An einem verhältnismäßig ruhigen Tag mit nur zwei Qassam-Raketenabschüssen auf israelisches Territorium aus dem Gazastreifen meldet die al-Hayat vom Besuch des ägyptischen Geheimdienstchefs Suleiman bei Amos Gilad [Maj.-Gen. res. Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau head] Verhandlungen über die Wiederöffnung des Rafah-Grenzübergangs und das Überbringen von ägyptischen Warnungen in Bezug auf eine möglicherweise anstehende israelische Offensive im Gazastreifen. [In Ägypten selbst finden derzeit Massenverhaftungen in Muslim-Bruderschaft-Zirkeln statt. [...] Das Augenmerk sollte man auch auf die anhaltende Inhaftierung eines marokkanischen Bloggers richten. Text von Laila Lalimi: Free Mourtada - Two weeks ago, a computer engineer by the name of Fouad Mourtada was arrested by Moroccan police in Casablanca for creating a fake Facebook profile of Prince Moulay Rachid, the king's brother. Mourtada's family found out about his arrest through the news, and had to wait a week to be allowed to see him. Mourtada says he was tortured when he was taken into custody. There are thousands of fake profiles for politicians, royals, and celebrities, but Mourtada has been charged with identity theft and risks up to five years in prison. Several Moroccan bloggers, including this one, are maintaining radio silence today. You can visit the Mourtada family website here.] Die Hamas präsentiert den Top-Finanzier eines Anschlagsversuchs auf Ismail Haniyeh, einen ehemaligen Fatah-Sicherheitsoffizier. [...] Nachbericht zur Zerstörung der YMCA-Bilbliothek in Gaza City: A recent attack on a Christian library in the Gaza Strip has caused concern among civil society organisations that such violence might escalate unless police arrest the perpetrators. There is talk of "security chaos" in the Strip, and apprehension about a further decline in personal security. [...] Die Yedioth Achronot spekuliert über Iranische Experten die im Gazastreifen der Hamas die Herstellung von Dronen bei bringen möchten. [Dr. Ahmad Yusuf, warned on Wednesday that the situation will explode with surprising consequences if the international community does not make serious efforts to end the siege on Gaza and allow Hamas into the international community. Dr. Yusuf pointed out in a press release sent to Ma'an that Gaza is seen by some as a time bomb waiting to explode as he warned everyone not "to count on Gaza's patience."]
Dramatisch gestaltet sich der über die Medien ausgetragene interne Machtkampf unter den Ramallahnern: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, responding to an aide's call on Wednesday for a unilateral declaration of statehood if peace talks with Israel continued to falter, ruled out taking any such step soon. "We will pursue negotiations in order to reach a peace agreement during 2008 that includes the settlement of all final status issues including Jerusalem," Abbas said in a statement. "But if we cannot achieve that, and we reach a deadlock, we will go back to our Arab nation to take the necessary decision at the highest level," he said, without mentioning any options. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team with the Israelis, told Reuters that if they could not reach a deal with Israel, the Palestinians could consider declaring independence like Kosovo did on Sunday. [...] Drawing an analogy to Kosovo, he said: "Kosovo is not better than us. We deserve independence even before Kosovo, and we ask for the backing of the United States and the European Union for our independence." "This is what the Israelis are driving us to," he added, in an interview with the Voice of Palestine radio station. However, the chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, quickly quashed the idea of a unilateral declaration, saying it was never brought before the Palestinian leadership. "Decisions should be taken and then declared, and not be declared and then be taken," Qureia said, in an apparent reprimand of Abed Rabbo. [Für die Standfestigkeit von Ahmad Qurei in der Angelegenheit ob man über Jerusalem nun geredet habe oder nicht taucht eine erkläriende Nachricht auf: Israelische Siedler aus Ariel hätten über die letzten Monate einige Herden von Wildschweinen frei gelassen, die in palästinensischen Feldern wüten würden -es gibt sogar Fotobeweise-. Auch wären schon Personen angegriffen worden und wohl hat auch eine Wildschweinrotte Qurei überrant und seine mentalen Fähigkeiten schwer geschädigt. Diese wahrhaft schweinische Kriegsführung wird natürlich auf dieser Webseite strikt verurteilt.] Salam Fayyad, der palästinensische Superminister hat hingegen andere Probleme: Nach seiner Ankündigung für ein Investorentreffen in Bethlehem für Anfang Mai 2008[?] mußte dieses sofort auf Ende Mai verschoben werden, da die Geburtstagsfeierlichkeiten der israelischen Nachbardemokratie ein Höchstmaß an Bewegungsunfreiheit in der Westbank mit sich bringen. Ist doch klar, wenn die Demokraten feiern müssen die Schmuddelkinder fern bleiben. Trifft aber auch andere: Damit während den Feierlichkeiten ja kein göttliches Zeichen das Land in einer Tsunamiwelle vernichtet müssen israelische Homosexuelle für zwei wochen dringend das Land verlassen... [The recent earthquake that was felt across Israel was the result of the "homosexual activity practiced in the country", Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri said Wednesday.] oder eine schriftliche Erklärung beeiden das sie ihren sexuellen Verkehr auf ein das Land nicht gefähredendes Maß von Null reduzieren. Gerüchte das Shlomo Benizri in seiner Freizeit verkleidet palästinensische Unterhändler verfolgt bestätigten sich bislnag nicht. [...] Da fehlt natürlich nur noch der Beitrag eines Landes das sich mit Homosexuellen auskennt: Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday that lack of positive response from Israel to initiatives for Middle East peace would make Arab nations review their position. "We hope that Israel responds positively to our quest and efforts, to avoid desperation that would force us to review our options," al-Faisal said in a speech at the opening a meeting of Latin American and Arab nations' foreign ministers in Buenos Aires. Al-Faisal said Arab participation in last November's conference in Annapolis, Maryland to launch a new bid for Middle East peace was based on the idea of entering a new era of talks. Schwul oder nicht schwul, gebaut wird trotzdem: A new neighborhood comprising 27 trailers is currently under construction at the settlement of Eli, north of Ramallah, even though Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed publicly after the Annapolis conference that any such building would cease. Even though some of the trailers are being set up on land privately owned by Palestinians, the authorities are taking no action. Ein anderer Rechtsausleger meldet sich nach einer gewissen Ruhezeit zu Wort: Likud leader and chairman of the opposition MK Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Olmert government is taking measures to divide Jerusalem, and urged the key Shas party to bolt the coalition and topple the government in order "to save Jerusalem." Netanyahu was reacting to ongoing wrangling between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over Olmert's assertion that the sides had agreed to defer discussions over the status of Jerusalem to a future final phase of negotiations. Zwölf Palästinenser werden in der Nacht zum Mittwoch westbankweit verhaftet.
A 22-year-old Jenin resident was arrested Wednesday for posing as an Israeli citizen in order to receive medical treatment. According to suspicions, the young Palestinian woman passed herself off as an Israeli in order to undergo complicated lung surgery at Haifa's Rambam Hospital. The woman arrived at the hospital a week and a half ago and presented herself as a citizen of Israel. During the course of her treatment, the hospital staff discovered that that her blood type does no match that that of the Israeli woman whose identity she stole. Despite this, and because of her sensitive condition, the suspect underwent the operation. Hospital staff only notified the police of the crime after the patient was healthy enough to be discharged. [Sehr ziviles Verhalten, da können sich die Olmerts und Netanjahus was von abschneiden.]
Amira Hass, "If the land isn't private?": Not long ago the greengrocer in Ramallah recalled - between weighing locally grown zucchini and stripped hyssop leaves - that his family owns the land on which the gas station at the old entrance to the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the West Bank is located. He would not be surprised by the figure that the Peace Now movement has succeeded in officially extracting from the defense establishment, after more than a year of fighting for the freedom of information: About one-third of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank (44 out of 120) were built on privately owned Palestinian land that was seized, by means of confiscation orders, for "security needs."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon promised Wednesday to respond "firmly" to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal attacks on Israel, which he called "intolerable." Ban made the promise in a meeting with Israel's Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, who requested the meeting with the UN chief following the Iranian president's Wednesday attack calling Israel a "filthy germ." Ahmadinejad's remarks were broadcast on Iranian television on Wednesday, in which he called Israel a "filthy germ" and "savage beast" established by Western states in their bid to dominate Middle East nations. [...] IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi warned the army on Wednesday to be ready for a new conflagration in the region. An exiled Iranian opposition group [Königstreue - unsolide] on Wednesday claimed that Tehran has accelerated its alleged nuclear weapons program, including the production of nuclear warheads. [...] Some 15 Knesset members from a broad spectrum of parties will soon embark on a tour of Europe and the Far East to explain the dangers of Iran's nuclear program and urge that sanctions against the Islamic Republic be intensified.
Noch eine gute Nachricht aus der Türkei: Religiöse Minderheiten in der Türkei sollen ihr in den 70er Jahren vom Staat konfisziertes Eigentum zurückerhalten. Das beschloss das Parlament in Ankara am Mittwoch mit 242 gegen 72 Stimmen. Es wird erwartet, dass Staatspräsident Abdullah Gül das Gesetz mit seiner Unterschrift in Kraft setzen wird. Die Türkei hatte 1974 das Eigentum von Stiftungen, die etwa von christlichen oder jüdischen Organisationen betrieben wurden, konfisziert. Darunter waren Kirchen, Schulen oder Waisenhäuser. Mit der Rückgabe des beschlagnahmten Eigentums erfüllt die Türkei eine der Forderungen der Europäischen Union für eine Aufnahme in die EU.
Mittwoch, 20. Februar 2008
Bar Refaeli Special
Auf vielfachen Wunsch hier kurz die neue Präsentation des israelischen Supermodels bei der Sports Illustrated Swimsuite Edition. Sehr gute Fotos.
Dazu ein kleiner Bericht Channel 10.
Dazu ein kleiner Bericht Channel 10.
IDF kills 7-year-old
Bei der bereits erwähnten Schießerei in Dir al-Balah ist nach palästinensischen Angaben im Kreuzfeuer ein palästinenischer Junge, 7 Jahre durch eine israelische Kugel getötet worden. Zwei weitere Kinder wurden verletzt. Die IDF läßt nun verlautbaren, das sie eine kleine Operation am Rande des Ortes durchgeführt habe und wörtlich "nicht über den Vorfall mit den Kindern informiert" worden sei. Die vorige Version der Attacke eines Milizionärs an der Grenze wird nebenher aufrecht erhalten. In abasan bei Khan Younis werden zwei weitere Palästinenser verletzt. Am Nachmittag treffen nochmals zwei Qassam-Raketen das Industriegebiet in Sderot.
Denn sie wissen nicht mal über was sie geredet haben: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem Tuesday evening. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads the Israeli peace negotiations team, and the head of the Palestinian team, Ahmed Qureia, were also present at the meeting. The two leaders did not discuss the sensitive issue of Jerusalem during their meeting, despite Abbas' earlier calls not to postpone addressing the contentious issue, a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office said. "The issue of Jerusalem did not come up in the discussion. I'm not aware of changes in the Israeli position," the official said. Israeli officials said the leaders had agreed to accelerate peace talks. However, senior Abbas aide and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat disputed the report that Jerusalem was not discussed, saying that the leaders had discussed "all the core issues." Andere Quellen berichten man habe sich auf täglichen Diplomatieverkehr geeinigt. Andere Quellen sagen Olmert und Abbas würden sich in zwei Wochen wieder treffen. Salam Fayyad, ramallahnischer Superminister kündigt auf May eine Investorenkonferenz in Bethlehem an. Zuvor hatte Mahmoud Abu Ar-Rub Abbas in der Funktion eines state-comptrollers den Haushaltsbericht für das Fiskaljahr 2006 übergeben in dem lapidar keine Haushaltssumme festgestellt werden konnte, da 58% aller palästinensischen Kommunen und staatlichen Einrichtungen keine Berichte abgaben. [Peinlich.]
They used to meet in Sderot. It seems like ages ago. They were a group of Palestinians from Gaza and Israelis, most of whom were from Sderot. A siren could go off at any moment, but they continued to try to understand how sanity could be returned to the region. They thought of starting joint summer camps for children from Gaza and Sderot, and above all they tried to create a dialogue that overcame prejudices and deceptions. But it's been six months since they last met in a Sderot living room. "We have given up on persuading the authorities to let them leave Gaza," says Danny Gal, one of the dialogue's organizers. "These people do not constitute a security threat. On the contrary, they are a positive and calming element, but the closure on Gaza is sweeping. So we decided to meet online and let the world hear a different voice, from both Gaza and Sderot." Blogadresse hier.
Islamic Jihad criticized Palestinian human rights groups on Tuesday for saying they found no evidence that the Israel Defense Forces was responsible for a blast that killed eight people, including a commander of the group, in Gaza last week. "There is no evidence to confirm that the explosion was caused by rocket or aerial bombardment by Israeli occupation forces, as mentioned in some media outlets," the Palestine Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said in a joint statement on Monday.
Meron Benevisti, "A democratic threat on the wane": The publication of the census results by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which found that the population in the occupied territories has reached approximately 3.8 million people, was not widely discussed among the Israeli media - although the data (along with other figures published earlier this year by the Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel) shows that the number of Jews and Arabs living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean is close to parity. If we subtract the 200,000 East Jerusalem residents, who were counted twice, the number of Jews stands at about 5.4 million and the number of Arabs - both Israeli citizens and those living in the territories - at approximately 5.2 million.
War doch klar, das dem Typ das Klima nicht bekommt: The United States is reviewing the feasibility of deploying a NATO force in the West Bank as a way to ease IDF security concerns and facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the area within the coming years, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post. The plan, which is being spearheaded by US Special Envoy to the region Gen. James Jones, is being floated among European countries, which could be asked to contribute troops to a West Bank multinational force. Jones, a former commander of NATO, was sent to Israel in November to help the Israelis and Palestinians frame some of the security mechanics necessary for a broader peace agreement.
Yoel Marcus: The government proclaims the army will uproot terror from Gaza and stop the Qassam fire. Yet it has decided to allocate NIS 350 million to shellproof thousands of homes in Sderot and other towns around Gaza. What are the citizens supposed to understand from that? That the government does not believe that commando units, the "rehabilitated" army or the "major offensive" planned for Gaza can end the Qassams? That on the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary, we're back to the era of "stockade and tower" fortifications, doomed forever to huddle in a ghetto?
Denn sie wissen nicht mal über was sie geredet haben: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem Tuesday evening. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads the Israeli peace negotiations team, and the head of the Palestinian team, Ahmed Qureia, were also present at the meeting. The two leaders did not discuss the sensitive issue of Jerusalem during their meeting, despite Abbas' earlier calls not to postpone addressing the contentious issue, a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office said. "The issue of Jerusalem did not come up in the discussion. I'm not aware of changes in the Israeli position," the official said. Israeli officials said the leaders had agreed to accelerate peace talks. However, senior Abbas aide and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat disputed the report that Jerusalem was not discussed, saying that the leaders had discussed "all the core issues." Andere Quellen berichten man habe sich auf täglichen Diplomatieverkehr geeinigt. Andere Quellen sagen Olmert und Abbas würden sich in zwei Wochen wieder treffen. Salam Fayyad, ramallahnischer Superminister kündigt auf May eine Investorenkonferenz in Bethlehem an. Zuvor hatte Mahmoud Abu Ar-Rub Abbas in der Funktion eines state-comptrollers den Haushaltsbericht für das Fiskaljahr 2006 übergeben in dem lapidar keine Haushaltssumme festgestellt werden konnte, da 58% aller palästinensischen Kommunen und staatlichen Einrichtungen keine Berichte abgaben. [Peinlich.]
They used to meet in Sderot. It seems like ages ago. They were a group of Palestinians from Gaza and Israelis, most of whom were from Sderot. A siren could go off at any moment, but they continued to try to understand how sanity could be returned to the region. They thought of starting joint summer camps for children from Gaza and Sderot, and above all they tried to create a dialogue that overcame prejudices and deceptions. But it's been six months since they last met in a Sderot living room. "We have given up on persuading the authorities to let them leave Gaza," says Danny Gal, one of the dialogue's organizers. "These people do not constitute a security threat. On the contrary, they are a positive and calming element, but the closure on Gaza is sweeping. So we decided to meet online and let the world hear a different voice, from both Gaza and Sderot." Blogadresse hier.
