of the situation in Gaza and open the crossing points, Hamas, which controls Gaza, is not interested in improving the lives of the population and doesn't take even minimal responsibility," a Foreign Ministry statement quoted Livni as saying. "The international community must continue to delegitimize Hamas." Die Maan-Quelle will higegen noch keine entscheidung erkennen: Hamas leaders said they would make announcement soon about the outcome of Egyptian-brokered ceasefire talks, after they returned to the Gaza Strip from a round of talks in Cairo on Thursday. The Hamas officials plan to hold internal discussions about the talks before making any announcement. Hamas spokesperson Isma'il Radwan said, "Even after the delegation returns to Gaza, we can not assume that the case is closed, so let’s wait for their response." Dabei packt die JPost bereits den kriegswichtigen Ammon Rubinstein aus, der kriegsvorbereitend den Leuten erklärt warum man die Hamas am Besten ... "The shahid is not only the individual, but the regime itself". [Selbstmörderisches Regime.] Roni sofer macht hingegen ein drittes Faß auf: Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad will be traveling to Cairo Sunday on the invitation of Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman. Gilad is expected to receive the answer of Hamas and the other Palestinian groups regarding lull efforts in the Gaza Strip and Israel's demand that Gilad Shalit's release be included in the agreement. [Irgendwann werden sie sich einig darüber das die Hamas Njet gesagt hat, weil sie ganz offensichtlich nichts bekommt was sie nicht schon hat.]

Morgen ist jedoch eine Kriegsentscheidung zwischen 10 Uhr und 12 Uhr nicht möglich: Police investigators are scheduled to arrive at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Jerusalem residence at 10 am Friday for yet another question session in connection with the bribery probe against the PM. Also entweder vor dem Frühstück, oder nach dem Mittagessen. Ich befürchte allerdings das das Grillen von Olmerts Kopf wieder so weit gehen wird das er sich hernach nicht mehr an das was er vor dem Grillen sagte erinnern kann: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not propose a U.S. naval blockade of Iran during talks with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat's office said on Thursday. [Das Dementi ist vollkommener Blödsinn. Erstens ist der Bericht von Olmerts Leibschreiber Barak Ravid und zweitens ist die Idee uralt und wird ständig von irgendwem gefordert, so das die Bedeutung der Forderung faktisch bei Null liegt. Am Besten aber ist das nach dem man im Artikel mehrere als Orginalzitat gekennzeichneten Äußerungen lesen konnte ein Sprecher Olmerts zitiert wird: An Olmert spokesman has declined to comment on the Israeli leader's meeting with the U.S. congresswoman on Monday in Jerusalem, calling it confidential.] [Related: The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.] Nicht mehr verwunderlich ist das mittlerweile sogar Olmerts VIP-Service keinen Bock mehr hat: Several protestors interrupted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's speech at a Jewish Agency ceremony near Jerusalem Thursday evening after storming the stage area. The demonstrators, who were carrying "The Nation is with the Golan" signs, were reportedly encouraged by the crowd on hand. Olmert was forced to stop his address, as the protestors reached within a few meters of him. Das er daziwschen auch noch Zeit hatte mit Bernard Kouchner Mist zu quatschen ist nicht mehr erstaunlich: The prime minister emphasized that Israel aspired to reach peace with the Palestinians in the coming year and added that both his talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on this issue and the talks between the heads of the negotiating teams, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and PA negotiator Ahmad Qurei, were "serious and important." Entweder sind die Gespräche von Substanz dann bekommt er Frieden in drei Monaten, oder nicht dann vielleicht im nächsten Jahr. [Related: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's close associate, attorney Uri Messer, was questioned Thursday at the National Fraud Investigative Unit office in connection to a corruption probe being carried out against the premier.] Langsam verkommt dieser blog zum "Israels oberwichtigste Persönlichkeit" macht sich immer wichtiger - blog. :-)

Wenn schon Frieden, dann aber bitte auch langfristig und mit Power: The Israeli Defense Ministry submitted an official request to the Pentagon two weeks ago asking to purchase a squadron of F-35 stealth-enabled Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). Each plane is estimated to cost between $70-80 million. In addition to the 25 planes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the Defense Ministry also asked for an option to purchase 50 more. Already in September, the IDF announced its intention to purchase up to 100 JSF fighter jets over the next decade. Two weeks ago it finally submitted an official Letter of Request (LOR) to the Pentagon. The announcement of the Israeli request came as a high-level Syrian military delegation was in Moscow for arms talks with the Russian Defense Ministry. Syria is interested in purchasing advanced MiG fighter jets, S300 anti-aircraft missile systems and advanced submarines. [Related: The career path from the Pentagon to the nation's biggest defense contractors is a crowded one lined with potential conflicts of interest, a government watchdog said. In a report released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office found that seven of the nation's largest defense contractors employed a substantial number of former Pentagon officials in 2006 and at least some of those employees may have worked on programs they once helped oversee for the military. ... The GAO report found that 52 government contractors employed 2,435 former Pentagon officials, including former generals, admirals, senior executives, program managers and contracting officers. Nearly 65 percent of those employees worked for seven major defense companies: SAIC Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., L-3 Communiations Holdings Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and Raytheon Co. The GAO estimates that at least 422 of those employees could have worked on programs related to their former Pentagon agencies and at least nine may have worked on programs they once helped oversee or make decisions on while at the Pentagon.]

The UN Security Council on Thursday welcomed a Lebanese peace deal brokered by Qatar, an agreement that may have averted a new civil war in the Middle East. The council said it "welcomes and strongly supports the agreement reached in Doha ...which constitutes an essential step towards the resolution of the current crisis, the return to normal functioning of Lebanese democratic institutions, the complete restoration of Lebanon's unity and stability." [...] Shlomo Shamir schäumt schauderlich: West backs Lebanese government's capitulation to Hezbollah. [...] Zuheir Kseibati: On the dawn of May 21, 2008, the Lebanese entity and republic were saved from a seemingly inevitable death, as the images of the civil war and its fires were revived in every house and street, but this time draped in a dreadful sectarian cloak. [...] In a stinging defeat for the U.S.-backed government of Lebanon, the Islamist group Hezbollah bolstered its political power in this volatile land on Israel's border. [Man kanns auch übertreiben...]

Palestinian businesses have put over 100 projects on display at a first ever Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) in Bethlehem, hoping to raise nearly US$2 billion from the private sector. Over one thousand investors, mostly Palestinians and other Arabs, have come to the West Bank town of Bethlehem for the three-day conference which started on 21 May, to see what Palestinians have to offer, and decide whether it is worth investing in the local economy - and if that investment would be akin to charity or lead to financial gain. [...] Israeli forces shot dead a Bedouin man from Egypt on Wednesday as he was trying to cross the border, police sources said. At the Awja crossing point in central Sinai on Thursday the Israelis handed over to the Egyptian authorities the body of the man, named as Ayesh Suleiman Moussa, 32, they added. An Israeli military spokesman said: "Border police fired at a group of people trying to infiltrate into Israel, killing one of them and wounding another". There were no further details about the wounded person. [Reuters]

IDF kills est. Three + Suicidator kills himself at Erez + One

2008-05-22T10:06:00.004+02:00

Am Donnerstag Morgen kommt es am Grenzkontrollpunkt Erez zu einem schweren Zwischenfall, der möglicherweise das Ende möglicher Waffenruhen im Gazastreifen bedeuten könnte. In einer gemeinsam von Fatah und Islamic Jihad durchgeführten Selbstmordaktion hatte ein Jabalia-Resident einen mit annähernd 4500 Kilo Sprengstoff beladenen truck versucht auf die israelische Seite zu bringen, war jedoch wohl durch einen technischen defekt bereits auf der palästinensischen Seite zur Explosion gekommen. Kurz zuvor hatten begleitende Einheiten den crossing mit Granaten und Projektilen beschossen. Im Anschluß attackierten israelsiche Kampflugzeuge die mutmaßlichen Mittäterfahrzeuge. Opferberichte sind noch uneinheitlich: Auf israelischer Seite keine Verletzten, auf palästinensischer Seite der Attentäter und mutmaßlich einen unbeteiligten Zivilisten. Bei einer unabhängigen israelischen Eskalation wird in der Zone Juhor ad-Dik ein 62-jähriger Landwirt bei Kämpfen mit DFLP-Milizen erschossen. Eine zuvor aus Ägypten zurück kehrende Hamas-Delegation hatte vom Fehlschlag der Verhandlungen berichtet. Ob dies eine endgültige Antwort darstellt muß abgewartet werden. Am Morgen verstirbt zudem ein letzten Monat durch israelisches Feuer verletzter Jugendlicher. Die Hamas meldet einen erschossenen Gunman am Mittwoch ohne nähere confirmation. Auf israelischer Seite wird ein Soldat am Zikkim-Crossing zur eine Mörsergranate verletzt. Qassam-Angriffe werden nur vom Mittwoch Morgen gemeldet, so daß die israelische Seite derzeit noch die Ereignisse als nicht relevant für die Verhandlungen über die Waffenruhe hält, wohin gegen die Hamas-Seite sich sehr negativ äußert: Das israelische Angebot soll wohl jegliche Fragestellung der Grenzöffnung ausklammern.

In der Westbank wird bei Tulkarem ein israelischer Soldat von einem Autodieb über den Haufen gefahren, jedoch nur leicht verletzt. Aus Bethelehm wird ein gewisser Erfolg gemeldet: Saudi and Qatari companies signed up with Palestinian partners for $550 million in construction projects Wednesday, kicking off an investors conference meant to help revive the Palestinian economy and support Mideast peace efforts. Viel mehr an Berichten wird es kaum geben und die politischen Reden kann man sich schenken. Das Transparenzproblem ist offensichtlich. So erläutert der britische Minister Alexander die Absicht jährlich 2 Millionen US$ Unterstützung für den Aufbau kleinerer Geschäfte im Gazastreifen und der Westbank zu spenden und legt auch einen "Plan" vor, der eben nicht vorliegt sondern in den Schubladen der Fatah verschwindet. Das bei dem erwähnten Großprojekt die "palestinian partners" ein Drittel der Summe aus Hilfstöpfen finanziert bekommen und sie eigentlich [Al-Masar Leasing & Investment] Stohmänner kuwaitischer Investoren darstellen gehört nun mal eben zum arabischen Geschäft. Verhaftungswellen: 10 Palästinenser durch die IDf und 7 Hamasniks durch die PA. + Israeli defense officials generally respond dismissively to questions about the capabilities of the Palestinian Authority's preventive security forces, but a visit to the Jenin area with the Palestinian forces shows their attitude does not match reality, at least in this sector. Unterdessen meldet sich Najef Hawathmeh, DFLP-Chef zu Wort und behauptet das Aussenministerin Livni den Verhandlungsführern der PA bezüglich der Grenzziehung ein 12%+20%-Paket angeboten habe: 12% der Westbank incl. Ost-Jerusalem gehen in israelischen Besitz über und 20% werden als Sicherheitszone unter israelischer Militärkontrolle verblebein, vornehmlich das Jordantal.

Etwas durcheinander dieser Bericht: The IDF completed a large drill on Wednesday, which was conducted in order to drill its high-ranking officers on a number of scenarios in a number of different arenas. The drill, named 'Avney Esh' (Stones of Fire) is the second of its kind since the Second Lebanon War came to an end, and both the IDF's and the Winograd report's conclusions from the war were implemented in it. Das Manöver galt wohl eher dem Gazastreifen. Trotzdem sorgen die gestern geleakten Annäherungen zwischen Israel und Syrien für manövrellen Flurschaden: Israel, America’s staunchest ally in the Middle East, just became the latest example of a country that has decided it is better to deal with its foes than to ignore them. The announcement that Israel has entered into comprehensive peace talks with Syria is at odds with the course counseled by the Bush administration, which initially opposed such talks in private conversations with Israelis, according to Israeli and American officials. A week ago, President Bush delivered a speech to the Israeli Parliament likening attempts to “negotiate with the terrorists and radicals” to appeasement before World War II. [...] The United States voiced tepid support on Wednesday for indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria, a stance that analysts said reflected U.S. doubts about the chances of success. U.S. officials said they would welcome a peace agreement between the two countries, which have been technically at war since Israel declared independence 60 years ago. But they made clear their focus would be on the Israeli-Palestinian track. [...] Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Thursday Syria must distance itself from Tehran and cut ties to Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah and Hamas if wants to conclude a peace treaty with Israel. [...] While the Syrians may have been looking ahead to a future with the Golan, on the Israeli side Golan residents and tour operators just seemed worried. [...] 65 percent of Israelis are against a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, even if this would bring true peace with Syria, a poll published by the Geo-Cartographic Institute revealed Thursday. [...] Analysts, including former senior Israeli officials, believe there is little prospect of a peace between Israel and Syria without a shift in U.S. policy toward Damascus, possibly once President George W. Bush steps down in January. [...] Two of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's aides, Chief of Staff Dr. Yoram Turbowicz and State Counselor Shalom Turjeman returned to Israel on Wednesday after two days of intensive talks in Istanbul, Turkey. Immediately upon arrival they rushed to inform the prime minister of the talks' results. [...] Knesset majority of 80 representatives??? [...] Jon Alterman: It would be nice to think that Israeli-Syrian negotiations represent a key strategic advance. While I wouldn’t rule out such an advance in the future, this all has the whiff of tactical advantage to me. [...] Ethan Bronner: Israel and Syria announced on Wednesday that they were engaged in negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through Turkish mediators, a sign that Israel is hoping to halt the growing influence of Iran, Syria's most important ally, which sponsors the anti-Israel groups Hezbollah and Hamas. [...] The depth of cooperation between Syria and Iran is at times presented to cabinet members, but most of the details do not appear in the media because of the limits imposed by the censor. A security source said that we are now dealing with a more sophisticated adversary from those we have faced in the past, as the chess game against us is taking place on three parallel fronts. [...] The official announcement published yesterday in three capitals - Jerusalem, Damascus and Ankara - about the opening of indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel, under the aegis of Turkey, is a source of great hope but also suspicion. This is not the first time hope has been ignited. At least three prime ministers - Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak - drew close, to one extent or another, to an agreement with Syria, but were reluctant at the last minute to sign it. Rabin went so far as to place the conditions for peace as a deposit in the hands of the American administration, a deposit that will now serve as an important legacy for continuing the talks. [...] Israeli authorities have freed early a Syrian detainee serving a 7-year jail sentence on charges of establishing connections with the Hezbollah-led opposition movement and defying Israeli occupation, media reports said Thursday.

Besondere Betrachtung verdient Barak Ravid: The indirect talks between Israel and Syria, made public Wednesday, had their beginning in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's trip to Turkey in February 2007. Forty-five minutes were allocated for Olmert's meeting in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; it lasted for two and a half hours. Olmert asked Erdogan to mediate between Israel and Syria, potentially paving the way for renewed peace negotiations. An enthusiastic Erdogan took up the challenge at once. Diese Darstellung ist wohl etwas sehr pro-Olmert geschönt. Die Aussage basiert auf: Der frühere israelische Botschafter in Ankara und Staatssekretär im Außenministerium, Alon Liel, sagte unterdessen der türkischen Zeitung „Zaman“: ... Im Februar 2007 habe dann Olmert in Ankara Erdogan um die Wiederaufnahme der Vermittlung gebeten. Von da an habe der außenpolitische Berater Erdogans, Davutoglu, Botschaften der einen Seite an die andere weitergeleitet. Liel sagte der Zeitung Zaman ferner, bei der Vermittlung sei auch die Lieferung von Wasser aus der Türkei an Syrien ein Thema. Zuvor kursierte dieses Vertragspapier als Ergebniss von ständigen Konsultationen. The meetings were carried out with the knowledge of senior officials in the government of former prime minister Ariel Sharon. Wer der "Europäische Mediator" war wurde nie veröffentlicht. Olmert setzt sich hier eher ins gemachte Nest und das er nun den "Initiator" spielen darf und nicht mehr Assad soll ihn wohl am politischen Leben halten. Dabei belegen seine "eigenen" Ideen eher das er kurz vor dem geistigen Zusammenbruch steht: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has proposed in discussions with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, that a naval blockade be imposed on Iran as one of several ways to pressure Iran into stopping its uranium enrichment program. + Iran's disputed nuclear program has sent a wave of interest in atomic energy across the Middle East, a think tank said Tuesday, warning that it risked setting the scene for a regional nuclear arms race. At least 13 Middle Eastern countries either announced new plans to explore atomic energy or revived pre-existing nuclear programs between February 2006 and January 2007, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS, said in a report. [...] The standard assumption is that a military attack by the United States or Israel to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons would be disastrous for the attackers, and would threaten the stability of the entire Middle East. Various experts outline doomsday scenarios for such an occurrence, and warn especially of Iran's harsh reaction. Fearing the reaction of the ayatollahs has a paralyzing effect. Even before the first shot has been fired, Iran can credit itself with a success. It created an image of an omnipotent country that will not hesitate to use its power to respond and avenge a military operation against it. This is an impressive psychological achievement. But a new paper, to be published this month in the U.S. by two well-known experts on the subject, sketches a different and more complex picture. The paper is "The Last Resort," written by Patrick Clawson and Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The main point, notes Dr. Clawson in an interview with Haaretz, is that the success or failure of a military attack depends on many variables, and not just the degree of damage the attack would cause. [Da das Buch noch nicht im Internet zur Verfügung steht kann man es auch nicht lesen.]

The police have documents pointing to the possible collusion of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's bureau chief, Shula Zaken, in the bribery scandal, which involves hundreds of thousands of dollars. Haaretz has had access for some time to these key documents, which sparked the most recent investigation against Olmert, but they were under a gag order until Wednesday night. [Derzeit tendiert die Möglichkeit einer direkten Anklage gegen Olmert gegen Null.]

Queen Rania has sent me...

2008-05-21T17:57:00.001+02:00

Es gibt etwa 70 000 Photos von ihr. Sie hat diesem blog das Beste zur Verfügung gestellt.

Israel + Syria want to have peace, too

2008-05-21T17:13:00.003+02:00

Nun, ich bin ja schon eine Weile dabei, aber so etwas ist mir auch noch nicht untergekommen: Eine [partielle] Einigung rivalisierender libanesischer Kräfte, angehende israelisch-syrische Friedensverhandlungen, eine mögliche Waffenruhe zwischen Gaza und Negev? Diese Tendenzen sind in erster Linie einer natürlichen Bewegung geschuldet, der Gegenbewegung gegen die iransiche Einflußnahme. Die Historie lehrt das LICs [low intensive conflicts] gerne abwartend bis positiv auf größere Konflikte reagieren. Man nehme den Kurdenkonflikt als Beispiel, man nehme das disengagement als Beispiel, man nehme die Intifada II als Beispiel. Die amerikanische Landnahme im Irak sorgte nicht für ein Zusammenbrechen der Raumordnung, sondern für ein überbordendes Machtpotential dessen Auswirkung zwar sektiererische Anwandlungen aller Orten verstärkte, aber die betroffenen Länder in klassische Politikfelder zurück fallen ließ. Interne Querelen und eine allgemeine Mißgunst führen letztlich dazu mit dem Feind lieber zu verhandeln als mit dem "Freund" Krieg zu führen. Verdeutlichen wir es uns mit dem Fattah-Hamas-Konflikt. Nach dem versuchten Putsch durch Dahlan in der Hamas-Zone Gazstreifen wurde latent versucht den Eindruck zu erzeugen das die Fattah die Hamas wieder verjagen könne. Demonstrationen und sektiererische Ausbrüche wurden als Startsignal gesehen. Versandet ist dies nicht wegen der irrealen Auffassung dieser Möglichkeit in westlichen Kreisen [Geld gegen iranische Unterstützung], oder gar einer Allianz mit den Israelis, sondern ausschließlich aus dem Impuls heraus im Deckmantel des kommenden Krieges gegen den Iran lieber die Regionalmacht zu behalten als sie langfristig zu verlieren. Ein Kunststück von Kriegen bei denen hinter jedem neuen Dorf eine neue Macht das sagen hat und die Staaten eher substanzlos agieren, weil sie letzlich jeden Krieg verlieren. Schwedenkönige, oder marodierende Franzosen im 30-jährigen Krieg können ein Lied davon singen. Das sich islamistische Verbände wie Hamas und Hezbollah ihrer Schlüsselfigur in dieser Geschichte bewußt sind darf bezweifelt werden. Trotzdem gehören sie als Faktoren eingebettet in jegliche Verhandlung und jedes strategisches Denken. Die Rückkehr zu der islamistischen Grundidee einer Überzeugung durch Lebenswandel und nicht durch Brutalität und Waffen kann man nicht von Figuren erwarten, die ihre Söhne reiehenweise in den bewaffneten Kampf schicken. Trotzdem soll dies der Schritt werden ihnen die Menschlichkeit zurück zu geben, die ihnen die amerikanische Lügenliga genommen hat. Diese Rückkehr zu einem Kriegsprinzip, das es egal ist ob einer nun evangelisch sei oder katholisch, alawitisch oder shiitisch, das die Hauptsache sei das er sich an das ausgemachte hält befällt den Nahen Osten eben sehr spät. Die Frage ob dies ein konvulsischer Ausbruch der vorhandenen Gewaltvision aller Beteiligter ist, oder ein Zufallsprodukt launischer Gegebenheiten mag dahin gestellt sein. Geschichte wird immer nach vorne geschrieben und wir werden es sehen.

Trotzdem kann das Fazit nur lauten: Ein großer Tag für den Nahen Osten. Es ist zu hoffen das es mehrere davon in naher Zukunft gibt.

Related: "Israel and Syria have begun indirect peace talks with the Syrians, under the auspices of Turkey," the statement read. "The two sides have declared their intention to conduct the negotiations in good faith and with openness."

Mabrook Lebanon

2008-05-21T07:03:00.002+02:00

Finally a deal to end the crises reached in Qatar
Doha - The presidential election will take place either on Thursday or latest this Friday, depending on the arrival dates of the MPs currently in Qatar according to the deal reached in Qatar aimed at ending the political crisis in Lebanon, officials in Qatar said.

The agreement was reached at about 3:00 AM Doha, Qatar time after intensive negotiations that lasted for 5 days between supporters of the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-led opposition

Lebanon has been without a president since November 23, 2007 when the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term

Lebanon has witnesses the worst political crises since the last civil war last week Lebanon came too close to start another civil war , following the so called "Hezbollah coup against the state which resulted in the killing of 81 and the wounding of 200. The Government's resolutions to outlaw Hezbollah's illegal telephone network and to fire Beirut airport's security chief triggered the Hezbollah violence. The government had to rescind both resolutions in order to end the violence after an Arab League committee visited Lebanon and intervened

The breakthrough came after Qatar proposed 2 sets of proposals ( on electing a new president, power-sharing in the new cabinet and the electoral law) and asked the parties to agree on one of the proposals for final settlement. When the parties could not agree on either proposals because of the electoral law , Qatar officials formed a Quartet committee (of 2 representative from each side ) to discuss and provide recommendation on the last sticking issue , which was the electoral law for the parliamentary elections that are expected to take place next year .

Around midnight it became clear that an agreement was near , since all parties voiced optimism and promised they will not leave before an agreement

MP Walid Jumblatt , a key leader of the March 14 alliance which backs the government said "The Lebanese people have the right to be angry at us if we return to Lebanon without agreement and we are doing every thing possible to reach an agreement "

Similarly opposition MP Ali Hassan Khalil sounded optimistic when he said that he expected a parliamentary vote to elect a president on Thursday or Friday.

Last year , the rival groups had agreed on electing army chief Gen Michel Suleiman to succeed the former President Emile Lahoud, but they could not agree on anything else and for this reason the presidential elections were delayed 20 times . The first election date was scheduled for Septem,ber 25, 2007

Lebanon has been in political crisis since late 2006 when the six ministers of Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition resigned from the democratically elected cabinet. The opposition followed this move with a sit-in demanding more power and a veto over government decisions.

The deal: Here are some sketchy details that appeared in the Arabic Daily An Nahar about the deal agreed in Qatar. On Wednesday the details of the deal will be announce by the Arab committee in Doha, Qatar

A- To Form a national unity government based on 16 ministers of the majority, 11 of the opposition (one third with veto power) and 3 to be picked by the President.

B- Distribution of The parliamentary seats in Beirut electoral region will be distributed as follows :
10 in Mazraa electoral District
5 in Ashrafieh electoral District
4 in Bachoura electoral District

C- The final statement on the agreement will include a reference to the weapons of organizations that are not under the direct control of the army and this issue will be finalized by the new president in Beirut

And last but not least all the above is conditional to the election of Army Chief General Michel Suleiman as the president of the republic of Lebanon no later than this coming Friday May 23, 2008.

IDF kills Five

2008-05-21T00:12:00.002+02:00

Als Antwort auf verschiedene Angriffe seitens palästinensischer Milizen auf israelische Grenzstädte zum Gazastreifen tötet die israelische Armee im Verlauf des Dienstag fünf Personen. Am Morgen hatte eine Einheit des Islamic Jihad die Stadt Sderot mit zwei [drei] Raketen unter Beschuß genommen. Nach unterschiedlichen Angaben soll ein zügiger Luftangriff die ausführende Einheit getroffen haben [IDF], wobei allerdings ein 13-Jähriger getötet und zwei weitere Zivilpersonen verletzt werden, so das die palästinensische Seite von einer Ansammlung von Zivilisten spricht. Auf ähnluiche Art und Weise wird kurz danach ein palästinensischer Landwirt von einer Tankgranate vor Beit Lahia getroffen und getötet. Sein Sohn wird durch einen Kopfschuß schwer verletzt. [IDF: Bewaffnete wurden unter Feuer genommen, Kollateralschaden.] Bei Juhor ad-Dik wird erneut ein Zivilist durch eine spätere IAF-Rakete verletzt. Am Nachmittag wird der Vorort Zaytoun durch israelische Artillerie beschossen: Zwei Tote, darunter ein Hamasnik und weitere fünf Verletzte. Israelische Aktionen werden auch aus Maghazi gemeldet. Gegen Mittag beschießen DFLP mit zwei Raketend den Kissufim-Militärkomplex und die PRC die Stadt Sderot. Etwas später beteiligen sich auch PFLP und Fatah, drei Raketen werden auf Ashkelon und Sderot abgeschossen. Es soll am Karni-Crossing und im "nördlichen" Gazasreifen zu weiteren Luftwaffeneinsätzen gekommen sein, die keine unmittelbaren Opfer forderten. Trotz dieser Ereignisse sind die Möglichkeiten für eine grundsätzliche Einigung über eine Feuerpause eher gestiegen: The cease-fire (tahdiyeh) being negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip is expected to go into effect in a number of days, following developments at the end of meetings held by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday with the Egyptian leadership. The Egyptian Chief of Intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, who has been mediating between the parties, is scheduled to meet Tueday with the heads of the Palestinian factions in the Strip. Israel is waiting to learn from Suleiman whether the Palestinian groups, headed by Hamas, will agree to an unofficial deal on a cessation of terrorist activities in the strip, in return for an end to IDF attacks. + A senior Egyptian official said on Tuesday night that Israel had accepted in principle a proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip, according to the official MENA news agency. "Israeli leaders [have informed us] of their support for and understanding of the Egyptian proposals for a truce," the news agency quoted the unidentified official as saying. It added that Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman had relayed the news to a Hamas delegation from Gaza earlier in the day. [...] Seven municipal leaders from Israel's south sent a harsh letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Tuesday, urging him to act against ongoing rocket attacks sustained by southern communities. ... Mittlerweile wird auch gegen den Bürgermeister von Sderot wegen sexual harrassment ermittelt... AP-Bericht: Despite violence, Israeli officials say Gaza cease-fire is close. Und latest: Israel is preparing for the possibility that efforts to secure a lull agreement vis-à-vis Hamas will fail, prompting the IDF to embark on a wide-scale military operation against Gaza terrorists. Senior officials in Jerusalem said Tuesday night that following the planned meeting in Cairo between Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman and Hamas representatives, as well as members of other Gaza terror groups, the National Security Cabinet is expected to decide whether Israel will be heading to a ceasefire or embarking on a military operation.

Ein anderer und hoffentlich etwas realistischerer Durchbruch: Rival Lebanese leaders were close to agreeing a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that has pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war. A senior Lebanese opposition official at the crisis talks in Doha said a deal resolving disputes over a parliamentary election law and how to divide seats in a new cabinet would be announced imminently. "We are very close to the announcement of a deal," Ali Hassan Khalil, an MP and a senior aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Arab-mediated talks in Doha. Zuvor: Talks between rival Lebanese political leaders in Qatar made progress on the composition of a national unity government on Tuesday, but the shape of a new electoral law remained a key stumbling block. After agreeing to adopt the qada (or smaller district) as the basis for constituencies, the parties remained at odds over how to divide Beirut.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has detained dozens of people in the West Bank city of Bethlehem as a part of a security clampdown in advance of the Palestine Investment Conference, which opens on Wednesday, various Palestinian sources said. Two sources in the Palestinian security forces, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that approximately 30 people had been detained and are being held in the Muqata'a, the government headquarters in Bethlehem. [...] U.S. officials said on Tuesday they aim to address economic roadblocks in the Palestinian territories -- including actual Israeli roadblocks and security risks -- at an investment conference in Bethlehem this week. The Palestine Investment Conference will include announcements of hundreds of millions of dollars in public-private business grants, loan guarantees, venture capital funds and affordable mortgages to spur the Palestinian economy, officials from the U.S. delegation told a news briefing. "The conference is intended to spur investor interest in the Palestinaian Territorites by showcasing business opportunities and projects ready to be launched," said Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, who is heading the U.S. delegation. [...] Mazen Sinokrot wants foreigners invited by the Palestinian government to an investor conference this week to get the right idea -- so he'll be publicly taking delivery of $12 million in business funding. When the conference starts in Bethlehem on Wednesday, his family conglomerate will sign a deal with a local investment group to fund a turkey processing unit. The deal was in the works anyway, but Sinokrot wants to drive home the message in public that there are Palestinian businesses worth investing in. "There is an opportunity now to do business in Palestine," the chairman of Sinokrot Global Group said, adding that his own new poultry venture could create 600 jobs. [Es dürfte wenig überraschen das der Mann Fatah-Minister für Wirtschaft gewesen ist. Im Übrigen verantwortlich in der disengagement-Zeit.] Investors began to trickle into the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday as organizers put the finishing touches on arrangements for the Palestine Investment Conference. [...] Israelisches Störfeuer hält sich weitgehend zurück. Nach dem die Identität des gestern am Huwwara-Checkpoint erschossenen Pipebomträgers geklärt wurde wird er den "Battalions of Struggle and Return" zugerechnet, einer Al-Aqsa-Abspaltung die verantwortlich für mehrere Messerangriffe zeichnet, darunter dem mit Todesfolge für einen israelischen Wachmann am 24.01.08 an einem Checkpoint in Shuafat/Jerusalem.

The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's bid to block a key witness from giving a deposition in a corruption probe against him. [...] Assemblyman Dov Hikind said on Monday that he saw then-Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert take an envelope full of cash following a Brooklyn fundraiser for the New Jerusalem Foundation in the 1990s.

The top uniformed US military officer told Congress Tuesday that Iran is directly jeopardizing peace in Iraq, prompting fresh calls from senators that the US pursue diplomatic talks with Teheran. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "irresponsible actions" by Iran's Revolutionary Guard "directly jeopardize" peace in Iraq. "Restraint in our response does not signal lack of resolve or capability to defend ourselves against threats," Mullen told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. [...] The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure. The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow. [...] The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Manche fragen sich bei solchen Ergebnissen [Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation while Israel ranked 136th out of 140 nations, according to the "Global Peace Index," compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.] warum das so ist. Die Antowrt ist recht einfach: Orthodox Jews have burned hundreds of New Testaments in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in Israel. Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of the central Israeli town of Or Yehuda, says he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and urged people to turn over hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material recently distributed by missionaries. Verrückte bekommen immer Bonuspunkte.

IDF kills One

2008-05-19T23:12:00.004+02:00

Vor Nablus am Huwwara-Checkpoint wird am Abend ein 20-jähriger, mit drei Rohrbomben bestückter Palästinenser von Soldaten erschossen. Eine Fraktionszugehörigkeit ist noch nicht bekannt. Nach angaben von Ryad al-Maliki sind die Vorbereitungen für die am Mittwoch in Bethlehem statt finden sollende Investorenkonferenz abgeschlossen. Als Nebenprogramm wird der eröffende Präsident aller Palästinenser Mahmoud Abbas den österreichischen Verteidigungsminister treffen. Die offizielle Webseite befindet sich hier. [Etwas älter schon: Der internationale Aachener Friedenspreis geht in diesem Jahr an die israelische Frauenorganisation MachsomWatch und den evangelischen Pfarrer der Weihnachtskirche in Bethlehem, Mitri Raheb. Die Preisträger engagierten sich auf vorbildliche Weise „von unten“ für den Frieden im Nahen Osten heißt es zur Begründung. ... Der Aachener Friedenspreis ist mit je 1.000 Euro dotiert und wird am 1. September verliehen. Zur Preisverleihung sind – wie in jedem Jahr – alle Bürgerinnen und Bürger herzlich eingeladen. Porträt: MachsomWatch +++ Porträt: Mitri Raheb.]

Über den defacto-truce zwischen Israel und Gaza streiten sich die Geister. Unbestätigten Angaben zu Folge soll es ab dem Nachmittag zu entweder 4 Qassam-Abschüssen, oder zwei Mörsergranatenangriffen, oder zu einem Schußwechsel in Rafah gekommen sein. Oder auch gar nichts. Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that there can be no truce or cooling off period between Israel and Hamas unless there is an end to rocket attacks on civilians. Barak spoke to reporters following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, to whom he outlined Israel's concerns and conditions over any possible truce deal with Hamas. Wie ich gestern ausführte ist der Premier nur noch repräsentativ im Amt und schickt zeitgleich zu Baraks Besuch seinen Dobermann vor die Presse: Vice Premier Haim Ramon on Monday acknowledged that Israel was holding talks with Hamas, in violation of a government decision not to conduct talks with the Islamist Palestinian group until it complies with the demands of the Quartet. .. Ramon, speaking at a Kadima faction meeting, criticized Israel's negotiations with the militants group and voiced hope that the cabinet would soon make a strategic decision not to accept the Hamas presence along Israel's southern border. [Erstens hat Israel bereits eine Kabinettsentscheidung für diese strategische Entscheidung getätigt -enemy entity-, wobei Zweitens dort nicht drin steht das man nicht verhandeln darf. Drittens hat der Herr Premier höchstpersönlich nie ein Go für eine militärisch umfängliche Lösung der Hamasfrage erteilt und braucht jetzt hier und heute nicht rumgreinen.] Unterdessen keilt Ägypten gegen Bush zurück: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit says that the presence of Israeli and U.S. tanks on Arab soil is leading to more instability in the region. Aboul Gheit's made his remarks at a panel Monday on regional stability during the World Economic Forum on the Middle East at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. + Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office announced Monday he will undergo a routine test as part of his treatment for prostate cancer. In a statement, Olmert's office said the two-hour magnetic imaging test would monitor the tumor and take place Monday evening. [Nachdem meine ursprüngliche Spekualtion das Olmert deswegen nach Winograd ausscheiden wird war ja für den Müll. Jetzt halte ich mich zurück.]

Israel will not release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah, it recently informed the Lebanese organization. And if Hezbollah continues to insist that Palestinians be included in the deal, Israel may break off the negotiations, a senior official familiar with the talks told Haaretz. [...] Qatari-led Arab mediators stepped up efforts to salvage talks aimed at ending Lebanon's crisis on Monday after negotiations between the U.S.-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition suffered a setback. Rival leaders appeared back at square one on the fourth day of intense bargaining in Doha but mediators managed to get the talks going and maintained hope that a deal could still be reached to pull Lebanon back from the brink of a civil strife. [...] Hopes for a breakthrough to solve Lebanon's 18-month-old political deadlock dimmed considerably on Monday with neither camp willing to make concessions at talks being held in Qatar's capital, Doha. An indication of how convoluted the talks were came late Monday evening, when Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani joined talks with the rival leaders for the second day in a row in a bid to help break the impasse - or at least to keep the talks going. [...] Editorial: Among Lebanon's diverse (and sometimes highly divided) communities, it is somewhat rare to find a political stance or position upon which large majorities can wholeheartedly agree. But the prevailing sentiment in Lebanon right now is one that is shared by opposition supporters and government loyalists alike: The leaders who are gathered in Doha for talks on the Lebanese crisis should not return until they have reached a settlement to all of the outstanding issues that have needlessly plagued this country - and even threatened to bring about its demise. [...] another editorial: Most of Lebanon's top political figures are on an excursion to a foreign country in hopes (one assumes) of improving the situation in their own. The dazzling Doha hotel serving as their venue happens to have the shape of a stylized pyramid, a convenient reminder that taking inspiration from outside one's homeland is not necessarily a bad thing. It should be recalled, too, that it was the ministrations of the Arab League and the Qatari government - not any demonstration of visionary leadership in Lebanon - that got our feuding political parties to start negotiating again. Nonetheless, it is the Lebanese who have to seal the deal, and they cannot so unless and until they put their own country's interests above those of all others.

Normalerweise bin ich kein Freund von Texten von Parteibuchschreibern, egal bei welcher Stiftung sie sich die Brötchen verdienen. Heute eine Ausnahme: Here is a fascinating personal account of recent events in Lebanon from Heiko Wimmen, a German journalist and political analyst who resided in Beirut for the better part of the past fourteen years. He would like to share it with readers of Syria Comment. Hier sein deutschsprachiger Text auf der Böll-Stiftungswebseite. "Kernursache der Krise im Libanon" Ein Externer. Basierend auf der syrischen Besatzung 1976 des Libanon gibt es zwei Modelle der "Kernursachen". Das die Böllstiftung gerne "imperialistische US-Einflüsse" ursächlich am Wirken sieht versteht sich. Eine historische Übersicht findet sich hier, zB auf den Seiten vor 290.

