IDF kills Six

Bei einem Luftangriffen der IAF bei Khan Younis kommen insgesamt fünf Hamas-Brigadiers ums Leben. Zudem werden 8 PRC-Mitglieder verletzt. Bei einem Schußwechsel an der Grenze wird ein Mitglied des Islamic Jihad getötet. Die PRC-Brigaden drohen mit Angriffen mit Raketen größerer Reichweite. Über den Samstag kam es zu 5 Granatangriffen und zwei Qassamabschüssen auf israelische Einrichtungen, 3 Hamsmitglieder werden in der westbank durch die Fatah, sechs weitere Palästinenser darunter ein 13-jähriger "Steinewerfer" durch die IDF verhaftet. Die Fatah berichtet von der Verhaftung dreier Mitgliedern im Gazastreifen.

Nach israelischen angaben sollen am Montag 441 Palästinenser aus israelischem Gewahrsam entlassen werden. Zudem erhalten 250 Gazans die Erlaubniss in die Westbank auszureisen. Darunter sollen Studenten und medizinische Härtfälle sein. Nach Angaben von Hussein al-Sheik arbeitet die Abteilung Civil Affairs unter Hochdruck an einer Vereinbarung mit Ägypten und Israel um Gazans die Teilnahme an der diesjährigen Hajj zu ermöglichen. In einer Pressekonferenz ruft Ismael Haniyeh die Ägypter auf den Rafah-Grenzübergang zu öffnen. The High Court of Justice on Friday ordered the state to delay its reduction of power supplies to the Gaza Strip by at least one week, pending a full presentation detailing the proposed operation. The court's interim decision follows petitions by 10 human rights groups against the state's plan to reduce supplies of electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel to the coastal territory.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that there will be meetings in Moscow and Paris to follow up on this week's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Abbas gave his comments after meeting with President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. He also said that a special negotiating team, led by former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, will handle peace talks with Israelis. the negotiations are due to launch December 12. "There was this myth that there were talks or a deal in the U.S.-brokered Mideast summit in Annapolis," Abbas said. "The purpose of Annapolis meeting was to launch talks without going into details." There will be two stations after Annapolis: one in Paris and the second in Moscow where there will be another conference to review what the negotiations have achieved, he added, without elaborating. ... A Syrian state-run newspaper on Saturday described this week's US-sponsored Mideast peace conference as a "defeat" for the Palestinians and for peace in the region. ... Israel should drop its preconditions and immediately resume peace talks with Syria, Labor MK Danny Yatom said Saturday. In an interview with Israel Radio, Yatom added that it would be easier to reach a deal with Syria than with the Palestinians, and that progress with Syria could accelerate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

A U.N. inquiry has made progress in linking people to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and is closely examining the possibility that two or more teams may have prepared and carried out the attack, the chief investigator said Wednesday. While not identifying anyone, Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz said in his final report to the Security Council that progress by the U.N. International Independent Investigation Commission in the last four months has led to the identification of new "persons of interest" and new investigative leads. "The commission has also deepened and broadened its understanding of the possible involvement of a number of persons of interest, including persons who have recently been identified by the commission, who may have been involved in some aspects of the preparation and commission of the crime or who may have known that a plan to carry out the crime was being prepared," Brammertz said. Full report. Weiterhin wenig Erhellendes über eine Verstrickung der Syrer. Wenig Neues auch in der Angelegenheit "Präsidentschaft": Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the opposition to end its boycott of the presidential election and elect a successor to former President Emile Lahoud. He warned the vote must be held "before it's too late." Hingegen berichten Cambanis/Bakri: The political logjam over Lebanon’s vacant presidency was broken Thursday when a leader of the Syrian-backed opposition announced his support for the compromise candidate accepted by the pro-Western alliance. The deal follows Syria’s participation in the American-sponsored Middle East peace conference. Landis reports: According to good sources, the Lebanese government was blindsided at Annapolis with the candidacy of Michel Suleiman as President As officials began to arrive at Annapolis and started circulating, E.U, and then Egyptian officials began to approach their Lebanese counterparts. “Congratulations on your new president,” they were informed. The jaws of the Lebanese delegates dropped. It was the first any of them had heard of such news.

Officials from six world powers held talks in Paris on Saturday about Iran's nuclear program, a day after an 18-month EU effort to persuade Teheran to stop enriching uranium collapsed. US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns joined representatives from the foreign ministries of Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany for the closed-door talks at the French Foreign Ministry. Raghida Dergham: "The Limits of Iranian Anger over Damascus' Participation in the Reconciliation of Annapolis"

Dian Ezzad, "The Day after" und weitere Kommentare zum Thema Annapolis bei al-Ahram.