Islamic Jihad criticized Palestinian human rights groups on Tuesday for saying they found no evidence that the Israel Defense Forces was responsible for a blast that killed eight people, including a commander of the group, in Gaza last week. "There is no evidence to confirm that the explosion was caused by rocket or aerial bombardment by Israeli occupation forces, as mentioned in some media outlets," the Palestine Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said in a joint statement on Monday.
Meron Benevisti, "A democratic threat on the wane": The publication of the census results by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which found that the population in the occupied territories has reached approximately 3.8 million people, was not widely discussed among the Israeli media - although the data (along with other figures published earlier this year by the Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel) shows that the number of Jews and Arabs living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean is close to parity. If we subtract the 200,000 East Jerusalem residents, who were counted twice, the number of Jews stands at about 5.4 million and the number of Arabs - both Israeli citizens and those living in the territories - at approximately 5.2 million.
War doch klar, das dem Typ das Klima nicht bekommt: The United States is reviewing the feasibility of deploying a NATO force in the West Bank as a way to ease IDF security concerns and facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the area within the coming years, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post. The plan, which is being spearheaded by US Special Envoy to the region Gen. James Jones, is being floated among European countries, which could be asked to contribute troops to a West Bank multinational force. Jones, a former commander of NATO, was sent to Israel in November to help the Israelis and Palestinians frame some of the security mechanics necessary for a broader peace agreement.
Yoel Marcus: The government proclaims the army will uproot terror from Gaza and stop the Qassam fire. Yet it has decided to allocate NIS 350 million to shellproof thousands of homes in Sderot and other towns around Gaza. What are the citizens supposed to understand from that? That the government does not believe that commando units, the "rehabilitated" army or the "major offensive" planned for Gaza can end the Qassams? That on the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary, we're back to the era of "stockade and tower" fortifications, doomed forever to huddle in a ghetto?
Dienstag, 19. Februar 2008
IDF kills One - Others Two
Am Dienstag Morgen wird ein Kämpfer der Splittergruppe "Democratic Front" östlich von Dir al-Balah bei Kämpfen mit israelsichen Einheiten getötet. Nach israelischen angaben handelte es sich um einen Angriff auf Truppen an der Grenze und man habe zurück geschossen. Weitere Zwischenfälle werden vom Kissufim-Crossing gemeldet. Am Morgen werden fünf Qassam-Raketen auf israelische Ziele abgeschossen. Dabei wird südlich von Ashkelon eine Hühnerfarm getroffen. Unterdessen hat die ägyptische Polizei eine erste Abschiebeaktion von Palästinensern die in el-Arish gestranded waren abgeschlossen. Insgesamt wurden 334 Personen in den Gazastreifen "entlassen". An der Grenze zu Israel wird ein Sudanese bei der illagelen Einreise von Ägyptern erschossen. Weitere acht Personen werden verhaftet. In der Vorwoche war eine Eriträerin erschossen worden, ihre beiden Kinder wurden "inhaftiert". [eine Problemzone die es nicht in die gängigen Medien schafft.] Hamas-Führer Ismail Haniyeh sendet derweil einen Brandbrief an den Generalsekretär der Arabischen Liga, Amr Moussa in dem die arabischen Brüder aufgefordert werden die Israelische Blockade des Gazastreifens zu beenden. Ein Akt der Handlungsfähigkeit und Konkurrenz zum Alleinvetretungsanspruch der PLO symbolisieren soll. An der Realitätsfront geht scheinbar den palästinensischen Ambulanzen langsam das Benzin aus.
In der Libanesischen Grenzstadt Qaa im Bekaa-Tal wird durch ein syrisches Sonderkommando ein 41-jähriger in seinem Haus überfallen und erschossen. Während dessen fährt die libanesische Armee um die Sicherheit zu gewährleisten schwere Geschütze auf: Internal Security Forces (ISF) chief Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi told The Daily Star on Monday that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will deploy heavily in "security pits," a reference to areas where violent clashes have erupted between government and opposition supporters over last week. Rifi said representatives of the feuding parties insisted their groups were not responsible for the clashes, and blamed the sudden violence on "security pits" in different areas of the capital. Following weekend clashes in Beirut that wounded at least 14 people, Lebanese Army intelligence chief General Georges Khoury and a number of the county's top security officials met late Sunday with representatives of Hizbullah, the Amal Movement and the Future Movement in an effort to contain tensions in Beirut and prevent future clashes. Während man sich mit Investigationen bei politischen Morden schwer tut "darf" ein Ermittler gegen insgesamt 56 Personen Strafverfahren einleiten: State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza released on Monday evening the results of his inquiry into the 2007 twin bus bombing in the Ain Alaq region, eastern Beirut. Mirza filed charges against the fugitive leader of the Fatah al-Islam group Shaker al-Abssi, and four Syrians, Mustapha Siyou, Farid Nassan, Yasser Shuqayri and Ghazi Nassan for plotting for the bombing and for the "intentional" murder of innocent civilians. Derweil tobt bezüglich der Mughniyeh-Affaire eine editorial-Schlacht: Tensions are growing in Lebanon over the possibility of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the wake fo the assassination of terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyah in Damascus last week. [...] Rhetoric between rival factions in Lebanon has reached a new peak with Druze leader Walid Jumblat accusing Hezbollah in an editorial to be published Tuesday in his party's journal, Al Anba, of serving Syrian interests at Lebanon's expense in its war against Israel. "Lebanon continues to be the arena where wars break out according to their [Hezbollah's] calculations, interests and circumstances, as if the occupied Syrian territory [Golan Heights] is not suitable for such campaign." [...] Senior Syrian officials will hold a press conference in the coming days in order to present progress in the investigation into the assassination of Hezbollah's deputy leader Imad Mughniyah, who was killed last week in a Damascus blast, a Lebanese newspaper reported Tuesday. The Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar said Syria has decided not to make the details of the investigation public at this time, until the investigation progresses and is able to clarify who was responsible for the attack. [al-Ahkbar wie üblich mit größter Vorsicht zu geniessen.] Zudem: The Shin Bet has decided that Israeli ministers will be accompanied by security guards during their private vacations abroad, following the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah last week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday. The General Security Service has improved the ministers' security procedures for fear that Hizbullah would attempt to avenge the killing, and the new instructions have been relayed to security officers at the various government offices.
In der Westbank ist Terror-as-usual angesagt: In Nablus wird eine Studentin der an-Najah durch marodierende Israelische Milizionäre verschleppt nachdem man ihre Wohnung zertrümmerte. Die Fatah verhaftet 7 Hamas-Mitglieder. Nachdem wir über "Zäune zu Ägypten" in der Presse nichts mehr lesen durften sind die folgenden Aktionen bezüglich des Dimona-bombings [Täterschaft] eindeutig: Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the northern West Bank since the Dimona bombing on February 4 that killed an Israeli woman, according to the B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Palestinian territories. In the districts of Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarem districts all Palestinian men between the ages of 16-35 are prevented from leaving the area without special permits, which are rarely granted. Testimonies taken by B'Tselem indicated that during the past two weeks, these restrictions have also been imposed on women of this age group. In the past few days, similar restrictions have been introduced in the city of Qalqilya. [...] Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told a group of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday that peace is making little progress and a peace agreement won't be possible by the end of the year if the pace isn't quickened. [...] A senior Jerusalem source said Monday that Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had agreed to defer talks on Jerusalem to the final stage of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The source said Olmert and Rice had talked on the telephone about a week and a half ago, and that Rice accepted Olmert's position that discussing Jerusalem at the very beginning could jam the negotiations and obstruct them. [Lustig. Schiedsrichterin Verbrannter Riceauflauf gibt dem palästinesischen Mittelfeldmotor Jeru Sa-lemfrage in der ersten Minute die Rote Karte wegen Meckerns der Shas-Zuschauer über die Bestrebungen der palästinensischen Mannschaft das Orient-Haus wieder zu eröffnen. Dabei begann das spiel schon beim Stand von 11:0 für Israel.]
Darüber muß ich mich erstmal näher informieren. Interessante Ansichten vertritt Meir Golan: Golan, who was addressing the Knesset State Control Committee, said that in recent years, approximately NIS 500m were invested in fortifying Sderot, with the bulk of the funds going towards bolstering public institutions.
In der Libanesischen Grenzstadt Qaa im Bekaa-Tal wird durch ein syrisches Sonderkommando ein 41-jähriger in seinem Haus überfallen und erschossen. Während dessen fährt die libanesische Armee um die Sicherheit zu gewährleisten schwere Geschütze auf: Internal Security Forces (ISF) chief Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi told The Daily Star on Monday that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will deploy heavily in "security pits," a reference to areas where violent clashes have erupted between government and opposition supporters over last week. Rifi said representatives of the feuding parties insisted their groups were not responsible for the clashes, and blamed the sudden violence on "security pits" in different areas of the capital. Following weekend clashes in Beirut that wounded at least 14 people, Lebanese Army intelligence chief General Georges Khoury and a number of the county's top security officials met late Sunday with representatives of Hizbullah, the Amal Movement and the Future Movement in an effort to contain tensions in Beirut and prevent future clashes. Während man sich mit Investigationen bei politischen Morden schwer tut "darf" ein Ermittler gegen insgesamt 56 Personen Strafverfahren einleiten: State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza released on Monday evening the results of his inquiry into the 2007 twin bus bombing in the Ain Alaq region, eastern Beirut. Mirza filed charges against the fugitive leader of the Fatah al-Islam group Shaker al-Abssi, and four Syrians, Mustapha Siyou, Farid Nassan, Yasser Shuqayri and Ghazi Nassan for plotting for the bombing and for the "intentional" murder of innocent civilians. Derweil tobt bezüglich der Mughniyeh-Affaire eine editorial-Schlacht: Tensions are growing in Lebanon over the possibility of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the wake fo the assassination of terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyah in Damascus last week. [...] Rhetoric between rival factions in Lebanon has reached a new peak with Druze leader Walid Jumblat accusing Hezbollah in an editorial to be published Tuesday in his party's journal, Al Anba, of serving Syrian interests at Lebanon's expense in its war against Israel. "Lebanon continues to be the arena where wars break out according to their [Hezbollah's] calculations, interests and circumstances, as if the occupied Syrian territory [Golan Heights] is not suitable for such campaign." [...] Senior Syrian officials will hold a press conference in the coming days in order to present progress in the investigation into the assassination of Hezbollah's deputy leader Imad Mughniyah, who was killed last week in a Damascus blast, a Lebanese newspaper reported Tuesday. The Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar said Syria has decided not to make the details of the investigation public at this time, until the investigation progresses and is able to clarify who was responsible for the attack. [al-Ahkbar wie üblich mit größter Vorsicht zu geniessen.] Zudem: The Shin Bet has decided that Israeli ministers will be accompanied by security guards during their private vacations abroad, following the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah last week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday. The General Security Service has improved the ministers' security procedures for fear that Hizbullah would attempt to avenge the killing, and the new instructions have been relayed to security officers at the various government offices.
In der Westbank ist Terror-as-usual angesagt: In Nablus wird eine Studentin der an-Najah durch marodierende Israelische Milizionäre verschleppt nachdem man ihre Wohnung zertrümmerte. Die Fatah verhaftet 7 Hamas-Mitglieder. Nachdem wir über "Zäune zu Ägypten" in der Presse nichts mehr lesen durften sind die folgenden Aktionen bezüglich des Dimona-bombings [Täterschaft] eindeutig: Israel has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the northern West Bank since the Dimona bombing on February 4 that killed an Israeli woman, according to the B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Palestinian territories. In the districts of Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarem districts all Palestinian men between the ages of 16-35 are prevented from leaving the area without special permits, which are rarely granted. Testimonies taken by B'Tselem indicated that during the past two weeks, these restrictions have also been imposed on women of this age group. In the past few days, similar restrictions have been introduced in the city of Qalqilya. [...] Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told a group of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Tuesday that peace is making little progress and a peace agreement won't be possible by the end of the year if the pace isn't quickened. [...] A senior Jerusalem source said Monday that Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had agreed to defer talks on Jerusalem to the final stage of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The source said Olmert and Rice had talked on the telephone about a week and a half ago, and that Rice accepted Olmert's position that discussing Jerusalem at the very beginning could jam the negotiations and obstruct them. [Lustig. Schiedsrichterin Verbrannter Riceauflauf gibt dem palästinesischen Mittelfeldmotor Jeru Sa-lemfrage in der ersten Minute die Rote Karte wegen Meckerns der Shas-Zuschauer über die Bestrebungen der palästinensischen Mannschaft das Orient-Haus wieder zu eröffnen. Dabei begann das spiel schon beim Stand von 11:0 für Israel.]
Darüber muß ich mich erstmal näher informieren. Interessante Ansichten vertritt Meir Golan: Golan, who was addressing the Knesset State Control Committee, said that in recent years, approximately NIS 500m were invested in fortifying Sderot, with the bulk of the funds going towards bolstering public institutions.
Montag, 18. Februar 2008
IDF kills One
Am heutigen Miontag erliegt ein 42-jähriger Zivilist im Gazastreifen an seinen Wunden, die er sich am Vortag bei Kämpfen in der Rafah-Zone zwischen der israelischen Armee und palästinensischen Milizien zugezogen hatte.
*** Gaza-Streifen: Eben wird gemeldet das 350 Personen davon über die Grenze verbracht wurde: Egyptian police have rounded up some 500 Palestinians in the northern Sinai Penninsula over the past four days and plan to deport them back into the Gaza Strip shortly, Egyptian security sources said on Monday. The Palestinians are some of at least 3,000 left inside Egypt after hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents crossed the border in January, when Hamas militants blasted through the frontier fence. [A group of Palestinians rounded up by Egyptian security forces are threatening suicide if they are not soon released either to the Gaza Strip or a life of dignity in Egypt. About 500 Gazans are still being held as prisoners in a sports complex in the border city of Al-Arish. Egyptian police arrested them after they did not return to Gaza when the border was resealed earlier this month following a brief period of unrestricted cross-border movement.] Über den Tag feuern wohl vornehmlich die al-Quds-Brigaden des Islamic Jihad insgesamt 9 Qassam-Raketen und 7 Mörsergranaten auf den israelischen Grenzzstreifen ab. Leichte Gebäudeschäden und Schockopfer sind zu notieren. Eine Qassam hingegen trifft eine belebte Zone. Äußerst unvermittelt und überraschend äußert sich der israelische PM Ehud Olmert in Bezug auf ein Raketenabwehrsystem: A significant amount of money is being invested for the completion of the Iron Dome anti-Kassam system, currently under development by Israel's Rafael (Armaments Development Authority), Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday. "The plan is that these means will give us the capability of stopping short-range rocket attacks including Kassams. This is applicable to both the northern and the southern fronts," said the prime minister during a Kadima faction meeting. Olmert emphasized that the system was at an advanced stage of development with an investment of nearly one billion NIS. Zum Ersten schmückt Olmert sich mal wieder mit Federn die ihn wie ein gerupftes Huhn aussehen lassen, hatte doch sein Kabinett die Entwicklung des Systems über Monate blockiert und erst am 23.12.07 die Freigabe der "Billion NIS" Investition über die nächsten fünf Jahre bewilligt. [Developing the system is expected to cost NIS 811 million over the next five years. According to the defense establishment estimate, the first operational version of the system will be deployed in Sderot in two and a half years.] Entweder hat sich also die Regierung Olmert von dem Finanzierungsjammern von Rafael verleiten lassen in ein bereits fertiges Produkt unnötige Mittel fließen zu lassen, oder Olmert plappert vor seinen Kadima-Genossen Blödsinn und wir sehen das Iron-Dome System erst 2011. Zweitens ist der politische Flurschaden beträchtlich das ein integraler Baustein der Zukunftsstrategie "Abandon the Westbank" von Verteidigungsminister Ehud Barak auf einem funktionierenden Iron-Dome-Systemberuht. Auf Deutsch: Wenn das System nicht funktioniert kann uns soll nicht aus der Westbank abgezogen werden, da man schutzlos Raketenterror ausgesetzt wäre. Jetzt funktioniert es jedoch nach Angaben von Ehud Olmert möglicherweise früher und wenn es in Sderot funktioniert, ergo auch in der Westbank, ergo steht dem Abzug nichts mehr im Wege. [...] Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramowitz on Monday accused a visiting United Nations official of equating terrorists with their victims, saying such discourse could encourage further attacks. Abramowitz adamantly rejected remarks made by UN Undersecretary General John Holmes during the latter's visit to Sderot on Sunday, in which he called the crisis in the south "a cycle of violence." During an official meeting with the former British diplomat, Abramowitz said such discourse draws parallels between terrorists and those who defend themselves against terror. [...] On Sunday, Holmes warned Israel against an invasion of the Gaza Strip and said that the crisis in the South can be solved only by diplomacy. "The only thing that will make a lasting difference is a peace settlement," he said. "You can't stop these problems militarily. They have to be solved through negotiations." In an interview with Haaretz after his visit to Sderot, Sir John Holmes said that the response to the Qassam rocket attacks must be proportional from a humanitarian point of view. [...] Israel is considering a large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip during which it would present an ultimatum to the international community for the deployment of a multinational force as the only condition under which it would withdraw, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post. [...] Israel and Hamas have agreed on the identities of 230 Palestinian prisoners, currently being held in Israeli prisons, to be released in exchange for the freedom of Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian militants in June 2006, Army Radio reported Monday. According to the report, the two sides still disagree on the remaining 120 prisoners that Hamas demands be released in the first stage of the prisoner exchange deal, but Israel refuses to free. [Der Bericht wurde von der Hamas dementiert.]