Updates

2008-05-19T12:53:00.002+02:00

France said on Monday it had held talks with Hamas, in an apparent softening of its support for the US-led policy of isolating the Palestinian Islamist group that seized control of the Gaza Strip last year. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed a report in the French daily Le Figaro quoting a retired ambassador who it said had met senior Hamas officials about a month ago. [Dans la plus grande discrétion, une première rencontre a eu lieu, il y a un mois environ, à Gaza, entre Yves Aubin de La Messuzière, diplomate français de haut rang en retraite depuis janvier, et les principaux responsables du Hamas, révèle Le Figaro. Ancien ambassadeur en Irak et patron de la direction Afrique du Nord, Moyen-Orient au Quai d'Orsay, La Messuzière s'est notamment entretenu avec Ismaël Haniyeh et Mahmoud Zahar, avant d'informer le Quai d'Orsay de ses discussions.] [...] Der Zeitpunkt ist sehr günstig: Senior Hamas leaders are traveling to Egypt on Monday to resume talks with Egyptian mediators in hopes of hammering out the terms of a ceasefire with Israel. The Hamas delegation in includes founder Mahmoud Zahhar, Jamal Abu Hashim, and Khalil Al-Hayyah, all of whom are based in the Gaza Strip. Exlied leaders Mousa Abu Marzouq, Muhammad Nasr and Imad Al-Alami will also join the meetings. [Maan, incl. Schreibfehler "exlied" - "exiled"] Zuerst wurde eine Verschiebung auf Ende der Woche angesetzt und wie hier bereits vermutet die Falschmeldung verbreitet Suleiman würde im Gazastreifen am Sonntag weilen. Nun verbleibt die Terminologie wie ursprünglich geplant, wobei ich kaum Erfolgschancen erkennen kann. Zwar wäre ein gegenseitiger Waffenstillstand technisch machbar [Israel plans to accept the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire proposal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but does not intend to officially declare a commitment to it. Instead, Israel will treat the deal struck indirectly with Hamas as a series of steps beginning with a lull in hostilities, followed by gradual relaxation of the financial blockade of Gaza. Ehud Barak, who will discuss the cease-fire with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh Monday, is skeptical about the chances of achieving long-term quiet with Hamas, and his feelings are shared by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.], aber ohne Aufhebung der Blockade wenig von Nutzen. Andererseits kann eine wohlinszenierte extralegale Tötung eines Islmic-Jihad-Führers in der Westbank jederzeit die ruhigere Lage platzen lassen. Der aktuelle Waffenstillstand kann mit Beginn Samstag 00:00 terminiert werden, womit die zentralen player Hamas und Islamic Jihad gemeint sind. Für die gezeigte Disziplin auf täglicher Basis eine gewisse Menge an Treibstoff und Gas, allerdings nur ein Bruchteil des benötigten Stoffs. Andere Gruppen verüben kleinere Attacken auf den Sufa-Crossing und angebliche israelische Ziele im Gazastreifen in der Nähe des ehemaligen Flughafens. Zu notieren ist das nach den Bush-Infektion mit Kriegslüsternheit auch die Presse wieder bereinigt ist und peacenik-Artikel veröffentlichen darf: Say yes to a lull - Major op in Gaza would not solve rocket issue, put Shalit’s life in danger. Auffällig ist jedoch das das Wörtchen Iran häufiger erwähnt wird: The Shin Bet announced Monday that it arrested last month a Palestinian terrorist who had undergone training in Iran. ... State officials said that his arrest proves that Iran is directly involved in Palestinian terrorism. [Den lieben state officials sei an dieser Stelle gesagt das Geständnisse die unter Folter zu Stande gekommen sind in Rechtsstaaten keinerlei Bedeutung haben.] [...] Helena Cobban glänzt mit einem historischen Abriß. [...] Israeli worries about gunrunner tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip are overblown as the greater smuggling threat is from the Mediterranean sea, a senior Israeli lawmaker said on Monday. ... But Grad and Katyusha-style rockets favoured by Hamas and other factions for hitting targets deep in Israel are too big to be dragged through the underground passages, the sources said. [1. Nein, nicht zu "groß". Zu viel Personal wird benötigt. In den letzten Verschüttungen wurden jeweils über ein halbes Dutzend Menschen verschüttet. 2. Die Kanister-Theorie ist aufgrund der Seeüberwachung eher schwer zu glauben.]

Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that he believes the Knesset elections will be moved up and held by the end of the year or the beginning of 2009. [Wirklich erstaunlich der Mann. Bereits die Zweite Verschiebung in kurzer Zeit. "There is no reason to rush and that we should keep cool." Die Umfragewerte sind im Keller und cool bleiben kann allerhöchstens Livni. Während der Skandal um Olmert der Kadima aufgrund personeller Alternativen kaum schadet, schadet Barak dem Ansehen der Avoda mächtig.] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's lawyer, attorney Eli Zohar, said Monday that the decision to accept early testimony from American millionaire Morris Talansky is a blatant disruption of the balance between the right to fair trial and public interest. ... On the other side, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador stood before the court, in what had already been described as an unusual legal maneuver, and explained why the preliminary testimony was crucial. Talansky himself, the State said in response to the petition, is a suspect and his promise to return to Israel and testify cannot be counted on. "The investigation into the conduct of the two suspects in question (Olmert and Zaken) pertains to the years in which Olmert was industry, trade and labor minister, his two tenures as mayor of Jerusalem, and his tenure as the health minister prior to that. "His duties required him to travel extensively and meet with certain elements as a public persona," continued Lador. "The allegations being investigated today go to his long involvement with Mr. Talansky, who is a known fundraiser and is affiliated with many Jewish organizations in the United States. "Official contacts aside, the State believes that during that time Olmert received cash payments from Talansky, both in Israel – via his bureau chief and in the US, via sporadic encounters between them… The State will offer evidence as to the nature of the payments, including specific amount, which were provided in cash, in the form of dollars-filled envelopes." [...] The state has thus far spent over NIS 6 billion on settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in August 2005, according to the Disengagement Administration, known as Sela. This cost, which averages out to NIS 3 million per family, includes direct compensation payments, investment in infrastructure for the evacuees' new communities and social assistance aimed at helping to ease the trauma of the evacuation. In addition, the Knesset recently approved an increase in compensation payments that will total some NIS 640 million. [no comment]

Less than a week after a speech by US President George W. Bush spurred condemnation from Palestinian Authority officials - who accused the American leader of being one-sided in peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis - PA President Mahmoud Abbas has come to the conclusion that peace talks have failed, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Monday. Citing PA sources, the article said that prior to his departure from Sharm e-Sheikh Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the paper, the report was given to Abbas from a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel, and that the US was "allowing Israel full freedom to take a stance which would serve its policies, its security, and its interests alone." ... die Abbas-Sprecherschaft kommt kaum mit dem dementieren nach: Palestinian Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh denied reports on Monday that President Mahmoud Abbas plans to resign if a final agreement is not reached in negotiations with Israel within six months. Der obige Bericht wurde noch nicht dementiert. In der Westbank gehen die recht sinnlos vorgetragenen Unternehmungen weiter: Palestinian forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas have arrested two Islamic Jihad leaders, a Palestinian security official said on Monday, in a U.S.-backed law-and-order campaign in the occupied West Bank. Abdel Fatah Khuzaimiah, who was detained on Sunday, was the most senior militant taken into custody in the northern West Bank since hundreds of pro-Abbas security men deployed in the city of Jenin two weeks ago. [In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Hamas security forces questioned Osama al-Fara, an Abbas loyalist and the governor of the southern town of Khan Younis, for four hours, sources in Abbas's Fatah movement said.] Über das Wochenende werden weit über 40 Personen von marodierenden IDF-Einheiten verhaftet, Häuser gelootet, Menschen an Checkpoints mißhandelt und in Hebron gar ein Checkpoint kompensationslos abgebaut. Und noch eine andere "Praktik" wird endlich mal öffentlich gemacht: Israeli authorities have been holding a major shipment of electronics ordered by Palestinian firms at the Israeli port of Ashdod for eight months, the Palestinian minister of Telecommunications Kamal Hassuna said on Sunday. Israel has been detaining at Ashdod Port electronic equipment which the Palestinian ministry of telecommunications has imported since 8 months, Palestinian Minister of Telecommunications Kamal Hassuna said on Sunday. Hassuna was speaking to the press in Cairo after he participated in the Telecom Africa conference and exhibition. He said that Israel deliberately held the equipment because it was imported directly while the Israelis wanted the imports go through Israeli companies. He explained that importing directly is less costly than using Israeli agents. He appealed to the international community and the concerned organizations to pressure on Israel to get the electronic equipment released. [Maan] Tja, wie bereits erwähnt sollen die internationalen Hilfsgelder doch auch den eigentlichen Herrschern des Landes die Taschen füllen.

This Palestinian Life is a film about the Palestinian nonviolent struggle in the face of Israel’s occupation and annexation of their land. Israel maintains control over a majority of Palestinian land. Surrounding the valleys of many Palestinian villages lie Israeli communities, called settlements, a majority of which according to international law are illegally built on Palestinian village land. The Israeli army protects Jewish settlers as they violently attack school children, prevent Palestinian shepherds from tending to their flocks of sheep, or raze ancient trees. This system threatens the very way of life of Israel’s Palestinian neighbors. [Trailer mit der hübschen Jeanette. Ich werde die Projektfortschritte genau beobachten. Natürlich nur aus politischen Gründen. :-)] Ähm. Ja: Phillip Rizk, im Übrigen auch Deutscher ist auf diesem blog kein Unbekannter und wurde schon verlinkt. Genau weiß ich es nicht, aber ich glaube er hat mit diesen Leuten zu tun. Seeehr interessant finde ich Jeaneee... nein, dieses Projekt von der mir bislang unbekannten Julie Norman. Photo-Bereich.

For Defacto Truce call 1-800-Livni-Moans

2008-05-18T23:19:00.003+02:00

Dem amerikanischen Aussenministerium wurden unlängst verschiedene Audiobeweise zugespielt, deren sehr amüsanter Inhalt baldmöglichst auf regierungseigenen XXX-Webseiten veröffentlich wird: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are privately discussing a peace agreement and the talks should intensify in the next several months, U.S. Secretary of State Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark said on Sunday. "I do know how seriously they are discussing all of the key issues," Rice told reporters aboard Air Force One as she returned from a Middle East trip with President George W. Bush. "I think you're going to see them intensifying those discussions over the next several months." [Was? Also für mich ist Sex generell das wichtigste issue. Politik? Kaum vorstellbar. Denn schließlich hat Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark verschiedene hohe Regierungsbeamte zum Sonnen nach Israel entsandt um die Friedensheuchelei zu monitoren. Es kann natürlich bei der amierkanischen Aussenministerin immer sein das sie lügt, klar.] [...] Selbstverständlich kann es auch sein das sie die Flughöhen nich verträgt. Ihr zu unterstellen, sie würde Amtshilfe für undemokratisch ablaufende Prozesse leisten [Fifteen members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are demanding an urgent session on the discussion of core issues with the Palestinian Authority. They are demanding reports from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and chief negotiator Brigadier General (Res.) Udi Dekel on the matter, and are demanding that Olmert report on the exchange of messages, via Turkey, with Syrian President Bashar Assad.] wäre an dieser Stelle abenteuerlich. Denn schließlich wird ja Israel von demokratisch gesinnten Siegertypen regiert, die kein Wässerlein trüben können und nicht von einer Horde looser, gegen die verschiedene Korruptionsermittlungen laufen. Der top-Siegertyp: Continuous rocket barrages fired by Palestinians against Israeli towns in the western Negev cannot persist and a decision on how to act on the matter is near, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Sunday. "We are very close to a decision point regarding every issue in Gaza," Olmert told ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "The present situation cannot continue." [Es regnet seit 7 Jahren Qassam-Raketen auf Israel. Und jetzt ist die Entscheidungszeit was man damit anfangen soll nahe. Wahrscheinlich kommt auch morgen der Messias, am Donnerstag schneit es in Jerusalem und am nächsten Sonntag fliegen Schweine aus Zypern ein um gegen die Ungleichbehandlung von Muslimen und Juden gegenüber den Christen zu demonstrieren. Übernnächste Woche werden dann sanfte Drogen legalisiert um die Befriedung des Nahen Ostens einigermaßen erträglich zu machen.] Die Qassam-Einheiten haben vorbehaltlich israelischer Gegenmaßnahmen das Feuer seit zwei Tagen eingestellt. Ein kleiner Gefallen an den ägyptischen Unterhändler: Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said Sunday that if Israel agreed to the terms of a truce deal with Gaza militant groups, he could set a date for starting the cease-fire as early as Monday. Ein erneutes Zeichen das Olmert vollstädnig ausgehebelt in der israelischen Politik dasteht: Eine verklausulierte Kriegserklärung die das Diktat des Fürstens der Finsternis George Bush aus seiner Knesset-Rede umzusetzen vermeint am Tag vor einem enorm wichtigen Besuch zweier Minister -Aussen und Verteidigung- in Ägypten, die dort über einen Waffenfrieden verhandeln möchten ist neben der obigen Non-Transparenz in Sachen anderer Verhandlungen Beweis genug dafür das der Regierungschef mittlerweile nur noch repräsentativen Charakter an den Tag legt. Auffällig wird das Verhalten kaum mehr da lameduck Olmert sich darauf verlassen kann das lameduck Bush für mehr Aufsehen sorgt: US-Präsident George W. Bush hat auf der letzten Station seiner Nahostreise in Ägypten die arabischen Staats- und Regierungschefs brüskiert. Arabische Politiker sprachen nach Bushs Rede von einer "Unverschämtheit". Brüskiert werden auch die lieben Merkel und Cos in seinem Hintern die Länder, [wie Ägypten] ... auf einem Reform- und Veränderungskurs ... sehen. Derweil ist außerdem die künftige Aussenministerin der Amerikaner auf Antrittsbesuch: Washington must assert to the rest of the world that if they want to be friends with America, they need to do more to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, visiting US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Sunday in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post. [Und ich dachte immer man müsse nurn Burgerkingimperium aufbauen, genetisch veränderten Dreck essen, möglichst viele Waffen kaufen und das Aussenhandelsdefizit bezahlen. So kann man sich täuschen.] Ich befürchte allerdings das uns hier ein Generationenwechsel von verbraucht und harmlos zu Großmachtdenken der anderen Art bevorsteht. Pelosi said that to stop Iran's nuclear march, short of a military strike - something she did not rule out as a last resort - "you have to go all the way. And people have to know you are deadly serious that if you want to be our friend, if you want the benefit of our friendship, a central pillar of our foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Kennen wir das? Jau: The proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons ("weapons of mass destruction") and of the means of delivering such weapons, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and [I] hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. Kommt uns noch bekannter vor: Just prior to this hearing, he handed me copies of the documents he downloaded from a site in Finland describing the nature of the fission and fusion processes, the basic principles of fission weapon design, and assembly techniques for achieving supercriticality. Now while I am not a physicist, and cannot judge the level of sophistication of all of this data, I nevertheless cannot help but think that this information might be useful to someone, somewhere, who may want to build a bomb and who may not otherwise have access to it. [Richtig, der Frauenschützer Duncan Hunter, der Frauen aus Kampfzonen bannen wollte.] Es ist nach über 14 Jahren sehr interessant das die "Argumente" immer noch die gleichen sind und sich die Proliferationsspirale vor der möglichen Barak-Präsidentschaft durch Sarkozy und Bush im kompletten Nahen Osten ausgedehnt hat, während die "rouge states" immer noch die gleichen sind. Ein scheinbar sehr nützliches Thema.

Warum das Verhör verschoben wurde? Police will confront Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with new evidence in connection with the ongoing corruption investigation against him, Channel 2 reported on Friday. According to the report, police have requested that Olmert make himself available for questioning either Saturday night or Sunday, during which they will seek explanations from the prime minister before the scheduled May 25 court deposition of a key witness, U.S. fundraiser Morris Talansky. [...] Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Sunday said he doubted a decision could be reached in the near future on the ongoing corruption probe against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "I am not certain that in the coming weeks we will make a legal decision, this is an unrealistic attitude," Mazuz told Channel Two's Ilana Dayan in an interview broadcast on Sunday. [...] The commander of the National Fraud Investigations Unit, Shlomi Ayalon, contacted Olmert's attorneys Thursday with a request for an interview as soon as possible. Sources involved in the investigation said Saturday they expected such a meeting would be held soon, possibly Sunday or Monday. But at the Prime Minister's Bureau, as well as among members of his legal counsel, there was surprise at the rush for another interview. ... Law enforcement sources said in recent days that their aim is to "lock" Olmert on one version of events before Talansky gives his public deposition. Investigators are concerned that if Olmert is not interviewed before Talansky's deposition, the PM's version of the affair may be "doctored" to avoid his being incriminated in the case. The investigators are planning to provide Olmert's lawyers with the material they have so far collected, so that his defense team will be able to cross-examine Talansky in court. [...] The prosecutors' assertion was included in the state's response to appeals filed last week by attorneys Eli Zohar, Ro'i Blecher and Nevot Tel-Tzur, who are representing Olmert, and Micha Fetman, who is representing the prime minister's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken. "With regard to the claim [by the appellants] regarding the large amount of evidence in the possession of the prosecution and the difficulty to prepare for the cross-examination of [Talansky] according to the timetable that has been set, it should be pointed out that the lower court's decision was conveyed to the parties on Friday afternoon (May 9)," the prosecutors wrote. "The state informed the counsel for the appellants that it was ready to hand over most of the evidence by Friday evening! Nevertheless, the defense, for its own reasons, did not do anything to receive the material up to this very moment." Es wäre wohl hilfreich wenn die Ermittler in der nächsten Woche Druck durch die "versehentliche" Veröffentlichung etwaiger Details aufbauen würden. [...] Since the latest investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was announced, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has greatly accelerated her political activity within Kadima. Party sources say that last week her camp stepped up their recruiting efforts, taking hundreds of party membership applications from party headquarters. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz also went into high gear last week; his party workers grabbed over 1,000 sign-up forms. [...] Public Security Minister Avi Dichter has said that he is considering running for the leadership of Kadima. ... On Friday, several Kadima MKs gathered at the home of MK Isaac Ben-Israel to discuss the ongoing investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. This is the first meeting of this kind since the news first broke regarding Olmert's probe, but the participants maintain that the nature of the meeting is merely a "theoretical discussion" and not an attempted putsch. [...] Jordan's King Abdullah II has told Israel to set the conditions necessary for peacemaking so that an agreement with the Palestinians can be reached this year. Abdullah's remarks came in a meeting Sunday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, his royal palace said. Das Abdullah auf Livni setzt wird im unteren Bereich näher erläutert: About two weeks ago Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dined in Petra, Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and with King Abdullah. In the meeting, which was defined as "good and warm". Das Treffen war so gut und warm das sich Abbas mal wieder zu dramatischen Ausbrüchen gezwungen sieht: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday threatened to resign if he does not reach a peace settlement with Israel within six months, Israeli MK Yossi Beilin said. Die Rede von Bush vor der Knesset wird als ultimativen Beweis für die großangelegte Verarschung der Palästinenser ausgelegt: "In principle, the Bush speech at the Knesset angered us, and we were not happy with it. This is our position and we have a lot of remarks (about the speech) and I frankly, clearly and transparently asked him that the American position should be balanced," Abbas said. Der Versuch von Bush das Porzelan zu kitten schlug mehr als fehl: a state "would be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes place in the Palestinian territories." Da ist wohl ein Viertel des Libanon nach dieser "suffering"-Definiton dem Palästinenserstaat zuzuschlagen. Zuletzt noch die Gegenüberstellung zu oben: I told the President that I am absolutely committed to working with he and his negotiators, as well as the Israelis, to get a state defined. + privately discussing.

Related: Israel has agreed to release 71 Palestinian prisoners in return for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, a senior Hamas official said during an interview with the London-based pan-Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat. [...] Sources in the Strip told Ynet on Sunday evening that as opposed to what had been the original outline of the truce negotiations between Hamas and the Egyptian mediators, the issue of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is proving to be central to the talks. [...] Time to free Barghouti - Releasing popular Fatah leader may be only way to stop Hamas expansion [...] Head of Egyptian Intelligence General Omar Suleiman has warned Hamas that the failure to include kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit in a prisoner exchange with Israel will lead to a wide-spread IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, according to a report in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.

Three Palestinian citizens were injured on Saturday in a fight between the Hamas-affiliated de facto government's police and the members of an Islamic group called Ahl Al-Kitab Wa As-Sunna (followers of the Qur'an and the Prophet's teachings) in the northern Gaza Strip. [...] Assailants detonated a bomb outside a popular cafe in Gaza City early Sunday morning, apparently part of a campaign by shadowy extremists to eliminate perceived symbols of Western influence. [...] The West Bank is open for business after years of bloody turmoil. That's the intended message of this week's international investors' conference where the Palestinians are seeking backing for nearly $2 billion in development projects, from fish farms to a new city of 25,000. The three-day gathering of hundreds of potential investors in the biblical town of Bethlehem is to signal a turning point for the Palestinian economy, battered by Israeli-Palestinian fighting and a stifling Israeli closure regime of hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks.

Updates

2008-05-16T23:00:00.003+02:00

Die kindische Logik mancher Politiker ist schon erstaunlich: Israel has asked Egypt to incorporate a deal to free abducted soldier Gilad Shalit into Hamas truce talks being mediated by Cairo. The cease-fire talks will resume next week, Haaretz has learned. A Hamas official said that the group does not oppose including Shalit in the truce deal but would agree to such a move on its own terms, Israel Radio reported on Friday. Eigentlich wollte man ja den Gazastreifen nun zurückerobern. Nach Angaben von Ayma Taha, Hamas-Sprecher wird die Delegation erst in einer Woche nach Ägypten reisen. Über die Verlegung des Treffens, bei dem Äußerungen der Israelis an Ägyptens Geheimdienstchef Suleiman von Anfang dieser Woche disutiert werden sollen [man beachte die 12 Tage die dazwischen liegen] gibt es keine Angaben, was so viel bedeutet das Suleiman der Delegation vermittelt hat man bräuchte nicht erscheinen. Auffälliger Fehler des anzustrengenden Separat-Waffenstillstands für Mubarak ist die Tatsache das seine ursprüngliche Absicht eine Reconciliation zwischen Fatah und Hamas zu erwirken fehl geschlagen ist. Die im Link angegebene Variante "Egypt's intelligence chief, General Omar Suleiman, will meet a delegation of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip on Sunday" halte ich für eine Falschmeldung. Nach morgendlichen Angriffen aus dem Gazastreifen beschießen israelische Kampflugzeuge bewaffnete Hamas-Einheiten. Keine Opferberichte. Hernach bricht Ruhe aus. Vor der Rosary Sister School, einer katholischen Einrichtung in Gaza City wird ein Brandanschlag verübt. [...] The recent visit by Egyptian intelligence chief Gen Omar Sulaiman to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories was supposed to help advance a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, headed by Hamas, and the Jewish state. However, the likelihood of this is low, many analysts here say, with the most probable best case scenario being a reduction in the intensity of the conflict, lessening the chances of civilians on both sides of the Gaza-Israeli border getting hurt or killed.

In der Westbank ist verhältnismäßig sehr ruhig, mit Ausnahme der üblichen freitäglichen Freundschaftstreffen: Dozens of settlers from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar rioted in the village of Asira al-Kabaliya, Palestinian sources reported Friday. According to the report, several Palestinians were beaten up by settlers, who also caused extensive property damage in the village. However, according to the settlers, Palestinians from a nearby village provoked the latest clash after setting a wheat field owned by Yitzhar residents on fire. The settlers said that teams who arrived on the scene to put out the fire were stoned by Palestinians, and claimed that this was the third time in the past two weeks that villagers set fields on fire.

Die Erfolge des Bush-Besuchs und seiner Initiative zur Verbesserung der Verhandlungsgeschindigkeit von "core issues" im Austausch von Israelis und Palästinensern sind erheblich: Israel ruled out all debate on letting Palestinian refugees return in any peace deal, as U.S. President George W. Bush ended a visit on Friday that left Arabs dismayed by his outspoken support for Israel's "chosen people". As Bush flew out after three days of celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary, an Israeli government spokesman said Palestinian insistence on the right of return for 4.5 million refugees and their descendants was "the ultimate deal breaker". Six months into negotiations sponsored by Bush in the hope of a deal before he leaves the White House, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman used some of the toughest Israeli language yet to insist that President Mahmoud Abbas abandon 60-year-old refugee claims if he wants to establish a Palestinian state. "This demand, which does not exist under international law, for right of return, is the ultimate deal breaker. You cannot have peace and this demand at the same time," Mark Regev said. [Kommentar von Naomi Bubis] Vor lauter Angst vor der Rückkehr der Flüchtlinge behandelt man die eigene muslimische Gemeinde wie folgt: Israel’s Arab minority has a lower life expectancy than that of Jewish citizens; the Arab community suffers from higher infant mortality rates; and in relative terms the number of elderly Arabs without teeth is very high. A new report says these are some of the signs of discrimination within the health care system. [Bush also told them that just as the US changed its treatment of minorities, he hoped that Israeli society could also change the way it treats its minorities.]

Shimon Peres hingegen hat wohl ein wenig zu viel hasbara geraucht: "Don't forget," continued Peres, "he is now going to Saudi Arabia, an Arab country. He knows exactly to whom his words are directed," adding, "he sent a strong and unequivocal message of peace.": President George W. Bush and King Abdullah formalized new cooperation on Friday between the kingdom and the United States on a range of topics, including the development of civilian nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia and US protection of Saudi oil fields. Immerhin entfällt bei den Saudis das Raketentesten, da die vorhandenen und bestellten Waffensysteme atomwaffentauglich sind.

Frieden breitet sich auch anderweitig aus: The United States and Israel agree on the need for "tangible action" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said after a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush. "We are on the same page. We both see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday. Regev described diplomatic efforts so far to exert pressure on Iran as "positive", but added: "It is clearly not sufficient and it's clear that additional steps will have to be taken". Asked about the option of using military force, Regev said: "Leaders of many countries have talked about many options being on the table and, of course, Israel agrees with that." Bush ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Tehran in a speech to Israel's Knesset on Thursday, saying critics' calls for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were comparable to the "appeasement" of Adolf Hitler before World War Two. [...] Democrat Barack Obama accused President George W. Bush on Friday of "fear-mongering" for suggesting Democrats wanted to appease terrorists and vowed to meet leaders of hostile nations like Iran if elected. Obama, relishing a long-distance debate with Bush on foreign policy, said the president had contributed to Tehran's rise in the Middle East by launching the Iraq war, which he said had removed Baghdad as a counterweight to Iran. [...] McCain, meanwhile, is guilty of hypocrisy. I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and believe that she was right to say, about McCain's statement on Hamas, "I don't think that anybody should take that seriously." Unfortunately, the Republicans know that some people will. That's why they say such things. But given his own position on Hamas, McCain is the last politician who should be attacking Obama. Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News's "World News Tonight" program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange: I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?" McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

David Ignatius, "The squeeze on the Middle East's moderates" [...] Qatar's emir formally opened talks on Friday between rival Lebanese leaders which aim to resolve a protracted political conflict that has pushed their country to the brink of a new civil war. [...] Was wurde eigentlich aus der Jemenitischen Initiative Hamas-Fatah? [...] After 48 hours of talks, the delegation of nine Arab foreign ministers and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Thursday revealed a six-point plan to end the sectarian strife that left almost 70 dead and 200 injured across Lebanon in one week. [...] Ghassan Charbel, "Questions for the opposition"

First Think, Act later + IDF kills One

2008-05-15T23:22:00.002+02:00

"After the events of yesterday the blood boils and the gut wants to react," Barak said during a speech in Jerusalem. But he added: "It is more important to exercise judgment and to follow a policy of think first, act later." [Bei Gelegenheit werde ich das mit den guts bei Tzippi Livni überprüfen.]
"The government will work toward an absolute end to Qassam rocket fire, and we are not talking about a prolonged period of months," he said while on a visit to Ashkelon where a rocket struck on Wednesday, wounding some 90 people in various conditions. Barak added that Wednesday's attack "proves that despite our military action in Gaza, the militants are still firing. If the rocket had hit the main rafter near the building's roof, we would be attending funerals today and not just inspecting the situation on the ground." Vielleicht sollte Barak sogar vor dem Sprechen das Denken erlenen. In der Mehrzahl richten sich Operationen des Militärs nur an die "Infrastruktur", selten werden aktive Qassam-Einheiten vor dem Abschuß am Abschuß gehindert. Neben den Schlampereien ["There was no need to inform the residents that the alarm system was not working," the officer said. "It is not clear how the Home Front Command will act differently in the future in light of the large number of false alarms."] ist das Attackenniveau einem falschen Einsatzkonzept geschuldet. Hier wurden schon die untätig am Boden verbleibenden Helikopter der Armee und die Wut der Piloten darüber besprochen. Weshalb man eine Rakete, die auf Sderot geschossen wird nicht abschießen kann liegt in der kurzen Zeitspanne begründet. Eine Rakete auf Ashkelon ist jedoch über eine 1/4-Stunde unterwegs. Eine Ewigkeit, die israelische Radiologen nutzen um der Rakete beim Fliegen untätig zuzusehen. Die internen Abnutzungserscheinungen, die im command bis runter in die Einheiten sich hier zeigen resultieren aus der gestern schon erwähnten richtigen Annahme das Zufallstreffer nicht verhinderbar sind. Häufen sich die Zufallstreffer [wie heute auf eine Synagoge] darf man annehmen das die Qassam-Einheiten aus den Fehlern die Streuungen adaptieren und die Ziele bewußter aussuchen. Einerseits der fatalistische Ansatz der Gewöhnung und andererseits die unerträgliche Fehlkalkulation man könne die Hamas-Regierung mit einer Blockade "entmilitarisieren" deuten an das der Grad an intellektuellem Kapital das in die Geschichte investiert wird am unteren ende der Skala sitzt. Ein strukturelles Problem der IDF/IAF: Man sitzt am Supergehirncomputer und spioniert mit höchstem technischem Aufand allerhand Länder aus, simuliert weitläufige Attacken auf gewisse Atomanlagen fremder Länder. Es fällt da offensichtlich schwer sich um profane Probleme wie Qassam-Beschuß zu kümmern. Zudem kommt das die obige Aussage "if ... main roof" ein geradezu kindliches Mißverhältnis zu den Realitäten zeigt: Hätts einen Falafel-Stand vor dem mall getroffen wäre der Satz vielleicht richtiger. Der Herr Verteidigungsminister hat sich entweder nicht richtig informieren lassen, oder die Armee hat ihn nicht richtig informiert. Besonders belustigend ist der Absatz "Security sources told Haaretz that after the visit to Israel by U.S. President George W. Bush, which ends on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces would step up offensive operations in the Gaza Strip. But the source said that at this time there are no plans to permanently take over parts of Gaza." Dies stand schon in der Maariv weit vor der Attacke auf den Ashkelon Mall. Als erstes wurden die größten jemals abgehaltene Manöver der an einer Occupation beteiligten Armeeteile auf den Sonntag angekündigt. Seit etwa einem 3/4-Jahr geht es so: Fordern, Üben, Abblasen. Verschiedenste Versionen, von Gaza-Teilung, Wiedereroberung, "nogo"-Zone 2 Meilen, extralegaler Tötung von Hamasniks usw. wurde alles besprochen und immer wieder behauptet man habe "grünes Licht" bekommen. Nur geschehen ist nichts. Dies deutet nur daraufhin das man keinerlei Ahnung hat was zu tun ist und wenn man jetzt etwas unternimmt wird man planlos und erfolglos im Gaza-Sand enden. Noch ein letztes Wort zum Thema Katyusha: Man hat bei der ganzen Sache vergessen das die Behauptungen eine BM21-Modifikation iranischer Bauart würde latent auf israelsiches Gebiet geschossen den kleinen Nachteil aufweisen das diese Gattung ... chemical warhead fähig ist. Man stelle sich mal vor die Hamas hätte den Fallafelstand vor dem Mall damit getroffen.

Eigentlich war US-Präsident Bush angereist, um Israel zum 60. Staatsjubiläum zu gratulieren. Doch seine Rede vor der Knesset geriet zur Kampfansage an alles Übel in der Welt. Seine Nahost-Friedensinitiative versandet. [...] The creation of a Palestinian state should bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Thursday. "With the establishment of the Palestinian state, we want to see an end to the conflict," she said. [...] Six Qassam rockets were fired towards Sderot on Thursday evening from northern Gaza, leaving none injured by damaging a synagogue. Several people were treated for shock and a fire that had broken out after a rocket crashed into a wheat field near a kibbutz in Shaar HaNegev Regional Council was put out. [...] Westbankverhaftungen zu Ehren George Bushs: 19. [...] Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has told Haaretz that in two years time every community within 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip border could be vulnerable to rocket attacks. [...] Hundreds of Palestinians marched towards the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza on Thursday afternoon as part of the day's protests in commemoration of the 'nakba' – or catastrophe. Palestinian have reported that several youths were wounded by IDF gunfire as troops tried to prevent the group from reaching the crossing. [...] "Israel is on a collision course with Hamas in Gaza that is reaching its conclusion." [...] U.S. Democrats erupted in outrage on Thursday after President George W. Bush suggested a pledge by the party's presidential front-runner Barack Obama to meet Iran's leader was akin to appeasement of Nazi Germany. Bush's comments, made in Jerusalem to the Israeli parliament during celebrations for Israel's 60th anniversary, stirred up the campaign for the November election and prompted Obama to accuse him of engaging in "the politics of fear." [...] Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman was made to wait two weeks to present his brokered peace proposal which bound Hamas with the other 12 politically-affiliated resistance groups operating in Gaza to an initiative for a “comprehensive and reciprocal period of calm to be applied progressively, first in Gaza and then in the West Bank”. Despite the escalation in violence and the initial perception of the agreement as “not serious”, Israel extended an invitation to the Egyptian mediator to present the proposal, but only after Israel had finished celebrating the 60th anniversary of their independence. [...] Rival Lebanese leaders are scheduled to talks in Qatar on Friday aiming to end a protracted political conflict that pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war. Leaders of the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition will try to forge a deal to end the standoff which has paralysed government for 18 months and left Lebanon without a president since November. An Arab League mediation mission sealed an agreement on Thursday which ended fighting between ruling coalition supporters and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. [...] Arab League mediators announced a deal Thursday to end the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since the civil war, after the U.S.-supported government backed down in its conflict with Hezbollah. [...] Ein palästinesisches Collateralopfer einer pinpoint-Operation der IDF im Gazastreifen verstirbt in einem israelischen Krankenhaus.

Daniel Levy, "Road Map to nowhere": This is one of those times of maximum mismatch between the optimistic rhetoric of peace process declarations and expectations and the gloomy reality of daily experience and prospects on the ground. The Annapolis architect, President George W. Bush, is back in the Middle East, still declaring the worthy goal of peace in '08. But the fundamentally flawed logic of the process initiated last year is increasingly transparent.

15 Injured in Ashkelon Mall Attack + IAF kills Two

2008-05-14T23:34:00.004+02:00

[Related: Ein jüngster Bericht in der Maariv über eine nach dem Bush-Besuch fix angesetzte "Operation" israelischer Streitkräfte im Gazastreifen wird momentan in mehreren Foren beworben. Der im nächsten Bereich diskutierte Vorfall wird nun als ultimativer Grund angesehen. Ich lehne diese These vollinhaltlich ab. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ist eine groß angelegte militärische Offensive israelischer Streitkräfte zu 86% unwahrscheinlich und nicht mit dem Führungswechsel in der IAF vereinbar. Politisch können sich die Großkoalitionäre mitnichten ein Massensterben im Gazastreifen im Bereich 1000+x leisten. Hingegen dürften solcherlei Nachrichten "IAF kills two militants, wounds 4 others in two strikes in Gaza" zunehmen.]
Vier schwer, zwei moderat und 9 leicht-Verletzte dazu über 60 Schockopfer fordert der Einschlag eines Projektils in einem shopping mall, der nach meinen Informationen im südlichen Industriegebiet von Ashkelon liegt, was die weit verbreitete Meldung eines "Katjusha-Einschlags" nicht unbedingt stützt. [Mal zum Kontrast die Berichterstattung bei stürmer.online.de: 14 schwer verletzte Israelis, darunter eine Mutter mit Kind: Die Rakete aus dem Gazastreifen traf ein Einkaufszentrum im Stadtzentrum von Aschkelon.] Die Darstellung: of a busy shopping mall in central Ashkelon kann nicht anhand von Kartenmaterial verifiziert werden. Die Verletzten dürften zur Hauptsache der Bauweise entsprechend Trümmern geschuldet sein. Nicht unwichtig, wenn man an einen Seiteneinschlag und Schrapnellwirkung denkt, was zu verschiedenen Todesopfern geführt hätte. Die Zeugenangabe das kein Warnsignal zuvor ertönte bleibt mal so im Raum stehen [The IDF confirmed it had identified the rocket being launched in real time, and following reports from local residents in Ashkelon that the alert sirens had failed to sound prior to the attack - admitted the system had been disconnected as of late, due to a large number of false alarms]. Einige Politiker fluten daraufhin Ashkelon und äußern sich entsprechend wortgewaltig. Man wird wohl in der Kommandoebene den Leutchen sagen das ein Zufallstreffer dieser Art beim derzeit recht aktiven Niveau von durchschnittlich drei Raketen auf Ashkelons Süden die berühmte Wahrscheinlichkeit dient. An der Rechtwidrigkeit auf internationaler Gesetzesebene gibts keinen Zweifel. In einer ersten Reaktion kommt es zu Luftangriffen auf Bewaffnete im Gazastreifen in deren Verlauf zwei Hamas-Milizionäre getötet werden. Vier weitere werden verletzt. [In an interview with Army Radio, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said that Israel must break the Hamas stronghold in Gaza. Sneh explained that the Qassam rocket was manufactured in Iran and launched from Gaza, with the intention of hitting Ashkelon. He added, "This is part of the Iranian war on Israel, which intends to gain control of the Middle East." Sneh said that Wednesday's attack was a reminder of why Israel is not interested in negotiating with Hamas. "There is no foundation for it and we got the proof for that today."] Ich habe oben schon mal meine Meinung über solche Großsprecher geäußert, die seit der Machtübernahme der Hamas im Gazastreifen bellen aber nicht beißen. Dies hat sogar die Hamas kapiert. Es wäre im Übrigen schön gewesen man hätte sich seitens der Politik auch über den heute erschossenen 14-Jährigen Palästinenser so aufgeregt.

