IDF kills Three

Im Vorfeld des Bush-Besuchs geben die israelischen Streitkräfte nochmals richtig Gas. In der Nähe des Erez crossings werden zwei bewaffnete Palästinenser, darunter eine Frau erschossen. In al-Yamun bei Jenin in der Westbank wird bei Schießereien mit der IDF ein Kämpfer des Islamic Jihad erschossen.
Derweil gibt sich Aussenministerin Tzipi Livni iF [in Feldgrau] martialisch: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni visited with Israel Defense Forces commanders in the West Bank on Monday, telling them that Israel would continue to act against terrorism during the negotiating period with the Palestinians. "Israel has no intention of throwing they key over to the other side and hoping for the best," she said. "For this reason, we must simultaneously work to alter the situation in the field and persist in the struggle against terrorism, as well as the formation of effective institutions and security groups on the Palestinian side in order to create an effective Palestinian governing body to make agreements with." "Only in this way can we implement the agreements that we make during the negotiations," she added. "As foreign minister, I have said in the past that when Israel is required to fight for security it must do so, even at the price of international criticism," Livni added. "The defense establishment realizes that it must ease restrictions on Palestinian civilian economic activity without jeopardizing Israeli security, when the opportunity presents itself," she said. "It must do so because it serves Israel's interests." PM Olmert legt nach: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a Kadima faction meeting Monday that "a real war is taking place in the Gaza Strip in recent months." Olmert added that terrorist organizations are suffering severe losses on a daily basis. The prime minister also mentioned the recent barrage of Qassam rockets, saying, "There is no doubt that the firing of Qassam rockets has to stop, and the struggle will be pursued forcefully in the West Bank as well as in Gaza." Olmert added that the government would not allow considerations in the negotiations with the Palestinians to deter it from taking action in the West Bank and Gaza.
Exact deswegen wird der palästinensische Chef-Unterhändler persönlich am Allenby crossing mit seiner Familie über eine Stunde festgehalten und nach seinen Angaben "rüde durchsucht", obwohl er einen offiziellen Termin in Jerusalem hatte.
Nach Angaben der PFLP wurden von ihr am Erez crossing ein israelischer Soldat angeschossen. Im Vorort ad-Daraj von Gaza City verlsetzt ein Luftangriff fünf Personen. Nördlich von Beit Hanoun findet eine Dauer-Verhaftungsaktion der IDF statt bei der bislang etwa insgesamt dreißig Personen festgenommen werden. Offensichtlich hat man ein temporäres Verhörlager eingerichtet in dem nach neuen Kollaborateueren geforscht werden soll. Dies findet gängig unter mentaler Folter statt, also vornehmlich Drohungen irgendjemanden aus der Familie umzubringen. [Eins scheinen die Israelis ja geschafft zu haben: Von interfraktionellen Kämpfen ist keine Rede mehr. Die Einheit der Hamas-PRC-Islamic Jihad Gruppen trägt.] Die korrupte ramallahnische Front zur Abwicklung israelischer Territoriallüsternheiten [FATAH] hält als Notstandsregierung eine Notstands-Eil-Sitzung ab und beschließt das Festhalten an dem gerade in Grund und Boden gestampften "Sicherheitsplan" der Notstandsregierung. Dabei werden Preise für Geschädigte des letzten israelischen Marodier-Einsatzes in Höhe von 1200 US$ pro Geschädigtem ausgelobt, die in sechs Ratten... ähm nein .. Ratenzahlungen von ihr gegeben werden. Diese Praxis sichert Einkünfte in der korrupten Verwaltung über Monate! Es lebe die Demokratie!

Hinkelschwein meets Nabil Kahouk [Hezbollah]. Die Navy trifft sich zu Friedensverhandlungen mit den Revolutionsgardisten. Verhandlungen werden aber abgebrochen. In der Folge stürzen sich zwei enttäuschte F18-Piloten, die wohl dachten "es" ginge los aus Enttäuschung ineinander. Flieger stüzen ab, Piloten gerettet. Ein weiteres Treffen geht nicht gut aus: Urteil II in Sachen Mord an israelischem Tourismusminister Rehavam Ze'evi.