*** Westbank: In der Westbank gehen die Verhaftungswellen mit looting-Charackter auf hohem niveau weiter: 16 Palästineser werden in den Beziken Nablus, Jenin und in der Christenstadt Abu Dis durch marodierende IDF-Milizen verhaftet. Die Fatah setzt drei Hamasniks fest. Unterdessen dokumentiert der ausgebrochene Streit über die Zukunft der sogenannten Friedensgespäche die Dummheit der Aussenministerin: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Monday that Israel would continue its negotiations with the Palestinian Authority despite ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, because ending the talks would only strengthen the position of Hamas. Livni, who heads Israel's negotiating team, told the Knesset plenum after meeting with her Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qureia that she was not "giving presents" to the Palestinians during talks: "I am not Santa Claus or some uncle that is giving out perks," she said. Und natürlich werden die großmächtigen "Wir haben alles geklärt worüber wir reden werden"-Berichte aus dem Hause Olmert erneut konterkariert: Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, countering Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the issue of Jerusalem, was quoted on Monday as declaring that talks on the status of the city must not be postponed.
*** Nordfront + Sonstiges: Tags: Israel has deployed a battery of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern port city of Haifa as part of precautions against a possible attack by Hezbollah in response to the assassination last week of the group's top commander Imad Mughniyah, Israeli security officials said Monday. The officials said the battery was put on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's month-long war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel. ++++ Rabbis call against forced integration in military service: Thirty-two of Religious Zionism's rabbis issue manifest calling on IDF chief not to force religious soldiers to take part in activities involving women in service for mere sake of integration. ++++ Israel complains to UN over Iranian general's remarks: Israel up in arms following Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander's comment likening Israel to cancerous growth and alluding to its destruction. ++++ Ehud Barak nimmt am Dienstag an einer Kampfmittel-Messe in Singapur teil. Dann was für den Nahen Osten gilt: "Immer mehr Waffen für immer mehr Gewalt" kann dem asiatischen Raum nicht schaden. ++++ Dem israelischen Minister Majadele, der am Montag wegen Hirnblutungen operiert werden mußte wüschen wir von hier aus baldige Genesung. ++++ Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch told reporters on Sunday that the past year (during which Daniel Friedmann has been justice minister) has proven how essential it is for the judiciary to have administrative as well as substantive independence. [...] Regarding Friedmann's proposal to alter the composition of the Judges Election Committee so that politicians or their appointees would hold a majority of an expanded, 11-person panel, Beinisch said, "This is one of the most harmful initiatives to the judicial system. It causes injury to the constitutional structure."
*** Gaza-Streifen: Eben wird gemeldet das 350 Personen davon über die Grenze verbracht wurde: Egyptian police have rounded up some 500 Palestinians in the northern Sinai Penninsula over the past four days and plan to deport them back into the Gaza Strip shortly, Egyptian security sources said on Monday. The Palestinians are some of at least 3,000 left inside Egypt after hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents crossed the border in January, when Hamas militants blasted through the frontier fence. [A group of Palestinians rounded up by Egyptian security forces are threatening suicide if they are not soon released either to the Gaza Strip or a life of dignity in Egypt. About 500 Gazans are still being held as prisoners in a sports complex in the border city of Al-Arish. Egyptian police arrested them after they did not return to Gaza when the border was resealed earlier this month following a brief period of unrestricted cross-border movement.] Über den Tag feuern wohl vornehmlich die al-Quds-Brigaden des Islamic Jihad insgesamt 9 Qassam-Raketen und 7 Mörsergranaten auf den israelischen Grenzzstreifen ab. Leichte Gebäudeschäden und Schockopfer sind zu notieren. Eine Qassam hingegen trifft eine belebte Zone. Äußerst unvermittelt und überraschend äußert sich der israelische PM Ehud Olmert in Bezug auf ein Raketenabwehrsystem: A significant amount of money is being invested for the completion of the Iron Dome anti-Kassam system, currently under development by Israel's Rafael (Armaments Development Authority), Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday. "The plan is that these means will give us the capability of stopping short-range rocket attacks including Kassams. This is applicable to both the northern and the southern fronts," said the prime minister during a Kadima faction meeting. Olmert emphasized that the system was at an advanced stage of development with an investment of nearly one billion NIS. Zum Ersten schmückt Olmert sich mal wieder mit Federn die ihn wie ein gerupftes Huhn aussehen lassen, hatte doch sein Kabinett die Entwicklung des Systems über Monate blockiert und erst am 23.12.07 die Freigabe der "Billion NIS" Investition über die nächsten fünf Jahre bewilligt. [Developing the system is expected to cost NIS 811 million over the next five years. According to the defense establishment estimate, the first operational version of the system will be deployed in Sderot in two and a half years.] Entweder hat sich also die Regierung Olmert von dem Finanzierungsjammern von Rafael verleiten lassen in ein bereits fertiges Produkt unnötige Mittel fließen zu lassen, oder Olmert plappert vor seinen Kadima-Genossen Blödsinn und wir sehen das Iron-Dome System erst 2011. Zweitens ist der politische Flurschaden beträchtlich das ein integraler Baustein der Zukunftsstrategie "Abandon the Westbank" von Verteidigungsminister Ehud Barak auf einem funktionierenden Iron-Dome-Systemberuht. Auf Deutsch: Wenn das System nicht funktioniert kann uns soll nicht aus der Westbank abgezogen werden, da man schutzlos Raketenterror ausgesetzt wäre. Jetzt funktioniert es jedoch nach Angaben von Ehud Olmert möglicherweise früher und wenn es in Sderot funktioniert, ergo auch in der Westbank, ergo steht dem Abzug nichts mehr im Wege. [...] Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramowitz on Monday accused a visiting United Nations official of equating terrorists with their victims, saying such discourse could encourage further attacks. Abramowitz adamantly rejected remarks made by UN Undersecretary General John Holmes during the latter's visit to Sderot on Sunday, in which he called the crisis in the south "a cycle of violence." During an official meeting with the former British diplomat, Abramowitz said such discourse draws parallels between terrorists and those who defend themselves against terror. [...] On Sunday, Holmes warned Israel against an invasion of the Gaza Strip and said that the crisis in the South can be solved only by diplomacy. "The only thing that will make a lasting difference is a peace settlement," he said. "You can't stop these problems militarily. They have to be solved through negotiations." In an interview with Haaretz after his visit to Sderot, Sir John Holmes said that the response to the Qassam rocket attacks must be proportional from a humanitarian point of view. [...] Israel is considering a large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip during which it would present an ultimatum to the international community for the deployment of a multinational force as the only condition under which it would withdraw, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post. [...] Israel and Hamas have agreed on the identities of 230 Palestinian prisoners, currently being held in Israeli prisons, to be released in exchange for the freedom of Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian militants in June 2006, Army Radio reported Monday. According to the report, the two sides still disagree on the remaining 120 prisoners that Hamas demands be released in the first stage of the prisoner exchange deal, but Israel refuses to free. [Der Bericht wurde von der Hamas dementiert.]
*** Westbank: In der Westbank gehen die Verhaftungswellen mit looting-Charackter auf hohem niveau weiter: 16 Palästineser werden in den Beziken Nablus, Jenin und in der Christenstadt Abu Dis durch marodierende IDF-Milizen verhaftet. Die Fatah setzt drei Hamasniks fest. Unterdessen dokumentiert der ausgebrochene Streit über die Zukunft der sogenannten Friedensgespäche die Dummheit der Aussenministerin: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Monday that Israel would continue its negotiations with the Palestinian Authority despite ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, because ending the talks would only strengthen the position of Hamas. Livni, who heads Israel's negotiating team, told the Knesset plenum after meeting with her Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qureia that she was not "giving presents" to the Palestinians during talks: "I am not Santa Claus or some uncle that is giving out perks," she said. Und natürlich werden die großmächtigen "Wir haben alles geklärt worüber wir reden werden"-Berichte aus dem Hause Olmert erneut konterkariert: Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, countering Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the issue of Jerusalem, was quoted on Monday as declaring that talks on the status of the city must not be postponed.
*** Nordfront + Sonstiges: Tags: Israel has deployed a battery of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern port city of Haifa as part of precautions against a possible attack by Hezbollah in response to the assassination last week of the group's top commander Imad Mughniyah, Israeli security officials said Monday. The officials said the battery was put on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's month-long war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel. ++++ Rabbis call against forced integration in military service: Thirty-two of Religious Zionism's rabbis issue manifest calling on IDF chief not to force religious soldiers to take part in activities involving women in service for mere sake of integration. ++++ Israel complains to UN over Iranian general's remarks: Israel up in arms following Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander's comment likening Israel to cancerous growth and alluding to its destruction. ++++ Ehud Barak nimmt am Dienstag an einer Kampfmittel-Messe in Singapur teil. Dann was für den Nahen Osten gilt: "Immer mehr Waffen für immer mehr Gewalt" kann dem asiatischen Raum nicht schaden. ++++ Dem israelischen Minister Majadele, der am Montag wegen Hirnblutungen operiert werden mußte wüschen wir von hier aus baldige Genesung. ++++ Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch told reporters on Sunday that the past year (during which Daniel Friedmann has been justice minister) has proven how essential it is for the judiciary to have administrative as well as substantive independence. [...] Regarding Friedmann's proposal to alter the composition of the Judges Election Committee so that politicians or their appointees would hold a majority of an expanded, 11-person panel, Beinisch said, "This is one of the most harmful initiatives to the judicial system. It causes injury to the constitutional structure."
One killed in Beirut - Updates
*** Gaza-Streifen: Bei den erwähnten Gefechten in der Rafah-Zone wird ein israelischer soldat schwer verletzt. Am Nachmittag werden zwei Angriffe aus dem Gazastreifen auf israelische Ziele notiert. Dabei trifft eine Qassam-Rakete ein ziviles Gebäude in Sderot. Verletzt wird niemand. Fünf weitere Abschüsse werden später gemeldet. Auf israelischer Seite ist ein Kabinettsbeschluß zu notieren: A special ministerial committee on Sunday approved a budget of NIS 350 million for the fortification of 3,600 homes within a range of 4.5 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, by adding a secure room to each housing unit. The government eventually planned to fortify 8,000 homes in the Gaza periphery, but would first deal with weak-structured homes and those located in the most hard-hit areas. Das dies keine Lösung des Problems darstellt sollte klar sein. Die Aktivitäten der Hamas auf der ägyptischen Seite der Grenze werden heute als sehr erfolglos dargestellt: Hamas has voiced confidence that Egypt will supply the Gaza Strip with its basic needs to avoid a humanitarian crisis, but an official source in Cairo said on Sunday that Egypt would make no deal to reopen its Gaza border without the consent of Israel, Western powers and Hamas's Fatah rivals in the West Bank. Egyptian and Hamas officials held talks last week. Following the meeting, senior official and spokesman for Hamas Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters in an interview following the meetings: "There is an understanding with the Egyptians to supply Gaza with its needs and we are talking about arrangements and a mechanism to make that happen." However, the Egyptian source said Cairo was for now likely to stand by a U.S.-brokered agreement it made when Israel withdrew troops from Gaza in 2005 that gives Israel an effective veto over movement across the Gaza-Egypt frontier. "That's where we stand at the moment," the source told Reuters, making clear Cairo was not prepared to harm relations with Israel, the United States, European Union and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "The Israelis don't want anything to do with Hamas at all, even at second-hand." Der Versuch der Hamas eine alleinige Kontrolle der Grenze auszuhandeln ist gescheitert. Zurück in Israel kann man wenig erkennen das die jüngsten Polit-aktivitäten den Leuten von Sderot nützlich erscheinen: Southern protest reaches High Court: About 40 Sderot residents announced Sunday evening that they refuse to leave the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem. The residents were protesting the postponement of the discussion on a petition submitted by Sderot business owners. Nach seiner schweren Kritik an der israelischen Blockade des Gazastreifens beweist jemand Neutralität: UN Undersecretary of Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes advocated pressuring the leaders of Hamas to halt the rocket fire at Sderot, during a visit to town on Sunday. Holmes condemned the Kassam fire, saying the real victims were the civilians, and that this was a violation of all principles of human rights. "We condemn absolutely the firing of these rockets. There's no justification for it. They are indiscriminate, there's no military target," he told The Associated Press.
*** Westbank: Nachdem am Samstag ein Siedler bei einem Molotow-Coctail-Anschalg auf sein Auto verletzt wird wird in Pisgat Ze'ev [Jerusalem] bei einer Steinwurfattacke auf einen israelischen Bus eine Person am Sonntag verletzt. Aus dem Nablus-Distrikt werden die Errichtung mehrerer neuer Checkpoints gemeldet. Während der französische Aussenminister Kouchner gestern noch zu verstärktem Tourisimus-Anstrengungen westlicher Bürger nach Bethlehem aufrief hat die Stadt andere Probleme: s to the West Bank city of Bethlehem through a checkpoint far to the south of the city is raising concerns that Israel plans to complete a plan to isolate Bethlehem from the surrounding area. The governor of Bethlehem, Salah Ta'mari, said on Sunday that the plan to make fuel deliveries at the Tarqumiya crossing point, near the city of Hebron, instead of Al-Khader, near Bethlehem, is dangerous. [...] Ta'mari said the plan will increase already high fuel prices, and could signal a plan to complete Israel's illegal separation wall in the Bethlehem area. He said the plan could also involve the long-expected closure of Route 60, the main highway between Bethlehem and Hebron. Shutting down that road would force Palestinians to take a longer, more circuitous route between the two cities. Kouchner selbst beweist sich als erneut perfekter Wendehals: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Sunday that progress was evident in Israeli and Palestinian peace efforts, after remarking earlier in the day that negotiations have appeared stagnant since a U.S.-sponsored conference late last year. After meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday evening at the end of a two-day visit to the region, Kouchner said he could see progress in negotiations and encouraged the two sides to continue advancing joint projects to improve the situation on the ground.