The details of a May 6 hearing at the Jerusalem District Court, in which the state requested that U.S. businessman and fund-raiser Morris Talansky give a preliminary testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, were released on Wednesday. The Jerusalem District Court earlier on Wednesday ruled that preliminary testimony from Talansky will be heard on May 25, and that his testimony in the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be videotaped and transcribed. The state on Tuesday asked the Jerusalem District Court to take a statement from Talansky as soon as possible, in light of the fact that the injunction barring him from leaving the country was set to expire on May 21. [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised to build about 600 housing units in contentious West Bank settlements, a political ally of the prime minister said Wednesday, adding new tensions to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. [...] The Jerusalem municipality has begun the process of approving a plan for a new housing complex, including a synagogue, in the heart of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan south of the Old City. [...] The approval rating of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government has dropped considerably since January, and the president would have trouble winning if elections were held now, according to a poll published Wednesday. The poll also indicated that Marwan Barghouti is by far the most popular Palestinian leader. [...] Ein Interview mit Olmert. [Könnten Sie sich vorstellen, dass Dortmund an jedem Tag der letzten sieben Jahre mit Raketen angegriffen worden wäre, ohne dass Sie etwas gegen diejenigen unternommen hätten, welche die Raketen abfeuern? A: Nein, Dortmund liegt außerhalb der Reichweite holländischer Qassam-Raketen.]

The United States plans to speed assistance to Lebanon's army but has no plans to increase current military aid to respond to the latest crisis, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. [Gerüchte werden laut, die Saudis hätten Sunni-Milizen mit Waffen beliefert.] Lebanon's government cancelled measures on Wednesday that angered the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement and triggered the worst internal conflict since the country's 1975-90 civil war. [...] Hizbullah's action in Lebanon during fighting with pro-government supporters was a "legitimate defense" to a coup attempt, the official Syrian press said on Wednesday. [...] Pity George W. Bush as he comes to review his foreign-policy carcasses [...] THomas L. Friedman, "The next American president will inherit many foreign policy challenges, but surely one of the biggest will be the Cold War. Yes, the next U.S. president is going to be a Cold War president - but this Cold War is with Iran..."] [...] Niqnaq: "The children mewl and puke in Washington"

Dion Nissenbaum: "In the wake of its fatal attack on a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, the Israeli military has issued a rather blunt statement to journalists: IDF Clarification: Movement of Journalists in Combat Areas - Under Their Own Risk"

Und zum Abschluß Neues von den [drei?] Wiener Würstchen: The directors of OMV, the largest oil and gas company in Central Europe, were asked uncomfortable questions on Wednesday about the moral and financial propriety of the €22 billion deal OMV signed in April 2007 to produce liquefied natural gas from Iran's South Pars gas field.

IDF kills Four

2008-05-14T12:56:00.003+02:00

Bei zwei separaten, kleineren Bodenoffensiven im Gazastreifen in vorgelagerten Örtchen vor Jabalia und Khan Younis werden zwei Hamas-Milizionäre und zwei Zivilisten, darunter nach palästinensischen Angaben ein 14-jähriger durch Granaten und Raketen getötet. Über 15 Personen werden teiwlweise schwer verletzt. [...] Unterdessen wird im israelischen Fernsehen von einem 4-Stufenplan berichtet, den die Ägypter diese Woche den Israelis zum ablehnen vorgelegt hätten: Stage one proposes both Hamas and Israeli halt hostilities against each other in the Gaza Strip. + In stage two, the rest of Palestinian military groups will stop launching homemade projectiles against Israeli targets, and in exchange, Israel forces will stop hostilities against these groups in the Gaza Strip. + In stage three, Israel will provide the Gaza Strip with basic needs through the border crossings after negotiations over captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit are resumed. + Stage four will be the completion of the prisoners swap, in exchange for the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. [...] Nach meiner Bauchschätzung dürften schon 25% der Gesamtbevölkerung so gehandelt haben, jetzt aber der erste medial aufgearbeitete Fall: Some 40 families from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, have decided to leave the area. "We decided to leave the kibbutz until things quiet down, and unfortunately, it will be with white flags," Dudi Doron, a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, said Tuesday. "Neither I nor my children will be Israel's hostages. We will come back when there is a solution to life," Doron said. ... Vilnai: "I recommend that our enemies not interpret restraint as a lack of confidence. There is no solution to a Qassam barrage, but we are determined to provide quiet to the residents of Sderot and the Gaza border area, whether through gestures or through military action." [...] Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that Egyptian mediator Omar Sulieman has invited Hamas officials to hear Israel's response to a proposed Egyptian truce deal. ... Egypt will reopen the Rafah crossing to Palestinians even if Cairo's initiative to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fails, according to assessments by Israeli defense officials. The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, is taking steps to be able to limit mass marches to the fence separating Gaza and Israel. Although Egypt denies it, evidence is mounting that Cairo and Hamas recently reached an understanding to open the crossing regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. + Nach Angaben des Hamas-geführten Landwirtschaftsministeriums belaufen sich die durch israelische Militäraktionen angehäuften Schäden auf 2,5 Millionen US$. [Die Schäden für die israelische Wirtschaft auf der Gegenseite sind bei weitem höher.] [...] Trying to make economics support the political process, Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, announced on 13 May a series of moves agreed upon by the Israelis and Palestinians which would allow for an improvement in the quality of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. ... However, Blair did announce progress on Gaza's sewage projects, which will allow certain stages of work to go ahead now that clearance has been granted for the import of basic materials, as well as goods needed by the water utilities agency in Gaza, CMWU, which provides drinking water and sanitation services. [...] Editorial, "Educating Hamas": Israel is interested in a cease-fire with Hamas and there is no point in pretending that this is not so. The disengagement from the Gaza Strip was also an attempt to achieve calm on this front, and the partial restraint in response to the firing of rockets, which are already reaching Ashkelon, can also be considered an attempt to achieve quiet. Israel is interested in quiet even more than Hamas, because Iran (which is supporting Hamas) increases its involvement in the region the more the ground is burning. A peace agreement with Hamas is not in the cards, so all that can be wished for is a cease-fire that lasts, however long it lasts. We will always be able to return to the current situation.

Mittlerweile ist Friedensesel Bush im Heiligen Land gelandet. Die Haaretz eröffnet ihre eigens zur Plumpsklo-Konferenz geschaffene Webseite. [Nachdem Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark die letzten deartigen Anlässe zu verschiedenen outings nutzte dürfen wir gespannt sein was ihr dieses Mal einfällt. Vielleicht "Als kleines Mädchen hatte ich schon den Wunsch jüdisch zu werden."?] Jeremy Ben-Ami, "Five Myths on Who's Really 'Pro-Israel'". [...] In an attempt to provide Israeli youth with an alternative way to view their compulsory military service, the activist group New Profile has sponsored an advertisement featured on Israeli websites calling on young people to "think before they enlist". Dieser Lotan Raz ist wahrlich ein auffälliger Kerl. [...] Wie man sich am allerbesten blamiert zeigen uns israelische Sicherheitsleute die einen diplomatischen Affront gegen die aktuelle EU-Präsidentschaft zelebrieren.

In der Westbank eskaliert die Situation an einem Checkpoint vor Qalandia. Die angaben sind jedoch derzeit noch nicht ausreichend um das Ausmaß zu beschreiben. Zwischen "mehreren Dutzend" [rechtsabnorme Presse] und "über 200" [Radio] hätten angeblich gegen den Bush-Besuch demonstriert. Die Rechten behaupten die Protestierer hätten die armen Unschuldsengelsoldaten und Polizisten durch Steine werfen gezwungen Tränengas in die Menge zu schießen. Tbc. Im Verlauf verschiedener Marodierungen werden in der Westbank 12 Palästinenser verhaftet. [...] Israel and the Palestinians have been discussing an almost complete transfer of security responsibility to the Palestinian Authority security forces in order to turn the area into a "model region" - where Israeli presence is almost non-existent. Sources in the Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that talks on the new security arrangements were underway with American mediation and that of Quartet representative Tony Blair. ... To strengthen the PA, Israel has agreed to the construction of a new prison in Jenin to replace the one Israel destroyed in the second intifada. Israel also approved four new police stations for the area. The PA will also open a new court in Jenin. Israel has also agreed to remove roadblocks in the northern West Bank to ease the movement of Palestinian vehicles into Jenin and to Nablus and the Jordan Valley, in keeping with security considerations.

Uzi Benziman, "Tzipi the knife": In a well-orchestrated manner, the prime minister's supporters in Kadima immediately held a rally; at public events, his fans sit up front and shower him with hugs and kisses; the cabinet ministers from his party meet for a pep talk and then appear before the cameras and microphones to express their faith in the prime minister, repeating the message his advisers seem to have dictated: Nothing has happened that obliges the prime minister to resign or step aside; the investigation should be allowed to take its course. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's response was unusual: She is keeping her distance from Olmert and has not joined her colleagues. Livni, it seems, has her own opinion on Olmert's circumstances, and she is showing it in her behavior. [...] Sixty years after its establishment, the State of Israel is facing threats unlike any before, incoming Israel Air Force Chief Major General Ido Nehushtan on Tuesday said during his inauguration ceremony at Ramat David Air Force base in the Jezreel Valley. [...] Evidence uncovered in the new criminal investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should implicate him in a second bribery case as well, the Israel Police's former chief investigator, Cmdr. (ret.) Moshe Mizrahi, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday evening.

A high-level Arab League delegation began a mediation mission in Beirut on Wednesday to try to pull Lebanon back from the brink of civil war. [...] The army’s pledge to use force if necessary to impose law and order puts the only fully functioning national institution into the centre of Lebanon’s violent crisis. But although strained, analysts say the military remains united. “There is no civil authority in the country now, so the army is under tremendous pressure,” said Timor Goksell, a security expert and former spokesman of UN peacekeeping forces who coordinate with the military in south Lebanon. [...] Hizbullah's television station rushed to warn its viewers about the close ties between Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Israel, following a flawed interpretation of an article written by Yedioth Ahronoth columnist Nahum Barnea. [...] Ein 24 Jahre alter regierungskritischer Blogger ist in Syrien nach Angaben einer Menschenrechts organisation zu drei Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Die Verurteilung Tarek Bayassis wegen Beschmutzung des nationalen Ansehens sei empörend und völlig inakzeptabel, erklärte die Nationale Organisation für Menschenrechte in Syrien am Mittwoch. Bayassi solle sofort wieder freigelassen werden. Der 24-Jährige war im vergangenen Mai festgenommen worden, nachdem er Internetseiten der Opposition besucht und verschiedene regierungskritische Blogeinträge verfasst hatte. Ein Gericht in Damaskus hat die Strafe am Dienstag von ursprünglich verhängten sechs Jahren auf drei Jahre begrenzt, wie die Organisation erklärte.

IDF kills One +++ Adelson/Abrams jump into the Olmert-probe-pool

2008-05-13T23:21:00.004+02:00

Nach übereinstimmenden Angaben wird ein 21-jähriger Hamasnik als Teilnehmer einer Mörsergranaten-Einheit am Dienstag östlich von al-Qarara durch eine israelische Rakete tödlich getroffen. Zwei weitere Hamasniks werden verletzt. Von palästinensischer Seite werden bis zu sechs Projektile auf israelisches Gebiet abgeschossen. Am Dienstag wurde die für drei Tage offene Grenze in Rafah wieder geschlossen. Über Handel-Aktivitäten gibt es keine Angaben, ein Personenaustausch in der Größenordnung 1000 wechselt die Grenze. [...] Eine auch hier verbreitete Geschichte nimmt eine überraschende Wendung: Muhammad al-Harrani, a father of six from Gaza diagnosed with cancer who reportedly died while waiting for a permit to enter Israel, miraculously "came back to life." This was not the result of a miracle, but rather, just part of the tactics used by al-Harrani's family in a bid to secure a permit for him. [...] President George W. Bush should urge Israel to reverse its strict closure policy towards the Gaza Strip, three human rights groups said in a letter to the US president today. Human Rights Watch and two Israeli human rights groups, Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, called on Bush to dissociate the United States from the closure policy, which is causing grave harm to Gaza’s civilian population. [...] Die politische Front vermeldet einen eher kleinlauten Ehud Barak der vor Regionalführern der Negev eine Entscheidung über einen massiveren Militäreinsatz oder die Annahme eines Waffenstillstandsvertrags auf Wochen vertagt. [...] Ian Black, "The Gaza Strip is the elephant in the room of the Middle East's longest-running crisis, effectively ignored by all participants in the so-called Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the knowledge that without its involvement, peace in any meaningful sense is simply unattainable." [...] But it should be made clear that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian government in Gaza denies the Nazi Holocaust. The Holocaust was not only a crime against humanity but one of the most abhorrent crimes in modern history. We condemn it as we condemn every abuse of humanity and all forms of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, gender or nationality. [...] The defense establishment is examining the possibility of transferring the Sufa and Kerem Shalom border crossings, through which goods enter the Gaza Strip, deeper into Israeli territory, a move that would enable the crossings to operate continuously despite the recurring threats of Palestinian terrorism. The new plan being mulled by security officials entails moving the inspection points for cargo trucks further east of its current location, out of range of Palestinian projectiles.

Déjà vu: Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Tuesday unveiled a package of steps designed to allow greater movement in the West Bank, and help the Palestinian economy grow in a way in which he said would be consistent with protecting Israeli security. 1. "have agreed on the steps which he said could begin to change the reality on the ground." Hat er schon vor einem Monat wortgleich behauptet. 2. Unveiled hat er das package schon im Januar. Es enthält ausschließlich alte Pläne. Blair verkommt hier zum Schönwetteronkel für den anstehenden Bush-Besuch. Die eigentlichen Verhandlungen und Ergebnisse [Vilnai/Herzog + Fayyad/Tycoons] sollen verschleiert werden damit nicht klar wird in welcher Art und Weise das palästinensische Volk von seiner alleinvertretenden Fatah abgezockt wird. Dumpinglöhne und neue Villenviertel für betuchte Fatahisten stehen bereits zur genüge. Für die Flüchtlingslager ist weiterhin die IDF zuständig, die den dortigen "Mob" knechten darf. Alles alt, alles schlecht, alles nicht ausreichend. [...] Der folgende link wird nicht wegen den hübschen Mädels des Advertisers verlinkt, auch wenn dort die gleiche dümmliche Verarschung statt findet wie im unteren Text: Hours before the arrival of US President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday evening that "real progress" has been achieved in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, and that "understandings and agreements have been reached on important matters, although not on all issues." Und so einen wichtigen und erfolgreichen Mann darf man natürlich nicht zum Rücktritt bringen. Der "wahre Fortschritt" sieht nach Angaben des wahren fortschrittlers Salam Fayyad so aus: : "We are addressing the international community which turned a blind eye to the Nakba, saying to them that 'today you can not turn a blind eye to what is happening in Palestine' … [Israel's actions] threaten what is left of the Palestinian lands and the life of the Palestinians. The intervention of the international community becomes more necessary than ever in order to prevent the addition of a new chapter to the Nakba." Der Superpalästinenser Abbas stellt sogar konkrete Forderungen an Olmert, die dieser jedoch gerade in den letzten Wochen strikt abgelehnt hat. Man kann der Fatah-Bande alles mögliche vorwerfen, aber eines unterscheidet sie dann doch vom Mafia-Zirkel unter Olmert: Die Realitätsferne der Kadima-Bande ist kaum zu toppen.

Anläßlich des Bush-Besuchs werden die Aktivitäten marodierender IDF-Einheiten fast gänzlich eingestellt, einige Umbauten im Checkpoint-System vor Nablus sollen einen "Abbau" symbolisieren [Einer wird zugemacht und statt dessen die Ausfallstraßen mit Straßensperren mobiler Natur belegt.] Derweil steigt die heimatliche Häme für den Friedensengel Bush beträchtlich: President Bush heads off to the Middle East today for a five-day tour through a political landscape of false predictions and broken promises. Möglich ist im Übrigen alles, und ich verweise darauf das es wohl Bushs letzter Besuch in der Region werden wird, so daß dadurch die Chancen bedeutend steigen: Ahead of a visit to the Middle East, US President George W. Bush expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough when he arrives in Israel on Wednesday. His Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on Tuesday said reaching such a deal within the next eight months "might be improbable but it's not impossible." Da obfuscated wieder Eine. Das Rice nun mittlerweile alleine an der Westbank-Aufgabe fast ein Jahr erfolglos rumdoktort und nun noch ein Jahr brauchen will ist extrem beschämend.

Die Investigation der Ermittler in Sachen Talansky-Olmert erhielt heute eine neue Dimension: The focus of the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continued on Tuesday to focus on the search for any quid pro quo that Olmert might have provided to U.S. businessman Morris Talansky in exchange for the hundreds of thousands of dollars he is suspected of giving to Olmert. Police questioned billionaire U.S. businessmen Sheldon Adelson and S. Daniel Abraham in connection with the investigation. Both men are in Israel to attend the Presidential Conference. [Die Nummer mit den Kühlschränken glaubt vielleicht der Norm-Israeli, aber ich nicht. Die großen Bosse wurden geladen um ihnen zu sagen das man gegen sie vorgehen wird, wenn sie kleine böse Buben wie Talansky schützen. Es dürfte eine Woche dauern, Zeit ist bis zum 21., bis die Ermittler aus den USA freundliches Belastungsmaterial erhalten. Die Ermittler scheinen mit heiligem Eifer bei der Sache zu sein, ein Erfolg bleibt noch sehr vage. Die veröffentlichte Zeitstrategie im Link findet meine Zustimmung, der druck wird erhöht wo es eben geht.] [...] Now, Israel faces that very question: Is there anyone in Jerusalem who can rise to the challenge? The advantage of lame ducks is that once they recognize their disabled status, they can sometimes take action that under other circumstances might be considered political suicide.

The IDF has launched an investigation after a video acquired by Ynet showed a soldier firing a rubber bullet at a protestor for no apparent reason. The findings will be handed over to the Military Advocate General's office, which will decide on the next moves. Über den Vorfall in Shufa gibt es keine weiteren Berichte: During a non violent "Combatants For Peace" demontration against Shufa village blocking, Israeli soldiers shot rubber bullets against the demontrators, wounded 10 of them, some of them were shot while trying to help their wounded friends.

Libanon-Updates: Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday Iranian-backed Hezbollah's routing of the Western-backed government's supporters in Lebanon could affect the Islamic Republic's ties with Arab countries. Ach geh!: Emirates Advanced Investments of the United Arab Emirates have signed a cooperative development agreement for a semiactive laser guided 70 mm (2.75-inch) rocket. Einerseits interessante Auslagerung, anderseits ein definitives Anzeichen das ein selbsttätiger militärkreislauf im Nahen Osten installiert wird. Die "smarten" 70mm-Raketen passen in die 12 EADS Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters die Saudiland bereits bestellt hat. Sie sind vorzüglich geeignet um leichte Militärfahrzeuge, oder Guerillia-Einheiten zu attackieren. Die Saudis basteln also an einer schlagkräftigen Interventionstruppe. Die Auslagerung findet somit auch politisch statt... Bushistische Preemption wird regionalisiert. Prince Saud said his U.S.-allied country, a Sunni Muslim power and strong backer of Lebanon's government, was concerned about what he called the "coup" that had taken place in Lebanon. Wenn sich mal die Amerikaner beginnen zurückzuziehen dräuen uns möglicherweise saudische Tiger im syrischen Grenzgebiet und anderswo. Zudem kann die Waffenwirtschaft der USA sich mit derlei Bündnissen von der dräuenden Kürzungsorgie unter der dräuenden Obama-Präsidentschaft abkoppeln. ... Regel No1 im Nahen Osten: Glaub nie das es nicht noch Schlimmer werden kann. Es IMMER einer gerade mit dem Basteln des Schlimmer Werdens beschäftigt. [...] The pro-government Future TV station, forced off the air by opposition gunmen last week, resumed broadcasting on Tuesday with footage of violence from Beirut and a fiery speech by its owner Saad al-Hariri. [...] Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri vowed on Tuesday that the Western-backed ruling coalition would not negotiate with Hizbullah "with a gun pointed at our heads." Meanwhile, the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), General Michel Suleiman, said the country has witnessed in the past few days a "civil war that no national army can put an end to or take part in." During a news conference at his residence in Qoraytem, Hariri said the government "will not surrender to Hizbullah's allies, Syria and Iran." Die death-toll wurde massiv reduziert: Fighting between Hizbullah and its allies and mostly Sunni and Druze pro-government loyalists since Wednesday has killed at least 62 people, in the worst internal unrest since the 1975-1990 Civil War. [...] Sami Moubayed: "The deadly miscalculation in Lebanon" [...] Robert F. Worth: The Lebanese Army announced that it would start using force to stop fighting between supporters of the governing coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition, a step the army had not taken during almost a week of sectarian violence that recalled the country's 15-year civil war. [...] Christopher Dickey: If you want to know what Iraq will look like 25 years from now, look at Lebanon today. The similarities and differences—but mainly the similarities—raise a lot of painful memories and questions for
Americans. [...] Paul Salem, "Hizbollah Attempts a Coup d’État" [...] Al-Sharq, "Erkenntnisse aus den Ereignissen im Libanon" [...] Joshua Landis, "Bush Administration Policy in Disarray" [...] "The end of the New Middle East", Nir Rosen.

Off-Topic: After the historian Sean Malloy found chilling photographs of Hiroshima bombing victims in the archives of the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, he vowed to resolve the mysterious origins of the film roll, which was found in a Japanese cave. Instead, the new mystery is how academic researchers were duped into believing that grim photographs of the scattered remains of victims of a 1923 earthquake disaster outside Tokyo were scenes of the devastation from the first atomic bomb.

Islamic Jihad kills Israeli Woman, 70

2008-05-12T23:26:00.002+02:00

A 70-year-old Israeli woman was killed early Monday evening from a Palestinian Qassam rocket which crashed into the backyard of a residential home in Yesha – a small community belonging to the Eshkol Regional Council. [...] Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar and Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Al-Hindi said that the Palestinian people have a right to defend themselves if Israel chooses to reject an Egyptian ceasefire proposal. ... In a press conference in Gaza City, Zahhar said he does not expect Israel to immediately implement a ceasefire, but rather to haggle about the details of the deal, including the conditions of reopening the Gaza Strip's border crossings. [...] Israel will not endorse the Egyptian draft of a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in its current form, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman during a meeting between the two on Monday. [...] “If Israel rejects the agreement it will carry the burden of compromising its citizens’ security,” said a senior Hamas official to Ynet, referring to the message relayed to the Egyptian Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Israel.

Police raided the offices of the Jerusalem municipality on Monday, searching offices and confiscating documents as part of a widening corruption investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. [...] US President George W. Bush said on Monday he considered Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to be an "honest man" despite the ongoing police investigation against him. + U.S. President George W. Bush will likely receive little more than a smile and handshake when he asks Saudi Arabia to help lower oil prices during a visit to Riyadh this week to commemorate 75 years of a relationship that has developed fissures in the last decade. + Inside-Story: Pres. Bush is scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Once there he'll be the guest of honor at a big international conference that Israeli Pres. (and former war-launcher) Shimon Peres is holding under the blah, catch-all title Facing Tomorrow. (Conference organizers are said to be keeping their fingers crossed that all the unseemly news about the latest probe into PM Olmert's alleged improprieties doesn't take the gloss off the conference.) The conference has its own, extremely lame English-language blog. You can read the schedule either there or in this PDF file, available on the official conference website. Though the conference is headlined by Peres, I guess his office doesn't have the budgetary or administrative capability to put on something as big and glitzy as this. So the funding has come from the ever-controversial Sheldon Adelson, who made himself the third-richest man in the US by buying and developing casinos in the USA and worldwide. Adelson is a big financial backer of, among many other organizations, the rabidly pro-war "Freedom's Watch" organization in the US, and the strongly pro-settler Shalem Center in Israel.

"Nothing is impossible. Air Force officers are providing remarkable responses to the various issues at hand, and this includes dealing with long ranges," said outgoing Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy on Monday in addressing the Iranian threat. "The IAF is outstanding, and it is prepared for any mission the country will task it with," he said. "The Iranian issue troubles me greatly and I take it very seriously. I pay considerable attention to the rhetoric of (Iranian President) Ahmadinejad and (Iranian Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah) Khamenei as well as that of the moderates, and I listen to what they say they are doing in the open and estimate what they are doing behind closed doors. [Ich habe hier auf die vielfältigen Schweinereien aus dem Hause Ahmanidejad verzichtet.] [...] On the eve of his trip to the Middle East next week, President Bush faces the collapse of one of his three top priorities in the region -- stabilizing Lebanon, a rare Arab democracy -- amid new fighting that once again pits the United States against Iran and Syria through surrogates, according to Lebanese and U.S. analysts. [Die korrekte Bezeichnung lautet Scherbenhaufen.] [...] American nuclear experts briefed by governmental officials are expected to issue a report detailing the tactics employed by Syria to conceal the existence of the nuclear reactor eventually bombed by Israel in September of last year, the Washington Post reported. Es handelt sich um zwei Berichte. "Extraordinary Camouflage" + "A Technical Note". Ziehmlich schwer vorstellbar das der israelische Bericht von Ephraim Asculai nicht diskutiert worden ist. Ein fachlich wohl einwandfrei gebildeter Mensch der jedoch den Hang mit sich trägt gewisse Prognostiken zu politisieren. Ein berühmtes Beispiel "Already having all the components for nuclear weapons, within a short while these weapons can be developed.", eine Aussage zum iranischen Atomwaffenprogramm im schönen Februar 2004. Gerade vor zwei Wochen: Given the official US statements, backed by extraordinary visual evidence, there is little doubt that the Israeli Air Force raid on the night of September 6, 2007 destroyed a building housing a nuclear reactor. [Die neuen Berichte stehen zur Prüfung an.]

In der Libanonkrise gelten die im letzten post erwähnten Opferzhalen als bestätigt. Vier halbwegs politische Neuigkeiten: Lebanon's army said it will use force from Tuesday to stop fighting in the country between pro- and anti-government forces that has recalled the 1975-90 civil war. [Blödsinn.] Parliament postponed a vote on a new Lebanese president for the 19th time, delaying the session to June 10 from Tuesday. + The U.S. destroyer Cole passed through the Suez Canal to the eastern Mediterranean on Sunday. The ship deployed off Lebanon in February as a show of support to Siniora's government. + Clashes resume in northern city of Tripoli. [...] Kommentar "Lebanon Becoming" [...] Bericht "Phyrrussieg für die Opposition?" [...] Jameel Theyabi "Hamas takes Gaza hostage. Hezbollah takes Beirut hostage." [...] Newsticker [...] Lebanon's once prominent Christian community is watching anxiously as deadly clashes rage between rival Muslim factions, amid fears that any move to join the fray would further fracture its ranks. "Both Christian camps [in the opposition and the ruling coalition] are convinced that they should not pay the price of the coup led by the Hizbullah," said pro-government figure George Adwan. [...] In Beirut, there was an uneasy calm, although schools and some businesses were still shut. Some opposition barricades remained, the road to Beirut's international airport was shut for the sixth straight day and a border crossing into Syria was still blocked.

Special mit verschiedenen Ansichten zur Frage "Israel celebrated its 60th birthday last week. Will it survive to celebrate its 100th?" bei der WaPost. Yossi Melman, Daoud Kuttab, Anwer Sher. Zusätzlicher Kommentar von Daniel Levy.

Updates Israel - IDF kills Two

2008-05-12T13:23:00.006+02:00

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that Israel would not be able to avoid a wide military operation in the Gaza Strip, unless Palestinian militants cease firing rockets and carrying out terror attack on Israelis. Barak passed this message on to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who arrived in the region on Monday to present Cairo's proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza. Das wochenede über kam es zu teils schweren Raketenangriffen auf israelische Grenzanlagen und zivile Ziele. At least 21 Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck the western Negev on Saturday, lightly hurting five people. Several rockets damaged buildings in Israeli towns, including a home that was hit while family members were inside. None of them were injured. Another rocket fired from Gaza shattered the windows of a Sderot synagogue. + Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at the western Negev on Sunday, one of whiche exploded next to a schoolbus carrying children. + Two Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants hit Ashkelon on Monday morning. One of the rockets struck an area that contains many schools and kindergartens at 7 A.M., only a few minutes before the area is usually filled with children. [...] PM Olmert is expected to visit Egypt in the coming weeks, where he will meet with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, the framework for a cease-fire agreement and the continuing negotiations with the Palestinians on the core issues of a permanent settlement. Olmert's visit to Egypt was agreed to in principle during a conversation with Mubarak on April 30, before the Talansky Affair broke. Mubarak had told Olmert that he is interested to talk in private about the situation in Gaza and the negotiations with the Palestinians, and the two agreed that the PM would visit Egypt in the wake of President George W. Bush's visit to Israel and the summit with the Arab heads of state at Sharm el-Sheikh next week. [...] Negotiations for the release of captured IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit have been at a standstill for months, officials told Army Radio Monday, adding that the cease-fire agreement with Hamas that is being brokered by the Egyptians is "an opportunity" to further the cause of Schalit's homecoming. [...] More than 800,000 people in the Gaza Strip are spending the second consecutive night without electricity on Sunday. The Gaza Strip's sole power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel on Saturday afternoon, Kan'an 'Ubaid, the deputy chair of the Palestinian power and natural resources service said. Nach jüngsten Angaben soll die Treibstofflieferung heute Morgen wieder aufgenommen worden sein. [...] Am Sonntag Morgen wird ein Hamas-Beobachtungsposten in der Al-Qarara-Zone durch die IDF erschossen. Am Mittwoch in Khaza'a verwundet verstirbt ein junger Mann [Status unklar] am Montag Morgen im Krankenhaus. Ansonsten werden nur kleinere Zwischenfälle berichtet. [...] A top Egyptian mediator said on Monday he had "high expectations" that a ceasefire deal could be reached between Israel and Hamas Islamists controlling the Gaza Strip. Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief, held talks with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv on a truce, ahead of a meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Asked by reporters about his expectations, Suleiman held up his thumb in a gesture of optimism and replied in English: "High expectations." Barak said he hoped Suleiman's visit would "produce productive discussions."

Eine Reihe von Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der Talanski-Affaire des PM Ehud olmerts, wobei mir persönlich keine nennenswerten neuen Punkte aufgefallen sind. Morris Talansky, the central figure in the new investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, "emphatically denies" that he bribed Olmert. [...] The current police investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "will eventually lead to an indictment," former senior police officer Yaakov Borovsky said Monday. Major-General (ret.) Borovsky, who headed the anti-corruption department at the State Comptroller's Office, is familiar with details of the probes against Olmert. [...] Wichtig ein gewisses Umsteuern der israelischen Meinung die zum einen mit 59% einen Rücktritt Olmerts fordert und zum anderen überraschende Wahlergebnisse prognostizieren läßt: If Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were to replace Prime Minsiter Ehud Olmert as Kadima's leader she would win a future election against Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud and Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor party, according to a poll published by Yediot Aharonot on Monday. Das erstaunliche ist die schallende Ohrfeige für Avoda-Führer Barak, der nicht einmal aus dieser Streßsituation der Kadima Kapital schlagen kann: The poll predicted that with Livni leading Kadima the party would receive 27 seats in the Knesset, as opposed to 23 for Likud and 15 for Labor. Da sich Shas und Yisrael Beteinu als Träger einer israelischen Rechtsregierung andienern, wobei Avgdor Lieberman eher einen PM Netanjahu befürwortet und sich als neuer Kriegsminister andient -was absurd ist da er mit dem Likud nicht regieren kann- dämmert langsam die rechteste Rechtsregierung die es in Israel jemals gab. Selbst schuld: Barak hätte sein wort halten sollen und aus der Koaltion mit Olmert aussteigen sollen. Nun geht er mit diesem unter. [...] Although some of Kadima's top ministers seemed Sunday to show initial signs of positioning to take over the troubled party, Kadima rank-and-file said that none of the top-ranked members of the party had begun to actively build blocs of support. While some Kadima MKs attributed the disorganization to an absence of leadership ability on the part of the party's top officials, others chalked up the lack of active bloc formation to a pragmatic decision made by each one of the would-be leaders. [...] Weitere Berichte und Artikel: One thing police investigators hope to accomplish in their investigation of the Ehud Olmert-Morris Talansky affair is to break the long-standing bonds of loyalty between the prime minister, attorney Uri Messer and Olmert's former office manager, Shula Zaken. +++ The investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's alleged illegal receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars from American businessman and fund-raiser Morris Talansky is currently focused on Olmert's tenure as industry and trade minister in the Sharon government - not on the mayoral election campaigns in which Olmert participated, the funding for which he said he had received from Talansky, sources involved in the probe told Haaretz. [Incl. Interview mit Talansky] +++ People around the prime minister are claiming that political rivals are behind the allegations against him in the latest investigation. According to this version, Ehud Olmert is a victim of persecution by certain elements on the right who seek to remove him from office to foil his diplomatic initiatives toward the Palestinians. +++ Uzi Benziman, "He can not continue" +++ Revealing the identity of the primary witness, Morris Talansky, in the lastest Ehud Olmert affair raises questions that go beyond the prime minister. Serious questions need to be asked about the relationship between American Jewry and Israel. +++ Akiva Eldar, "Bush should stay home"

In der Westbank kommt es zu den gewöhnlichen massiven Auseinandersetzungen in allen relevanten Bezirken: Etwa 27 Pälästinenser werden bei Einsätzen der IDF verletzt, sieben verhaftet, dabei kommt es auch zu einer Mißhandlung an einem Checkpoint. Der palästinensische Journalistenverband fordert von der ramallahnsichen Regierung die Freilassung mehrerer inhaftierter Journalisten, die zum Teil seit Monaten wegen Hamas-Nähe inhaftiert sind. Weitere Verhaftungen werden von der PHCR verurteilt. Etwa 6 Hamas-Mitglieder werden durch die PA zusätzlich verhaftet. Über eine wohl brutal beendete Demonstration in TulKarem bemühe ich mich erstmal Infos zusammen zu tragen. Mittlerweile identifiziert ist eine Tote die man vor einer Moschee in Abu Dis auffand: Gaza-Flüchtling mit zeitweiligem Wohnsitz in Ost-Jerusalem. Die näheren Todesumstände konnten noch nicht ermittelt werden, oder die PA hatte Besseres zu tun. Offensichtlich nach Siedlerprotesten wird ein in Hebron abgebauter roadblock von der IDF wieder aufgebaut. + Hundreds students at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem staged a mock wedding on Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the expulsion of Palestinians from most of historic Palestine. + Unfasslich aber wahr: Jibril Rajoub ist zum neuen Päsident des Palästinensischen Fußballverbands ernannt worden, nachdem zuvor die FIFA eine "Wahl" beobachtet haben will.

Interview von Lally Weymouth mit Salam Fayyad in Ramallah.