JPost: Defense Minister Ehud Barak will urge President George W. Bush to reassess a US intelligence report saying that Iran has halted its nuclear weapons program when the two meet this week during Bush's visit to Israel, an official in Barak's office said Monday. Barak will tell Bush that while Israeli intelligence does not have data that differ greatly from that cited last month in the US National Intelligence Estimate, its analysts conclude that Iran is continuing to try to produce nuclear arms, an defense official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he was barred from publicly commenting on the talks in advance. A meeting of Israel's Security Cabinet Sunday, attended by Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, decided to share with the Americans at least some of Israel's intelligence on Iran's nuclear efforts. [Die vorhin erwähnte Textzeile aus dem el-Baradei-Interview, der ausdrücklich den Iran lobt, in Bezug auf Syrien ist nicht aufgetaucht.]

To something different: Alistair Lyon, "Formidable obstacles face Arab plan for Lebanon": An Arab plan to end Lebanon's constitutional crisis can only succeed if it wins the support of Lebanese factions likely to wrangle over every detail except the choice of army chief Michel Suleiman as next head of state. Even though Suleiman has not been elected, Arab governments remarkably endorsed him for president on Sunday and advocated a national unity cabinet in which he would hold the balance between the anti-Syrian majority and Hezbollah-led opposition. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is due in Beirut this week to try to push the deal through a Lebanese political meat-grinder that has shredded earlier Arab and French efforts. + Nicholas Blanford, "Can the Arab League solve Lebanon's political crisis?": Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, is expected in Beirut this week, the latest high-profile visit here in a string of efforts to solve Lebanon's six-week presidential deadlock. He will push for the acceptance of a joint Arab proposal – a plan that supports the election of Army chief General Michel Suleiman – that was adopted unanimously Sunday at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. Syria, which backs the Lebanese political opposition to the Western-supported government, also approved the plan. Where Mr. Moussa hopes to succeed, French and other Arab initiatives have failed. + France on Monday threw its weight behind a three-point plan agreed by Arab League foreign ministers at the weekend to hold a presidential election in Lebanon and end its long-standing political crisis. The plan adopted by the ministers of the 22-nation Arab League, including Syria, provides for the election of a president, the formation of a government of national unity and the adoption of a new electoral law. "France welcomes the three-step plan adopted by Arab League foreign ministers at their Cairo meeting, with a view to finding a solution to the Leban-ese political crisis," said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. + Zuheir Kseibati, "The arab basket for Lebanon": The Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa did well by refraining from describing the basket of the Arab solution to the crisis in Lebanon as a last chance, as did the French President Nicolas Sarkozy who appeared to be issuing a warning, although he helped widen the disappointment when the French efforts to defuse the crisis were foiled.

Reuters-Vorbericht zum Bush-Besuch in Jerusalem. + Samia Khoury, "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets": "Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it." (Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael.) Every time there is a meeting between the leadership of Israel and the USA, a lot of rhetoric is heard regarding easing restrictions or releasing prisoners. A removal of a couple of roadblocks from amongst hundreds is certainly not going to change the ugly reality of the occupation.

Yossi alpher, "The only way to dismantle outposts": When it comes to the interaction between successive Israeli governments and the outposts, two sets of facts appear unassailable. First, the last two prime ministers of Israel have given the United States and the Palestinian leadership solemn commitments regarding the removal of several dozen so-called "unauthorized" outposts in the West Bank. These outposts are patently illegal even by the warped standards of official Israeli licensing procedures regarding settlement construction, with which the mainstream settler leadership has concurred; in many cases they were built on private Palestinian land. The Annapolis understandings recommit Israel to remove outposts under phase I of the roadmap, starting now.

Gideon Levy, "Five masked man": In a dirty and neglected room in the surgical department of Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus, an elderly shepherd lies injured, the victim of a vicious attack. Five masked men assaulted him last week. They beat him with sticks as he was tending his grazing sheep to the west of his home village of Til. The five came down from the direction of Havat Gilad, an illegal outpost in the territories, sprayed teargas in his face and at his companions, and then began hitting them with sticks, drawing blood, while he lay helpless on the ground. Now the shepherd, Hashem Hamed, has two fractures in his left arm, fractures in his skull, large stitches on his head, in front and back, and is severely traumatized.