*** Beirut: The Lebanese Army urged all parties on Sunday to exercise self control after clashes erupted in different areas of Beirut over the weekend between government and opposition supporters, wounding at least 14 Lebanese. Most of those injured are affiliated with the Future Movement headed by parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 , a security source said. A Palestinian man and two Lebanese were wounded on Sunday during clashes in which shots were fired in the Sabra area of Beirut. The Reuters news agency said the Palestinian later died in hospital. [...] Während der Qatar 5,5 Millionen US$ für den Wiederaufbau der durch die IDf zerstörte Grenzstadt Bint Jbeil gestiftet hat und das saudische Königshaus angeblich einen Totalboykott der Arab-League-Treffen bis zur Lösung der Präsidialfrage im Libanon ankündigte wird es nächste Woche den nächsten Versuch eine Einigung zu erzielen geben: Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Sunday he would return to Beirut next week to carry out mediation efforts ahead of a scheduled House session to elect a new president for Lebanon. "We will sponsor another meeting between March 14 Forces leaders Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 and Amin Gemayel and opposition leader General Michel Aoun when we return back to Beirut on February 24," Moussa told Future News television. Technisch wäre ein Deal jederzeit möglich. Es fehlt nur am Willen. [...] Hier noch ein aktualisierter Bericht über die Ausschreitungen. Derweil tritt der eingesetzte Richter des Militärtribunals zu den Vorfällen am "Schwarzen Sonntag" bei dem Hezbollah und Syrien-nahe Demonstranten erschossen wurden ohne veröffentlichte Begründung zurück. Sehr auffällig ist das keiner der letzten Fälle [Tötung des Generals Francois al-Hajj, etc.] zu irgendwelchen Verhaftungen oder gar publizierten Ergebnissen führten. Ein Umstand der das Chaos zeigt in dem der Libanon sich befindet.
*** Mughniyeh-Case: The U.S. intelligence chief said Sunday that internal Hezbollah factions or Syria may be to blame for the killing of top Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah last week. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said the United States is still reviewing the case following the death last Tuesday of Mughniyah in a car bombing in the Syrian capital of Damascus. [...] Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the cabinet Sunday that Syria and Iran my assist Hezbollah in striking Israeli targets following the assassination of its deputy leader Tuesday in Damascus. "It's safe to assume Hezbollah will try to retaliate for the assassination of Imad Mughniyah, possibly with Iranian and Syrian assistance," Barak said. [...] Kommentar: "The Mughniyeh Hit, bracing for revenge": The assassination of Imad Mugniyah, the Hezbollah terrorist, in Damascus last week was a warning that even the most elusive prey can be hunted down, given skill, determination and patience on the part of the hunter. The blast that dispatched Mugniyah, a top target for Israeli and American intelligence for most of three decades, was heard loud and clear by Khaled Mashal, the exiled political chief of Palestinian Hamas, who at the time was meeting with Syrian intelligence officers only a few hundred yards away.
*** Strategisch: On February 8, 2008, Martin Indyk and Harvey Sicherman addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Indyk, former ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs during the Clinton administration, currently directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Sicherman is president and director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
*** Westbank: Nachdem am Samstag ein Siedler bei einem Molotow-Coctail-Anschalg auf sein Auto verletzt wird wird in Pisgat Ze'ev [Jerusalem] bei einer Steinwurfattacke auf einen israelischen Bus eine Person am Sonntag verletzt. Aus dem Nablus-Distrikt werden die Errichtung mehrerer neuer Checkpoints gemeldet. Während der französische Aussenminister Kouchner gestern noch zu verstärktem Tourisimus-Anstrengungen westlicher Bürger nach Bethlehem aufrief hat die Stadt andere Probleme: s to the West Bank city of Bethlehem through a checkpoint far to the south of the city is raising concerns that Israel plans to complete a plan to isolate Bethlehem from the surrounding area. The governor of Bethlehem, Salah Ta'mari, said on Sunday that the plan to make fuel deliveries at the Tarqumiya crossing point, near the city of Hebron, instead of Al-Khader, near Bethlehem, is dangerous. [...] Ta'mari said the plan will increase already high fuel prices, and could signal a plan to complete Israel's illegal separation wall in the Bethlehem area. He said the plan could also involve the long-expected closure of Route 60, the main highway between Bethlehem and Hebron. Shutting down that road would force Palestinians to take a longer, more circuitous route between the two cities. Kouchner selbst beweist sich als erneut perfekter Wendehals: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Sunday that progress was evident in Israeli and Palestinian peace efforts, after remarking earlier in the day that negotiations have appeared stagnant since a U.S.-sponsored conference late last year. After meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday evening at the end of a two-day visit to the region, Kouchner said he could see progress in negotiations and encouraged the two sides to continue advancing joint projects to improve the situation on the ground.
*** Beirut: The Lebanese Army urged all parties on Sunday to exercise self control after clashes erupted in different areas of Beirut over the weekend between government and opposition supporters, wounding at least 14 Lebanese. Most of those injured are affiliated with the Future Movement headed by parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 , a security source said. A Palestinian man and two Lebanese were wounded on Sunday during clashes in which shots were fired in the Sabra area of Beirut. The Reuters news agency said the Palestinian later died in hospital. [...] Während der Qatar 5,5 Millionen US$ für den Wiederaufbau der durch die IDf zerstörte Grenzstadt Bint Jbeil gestiftet hat und das saudische Königshaus angeblich einen Totalboykott der Arab-League-Treffen bis zur Lösung der Präsidialfrage im Libanon ankündigte wird es nächste Woche den nächsten Versuch eine Einigung zu erzielen geben: Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Sunday he would return to Beirut next week to carry out mediation efforts ahead of a scheduled House session to elect a new president for Lebanon. "We will sponsor another meeting between March 14 Forces leaders Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 and Amin Gemayel and opposition leader General Michel Aoun when we return back to Beirut on February 24," Moussa told Future News television. Technisch wäre ein Deal jederzeit möglich. Es fehlt nur am Willen. [...] Hier noch ein aktualisierter Bericht über die Ausschreitungen. Derweil tritt der eingesetzte Richter des Militärtribunals zu den Vorfällen am "Schwarzen Sonntag" bei dem Hezbollah und Syrien-nahe Demonstranten erschossen wurden ohne veröffentlichte Begründung zurück. Sehr auffällig ist das keiner der letzten Fälle [Tötung des Generals Francois al-Hajj, etc.] zu irgendwelchen Verhaftungen oder gar publizierten Ergebnissen führten. Ein Umstand der das Chaos zeigt in dem der Libanon sich befindet.
*** Mughniyeh-Case: The U.S. intelligence chief said Sunday that internal Hezbollah factions or Syria may be to blame for the killing of top Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah last week. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said the United States is still reviewing the case following the death last Tuesday of Mughniyah in a car bombing in the Syrian capital of Damascus. [...] Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the cabinet Sunday that Syria and Iran my assist Hezbollah in striking Israeli targets following the assassination of its deputy leader Tuesday in Damascus. "It's safe to assume Hezbollah will try to retaliate for the assassination of Imad Mughniyah, possibly with Iranian and Syrian assistance," Barak said. [...] Kommentar: "The Mughniyeh Hit, bracing for revenge": The assassination of Imad Mugniyah, the Hezbollah terrorist, in Damascus last week was a warning that even the most elusive prey can be hunted down, given skill, determination and patience on the part of the hunter. The blast that dispatched Mugniyah, a top target for Israeli and American intelligence for most of three decades, was heard loud and clear by Khaled Mashal, the exiled political chief of Palestinian Hamas, who at the time was meeting with Syrian intelligence officers only a few hundred yards away.
*** Strategisch: On February 8, 2008, Martin Indyk and Harvey Sicherman addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Indyk, former ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs during the Clinton administration, currently directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Sicherman is president and director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Sonntag, 17. Februar 2008
IDF kills Six
In der Nacht zum Sonntag kommen bei einer als Recon-Operation bezeichneten israelischen Aktion gegen Qassam-Raketen in Shuka, nahe des Internationalen Flughafens bei Rafah vier Palästinenser ums Leben, darunter ein Zivilist. Dreizehn Personen werden verletzt. Zwei weitere Miltglieder der Hamas sterben im Krankenhaus an den Verletzungen die sie sich bei einer Schießerei mit Israelis am Freitag zugezogen hatten. Das Qassam-Aufkommen ist über das Wochenende eher unscheinbar: 4 Projektile, zwei davon auf israelische Militäreinrichtungen. Die al-Qassam-Brigaden der Hamas beginnen mit der Veröffentlichung konkreter Frontberichte, die allerdings nicht überprüft werden können. So werden vier israelische Soldaten als verletzt von der Hamas gemeldet, während die Israelis hier still schweigen. Unterdessen will die Olmert-Regierung die Stallschrauben der Blockade weiter anziehen: The reduction of electric and fuel supplies to Gaza will continue, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday at the beginning of a weekly cabinet meeting, adding that Israel would continue combating terrorism in southern Israel and will not cease until life returns to normal in the area. [...] A senior official in the PM's Office said it was agreed last week that 8,000 of the existing 10,500 homes that are located up to 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from the area from which the Qassam rockets are fired from would be fortified, this due to the fact that the "Iron Dome" system, which is expected to be fully functional in two-and-a-half years' time, is capable of intercepting Qassam rockets as well as short-range ground-to-ground missiles with a range of at least 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). The cost of the project is estimated at some NIS 350 million (about $97 million), and its budget is expected to be approved during next week's cabinet meeting, Olmert said. In Jerusalem wird heute offenbart wie weit sich die französischen und deutschen Positionen bezüglich israelischer Unternehmungen unterscheiden. Während Ehud Olmert von der deutschen Kanzlerin volle Rückendeckung erhilt sieht der französische Aussenminister die Lage anders: In an interview with the Palestinian daily Al-Quds, published Saturday, Kouchner called for Gaza's borders to be reopened. "We are calling to remove the blockade on Gaza because there must be movement for goods and people," he said. "The economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza is bad and the siege is affecting the economy in general, and also the living conditions."
In der Westbank gehen die israelischen Verhaftungswellen munter weiter. Über Nacht werden vornehmlich aus Aqraba bei Nablus insgesamt 14 Palästinenser verhaftet. Politisch stellt Jibril Rajoub fest: In an interview with Al-Arabiyya satellite television, Rajoub said, "Neither the peace process, nor the sixth Fatah conference can succeed without national reconciliation between the two parts of the Palestinian homeland and the accomplishment of nationalist unity which is the cue for the establishment of a Palestinian state." As for the upcoming sixth Fatah conference, Rajoub said the meeting would seek to change Fatah's platform, while keeping "resistance" as a key plank. Rajoub also warned of the repercussions of the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah which, in his view, could result in Egypt annexing the Gaza Strip, and pushing the West Bank towards dependence on Jordan. He went on to criticize certain decisions which he says destroyed the Palestinian Authority, such as getting the security services involved in armed struggle. He said, "Utter confusion prevailed as unpatriotic weapons interfered in the Palestinian resistance, and that should be rearranged." [...] Muhammad Dahlan, the former Fatah security commander in the Gaza Strip, is working to oust Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the veteran leadership of the ruling party, an Abbas aide told The Jerusalem Post. Fatah central committee member Hakam Balawi, a former PLO ambassador to Tunis, said Dahlan was responsible for the defeat of the Fatah-controlled PA security forces in the Gaza Strip by Hamas last June. "Dahlan is an opportunist who is spreading chaos, illusions and poison," Balawi said in a statement issued on behalf of the Fatah central committee in Ramallah. "Dahlan's actions and statements have long been based on intimidation, threats and ultimatums." [...] Earlier this month another top Fatah operative, Abu Ali Shaheen, dropped a bombshell when he went on the record to condemn Abbas as a failed leader who was incapable of making the right decision at the right time. Shaheen, a former PA minister, also held Abbas and his old guard colleagues in Fatah responsible for Hamas's takeover of the entire Gaza Strip. [...] Die Hamas hingegen bezichtigt weiterhin die Fatah des Mordkomplotts gegen Ismail Haniyeh und zudem soll Khaled Meshal in Damaskus bedroht worden sein: Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal has recently survived several assassination attempts, an advisor to Ismail Haniyeh told the London-based Arab newspaper Asharq Alawsat on Sunday. Ahmad Yusuf accused "Arab intelligence organizations" of providing Israel and the U.S. with information about the whereabouts of Hamas commanders in Syria, including Meshal and his deputy Musa Abu Marzuk. [...] Jetzt die komplette Veröffentlichung: I have now uploaded the full transcript of the one-hour interview I conducted with the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, in Damascus last month.
Im Fall des getöteten Hezbollah-Führers Mughniyeh werden höchst spekulative Berichte wie dieser der Sunday times veröffentlicht: Yet before the night was over he was dead in the twisted wreckage of his car and the inevitable assumption was that Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, had killed him with an ingeniously planted bomb. + Sunday Times quotes Israeli intelligence sources as saying top Hizbullah commander killed by Mossad agents who used booby-trapped headrest. Mugniyah was working with Syria on attacks against Israeli targets [...] Kommentar und Nachrichtenübersicht von Joshua Landis: The Bush administration believes the best way to convince Syria to compromise with March 14 and improve its record on the Iraq border is by increasing the pain imposed on Syrian officials and the regime. I think this will fail, but one can never tell. We will see. There are those who believe that the situation in Lebanon is being stabilized by the heightened rhetoric of March 14, the killing of Mughniyah, and added sanctions on Syria. [...] Wednesday's assassination of Hizbullah senior commander Imad Mughniyeh will spark a new round of violence in the region, as Hizbullah is certain to retaliate in spectacular fashion, thereby provoking further security fallout in Lebanon, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Friday. The aftershocks of Mughniyeh's killing could even increase the chances for civil strife here, said Ahmad Moussalli, a professor of political science and Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut. "We are close to a major conflict," he said. "We are at a point of some kind of war. It's very dangerous. You will see Hizbullah hardening its [domestic] position, rather than softening." [...] The defense establishment is concerned Hezbollah may use an explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicle to attack a civilian or military target in northern or central Israel in retaliation for last week's assassination of it terror chief. The Israel Air Force has been placed on alert for such a possibility. Syrian and Iranian officials believe there will be a serious military confrontation with Israel in the near future, according to Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese daily affiliated with Hezbollah. [...] The Lebanese newspaper A-Safir reported Saturday that the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah has deployed 50,000 "activists" along the southern border with Israel and declared a state of high alert in southern Lebanon. According to the report, the organization has also evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political purposes in recent days, in preparation for a confrontation with Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah. [...] Lebanon's western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said that Lebanon has no interest in declaring an "open war" on Israel as this would harm Hezbollah in addition to the Islamic and Arab causes, Lebanese reports quoted him Saturday as saying. "I don't believe we have an interest to wage an open war worldwide because this would be harmful to Hezbollah as well as to the Islamic and Arab causes," Siniora was quoted as telling the Lebanese satellite channel Future TV.
Veröffentlichung von HRW: Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs Shows Need for Global Ban Attacks in Lebanon Violated Laws of War: The human devastation inflicted on Lebanon by Israel’s illegal use of cluster munitions highlights the urgent need for an international treaty banning the weapon, Human Rights Watch said in releasing a report today. At a conference this week, more than 100 states will discuss a treaty to ban cluster munitions, a process prompted in part by Israel’s cluster attacks on Lebanon in 2006. In the 131-page report, “Flooding South Lebanon: Israel’s Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006,” Human Rights Watch found that Israel violated international humanitarian law in its indiscriminate and disproportionate cluster munition attacks on Lebanon. The report provides the most comprehensive and detailed account yet of the nature and impact of Israel’s use of cluster munitions.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Tuesday as part of recently re-launched efforts to push ahead with peace talks, a Palestinian negotiator said Sunday. The meeting will take place at Olmert's Jerusalem residence, said the negotiator, Saeb Erekat. Olmert's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [...] More than one-third of West Bank settlements were built on private Palestinian land that was temporarily seized by military order for "security purposes," according to a report by the Civil Administration that is being published here for the first time. The settlements in question, which include Ariel, Kiryat Arba and Efrat, have tens of thousands of residents, and many have existed for decades. A security source termed this a "difficult statistic" that is liable to cause trouble for Israel both in Washington and its own courts. [...] Rightists, Bit'in residents throw stones at one another, three Israelis lightly wounded before being arrested. 'IDF should deal with the aggressors, who are the Palestinians, before dealing with us,' settler says.