Updates Libanon - Est 62 Killed and 250 Wounded

2008-05-12T12:15:00.005+02:00

Weiterhin sehr labil zeigt sich die Lage im Libanon auch wenn nach poltischen Zugeständnissen an die revoltierende Hezbollah-Bewegung die Meinung gilt das das Schlimmste vorüber sei. Im Verlauf der Kämpfe vornehmlich im District Aley zwischen PSP [Progressive Socialist Party] von Walid Jumblatt und Hezbollah erhöhte sich die Opferanzahl auf zwischenzeitlich 42 Tote und 164 Verletzte. Die Todesopfer dürften zum Großteil Bewaffnete gewesen sein. Auf Seiten der Hezbollah hatten auch drusische Einheiten unter "Democratic Party"-Führer Arslan teilgenommen. Während in Beirut die Straßen durch ein massives Aufgebot der Armee beruhigt sind kommet es landesweit zu Auseinandersetzungen in denen auch Regierungs-Loyalisten des "Future Movement" aktiv werden: So werden in der Akkar-Region 14 Personen, darunter einige Zivilisten getötet, zumeist bei dem Sturme des FM auf ein Headquarter der Syrian Social Nationalist Party [SSNP] in Halba. In Tripolis wird eine Frau bei schweren Kämpfen zwischen Sunniten und Alawiten getötet. Opferzahlen nächtlicher Schießereien im Norden in den Chouf-Bergen zwischen rivalisierenden Drusenmilizen liegen noch nicht vollständig vor. [Nach Neuesten Angaben, die noch nicht verifiziert erscheinen spricht man von "At least 36 people were killed in fierce clashes on Sunday between Hezbollah gunmen and supporters of pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in mountains east of Beirut, security sources said on Monday." Die toll wäre somit nach diesen Angaben auf 81 people and wounded 250 gestiegen.] ... Der zum "Waffenstillstand" in Beirut führende Deal sieht sehr einfach aus: The Lebanese Amy said on Saturday it had frozen two measures taken by the government against Hizbullah, and called for all armed militants to withdraw from the streets. "The army command calls on all parties to [help restore calm] by ending armed protests and withdrawing gunmen from the streets and opening the roads," the military said in a statement. It said that the head of airport security, who had been reassigned from his job, would remain in his post pending an investigation and that the army would look into a communications network set up by the militant group. "The head of airport security, Brigadier General Wafiq Shukair, will remain in his post until appropriate procedural measures have been taken after a probe," the statement said. "As for the telecommunications network, the army will look into the issue in a manner that is not harmful to the public interest or the security of the resistance" against Israel, it said. The military said it had taken these decisions in the light of a government request that it rule on these matters. The army statement came shortly after Prime Minister Fouad Siniora made a televised address to the nation. Die Rolle der christlichen Amal-Milizen bleibt unklar. [...] Arab foreign ministers holding crisis talks in Cairo on Sunday were divided over a draft resolution that would implicitly condemn Hizbullah for deadly clashes in Lebanon, delegates said. The draft resolution put before the ministers underlined the Arab League's "rejection of the use of armed violence to achieve political goals outside the framework of constitutional legitimacy, and the need for a withdrawal of all weapons from the streets," according to a text obtained by AFP. [...] Der strategische Sinn der international als plump angesehenen Revolte gegen ebenso plumpe Maßnahmen der pro-amerikanischen Regierung Siniora darf bezeifelt werden. Die Einfachheit der Ansätze, den Flughafen zur Beendigung des angeblich dort statt findenden Waffenschmuggels an die Hezbollah zu kontrollieren und zweitens das Kommunikationsnetzwerk von ihr zu unterbinden und die entsprechende Revolte dagegen zeigt auch das die wachsweiche US-Politik, die alleine auf eine Blockade Syriens und des Irans abzielt vor Ort ihre Schwächen zeitigt: European diplomats familiar with the events in Lebanon claim that in the past year the United States has refused to provide the Lebanese army with advanced weapons that would have helped against Hezbollah and other militant groups. They said this was because of Israeli requests. Richtig, man hat zwar Truppen der UN vor Ort die im Einklang mit der libanesischen Armee die Milizen entwaffnen könnten, jedoch erlaubt dies die Zielrichtung gegen einen atombewaffneten Iran keinerlei regionale Großmaßnahmen. Das sich hier die Europäer hier in losen Schuldzuweisungen an eine Achse US-Israel ergehen soll von der eigenen Schwäche keiner Strategie ablenken. Hätte Europa an einer starken libanesischen armee Interesse hätte man diese auf eingene Rechnung bestücken können. Ebenso ideenleer präsentiert sich Israel selbst: Israel is closely following the events in Lebanon. For the time being, Jerusalem has decided not to issue any official comment on the confrontations between Hezbollah and the Beirut government. But various officials have expressed concern over the escalation and the possible implications for Israel's northern border. [...] Eine Möglichkeit: There is no argument over the fact that the amount of missiles and rockets is not just a potential threat - both organizations use them against Israeli targets. But the way that Israel has dealt with these groups thus far proves that military solutions alone are not practical. Hezbollah was not weakened by the Second Lebanon War. Instead, the war made it even stronger, both militarily and politically. And the military offensives in Gaza have not made much of an impression on Hamas, which holds the key to continued political negotiations. In both cases, Israel has a political alternative. If it so greatly fears Iran's expansion into the Mediterranean, Israel can advance talks with Syria, and if it is concerned by a Hamas takeover of the political process, Israel would do better to move forward with negotiations with the Palestinian Authority - or at least to create conditions in Gaza to relieve the threat posed by Hamas., aber Israel sees the political threat developing in Lebanon and in the territories, but is prepared to respond only through the sights of its guns. Es dürfte auch in diesem Fall klar sein das nur eine gemeinsame Anstrengung in der Region von Erfolg gekränt sein kann. Einzelbereiche wie ein bisschen Frieden zwischen Israel und Syrien führen nur zu deren Zusammenbruch da die Syrer die Hezbollahunterstützung nicht unterbinden können ohne sich ins eigene Fleisch zu schneiden. Regionale Konzepte müssen erstellt und umgesetzt werden um solche Fehlanalysen zu verhindern: On Sunday, former IDF chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak said Hezbollah's persistent attempts to take over Lebanon could eventually benefit Israel in its struggle against the militant group. "If an armed conflict erupts it will be simpler to strike Lebanon when Hezbollah is the legitimate ruler," Shahak told the Army Radio. Earlier on Sunday, Israel's Vice Premier Haim Ramon told cabinet members that Lebanon must be viewed as a "Hezbollah state," after the Shiite guerilla group seized control over the western part of the Lebanese capital over the weekend. "Lebanon has no government. It is a fiction, there is only Hezbollah," Ramon said during the weekly cabinet meeting. "Hezbollah is directly responsible for everything that happens [in Lebanon], and the organization completely controls the state." Angesichts solcher Dinge ist die eigentliche Ausrede der Hezbollah sie bräuchte Waffen um den Israelis Paroli bieten zu können ein kaum abzustreitender Fakt geworden. Politischer ausgedrückt sind die territorialen Konzepte der einzelenen Minderheiten aus verschiedener ideologischer Reichtung überstrapaziert: Weder kann Israel eine "Jewish State"-Insel mit Hang zum Westbankland konfiszieren verbleiben, noch kann weder Hezbollah noch Hamas noch sonstwer alleinvertretend die vorhandenen Grenzen verwalten. Entmilitarisierung der als "Aussenpolitik" vollkommen falsch aufgefaßte Regionalpolitik als erstes Gebot und als Zweites ein gemeinsamens Verwalten der eigentlichen Kerninteressen der Einzelstaaten im Regionalverbund: Energie, Handel, Ressourcen. Wenn ständig nur das eine Dorf das andere attackiert damit das Dritte und Vierte behaupten kann es müsse sich möglichst viele Waffen ansammeln um sich zu schützen paßt nicht in das eigentliche Machtgefüge das eine technologische und wirtschaftspolitische Vorreiterrolle der Israelis vorsieht and der die anderen Regionalmitglieder partzipieren müssen. Hier kommt es nicht auf territoriale Abzugs- oder Okkupationsbemühungen an, sondern auf umfassende Lösungen wie die halbwegs gerechte Lösung der Wasserfrage.

Beirut toll at 18 + IDF kills Six + Hamas kills One + Settler kill One

2008-05-09T23:55:00.005+02:00

Als erstes vergebe ich den Award für den dümmsten Artikel über die Lage in Beirut an die Herrschaften [wer hätts gedacht] von stürmer.online.de für "in den Straßen patroullierende Scharfschützen, die Beirut zum Schweigen bringen". Das Fachwissen auch hier sich auf Boulevard beschränkt [Der letzte Artikel über Beirut ging um plastische Genitalchirurgie] erkennt man in der Fotostrecke. Dort sieht man zwar keinen einzigen sniper dafür aber ein "In der linanesischen Hauptstadt". Wohl nicht verantwortlich ist die Autorin Irina Prentice, die von den Effekthaschern bei stürmer.online.de veralbert wurde.

*** Linanesien: At least 18 people have been killed and 38 wounded in three days of battles between pro-government gunmen and fighters loyal to Hezbollah, a Shi'ite movement with a powerful guerrilla army. [...] Lebanon's governing coalition, the March 14 Forces, accused Hizbullah of staging a military coup against the state and said that Hizbullah's arms have become illegitimate after they were used against their fellow Lebanese citizens. ... Arab foreign ministers are to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday on the Lebanon crisis amid fears about Iran's influence over the Shiite Hizbullah movement which seized control of west Beirut on Friday. [...] Militants allied with the opposition on Friday forced the shutdown of all media operations belonging to the family of majority leader and billionaire tycoon Saad Hariri. [...] The war is over. Hizbullah has taken control of West Beirut in one day of fighting, during which Hariri's amateur and untested militia proved no match for the highly trained and war hardened Hizbullah fighters. The outcome of this showdown was completely predictable. Anyone who expected the Lebanese Army to take on Hizbullah on behalf of the Sunni leaders of Beirut was dreaming. [...] Die im Forum erwähnte Fluchtbewegung auch Deutscher findet erneut über das positiv reagierende Syrien statt. Ich kann mir kaum vorstellen das isch das außenamt vorbereiter zeigt als das letzte Mal. + The French Embassy in Lebanon on Friday declared that its government's Foreign Ministry had "not yet proposed" or seriously considered the evacuation of French citizens living in Lebanon. [...] Newsticker [...] Hizbullah gunmen seized control of key parts of Beirut from Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed government Friday, a dramatic show-of-force certain to strengthen the Iranian-allied group's hand as it fights for dominance in Lebanon's political deadlock. [...] Mehr Infos auf der Propagandawebseite von General Aoun. [...] Heavily armed Hezbollah fighters seized control of large parts of west Beirut on Friday, patrolling the deserted streets in a show of force that underscored the Shiite militia's refusal to back down in its escalating confrontation with the American-backed government. [...] Christian Lebanese on both sides of the country's political divide largely stayed out of the fighting, and Christian neighborhoods of Beirut were not involved in the clashes. [...] Übersichtskarte.

Am Freitag Abend wird in Kfar Aza am Rand des Gazstreifens ein 48-jähriger israelischer Zivilist getötet und drei israelische Soldaten verletzt. Nach Angaben von Abu Obeida, Hamas-Militärsprecher ist die Hamas für den Angriff mit Mörsergranaten verantwortlich, man habe jedoch Militärpositionen attackiert. Eine Angabe die definitiv nicht richtig ist da der Israeli in/vor seinem Privathaus getötet wurde. Zuvor waren zwei Qassam-Raketen und vier Mörsergranaten vornehmlich auf Nazal Oz abgeschossen worden. Ein Serie anschließender und zur Zeit anhaltender Luftangriffe auf Hamas-Polizeistationen im Gazastreifen tötet nach derzeitigem Stand der Dinge fünf Hamasniks und verletzt "einige" weitere. Nach palästinensischen Angaben verstirbt ein Kämpfer des Islamic-Jihad am Freitag an den in dem Scharmützel in Abasan am Mittwoch erlittenen Verletzungen. [...] Palestinian witnesses say a Palestinian man has been shot dead in a clash with Israeli settlers. The incident occurred when two Palestinians opened fire at Israelis hiking in the Ein Yivrod region north of Ramallah, which is designated as Area B under terms of the Oslo Accords. The hikers, who were armed, spotted the armed Palestinians approaching the cave in which they were located. Eine wohl verantwortliche Zelle der Al-Aqsa-Brigaden jedoch behauptet der erschossene Mann und der Verhaftete wären nur Unbeteiligte gewesen und die eigentlichen Schützen wären wohlbehalten zurück gekehrt. [...] Some 100 settlers on late Thursday infiltrated the ruins of the evacuated West Bank settlement of Sa-Nur, in a stated attempt to rebuild it. Protesters were evacuated by security forces shortly after they entered. [...] The human rights organization B'Tselem on Friday repeated its call to the Israeli army’s Judge Advocate General to open a military police investigation into the death of five members of the Abu Me'tiq family in Beit Hanoun on 28 April.

Politisch? Null. The overwhelming view in Israel on Friday, just hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared his innocence in a bribery investigation involving a Long Island businessman, was that the post-Olmert political era had already begun. + Olmert probe shows the media really is the message. + Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is misleading the Israeli public by declaring that "significant progress" has been achieved in the peace talks with the Palestinians, Palestinian Authority officials claimed Thursday. They also expressed fear that Olmert's resignation would delay a peace agreement between the two sides. Null Politik.

Est. Ten killed in violence in Lebanon + IDF kills One

2008-05-09T00:51:00.003+02:00

Fierce clashes raged in Beirut on Thursday after the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah said the U.S.-supported Lebanese government had declared war by targeting its military communications network. Security sources said the fighting killed at least 10 people and wounded 20. The thud of exploding grenades and crackle of automatic gunfire echoed throughout the night in the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war. [Video] Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during a press conference Thursday that Lebanon has entered a new phase of its political crisis and warned that a government crackdown on his party was tantamount to a "declaration of war." Nasrallah stressed that Hizbullah was ready to return to dialogue, linking talks to a government back-track regarding measures taken Tuesday. [Update on the escalation of violence in Lebanon] Lebanese majority leader Saad Hariri called on Hezbollah to prevent a new civil war in Lebanon, saying "if this strife begins, there is no way out." [...] Hintergrund von Abdullah Iskandar: Lebanon entered yesterday a new phase. In its marathon meeting, the Council of Ministers raised the two explosive intertwined bones of contention, namely the responsibility of security over the Lebanese territories and Hezbollah's infrastructure that encroaches on this responsibility. In other words, Fouad Siniora's government, though supposed to run the affairs of the state until a president is elected, has made a strategic decision for the first time since the presidential post became vacant. [...] "Sunni Muslims in Lebanon have had enough," Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said in a televised address from his office, demanding an "end to these violations." [...] Hizbullah fighters advanced in Beirut in fierce clashes with Mustaqbal Movement partisans and occupied the apartment of MP Ammar Houry, setting it ablaze. Houry's apartment in Shahadeh district of the plush Tallet al-Khayat neighborhood was overran by Hizbullah fighters, his cars were smashed and set ablaze as terrorized residents tried to escape the area, witnesses told Naharnet. [...] USA "blabla" + UN "blablabla" + Roed-Larsen "more blabla": Hizbullah's paramilitary infrastructure across Lebanon contributes to the erosion of the state's monopoly on the use of force and represents a "threat to regional peace," a U.N. envoy warned Thursday. [...] Comment and Infos at Will the latest US and March 14 provocation break Hizbullah or Lebanon? March 14 is targeting Hizbullah's communications system while Washington escalates pressure on Syria. [...] A Turkish initiative to hold a meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials fell through after Damascus leaked to the press that Israel had agreed to relinquish all of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Thursday. According to another report, the chances that such a meeting will be held in the near future are slim due to the US administration's stance on Damascus.

Noch am Mittwoch Abend wird nach einer Invasion israelischer Streitkräfte in Abasan eine erschossene Frau [7 Kinder] aufgefunden. Zudem wird bei Gegenwehr ein Al-Aqsa-Mitglied getötet. Am Donnerstag kommt es zu Luftangriffen auf das Jabalia-Flüchtlingslagerin deren Verlauf vier Personen verletzt werden. Palästinensische Milizen schießen am Donnerstag zwei Projektile auf israelische Ziele im Grnzgebiet ab. Während im Gazastreifen palästinensische Journalisten gegen Restriktionen unter der Hamas-Regierung demonstrieren [das kürzlich verschärfte Demonstrationsrecht wird anscheinend recht lax gehandhabt] vermeldet diese einen diplomatischen Erfolg: The main border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be opened for three days starting on Saturday under a deal between the Islamist group and Cairo, a Hamas official said on Thursday. The crossing at Rafah has been largely closed since early February when Egypt resealed the border after Hamas gunmen blasted it open in defiance of an Israeli-led siege of the coastal enclave. Die in Israel statt findenden Naqba-Demonstrationen arten wie zu erwarten etwas aus: While Israel was busy celebrating its 60 years of independence, Israeli Arabs chose to mark the 60th year of the Nakba in a mass rally attended by all Arab Knesset members, as well as public figures such as the Head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Ra'ad Salah, and Shawki Khatib, Head of Higher Arab Monitoring Committee. ... Upon closure, clashes broke out between police forces and demonstrators. Northern Region District Commander Shimon Koren and Brigadier Zohar Dvir were injured. Three more officers were injured in the clashes, as well as a few Arab demonstrators, including Balad’s MK Wasil Taha. Taha reportedly told his aides that he was struck by Police Special Patrol Unit officers. He was taken to the Italian hospital in Nazareth along with his 16-year-old son who was also reportedly injured. Zuvor war Knesset-Member Baraka an der Teilnahme einer Veranstaltung in Nablus gehindert worden. [...] While Israel celebrates its 60th birthday, Palestinian refugees mourn the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) when they lost their homeland. Often ignored in Middle East peace talks, they cling to a "right of return". Verschiedene Veranstaltungen in der Westbank verlaufen friedlich.

Unterdessen zieht sich die Schlinge langsam aber sicher um eine gewisse Person zu: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, responding to fresh accusations that he illegally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a U.S. citizen, on Thursday said he will step down if he is indicted. Olmert said he never took illegal campaign contributions, responding to a corruption case that also has the potential to derail delicate peace talks with the Palestinians. [...] Olmert is under suspicion of illegally receiving "large funds" from the millionaire New York financier beginning in 1998 when he was mayor of Jerusalem, and through to 2006, by which time he had served as Likud election campaign manager; industry, trade and labor minister; and finance minister. "Ten days ago, the attorney-general ordered the launch of a new investigation against the prime minister and a number of others. The investigation deals with suspicions that Olmert illegally received funds, while holding public posts, in the period preceding his term as prime minister," a joint police and Justice Ministry statement said on Thursday night. [...] Yaakov Lippin, "Who is Morris Talansky" [...] Reuters: Investigations affecting Israel's Olmert [...] Report: Likud activist behind new Olmert probe [...] U.S. President George W. Bush will proceed with his trip to Israel next week to try to broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians despite an admission by Israel's leader that he took cash from an American businessman, the White House said on Thursday. [...] Lawmakers from across the political spectrum called Thursday for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation, and fresh elections, moments after it emerged that Olmert is suspected of illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from an American businessman and fundraiser. [...] Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted on Thursday that he took cash from an American businessman but refused to resign over a police investigation into hundreds of thousands of dollars of alleged bribes. Here are extracts from his statement. [...] One example of Talansky's involvement in political and business affairs in Israel is a lawsuit he and other investors filed last year in federal court in New York against an Israeli satellite company that they had helped back. The suit asks for relief on the grounds that an Israeli-run defense manufacturer involved in the joint venture was putting diplomatic considerations ahead of business interests in its overseas marketing efforts. Talansky and the other plaintiffs, a group that includes one member of the prominent Reichmann family of Canada, claimed that the satellite company was being barred from offering access to its satellite images to countries like Venezuela that might be viewed as hostile to Israeli national interests. In an affidavit Talansky filed in court this January, he complained that he had personally sunk at least $500,000 into the joint venture back in 1998 and had helped raise "$5 million to $6 million more" from other individuals, not counting a $250,000 bridge loan he also made that year.

To be continued.

IDF kills One

2008-05-08T01:47:00.002+02:00

Das die Feierlichkeiten zu Israels 60tem Geburtstag endlich zelebriert werden tragen die gute Nachricht in sich das die Feierlichkeiten damit bald wieder beendet sind. Gleichzeitig sehen Palästinenser wenig Grund zum Feiern. Israelische Araber fühlen sich wenig eingeladen. Blogger Lirun berichtet von einer Veranstaltung der Combatans for Peace. Und meine persönliche Meinung ist das der 70te Geburtstag hoffentlich was zum Feiern hergibt. Der 60te wirkt etwas sehr gequält.

Supporters of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government fought battles in Beirut on Wednesday with gunmen loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, escalating the worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Followers of the Iran-backed Hezbollah paralyzed the capital and cut routes to its sea and air ports by blocking roads with blazing tires, old cars, heaps of earth and concrete blocks. An opposition source said the protest campaign would continue until the government rescinded decisions affecting Hezbollah, including a move to take steps against a telecommunications network operated by the group. [...] A General Labor Confederation (GLC) strike turned political and violent on Wednesday when supporters of the opposition took to the streets and blocked the main road leading to Beirut's international airport in protest at the government's recent decision to sack the facility's security chief, General Wafiq Shoucair, and counter Hizbullah's private phone network. [...] Airport shut, at least 10 injured as mobs do battle in capital.

Israel Defense Forces tanks and bulldozers rumbled into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, and Israeli aircraft struck a series of targets. One militant was killed and at least 14 Palestinians, including one civilian, were wounded in the fighting, according to witnesses and medical officials. [...] Für die Westbank wurden heute 35,5 Millionen € an Lohn- und Pensionszahlungen aus dem EU-PEGASE-Topf frei gegeben. 74 000 Personen/Haushalte sollen damit finanziell versorgt werden. Damit wäre der Regelsatz pro Person verdoppelt worden, oder die Hälfte wird versteckt abgeleitet. In Jenin sorgt eine IDF-Aktion für Ärger: Ohne erkennbaren Grund und ohne Verhaftungen oder Hausdurchsuchungen zu tätigen invasiert eine Horde IDFler die Stadt deren Sicherheitsstruktur soeben der PA mit massivem Pomp und 600 Neu-Polizisten übergeben wurde. Die IDFler halten schlicht eine Parade in der Stadt ab.

The head of the UN Nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday he hoped his agency would be able to shed light in the next few weeks on whether a Syrian facility bombed by Israel last year was an undeclared atomic reactor. ... Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that the IAEA was in contact with Syria to verify the US Intelligence and recalled Damascus' obligation to report any nuclear activities to the agency. [Erstaunlicher Vorgang sollte die Meinung stimmen die Syrer würden kooperieren.] [...] Sehr schön zusammengefaßt: The alleged Rendon Group meeting comes amid reports that principal deputy assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Jeffrey Feltman, a former US ambassador to Lebanon, held a rare two hour meeting with Syria’s ambassador to the US Imad Mustapha earlier this week. After the meeting, the Syrian ambassador immediately flew to Damascus for consultations. What’s going on? Israel and Syria have been feeling out possible outlines for peace talks, mediated by Turkey, for some time. But Syrian president Bashar Assad reportedly wants Washington’s involvement, in order that it could negotiate to be taken off Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. Washington has reportedly until recently blocked such talks, because it says Syria has not done enough to impede the flow of foreign insurgents and suicide bombers from Syria into Iraq, and has acted to destabilize the Lebanese government. Washington has recently appeared to withdraw that veto. So, one might speculate: perhaps Feltman met with Mustafa to give him the list of specific actions Washington would expect to see from Damascus in order to bless future possible negotiations. Eher wahrscheinlich ist jedoch die einfachste Lösung: Am Donnerstag soll Saad Harriri in Washington vorreiten [falls er rechtzeitig vom Flughafen weggkommt.], die aktuelle Hezbollah-Krise hat sicherhlich damit auch etwas zu tun, und so ist mit Sicherheit das Gespräch Feltman-Mustapha als ausloten von Harriri-Gedanken zu sehen, wobei wohl ein "Interims"-Verhandlungspaket vorgelegt wurde.

Daniel Levy, "Counting West Bank Checkpoints—Making Gulliver Look Lilliputian": ... In his wonderfully insightful and honest new book “The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace”, Aaron David Miller discusses what he calls ‘Gulliver’s troubles’—how America as a great power is made to look Lilliputian when it gets sucked in to unsuccessful micro-management by the small powers of the Middle East. ...

First items of Olmerts next "probe" + IDF kills One + PA kills One

2008-05-07T01:54:00.004+02:00

Thema des Tages in Israel hätte eigentlich der offizielle Start der Feierlichkeiten zum 60ten Israels mit einem "memorial service for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism" sein können. Bekanntlich Geschmackssache. Leider versauen unverschämte Pamphlete aus der paranoiden Blödheini-Ecke die Show und selbstverständlich ein Korruptionsskandal über den man in Israel nicht berichten darf, im Rest der Welt hingegen schon: A Long Island philanthropist and fundraiser for Israeli charities is at the center of an enveloping scandal around Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, that has riveted and agitated Israel despite a veil of secrecy over the ongoing investigation. The man, Morris Talansky, 75, was apparently approached by the Israeli authorities when he arrived at the Tel Aviv airport expecting to spend Passover with his daughter and son, who live in Jerusalem. It is unclear if Mr. Talansky is only a witness or also a suspect in the case. [Die erste Zeitung die darüber berichtete.] Rowan Berkeley: Apparently, Talansky repeatedly appears, sometimes under the nickname “the laundryman,” in the logs of financial dealings kept by Olmert’s long-time aide, Shula Zaken. [More info on Shula Zaken and Sources close to Olmert posited Monday night that the prime minister is not likely to be investigated in the affair. According to them, there's no information tying Olmert, in his former role as finance minister, to the indictments against senior Tax Authority officials. Likewise, they say, there is no evidence against Zaken, who is suspected, among other transgressions, of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, and granting tax benefits to cronies.] Da mir der weitere Hergang der Affaire um Shula Zaken unbekannt ist und ich kein Urteil kenne wird ein deal zwischen Staatsanwaltschaft und "Büroleiterin" die wahrscheinlichste Variante sein. Momentan sieht die Geschichte nach einem isolierten Likud-Korruptionsskandal aus, dies würde also nur bedeuten das Olmert zurücktreten müßte, falls sich die Vorwürfe erhärten. Auf einem anderen Blatt steht das Drama um die Veröffentlichung der Ermittlungsergebnisse, das wahrlich kaum mit demokratischen Gepflogenheiten übereinstimmt. Police said Tuesday that leaks coming from the foreign media regarding the ongoing criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "undermined" the gag order on the case and rendered it "losing its significance." Earlier Tuesday, State Prosecutor Moshe Lador said that the sweeping gag order, placed Friday on all details surrounding the case, would not be lifted before Independence Day, which begins Wednesday night and ends 24 hours later. "This is an investigation in which any assumption by the public would be incorrect and unsubstantiated," Lador said. "In recent days, inaccurate information has been reported and it is misleading the public. It's a shame." Lador, who spoke to reporters at a press conference at the Jerusalem District Court, commented on the hearing held in the court over the state's request to question a foreign national over the affair. Earlier Tuesday, the court allowed the publication of the fact that a request has been made for a foreign national's preliminary testimony in connection to the probe into Olmert. [Immerhin, Lador den ich hier ja schon lobte zeigt sich prinzipienfest: Lador said criminal cases should be more rigorously dealt in the legal arena, and not left up to public opinion, as is often customary. Das Zurückhalten von Informationen und vor allem Namen ist jedoch gerade im Fall des Premiers eher schädlich, da die Zeit genutzt werden kann um politischen Einfluß auf Ermittler und sonstige Personen auszuüben. Justice Daniel Beeri ruled that the order will remain in effect until it expires on Sunday. Unmöglich. Außerdem hat doch die Öffentlichkeit nicht das Verhör des PM und die Verhaftung von Talansky angeordnet und schon gar nicht den Zeitpunkt bestimmt.] Kommentar: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert knows why he is being questioned under caution in a new case. The same is true of his former office manager, Shula Zaken, who has been under investigation almost incessantly. It is also true of their lawyers, the prosecution, journalists and others in the know, including foreign sources. Only the general public remains in the dark, due to a sweeping gag order that conceals even the tiniest detail, such as the nature of the crime of which the premier is suspected. Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court Judge Daniel Beeri was persuaded Tuesday that limiting this comprehensive gag order in any way would cause "real damage to the investigation." But it is very hard to accept this conclusion, given that the principal suspects already have been interrogated and rumors are flooding the country. [...] Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday asserted that the latest criminal probe into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would not affect his political moves, as well stating that he hoped there was no foundation to suspicions against him. "We are all against corruption. I trust the law [enforcement] authorities and the police. I do not imagine that Olmert is influenced by the investigations carried out against him when he makes critical political decisions," the defense minister said. [...] A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz on Tuesday that "as of now there is no Israeli partner for talks on a final status agreements in light of the continuing investigation against [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert." The official said the Palestinian Authority understands that the most recent allegations against Olmert are more serious than those in years past, raising the likelihood that the negotiations would be frozen until the end of the judicial process. "Our problem is that we also have no partner in Washington." + A senior Palestinian source told Ynet: “We are concerned that everything that happens now between Israel and us will be useless and a waste of time.” Aussitzen.

Daphna Golan, "From darkness into the ligth": Again we celebrated the holiday of freedom while Gilad Shalit remained in captivity. We spoke of going from darkness into a great light, but left the talks about releasing the abducted soldiers in the dark. We have become accustomed to let our future depend on Shin Bet people who negotiate covertly, and we have stopped asking what we could do to release the abducted soldiers. Why not talk with all our neighbors, Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah, the presidents of Syria and Egypt and the Arab states, about releasing the abducted soldiers, about stopping the Qassam fire, about reconciliation? [Es gibt im Übrigen zum Geburtstag und zum gestrigen Memorial Day sicherlich zwei Dutzend hervorragender Artikel die hier nicht alle gezeigt werden können. Als Trostpflaster noch den von Roni Singer-Heruti.]

Die Fronten halten sich mäßig zurück.In der Nähe von Beit Lahia kommt bei einem Luftangriff ein Hamasnik ums Leben und drei weitere werden verletzt. Ein kleineres Gefecht vor Jabalia, zwei Mörsergranaten auf den Sufa-Crossing. In der Westbank werden vor der kompletten Abriegelung der Territorien noch vier Personen durch die IDF und zwei Personen durch die PA verhaftet. [...] Israeli authorities approved a portion of the list of Palestinian refugees seeking to be reunified with their families living in the Palestinian territories, according to Hussein Ash-Sheikh, the head of the Palestinian Authority's Civil Liaison Department on Tuesday. The list includes the names of ten thousand individuals who are currently living as refugees in countries such as Lebanon and Jordan and are seeking to return to the Palestinian territories in order to be reunited with their families. [...] Reuters-Übersicht: Olmert and Abbas: the distance between them [...] A Palestinian civilian was killed on Tuesday when President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces clashed with militants for the first time since launching a law-and-order push in the northern West Bank. Islamic Jihad said two of its fighters were hurt when clashes broke out between gunmen and security forces trying to assert control in the small town of Qabatya, a Palestinian militant stronghold near the city of Jenin.

Smuggling kills One

2008-05-05T22:53:00.002+02:00

Ein Toter, fünf Verletzte und ein Vermisster sind die Bilanz des zusammenbruchs eines Tunnels an der Grenze Gaza - Ägypten. Unterdessen hat Israel die Blockade der UNRAWA im Gazastreifen vorerst aufgehoben: Israel delivered fuel on Monday to a U.N. aid agency in the Gaza Strip, a day after the organisation said fuel shortages would force it to halt food deliveries to many refugees in the Palestinians enclave. Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel's military coordinator for Gaza, said the fuel was piped into the Gaza Strip "as requested" by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to about a third of Gaza's population. UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said the fuel would be enough to continue their food delivery operations for approximately 20 days. ... Meanwhile, European Union Ambassador to Israel Ramiro Cibrian- Uzal said that the international blockade imposed on Gaza was not fulfilling its objectives of weakening Hamas and was just causing great suffering to the civilian population of the Strip. The EU envoy said changes to this policy needed to be considered, calling for a reopening of the Gaza crossings and a resumption of trade with the terrotory, Army Radio reported. [JPost]

Zwei poltische Vorgänge sorgen am Abend für mittlere Erdbeben. Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday hailed his country's new weapon against the threat of "terrorism" from its Middle East neighbours -- the electric car. Outlining Israel's development priorities in an address to foreign journalists to mark this week's 60th anniversary of statehood, Peres said reducing global dependence on oil would curb oil-producing states' ability to fund Israel's enemies. "Oil ... is not only polluting the air, it is also promoting terror," said the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has long promoted Israel's now powerful high-tech industries. [wie hat sich gerade BaRrak Obama zu diesem Thema ausgedrückt? "So lange ein amerikanischer Präsident im Weissen Haus sitzt wird das Öl in strömen fließen.", oder so ähnlich.] Nun ist das ja nicht neu: On Monday, the Israeli government will announce its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between an American-Israeli entrepreneur and Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, with the active support of President Shimon Peres, intends to make Israel a laboratory to test the practicality of an environmentally clean electric car. The state will offer tax incentives to purchasers, and the new company, with a $200 million investment to start, will begin construction of facilities to recharge the cars and replace empty batteries quickly. Jenseits des möglicherweise interessanten Konzepts sind blöde Sprüche wie "Die Saudis kontrollieren nicht die Sonne", oder das berühmte "Tehran's nuclear programme and its rhetoric against Israel may pose a greater threat than the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s." eher ein Hinweis auf etwas anderes: Seventy-five percent of the Jewish population in the country assume that Israel will find itself at war with at least one Arab state within the next five years. In zehn Jahren Benzinmotorfrei und in fünf Jahren mindestens ein Krieg. Eine präsidiale Mischung der Geistesumnachtung. Selbstverständlich sollte man den gerade hier in der Gegend sehr bekannten EX-SAPler Shai Agassi in seinem Tatendrang nicht unterbechen. Die Idee an sich ist zumindest bedenkenswert. Interessant erscheinen jedoch Stränge zu seinen Geldgebern die zB 44%-ige Beteiligung an solchen Firmen halten. Gewisse Interessenkonflikte [His biggest investor is Israel Corp., an Israeli holding and oil company, which invested $100 million. He also raised money from venture capital firm VantagePoint Venture Partners and Morgan Stanley, and from a handful of individual investors, including James Wolfensohn, the former president of the World Bank, and Seagram’s heir Edgar Bronfman.] lassen sich erahnen und können nicht mit solchen Sprüchen weggezeichnet werden: "If it were just Israel, I’d be cannibalizing my refinery business. I’m not so concerned about the refineries, but building a world-class company. If Israel will ever produce a Nokia, it will be this." [Gute Taktik, transparentes Zurschaustellen der Interessen, schlechte Taktik da der Name Nokia gerade in Deutschland keinen allzu guten Investorenklang besitzt.] Da bislang noch keinerlei staatliche Subventionsleistungen erwähnt wurden gehe ich mal davon aus das Ofer und Agassi davon ausgehen mit Hilfe des israelischen Armenhauses und [wie gestern berichtet] Billiglohntendenzen sich erstmal ohne Risiko ein goldenes Näschen zu verdienen. Und wenn die Sache schlecht läuft hat man trotzdem ein Vorzeigeprojekt, das man transrapidmäißg abwickeln kann. Besonders interessant ist sicherlich dabei die Technik des Wendehhalsierens gewisser israelischer Präsidenten, die vormals ["Our real aim is to change the Middle East." This change boils down to Israel having "to convince the Arabs" that economic growth is possible. If Israel could multiply its per-capita income many times in a decade, so too can the Arabs.] noch auf steigende Ölpreise wetteten um der Theorie Wohlfahrtsfrieden den Schwung zu verleihen nun nach dem versechfachten Ölpreis zwar kein adäquat angestiegenes BIP vorweisen können und auch keinen Frieden, aber immerhin eine "neue Waffe" die dann irgendwie auch den Frieden bringen soll. Trotzdem sollte man dieses Projekt nicht außer Acht lassen. Denn Perez ist ja irgendwann mal nicht mehr politisch aktiv und sein Kumpel Fraudy Olmert darf dann wenn er aus dem Knast draußen ist mehr geld bersorgen aber keine politischen Theorien mehr bilden.

Die weite Nachricht: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made "significant progress on the issue of borders" during the meeting in Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said following the talks. The two leaders met for two hours at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to do more to improve living conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank. A Palestinian official said Monday the two sides have exchanged maps that suggest differences over the shape of a future Palestinian state are narrowing. He said the Palestinians want all of the West Bank - which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War - as part of their state, but are ready to give up nearly 2 percent of the territory in exchange for an equal amount of land from what is now Israel. Maps presented by Israel several weeks ago sought to keep about 10 percent of the West Bank, the Palestinian official said. He said that despite the gaps, the maps indicated the sides are moving closer to a compromise on the issue of final borders. Eine recht starke Fraktion aus der Westbank meldet sich mit harscher Kritik: Palestinian Authority officials said Monday that Israel was offering the Palestinians nothing more than a "mini-state of cantons" in parts of the West Bank. The officials told The Jerusalem Post that Israel's proposals were "completely unacceptable" and "provocative." They also claimed that the US Administration was supporting the Israeli position. "Today it's clear to us that Israel has no intention of withdrawing from all the territories that were occupied in 1967," said one official. Da keinerlei überprüfbare Details und Ansazpunkte vorhanden sind werde ich dieses Treffen ins Reich von "Olmert sucht seinen Sessel zu retten" verbannen. Solcherlei Auszüge: "Olmert promised Abbas that Israel would allow the crossing of goods and supplies necessary to the population ... of Gaza." sind vollkommen unerheblich solange es keinen Waffenstillstand mit der Hamas gibt. [Three dimensional chess game: Israel is currently conducting negotiations with Hamas through several tracks. Contact through the direct tracks involves exchanges of fire and mutual recriminations. The indirect tracks run via Egypt and European mediators. However, while the direct "negotiations" with Hamas are carried out in a coordinated operational manner, the indirect talks are going ahead without a comprehensive political outlook or effective negotiation strategy.] Solange es diesen nicht gibt kann auch die palästinenische Spaltung nicht beendet werden. Hier wären eher arabische Initiativen notwendig, die es nicht gibt. Ohne palästinensiche Einigung sind "wesentliche Fortschritte" in den Vernhandlungen mit den Israelis nach dem man fast ein Jahr nutzlos verstreichen hat lassen weiterhin unerheblich, da die Abbas-Fraktion zwar die am mit Geld am Besten gestopfte Fraktion ist, doch keinesfalls politische Legitimität gegenüber dem palästinensischen Volk darlegen kann. Natürlich sind Einigungspunkte sehr wichtig, wobei eine "friedliche" Athmosphäre [der geschwächte Abbas hat eben eine OP hinter sich und zeigt schon länger depressive Abschnitte] keine Verträge und deren Einhaltung ersetzen kann. "Ende des Jahres" ist belanglos, solange man nicht klar darlegt wie die palästinensische Präsidentschaft zB in Sachen Marwan Barghouti gestaltet werden soll. Zwar sind die Nachwehen des Todes von Arafat seinerzeit an der Oberfläche kaum aufgetreten, doch ist auch der Dahlan-Konflik mit der Hamas, der unweigerlich in das palästinensische Schisma zwischen Gaza und Westbank geführt hat ein post-Arafat-Impuls, der mit dem Rücktritt von Abbas der als Verwalter des Mißstandes von Restpalästina in die Geschichtsbücher eingehen wird nicht beendet werden kann es sei denn man hat JETZT einen Konsenskandidaten den man zum Jahresanfang 2009 aufbaut um die "Verhandlungsergebnisse" den Palästinensern vermittelnd umzusetzen. Das dabei der leibe Abbas an einem Tag an dem 25 Palästinenser in seiner Westbank verhaftet wurden sich um eine klare Sprache drückt dürfte seiner Unbeliebtheit ein weiteres Pünktchen hinzufügen. DAS hier: The United States said on Monday it would send monitors to study whether the removal of Israeli roadblocks was making life easier for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Flying home from a two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was confident the two sides were trying hard to resolve their six-decade conflict. Following the visit by Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met to try to accelerate peace talks, which Olmert's office said had a "very good chance" of producing results by year-end. ist als Ergbeniss allerhöchstens als Witz zu bezeichnen.

Adam Entous: By day, Awad al-Qiq was a respected science teacher and headmaster at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip. By night, Palestinian militants say, he built rockets for Islamic Jihad. The Israeli air strike that killed the 33-year-old last week also laid bare his apparent double life and embarrassed a U.N. agency which has long had to rebuff Israeli accusations that it has aided and abetted guerrillas fighting the Jewish state. In interviews with Reuters, students and colleagues, as well as U.N. officials, denied any knowledge of Qiq's work with explosives. And his family denied he had any militant links at all, despite a profusion of Islamic Jihad posters at his home. But militant leaders allied to the enclave's ruling Hamas group hailed him as a martyr who led Islamic Jihad's "engineering unit" -- its bomb makers. They fired a salvo of improvised rockets into Israel in response to his death. Qiq's body was wrapped in an Islamic Jihad flag at his funeral, pictorial posters in his honour still bedeck his family home this week, and a handwritten notice posted on the metal gate at the entrance to the school declared that Qiq, "the chief leader of the engineering unit", would now find "paradise".

Update "Investigation that fails": While the video provides a critical view of the attack, it actually leaves lots of questions unanswered. Korrektur: "In the video, you can actually see other people within yards of the targeted militants who are able to flee without apparently being seriously injured by the blast." Aufgrund des einschlagwinkels sind die nicht als "Militante" sondern eher als Zivilisten zu identifizierenden Fußgänger verschont geblieben. Man nehme einen Stein ... und werfe ihn ins Wasser.

IDF kills One

2008-05-05T12:39:00.002+02:00

Bei Kämpfen im Dorf Khuza'a wird am Sonntag ein 41-jähriger Zivilist durch eine Panzergranate getötet. Weitere fünf Personen, darunter drei Bewaffnete werden verletzt. Palästinensische Gruppen schießen am Sonntag bis zu fünf und heute bslang sieben bis neun Projektile auf israelische zivile Ziele am Grenzstreifen. Es kommt zu Sachschäden, dabei erneut in einem Friedhof, und Shockopfern. Mehrere Attacken Mörsergranaten auf statische oder operierende Ziele runden das Bild ab. [...] Israel is expected to agree to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Hamas within days, a senior Egyptian official told the London-based newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat in a report published on Monday. According to the source, Israel will give an "unofficial" acceptance to the agreement only after "the Palestinian factions announce that they accept the deal." "After we announce the cease-fire in Cairo, the sides will be bound to it," the official told the paper. "In addition, Israel will open the border crossings to Gaza in order to allow the transfer of commercial shipments, medicine, fuel, and food." + Egypt will send intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to Israel soon for talks on a truce deal Cairo hopes to seal between Israel and Palestinian militants, President Hosni Mubarak said on Sunday. "I think the head of intelligence will travel there, but after the holiday celebrations in Israel. He will go to talk to the Israeli side," Mubarak told reporters in remarks aired live on state television. Mubarak did not give a specific date for the trip, but Israel marks Memorial Day on Wednesday and its 60th anniversary on Thursday. + Disappointed by the lack of progress on the matter of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit and Cairo's disinclination to put an end to the smuggling of arms across its border into Hamas-controlled Gaza, Israel is now looking to delay the announced visit of Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. Suleiman was scheduled to travel to Israel in the coming days to present an Egyptian-backed truce agreement agreed on by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. But State officials in Jerusalem confirmed on Sunday evening that the triumvirate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni are united in their lack of enthusiasm towards a visit by Suleiman prior to Independence. + The United Nations is set to halt delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Monday because its vehicles have run out of fuel, a U.N. official said. Gaza has been facing a fuel shortage because of Israeli restrictions on supplies and a strike by Palestinian fuel distributors. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to Gazans, said the lack of fuel would force its food distribution programmes to be halted on Monday, affecting some 650,000 people. Das Transportwesen ist nahezu gesamt zusammengebrochen. Das Elektrizirätswerk mußte am Sonntag kurzfristig abschalten. Genehmigte Transporte bleiben Mangelware. Eine Aktion die offensichtlich geklappt hat: Tomorrow (Sun., May 4) a consignment of medicines and medical equipment will be passed to the Gaza Strip, bought through 60,000 Dollar donations collected worldwide by Gush Shalom and the Coalition Against the Siege. [...] Was ich mir erlaubt habe zu bemerken wird jetzt auch von den Soldaten vor Ort so empfunden: Senior IDF officers serving in Gaza are frustrated over what they describe as the army's lack of resolve and limited action against terror emanating from the Strip. "This week I returned from another standby shift at the combat helicopter base where I do my reserve duty," lit.-Col. N told Ynet. "Again we did nothing, despite a Qassam and mortar barrage fired by terrorists at the entire sector." Es sollte hier auch kein Zweifel aufkommen, das militärische Mittel gegen operierende Qassam-Einheiten und bewaffnete Infiltratoren, mit Abstrichen auch Aktionen hinter der Front durchaus vollkommen legal und berechtigt sind.

In den blühenden Landschaften der Westbank werden über das Wochenende 28 Palästinenser durch die IDF und über ein dutzend Hamasniks durch die Fatah aus gesundheitlichen Gründen gefängnisverschickt. Während die Musterung der 600 Sicherheitstruppen der PA in Jenin durch Superminister Salam Fayyad ereignislos verläuft wird der Brandanschlag auf das Auto des Gouverneurs von Nablus, Jamal al-Moushen aufgeklärt. Einem 18-jährigen wird dabei bei seiner Verhaftung in die Beine geschossen. Die Schüsse auf die Begleitung von al-Moushen sind nicht aufgeklärt. In Jericho wandelt ein Militärgericht diie vor Kurzem durch eine Erstinstanz verhängtes Todesurteil gegen einen "Kollaborateur" in eine siebenjährige Haftstrafe um. Die große Politik: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a series of talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace here on Sunday, saying she believed an accord was attainable by year’s end. But the process was overshadowed by an intensifying police investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel. Ms. Rice, who arrived here from a conference in London that focused on international donations to the Palestinian Authority, has held meetings with Mr. Olmert; the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas; and other top officials from both sides. In brief statements so far, all have been tight-lipped. + U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday pressed Israel to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians and called Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank "particularly problematic" + Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that Israel has "no hidden agenda" regarding West Bank settlements, after U.S. Secretary of State called Israel's policy in the area "problematic." [??? Die Damen obfuscatieren wieder mal.] The gag order on the investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be partially lifted in "the next 24 hours, following major progress expected in the investigation," according to officials in the police and the attorney general's office quoted by Army Radio radio Monday morning. The officials reportedly said that findings that have been accumulated so far are "reliable" and "will shock the country" when they are revealed. + Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met on Monday to try to accelerate peace talks that have shown little sign of progress ahead of a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush. [Die ersten Veröffentlichungen sind nicht sehr schockierend: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert used his bureau to promote the artistic career of his wife Aliza, a Haaretz report reveals. The report also says that when the couple were in New York for a private art exhibit by Olmert, their stay at a luxury hotel was paid for by an American association.]

In the latest round of an ongoing verbal slugfest, Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman on Monday accused Arab MKs of representing Israel's enemies and of being a "fifth column" in the Knesset. In response, MKs Ahmed Tibi and Muhammad Barakei responded that Israel Beiteinu was a "fascist party" that should not be allowed representation in the Knesset. "The Arab Mks are the representatives of terror organizations in the Knesset," Lieberman accused. "Today in the Knesset there is a coalition of defeatists and fifth columnists. Those sitting here (the Arab MKs) are representatives of terror organizations." [...] Asher Maoz, "We have it up to here with the Ultra-Orthodox": These are painful statements, but they must be said loud and clear: Two peoples live in this land, both Jewish - they and we. They are the ultra-Orthodox, who see themselves as emissaries of God on earth. We are all the rest - secular, traditional and religious. It is not that we have suddenly separated; we never were one people. We tried to delude ourselves that we were. They knew all along that we were not.

Kommentare: Akiva Eldar, "Time for Livni": As expected, Ehud Olmert stated yesterday at the start of the cabinet meeting that, "I have an agenda as prime minister of Israel, I intend to carry out this agenda, and continue conducting the meetings and performing the tasks I have to do." In other words, he intends to continue the agenda according to which part of his time is spent with investigators and lawyers, and the rest with Mahmoud Abbas and Condoleezza Rice. The State of Israel is confronted with questions of war and peace, the relationship between business and government, issues of society and welfare, and all the while it is led by a person who spends a great deal more time with police officers than in meetings with a number of his ministers, and who, had he not been a VIP, would be spending all his time in the interview rooms of the National Fraud Squad. [...] Giedeon Levy, "You have to be sad, then happy": In a short period of seven days the State of Israel dictates three times what its citizens should feel: They should grieve twice - on Holocaust Remembrance Day and on Memorial Day, and to be happy once - on Independence Day. These three days are commemorated in Israel with near zealous totality, a sort of missionary sanctity that appears to be intensifying over the years, including the issuing of fines to anyone violating the holiday's laws. Harel + Issacharoff, "Rumblings of dissatisfaction": The new police investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to have serious implications on the developments in the political-security arena, and mainly on the Egyptian effort to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. If aspects of the criminal investigation come to dominate Israeli political life - as they seem to be at this stage - it will be difficult for Israel to advance on the Palestinian track, especially in matters that may require tough concessions.

Arab countries are mulling an emergency fund to help counter a global surge in food prices, Jordan's Agriculture Minister was quoted as saying on Monday. Protests, strikes and riots have erupted in developing countries around the world after prices of wheat, rice, corn, oils and other essential foods rose more than 40 percent in the past year. [...] Joshua Landis: "As Commodity Prices Soar, the Income Gap Rips at Society’s Middle": The Middle East is being hit with high rates of inflation caused by sky rocketing prices for primary commodities and basic food stuffs, high unemployment, and the dismantling of age old subsidies. Many Arab countries have been pulling the plug on food and energy subsidies for decades. Syrians are facing a double whammy - radical hikes in food and petrol prices combined with slashes in state subsidies. In Lebanon, prices have risen by 43 percent over the past 21 months while the official unemployment rate stands at 10 percent, although independent estimates put it at 20 percent. In Egypt, "food prices rose by up to 50 percent, a hard blow to the poor, who spend a higher proportion of their incomes on foodstuffs." writes Reuters. Consumer prices rose 14.4 percent in the year to March, the highest inflation rate in more than three years. Mubarak responded on Wednesday by proposing a 30 percent increase in basic public-sector salaries, which start at about 300 pounds ($56) a month. He told his government to find the extra revenue to cover the extra cost. Police are stationed heavily about the city to prevent the sort of protests that rocked the city in April. In Jordan, security forces recently arrested three activists for distributing leaflets calling for a general strike to protest food prices and government policies that fail to help the poor, activists said on Sunday. Jordan's government has enforced steep fuel price rises and the cost of everything from bread to apartments has soared, hitting many people hard. Activists say the authorities have in recent weeks refused permission to allow any public protests against the price hikes.

Kommentar von Salim Nazzal zum Naqba-Day.

IDF kills One - Internal violence Three

2008-05-04T06:35:00.003+02:00

Unter nicht geklärten Umständen werden in as Sabra und Rafah zwei Palästinenser erschossen. Bei Clan-Ausschreitungen wird eine Frau durch einen Elektroschocker getötet und verschiedene Personen verletzt. Seit dem recht blutigen Donnerstag ist die Intensität der Auseinandersetzungen an der Grenze zwischen Israel und Gaza deutlich gesunken. Gezählt werden in etwa acht Projektilabschüsse in fünf Angriffen, dazu ein Mörsergranatenangriff seitens der Hamas. Am Samstag wird der Hamas offiziell ein ägyptisches Schreiben das als "draft" für einen Waffenstillstand mit Israel verstanden wird ausgehändigt. Zuvor hatte sich Hamas-Führer Ismail Haniyeh positiv über die ägyptischen Bestrebungen geäßert. Nach verschiedenen Quellen soll das Schreiben allerdings eher unkonkreter Natur sein, die Konfliktparteien nur zur allgemeinen ruhe verpflichten und Problemlösungen verschieben. Unterdessen sorgt ein unzeitgemäßer Vorschlag für Unruhe: France is offering to take part in an international force in Palestinian areas, an idea that the Palestinian Authority and Israel have begun to embrace in the Gaza Strip but which is opposed by Hamas, which has power there. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told the American Jewish Committee Thursday night that "France and Europe can, when circumstances permit and if the parties so wish, take part in an international force to support the Palestinian security services." France will be the next country to assume the presidency of the European Union, which has already sent monitors to the Gaza border crossing. Die schlauen Editoren des AJC haben das "wenn die Parteien es so wünschen" herausgestrichen. Auch Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, der bei seinem jüngsten Israel-Besuch das Maul nicht aufbekam wird endbehandelt: "Iran is a regional spoiler – and is bent on egregiously undermining efforts to stabilize the Middle East," said Mullen. "Iran’s pursuit of nuclear arms, their sponsorship of terrorism and the "perfect nightmare" that is the nexus of the two is a threat to Israel and to Israel’s neighbors." ... "In this extraordinary time of fast-paced change the challenge of violent extremism, underpinned by radical ideologies, threatens our way of life every day – but those challenges are not Israel’s or America’s alone," said Admiral Mullen. "They belong to the world, and it will take the world – at least the world of responsible nations – to face them, to overcome them." Nun, da weder Israel noch die USA in der top10 der "responsibly competitive nations" auftauchen hat Mullen da noch einiges an Arbeit vor sich bis er mitreden darf. Gerade in manchen Kernbereichen liegt da die zB für den Gazastreifen von der USA und Israel verordnete Entschlackungskur noch im Argen: Millions of liters of sewage have been released over the past three months into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza Strip, according to a new United Nations report. According to the report, an estimated 50-60 million liters of waste per day have been pumped into the sea. This was done in an effort to prevent an overflow of sewage in residential areas. Mullens Selbstanalyse "We must fight for a world where parents of every faith, every race, and every color can raise their children to a higher standard of living and a better life." scheint sich da wohl an der gazanischen Praxis zu orientieren. Und wenn es so weiter geht kann er sich auch bald einen neuen Kriegspartner in Sachen Iran suchen: There is no doubt now: Destiny does not miss any opportunity to test Olmert’s nerves and survival skills. Of all the difficult moments that the prime minister faced since assuming the post, the latest affair came at the worst timing for him. Just when it appeared that he controls the situation and the bad winds are calming a little, and just when more people were willing to give him another chance – he is hit with the investigation, which ruins everything he built and reminds us of all the bad thoughts about him. That’s the last thing he needed. Whether true or not, the reports regarding the latest investigation are very grave. Even if there is an iota of truth in them, it is hard to believe that Ehud Olmert would be able to continue serving as prime minister; the thought of bundles of cash reaching the hands of the most important man in our political hierarchy prompt deep revulsion. Das Kadima-geführte Justice Ministry announced on Saturday that a discussion in the wake of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's latest police interrogation did not include talk of his suspension from office, kein Wunder das von einem Günstling geführt. Da momentan noch absolute Zensur über die Inhalte der Befragung herrscht kann der Fall hier nicht bewertet werden: According to sources close to the investigation the evidence against the prime minister is serious and substantive. Olmerts Abtritt, heißersehnt würde erstmal nicht bedeuten das die Koalition dem Ende entgegengeht und das der mittlerweile zum top-Favoriten aufgestiegene Bibi Netanjahu sich auf Neuwahlen freuen kann. Nach der derzeitigen Gemengelage würde wohl Aussenministerin Livni die Amtsgeschäfte kommissarisch übernehmen und ein Kadima-Soldat das Aussenministerium erben. Danach müßte die Kadima einen neuen Vorsitz herstellen, technisch gesehen würde dies weder die Verhandlungen mir den Palästinensern belasten, da es keine Verhandlungen gibt und auch nicht die Prozesse mit Syrien da hier von einer einheitlichen Strategie gesprochen werden kann. Trotzdem dräuen im Herbst Neuwahlen, da die Opposition kategorisch die Polit-Inhalte Olmerts ablehnt. Daniel Levy bespricht uns das Thema Syrien: Likud and opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time in attacking Prime Minister Olmert: "The Golan must remain in Israel’s hands…I am quite amazed that the Prime Minister promises to hand over all of the Golan Heights even before negotiations begin, and with such flippancy…this is no way to build peace...[Olmert is] a serial concession giver." Die Kürze der Zeit kann hier kaum durchschlagende Ergebnisse bringen, da mögliche Friedengespräche und alles weitere auch von der Bush-Administration torpediert werden. In vielerlei Hinsicht halten jedoch die Israelis in der Mehrheit Netanjahu für den augenblicklichen Heilsbringer und sogar verständige Personen möchten ihn wählen da man die Kadima und Olmert ähnlich sieht und Livni grundsätzlich nicht leiden kann. Die Avoda unter Barak wird auf Grund seines Stils kaum als politisches Gesamtgebilde mehr wahr genommen. Die von Peretz oder Mitzna angestoßenen sozialen Reformen sind längst in den Schubladen verschwunden, eine Partei die fast alles auf den Kriegsminister setzt wird definitiv scheitern. Dabei ist es schon so weit gekommen das man sich den Likud wegen dieser Alternativlosigkeit der post-Sharon-Kadima und pre-Irankriegs-Avoda schönsäuft: Nur die latente Araberfeindlichkeit von Netanjahu werden als Problem wahrgenommen, wobei man auch dieses noch als "nur an der Oberfläche als Wahlkampfmunition benutztes" beiwerk sieht. Gerne wird die Zeit von Netanjahu als Minister als Erfolg verkauft, worauf dieser jedoch gebaut ist? From 2005-2007, however, the workers' share in GNI dropped to 62 percent while the employers' rose to 13 percent, representing a loss to each worker in each of these years, to the benefit of the employers, of about NIS 8,000. Reallohnverlust, Preisexplosionen, Subventionsabbau. Das degenerierte Wirtschaftsministerium unter Shas-Chef Eliyahu "Homosexualität ist eine Krankheit" Yishai glänzt mit Abwesenheit. Der Markt reguliert und die soziale Kälte wächst. Um überhaupt einen Erfolg vorweisen zu können muß wenigstens die Wirtschaft brummen. "Betroffene Nachbarn": Seen from Damascus, Israel remains a dangerously aggressive and unpredictable neighbour. Die Kernfrage "Israel ready for peaceful integration into the region" kann weder aus den sozialen Vorgehensweisen, noch aus der Marktorientierung, noch aus der geopolitischen Strategie heraus positiv beantwortet werden. Nimmt man hinzu das gerade die Franzosen wie eben vor der AJC sich als Adepten und logische Nachfolger der Bush-Administration gerieren und den Makel des Scheiterns in der Libanon-Frage vollinhaltlich übernehmen graust es einem wirklich: Sollte tatsächlich nach den "gefühlten" Bedrohungen gegen die Existenz von Israel mal ein despotisches Unternehmen entstehen das eine reale Bedrohung darstellt bricht das Kartenhaus in Israel wohl vollständig zusammen. Ein massives Problem dabei stellt die westliche Ansicht dar die "Sicherheitsfrage" würde sämtliche anderen Probleme überlagern. [Government ignoring higher education crisis - Following lack of government response to Shochat Report about higher education in Israel, Prof. Yaari wonders about future of Israeli academics.] Während man zB von den Türken maßgebliche Reformschritte verlangt damit diese überhaupt in Verhandlungen zur EU-Mitgleidschaft einsteigen dürfen, verlangt man von den Israelis keine einzige Reform. "Many of these measures involve significant security risks for Israel," she said, according to the released remarks. "We expect the [Palestinian Authority] to live up to its obligations in order to ensure that these steps will not be exploited by terrorists and endanger further progress." In diesem Fall meint measures die sogenannten Schritte zur Verbesserung der palästinensischen Bewegungsfreiheit [The Israel Defense Forces arrested 363 Palestinians in the West Bank during April, a Palestinian report revealed Saturday.] in der Westbank. Leider ist dieses System übertragbar auf alle Polit-Bereiche. Anders als bis in die 90er fehlt diesem System jedoch die notwendige zivile Masse um auf einem dritten Weg [neben Judikativ erzwungener Sozialreform über den Obersten gerichtshof und politischen Bewegungen] eine halbwegs anständige Bereitschaft die Gesellschaft voran zu bringen zu erzeugen. Die Fähigkeit über heroisierte Bewegungen eine Nation zu bilden bedeutet eben nicht das man im Alltagsbetrieb auch ein Land modifizieren kann was ein Anzeichen einer funktionierenden Demokratie ist. Von zentraler Bedeutung wäre also im Jetzt ein wirklich bedeutsamer symbolischer Akt wie ein Vertrag mit Syrien. [Der angedachte deal eines Teilabzugs vom Golan und Pacht des Rest auf 50 oder 100 Jahre ist sicher sehr erfolgsversprechend.] Die durch die langjährigen Konflikte extrem auf "Sicherheitsthemen" fokussierten und damit massiv lethargisierten Israelis müssen raus aus dem Schema gebracht werden. Da es intern keinerlei Anzeichen gibt, mit Ausnahme sporadischer Aktionismen muß das arabische Umfeld wirken. [Earlier on Saturday, Jordan's King Abdullah told visiting MK Yossi Beilin that progress in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians prior to the two sides reaching an agreement on the core issues of the conflict would be sufficient for the Arab League states to implement, at least partially, the 2002 Arab peace initiative, Israel Radio reported on Saturday. The monarch added his belief that a significant number of Arab and Muslim states would move to establish diplomatic relations with Israel as a result of positive movement on the Palestinian front.] Es darf hier gerne erwähnt weden das auch die "demokratische Neugründung" der BRD nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg ohne die Unterstützung vornehmlich der Franzosen als Volk kaum ein Erfolgsmodel geworden wäre. Der Blick "was machen eigentlich die anderen anders oder besser" fehlt den Israelis im Sicherheits-System, da dieses System ein "wir machen alles richtig was der Sicherheit dient" bedarf um den Militärapparat am Leben zu erhalten den man braucht. Und nur die arabische Einflußnahme kann hier hilfreich werden. Denkt man zurück: Der Feind Libyen, der Feind Jordanien, der Feind Saddam, der Feind Ägypten. Sie alle wurden besiegt nur um einem Nachfolger Platz zu machen, der heute Iranische Connection heißt und die im Jahr 2020 vielleicht der Bedrohung durch außerirdischen Mächten Platz gemacht hat. Damit man eben als Land Israel nicht vollständig geistig isoliert wird und tatsächlich in restlose und bedeutungslose Absurdität abdriftet in dem man sich zum Land "Sicherheit für alle Zeiten" umtauft muß jetzt ein positiver Moment gesetzt werden. Leider wird man dem aber nicht folgen, so daß die heutigen Verantwortlichen [im Gesamt-Westen] in größter Gefahr stehen dem eroflgreichen Projekt Israel das Schildchen "historische Anomalie kurzer Dauer" anzukleben.

Related: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel to try and give peace talks another push. Rice touched down late Saturday and headed directly to Jerusalem for dinner with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. She hopes to move peace talks between Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along faster, and monitor progress on the ground. Olmert and Abbas and scheduled to meet on Monday. [...] Residents of Asira al-Kabaliya, a village near Nablus, claimed on Saturday that hundreds of settlers from the nearby Jewish settlement of Itzhar attacked them and damaged much of the village property. They also said that two of the residents were injured, and had to be evacuated to a Nablus hospital. [...] The American bodyguards of a Bush administration envoy who was dispatched to the region to monitor the implementation of the road map engaged in a violent confrontation with right-wing Israelis who sought to disturb a visit to Hebron on Friday, Israel Radio reported. [...] The Palestinian man wounded on Friday evening as he attempted to stab soldiers manning an IDF crossing in South Mount Hebron died of his wounds Saturday morning. [...] The United States would look favorably on a request from the Palestinian Authority for more funds to plug a budget shortfall, the top U.S. aid official said on Thursday. [...] World powers called on Friday on Arab states to honor their financial and political pledges to help the Palestinians in their U.S.-backed Middle East peace effort with Israel. [...] Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of Jenin Saturday to welcome 600 Palestinian Authority policemen who were deployed in the city in a bid to restore law and order. They greeted the policemen with flowers and candies as they entered the city. The decision to deploy the force in Jenin follows similar operations in Nablus and Tulkarm over the past few months. [...] Dozens of protestors had to be treated for tear gas inhalation following the weekly demonstration against Israel's separation wall in the village of Bil'in, north of Ramallah on Friday.

Bilal Y. Saab, "Shaping Lebanons Future": In many ways, the current U.S. stance is a policy of denial, denying Lebanon to Syria but with little hope of promoting a resolution to Lebanon’s internal crisis. The danger of such a policy is that it hands the political initiative to Syria and its allies in Lebanon who can win by waging a gradual war of attrition. Instead, Washington should craft its policy to support the Lebanese state, not to promote partisanship and political parties.

The Investigation that fails

2008-05-03T15:46:00.003+02:00

Doch ein kurzes Wort zum veröffentlichten Video zur Tötung einer Mutter und vier ihrer Kinder, denn das israelische Wahrheitsministerium versucht sich mit eindeutigen Überschriften wie "clearing itself" herauszureden. Die Geschichte konzentriert sich auf die hier erkennbaren Folgen der IDF-Aktion. Im gelben Kreis soll sich das Anwesen der getöteten Familie befinden. Der weisse Feuerball der in den Kreis ragt soll eine secondary explosion darlegen, die zum Tod der Familie führte. Diese Theorie ist beim Betrachten des Videos als schlechter Witz fürs dumme volk zu betrachten. Im hier verlinkten Video ist auf timeplace 00:57 klar eine enorme Explosion zu erkennen die auch das Wohnhaus daneben mit Schrapnellen belegt. Es ist klar ersichtlich das die ursprünglichen Theorien in die Tonne geworfen werden dürfen und das nur eine internationale Investigation die Frage klären kann an welchen Splittern die Zivilisten gestorben sind. Die Argumentation man dürfe bewanffnete Kämpfer, die auf dem Video bereits verletzt auf dem Boden liegen mit klar erkennbarem Beipack attackieren ist falsch, wenn sie neben einem Privathaus liegen. Ebenso aus dem Video ist ersichtlich das die vertikale Einschlagsposition [den Fußgängern halblinks und halbrechts geschieht nichts] definitiv auf das Wohnhaus streut und daher erkennt man auch an der Hausfront im späteren Verlauf die Feuerwalze. Eines ist unmißverständlich klar zu machen: Die Schuld liegt definitiv an der Doppel-Ursache Angriff und Attackierter. Man läuft nicht durch zivile Gegenden in ausgebrochenen Kämpfen mit Munitionsbehältern, genauso wenig man die entsprechenden Personen dort attackiert. Was nicht im Video erklärt wird schnell an einem Privat-Beispiel: Vor meiner Haustüre ist einem Zuckerrübenlaster [voll, Gewicht beachten] ein Reifen geplatzt. Die Detonation hat die Haustüre durchschlagen und mir in einem Abstand von 4 Metern zur Detonationsstelle sämtliche Inhalte die sich zwischen dem Mauerwerk und mir befanden entgegen geblasen [also nur Mäusedreck der Jahrhunderte]. Nun wissen wir nicht wie das Haus in Beit Hanoun gestaltet war, von Mauerwerk möglicherweise keine Spur. Ich konnte überleben [ernsthaft] weil das Mauerwerk die Detonation schluckte und keine Splitter vor dem Haus herumstehender Gegenstände durch die leichten Spanplatten ungehindert durchschlugen. Zudem, wie es das Video verschweigt, ist ein wohl bei dem gunman stehender 15-jähriger getötet worden, der sich um den möglicherweise Verletzten gekümmert hat. Es ist sehr schön zu beobachten das die IDF dieser Problematik durch Verschweigen zu entkommen sucht.

Nun noch die entsprechenden Artikel: IDF: Beit Hanun family not killed by IDF ++++ IDF says did not hit Beit Hanoun house ++++ IDF releases clip clearing itself of blame for Gaza family deaths

Das Thema kritische Presse erscheint hier, man hat sich wohl an eine Art Zwangsbeziehung mit der IDf gewöhnt. Andererseits ist die Hamas für ihre Öffentlichkeitsarbeit zu kritisieren. Man fragt sich in wie weit die im ersten Schlag getroffenen Kämpfer den Raketenangriff überleben konnten. Denn Tote wurden nicht berichtet, AUCH nicht von der IDF. Man mag dies als einzelfall betrachten und doch stimmt das System nicht mehr: konnte man den Aussagen der Einzelteile des konflikts noch halbwegs glauben aus der Konflikt vor 7,5 Jahren ausbrach ist nun von einem Lügenhaufen zu spechen aus dem sich wie die IDF hier und die Hamas dort jeder nehmen kann was ihm gerade paßt. Avner Shalev: Recently, yet another Hamas spokesperson compared the situation in Gaza to events during the Holocaust. Coming from an official who represents an organization that unabashedly declares its commitment to terrorism and the destruction of Israel, this is in itself not surprising. Echoed last week by Libya's Deputy UN Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi in a meeting of the UN Security Council - a body whose members are officially dedicated to maintaining peace - such assessments are even more distressing. The ubiquitous use of Holocaust imagery in the propaganda efforts of Hamas and other organizations is dangerous and worrying. Such toxic imagery is frequently invoked in combination with elements of classic anti-Semitism and virulent anti- Israel invective. It has become the language of discourse not only of Hamas and its supporters, but also of spokesmen from the Arab-Muslim world. In the rest of the world as well, ostensibly objective observers have adopted this code, or uncritically parrot those who compare Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto, ignoring both historical details and context. Die klassische Analyse wir mit einer Maske ersetzt. Es wird nicht nur für Historiker und Rechtsspezialisten immer schwerer eine vernünftige und rational zu belegende Analyse herzustellen, belastet wird vor Allem des Verhältnis der Konfliktparteien selbst. Anstatt des Machtworts, von der Hamas an ihre Kämpfer gefälligst belebte Zonen zu meiden und von der israelischen Regierung ihrer Soldateska Benehmen beizubringen hat sich ein an Niveaulosigkeit nicht zu unterbietendes Hauen und Stechen um die öffentliche Meinung durchgesetzt dessen Inhalte den betroffenen Zivilisten jegliche Rechte rauben.

Man streitet sich unter einander ob wer denn nun eigentlich die vier Kinder umgebracht hat, ohne den Mut zu haben zu sagen: "Natürlich waren wir beide es." Und wir, die uns dem Betrachten dieses Konflikts verschrieben haben müssen wieder einmal erkennen das wir es mit Feiglingen zu tun haben. Deswegen wird dieser Konflikt hier ab sofort der Krieg der Feiglinge heißen.

Den einzigen Menschen den man in dieser Sache loben kann ist der Verantwortliche der palästinensischen Totenschau: Muawiya Hassanin. Er zählt und zählt und hält sich von politischen Aussagen fern. Er und sein Stab müssen die Drecksarbeit für die Feiglinge machen.

IDF kills Two

2008-05-01T11:57:00.005+02:00

Nachdem am Mittwoch-Abend an der ägytischen Grenze in Rafah in einer Manufaktur ein Islamic-Jihad-Mitglied bei einem Luftangriff der IAF getötet wird verstirbt durch die gleiche Ursache ein mutmaßliches Mitglied der Entführergruppe des israelischen Soldaten Gilad Shalit namens Nafez Mansour [Hamas]. Bei dem Vorfall in Rafah wird auch ein Mädchen verletzt. Gefechte mit einrückenden Panzern werden erneut aus der Gegend vor Khan Younis gemeldet. Weniger Neues in Sachen Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen: Islamic Jihad: Cease-fire agreement conditioned on lifting of Gaza siege. + Israel's expected acceptance of a Cairo-brokered cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip will "significantly" expedite the release of kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Schalit, a top official involved in the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. + Islamic Jihad said on Thursday it would not formally sign onto an Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel but would not be the first to violate it. Egypt is expecting Israel to accept and implement the cease-fire proposal agreed on by the Palestinian factions, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit's bureau chief said Wednesday. But a number of factions were equivocal in their support for a ceasefire, and some said they reserved the right to retaliate against Israeli attacks. In a new statement, Zeyad al-Nakhala, deputy to exiled Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Shallah, said the group could not be a party to a truce agreement that did not also apply at the onset to the occupied West Bank. Während am Mittwoch insgesamt 15 Projektile palästinensischer Gruppen auf israelischem Gebiet niedergehen sind es am Donnerstag bislang sechs. [...] A Palestinian father of six who was diagnosed with a brain cancer died at Gaza's Shifa Hospital on Wednesday while waiting for an entry permit to Israel, where he was set to undergo brain surgery and receive chemotherapy treatment at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Editor: Eine Ente.[...] Die großmächtig auf spätestens gestern Abend angekündigte Veröffentlichung einer Untersuchung der Vorfälle die zum Tode einer Mutter und vier kindern in Khan Younis geführt haben fällt aus. Nachträglich eingereichte Werke aus IDF-Produktion können hier nicht mehr anerkannt werden.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held talks in Jordan on Wednesday with Jordanian King Abdullah II on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A palace statement said during the closed-door talks, Abdullah urged Olmert to work on improving the living conditions of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. [...] Increased Israeli restrictions on the checkpoints around East Jerusalem have caused more delays and more lost man hours for UN staff in March 2008 than in all of 2007, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported. In the Humanitarian Monitor for March, released on 24 April, OCHA said "operations were significantly affected" and almost daily UN vehicles were delayed and even turned back by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints south of Jerusalem. [...] Sechzehn Palästinenser werden bis Donnerstag Morgen in der Westbank verhaftet, erneut wird in Jenin eine Hamas-charity gelootet und das alte "deutsche" Krankenhaus in Nablus kann einen drohenden Konkurs nur mit der Entlassung etwa eines Drittels der Belegschaft abwenden. ... am Freitag ist wieder Donor-Konferenz für die Taschen der Fatah: U.S. officials and analysts played down expectations for her [US-aussenministerin Condis riceauflauf mit Quark] trip, which begins in London for meetings on Friday to discuss reviving the Palestinian economy, reining in Iran's nuclear program and supporting newly independent Kosovo. ... Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel now at the Brookings Institution think tank, was skeptical that the Bush administration was on the verge of offering its own ideas on how to craft a peace agreement to end the six-decade conflict. "I see no indication of that. I think that their very clear attitude to this -- at least the president's view of it -- is that it's up to the parties to make the deal," Indyk said.

A majority of Israeli teens believe the country is under "serious threat" of destruction, a survey published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel's 60th anniversary revealed. According to the telephone survey of 500 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17, which was conducted in late March, a growing number of Israeli youth - 30% - believe that "Israel is under a serious threat of destruction" compared to 24% in 2007, while 52% said they believe "Israel is under "a certain threat of destruction," a slight decline from 59% in 2007. On the question of whether "a second Holocaust of the Jewish people is possible or not," nine percent of those polled said there was a real possibility, compared to 6% in 2007; 30% said there was a certain possibility, and 59% said a second Holocaust was not possible. [...] Transportation Minister and former defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday that Iran could have nuclear bomb technology as early as this year. Speaking at Yale University, Mofaz warned that Iran is progressing steadily with its nuclear program and will have the knowhow to build a bomb within months.