In der Westbank gehen die israelischen Verhaftungswellen munter weiter. Über Nacht werden vornehmlich aus Aqraba bei Nablus insgesamt 14 Palästinenser verhaftet. Politisch stellt Jibril Rajoub fest: In an interview with Al-Arabiyya satellite television, Rajoub said, "Neither the peace process, nor the sixth Fatah conference can succeed without national reconciliation between the two parts of the Palestinian homeland and the accomplishment of nationalist unity which is the cue for the establishment of a Palestinian state." As for the upcoming sixth Fatah conference, Rajoub said the meeting would seek to change Fatah's platform, while keeping "resistance" as a key plank. Rajoub also warned of the repercussions of the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah which, in his view, could result in Egypt annexing the Gaza Strip, and pushing the West Bank towards dependence on Jordan. He went on to criticize certain decisions which he says destroyed the Palestinian Authority, such as getting the security services involved in armed struggle. He said, "Utter confusion prevailed as unpatriotic weapons interfered in the Palestinian resistance, and that should be rearranged." [...] Muhammad Dahlan, the former Fatah security commander in the Gaza Strip, is working to oust Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the veteran leadership of the ruling party, an Abbas aide told The Jerusalem Post. Fatah central committee member Hakam Balawi, a former PLO ambassador to Tunis, said Dahlan was responsible for the defeat of the Fatah-controlled PA security forces in the Gaza Strip by Hamas last June. "Dahlan is an opportunist who is spreading chaos, illusions and poison," Balawi said in a statement issued on behalf of the Fatah central committee in Ramallah. "Dahlan's actions and statements have long been based on intimidation, threats and ultimatums." [...] Earlier this month another top Fatah operative, Abu Ali Shaheen, dropped a bombshell when he went on the record to condemn Abbas as a failed leader who was incapable of making the right decision at the right time. Shaheen, a former PA minister, also held Abbas and his old guard colleagues in Fatah responsible for Hamas's takeover of the entire Gaza Strip. [...] Die Hamas hingegen bezichtigt weiterhin die Fatah des Mordkomplotts gegen Ismail Haniyeh und zudem soll Khaled Meshal in Damaskus bedroht worden sein: Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal has recently survived several assassination attempts, an advisor to Ismail Haniyeh told the London-based Arab newspaper Asharq Alawsat on Sunday. Ahmad Yusuf accused "Arab intelligence organizations" of providing Israel and the U.S. with information about the whereabouts of Hamas commanders in Syria, including Meshal and his deputy Musa Abu Marzuk. [...] Jetzt die komplette Veröffentlichung: I have now uploaded the full transcript of the one-hour interview I conducted with the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, in Damascus last month.
Im Fall des getöteten Hezbollah-Führers Mughniyeh werden höchst spekulative Berichte wie dieser der Sunday times veröffentlicht: Yet before the night was over he was dead in the twisted wreckage of his car and the inevitable assumption was that Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, had killed him with an ingeniously planted bomb. + Sunday Times quotes Israeli intelligence sources as saying top Hizbullah commander killed by Mossad agents who used booby-trapped headrest. Mugniyah was working with Syria on attacks against Israeli targets [...] Kommentar und Nachrichtenübersicht von Joshua Landis: The Bush administration believes the best way to convince Syria to compromise with March 14 and improve its record on the Iraq border is by increasing the pain imposed on Syrian officials and the regime. I think this will fail, but one can never tell. We will see. There are those who believe that the situation in Lebanon is being stabilized by the heightened rhetoric of March 14, the killing of Mughniyah, and added sanctions on Syria. [...] Wednesday's assassination of Hizbullah senior commander Imad Mughniyeh will spark a new round of violence in the region, as Hizbullah is certain to retaliate in spectacular fashion, thereby provoking further security fallout in Lebanon, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Friday. The aftershocks of Mughniyeh's killing could even increase the chances for civil strife here, said Ahmad Moussalli, a professor of political science and Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut. "We are close to a major conflict," he said. "We are at a point of some kind of war. It's very dangerous. You will see Hizbullah hardening its [domestic] position, rather than softening." [...] The defense establishment is concerned Hezbollah may use an explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicle to attack a civilian or military target in northern or central Israel in retaliation for last week's assassination of it terror chief. The Israel Air Force has been placed on alert for such a possibility. Syrian and Iranian officials believe there will be a serious military confrontation with Israel in the near future, according to Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese daily affiliated with Hezbollah. [...] The Lebanese newspaper A-Safir reported Saturday that the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah has deployed 50,000 "activists" along the southern border with Israel and declared a state of high alert in southern Lebanon. According to the report, the organization has also evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political purposes in recent days, in preparation for a confrontation with Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah. [...] Lebanon's western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said that Lebanon has no interest in declaring an "open war" on Israel as this would harm Hezbollah in addition to the Islamic and Arab causes, Lebanese reports quoted him Saturday as saying. "I don't believe we have an interest to wage an open war worldwide because this would be harmful to Hezbollah as well as to the Islamic and Arab causes," Siniora was quoted as telling the Lebanese satellite channel Future TV.
Veröffentlichung von HRW: Israel’s Use of Cluster Bombs Shows Need for Global Ban Attacks in Lebanon Violated Laws of War: The human devastation inflicted on Lebanon by Israel’s illegal use of cluster munitions highlights the urgent need for an international treaty banning the weapon, Human Rights Watch said in releasing a report today. At a conference this week, more than 100 states will discuss a treaty to ban cluster munitions, a process prompted in part by Israel’s cluster attacks on Lebanon in 2006. In the 131-page report, “Flooding South Lebanon: Israel’s Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006,” Human Rights Watch found that Israel violated international humanitarian law in its indiscriminate and disproportionate cluster munition attacks on Lebanon. The report provides the most comprehensive and detailed account yet of the nature and impact of Israel’s use of cluster munitions.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Tuesday as part of recently re-launched efforts to push ahead with peace talks, a Palestinian negotiator said Sunday. The meeting will take place at Olmert's Jerusalem residence, said the negotiator, Saeb Erekat. Olmert's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [...] More than one-third of West Bank settlements were built on private Palestinian land that was temporarily seized by military order for "security purposes," according to a report by the Civil Administration that is being published here for the first time. The settlements in question, which include Ariel, Kiryat Arba and Efrat, have tens of thousands of residents, and many have existed for decades. A security source termed this a "difficult statistic" that is liable to cause trouble for Israel both in Washington and its own courts. [...] Rightists, Bit'in residents throw stones at one another, three Israelis lightly wounded before being arrested. 'IDF should deal with the aggressors, who are the Palestinians, before dealing with us,' settler says.
Freitag, 15. Februar 2008
Blast kills Seven, Circumstances Unknown
Ayman Fayed, senior member of al-Quds Brigades military wing, killed along with six other people as explosion rocks his home in al-Bureij refugee camp in central Strip; at least 40 people injured. Palestinian sources report IAF aircraft fired missile at house, but Hamas police says circumstances of incident unclear; IDF denies striking in area. Among the dead were Fayed's wife, a son and a daughter aged 6 and 5 respectively and three other militants, medics and relatives said. "It was not us," the Israeli spokeswoman said. "There have been no actions in the Gaza Strip." [...] Two Qassam rockets landed in the western Negev on Thursday, causing damage to a building and hothouses. Two additional rockets hit open areas. There were no reports of injuries. Several hours earlier, five rockets were launched towards the western Negev, one of them landing in an open area in Sderot. A woman suffered from shock and fell down while fleeing. Another rocket landed outside the city and two fell near the Sapir College.
Syrian security forces have arrested several Palestinians suspects in connection with the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, a Lebanese security source told Reuters on Friday. [Die üblichen Verdächtigen, die übliche Quelle.]
Hamas said on Friday it has told Egyptian officials it would consider a ceasefire with Israel if it lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip and ceased military operations in all Palestinian territories. Hamas also discussed with Egyptian officials this week the possibility of a prisoner deal that could lead to the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, seized by Hamas in a 2006 raid, in exchange for Israel freeing several hundreds of Palestinians from its jails, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said. Sources close to Hamas said Egypt, which brokered a year-long truce between the Islamist group and Israel in 2005, had wanted to explore Hamas's position before holding any possible talks with Israel. [...] Senior U.N. official John Holmes, who visited Gaza on Friday, said he found "a grim human and humanitarian situation" in the coastal enclave and called for the blockade to be lifted.
Nine Israeli families have moved to a valley deep in the West Bank, setting down six trailer homes and promising Friday to bring more to the disputed area the Palestinians want for a future state. The action - funded in part by a private U.S. group - is the latest Israeli settlement activity to anger Palestinians as peace negotiators try to reach a final agreement outlining borders. U.S. President George W. Bush hopes to get the sides to complete a deal by the end of the year.
Officials at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office are satisfied with Mossad chief Meir Dagan's performance and have recently decided to extend his tenure to 2009, Channel 2 reported Friday. This is the second time Dagan's tenure is extended. A year ago, Olmert and Dagan came to an agreement that the Mossad chief will stay in office until the end of 2008. The two agreed that the main mission of the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations would continue to be collecting information on the Iranian nuclear threat.
Raghida Dergham, "A Glance at the US Foreign Policy under the "Would-be" Presidents Hillary, Obama and McCain": The majority of Democrats are not involved in an ideological clash or vital row as they choose between two contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, former first lady, Senator Hillary Clinton and African-American Senator Barack Obama, a descendent of migrants. Almost all Democrats feel comfortable and enthusiastic regardless of the outcomes because each of the two contenders is relatively new, is making historical precedent, and reflects the main views of the Democratic Party. Although the battle over the nomination is still far from being decisively settled, there is serious talk of whichever of them will represent a serious challenger to Republican candidate John McCain, especially in light of Obama's winning streak. Interestingly, however, while Democrats and many independents feel euphoric and excited about change, the automatic assumption that the White House will no longer stay in the custody of Republicans has faded away and has been replaced by serious fears of failing to take the White House back, a fear attributed to a number of factors. [...] The US reiterated Friday that Syria was directly responsible for the 14-month-old political deadlock in Lebanon. "I would describe the situation as one of continuing blockage ... We regard Syria as directly responsible for this situation," said David Satterfield, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's representative for Iraq. [...] Madeleine K. Albrigth, "Toward a true dialog": To act wisely, we need to know as much as possible about others and also about ourselves; one path to such knowledge is dialogue. In that quest, we convene this year at a moment of great anticipation. Arab-Israeli peace talks have recommenced. In Iraq, signs of hope are visible amid ongoing strife. In Pakistan, pivotal elections are scheduled this week. And in November, the United States will choose a new president.
An economic working group of Israeli, Palestinian, and international economists met with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner, on Thursday and presented him with their latest economic research. The Steering Committee of the Aix Group, a unique group of Israeli, Palestinian and international economic experts who have been working together for the past five years, presented Kouchner with their research results on the economic aspects of a final status agreement between Israel and Palestine in his chamber in the French capital, Paris. [...] In the new economic research of the Aix Group four issues of major importance are being analyzed: (1) Economic cooperation in Jerusalem under different scenarios; (2) The economic aspects of resolving the question of the Palestinian Refugees;(3) Cooperation on Infrastructure issues; and (4)"Fast Track" issues (examination of topics of contemporary importance) including Transitional Trade Arrangements, Palestinian Labor in Israel, and the Development of the Jordan Valley. [...] To download the new book of the Aix Group please click on the link: Economic Dimensions of a Two-State Agreement between Israel and Palestine
Syrian security forces have arrested several Palestinians suspects in connection with the assassination of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, a Lebanese security source told Reuters on Friday. [Die üblichen Verdächtigen, die übliche Quelle.]
Hamas said on Friday it has told Egyptian officials it would consider a ceasefire with Israel if it lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip and ceased military operations in all Palestinian territories. Hamas also discussed with Egyptian officials this week the possibility of a prisoner deal that could lead to the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, seized by Hamas in a 2006 raid, in exchange for Israel freeing several hundreds of Palestinians from its jails, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said. Sources close to Hamas said Egypt, which brokered a year-long truce between the Islamist group and Israel in 2005, had wanted to explore Hamas's position before holding any possible talks with Israel. [...] Senior U.N. official John Holmes, who visited Gaza on Friday, said he found "a grim human and humanitarian situation" in the coastal enclave and called for the blockade to be lifted.
Nine Israeli families have moved to a valley deep in the West Bank, setting down six trailer homes and promising Friday to bring more to the disputed area the Palestinians want for a future state. The action - funded in part by a private U.S. group - is the latest Israeli settlement activity to anger Palestinians as peace negotiators try to reach a final agreement outlining borders. U.S. President George W. Bush hopes to get the sides to complete a deal by the end of the year.
Officials at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office are satisfied with Mossad chief Meir Dagan's performance and have recently decided to extend his tenure to 2009, Channel 2 reported Friday. This is the second time Dagan's tenure is extended. A year ago, Olmert and Dagan came to an agreement that the Mossad chief will stay in office until the end of 2008. The two agreed that the main mission of the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations would continue to be collecting information on the Iranian nuclear threat.
Raghida Dergham, "A Glance at the US Foreign Policy under the "Would-be" Presidents Hillary, Obama and McCain": The majority of Democrats are not involved in an ideological clash or vital row as they choose between two contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, former first lady, Senator Hillary Clinton and African-American Senator Barack Obama, a descendent of migrants. Almost all Democrats feel comfortable and enthusiastic regardless of the outcomes because each of the two contenders is relatively new, is making historical precedent, and reflects the main views of the Democratic Party. Although the battle over the nomination is still far from being decisively settled, there is serious talk of whichever of them will represent a serious challenger to Republican candidate John McCain, especially in light of Obama's winning streak. Interestingly, however, while Democrats and many independents feel euphoric and excited about change, the automatic assumption that the White House will no longer stay in the custody of Republicans has faded away and has been replaced by serious fears of failing to take the White House back, a fear attributed to a number of factors. [...] The US reiterated Friday that Syria was directly responsible for the 14-month-old political deadlock in Lebanon. "I would describe the situation as one of continuing blockage ... We regard Syria as directly responsible for this situation," said David Satterfield, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's representative for Iraq. [...] Madeleine K. Albrigth, "Toward a true dialog": To act wisely, we need to know as much as possible about others and also about ourselves; one path to such knowledge is dialogue. In that quest, we convene this year at a moment of great anticipation. Arab-Israeli peace talks have recommenced. In Iraq, signs of hope are visible amid ongoing strife. In Pakistan, pivotal elections are scheduled this week. And in November, the United States will choose a new president.
An economic working group of Israeli, Palestinian, and international economists met with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kouchner, on Thursday and presented him with their latest economic research. The Steering Committee of the Aix Group, a unique group of Israeli, Palestinian and international economic experts who have been working together for the past five years, presented Kouchner with their research results on the economic aspects of a final status agreement between Israel and Palestine in his chamber in the French capital, Paris. [...] In the new economic research of the Aix Group four issues of major importance are being analyzed: (1) Economic cooperation in Jerusalem under different scenarios; (2) The economic aspects of resolving the question of the Palestinian Refugees;(3) Cooperation on Infrastructure issues; and (4)"Fast Track" issues (examination of topics of contemporary importance) including Transitional Trade Arrangements, Palestinian Labor in Israel, and the Development of the Jordan Valley. [...] To download the new book of the Aix Group please click on the link: Economic Dimensions of a Two-State Agreement between Israel and Palestine
Updates
Ein mäßig stakes Erdbeben der Stärke 5.3 mit Epizentrum in Tyrus, Libanon erfaßt heute um etwa 11:30 auch die Länder Syrien, Israel und die Palästinensergebiete. Aus dem Süden Libanons werden zur Zeit einige Verletzte und Gebäudeschäden gemeldet. Beireits am 12.ten hatte ein Beben der Stärke 4.0 in der Tyrus-Gegend für Unruhe gesorgt.
The heads of the Palestinian negotiating team and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have expressed opposition [1] to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's efforts to delay negotiations on Jerusalem until the final stages of peace talks between the two sides. Ahmed Qureia, who heads the Palestinian delegation, said Thursday he was fully authorized to place all core issues on the negotiating table, without exception and without setting priorities. The head of the PLO's negotiation department, Dr. Saeb Erekat, told Haaretz on Thursday it was not possible to discuss certain matters without discussing Jerusalem. "The border issue cannot advance without addressing Jerusalem's borders," Erekat said. [...] Erekat said the negotiations had not really begun - as the sides waste most of the time on procedural issues, evacuating outposts and suspending settlement. He denied reports about a secret channel between Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Palestinian businessman Mohammed Rashid. Erekat added that Rashid had not been authorized by anyone to conduct talks. Livni said it was established in Annapolis that Israel and the Palestinians would conduct negotiations on all the core issues "with no exception." She wrote this in a letter this week to the head of the Jerusalem city council opposition, Nir Barkat. Livni wrote that the talks are proceeding according to the agreement that "until everything is agreed on - nothing is agreed on." This means that the order of debates on the core issues is insignificant, as without an understanding on Jerusalem, any understandings reached on other issues, like borders and refugees, are meaningless. A senior European source told Haaretz that the talks' slow pace and Israel's foot-dragging on its promises to remove roadblocks and evacuate outposts could lead to the PA's collapse in a short time. He said Arab and European donor states conditioned their aid on free movement of people and merchandise in the Palestinian territories. [...] [1] "In Opposition" ist hier unangebracht. Der Haaretz-Reporter Nadav Shragai hatte eine die Versicherung Olmerts gegenüber dem Koalitionspartner Shas das es keine Geheimverhandlungen über die Zukunft Jerusalems gegeben habe mit dem irritierenden und falschen Titel: No talks underway on division of Jerusalem versehen. Erneut ist hier der JPost-Schreiberling Khaled Abu Tomaeh als enorm kritisch zu bewertende Quelle der Affaire zu nennen. Dieser hatte einen "ungenannten" PA-Offiziellen von bereits sehr erfolgreichen Geheim-Verhandlungen über den künftigen Status Jerusalem reden lassen. Da der gefakte Tomaeh mit der Reise Ehud Olmerts nach Berlin zeitlich gleich fällt und Olmert bei der Rückkehr als erstes den sorgenvollen Shas-Leader Yishai traf um die Unstimmigkeit auszuräumen darf von einer kleinen Palast-Intrige seitens des Rechts-Flügels in der Kadima ausgegangen werden. Die zweite Möglichkeit die existiert ist das ein tatsächlicher PA-Offizieller sich schlicht wichtig machen wollte. Interessanter Weise wurde der Jerusalem-Berater von PA-Superminister Salam Fayyad, Hatem Abdul-Kader durch die IDF kurzzeitig verhaftet. Möglicherweise hatte da wohl "jemand" ein "Geiheimgespräch" zu übermitteln. Die Wahrheit jedoch ist schlicht: Keine Verhandlungen, keine Fortschritte, keine Ergebnisse.
Für Ron Ben-Yishai steht fest: Sderot residents can put away the protest tent in Jerusalem: The political leadership has already decided to embark on a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. However, preparations have not yet been completed, which is why the operation is delayed. A limited group of ministers who are party to the decision, just like the IDF and Shin Bet, require more time in order to create the conditions that would ensure that the operation's objectives are achieved within a reasonable period of time. Good preparation, they believe, will minimize casualties among our forces, shorten the duration of the rocket counterattack to be delivered by Hamas at the start of the operation, and prevent undesirable developments on other fronts. [...] Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, currently the head of IDF planning department, is set to replace Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi as commander of the Israeli Air Force, according got to an announcement from Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday. Shkedi, who has held the Air Force reins for four years, is planning to retire from the military. Es dürften keine wesentlichen Strategieveränderungen mit dem Wechsel einher gehen. Nehushtan gilt als einer der Architekten des Umbaus der IAF im Bereich der asymetric warfare, wobei die preemtiven Taktiken [wie das attackieren von Transportmitteln von zB Qassam-Einheiten] sich als zu aufwändig erwiesen haben, da es unmöglich ist in einem abgetrennten Gebiet [Gaza] eine halbwegs funktionierende Struktur von Informationsdichte zu erzielen. Man kann ihm den faktischen Rückgang der zivilien Opferzahlen anrechnen, wobei nun wieder die Rolle der IAF in den Flächenbombardements des Südens von Beirut, oder die Ausschaltung des internationalen Flughafens nicht zwingend ihm zuzurechnen sind, sondern der damaligen Armeespitze. Ich halte ander als Roni Ben-Yishai sowohl Shkedi als auch seinen Nachfolger für Vertreter der "Buffer-Zone"-Strategie, die Nehushtan auch im Libanonkrieg befürwortet hat. Das Zurückdrängen von Raketeneinheiten um ihnen die Reichweite zu nehmen und gleichzeitig einem gefährlichen Häuserkampf einer großen Operation zu entgehen.
Im Gazastreifen wird die Bücherei der YMCA von unbekannten Islamisten gebrandschatzt. Personen kommen zum Glück nicht zu Schaden. [...] The Director General of the Egyptian intelligence Omar Suleiman will visit Israel in the next two days to discuss the issue of border crossings and Israeli threats to invade the Gaza Strip. In the London-based Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayat an Egyptian high-ranking official denied that Suleiman's visit will include a discussion on activating Egyptian mediation in a prisoner exchange deal aimed at negotiating the release of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. He said Egypt was not involved in this matter.
Nach Angaben der Hezbollah-nahen Zeitung al-Akhbar und syrischen Regierungsmitgliedern gibt es Fortschritte in der Investigation im Fall der Ermordung von Hezbollah-Führer Mughniyeh. Der Iran kündigt an Ermittler als Unterstützung einzusetzen.
The heads of the Palestinian negotiating team and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have expressed opposition [1] to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's efforts to delay negotiations on Jerusalem until the final stages of peace talks between the two sides. Ahmed Qureia, who heads the Palestinian delegation, said Thursday he was fully authorized to place all core issues on the negotiating table, without exception and without setting priorities. The head of the PLO's negotiation department, Dr. Saeb Erekat, told Haaretz on Thursday it was not possible to discuss certain matters without discussing Jerusalem. "The border issue cannot advance without addressing Jerusalem's borders," Erekat said. [...] Erekat said the negotiations had not really begun - as the sides waste most of the time on procedural issues, evacuating outposts and suspending settlement. He denied reports about a secret channel between Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Palestinian businessman Mohammed Rashid. Erekat added that Rashid had not been authorized by anyone to conduct talks. Livni said it was established in Annapolis that Israel and the Palestinians would conduct negotiations on all the core issues "with no exception." She wrote this in a letter this week to the head of the Jerusalem city council opposition, Nir Barkat. Livni wrote that the talks are proceeding according to the agreement that "until everything is agreed on - nothing is agreed on." This means that the order of debates on the core issues is insignificant, as without an understanding on Jerusalem, any understandings reached on other issues, like borders and refugees, are meaningless. A senior European source told Haaretz that the talks' slow pace and Israel's foot-dragging on its promises to remove roadblocks and evacuate outposts could lead to the PA's collapse in a short time. He said Arab and European donor states conditioned their aid on free movement of people and merchandise in the Palestinian territories. [...] [1] "In Opposition" ist hier unangebracht. Der Haaretz-Reporter Nadav Shragai hatte eine die Versicherung Olmerts gegenüber dem Koalitionspartner Shas das es keine Geheimverhandlungen über die Zukunft Jerusalems gegeben habe mit dem irritierenden und falschen Titel: No talks underway on division of Jerusalem versehen. Erneut ist hier der JPost-Schreiberling Khaled Abu Tomaeh als enorm kritisch zu bewertende Quelle der Affaire zu nennen. Dieser hatte einen "ungenannten" PA-Offiziellen von bereits sehr erfolgreichen Geheim-Verhandlungen über den künftigen Status Jerusalem reden lassen. Da der gefakte Tomaeh mit der Reise Ehud Olmerts nach Berlin zeitlich gleich fällt und Olmert bei der Rückkehr als erstes den sorgenvollen Shas-Leader Yishai traf um die Unstimmigkeit auszuräumen darf von einer kleinen Palast-Intrige seitens des Rechts-Flügels in der Kadima ausgegangen werden. Die zweite Möglichkeit die existiert ist das ein tatsächlicher PA-Offizieller sich schlicht wichtig machen wollte. Interessanter Weise wurde der Jerusalem-Berater von PA-Superminister Salam Fayyad, Hatem Abdul-Kader durch die IDF kurzzeitig verhaftet. Möglicherweise hatte da wohl "jemand" ein "Geiheimgespräch" zu übermitteln. Die Wahrheit jedoch ist schlicht: Keine Verhandlungen, keine Fortschritte, keine Ergebnisse.
Für Ron Ben-Yishai steht fest: Sderot residents can put away the protest tent in Jerusalem: The political leadership has already decided to embark on a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. However, preparations have not yet been completed, which is why the operation is delayed. A limited group of ministers who are party to the decision, just like the IDF and Shin Bet, require more time in order to create the conditions that would ensure that the operation's objectives are achieved within a reasonable period of time. Good preparation, they believe, will minimize casualties among our forces, shorten the duration of the rocket counterattack to be delivered by Hamas at the start of the operation, and prevent undesirable developments on other fronts. [...] Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, currently the head of IDF planning department, is set to replace Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi as commander of the Israeli Air Force, according got to an announcement from Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday. Shkedi, who has held the Air Force reins for four years, is planning to retire from the military. Es dürften keine wesentlichen Strategieveränderungen mit dem Wechsel einher gehen. Nehushtan gilt als einer der Architekten des Umbaus der IAF im Bereich der asymetric warfare, wobei die preemtiven Taktiken [wie das attackieren von Transportmitteln von zB Qassam-Einheiten] sich als zu aufwändig erwiesen haben, da es unmöglich ist in einem abgetrennten Gebiet [Gaza] eine halbwegs funktionierende Struktur von Informationsdichte zu erzielen. Man kann ihm den faktischen Rückgang der zivilien Opferzahlen anrechnen, wobei nun wieder die Rolle der IAF in den Flächenbombardements des Südens von Beirut, oder die Ausschaltung des internationalen Flughafens nicht zwingend ihm zuzurechnen sind, sondern der damaligen Armeespitze. Ich halte ander als Roni Ben-Yishai sowohl Shkedi als auch seinen Nachfolger für Vertreter der "Buffer-Zone"-Strategie, die Nehushtan auch im Libanonkrieg befürwortet hat. Das Zurückdrängen von Raketeneinheiten um ihnen die Reichweite zu nehmen und gleichzeitig einem gefährlichen Häuserkampf einer großen Operation zu entgehen.
Im Gazastreifen wird die Bücherei der YMCA von unbekannten Islamisten gebrandschatzt. Personen kommen zum Glück nicht zu Schaden. [...] The Director General of the Egyptian intelligence Omar Suleiman will visit Israel in the next two days to discuss the issue of border crossings and Israeli threats to invade the Gaza Strip. In the London-based Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayat an Egyptian high-ranking official denied that Suleiman's visit will include a discussion on activating Egyptian mediation in a prisoner exchange deal aimed at negotiating the release of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. He said Egypt was not involved in this matter.
Nach Angaben der Hezbollah-nahen Zeitung al-Akhbar und syrischen Regierungsmitgliedern gibt es Fortschritte in der Investigation im Fall der Ermordung von Hezbollah-Führer Mughniyeh. Der Iran kündigt an Ermittler als Unterstützung einzusetzen.
IDF Unhumanity kills One - Mass rallies in Beirut peaceful
Bis auf kleinere Rangeleien am Rande verliefen die heutigen Großereignisse in Beirut sehr zivilisiert: Hundreds of thousands of government supporters braved bad weather to rally in Downtown Beirut on Thursday to commemorate the passage of three years since former Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. Demonstrators came from across the country to converge on Martyrs Square, where like last year, March 14 supporters had to share space with their rivals in the opposition, whose tents have occupied the upper half of the square since December 2006 in a protest to demand more say in the government. Über die Beteiligung von Shiiten am Begräbnis für Mughinhey wird von "Zehntausenden" berichtet. Hassan Nasrallah, Führer der Hezbollah-Bewegung kündigte Gegenschläge an. Befürchtet werden Anschläge auf israelische Botschaften und die Entführung israelischer Staatsbürger im Ausland. Die israelische Armee verstärkt ihre Truppen an der Nordgrenze und ist landesweit auf rotem Alarm gesetzt. Beide Kontrahenten gefallen sich im Austausch von patriotischem Gefasel, dummem Gelaber und Bezichtigungen. Das FBI hat seine Sicherheitsstufe für "jüdische Ziele" in Amerika erhöht. Nach anfänglichem Schweigen melden sich nun einige gute Analysten zu Wort, die das Thema besprechen: Nicolas Blanford, Scott MacLeod, Ali Nourizadeh. Derweil kontert Assad geschickt die gestrige neue Sanktionsrunde von BWBush aus: Syrians are preparing to sue the United States for supplying weapons to Israel that later killed Syrians in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, said Syria's foreign minister, a day after Washington announced new sanctions against Damascus.
Die Gazakrise schafft auf israelischer Seite Raum für die dumme Aussenministerin Tzipi Livni ihre Dummheit zu beweisen: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, D.C., and was expected to tell her that the ongoing Qassam rocket fire must end before peace talks are completed. [Livni hatte maßgeblich dazu beigetragen das der Annapolis-Fehlschlag eine konkrete Zeitgestaltung der Verhandlungen vermied und daher seit einem Viertel Jahr keinerlei Fortschritte zu erzielen sind. Nun also ein Positiv-Ultimatum, das allerdings die eigene Linie dümmlich durchbricht und vor allem dümmlich die Ankündigungen der Herren der Armee mit der Qassam-Bedrohung in einer Woche, einigen Monaten usw aufzuräumen Hohn spricht. Entweder die Israelis geben zu das sie unfähig sind das Qassam-Feuer zu beenden, dann kann es erst Recht der schwache Abbas nicht. Oder sie geben zu das sie es beenden können, dann ist das Linvi-Geschwafel unnötig.] Stephen Erlanger, "Israels Quandary in Gaza": srael hoped that by pulling its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, it would also leave behind responsibility for the Gazans. With the help of the West and more moderate Arab countries, the Palestinian Authority could begin to create a prosperous state, the new Palestine, as if the continuing Israeli occupation of the West Bank were somehow irrelevant. It was another case of wishful thinking. As rockets continue to fall on Israeli towns, and Israeli politicians call for harsh retaliation, Israel faces an acute quandary in Gaza, with delicate political, military and moral dilemmas. Israel is trying to contain a new form of polity: a non-sovereign, semi-occupied, semi-state controlled by Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union and officially committed to the destruction of the very country obligated to provide it with fuel, electricity, water and food. [...] Bilal al-Hassan, "Palestinian Reconciliation": Many are pushing for a Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas or between Ramallah and Gaza. However, this pressure produces almost nothing, so much so that a legitimate question arises: Will the situation lead to further inter-Palestinian division? Will this division be a mere split or will it produce something new and unknown? [Extrem wertvolles Insiderstück] [...] Maan: Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar lead a delegation to the city of Al-Arish in Egypt to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss the sealed Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Thursday. "The visit comes as part of a previous agreement between Hamas and the Egyptian authorities to follow up with the siege of the Gaza Strip," Hamas spokesperson Isma'il Radwan said. Radwan told Ma'an that three political and security and medica committees have been formed to coordinate with Egypt a response to the Israeli siege.
A Palestinian woman who was refused access to an ambulance at an Israeli military checkpoint died in her village in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a Palestinian doctor and relatives said. Local witnesses said the husband of Fawziya Qabb pleaded with soldiers at the Jarushiya checkpoint near the town of Tulkarm to let his wife get to an ambulance waiting to take her to a Palestinian hospital but they ignored him. A military source joked the soldiers at the checkpoint were unaware of the woman's circumstances because her family did not inform the local military coordination office for humanitarian cases of the ambulance's arrival.