Updates

2008-04-30T13:02:00.002+02:00

Nach einem dienstäglichen Beschuß in Höhe von 16 Qassam-Projektilen und etwas über zwanzig Mörsergranaten auf verschiedene israelische Einrichtungen am Rand des Gazastreifens beginnt auch der Mittwoch mit einer Salve von 8 Raketen, vornehmlich auf zivile Ziele. Gegenmaßnahmen werden bislang keine berichtet. Unterdessen berichten verschiedene Quellen das nahezu sämtliche palästinensische Splittergruppen den ägyptischen Vorschlag für [einen] Waffenstillstand[sverhandlungen] aktzeptiert haben. Die israelische Seite hatte zuvor amerikanische Spielchen begonnen: Israel relayed a message this week to Egypt that it objected to the outlines of the cease-fire now under discussion for the Gaza Strip, since it might lead to the strengthening of Hamas and the weakening of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. [Wirklich erstaunliche Strategie: die Hamas darf nicht zu stark werden damit Abbas nicht geschwächt wird und Abbas darf nicht gestärkt werden damit Israel nicht geschwächt wird.] Immerhin hatte die ägyptische Seite nach einigen Absagen einen Mitarbeiter von Aussenminister Gheit nach Jerusalem geschickt. Dabei scheint es zu erneuten Irritationen innerhalb der Eifersuchtskoalition gekommen zu sein. Da Kadima-Aussenministerin Zicky Lllifni [der Emissionär hieß bedeutsamerweise Zaki] sich am Freitag bei einer Folge-Donor-Veranstaltung in london mit dem ägyptischen Aussenminister treffen will um als Retterin des Verhältnisses beider Länder in die Geschichte einzugehen und bei dem Vorbereitungsprozeß und den Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen das Militär und Verteidigungsminister Barak nicht einbezogen wurden reagiert der Public Security Minister Avi Dichter nach einem Treffen mit dem Chef-Mitarbeiter von Ehud Barak, Matan "shoaic dimension" Vilnai mit ägyptenfeindlichen Aussagen: "A problematic, terror state has risen which is built on the Hizbullah model," he said during a Security Cabinet meeting. "There is ongoing weapons smuggling of worrying quantity and quality from Egypt and this terror state is getting legitimacy from Egypt and maybe even more than that." Hier ein kleiner Bericht über die Verhandlungen in Cairo. Nach meiner Einschätzung ändert sich überhaupt nichts. Immerhin existieren genügend Berichte um eine ansatzweise Versorgung des Gazastreifens mit Hilfsgütern zu attestieren, aber alleine die anstehende Menge an Treibstofflieferungen [The Gaza Strip needs an immediate infusion of 15 million liters of diesel and seven million liters of gasoline to cover essential needs, the director of the Palestinian Oil Corporation in the Gaza Strip, Ahmad Ali, said on Tuesday.], das Resultat monatelanger Blockadepolitik auf zu arbeiten ist nur unilateral möglich und nicht eingebettet in einen Waffenstillstandsverhandlungsprozeß der stetig von militärischen, beidseitigen Aktionen torpediert wird. Verteidigungsminister Barak hingegen boykottiert ein angesetztes Kabinettstreffen demonstrativ um mit seiner Truppe auf den Golanhöhen ein Manöver abzuhalten: "My gut feeling is to respond immediately and with all our strength to every attack from the Gaza Strip." "However," he continued, "We must act with the proper judgment and at the correct time." Ein laufend upgedateter, sehr ausführlicher Artikel zum Gesamtthema. Eigentlich sollte bei der Kabinettssitzung die Affaire um die Tötung einer Mutter und ihrer vier Kinder in Beit Hanoun vom Wochenende sein. Leider wurde bislang darüber noch nichts berichtet. Die versprochene Aufklärung in 48 Stunden läuft in 8 Stunden ab. Wetten...., Uzi Benziman, "Deep regret would suffice". Die Auflösungserscheinungen der israelischen Regierung werden heute beispielhaft durch das "Benzin-Gaza"-Thema dokumentiert. Gestern noch hatte man der Hamas vorgeworfen sie würde Treibstoff in rauhen Mengen von Tankwagenfahrern klauen. Heute wird verlautbart die Palästinenser würden bereit gestelltes Benzin nicht abholen. [Achso, ich vergaß... Mittwochs wird in arabischen Ländern traditionell nicht geklaut. Nur Montags und Donnerstags.]

In der Westbank kommt es zu eher kleineren Aktionen marodierender IDF-Milizionäre. Ein Gerücht ist jedoch das sie eigentlich keine IDF-Milizionäre sind sondern ehemalige Katif-Siedler: Desperate for cash, Gaza evacuees from the former settlement of Katif sold NIS 3 million worth of their Tnuva stock in January, only to discover that the World Zionist Organization had put a lien on the funds. [...] Yaron London, "Testimony 41": It is worthwhile reading the recently published Hebron testimonies collected by the Breaking the Silence organization. The testimonies of more than 30 soldiers and officers who served in Hebron between 2005 and 2007 are presented in the way they were expressed, in course IDF slang, without any self pity, and for that reason the words are both credible and horrifying. Daneben wird aus Hebron berichtet: "Soldiers looted the workshop of all its sewing and processing machines, office equipment, rolls of cloth, finished clothing and supplies."

President George W. Bush said Tuesday that his administration's release of classified intelligence on a Syrian facility that it contends was built with the assistance of North Korea - and that was destroyed last autumn by Israel - sent a signal to Pyongyang that the United States knew more about its nuclear program than the North thought "and therefore it's essential that you have a complete disclosure." [Interessant. Nicht die CIA, sondern das Pentagon hat uns das Video beschert.] +++ With a nuclear energy deal with the United States snagged over its domestic politics, energy-hungry India hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a brief but highly symbolic visit Tuesday evening, keeping alive its prospects of securing natural gas and nurturing its relations with an increasingly isolated government in Tehran. +++ The president of the World Jewish Congress said Tuesday he wanted Switzerland to cancel a multibillion-dollar Swiss-Iranian natural gas deal because it threatens Israel and the U.S. Ronald Lauder, a billionaire cosmetics magnate, said the deal signed during a visit of Swiss Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey in Tehran last month has angered the WJC because of Iran's hardline president and because it comes at a time when the United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. +++ The Syrian official in charge of the Turkish-mediated contacts with Israel is Samir Taqi, head of a Damascus-based research institute, Israeli officials told Haaretz Monday. The officials said Taqi was very close to decision-makers in Damascus and enjoyed the confidence of the Turkish government. People who know Taqi personally said Monday they believed he was very well-connected to the Syrian intelligence services. ... Syria will not sever ties with Iran and Hezbollah even as part of a possible peace agreement with Israel, a senior Syrian analyst who is handling the government's contacts as it relates to the peace process said on Tuesday. "It would be naive to think Syria will neglect or abandon its strategic alliances that do not stem from the Arab-Israeli conflict," the analyst, Dr. Samir Taqi, said in an interview with Al-Manar television. [...] Bashar and Olmert: The First Test --- Eyal Zisser -- Bashar al-Asad's confirmation, in an interview to the Qatari daily al-Watan, that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had given him a commitment to return the entire Golan Heights to Syria has one meaning: Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations are warming up. For the first time since the failure of the Clinton-Hafiz al-Asad Geneva summit of March 2000, there is a real chance for the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, and perhaps even for a breakthrough. +++ Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said on Tuesday that he was certain a new Lebanese president would be elected on May 13. bSpeaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Hariri also said he had no objections to meeting the head of the opposition Free Patriotic Movement, MP Michel Aoun.

A Tantalizing Look at Iran’s Nuclear Program.

Jpost-Photo

2008-04-30T06:21:00.002+02:00

"An aerial view of the site of Syria’s alleged reactor" [JPost, 29.04.08]

Updates

2008-04-29T13:08:00.003+02:00

Am Morgen, vor einer Kabinettssitzung bedauert der israelische OM Ehud Olmert die zivilen Opfer in Beit Hanoun vom Vortag. Eine lange nicht mehr gesehene Geste, wobei er zur Aufklärung des Falls kaum etwas beizutragen hat: "The exact nature of these circumstances is still unclear to us." Interessanter Weise zensiert und Kadimas Schreiber Barak Ravid die folgenden Äußerungen verschiedener Regierungsmitglieder: Other ministers also referred to the issue during the cabinet meeting. "Hamas is using the children and the families as a human shield, but war is war and terror is terror," said Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai. "Although we do not wish to hurt innocent people, but unfortunately this happens. We must improve our PR efforts to present Israel in a better way." Housing and Construction Minister Ze'ev Boim said, "Israel must continue to develop means which will distinguish between involved and uninvolved populations. We must remember that not all the civilian population is uninvolved. The families in Beit Hanoun allow people carrying weapons to walk about between their houses and near their children." Palästinensische Gruppen kümmern sich um die Nabelschau herzlich wenig und decken das Grenzgebiet am Dienstag Morgen mit Raketen ein. Dabei ist zu notieren das die Hauptlast des Beschusses ziviler Zonen dem Islamic Jihad zugeschrieben wird während sich die anderen Splittergruppen gegen militärische Einrichtungen wenden. Die Massenangaben schwanken beträchtlich, so will der Jihad allein in der Nacht zum Dienstag 21 Projektile auf Sderot abgefeuert haben. [Nine Qassam rockets and six mortar shells fired from Gaza slammed into the western Negev Tuesday morning causing damage at three different locations, but no injuries.] Die IDF-Darstellung der Ereignisse vor der mutmaßlichen Attacke auf Zivilisten ist albern und bedenklich: "The incident began when Givati Brigade infantrymen, accompanied by combat engineers and armored units, entered an area near Beit Hanun to clear the area of militants firing Qassam rockets against communities in the Negev." Das Qassam-Niveau war am Wochenende kaum verhanden, abgeflaut aus der recht aktiven letzten Woche, während die IDF mehrere Aktionen vor der Penetrierung von Beit Hanoun vorgelegt hat. Bedenklich ist das Ganze wenn man bedenkt das die IDF scheinbar selbst an eine "Erfolgsstrategie" glaubt: Erst einsteigen und area bereinigen und dann zurückziehen, den folgenden Qassam-Regen abflauen lassen und wieder einsteigen und area bereinigen. Barak heute Morgen: "This is not the right time for a cease-fire with Hamas.", verkennt offensichtlich die Lage in der die IDF steckt. +++ Hamas gunmen on Tuesday stole at least 60 liters of fuel meant for the Gaza power station in order to fill their own vehicles. The fuel was being stored on the Palestinian side of the Nahal Oz fuel terminal. [60 Liter. ...] Amos Harel, "The Israel Defense Forces avoided accepting any form of responsibility for the death of Miyasar Abu Muatak and her four young children in a shanty neighborhood of Beit Hanun Monday. According to the army's version, the mother and children were not killed by two missiles fired from an aircraft, as the Palestinians maintain, but as a result of "secondary explosions." The missiles were aimed at two Islamic Jihad militants that had been identified carrying large bags, which are believed to have included explosive devices. As a result of the blast, the shed which was the family's home was destroyed. Defense Minister Ehud Barak did not bother with the details. As far as he was concerned, he said Monday, only Hamas - whose gunmen operate among civilians - are responsible for the death of "uninvolved civilians." [Es fehlt der Hinweis das die Bordkamera des Flieger die entscheidenden Aufnahmen gemacht hat, falls es überhaupt eine Fliegerbombe war, wobei der Einsatz von Fliegerbomben vor zivilen Anlagen wegen zwei Munitionsschleppern ein wenig sehr überdimensioniert erscheint. Kriegsrechltich gesehen kommen die Israelis da nicht raus.] [...] A Palestinian official says 30 members of various factions are gathering in Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian mediators over finding a comprehensive truce with Israel and a measure of unity among the divided factions. + Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is scheduled to meet her Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit in London on Friday, in a bid to restore ties, a Jerusalem source said on Tuesday.

Westbank - Verhaftungswellen - 14 Verhaftungen bei einem halben Dutzend raids. +++ Israeli defense officials say an amnesty program meant to get Palestinian militants to surrender their weapons has been a success. Under last year's program, Israel offered to stop hunting down dozens of West Bank militants if they agreed to halt violent activities. The men are required to surrender their weapons, serve a brief sentence in a Palestinian jail and pass a probationary term. [...] Israel is trying to block what is expected to be a stern condemnation of its policies in the Gaza Strip by the donor nations to the Palestinian Authority, which are scheduled to meet in London Thursday. In view of recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and the killing of civilians, there is concern in official circles in Jerusalem that the criticism will be severe.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa will hold talks in Beirut this week to try to help rival leaders reach a deal to end Lebanon's political crisis, political sources said on Tuesday. Moussa, who has made several unsuccessful attempts to mediate since the crisis began 17 months ago, will meet leaders of the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition on Thursday, the sources said. He would be visiting the Lebanese capital to attend an Arab economic conference on May 2 and 3.

Professor William Beeman at the University of Minnesota passed along a note today from "a colleague with a U.S. security clearance" about the mysterious Syrian site targeted in a Sept. 6 Israeli airstrike. The note raises more questions about the evidence shown last week by U.S. intelligence officials to lawmakers in the House and Senate. The author of the note pinpoints irregularities about the photographs. [...] A suspected Syrian reactor bombed by Israel had the capacity to produce enough nuclear material to fuel one to two weapons a year, CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Monday. Hayden said the plutonium reactor was within weeks or months of completion when it was destroyed in an air strike last September 6, and within a year of entering operation it could have produced enough material for at least one weapon. "In the course of a year after they got full up, they would have produced enough plutonium for one or two weapons," Hayden told reporters after a speech. The reactor was of a "similar size and technology" to North Korea's Yongbyon reactor, Hayden said, disputing speculation it was smaller than the Korean facility. [Die derzeitigen fachlich einwandfrei nach dem Material konstruierten Größen schwanken zwischen einer "Similarität" von 39% zu 54% und viel mehr wird dabei nicht rauskommen. Interessant an Hadleys statement ist das er mit diesem kindischen Gehabe des Festhaltens an der nicht vorhandenen "Similarität" meiner vorgetragenen Theorie das Foto "Fuel Channel" nur eine Berechnung des Baufortschritts aus dem echten Raumphotos des Vessel-Baus darstellt und somit ein ... fake is. Ein Zweitphoto wurde nie gemacht, weshalb denn auch? Der Vessel-Bau reicht als Beleg vollständig aus.]

IAF violates Beirut airspace + IDF kills One

2008-04-28T23:19:00.003+02:00

Ein Fall der keinerlei Erklärung bedarf. Am Wochenende hatte sich die libanesische Armee bereit für einen Waffengang mit den Israelis geäußert und sich die Hezbollah weit aus dem Fenster gelehnt; Two years after the Second Lebanon War, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization has bolstered its recruitment efforts at an unprecedented rate in preparation for a fresh war with Israel, The Guardian reported Sunday; schon möchte Israel auch etwas zu dem friedlichen mireinander beitragen: The Lebanese army reported that Israeli Air Force jets flew over Beirut on Monday. The army said in a statement that 12 "enemy" Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace before noon Monday by flying missions over Beirut and elsewhere in the country. The IDF said it will not discuss its operational activities. [Senior Israeli government officials accused the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of concealing information about Hizbullah's activities south of the Litani River to avoid conflict with the group, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Monday. Senior officials in the Israeli military and Foreign Ministry are angry about UNIFIL's actions in recent months and believe that the force's commander, Major General Claudio Graziano, is "leniently interpreting his mission as assigned by UN Security Council Resolution 1701," the daily added. Auch die Deutschen waren schon Ziel der Israelis, so daß man davon ausgehen muß das sie selbst nicht wissen was genau vor Ort geschieht.] + Saad Hariri returned to Beirut on Saturday after an almost two-month stay in Saudi Arabia.

The latest slaughter in the Gaza Strip is generating the predictable claims and counter-claims about responsibility for the loss of innocent lives. The Palestinians say a mother, her four children and another youth were killed by Israeli tank fire, while the Israelis insist that explosives belonging to militants were accidentally set off. As is generally the case, though, whatever the immediate cause on this specific occasion, these and the thousands of civilian deaths that have preceded them are the result of the impunity with which the Israeli government is habitually allowed to run roughshod over Arabs. Im Ernst, es soll sogar schon ein Offizier abgestellt worden sein der der Weltöffentlichkeit die Belege liefern soll: The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that a blast that killed six Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza earlier in the day was not caused by an IDF tank shell, as the Palestinians had earlier reported, but was rather a result of militants' explosives. The IDF investigated the incident, which left a Beit Hanoun mother and her four children dead along with a 17-year-old passerby, and concluded that the deadly explosion occurred when the Israel Air Force, targeting two Palestinian gunmen, fired a missile and hit the gunmen's bags, which were full of ammunition. The missile caused the ammunition cache to explode with force, setting off a chain reaction of additional explosions. [Ein ziemlich schlechter Witz. Gerade die israelischen Kampfflugzeuge zeichnen solche Attacken auf. Wie in früheren Fällen geschehen muß man schlicht den Film zeigen und solange man dieses nicht tut gibt es nur die Toten als Beweis und diese sind ausschlißlich Zivilisten.] The colonel is expected to present his conclusions within 48 hours. [47, 46, 45...] Bei weiteren Gefechten in Beit Hanoun wird ein noch nicht identifizierter Mann durch IDF-Feuer getötet. Am Nachmittag wird ein zweiter israelischer Soldat verletzt. Nach Augenzeugenberichten geht der Beschuß ziviler Gebäude mit MG-Feuer und Granaten weiter.

Update: Israel on Monday agreed to remove a strategic roadblock near the West Bank city of Nablus, after Middle East envoy Tony Blair presented a list of travel and trade restrictions he wants removed to bolster peace talks with the Palestinians. [...] The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said Sunday that he supported Turkish mediation of Israeli-Syrian peace and would back any agreement reached between the two longtime enemies. [...] Even though U.S. officials say they have gathered the most detailed evidence so far of Iranian involvement in training and arming fighters in Iraq, significant uncertainties remain about the extent of that involvement and the threat it may pose to U.S. and Iraqi forces. Some intelligence and administration officials said Iran seemed to have carefully calibrated its involvement in Iraq over the past year, in contrast to what President George W. Bush and other U.S. officials have publicly portrayed as an intensified Iranian role. [...] Presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries who attend Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations next month will be shunned by Palestinian leaders if they visit the West Bank. Palestinian officials said the decision by Palestinian resident Mahmoud Abbas and his government in the West Bank to temporarily boycott world leaders who visit the West Bank during Israeli festivities amounted to a symbolic protest.

Juan Coles blog: What little information provided in the CIA videotape concerning the destruction of the purported Syrian reactor only provokes more questions.

IDF kills Seven + NHK: IDF killed 10NKos in al-Kibar

2008-04-28T12:42:00.005+02:00

Im Anschluß an zwei israelische Militäraktionen im Gazastreifen schießen palästinensische Gruppen eine Salve von bislang sieben Projektilen und neun Mörsergranaten auf israelische Ziele in der westlichen Negev ab. In der Nacht war es in Deir al-Balah zu einer Verhaftungsorgie in deren Verlauf etwa 40 Palästinenser festgesetzt worden gekommen. Im Anschluß hatte eine Panzereiheit Zonen in Beit Hanoun penetriert, bei ausbrechenden Schießereien vornehmlich mit Einheiten der Hamas und des Islamic Jihad wird ein israelischer Soldat verletzt und ein Mitglied des Islamic Jihad erschossen. Scheinbar durch die Gegenwehr provoziert werden aus den Panzern auch zivile Gebäude unter Beschuß genommen. Bei einem Volltreffer auf ein Wohnhaus sterben sechs Personen, darunter ein 15-jähriger Passant [andere 17], vier Kinder im Alter von 6, 4, 3 Jahren und ein Kleinkind mit 15 Monaten sowie deren Mutter. Eine Armeesprecherin bestätigt zwar Panzerfeuer und Luftangriffe in der Zone, negiert aber den Beschuß ziviler Gebäude. Eine inoffizielle IDF-Quelle berichtet die IDF habe "nur" mit MG-Feuer eine Gruppe Hamasniks getroffen, die gerade Munition transportiert habe, deren Explosion wiederum die zivilen Opfer hervorrief. [Sehr unwahrscheinlich da keine Hamas-Toten gezählt werden.] In ersten Stellungnahmen verurteilt sowohl die Fatah-Regierung in Ramallah als auch die Hamas in Gaza den Vorfall, wobei Hamas-Militärchef Sami Abu Zuhri die ägyptischen Bemühungen um einen Waffenstillstand für gescheitert erklärt. Daneben hält die palästinensische Vereinigung der Tankstellenbetreiber ihre Protestaktion bei und boykottiert Treibstofflieferungen die in Nazal Oz bereitstehen. [Kein Benzin anzunehmen um mehr Benzin geliefert zu bekommen. Eine Strategie die eher weniger Sinn macht.] Der Ausfall von Gaslieferungen für Privathaushalte wird erstmals taxiert: Über 6500 Tonnen Verknappung nach den Attacken auf Nazal Oz Anfang April. Erstmals bestätigt die Hamas-Führung die Existenz von Treibstoffreserven, über deren Umfang nur spekuliert werden kann. Unterdessen setzt die Hamas die Konsolidierung der Macht im Gazastreifen fort: Nach zehn monaten Regentschaft werden sämtliche freie Ministerposten in einer Art Gegenregierung zu Ramallah besetzt und dem Parlament zur Abstimmung vorgelegt [das wiederum nicht tagen kann.] Hoffnungen auf eine Besetzung der Ministerien mit neutraleren Figuren werden nicht erfüllt, denn ausschließlich Hamas-Parteibücher werden ernannt. Unterdessen hat sich der israelische Verteidigungsminister Ehud Barak zur Tötung von Zivilisten wie folgt geäußert: "We see Hamas as responsible for everything that happens in the area around Gaza, all of the strikes, and the IDF is acting and will continue to act against Hamas, within the Gaza Strip," the defense minister said. "Hamas is also responsible, through its operations within the civilian population, like the laying of explosives, for wounding some civilians who are not involved in the operations," Barak stated. [Früher gabs noch die weitlich kritisierte Entschuldigungskultur. Heute wird dafür das Völkerrecht auf massivste Art und Weise verbogen. Ist es nun besser der Hamas die Schuld zu geben anstat sich für Morde an Zivilisten zu entschuldigen? Die Vorhaltungen Baraks sind vollständig absurd: Militärische Operationen in Lagern wie Beit Hanoun werden auf alle Zeiten in zivilen Zonen statt finden. Die Israelis hätten nur einen Ausweg: Sich im Niemandsland aufstellen und auf die Hamas warten um die "ehrliche Feldschlacht" zu wahren. Fahren sie einen Kilometer weiter ...]

In der Westbank gehen die schweren Verhaftungs- und lootingwellen marodierender israelischer Milizionäre fort, obschon nur drei Verhaftungen aus Jericho vermeldet werden. Auffällig oft werden derzeit keine Verhaftungen vorgenommen, aber halbe Ortschaften auf den Kopf gestellt. Daneben wird die "Pessach-Blockade" am heutigen Vormittag offiziell aufgehoben. Und .. Middle East envoy Tony Blair has drawn up a list of West Bank travel and trade restrictions that he wants Israel to remove to bolster peace talks with the Palestinians, officials briefed on the document said on Monday. The list calls for the removal of a number of key roadblocks, including one near the settlement of Beit El that restricts Palestinian travel to and from the West Bank city of Ramallah, where President Mahmoud Abbas' government is based, the officials said on condition of anonymity. [Dazu hat der jetzt ein halbes Jahr gebraucht.] Das ein Mann der schon mal irakische WMDs in einer Stunde über London fliegen sah sich froh über die vor Ort herrschenden Gepflogenheit der Militärzensur zeigt ist hingegen nicht überraschend: "We can't discuss the details of what we are talking about with the Israelis." Genau diese Intransparenz nebst den Ergebnissen on the ground, nämlich NULL-Ergebnisse, NULL-Entwicklung und NULL-Fortschritt lassen allerdings erahnen das Herr B. im Rahmen seiner Amtszeit den politischen Druck einer 95-jährigen Omi entwickelt hat, die verschämt am tisch schweigt weil sie vergaß ihr Gebiß anzulegen.

Statement: NHK [japanischer Sender] has learned that North Korean officials are thought to have been killed in the Israeli air strike on a Syrian nuclear facility last September. Last week, the US government announced there is a high possibility the Syrian facility was intended for nuclear weapons development. The United States criticized North Korea for cooperating with Syria in its construction. Experts in South Korea say that among the dead were officials of a military unit under North Korea's Workers' Party. Troops from another military unit that built nuclear facilities in North Korea are also said to have been killed. The sources say the remains were cremated in Syria and taken to North Korea the following month. The party unit is said to deal exclusively with export of weapons and military technology, and takes its orders directly from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Its activities are believed to be an important source of much-needed foreign currency for North Korea. A few North Korean officials survived the air raid but their whereabouts are unknown. South Korean authorities are continuing to collect and analyze information on the case.

Turkey's foreign minister said Monday there was still a lot to achieve before any peace agreement between Israel and Syria. Ali Babacan told reporters Monday that an agreement between the longtime enemies requires "strong political determination" on both sides. ... Uzi Benziman, "Above all, Olmert must want peace": It's not clear whether Ehud Olmert's situation regarding the possibility of initiating peace moves with Syria resembles that of the man who wants to but can't, the one who can but doesn't want to, or the one who can't and convinces himself that he doesn't want to anyway. ... Amir Oren, "Peace or the nuclear option": The news emerging from Cairo astonished Israel. The new Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak's successor, announced his country was withdrawing its membership from the International Atomic Energy Agency and would lay the cornerstone of its new nuclear reactor. "We are pursuing peaceful use of nuclear power," the Egyptian head of state declared. "We do not need foreign bribes. We are not interested in their supervision nor do we accept another country having a monopoly on nuclear weapons in the region." Egypt's announcement reverberated in Jerusalem. It was perceived as a clear break by Cairo with Washington, which would lead to the cessation of U.S. aid to Egypt. What could Israel do then, bomb Egypt?

Palestinian judges ordered the execution of a man for collaborating with Israel in Hebron on Monday. Judges say the man provided information that helped Israeli forces kill four Palestinian militants. On Monday, they ordered he be executed by a firing squad. The order still has to be signed by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. [...] Avi Issacharoff, "Ramallah refuses to dance to Hamas' cue": Half an hour later than scheduled, the lights were dimmed and the audience quieted down at Ramallah's packed Kasbah Theatre. City luminaries, humble villagers and Europeans garbed in smart suits sat side-by-side to watch a performance by the Italian dance troupe, Bottega. For an instant, one might have thought that the well-dressed crowd had assembled in Tel Aviv or a European city. But the large number of smokers who filled the mezzanines revealed the event's actual location.

Über das Wochenende kam es zu verstärktem Aufkommen von Rechts[-extremisten]gebrabbel. Hier die Auszüge: Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman Monday lashed out at the police investigations conducted against him, saying that "the police and prosecutors are holding a hunting expedition against me,' and accusing them of "blackmail." In a news conference, he also attacked investigative journalists Amnon Avramovich and Mordechai Gilat, calling them "the champion of the corrupt and his deputy." He said they had carried out a "media witchhunt" against him. [Die angst ist verständlich: The state prosecutor will apparently appeal the 18-month sentence handed down to Shas MK Shlomo Benizri for corruption, a senior justice official said on Sunday. The verdict itself, in which Benizri was acquitted of the indictment's major bribery charges, may also be appealed. [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni should be tried and sentenced to death for treason for holding negotiations over the future of Jerusalem, the editor of a right-wing Israeli journal said Sunday. "Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni, who are leading open negotiations over the handing over of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, must according to international law and guidelines on treason be sentenced to death," Aryeh Stav, editor of Nativ said on Sunday. [...] Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters.

Terror kills Two + IDF One

2008-04-27T23:48:00.002+02:00

Bei einer Verhaftungsaktion im Gazastreifen in Beit Lahia wird die 14-jährige Mariam Marouf am Samstag Morgen getötet. Der Vater der getöteten, Talat Hassan Marouf, ein Hamas-Funktionär wurde verhaftet. Bei der Aktion mit mehreren Panzern und Luftunterstützung wurden weitere neun Personen verletzt, darunter drei schwer. Bei sporadischen Qassam-Raktenangriffen [Freitag vier, Samstag eine, Sonntag zwei] die allesamt dem Islamic Jihad zugeschrieben werden wird ein Friedhof im Süden Ashkelons getroffen und mehrere Gräber verwüstet. Am Sonntag Abend bricht in Sderot bei einem Treffer auf eine Gasleitung ein Feuer aus. [Verängstigender war dieser Vorfall in Ashkelon: Israeli citizens are accustomed to the sights and sounds of fighter planes soaring across the sky, but nothing could prepare Ashkelon's residents for the drama that took place against the backdrop of their city's otherwise blue skies on Sunday afternoon. Thousands of picnickers making the most of their Passover vacations at the beach and in a nearby national park were caught surprised to see an Air Force fighter jet diving to a significantly low altitude and proceed to carry out a series of flying maneuvers above their heads.] Am Samstag abend werden zwei unbewaffnete Plaästinenser am Kissufim Crossing festgenommen. Derweil gehen die internen Gespräche über den Sinn eines Waffenstillstandes mit Israel weiter: The Palestinian organizations are preparing for another round of talks in Egypt in regards to the offer for a truce with Israel. According to estimates, the parties will accept the proposal presented by Hamas leader Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar over the weekend. ... Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, told Ynet on Sunday that the different organizations tend to accept al-Zahar's offer in order to "ease the Palestinian people's lives," but stated that the blockade on Gaza must be lifted and that the truce must be mutual and apply to the West Bank as well. Israel is waiting for the results of talks between Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups in Cairo this Wednesday before it takes a position on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Security officials have said that if Hamas cannot restrain the smaller groups, first and foremost Islamic Jihad, there will not be much point to the agreement. Without completely restraining the smaller groups, the firing of Qassam rockets from the Strip will soon resume, they say, as has happened in the past. + Exiled Hamas political leader Khalid Mash'al says that Hamas is open to a tactical truce with Israel, but is prepared to escalate violent attacks if Irael rejects an offer for a ceasefire. Mash'al made these comments during an interview with Al-Jazeera television after a day of meetings with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has been mediating between Hamas and Israel. Mash'al said that his movement is still waiting on Egypt's official stance on the issue of a six-month ceasefire. + A delegation of leaders from the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) will travel to Cairo on Monday to meet with senior Egyptian officials to discuss efforts at mending the ongoing political split in internal Palestinian politics, a PFLP source said on Saturday. The delegation will include Abdul Rahim Mallouh, a member of the PFLP's executive committee, Deputy Secretary-General Maher At-Taher, Jamil Al-Majdalawi and Rabah Mhanna. + Another left-wing faction, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also received an invitation from the Egyptian Government to attend talks in Cario. The DFLP will also send a delegation to Cairo on Monday. [...] In wie weit dieser Bericht der Wahrheit entspricht ist nicht feststellbar: Hamas militiamen in the Gaza Strip on Sunday attacked fuel trucks headed toward the Nahal Oz border crossing, forcing them to turn back, sources in the Palestinian Petroleum Authority said. The fuel was supposed to go to the UN Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA] and hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the sources said. "Dozens of Hamas militiamen hurled stones and opened fire at the trucks," the sources added. "The trucks were on their way to receive fuel supplied by Israel. The drivers were forced to turn back. Some of them had their windshields smashed." The Palestinian Petroleum Authority reached an agreement with Israel over the weekend to receive 250,000 liters of fuel after UNRWA complained that it did not have enough fuel to distribute food aid to more than 500,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry also accused Hamas of blocking fuel supplies to hospitals and clinics in the Gaza Strip. The ministry said Hamas gunmen opened fire at a number of trucks that were trying to transfer fuel to the hospitals and clinics. Eyewitnesses in Gaza City said that at least on four occasions over the past few weeks, Hamas militiamen confiscated trucks loaded with fuel shortly as they were on their way from Nahal Oz to the city. + Hamas' government in the Gaza Strip asked a striking Palestinian fuel association on Sunday to resume deliveries in the impoverished territory, a Hamas official said. + Médecins Sans Frontières' (MSF) medical activities in the Gaza Strip are being seriously hindered by a lack of fuel. Diesel and gasoline have been unavailable on the market for the past week. MSF teams have had to limit their visits to the most severely ill patients, who make up only one fifth of the patient population of MSF post-surgical care programs. This week, only half of the expected patients have been able to travel to MSF health facilities. There is a waiting list of 90 persons who have not yet received any health care. "The cessation of our activities may result in a severe deterioration of all of our patients' general state of health," explained Duncan McLean, MSF Head of Mission. "Currently, MSF is operating from its emergency stockpile and has no more than 10 days worth of fuel. Unless supplies resume, the situation may very quickly become tragic." + The acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Ahmad Bahar, appealed to the leaders of Arab States and the United Nations on Saturday to "to shoulder their historical and moral responsibilities [to relieve] the ongoing disaster in the life of the people due to the embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip" Palestinian lawmakers held a rally in front of the ambulance and emergency center in Gaza City in order to amplify their demand that the international community compel Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip. Most ambulances have been forced to stop running in Gaza due to a shortage of fuel resulting from the blockade. Bahar warned that a "catastrophic" humanitarian situation is looming in Gaza if thes siege continues. [...] Am Sonntag kommt es in der Zone vor Deir al-Balah zu israelischen Aktivitäten. Die Hamas zeigt sich sehr erfreut das die USA ihrer Praxis Menschenrechte auszuhebeln präsidialen Segen erteilt: The Geneva Conventions' ban on "outrages against personal dignity" does not automatically apply to terrorism suspects in the custody of U.S. intelligence agencies, the Justice Department has suggested to Congress in recent letters that lay out the Bush administration's interpretation of the international treaty. Lawyers for the department, offering insight into the legal basis for the CIA's controversial interrogation program, reasserted in the letters the Bush administration's long-held view that it has considerable leeway in deciding how the conventions' rules apply to the harsh questioning of combatants in the war on terrorism. Andere Beschlüsse erfreuen sie nicht sehr: Hamas expressed a vigorous objection on Sunday to resolutions passed in both houses of the United States Congress this week stating American support for Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Warum das mit dem Waffenstillstand nichts wird? Pressure is picking up on Israel to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip ahead of US President George W. Bush's planned visit to Jerusalem in two weeks, defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. ... Hätten sich die USA rausgehalten, ... jetzt sinken die eh schon niedrigen Erwartungen auf unter 5%. Die Antowrt gibt: "Our mission in Gaza has not yet been completed and a period of difficult trials lies ahead," said Maj. Gen. Yoav Gallant on Sunday evening at a ceremony for Golani Brigade troops who took part in combat efforts against terror groups in the Gaza Strip over the past few months.

Ein mutmaßliches Mitglied des Islamic Jihad aus Tulkarm tötet vor der Nitzane Shalom Industrial Zone zwei Sicherheitsleute. Aus Tulkarem werden drei Verhaftungen gemeldet, die in Zusammenhang mit dem anschlag gebracht werden. Am Samstag schießen israelische Siedler aus Kfar Tappuah [Ultra-National] auf einen palästinensischen Piolizeischüler und verletzten ihn moderat. Am Sonntag kommt es zu mehreren IDF-Verhaftungswellen in Bethlehem, Kfar Qaddoum und in der Gegen Jenin. Fünf Verhaftungen werden notiert, viele Hausdruchsuchungen finden statt. IRIN reports: It was difficult for 87-year-old Jamil Khader to discover that nearly all of the 1,400 olive trees his extended family planted in February had suddenly gone missing, having been uprooted and stolen. ... Of the missing trees, 1,000 had been donated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which said Jeet and the neighbouring villages were especially vulnerable due to their limited land access and proximity to Israeli settlements. Am Samstag Abend wird ein palästinensischer Infiltrator am Hunnenschutzwall vor Elkana angeschossen und verhaftet. Über Bewaffnung des Mannes ist nichts bekannt. Am Sonntag beschießen al-Aqsa-Mitglieder einen Siedlerbus in der Gegen Ramallah. [...] The International Monetary Fund on Friday praised the Palestinian government for what it calls 'bold reforms' and said it was making strides toward fiscal sustainability. + Billions of aid dollars pledged to the Palestinians to bolster peace talks with Israel are having a muted economic impact because of Israeli restrictions on travel and trade, the World Bank said on Sunday. The lending agency told donor nations in a report that per capita income in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2008 would be static, if not lower, despite the $7.7 billion in aid pledged to the Palestinians in December. The World Bank said modest gains in economic growth in the occupied West Bank, where Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas's government holds sway, were not sufficient to offset the "severe contraction" seen in Hamas-controlled Gaza. + The Palestinian economy won't grow this year, largely due to Israeli restrictions on movement and despite billions of dollars in aid meant to shore up support for peace talks, the World Bank predicted Sunday. + Tony Blair, der eigentlich Verantwortliche für das wirtschaftliche Desater bekommt einen Aufpasser aus Condis Riceauflauf mit Quarks Truppe: ternational Mideast envoy Tony Blair has tapped a senior US diplomat to run his office in Jerusalem. Blair's office says Robert Danin will serve as his new head of mission. Danin will take a leave from his current job as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs. Zur Personenbeschreibung von Danin dürfte dieses Zitat von der 2006er Herzliya-Konferenz ausreichen: "Liberal democracies are combating global terror. Terrorism in Israel is not new; however, the existence of global networks of extremists is new. After 9/11, the US and its allies entered a war on terror. It is a battle of arms and of ideas. It requires the use of military force. But to win the war, we must win the battle of ideas."

"Is it logical? A nuclear site did not have protection with surface to air defenses? A nuclear site within the footprint of satellites in the middle of Syria in an open area in the desert?" Assad told Qatar's al-Watan newspaper in an interview conducted before the U.S. accusations were made. At that stage, he was commenting on media reports that said the target was a nuclear site. "The truth is that the raid was at a military site under construction," Assad said in the interview. "We are against mass destruction weapons for Israel, Iran or others." [...] Scott Ritter: It looks as if Israel may, in fact, have had reason to believe that Syria was constructing, with the aid and assistance of North Korea, a facility capable of housing a nuclear reactor. The United States Central Intelligence Agency recently released a series of images, believed to have been made from a videotape obtained from Israeli intelligence, which provide convincing, if not incontrovertible, evidence that the "unused military building" under construction in eastern Syria was, in fact, intended to be used as a nuclear reactor. Syria continues to deny such allegations as false. [...] Israel would be open to participating in a senior-level meeting with the Syrians brokered by Turkey to test the waters for renewed peace negotiations, Israeli officials said on Sunday. Such a preliminary meeting between Israeli and Syrian representatives would be the next step in mediation efforts by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who held talks over the weekend with Syrian President Bashar al Assad, the officials said. [...] All this should have raised an alarm with the CIA that something nuclear was taking place in Syria. But according to U.S. media reports late last week, the Americans caught on only in Spring 2007, after receiving photographs of the reactor and its environs, which were taken by Israeli agents. The photographs, according to the reports, confirmed without a doubt that the site was a nuclear reactor. [...] Background Briefing with Senior U.S. Officials on Syrias Covert Nuclear Reactor and North Koreas Involvement We received indications in 05 that the Syrians and North Koreans were involved in a project in the Dayr az Zawr region of eastern Syria, but again, no specific information on the nature or the exact location of the work. But you can see, as evidence mounts, more confident there is cooperation, more confident it involves nuclear-related people. [...] Größenbesprechung: Just How Big Was Al Kibar Again? [...] The United Nations nuclear monitoring agency on Friday slammed Israel for an Israel Air Forces strike last September on an alleged nuclear reactor in Syria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said "the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime," in a statement released Friday. [...] ISIS, still thinks: We measured the footprint of the Yongbyon reactor building and compared it to that of the suspected reactor building in Syria and found the two footprints were approximately the same.

News-Letter Landis.

Updates

2008-04-26T15:44:00.002+02:00

Zuvor dürfen wir gerne erinnern: "The meeting in November should define the principles settling the questions over the final status (of the Palestinian territories)," Abbas said in an interview with AFP in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly. "Then we will begin negotiations on the details under a timeframe, which ought not to exceed six months, to reach a peace treaty," he continued. Sechs Monate später: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he failed to achieve any progress in Middle East peace talks with U.S. President George W. Bush and he is returning home from Washington with little to show for his visit. ... Abbas' aides said he was also upset after his lunch Thursday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. While discussing what a peace deal would look like, Rice did not mention the Palestinian goal of creating a state based on borders before Israel captured Gaza from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day war. "We demanded that they talk about the '67 borders," Abbas told AP, showing a rare flash of anger. "None of them talks about the '67 borders."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus Saturday for talks on bilateral ties and his government's efforts to facilitate peace negotiations between Syria and Israel. The one-day visit came after Syrian President Bashar Assad revealed earlier this week that Turkey has been mediating between Syria and Israel since last year and had recently passed a message from the Jewish State expressing a readiness to swap the Golan Heights for peace. [Der Vorgang ist höchst interessant, wenngleich im Kleingedruckten genügend Fallen zum Scheitern liegen. Die Israelis wollen den Golan nicht ganz aufgeben, die Syrer ihre strategischen ties zur Hezbollah/Hamas nicht aufgeben... wichtig der Versuch der Türkei über das konservativ-islamistische System eine türkische Vormachtstellung gegen den iranischen Einfluß in der Region zu installieren. Langfristig eine sehr gute Wahl, da die Türken keinerlei territoriale Ansprüche stellen und bei den Arabern eigentlich verhaßter sind als die Israelis, jedoch die Möglichkeit haben unpolitisches Geld zu verschieben. Die Erfahrungen mit dem "blasphemischen" Reichtum der Ölaraber hat die Gesellschaften Arabiens al-Queda beschert und so manches gefallene Projekt. Die Türken sind pragmatischer und aufstrebend-rational, während die Araber-Fürsten traditioneller Kriegs-Symbolik anhängen. Dabei war es der "Westen" der die Türken aus Arabien vertrieb und dabei die Fehler machte um die wir heute reden. Die Türken haben den Makel allzu spät verstanden zu haben das ein demokratischer Weg ein gangbarer Weg ist. Die Zeit der Minderheitenverfolgung, Folter und Kurdenkrieg geht nicht spurlos an Ihnen vorbei. Trotzdem sind sie besser als die "None of them talks about the '67 borders."-Lügner aus dem Weißen Haus, das wohl eher einem politischen Plumpsklo ähnelt.

Das politische Plumpsklo spricht: Es werde ein Reaktor, und siehe da war ein Reaktor: "One really wonders how that could be. These CIA indeed managed to paint a computer graphic so that it fits their interpretation of a very blurry photograph. Who would have expected such a capability within that organisation?" [Die Zusammenstellung und die verlinkten screenshots sind eine Menge Arbeit. Große Arbeit.] Die Relevanz des Materials tendiert gegen Null. Trotzdem ist die einschätzung der CIA passabel: Große Wahrscheinlichkeit eines nuklaren Baus mit mittlerer Wahrscheinlichkeit einer nordkoreanischen Hilfestellung und Unwahrscheinlichkeit das ein strategisches Interesse der Syrer an Atomwaffen besteht. Lapidar gesagt haben die Syrer kein Interesse an einer Atomwaffe, da sie "nur" Israel zum Feind haben. Eine Atomwaffe in die Nachbarschaft schicken ist lächerlich. Ein nukleares Projekt das zum Ziel hat langfristig atomwaffenfähiges Plutonium herzustellen nicht. So richtig kommt da niemand auf den Trichter: Die Einbindung der Syrer in das iranische Waffenprogramm. Viel wurde produziert über die syrische Taktik die Bush-Admin auszusitzen, wobei niemand erklärt hat weshalb der Iran ein unbedingtes Interesse an der strategischen Position Syriens hat. Hezbollah und Hamas sind selbstfinanzierte Zirkel die mit arabischem Geld handlen und eigene Finanzimperien schufen. Die Unterstützung des Iran muß symbolisch bleiben, jedoch kann ein Staat wie Syrien iranische Finanzhilfen sehr gut gebrauchen. Assads Spiel den Iranern eine Anlage zu bauen in der sie ihr waffenfähiges Plutonium "gekocht" bekommen ist nur der logische Schritt aus der Anküdigung des Westens den Iran lieber umfänglich zu zerstören als eine iranische Bombe zuzulassen. Man melkt die Kuh Iran, genauso wie die Kuh von den Russen und Chinesen gemolken wird. Die Israelis können solche Umtriebe in ihrer Nachbarschaft nicht zulassen. Der Schuß vor den Bug ist angekommen. In der Folge werde ich einige Artikel und Meinungen verlinken, die allesamt den Fehler aufweisen, das sie der USA dabei eine Rolle zuschieben. Dies ist ihr Fehler. Die USA spielt im Nahen Osten lange schon keine Rolle mehr, außer der Rolle das ihr Plumpsklo entweder Naziverglieche oder Kalter Kriegs-PR verbereitet. "The feel of a cold-war-era newsreel about the Korean War." [...] The problem here is that it [the Reactor Computer Model] does NOT match the dimensions of the photo “fuel-channel” AND not the earlier photo “vessel”. [...] Lots of questions though remain unanswered, including why release the information now, what does this mean for an escalation in Israeli-Syrian tensions, or conversely a breakthrough in back-channel peace negotiations, what does it mean for the US-North Korea talks, and why would Syria have been pursuing a nuclear program? Here is a quick attempt to look those issues. [...] The United Nations nuclear monitoring agency on Friday slammed Israel for an Israel Air Forces strike last September on an alleged nuclear reactor in Syria. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said "the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime," in a statement released Friday. [...] On the surface, the CIA evidence that Syria was building a Yongbyon-type nuclear facility is compelling. There are some writers who seem less convinced.

Small Update

2008-04-24T23:38:00.004+02:00

Update: Two Israeli security guards were shot dead overnight Friday in a shooting attack at the Nitzanei Shalom industrial zone, near the West Bank city of Tul Karm.

Update: Die "Präsentation". Kommentar:

“Only two still photographs”

There are NO photographs in the video and the shown graphics are from different times. Second one before the pressure vessel was finished and the first one with the fuel channels. If the graphics are based on photos, Mr. Spy visited the site two or several times. But the first checks of the two graphics are not really compelling: Both graphics show a window that can be used to check the proportions of the room. And the room with the fuel channels is much bigger than the room with the vessel.

Has anybody read the famous book “The Syrian art of making rooms bigger and enlarge the diameter of a 15t orsomething steel and grafite-vessels”?

"Syrian Reactor": In Washington on Thursday, lawmakers were briefed by US officials behind closed doors on charges that North Korea helped Syria build a nuclear reactor at a site destroyed by an Israeli raid in September. US officials also gave lawmakers a video presentation that included photographs of the Syrian nuclear facility, a top US official said on condition of anonymity. Nach ersten geleakten Äußerungen von Leuten aus dem Hinterzimmer von Bush, die das angebliche Video aus dem eine Videomontage gefertigt wurde gesehen haben wollen läßt sich sagen das wohl die Qualität des Materials derartig schlecht ist das man allerhöchstens nichts damit beweisen kann. Einer wollte allen Ernstes sogar Löcher für die Brennstäbe entdeckt haben, womit wohl dargestellt werden soll das die Anlage betreibsbereit gewesen sei. Leider, anstatt Bildmaterial einfach vorzulegen verplappert man sich lieber: The reactor was reportedly not yet complete but far enough along to demonstrate a resemblance to the reactor at Yongbyon, which supposedly is being dismantled. [Für Fans: The main structural element of a reactor, a graphite stack with fuel channels, absorber rods and surrounding metal structures, is housed in a concrete vault. The vertical graphite stack columns contain fuel channels and control rod channels. The graphite stack is carried by a welded steel structure resting on a concrete foundation. On top the graphite stack is spanned over by an upper steel structure resting on the annular water tank of the biological shield. A welded shell enclosing the graphite stack, as well as the upper and bottom steel structures form a sealed reactor space. To prevent graphite oxidation and to improve heat transfer from graphite to fuel channels, the reactor space is filled with a helium-nitrogen mixture. Provision is made to replace the fuel channels and control rod channels on the shutdown and cooled reactor. The fuel channels are tubes whose lower and upper portions are fabricated from corrosion-resistant steel, while the central part is made of Zircalloy. The split graphite rings in the channels provide thermal contact with the graphite bricks of the stack. Suspended in the fuel channel is a fuel assembly bank. The fuel assembly bank consists of two fuel assemblies. Each fuel assembly contains 18 fuel rods in the form of sealed Zircalloy tubes which are filled with uranium dioxide pellets. Light water coolant is fed into the lower end of the fuel channels. From the fuel channel the coolant is fed into the separators. To improve heat exchange, the upper fuel assembly carries special intensifying grids. Removal of irradiated fuel elements, their handling and charge of fresh elements are performed on load by means of a refueling machine mounted in the central room. The biological shield is made of carbon steel, serpentine crushed stone and gravel, concrete, sand, water.] Nach derzeitigem Stand der Dinge hat das White House Personal also die Syrer Löcher bauen sehen, weil Löcher sind natürlich für einen Reaktorbau das wichtigste überhaupt. Es gibt allerdings schon Leute die wissen mehr: The United States is convinced that North Korea helped Syria build a secret nuclear reactor, the White House said on Thursday. "We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement. "We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged beyond repair on September 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful purposes," she said. Perino also said North Korean and Syrian nuclear cooperation underscored the need for "further steps" by the international community against Iran's nuclear activities. Immerhin! Ich glaube diese Geschichte hier kann heute zu den Akten gelegt werden: An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday. Schlußwort: The positive aspect of the testimony on the air strike, the analysts added, was that it would increase Israel's deterrence by showing the country's impressive operational abilities. [Jeder macht sich so lächerlich wie es eben geht.]

A U.N. agency suspended its aid operations in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after an emergency shipment of fuel designated for its use was blocked by petrol-hungry Palestinian farmers. +++ Hamas on Thursday proposed a six-month truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, with an option to extend it afterward to include Palestinians in the West Bank. Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, speaking in Cairo after meeting Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, said the truce must include an end to the Israeli blockade of the coastal strip. +++ Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter denied on Wednesday that the U.S. State Department warned him not to meet with leaders of the Islamist group Hamas before he made a recent trip to the Middle East.

While Israel hopes to hold onto several clumps of settlements, Olmert has said Israel will have to give up most of the West Bank for a future Palestinian state. Those sections will likely be those located on the other side of the separation barrier Israel is erecting in the West Bank and that is nearly complete. More than 70,000 Jewish settlers live in these areas. As part of U.S. involvement in Mideast peace talks, American officials have expressed interest in the bill. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has raised the issue in meetings with Olmert, officials from his Kadima Party said. + U.S. President George W. Bush, trying to shore up a faltering Middle East peace process, assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday that Palestinian statehood remained a high priority in his final 10 months in office.

A former U.S. envoy and Mideast negotiator called Thursday for peace talks in which Israel would yield the Golan Heights to Syria in return for a peace treaty and withdrawal of support for Hezbollah militants, but said Syria was not likely to negotiate with Israel without American presence. Martin Indyk, former ambassador to Israel, told the House Mideast subcommittee that Israel had enlisted Turkey to help register its interest in peace negotiations to Syria. But Indyk, who was a U.S. negotiator during former President Bill Clinton's efforts in 2000 to mediate an agreement, said, "Syria will not sit down with Israel without the United States in the room." Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday said that Israel was genuinely interested in restarting talks with Syria

IDF kills One + Hamas accepts truce [says official]

2008-04-24T16:10:00.005+02:00

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...

Truce talks

2008-04-22T23:24:00.003+02:00

Während die Fronten einen relativ ruhigen Dienstag erlebten sorgt die Hamas mit verschiedenen Ankündigungen für ein brutales Durcheinander ... in der deutschen Medienwelt. Als eines der schlechtesten Beispiele nehmen wir mal den hier. "Bisher lehnte die Hamas das Abhalten eines Referendums in dem von ihr kontrollierten Gazastreifen ab: „Wir werden einer Volksbefragung nur zustimmen, wenn das gesamte Volk daran teilnimmt, also auch die Palästinenser im Exil“, erklärte Hamas-Sprecher Taher Nunu auf telefonische Anfrage. Mit dieser Bedingung sichert sich die Hamas vorab ein Votum gegen eine Friedenseinigung, denn Israel wird dem Rückkehrrecht palästinensischer Flüchtlinge niemals zustimmen." Erstens bezieht sich bisher auf die Referendumsschlacht 2006. Hierbei wird gerne vergessen: "Some Hamas officials reacted to Abbas' challenge with atypical warmth, given the antipathy that has grown between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah faction. Violence between Hamas and Fatah gunmen in the last few days has left at least 10 people dead. On Thursday, at least one Fatah security official was killed and several wounded in gunbattles with fighters from the new Hamas force. Speaking via videoconference from Gaza City, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas told the Ramallah meeting that "the area of agreement in political vision is very close, but we need to strengthen our national unity." Hamas Cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad said Haniyeh's government is "not opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders." Zweitens, nachdem die Hamas schon im Unity-Government PLO-Beschlüsse mittrug und ihr Gegenputsch gegen Dahlan erfolgreich war wurde sie von Verhandlungsführer Abbas explizit von den Verhandlungen ausgeschlossen. ["Ich habe als Chef der PLO und der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde die volle Amtsbefugnis, Verhandlungen mit Israel zu führen. Sobald ich eine Einigung erreiche, werde ich ein Referendum einleiten und zudem das Parlament befragen. Vorläufig werde ich weder die Hamas noch die Fatah befragen." [Abbas, Taz, 21.09.07]] Und letztlich Drittens folgt die Hamas im Punkt der Exilpalästinenser Forderungen der UN: "Any deal would have to be put to the Palestinian people as a whole and then it would be for them to decide in a referendum whether this is something they want to support or whether they don't support it." [U.N. Middle East envoy Michael Williams, Ende August 2007.] In den deutschen Schreiberlingstuben hat sich scheinbar großflächig ein arbeitsparendes Modell durchgesetzt: Wenn die Hamas etwas äußert muß es negativ gegen Israel gemeint sein, egal was es ist. Dabei ist der eigentliche Vorgang nur natürlichen Ursprungs: Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mash'al and senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar are at loggerheads over the proposals set out by former US president Jimmy Carter, the right wing Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported on Tuesday. According to Maariv, Zahhar is urging further military actions against Israeli targets and is refusing to allow captured Israeli soldier Gil'ad Shalit to send a message to his family. Der "bewaffnete Arm" meutert gegen den "politischen Arm", der in sich ebenso zerstritten ist. Haaretz-Burston hat heute sehr richtig bemerkt das es hier eine Gleichheit zwischen Israel und der Hamas gibt die sie zu gefährlichen Feinden werden läßt: Beide wissen nicht was sie eigentlich wollen. Das klassische israelische Beispiel wäre der "Siedlungsausbaustopp bei gleichzeitigem natürlichem Wachstum". Zudem spricht die Hamas aus dem territorialen und politischen Split mit der Fatah/Westbank heraus. Alleine schon die Milliarden die der PA [ohne das diese Ergebnisse vorlegen könnte] zur Verfügung gestellt werden lassen auch Hamas-Augen lüstern glotzen. Und was am wichtigstens erscheint: Die Äusserungen zum Thema Friedensverhandlungen und Grenzziehungen sind doch überhaupt nicht aktuell. Derzeit spekuliert man über ein Rahmenabkommen das noch in diesem Jahr eventuell unterzeichnet werden soll, wobei nicht ein Verhandlungspunkt geklärt ist. Wir reden über Verträge die nicht von Abbas unterzeichnet werden können, da dieser wie auch Bush nur noch eine begrenzte Halbwertzeit aufweist. Hier wird viel wichtiger ob das Vertrauensverhältnis zB zwischen Marwan Barghouti und der Hamas stabil genug ist um die Zeit zu überstehen und ob dieser überhaupt von den Israelis frei gelassen wird. Ein Ersatzkandidat "strongman" Dahlan, der weiterhin amerikanischer [und israelischer] Wunschkandidat für die Abbas-Nachfolge ist wird allerhöchstens den Konflikt verlängern. Insofern sind längst geäußerte und wiederholte statements über "Grenzziehung" oder eine weichere Sprachregelung innerhalb der Hamas zwar sehr beachtliche modifikative Elemente die es nicht brüsk und teilweise dümmlich zu ignorieren gilt, aber sie sind eben nicht mehr. Davon abgetrennt ist das derzeit dringlichste Thema ein vollständig anderes: Hamas plans to give its final response on Thursday to a proposed Egyptian-mediated truce, a senior official from the Islamist group said on Tuesday. Hamas lawmaker Salah Bardawil also said that Hamas is considering whether to accept a truce with Israel which would take effect just in the Gaza Strip. Hier geht es ums prinzipielle Überleben des Gazastreifens, um die Frage eines großen Krieges, einer Wiederbesatzung oder um eine eine etwas friedlichere Übergangszeit bis endlich Bush, Olmert und vor allem die unnütze Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark aus dem Amt sind. Realpolitik. Kommentar von Helena Cobban: Hamas-Israel ceasefire near? + Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern Tuesday that a recent meeting between the former president Jimmy Carter and the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal could confuse U.S. efforts to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace accord.

Am Dienstag werden zwei Qassam-Raketen-Abschüsse und vier Mörsergranaten an der Grenze Gaza-Israel notiert. Dabei kommt es zu einem Treffer in Sderot, der gottlob nur Sachaden an einem Zivilgebäude und Schockopfer produziert. In der Westbank kommt es nur im Raum Qabatia und in Jenin zu Aktionen marodierender IDF-Milizionäre, die in Jenin eine Einrichtung der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate looten. Während zwei Grenzübergänge zum Gazastreifen für Lebensmittel geöffent werden gerät die Stromversorung mal wieder bald außer Kontrolle: Sources in Gaza warned of the total collapse of all electricity, medical, sanitation, drainage, and other power-related systems in the Strip due to an extreme shortage of fuel. In addition, the Palestinian Energy Authority (PEA) said that the Palestinian power station would cease to function as of Wednesday.

Daniel Levy empfiehlt J-Street. Webseite von J-Street. Für den erweiterten Horizont ist der News-update von Landis zuständig.

Und die Pleite des Tages: U.S. authorities on Tuesday arrested an American engineer suspected of giving military secrets involving nuclear weapons, fighter jets and air defense missiles to Israel during the 1980s, the Justice Department said.

IDF kills Three - Baranes fired

2008-04-21T23:48:00.002+02:00

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi decided Monday that the commander of the ninth Armor Corps regiment will be dismissed from his position, due to his failure in commanding troops during the terror attack at the fuel terminal in Nahal Oz, in which two Israeli citizens - Lev Charniak and Oleg Lipson - were killed. Ashkenazi's decision was based on a recommendation he received from Southern Command chief Major-General Yoav Galant. He remarked that the regiment commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Yair Baranes, did not finalize the attack in the manner expected of a commander of his rank. [...] Am Abend werden drei Mitglieder des Islamic Jihad vor Jabailia in der Nähe der Grenze zu Israel bei einem Versuch den Erez-crossing zu attackieren getötet. Die Darstellung der IDF die Milizionäre wären auf Infiltrationskurs gewesen zeigt das die IDF einen zero-tolerance-Kurs in Grenznähe [hier 300 Meter] eingeführt hat. Zuvor war bei einem Treffer im Kibbutz Gevim ein 4-jähriger Junge durch ein Schrapnel einer Qassam-Rakete veletzt worden. Das Volumen der Angriffe bleibt einstellig [vier bis fünf], seltsamerweise bleiben aber Maßnahmen der IDF dagegen gänzlich aus. Von Ausspielen der Lufthoheit und strategischer Neuausrichtung kann keine Rede sein. Die Grenzen bleiben dicht: The Kerem Shalom crossing, which was targeted by Hamas in a double car bombing over the weekend, will likely remain closed until after Pessah, which ends on Saturday, senior defense officials said Monday. Treibstofflieferungen bleiben aus und As for the crossing at Nahal Oz, where fuel is transferred to the Strip, last Thursday Palestinians fired at a fuel truck. Security sources told Haaretz last night that Dor Alon, the company operating the terminal, has let the army know that it intends to reevaluate its role in transfering fuel to the Palestinians in light of the dangers to its staff. [Was die großmäuligen Ankündigungen die Lieferungen sämtlich über Ägypten abwickeln zu lassen angeht hört man derzeit nur Stille.] [...] Former US President Jimmy Carter on Monday said that Hamas had agreed to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders if it is accepted by Palestinians in a referendum. But Hamas say national reconciliation is necessary between Hamas and Fatah before the referendum is carried out. Carter said this means Hamas will not undermine Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to negotiate an agreement with Israel and will accept any deal if the Palestinian public endorses it. ... "We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as a proof of recognition." [Deswegen unlogisch: Abbas verhandelt nicht auf eine 67-Grenze hin, sondern eine Wall-Grenze, falls man das was Abbas tut wirklich verhandeln nennen kann. Eigentlich verwaltet er nur den Mißstand und er wird froh sein wenn er nächstes Jahr in Rente gehen kann.] In Washington, deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey brushed aside Hamas's offer, saying the group's past rhetoric contained "all this language about truces and other kinds of issues. But the bottom line is, Hamas still believes in the destruction of the state of Israel; they don't believe Israel has a right to exist," adding it was clear "that nothing has changed" in Hamas's attitude - including that the group still refuses to explicitly recognize Israel and denounce terrorism. Die scharfe Rhetorik ist gegen Carters Einmischung gerichtet, da mit den Verhandlungen mit der Hamas die anstehende show in Washington in ihrer Bedeutung mächtig reduziert wird. Dabei stellt sich die Legitimitationsfrage immer drängender: Both Fatah and Hamas continue to lose support among the Palestinians, and the level of trust in political leaders also dropped. Support for Abbas fell from 18.3% in November to 11.7% this month. The poll also showed that fewer Palestinians are satisfied with Abbas's performance. Support for Haniyeh also went down, from 16.3% in November to 13.3% this month. The same applies to Fatah's imprisoned leader, Marwan Barghouti, whose popularity moved down from 14.3% to 12.8% during the same period. With regards to confidence in the political parties, support for Fatah decreased from 40% in November to 32.5% this month, while Hamas's popularity went down from 19.7% to 17.8%. [...] Ein Brandanschlag auf das Ad-Dira-Hotel in Gaza City, bevorzugte Lokation auch von ausländischen Journalisten sorgt für Sachschaden. Eine Streitschrift des PCHR zum Thema Macht der Hamas in Gaza: PCHR is deeply concerned over the continued ban on visits for its lawyers to their clients in the prisons administered by the dismissed government in Gaza. The Centre views this ban as a violation of International Law and relevant international standards. Specifically, this ban violates the right of detainees to lawyer visits. The Centre is concerned that this ban is motivated by the perpetration of illegal actions such as torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment against prisoners. [...] Egyptian diplomatic sources denied on Monday that foreign minister Ahmad Abu Al-Ghait said that Hamas' participation in a Palestinian national unity government could impede the Palestinian Authority's (PA) political efforts to reach a compromise with Israel. [Immerhin hat die Hamas es nun geschafft das sie in aller Munde ist.]

Für die Westbank dämmert langsam die anberaumte Investitionskonferenz: Palestinian officials hope to raise $1.5 billion from foreign investors at a conference planned next month in the West Bank, the Palestinian foreign minister announced Monday. More than 300 foreign investors, including a Saudi representative and a government minister from the United Arab Emirates, are expected to attend the gathering in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki told reporters. The conference is scheduled from May 21 to 23. [Na, wenn ihm da mal niemand in die Suppe spuckt.] Ansonsten Ruhe: In Qalkilia schießen unbekannte al-Aqsa-Männer auf ein PA-Gebäude. In azzun wird ein Palästinenser bei Rangeleienen mit marodierenden IDF-Milizionären verletzt. Und aus der selben Gegend wird ein Feuerüberfall der al-Aqsa auf ein israelisches Militärfahrzeug berichtet.

Update: A handful of Syrian Jews celebrated the start of the Jewish Passover holiday Sunday with prayers at Damascus' only synagogue, saying they feel free to openly practice their religion just as Muslims and Christians do. Und Ergänzung zum letzten post: Zalman Shoval, The message I received in Washington about two weeks ago was clear and included a trace of displeasure: Why do you have people, and ministers in particular, who continue to amuse themselves with the baseless notion that conditions for peace between Israel and Syria have been created? Indeed, in holiday interviews with the prime minister, as well as the wave of previous news stories, we repeatedly heard about messages being seemingly conveyed and feelers seemingly being sent out between Jerusalem and Damascus. Before we address the matter, we should consider whether Israel should or should not be taking America’s position on this matter into consideration. [Die mal wieder für Wochen abgetauchte Condis Riceauflauf mit Quark hat angedroht sich in das Thema Libanon-Syrien am Rande einer Konferenz in Kuwait einzumischen... Das hat gerade noch gefehlt.] ... Hanin Ghaddar, "Blow by blow": Member of Parliament Michel Murr’s break with the Change and Reform bloc some weeks ago certainly ruffled Christian feathers in the opposition. As for the Shia in the opposition, there seem to be very tangible divisions emerging, too, between Amal Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who recently returned from a regional tour to renew calls for national dialogue, and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has recently been altogether more concerned with the Israel-Lebanese border. ... und nett zum Abschluß der aufruf des USA-Generalsekretärs Ki-Moon die Hezbollah zu entwaffnen. Wirklich orginell der Kleine.

IDF kills est. Ten - Two Suicidators kill themselves - Unknown One

2008-04-21T00:41:00.007+02:00

Am Samstag Vormittag kommt es zu einem weiteren Kommandounternehmen der Hamas auf einen israelischen Grenzübergang zum Gazastreifen: Nach offizieller Darstellung sollen drei Fahrzeuge im Morgengrauen und Nebel und unter Mörsergranatenbeschuß den Grenzübergang attackiert haben: Ein "gepanzertes" Fahrzeug hätte eine Bresche in den dortigen Zaun geschlagen, zwei als israelische Militärjeeps "verkleidete" Fahrzeuge wären in den Stützpunkt eingedrungen wo sie Explosionsladungen zündeten. Bei der Explosion werden dreizehn israelische Soldaten verletzt, die Fahrzeuglenker und zwei weitere Milizionäre der Hamas kommen im ersten Fahrzeug ums Leben. Zur selben Zeit kommt eine unbekannte Anzahl von Milizionären bei einer ähnlichen Aktion in einem gepanzerten Fahrzeug am Kissufim-Crossing um. [Palästinensische Angaben: An Israeli warplane bombed a jeep in city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, killing a police officer and wounding four other others, among them a young girl on Saturday, witnesses and medics said. Abweichend: Palestinian sources reported Sunday that an Israeli fighter jet fired at a car driving in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. According to the sources, IAF strike was in fact a targeted assassination attempt gone-wrong on Ra'ad al-Atar, a senior Izz al-Din Din al-Qassam – Hamas' military wing – operative.] In der Folge kommt es zu sechs Qassamraketen-Abschüssen, einigen Luftangriffen und israelischen raids auf den Gazastreifen die nach derzeitigem Stand sechs Hamas-Angehörige im Jabalia-Flüchtlingslager und in Zaytoun getötet haben. Die zuvor als produktiv empfundenen Initiativen in Sachen Waffenstillstand der Ägypter [Egypt said on Friday it was making good progress trying to negotiate a tacit cease-fire, including a prisoner exchange, between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his government was speaking with both sides to get a "period of quiet," which would help Israeli and Palestinian negotiators achieve a deal more easily in U.S.-mediated Palestinian statehood talks that exclude Hamas. "Hamas wants to call it a period of quiet. That suits the Israelis because they do not want to reach a signed, written agreement with Hamas," Gheit said of Egypt's mediation attempts in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. "We are making good progress [mediating] but the difficulty we face is that often, certain trends inside Israel challenge the idea and certain trends inside Gaza challenge the idea and maybe, maybe there could also be a foreign element," he said with a smile, referring to the United States.] und der Carter-Initiative [Carter and Meshal held more than four hours of talks Friday night that discussed how the Islamist group could be drawn into a Middle East peace plan and drop its opposition to peace talks between Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the rival Fatah faction. Carter demanded that Hamas stops firing rockets on Israel while he pursues efforts with Israel and the West to lift the siege on the Gaza strip, which is ruled by Hamas, politicians familiar with the meetings said. "Carter also asked Meshal to adopt more flexible public statements and talked to him as a leader of a national liberation movement, not as the terrorist Israel and America try to depict him as being," one of the sources told Reuters. "Meshal is a first among equals in Hamas. He has to secure agreement from the rest of the Hamas leadership," he added.] werden durch zwei brüske statements negiert: Defense Minister Ehud Barak told senior officers at the Israel Defense Forces Gaza Division Saturday that Hamas will pay for the attack on the Kerem Shalom Crossing earlier in the day which left more than a dozen soldiers injured. + Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri on Sunday rejected an Egyptian plan for a cease-fire agreement with Israel, Al Jazeera reported. [Den Anderen da gibts auch noch: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he was determined to achieve a "framework agreement" laying the foundations for a peace deal with Israel before the end of US President George W. Bush's term in office.] Editorial: "All of Gaza can't be razed", Hamas can be blamed for the latest conflagration in the Gaza Strip. First came the attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot; then came Wednesday's ambush, in which three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed; and then yesterday, an attempt to infiltrate Kibbutz Keren Shalom was foiled. Meanwhile, the Qassam and mortar attacks have resumed fully. Hamas clearly wants to drag Israel into an increasingly violent retaliation in Gaza, and Israel must not fall into this trap. + King Abdullah II of Jordan conferred Sunday with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and said that Israel must lift the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and stop expanding Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. In a royal court statement, the king also stressed the need for "tangible progress" in the ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and Palestinians. [Keinerlei Bewegung]

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday that he has exchanged messages with Israel through a third party to explore the possibility of resuming peace talks, the country's official news agency SANA reported. During a meeting with ruling Baath Party officials, Assad commented on media reports about indirect contact between the two countries. "There are efforts exerted in this direction," he was quoted as saying. An Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, on Thursday quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as saying Israel and Syria have been exchanging messages to clarify expectations for any future peace treaty. [Hatte das Interview erwähnt, aber vergessen zu verlinken.] ... Israeli officials were further incriminated by the fact that in 2007 Prime Minister Olmert also said he was not concerned by an imminent war with Syria, but that he was unhappy with the public discussion about peace between Syria and Israel. One should question the logic behind Ehud Olmert's "irritation" regarding public overtures of peace between Syria and Israel. [13] Realpolitik is definitely being played by Israel in regards to Damascus in a consorted effort to de-link Syria from Iran and its other allies. In this regard, Damascus publicly insisted that there be no secret talks between Syrian and Israeli officials as to the conditions for peace. [14] The rationale for the Syrian insistence on transparency was to deprive Israeli of any means to covertly try to divide Syria from its Middle Eastern allies by generating suspicions of betrayal. [Full text an location here: "The March to War: Israel Prepares for War against Lebanon and Syria", by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya.] + Transcript of a panel discussion of few days ago by Martin Indyk, Shibley Telhami and David Ignatius in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution on VIEWS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST: PUBLIC OPINION IN THE ARAB WORLD (results of the poll on Arab public opinion).

David Barstow, "Pentagon's influence lurks behind TV military analysts".

The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday the launching of a formal investigation into the killing of a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, after a U.S.-based human rights group accused troops of either firing recklessly or targeting the cameraman. Fadel Shana was killed while filming an IDF tank in Gaza on Wednesday, a day of heavy fighting. His final footage shows the tank firing a shell in his direction. Palestinian medics say five others were killed in the incident, including four teenagers.

Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers exchanged blows in Christianity's holiest shrine on Palm Sunday, and pummeled police with palm fronds when they tried to break up the brawl. The fight is part of a growing rivalry over religious rights at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site where tradition says Jesus was buried and resurrected. It erupted when Armenian clergy kicked out a Greek priest from their midst, pushed him to the ground and kicked him, according to witnesses.

Hussein Agha + Robert Malley: "Into the Lions Den": In its final year in office and the first year of its Israeli–Palestinian diplomacy, the Bush administration has introduced the latest and in some respects oddest idea for achieving peace, the shelf agreement. Its logic is straightforward. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas should conclude a final peace treaty by the end of 2008. The Israeli and Palestinian people subsequently would ratify it in near-simultaneous referenda or elections. And then, once approved, the treaty ought simply to be put aside (on the aforementioned shelf) until circumstances permit it to be carried out. No agreement can be fully put into effect immediately upon signature. But whereas a phased agreement includes an approved schedule, with starting date and endpoint, implementation of a shelf agreement would depend on an assessment by the parties that specified conditions have been met. ...

Besprechung des bereits Verlinkten "Schwarzuchs Hebron": Donald McIntyre: "Our reign of terror, by the Israeli army - In shocking testimonies that reveal abductions, beatings and torture, Israeli soldiers confess the horror they have visited on Hebron"

A fact-finding committee has been set up to investigate the abduction and murder of a Palestinian intelligence officer in the Gaza Strip, representatives from Palestinian parliamentarian blocs and independent lawmakers announced at a press conference in Ramallah in the central West Bank on Sunday. 35-year-old Sami Khattab from Deir Al-Balah was found dead in a field south of Gaza City on April 15. His mutilated body showed signs of torture. He was abducted by unknown assailants on April 13. Khattab's family accused the Palestinian internal security services of murdering him.

As the 18th Parliament session to elect a new Lebanese president looked likely to face the fate of earlier sessions, reports emerged that the foreign ministers of Syria and France are expected to discuss the Lebanese crisis on Tuesday on the sidelines of an international conference in Iraq to be held in Kuwait. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora discussed in a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Sunday the potential prospects of the Kuwait conference. Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri went ahead with his preparations for holding national dialogue among the rival parties, despite the ruling coalition's objection to participating in such talks.

IDF kills One

2008-04-18T22:22:00.003+02:00

In Flüchtlingslager Balata bei Nablus wird der al-Aqsa-Brigadier Hani Al-Qa'bi von israelischen Marodeuren bei einem Verhaftungsversuch vollkommen versehentlich erschossen. Ihm wurde die Beteiligung an mehreren Verbrechen angelastet, darunter der versuchten Vergiftung israelischer Zivilisten in israelischen "Diners". Bei dem Vorfall wird ein weiterer Milizionär [Islamic Jihad] angeschossen und verhaftet. Zudem wird eine Frau verletzt. Und weil man schon in der Gegend ist verhaftet man zehn weitere jüngere Männer in Beita, ohne allerdings zu erläutern warum. Bei der wöchentlichen anti-Wall-Demo in Bil'in wird ein reuters-Kameramann durch marodierende IDF-Milizionäre verletzt. In einem seltenen Bekennerschreiben macht die IDF die Besatzer von Mauerterritorium und die Zerstörungswut der Mauerbesatzer für die Tat verantwortlich. Aus dem Gazastreifen wurden über den Freitag in der summe sechzehn Qassam-Raketen auf israelisches Gebiet abgeschossen. Am Abend kommt es in Bereichen von Sderot nach einem Treffer mit Sachschaden zu Stromausfällen. [...] Housing and Construction Minister Ze'ev Boim on Friday dismissed Peace Now's criticism of a plan to build 100 new housing units in West Bank settlements, noting that the plan was aimed at providing an answer to the settlements' natural growth. "Peace Now's ideology is not new, and from their point of view construction in Jerusalem, in its municipal boundaries, is also 'settlement building,'" Boim said, referring to Israel's largest anti-settlement group, which promotes a platform of land-for-peace. The minister added: "The current construction is intended to provide an answer to the internal needs of natural growth." Boim spoke after the publication by his ministry on Friday of tenders for 48 new homes in the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel and 52 more in the settlement of Elkana. Natural growth??? "Ex-Gaza-Siedler aus Netzarim, die in Ariel Land gekauft hätten, aber nicht bebauen dürften müsse er [Bürgermeister Ron Nahman] in fünf Monaten rausschmeißen. Ende April. Ich werde mich erinnern, Ron." [...] Israel told the Palestinian Authority on Friday that it agrees to the reopening of 20 police stations under Palestinian control across the West Bank, as part of a security drive aimed at bolstering peace negotiations, officials said. [...] Bald auch in ihrer Nachbarschaft: Die Kadima möchte ab Ende des Jahres weltweit operieren.

"Everyone there feels like they are doing something wrong. At least my friends felt they were doing something wrong." This was the opening sentence in a pamphlet over 100 pages long, which tells the stories of dozens of soldiers who have served in Hebron over the last few years. The pamphlet was published by an organization called Breaking the Silence, and includes horrifying descriptions about the behavior IDF soldiers have adopted towards the Palestinian residents of Hebron, and that of the settlers. Full text here.

Former US President Jimmy Carter met exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal Friday. Carter's convoy arrived Friday afternoon at the Damascus office of the Hamas chief under tight security and journalists were kept away from the site. Earlier in the day, Carter met Syrian President Bashar Assad after traveling to Syria from Egypt. [...] The Jerusalem Post at the capital's King David Hotel met with Benjamin Netanjahu. [...] U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters on Thursday that "Syria is most certainly an issue in proliferation." [...] The German government expressed its consternation Friday after Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron threatened and insulted a visiting German parliamentary delegation. [...] Alex vom Landis-blog: Thanks to IDAF who translated the highlights of President Assad's talk during his meeting with Arab Intellectuals who participated in the "Conference on Pan-Arab Thought Revival and Arab Destiny" held in Damascus this week.