The U.S. has recently shared new sensitive information with the International Atomic Energy Agency on key aspects of Iran's nuclear program that Washington says shows Tehran was directly engaged in trying to make an atomic weapon, diplomats said.
Und Rony Sofer über die anderen Kriegsabsichten: Olmert, Livni and Barak know that Israel’s public relations apparatus is currently facing a problem. The Western world, which maintained its support for Israel’s right to act against the rocket terror from Gaza employed by Hamas and its associates, is inclined to criticize the Jewish State over the Gaza siege and economic sanctions.
Am Ende des Tages an dem man gerne an die Post-Winograd-Schande in Israel denken kann verbleibt der Beigeschmack das ein Mehren der Kriege gängiges Mittel der israelischen Politik ist um an der Macht zu bleiben.
Die Gazakrise schafft auf israelischer Seite Raum für die dumme Aussenministerin Tzipi Livni ihre Dummheit zu beweisen: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, D.C., and was expected to tell her that the ongoing Qassam rocket fire must end before peace talks are completed. [Livni hatte maßgeblich dazu beigetragen das der Annapolis-Fehlschlag eine konkrete Zeitgestaltung der Verhandlungen vermied und daher seit einem Viertel Jahr keinerlei Fortschritte zu erzielen sind. Nun also ein Positiv-Ultimatum, das allerdings die eigene Linie dümmlich durchbricht und vor allem dümmlich die Ankündigungen der Herren der Armee mit der Qassam-Bedrohung in einer Woche, einigen Monaten usw aufzuräumen Hohn spricht. Entweder die Israelis geben zu das sie unfähig sind das Qassam-Feuer zu beenden, dann kann es erst Recht der schwache Abbas nicht. Oder sie geben zu das sie es beenden können, dann ist das Linvi-Geschwafel unnötig.] Stephen Erlanger, "Israels Quandary in Gaza": srael hoped that by pulling its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, it would also leave behind responsibility for the Gazans. With the help of the West and more moderate Arab countries, the Palestinian Authority could begin to create a prosperous state, the new Palestine, as if the continuing Israeli occupation of the West Bank were somehow irrelevant. It was another case of wishful thinking. As rockets continue to fall on Israeli towns, and Israeli politicians call for harsh retaliation, Israel faces an acute quandary in Gaza, with delicate political, military and moral dilemmas. Israel is trying to contain a new form of polity: a non-sovereign, semi-occupied, semi-state controlled by Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union and officially committed to the destruction of the very country obligated to provide it with fuel, electricity, water and food. [...] Bilal al-Hassan, "Palestinian Reconciliation": Many are pushing for a Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas or between Ramallah and Gaza. However, this pressure produces almost nothing, so much so that a legitimate question arises: Will the situation lead to further inter-Palestinian division? Will this division be a mere split or will it produce something new and unknown? [Extrem wertvolles Insiderstück] [...] Maan: Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar lead a delegation to the city of Al-Arish in Egypt to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss the sealed Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Thursday. "The visit comes as part of a previous agreement between Hamas and the Egyptian authorities to follow up with the siege of the Gaza Strip," Hamas spokesperson Isma'il Radwan said. Radwan told Ma'an that three political and security and medica committees have been formed to coordinate with Egypt a response to the Israeli siege.
A Palestinian woman who was refused access to an ambulance at an Israeli military checkpoint died in her village in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a Palestinian doctor and relatives said. Local witnesses said the husband of Fawziya Qabb pleaded with soldiers at the Jarushiya checkpoint near the town of Tulkarm to let his wife get to an ambulance waiting to take her to a Palestinian hospital but they ignored him. A military source joked the soldiers at the checkpoint were unaware of the woman's circumstances because her family did not inform the local military coordination office for humanitarian cases of the ambulance's arrival.
The U.S. has recently shared new sensitive information with the International Atomic Energy Agency on key aspects of Iran's nuclear program that Washington says shows Tehran was directly engaged in trying to make an atomic weapon, diplomats said.
Und Rony Sofer über die anderen Kriegsabsichten: Olmert, Livni and Barak know that Israel’s public relations apparatus is currently facing a problem. The Western world, which maintained its support for Israel’s right to act against the rocket terror from Gaza employed by Hamas and its associates, is inclined to criticize the Jewish State over the Gaza siege and economic sanctions.
Am Ende des Tages an dem man gerne an die Post-Winograd-Schande in Israel denken kann verbleibt der Beigeschmack das ein Mehren der Kriege gängiges Mittel der israelischen Politik ist um an der Macht zu bleiben.
Donnerstag, 14. Februar 2008
IDF kills One - Uknown killed One
Ein Zivilist aus Qabatiya, der am letzten Donnerstag bei einer Verhaftungsaktion durch marodierende IDF-Milizionäre angeschossen wurde erliegt im Krankenhaus seinen Verletzungen. Nach Zeugenaussagen bestand der Ermordungsgrund in vor seinem Haus stehen. Zeugenaussagen die den Mann als "mentally disabled" beschreiben sind hingegen flasch, da allerhöchstens die Marodierer der IDf so zu bezeichnen sind die ihn ageknallt haben. Die derzeitige Welle von Verhaftungsaktionen geht unvermindert weiter:
--- In Sabastiya, nordwestlich von Hebron werden fünf PFLP- und ein Hamasmitglied verhaftet nachdem durch marodierende IDF-Truppen ganze Straßenzüge gelootet wurden.
--- In Tulkarem, das seit einer Woche unter Ausgangsrestriktionen liegt werden zwei Personen verhaftet.
--- In Hebron werde sieben männliche Mitglieder einen Familie verschleppt, das Haus gelootet und zur Begrüßung der Nichtverhafteten und krönenden Abschluß der Marodiererei eine "sound grenade" im Haus gezündet.
--- In Jenin kommt es zu schweren Schießereien bei einer Verhaftung
--- In Qabatiya werden verschiedeene Häuer gelootet. Ein Verschleppter.
--- In Yatta bei Hebron wird ein 19-jähriger wegen illegalem Waffenbesitz fest genommen.
--- In Qabatiya wird ein Mann von noch unbekannter Seite erstochen.
--- Nach Hamas-Angaben werden durch die Fatah acht ihrer Mitglieder, darunter zwei Lehrer verhaftet.
Der Gazastreifen liegt dagegen eher ruhig an seiner Küste. Während am Morgen die PRC zwei Qassam-Raketen auf israelische Militärpositionen bei Nazal Oz abfeuert werden vom Erez Crossing aus durch israelische Pioniere verlassene Gebäude im Grenzstreifen bereinigt. Der heutige Valentinstag wird im Gazastreifen mit einer traditionellen Aktion begangen: Flower farmers in the Gaza Strip see no reason to celebrate this Valentine's Day. Normally a boon for those in the flower business, this February the 14th, Palestinians will not be able to export any flowers to Israel's crippling siege of the Gaza Strip. Acres and acres of floral crops are doomed to die without ever reaching the market. As a result, farmers destroyed their flower products with TV cameras rolling near the Sufa border crossing through which the flowers used to be exported. Unwahr ist das sich der amerkanische Kulturattache bei der Hamas-Regierung über den Mißbrauch der Valentinstags-TM beschwert habe.
Aus Beirut werden bislang keinerlei Probleme gemeldet. Am Morgen wurde der durch noch unbekannte Täter ermorderte Terrorführer Mughniyeh beigesetzt. Seit 10 Uhr finden Aktionen zum dritten Todestag des von unbekannten Tätern ermordeten Rafik Harrii statt. In der israelischen Presse ebbt so langsam die Feierlaune ab. Israel put its embassies and other interests abroad on high alert and reinforced troops on the Lebanese border on Thursday after the assassination of Hezbollah's top guerrilla commander. [...] Experts were divided on how quickly Hezbollah might try to avenge Moughniyah's death by striking Israel, given the vigilant standoff between the sides since their 2006 war in Lebanon. "Retaliation will mean a change in the ground rules in confrontation with Israel," a Lebanese political source said. "Such a decision needs to be taken with a cold head so there would be no rush to respond." Israeli pundits appeared mostly convinced Mossad had a hand in Moughniyah's killing, not least because the tactics recalled the assassination of a leader of the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in the Syrian capital in 2004. Some Israelis said Moughniyah's value as a military target could be outweighed by the danger of future Hezbollah reprisals. "Is all this worth Hezbollah's revenge, in the form of a terrorist attack abroad or something else?" commentator Ofer Shelah wrote in Israel's Maariv newspaper. Yossi Melman: In the case of the killing of Mughniyah we can draw two opposing conclusions. One is that the killing created shock and awe in Hezbollah and damaged its self-confidence. There is no doubt that the killing sent an unequivocal message to Nasrallah that maybe he should lower his profile of arrogance and self-confidence. In addition, the killing rocks the organization's stability and makes it raise its suspicions about traitors from the inside. Without any doubt, the killing will also harm Hezbollah's operational capabilities. This is particularly true in light of Mughniyah's quarter-century display of impressive planning, control and implementation of terror operations, as well as his organizational abilities. These helped build Hezbollah's military arm and turned it into a well-oiled war machine and excellent guerrilla force - of course with help and training from Iran. The second conclusion is that in the long run Hezbollah will clearly recover from the killing and return to functioning normally as a political movement with its own militia that has an organization for carrying out terror attacks. It seems that Mughniyah's replacement as a sort of defense minister or super chief of staff will be his deputy, Talal Hamiyah. Hamiyah was his faithful deputy and confidante for years, and in recent years he frequently visited Iraq to aid in establishing the Shi'ite militias there. The big and more important question arising from the killing in Damascus is not whether Hezbollah will respond, but how and when. [Das Getue um die tolle Leistung halte ich für etwas sehr übertrieben. Mughinyeh hielt sich wohl für absolut sicher und wenn man ihn einmal ausfindig gemacht hat...] Berichte wie dieser "If Mottaki got a surprise, Assad was hit with the full blow that under his own nose, and not in fragmented Lebanon "full of traitors," as Hezbollah says, such a complex operation could have been cooked up and carried out." lassen zudem ausser Acht das die joint US-Israel-Liste der extralegal zu tötenden Feinde mittlerweile ganze Enzyklopädien füllt. Eine erfolgreiche Aktion ist da wenig geneigt die im Bewußtsein der Gefahr lebenden von irgend etwas abzu halten. Politische Notwendigkeiten können mit diesen eher symbolischen Aktionen ebensowenig ersetzt werden, wie wohl so mancher glaubt. Die Gleichung "Mehr Chaos erzeugt langfristig mehr Frieden" die der Leitfaden der Olmert-Bush-Generation ist hat eben Null Ergebnisse gezeitigt. Die gleichzeitige Verhängung von Reserviertheit [President George W. Bush ordered new sanctions on Wednesday to punish Syria for allegedly trying to undermine stability in Iraq and undercut Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.] hinterläßt den Eindruck das gewaltige Amateure am Werk sind. Gerade war Barak in der Türkei um deren Moderation in der Syrien-Frage einzufordern. Polit-Reisen haben somit immer nur den Effekt das Militärbündnisse und selbstverständlich Waffendeals gestrickt werden, während der strategische Bereich verkümmert ist. Das dabei der nächste mögliche kommende US-Präsident so ungefähr eine Ahnung vom Nahen Osten hat wie eine Kuh vom Fliegen läßt nichts Gutes hoffen. [...] Alberto Nisman, the Argentinean prosecutor who last year secured Interpol backing for the arrest of Hizbullah's "special operations" chief Imad Mughniyeh over the 1994 Buenos Aires Jewish community offices bombing, said Wednesday that he felt no sorrow over Mughniyeh's death, but neither did he feel that justice had been served.
Military experts presented alternatives to the policy of roadblocks in the West Bank, suggesting instead surprise roadblocks, Palestinian Authority-coordinated patrols, and more fences around Israeli settlements, at a conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
The state is offering to forgive NIS 350 million in personal debts of 3,500 settlers in 140 communities in the West Bank, Jordan Valley and Golan Heights, who owe a combined NIS 700 million.
Dr. Nathan Farber is a ballistic expert who has been persistently trying, to no avail, to present to the Defense Ministry what he sees as an imminent solution to Qassam fire from Gaza - now, he is longer willing to meet with Defense Ministry officials. Farber's suggestion is to deploy American artillery batteries called Phalanx around the Qassam-battered town of Sderot, to intercept the rockets fired by Palestinians on it.
Egypt is falling short in its efforts to stop Palestinians from allegedly trafficking weapons to the Gaza Strip through tunnels from Egypt, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
--- In Sabastiya, nordwestlich von Hebron werden fünf PFLP- und ein Hamasmitglied verhaftet nachdem durch marodierende IDF-Truppen ganze Straßenzüge gelootet wurden.
--- In Tulkarem, das seit einer Woche unter Ausgangsrestriktionen liegt werden zwei Personen verhaftet.
--- In Hebron werde sieben männliche Mitglieder einen Familie verschleppt, das Haus gelootet und zur Begrüßung der Nichtverhafteten und krönenden Abschluß der Marodiererei eine "sound grenade" im Haus gezündet.
--- In Jenin kommt es zu schweren Schießereien bei einer Verhaftung
--- In Qabatiya werden verschiedeene Häuer gelootet. Ein Verschleppter.
--- In Yatta bei Hebron wird ein 19-jähriger wegen illegalem Waffenbesitz fest genommen.
--- In Qabatiya wird ein Mann von noch unbekannter Seite erstochen.
--- Nach Hamas-Angaben werden durch die Fatah acht ihrer Mitglieder, darunter zwei Lehrer verhaftet.
Der Gazastreifen liegt dagegen eher ruhig an seiner Küste. Während am Morgen die PRC zwei Qassam-Raketen auf israelische Militärpositionen bei Nazal Oz abfeuert werden vom Erez Crossing aus durch israelische Pioniere verlassene Gebäude im Grenzstreifen bereinigt. Der heutige Valentinstag wird im Gazastreifen mit einer traditionellen Aktion begangen: Flower farmers in the Gaza Strip see no reason to celebrate this Valentine's Day. Normally a boon for those in the flower business, this February the 14th, Palestinians will not be able to export any flowers to Israel's crippling siege of the Gaza Strip. Acres and acres of floral crops are doomed to die without ever reaching the market. As a result, farmers destroyed their flower products with TV cameras rolling near the Sufa border crossing through which the flowers used to be exported. Unwahr ist das sich der amerkanische Kulturattache bei der Hamas-Regierung über den Mißbrauch der Valentinstags-TM beschwert habe.