IDF kills three, Settlers may killed One accidential, Work accident Two

2008-04-17T23:30:00.006+02:00

Bei einer Verhaftungsaktion in Qabatia werden zwei Mitlglieder des Islamic Jihad erschossen da sie sich der Verhftung widersetzten. Wohl bei der Siedlung Maskiot wird ein 15-jähriger Palästinenser aufgefunden, der nach Angaben des Bruders Foltermerkmale aufweist und einen Genickbruch erlitten hat. Nach Bruderangaben war er bei Siedlern beschäftigt [Kinderarbeit ist da Normalität], so daß eher von einem Arbeitsunfall auszugehen ist. Anschließend warf man allerdings die Leiche einfach in die Gegend. Derzeit ist sie von israelischer Seite konfiziert, was eher nichts Gutes für die Aufklärung des Falls bedeutet. Wie erst heute bekannt wurde ist eine Delegation des Rechtsausschußes des Deutschen Bundestages, darunter auch Jerzy Montag bei einem Besuch in Hebron mäßig von Siedlern "angesprochen" worden was für diplomatischen Verwirrungen sorgt. [albern.. eigentlich werden Delegationen wenn sie mit Begleitschutz unterwegs sind mit Steinen beworfen und die hier machen wegen "Gewaltandrohungen" ein trara. Eine andere Frage stellt sich nach dem sinn solcher Tourismustouren, die der Steuerzahler bezahlt.] Natürlich konnte die IDf nicht einschreiten das sie mit der Vorbereitung des die Bewegungsfreiheit der Palästinenser verordentlichenden "total closure" über die Pessah-Feiertage die im Übrigen am Sonntag beginnen beschäftigt. außerdem mußten noch schnell 20 Palästinenser verhaftet werden, davon elf in Nablus. [...] The foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority on Thursday offered an unusually bleak assessment of the status of the negotiations with Israel and said that President Mahmud Abbas would be asking for more active American intervention when he meets with President George W. Bush in Washington this month. Riad Malki, who also serves as minister of information in the West Bank-based government appointed by Abbas, told a gathering of the Foreign Press Association here that the talks on the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had yielded "no results." DAS ist falsch, es gab Ergebnisse! Israel has agreed to let settlers build new houses in existing West Bank settlements in exchange for dismantling unauthorized settlement outposts, residents and defense officials said Tuesday. [...] Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu has said if he is elected prime minister, he won't carry out any peace deal with the Palestinians reached by current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a newspaper reported Thursday. [...] Eli Yishai: Don’t relinquish a symbol - Jerusalem is cornerstone of Jewish people and must not be divided. [...] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in televised speech Thursday that a release of all Palestinian prisoners must be part of any peace deal with Israel. Abbas delivered the televised address Thursday to mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day. About 8,500 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails and detention centers. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are trying to reach a peace deal by the end of the year.

Im Gazastreifen wird ein Hamas-Mitglied bei einem als Infiltrationsversuch gewerteten Annähern an den Kerem Shalom crossing getötet und zwei weitere Hamsniks verletzt. Zudem versterben zwei Al-Qassam-Mitglieder an den Folgen einer selbstverschuldeten Explosion vom Sonntag in Jabalia. Unterschiedliche Berichte gibt es über das Aufkommen von Qassam-Beschuß. Während Israel eine "Vielzahl" sieht sind es nach momentam Angabenstand sechs durch den Islamic Jihad gewesen. [...] The United Nations should "open lines of communication" between Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and bring all parties to the negotiating table, the U.N. human rights investigator for the Palestinian territories said on Thursday. John Dugard, a South African jurist who has served in the independent U.N. post since 2001, condemned Wednesday's violence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where 17 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were killed. Islamist Hamas continues to say it will not formally recognise Israel and its 1988 founding charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Dugard said Israel's unwillingness to talk to Hamas was understandable but he saw "no reason why the United Nations, acting through the Security Council or the secretary-general, should not intervene and assert its role as mediator." [...] Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, said Thursday that in light of recent escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces must reoccupy the territory. In an interview with Army Radio, Hanegbi said that he meant to establish a strategic goal of toppling the Islamic rulers of the Gaza Strip Hamas. In order to achieve this goal, he said, "you must go into the territory and hold on to it for a long time." Hanegbi confessed that the decision to retake the Strip comes with a "complicated price tag, and has implications for our soldiers' lives as well as in the international arena." [...] Mahmoud al-Zahar, "No peace without Hamas": President Jimmy Carter's sensible plan to visit the Hamas leadership this week brings honesty and pragmatism to the Middle East while underscoring the fact that American policy has reached its dead end. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acts as if a few alterations here and there would make the hideous straitjacket of apartheid fit better. While Rice persuades Israeli occupation forces to cut a few dozen meaningless roadblocks from among the more than 500 West Bank control points, these forces simultaneously choke off fuel supplies to Gaza; blockade its 1.5 million people; approve illegal housing projects on West Bank land; and attack Gaza City with F-16s, killing men, women and children. Sadly, this is "business as usual" for the Palestinians. [...] Editor: ON THE OPPOSITE page today we publish an article by the "foreign minister" of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar, that drips with hatred for Israel, and with praise for former president Jimmy Carter. We believe Mr. Zahar's words are worth publishing because they provide some clarity about the group he helps to lead, a group that Mr. Carter contends is worthy of being included in the Middle East peace process. [...] Diskussion über das Thema. [...] Tiny darts sprayed from a controversial missile used by Israel killed a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, local doctors said on Thursday -- though Israeli forces would not say whether one of their tanks fired the fatal shot. A medical examination and X-rays showed several 3 cm (inch) -long spikes, known as flechettes, in the body of Fadel Shana, a 23-year-old Palestinian. He was killed on Wednesday as he filmed an Israeli tank dug in about a kilometre (1,000 yards) away. The last few seconds of video shot on Shana's tripod-mounted camera show the tank firing, then a mid-air explosion consistent with the burst of a missile. The camera was shattered in the explosion that killed Shana. Black metal darts were embedded in his body armour, which bore a fluorescent strip reading "PRESS" + In a statement, B'Tselem demanded Thursday that the Military Advocate General "immediately issue instructions to suspend the use of this deplorable form of munition in the Gaza Strip, and launch a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident."

Dan williams, "Could Israel use ... german ... submarines against Iran?": Anticipating a showdown with Iran, Israel decides secretly to deploy a submarine off its arch-foe's coast. But how? The quickest route from Israel's Mediterranean coast is via the Suez Canal, which runs through Egypt and which the classified vessels shun. So the submarine is hidden in the belly of a commercial tanker, which delivers it to the Gulf. Such is the plot of an Israeli thriller, "Undersea Diplomacy". Does it hold water? Perhaps not. Then again, the author, Shlomo Erell, is no mere novelist. He's an ex-admiral with experience in Israel's most sensitive military planning. "It's pure fiction, but it's informed fiction," he said simply, when asked if his book reflects how the Israeli fleet of Dolphin-class submarines could be used against Iran, whose leadership has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", stoking international concern over Tehran's nuclear programme. Israel has three Dolphins, with two more on order from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, a German shipyard custom-building them at a steep discount as part of Berlin's bid to shore up a Jewish state founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. The submarines are a subject of deepest secrecy given speculation that they carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. [...] Speaking at the Democratic Presidential debate Wednesday, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton threatened to launch a "massive retaliation" if Iran decided to attack Israel. [...] Link dead, momentan: Defense officials: Iran increasing smuggling efforts to Gaza - Senior officials to 'Post': Teheran using floatable devices to drop arms near Gaza coast; say rockets, other arms getting through. [...] Hezbollah's TV station Al-Manar reported on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that Syria is preparing for war with Israel as a real possibility. Assad noted, speaking at a conference in Damascus, however, that he did not expect a conflict between the two states to break out under the current circumstances. [...] The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) has begun a training course for war journalists, who will be sent to Syria and Lebanon in case these countries engage in war with Israel, the Iranian news agency 'A'sr Iran reported. [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Damascus does not pose a nuclear threat to Israel, making the comments in response to a question in a newspaper interview about an Israeli air strike in Syria. Israel has given no details on the identity of the target its planes struck inside Syria on Sept. 6. Some U.S. officials linked the raid to suspicions of secret nuclear cooperation between Syria and North Korea. "There are things I am not willing to discuss," Olmert, asked about the air strike, said in an interview published on Thursday in Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "I will only say this: To the best of my knowledge, Israelis are not under Syrian nuclear threat."

Yossi Melman: It is difficult to see Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani as a promoter of peace. But that is precisely how he was defined recently by several analysts in important newspapers in the United States, Britain and other Western countries, because of his involvement in the negotiations to broker a cease-fire in the war in Iraq between the Shiite militias and the government. The efforts by the Iranian general, the commander of the al-Quds brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, brought results. The cease-fire after a week of bloody battles at the end of March that was achieved between the government of Iraq headed by Premier Nouri al-Maliki and the "Mahdi Army," the Shiite militia under the leadership of the cleric Muqtada a-Sadr, has been attributed to him.

Ari Shavit, "A deal with thugs": We have a neighbor who is a murderer. Not the criminal kind, thank God. Not a psychopath, God forbid. No, our neighbor is a religious murderer. A murderer in the name of God and for God. A murderer who wants to eradicate us and get rid of us so that we will not pollute his sacred soil with our presence. A murderer who believes that the world will be better, purer, if we are not here. A serious murderer, a murderer with values, a murderer with a mission.

IDF kills TwentyFour - Hamas kills Three soldiers

2008-04-17T01:17:00.003+02:00

Die im letzten post erwähnten Panzerbewegungen in der gestrigen Nacht führten israelsiche Einheiten nach Ash-Shuja'iyya, einem Ort in dem buchstäblich aus allen Löchern auf die Infiltratoren geschossen wurde. Vier Hamas-Mitglieder sollen in den Kämpfen getötet worden sein. In den Morgenstunden kommt es in der Gegend von Nazal Oz in Höhe des Kibbutz Be'eri zu einem operationellen Fehler einer israelischen Einheit, die in einen Hamas-Hinterhalt tappt. Zwei Hamas-Mitglieder versuchen am Grenzzaun eine Bobme zu platzieren und werden attackiert ohne zuvor das Gelände zu sichern: Drei israelische Soldaten sterben als sie von weiteren Hamas-Gunman angegriffen werden, drei werden verletzt. Möglicherweise die gleiche Gruppe der Hamas wird später vor Nazal Oz in eine Schießerei verwickelt in deren Verlauf vier Hamasniks sterben. Im weiteren Verlauf des Morgens beginnt der Islamic Jihad mit einer Qassam-Attacke im Ausßmaß zwischen zehn und neunzehn Projektilen auf israelische Grenzanlagen und zivile Zonen. Einige israelische Einheiten mit massiver Luftunterstützung fluten daraufhin den Gazastreifen in verschiedenen Zonen. Dabei belegt in der Juhad ad-Dik-Zone, der Zone die Nazal Oz gegenüber liegt eine israelische Helikopterflotille Wohnhäuser mit Raktenfeuer: 7 Zivilisten, darunter mindestens zwei Kinder und fünf Gunman werden getötet. In Beit Lahia wird ein als Zivilist identifizierter Mann durch eine Rakete auf sein Auto getötet. Bei einem Panzerangriff auf den sehr offensichtlich als Journalist erkennbaren, in einer nicht-Kampfzone reuters-Kameramann Fadel Shana getötet. Zwei weitere Zivilisten werden dabei getötet. [Die pro-israelische Pressestelle für Volksverdummung "lgf" beeilte sich iÜ den Getöteten zum Verletzten umzutaufen und ihn als "iranischen Agenten" als legales Ziel zu markieren. Da hat sich Israel was eingehandelt.] Die umgehende Entschuldigung der IDF wird in diesem Fall wohl nicht ausreichen. Politische statements fallen komplett aus. Die IDf äußert weiterhin die alte Tour: "escalate the pace of the operations in the Gaza Strip - without penetrating more than three kilometers inside", während für den Juni andere die Rückeroberung des Gazastreifens in Betracht ziehen. Das Motiv "so lange töten bis der Arzt kommt" respektive eine UN-Friedenstruppe, oder gar die Ägypter die Drecksarbeit erledigen ist schlicht albern und läßt die Fehler der Vergangenheit außer acht. Die hier berichteten, vollmundigen Fatah-Sprüche man würde sich schon um einen vernünftigen Waffenstillstand kümmern sind am Tag danach mal wieder nichts mehr wert Immerhin werden die Treibstofflieferungen an das Gaza-Kraftwerk wieder aufgenommen, wobei unklar ist für wie lange. Geliefert wurden erstmal 180 000 liter, was bei der derzeitig reduzierten Leistung bis Samstag reicht. Auch hier ist ein dummes hin- und her entstanden das politisch keinen Sinn ergibt und nur Zeichen von extremer Strategielosigkeit ist. Dabei existieren Geschichten unter der israelischen Decke, die man kaum glauben kann.

In der Westbank wird die Bewegungsfreiheit von 12 Personen durch Fußfesseln und israelisches Gewahrsam modifiziert. Der RAM-FM-Fall zieht sich in die Länge. In Jenin kommt es zu Straßenschlachten zwischen mutigen IDF-Soldatenlandesverteidigern und einer Horde unerzogener Jugendlicher. In... endlos die Liste.

Der Alternativ-Premierminister in Warteschleife glänzt hingegen mit einer seiner alten Theorien: "We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq," Ma'ariv quoted the former prime minister as saying. He reportedly added that these events "swung American public opinion in our favor." Dann hoffen wir mal das es [lieber nicht] zu weiteren Anschlägen kommt und die USA im Irak noch lange stecken bleibt.

Noch zwei "technische" Artikel: In recent days we have seen a significant change in the nature of fighting in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the organizations that are inspired by it and operate under its wing scaled back the rocket fire and are now focusing on firing and attacking along the border fence around the Strip. [So neu ist das nicht.] + Defense Minister Ehud Barak addressed the clashes in Gaza during a Labor faction meeting on Wednesday afternoon and said these incidents "remind us that some of our enemies refuse to accept the fact that we are here for good.

IDF kills Two

2008-04-16T00:34:00.003+02:00

In Jabalia wird am Abend durch einen Luftangriff der Israelis der Islamic-Jihad-Anführer Abdullah al-Rasin getötet. Ein weiterer Luftangriff soll in einem Vorort von Gaza City eine weitere Person getötet haben, nach momentanem Stand ebenso ein Islamic-Jihad-Operative. Die Verletztenanzahl liegt derzeit bei drei. Panzerbewegungen werden derzeit notiert. Nachdem es tagsüber relativ ruhig war kam es zu einem noch nicht näher beschriebenen Scharmützel am Kissufim-Crossing in dem mehrere palästinensische Milizionäre "getroffen" worden sein sollen. Der Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha wird mit Mörsergranaten beschossen. Bei einer Aktion in Khan Younis wird am Abend ein IDF-Soldat durch einen sniper verletzt. Eine roadside-Bomb-Attacke der Hamas auf in Dir el-Balah operierende Israelis schlägt fehl. Ein Nachbericht zu dem erwähnten lustigen Generäle-Schiessen: Palestinian militants yesterday fired mortar shells at a group of top Israel Defense Forces officers - including GOC Southern Command Yoav Galant and Gaza Division commander Brigadier General Moshe Tamir - who were taking local authority heads from the South and the security officers of various organizations on a tour of the fence near the Gaza border. [...] "A deal to secure the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit will be reached soon", PA Deputy Prisoner Affairs Minister Ziad Abu Ein said Tuesday. Ein told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an that credible sources had informed him that a prisoner swap would likely take place in the near future, in which Hamas would release Schalit in exchange for Israel's release of Hamas parliamentarians and Palestinian municipality heads who were arrested after Schalit's capture. [Unglaubwürdig.] Am morgen kommt es zu zwei Qassam-Raketenabschüssen auf Sderot.

In der Westbank wird die Lage vom dummen Geschwäzt eines gewissen Herrn C. überlagert: Yasser Arafat fought for the advancement of the Palestinians and other just causes in the world, former US president Jimmy Carter said after laying a wreath Tuesday on the grave of the deceased Palestinian Authority chairman in Ramallah. [and others??? Der Arafat hat doch nicht Millionchen bei dem Carter gepaaa... undenkbar.] In Nablus kollabiert die Situation, nachdem bei einem Verhaftungsversuch von abtrünnigen al-Aqsa-Militanten durch die PA drei Zivilisten verletzt werden: The source said that members of Hamas in Gaza were taking advantage of the tensions between the PA and Fatah gunmen in Nablus. Hamas is financing, arming and encouraging the rebellious Fatah group to continue to confront the PA, he said. Vor der seit Monaten durch marodierende IDF-Milizionäre belagerten Ansiedlung Azzun bei Qalqilla kommt es zu zehn Verletzten als eine Schülergruppe, die einen Ausflug unternommen hatte an der Rückkehr durch die IDF gehindert wird.

Aussenpolitik: The American administration intends to give the Senate Intelligence Committee an account of the nuclear ties between North Korea and Syria for the first time on April 22. Senior IDF officers have warned, however, that the release of any information containing details of the Israeli Air Force strike in Syria last September could increase tension between Israel and Syria. [Man hat keine Beweise, nur Illusionen. Das wissen wir seit langer Zeit, wobei die Israel wohl etwas Angst davor haben sich entschuldigen zu müssen.] ... Lebanon's top Shiite Muslim cleric sharply criticized Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's visit to Qatar and said Tuesday that her comments about Hezbollah and Hamas reflect brazenness and arrogance on the part of Israel. [Zu MK Tibis Vorhatungen in Qatar fiel unserem werten Rassisten Avigdor Liebermann natürlich gleich ein Nazivergleich ein.] ... In a new round in the war of words between Jerusalem and Tehran, the Iranian army's deputy chief threatened Tuesday to respond to any military attack from Israel by 'eliminating' it. [Apropos war of words. Keine Ahnung von was der Mann da redet. 800 000 Aufrufe? in 24 Stunden?] The Arrow anti-ballistic missile system successfully simulated an interception of a rocket designed to mimic the Iranian Shihab missile on Tuesday. This was the first successful test involving a Blue Sparrow missile, manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The missile is a newer version of the Black Sparrow, which was built to resemble the ground-to-ground Scud A and B missiles.

Gad Lior, "Ministers of nothing - Israel has more useless ministerial posts than any other democratic country" [...] Israel's water demand will hugely outweigh supply during 2008

Muntz + Wilders: Das Dumpfloch-Interview

2008-04-15T23:45:00.006+02:00

Da die Webseite der Yedioth Ahronoth derzeit wieder von holländischen Cyber-Terroristen [performance.com] gekapert wurde ahnte ich schon das diese auch anderweitig zuschlagen werden: Marathon-Interview mit Wilders. Von der Bezeichnung "Oppersul" kann ich mich nicht distanzieren, da ich nicht weiß was das heißt. Die Bezeichnung Sturm... für Wilders ist natürlich falsch, da er ein Hynkelsturmbannmöchtegernführer ist. Bezeichnend für den Erfolg von "Fitna" ist das sogar die aufgegeilte Hynkelmasse den armen Wilders fallen gelassen hat, da sein Marathon-Gelabere nicht für einen Skandal taugt. Momentan bin ich die einzige deutsche Webseite die das Ding mit Rob Muntz verlink. Und das nach 6 Stunden.

Statt dessen widmen sich die einschlägig bekannten Irren wieder ihrem eigenen revisionistischen Gleichschaltungsprojekt. Interessant ein aktuelles Interview mit Bat Ye'or. Ja nich wegen dem Inhalt: "Die Nazis arbeiteten damals mit dem Mufti von Jerusalem zusammen, um die Juden zu vernichten. Die heutige Zusammenarbeit Europas mit den Palästinensern ist eine Fortsetzung dieser Beziehungen." Nein auch nicht das dort Fuad Twal als kommender lateinischer Patriarch vorgestellt werden soll. Nein auch nicht das Bischof Walter "The Ghettoblaster" Mixa mit der Einladung von Ye'Or seine Sünden büßen möchte.

Interessant ist das die Katholiken die evangelisch-reformierte "Pfarrerin" Christine Dietrich und ihren Rassistenclub auf Veranstaltungen lassen ohne Warnschilder aufzustellen. Was ist nur mit diesen Katholiken los? Erst in Israel Krokodilstränen und jetzt bieten sie dem Hynkelnetzwerk die antisemitisch befleckte Hand, die auch gerne von den Hynkels genommen wird, da mit Antisemiten koalieren gegen den Islam scheinbar vollkommen in Ordnung ist. Und am Ende wills wieder keiner gewesen sein.

IDF kills One

2008-04-15T00:25:00.002+02:00

An einem ruhigen Tag mit nur einem Qassam-Raketenabschuß, die allerdings ein israelisches Gewächhaus trifft wird in Beit Lahia ein "senior" DFLP-Mitglied durch einen Luftangriff der Israelis extralegal aus dem Leben geschieden. Bezüglich der etwas vorschnell auf das Wochenende angesetzte Wiederaufnehmen von Treibstofflieferungen [da kamen wohl 45 000 Liter in der power plant an, sU] in den Gazastreifen entscheidet der israelische Verteidigungsminister Barak die Liefermenge möglicherweise ab Morgen auf den supply für die Gaza-Power-Station zu beschränken. Die Bezeichnung "Diesel" im Artikel ist falsch, es handelt sich um etwa 2,2 Millionen Liter Industrie-Benzin pro Woche. Eine Menge die bereits eine deutliche Reduzierung der Kraftwerkskapazitäten bedeutet. Nach Haaretz-Angaben soll die TReibstofflieferung erst am Mittwoch wieder aufgenommen werden, was zu Stromausfällen in großem Stil fürhen kann und wird. Die Kürzung betrifft etwa 800Tsd Liter andere Treibstoffe, eben Diesel für Nutzfahrzeuge und Generatoren. Benzinpreise explodieren, Verkehr kommt zum erliegen. [...] Nach Angaben der Al-Hayat Al-Jadida haben israelische Unterhändler "Waffenstillstandsangebote" an die Fraktionen im Gazastreifen geschickt. Auch die Fatah der Westbank möchte sich diesem Thema in Zukunft stärker widmen und auch Urlauber Tony Blair verspricht der Hamas blühende Landschaften, falls sie auf den rechten Weg kommen werde. Nun fiel allerdings die Reaktion der Israel auf das Kommando "Nazal Oz" enorm zurückhaltend aus, so daß davon auszugehen ist das die Israelis der Hamas durchaus weitere Gelegenheiten geben werden sich zu bessern. Zudem spielt sicher diese Angelegenheit eine Rolle: Qatar's prime minister, Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani, on Monday urged Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to end Israel's "crippling blockade of Gaza due to the difficult humanitarian situation." Man kann nicht mit einer wide-scale-operation im Nacken Lapalia Livni zutrauen Vertrauen bei der arabischen Seite aufzubauen. Auch wenn der Besuch momentan noch als Erfolg zu werten ist ist ihr mal wieder ein brutaler Ausrutscher passiert: In a question and answer session following the speech, Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) asked for an opportunity to respond to Livni's comments, and told her, "Israel is an apartheid state. How can you speak about democracy when you speak about a Jewish state?" Livni responded that, "If we return to '47, a Jewish state and an Arab Palestinian state [were on the agenda]. Do you also not agree to this? The fact is that you are an MK in Israel, and represent 20 percent of the public, and can say whatever you please. This is the proof that Israel is a democratic state." Sehr unlogisch, Lapalia... Der Mann repräsentiert die Leute die ihn wählten und das sind 3,02%. Über die Avoda dürften sich weitaus mehr israelische Araber repräsentiert sehen, wobei angemerkt sei das im arabischen Umm al-Fahm Tibis Partei nur 10,6%, hingegen Hadash 56,1% und Balad 21,7% erhielten.

It is still unclear what happened late on Sunday night and early Monday morning at Kibbutz Ein Gedi, next to the Dead Sea. What is known is that two Scandinavian women tourists, aged 17 and 19, returned to the guest house where they were staying and said they had been raped by three men from the kibbutz. [...] The Israel Defense Forces has opened an investigation into allegations that 46 Palestinians were detained for no reason at a West Bank checkpoint for 16 hours last week, and their car tires punctured. The human rights group MachsomWatch (which overlooks IDF activity at checkpoints) filed a complaint about the incident with the army. [...] Israel and the United States signed an agreement several days ago to step up cooperation in the field of nuclear safety. The new agreement broadens and upgrades previous accords between the two countries in this field, which were signed over the past two decades. It will enable the Israel Atomic Energy Commission to access most of the latest nuclear safety data, procedures and technology available in the U.S.. [...] Over 50,000 Israelis are expected to cross the border into Sinai and Egypt this coming Passover holiday despite warnings by the security establishment, the Airports Authority reported Monday.

Kleiner Test? "Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine." Na, erkannt? Hamas? Nö. Die neue Fatah-Führung im Libanon. Die Hamas kommt erst darunter... The Shin Bet security service launched English and Arabic Web sites on Monday, which include statements from the head of the agency, history of the Shin Bet, along with video footage of airstrikes, arrest raids, VIP security squads and live-fire training.

In London started bald das London Palestine Film Festival. NYT-Times special: A Bloody Era of Syria’s History Informs a Writer’s Banned Novel

Die groß angekündigte Veröffentlichung von Wahrheit über israelische Luftschläge sieht so aus: "U.S. Senators to hear closed-door account of Syria-North Korea nuclear ties". Andere Wahrheiten? The Lebanese government sent a letter on Monday to the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) defending the detention of four former security chiefs on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "The detention of the four former security chiefs and four other people is in conformity with Lebanese and international laws," the letter said. + French daily Le-Figaro published its investigation into the disappearance of Zuheir al-Saddiq, star witness in the probe on former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri's murder.

Work accident kills Three - IDF One

2008-04-13T23:20:00.003+02:00

Die Freitagsstatistik [al-Bureij-Camp] muß um ein getötetes Kind nach oben korregiert werden.

Bei einer Explosion im Jabalia-Flüchtlingslager werden im Haus eines Hamas-Mitglieds drei Hamasniks durch eine Explosion getötet. Am Sonntag Abend versucht die IAF durch zwei Luftangriffe einen der Rädelsführer des Angriffs auf die Benzinverladestation in Nazal Oz extralegal z töten. Das al-Aqsa-Brigaden-Mitglied kann enkommen, verletzt werden sieben Personen. Kleinere israelische gepanzerte Einheiten führen Aktionen vor Ost-Gaza City und Jabalia durch. Schießereien werden auch aus Beit Hanoun gemeldet. Die PFLP schießt zwei Qassam-Raketen auf Sderot ab. Mörsergranatenangriffe werden auf Kerem Shalmom, einen grenznahem Kibbutz und auf eine Inspektions-Gruppe unter aluf Yovav Galant, seines Zeichens Major-General und Southern Command chief. Am Samstag war es nur zu einer Qassam-Attacke mit zwei Raketen durch die PFLP auf die israelische Wüste gekommen.
In der Westbank verbleibt das Inkursions-Level weiterhin auf hohem Niveau. Etwa ein Dutzend verschiedener Aktionen marodierender israelischer Milizen wird berichtet, wobei es nur zu zwei Verhaftungen kommt. Palästinensische Quellen erwarten bald eine größere israelische Aktion im Raum Nablus, da die Stadt nicht zur Ruhe kommt. So wird das Auto des Abbas-nahen "Gouverneurs" von Nablus, Jamal al-Moushen im Balata-Camp zuerst beschossen und dabei ein Bodyguard leicht verletzt und später abgefackelt. [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Sunday evening for the second time in one week, following a previous agreement between the two leaders to meet before Abbas leaves for Washington. Zuvor war Olmert zweimalig als "Palästinenserfreund" in Erscehinung getreten: The cabinet will be asked Sunday to approve the employment of an additional 5,000 Palestinian construction workers, against the recommendation of the Bank of Israel and some government officials. [ein Beschluß wurde gemeldet.] + Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called on IDF commanders in the West Bank to understand that the roadblocks are causing suffering to the Palestinians, whose needs should be appreciated to avoid a worsening of relations between the two peoples. [Na, die müssen ja ganz schön blöd sein, wenn man ihnen das erst noch sagen muß.] Interessanter aber: Olmert also told the officers that "sooner or later" Israel would have to operate in the Gaza Strip. "But this will not be done without connection with the international scene. We need our friends throughout the world, and our reliance on them is of existential significance to the State of Israel," he said. [Also erst den Iran angreifen, dann ein paar "Grad-Types" abwarten und dann im Trubel um den Iran-Angriff zuschlagen. Da reiche ich glatt Netanyahu meine Hand und rufe gemeinsam mit ihm aus: "The government is detached from reality, security is faulty, the economy is receding and education is collapsing due to the absence of leadership and the absence of a path," Netanyahu told delegates at a conference in Tel Aviv's Likud center.]

Following his meeting with former US president Jimmy Carter, kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit's father, Noam Shalit, told Ynet "the fact that Carter is not considered pro-Israeli, as American tradition dictates, could make it easier for him to meet with certain officials and raise ideas that would be subject to distrust had they come from others' mouths." [...] Die go-Entscheidung Carters ist nach der massiven Kritik aus Regierungskreisen der "international scene" gefallen: On Saturday Carter told ABC News' "This Week" that he felt "quite at ease" about meeting Hamas leaders over the objections of Washington because the Palestinian group is essential to a future peace with Israel. "It's very important that at least someone meet with the Hamas leaders to express their views, to ascertain what flexibility they have, to try to induce them to stop all attacks against innocent civilians in Israel and to cooperate with the Fatah as a group that unites the Palestinians," Carter said during the interview, which was aired Sunday. Derweil heiratet Fatima, Meshals Tochter einen gewissen Tariq Irshaid, der wohl aus der Bethlehem-Region stammt. Die Hochzeit wird uA vom syrischen Aussenminister besucht und als politische Demonstration zelebriert.

Israel lashes out against Germany: Israel is concerned that Iran might start moving weapons to Hezbollah by means of ships that anchor in the Beirut port, government sources in Jerusalem said. The sources said oversight of marine vessels by UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was not efficient enough to enforce an embargo on weapons shipments into Lebanon and to pinpoint such shipments. [...] Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni arrived on Sunday for a first visit in Qatar, where she is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on international dialogue and peace before the Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade. Foreign Ministry sources said that senior officials from Iran and Lebanon have decided to boycott participation in the forum due to Livni's participation. Those officials include Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabi Berri, former Lebanese foreign minister Fauzi Saluh and former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami. [...] Seventy-one percent of Israelis oppose a peace deal that would entail handing over Jerusalem's Old City and Temple Mount to the Palestinians, a new poll released by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies on Sunday says. [...] The Shin Bet security services on Sunday admitted to arresting relatives of individuals under interrogation to extract confessions from the prisoners. The head of the Shin Bet's interrogration department told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee: "Certainly we used this method, but only on one occasion. [Erzähl mir mal was Neues, Shinny] The study by the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCTI) was released earlier in the morning. The organization charged that "there is widespread use of an interrogation technique whereby family members are used and detainees are subjected to psychological terrorism by exploiting the families." [...] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has refused to commit to an Egyptian initiative for an unofficial cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said following unexpected talks between the prime minister and Palestian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday in Jerusalem. [...] The Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF) says it plans to build 30,000 affordable apartments in the West Bank and Gaza to ease a growing housing crunch. An official in the fund said that the project will cost more than $2 billion and that private investors will be involved.

Zvi Bar'el: Slowly but surely, the government and the Israel Defense Forces have begun treating Hamas as a government rather than an organization. For instance, the prime minister announced that he sees Hamas as responsible for all the terror attacks in the Gaza Strip regardless of which organization actually carried them out. That is precisely how previous prime ministers used to talk about Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

Daniel Levy, "A more private occupation": Imagine Philippe Starck and Daniel Libeskind are commissioned to design an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank - imposing exterior, breezy interior, daring splashes of light and color. Sometimes it seems this is the image being promoted by the newly privatized and civilianized checkpoints and crossings popping up in the territories. When it comes to dress codes, the drab olive of military fatigues is decidedly passe, having been replaced by the crisp uniforms of private security contractors.

IDF kills Eigth

2008-04-12T01:41:00.004+02:00

Bei zwei verschiedenen militärischen Operationen der israelischen Streitkräfte im Gazasteifen werden vier Mitglieder paramilitärischer Einheiten und vier Zivilisten, darunter ein Kind und zwei Minderjährige getötet. Insgesamt werden 28 Verletzte notiert. Am Morgen hatte ein Luftanfgriff auf eine Gruppe Bewaffneter zwei mitlglieer der Hamas-Brigaden bei al-Khaza'a getötet. Bei einem Panzerangriff auf das al-Bureij-Camp, das massiv verteidigt wird sterben ein Hamas-Mitglied, ein der Army of Nation zugerechneter Jihadist und vier Zivilisten. Zudem kommt es erneut zu palästinensischem Sniper-Feuer auf den israelischen Kibbutz Nir Oz. Die Israelis verlautbaren das der am Donnerstag angegriffene fuel-terminal in Nazal Oz über das Wochenende wieder in Betrieb genommen werden soll. In Gaza City wird ein Haarsalon von verrückten Islamisten in die Luft gejagt, wobei niemand körperlich zu Schaden kommt.
In der Westbank werden die Verhaftungswellen etwas zurück geschraubt. Zu Aktionen kommt es in Tulkarm, Silwa und Beita. In Sourif wird ein Mitarbeiter des Medical Relief wegen "Annäherung an den Sicherheitswall" verhaftet nachdem IDFler sein aus auf den Kopf gestellt hatten. [Hunderte die illegal die Schlüpflöcher täglich durchqueren wundern sich.] Aus der Diplomatie wird von Hussein al-Sheik berichtet man habe mit den Israelis eine 12-stündige, tägliche Öffnung der Allenby-Bridge zwischen Jericho und Jordanien vereinbart. Jordanien wird begeistert sein. Die israelische Lokalzeitung Kol Hazman berichtet die Israelis hätten das Flugfeld des Kleinstflughafens Atarot an die Palästinenser übergeben. Die Nachricht ist zwar Blödsinn, aber Grund genug für den Bürgermeister von Jerusalem den Atarot-Plan als unbedingt vorantreibenswert zu bezeichnen.

Während sich der Iran formell bei der UN über die Äußerungen des israelischen Bauministiers Ben-Eliezer beschwert hat wird von der Janes Intelligence Review erneut das Prinzip "Nordkorea ist überall" angewandt um der Weltöffentlichkeit die secret site where Iran is suspected of developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets in Europe zu präsentieren. Eigentlich sieht die Anlage zwar so aus wie bei uns der örtliche Truthahn-Bauernhof, aber vielleicht ist ja auch unser Truthahn-Bauernhof nach nordkoreanischem sssseeeecret Vorbild gebaut und eigentlich eine Raketentestanlage mit der wir aus dem Kraichgau bald den Iran vernichten werden. [...] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized former President Jimmy Carter on Friday for his reported plans to meet the exiled leader of Hamas during a visit to Syria. Carter has not confirmed the plans to meet Khaled Mashaal, but Hamas has said the former Democratic president sent an envoy to Damascus requesting a meeting with the group's officials. Gleichzeitig lehnt sie eine erneute Sanktionsrrunde gegen den Iran ab. [Klar, Anfang Juni, ich tippe auf den 5. wird der Iran attackiert. Da brauchts keine neuen Sanktionen mehr.] Die Verifizierung der Existenz einer zweiten Serie von Gaszentrifugen in Kaskadenschaltung in Natanz steckt in der Anzahl fest: Earlier Friday, Muhammad Saidi, deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization rejected claims suggesting his country has encountered difficulties in its nuclear program, saying "we have no technical problems in adding new centrifuges… we are determined to increase their quantity and quality." Na dann increased mal schön.

Hamas seizes half the fuel Israel sends to the Gaza Strip and uses it in part for its military wing's vehicles, Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday. Erstens logisch, aber zweitens: "Israeli sources said Hamas was preventing the pumping of all the fuel from the Nahal Oz depot's reserves and funneling it to the Strip's gas stations." ist nur noch logischer, da die Hamas damit die exorbitant angestiegenen Benzinpreise im Gazastreifen halbwegs einfach drücken kann, der wiederum gestiegen war als die lieben israelischen Nachbarn die Benzinmenge von den derzeit 800 000 auf 25 000 drückten. Das dieser Bericht mal wieder von Kadima-Aktivist Barak Ravid geschrieben wurde kann man sich denken. [...] A preliminary IDF inquiry into the Palestinian raid on the Nahal Oz fuel depot on Wednesday has revealed serious failures in the way some of the forces were deployed and operated during the attack. Two Israeli civilian truck drivers were shot dead at the depot by four Palestinian terrorists. Two of the terrorists were killed by the IDF. [...] Israel has removed 44 roadblocks in the West Bank, short of the number promised to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a United Nations agency has found. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said most of the roadblocks removed were of little or no significance. OCHA, which charts the location of roadblocks in the West Bank, conducted its own field survey of the 61 obstacles that Israel said it removed earlier this month after Rice's visit. The agency found that 44 of the 61 obstacles had been removed, six remained and 11 could not be found, according to a preliminary report presented to Western donors.

Doron Rosenblum: The Israeli reality does not always evince Shakespearean theatrical skills, but now and then it is able to provide well-made drama. For one thing, it sometimes launches to the front of the stage - from among the cloaks of the evil characters and the gloomy kings - the figure of the Fool: He provides comic interludes that sometimes only emphasize the seriousness of events. For a number of years now, this character has been played here, with considerable success, by Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer (currently National Infrastructures Minister): A person whose somewhat buffoon-like appearance, rolling tongue and many years as a kind of courtier with access to the castles of the government and army is apparently allowed to speak aloud, without coming to much harm (but also without doing much good), all the things that are better left unsaid.