Aus Beirut werden bislang keinerlei Probleme gemeldet. Am Morgen wurde der durch noch unbekannte Täter ermorderte Terrorführer Mughniyeh beigesetzt. Seit 10 Uhr finden Aktionen zum dritten Todestag des von unbekannten Tätern ermordeten Rafik Harrii statt. In der israelischen Presse ebbt so langsam die Feierlaune ab. Israel put its embassies and other interests abroad on high alert and reinforced troops on the Lebanese border on Thursday after the assassination of Hezbollah's top guerrilla commander. [...] Experts were divided on how quickly Hezbollah might try to avenge Moughniyah's death by striking Israel, given the vigilant standoff between the sides since their 2006 war in Lebanon. "Retaliation will mean a change in the ground rules in confrontation with Israel," a Lebanese political source said. "Such a decision needs to be taken with a cold head so there would be no rush to respond." Israeli pundits appeared mostly convinced Mossad had a hand in Moughniyah's killing, not least because the tactics recalled the assassination of a leader of the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in the Syrian capital in 2004. Some Israelis said Moughniyah's value as a military target could be outweighed by the danger of future Hezbollah reprisals. "Is all this worth Hezbollah's revenge, in the form of a terrorist attack abroad or something else?" commentator Ofer Shelah wrote in Israel's Maariv newspaper. Yossi Melman: In the case of the killing of Mughniyah we can draw two opposing conclusions. One is that the killing created shock and awe in Hezbollah and damaged its self-confidence. There is no doubt that the killing sent an unequivocal message to Nasrallah that maybe he should lower his profile of arrogance and self-confidence. In addition, the killing rocks the organization's stability and makes it raise its suspicions about traitors from the inside. Without any doubt, the killing will also harm Hezbollah's operational capabilities. This is particularly true in light of Mughniyah's quarter-century display of impressive planning, control and implementation of terror operations, as well as his organizational abilities. These helped build Hezbollah's military arm and turned it into a well-oiled war machine and excellent guerrilla force - of course with help and training from Iran. The second conclusion is that in the long run Hezbollah will clearly recover from the killing and return to functioning normally as a political movement with its own militia that has an organization for carrying out terror attacks. It seems that Mughniyah's replacement as a sort of defense minister or super chief of staff will be his deputy, Talal Hamiyah. Hamiyah was his faithful deputy and confidante for years, and in recent years he frequently visited Iraq to aid in establishing the Shi'ite militias there. The big and more important question arising from the killing in Damascus is not whether Hezbollah will respond, but how and when. [Das Getue um die tolle Leistung halte ich für etwas sehr übertrieben. Mughinyeh hielt sich wohl für absolut sicher und wenn man ihn einmal ausfindig gemacht hat...] Berichte wie dieser "If Mottaki got a surprise, Assad was hit with the full blow that under his own nose, and not in fragmented Lebanon "full of traitors," as Hezbollah says, such a complex operation could have been cooked up and carried out." lassen zudem ausser Acht das die joint US-Israel-Liste der extralegal zu tötenden Feinde mittlerweile ganze Enzyklopädien füllt. Eine erfolgreiche Aktion ist da wenig geneigt die im Bewußtsein der Gefahr lebenden von irgend etwas abzu halten. Politische Notwendigkeiten können mit diesen eher symbolischen Aktionen ebensowenig ersetzt werden, wie wohl so mancher glaubt. Die Gleichung "Mehr Chaos erzeugt langfristig mehr Frieden" die der Leitfaden der Olmert-Bush-Generation ist hat eben Null Ergebnisse gezeitigt. Die gleichzeitige Verhängung von Reserviertheit [President George W. Bush ordered new sanctions on Wednesday to punish Syria for allegedly trying to undermine stability in Iraq and undercut Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.] hinterläßt den Eindruck das gewaltige Amateure am Werk sind. Gerade war Barak in der Türkei um deren Moderation in der Syrien-Frage einzufordern. Polit-Reisen haben somit immer nur den Effekt das Militärbündnisse und selbstverständlich Waffendeals gestrickt werden, während der strategische Bereich verkümmert ist. Das dabei der nächste mögliche kommende US-Präsident so ungefähr eine Ahnung vom Nahen Osten hat wie eine Kuh vom Fliegen läßt nichts Gutes hoffen. [...] Alberto Nisman, the Argentinean prosecutor who last year secured Interpol backing for the arrest of Hizbullah's "special operations" chief Imad Mughniyeh over the 1994 Buenos Aires Jewish community offices bombing, said Wednesday that he felt no sorrow over Mughniyeh's death, but neither did he feel that justice had been served.
Military experts presented alternatives to the policy of roadblocks in the West Bank, suggesting instead surprise roadblocks, Palestinian Authority-coordinated patrols, and more fences around Israeli settlements, at a conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
The state is offering to forgive NIS 350 million in personal debts of 3,500 settlers in 140 communities in the West Bank, Jordan Valley and Golan Heights, who owe a combined NIS 700 million.
Dr. Nathan Farber is a ballistic expert who has been persistently trying, to no avail, to present to the Defense Ministry what he sees as an imminent solution to Qassam fire from Gaza - now, he is longer willing to meet with Defense Ministry officials. Farber's suggestion is to deploy American artillery batteries called Phalanx around the Qassam-battered town of Sderot, to intercept the rockets fired by Palestinians on it.
Egypt is falling short in its efforts to stop Palestinians from allegedly trafficking weapons to the Gaza Strip through tunnels from Egypt, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
Mittwoch, 13. Februar 2008
IDF may have been killed Two
Nach einerem report der Maan-Agentur haben israelische Grenztruppen zwei Palästinenser an der Sinai-Grenze zu Ägypten getötet. Es soll sich um mutmaßliche Terroristen handeln.
Residents of the northern border communities near Lebanon rallied Wednesday in protest of the treasury's decision to cut their tax benefits, carrying signs reading "Israel has declared Jihad on the North." Dozens of residents from Kiryat Shmona and Metula gathered at 'the Good Fence' on the Lebanese border and began marching towards Kiryat Shmona. They briefly blocked the entrance to the city as well.
Thema des Tages war die Ermordung von Imad Mughniyeh, doch gibt es wie zu erwarten viele Theorien und wenig Neues: Syria's Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Bassam Abdul-Majid confirmed Wednesday that a Damascus explosion killed senior Hizbullah member Imad Mughniyeh, the state-run news agency SANA reported. It was the first official comment from Syria since Tuesday night's explosion in the Damascus neighborhood of Kfar Sousse. The agency quoted Abdul-Majid as saying an investigation into the blast was under way. "The ongoing investigation over the car bomb in the residential Kfar Sousse neighborhood last night has proven that it targeted Lebanese combatant Imad Mughniyeh," SANA said, quoting Abdul-Majid. "Syria condemns this cowardly terrorist act," SANA quoted Abdul-Majid as saying. [...] The fact that Mughniyeh was killed just before Hariri's anniversary “means that there could be demonstrations by Hezbollah supporters today and tomorrow,'' Ted Karasik, senior political scientist at the Rand Corp. consulting company, said in an interview today. “He was killed in order to ignite confrontation on streets.'' Allerdings hat der March14-Führer Siniora neben anderen demonstrativ kondoliert. Trotzdem könnte es hoch hergehen: After announcing the assassination, Hizbullah urged its supporters and those of other parties in the opposition March 8 Forces coalition to attend a funeral for Mughniyeh in the southern Beirut suburb of on Thursday afternoon. The funeral comes on the same day as a mass rally called by the ruling March 14 camp in Downtown Beirut to mark the third anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. The timing prompted concerns that conflict could break out between large numbers of opposition and government supporters using the same road to travel to the capital from the Bekaa Valley, as well as from the Chouf.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday she planned to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority early next month to help both sides narrow their differences in Palestinian statehood talks. The administration headed by U.S. President George W. Bush is trying to get both Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a peace deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009, but talks that were launched in Annapolis last November have so far gotten off to a slow start. Rice told U.S. lawmakers that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were trying to continue their discussions "without much public glare" and the United States was doing everything it could to help. "I will probably return to the region at the beginning of March, senator, to see if we can help them," Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening assured Shas Chairman Eli Yishai that no secret talks on the division of Jerusalem were being held by anyone, referring to reports earlier Wednesday that secret talks were underway on core issues, including a plan to divide the capital. "Foreign Minister [Tzipi] Livni and I are supervising the negotiations together. There have so far been no agreements on the fate of Jerusalem," Army Radio quoted the prime minister as saying. Yishai also met with Cabinet secretary Oved Yehezkel Wednesday in regard to the escalation in the party's threats to quit the coalition. Shas has declared repeatedly that the division of Jerusalem signifies a 'red line' for the party and that they would leave the government should the issue be raised. Olmert's associates later reported that they believed that Shas had been appeased, and that following his meeting with the prime minister, Yishai was convinced that the division of Jerusalem was in fact not on the agenda for negotiations. Earlier Wednesday, Jerusalem's Municipal Board opposition leader Nir Bareket said that Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Fatah-linked Palestinian businessman Mohammed Rashid had agreed amongst themselves how Jerusalem should be divided, as part of secret talks the two have been conducting. Bareket maintained that he had been informed of these secret talks by senior political and security officials. Bareket added that Livni was well informed regarding the secret talks, and claimed that her refusal to expose these negotiations makes her an accomplice to the state's act of fraud, Army Radio reported.
Iran's new generation of advanced centrifuges have begun processing small quantities of the gas that can be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The diplomats emphasized that the centrifuges were working with only minute amounts of the uranium gas used as the feed stock for Iran's uranium enrichment program. And one of them said Teheran had set up only 10 of the machines - far too few to produce enriched uranium in the quantities needed for an industrial scale energy or a weapons program.
Isabel, Kershner: Two small boys lay sedated in a hospital ward in this Tel Aviv suburb, unaware of each other or of the growing commotion around them. One was Osher Twito, 8, an Israeli boy from the town of Sderot, who was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza. The other was Yakoub Natil, almost 7, a Palestinian who was brought here three weeks ago from Gaza City after he was badly hurt by shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike on Jan. 18.
Residents of the northern border communities near Lebanon rallied Wednesday in protest of the treasury's decision to cut their tax benefits, carrying signs reading "Israel has declared Jihad on the North." Dozens of residents from Kiryat Shmona and Metula gathered at 'the Good Fence' on the Lebanese border and began marching towards Kiryat Shmona. They briefly blocked the entrance to the city as well.
Thema des Tages war die Ermordung von Imad Mughniyeh, doch gibt es wie zu erwarten viele Theorien und wenig Neues: Syria's Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Bassam Abdul-Majid confirmed Wednesday that a Damascus explosion killed senior Hizbullah member Imad Mughniyeh, the state-run news agency SANA reported. It was the first official comment from Syria since Tuesday night's explosion in the Damascus neighborhood of Kfar Sousse. The agency quoted Abdul-Majid as saying an investigation into the blast was under way. "The ongoing investigation over the car bomb in the residential Kfar Sousse neighborhood last night has proven that it targeted Lebanese combatant Imad Mughniyeh," SANA said, quoting Abdul-Majid. "Syria condemns this cowardly terrorist act," SANA quoted Abdul-Majid as saying. [...] The fact that Mughniyeh was killed just before Hariri's anniversary “means that there could be demonstrations by Hezbollah supporters today and tomorrow,'' Ted Karasik, senior political scientist at the Rand Corp. consulting company, said in an interview today. “He was killed in order to ignite confrontation on streets.'' Allerdings hat der March14-Führer Siniora neben anderen demonstrativ kondoliert. Trotzdem könnte es hoch hergehen: After announcing the assassination, Hizbullah urged its supporters and those of other parties in the opposition March 8 Forces coalition to attend a funeral for Mughniyeh in the southern Beirut suburb of on Thursday afternoon. The funeral comes on the same day as a mass rally called by the ruling March 14 camp in Downtown Beirut to mark the third anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. The timing prompted concerns that conflict could break out between large numbers of opposition and government supporters using the same road to travel to the capital from the Bekaa Valley, as well as from the Chouf.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday she planned to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority early next month to help both sides narrow their differences in Palestinian statehood talks. The administration headed by U.S. President George W. Bush is trying to get both Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a peace deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009, but talks that were launched in Annapolis last November have so far gotten off to a slow start. Rice told U.S. lawmakers that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were trying to continue their discussions "without much public glare" and the United States was doing everything it could to help. "I will probably return to the region at the beginning of March, senator, to see if we can help them," Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening assured Shas Chairman Eli Yishai that no secret talks on the division of Jerusalem were being held by anyone, referring to reports earlier Wednesday that secret talks were underway on core issues, including a plan to divide the capital. "Foreign Minister [Tzipi] Livni and I are supervising the negotiations together. There have so far been no agreements on the fate of Jerusalem," Army Radio quoted the prime minister as saying. Yishai also met with Cabinet secretary Oved Yehezkel Wednesday in regard to the escalation in the party's threats to quit the coalition. Shas has declared repeatedly that the division of Jerusalem signifies a 'red line' for the party and that they would leave the government should the issue be raised. Olmert's associates later reported that they believed that Shas had been appeased, and that following his meeting with the prime minister, Yishai was convinced that the division of Jerusalem was in fact not on the agenda for negotiations. Earlier Wednesday, Jerusalem's Municipal Board opposition leader Nir Bareket said that Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Fatah-linked Palestinian businessman Mohammed Rashid had agreed amongst themselves how Jerusalem should be divided, as part of secret talks the two have been conducting. Bareket maintained that he had been informed of these secret talks by senior political and security officials. Bareket added that Livni was well informed regarding the secret talks, and claimed that her refusal to expose these negotiations makes her an accomplice to the state's act of fraud, Army Radio reported.
Iran's new generation of advanced centrifuges have begun processing small quantities of the gas that can be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The diplomats emphasized that the centrifuges were working with only minute amounts of the uranium gas used as the feed stock for Iran's uranium enrichment program. And one of them said Teheran had set up only 10 of the machines - far too few to produce enriched uranium in the quantities needed for an industrial scale energy or a weapons program.
Isabel, Kershner: Two small boys lay sedated in a hospital ward in this Tel Aviv suburb, unaware of each other or of the growing commotion around them. One was Osher Twito, 8, an Israeli boy from the town of Sderot, who was seriously wounded Saturday by shrapnel from a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza. The other was Yakoub Natil, almost 7, a Palestinian who was brought here three weeks ago from Gaza City after he was badly hurt by shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike on Jan. 18.
Amos Oz + Amira Hass
Amira Hass, "Neighbouring memories"
When I hear Israelis propose that a Gazan neighborhood be obliterated, I see Yafa, 15, in her neighborhood. I've known her since she was a year old. Always-curious eyes, now behind thin-rimmed eyeglasses, a slightly husky voice, bouncy and quiet, persistent, good in English and math, helps out at home and tries to calm down her two younger sisters - balls of energy who, unlike her, are talkative. She likes to surf the Internet and chat with her friends online. Within a range of hundreds of meters from her home, in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawwa neighborhood, a few houses already have been obliterated by Israeli bombs. I remember the name of the neighborhood, of course: Saja'iyya. I have forgotten the name of the young woman who had just begun to publish her poetry: personal poems, in a minor key. The pages of the newspaper in which they appeared were laid out, with great excitement, on the table in the rented apartment. [...]
Amoz Oz, "Don't march into Gaza"
The fury, frustration, and inflamed emotions are impairing our judgment.
Israel must not fall into the trap that Hamas has laid for it by marching into Gaza. Because the casualty figure in a land invasion into Gaza will be much greater than the number of Qassam casualties in the past seven years. And because in five out of the seven Qassam years we controlled the entire Gaza Strip, and still, hundreds of rockets were fired from it at Sderot, in addition to the repeated bloody attacks against the settlers. Apparently, we forgot that.
The occupation of Gaza will not necessarily put an end to the rocket attacks on Sderot and its environs. In addition to the attacks on Sderot, the occupying forces will be attacked on a daily basis – roadside bombs, shooting attacks, and bloody suicide bombings. Moreover, an invasion into Gaza will unite the Palestinian masses and the Arab and Muslim world around Hamas, which is now isolated and despised by most Arabs. Upon the invasion of Israeli forces into Gaza, Hamas fighters will be portrayed in the eyes of the Palestinians and in the eyes of international public opinion as a Palestinian Masada – few against many, a residential neighborhood against a regular army, refugee camps against fighter jets, boys against tanks, David against Goliath.
Measure of hope
As the occupiers of Gaza, we will be dealing with many thorns and scorpions out there. The occupying forces will not enjoy one day of quiet, and neither will Sderot and its environs.
Even during these moments of fury, with our hearts going out to the ongoing suffering of the residents of Sderot and area, we must not forget that the root of the Gaza problem has to do with hundreds of thousands of people who are rotting there in refugee camps; camps that are hotbeds of poverty and despair, ignorance, religious and national zeal, hatred, and violence. From a historical perspective, there is no solution to the Gaza problem without having, at least on the horizon, a measure of hope for those desperate people. And what can we do now? We can and should reach a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Such ceasefire, of course, comes with a difficult political price. Yet out of all the prices that Israel may pay for a false and hasty decision, this is the least lethal and most tolerable price.
When I hear Israelis propose that a Gazan neighborhood be obliterated, I see Yafa, 15, in her neighborhood. I've known her since she was a year old. Always-curious eyes, now behind thin-rimmed eyeglasses, a slightly husky voice, bouncy and quiet, persistent, good in English and math, helps out at home and tries to calm down her two younger sisters - balls of energy who, unlike her, are talkative. She likes to surf the Internet and chat with her friends online. Within a range of hundreds of meters from her home, in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawwa neighborhood, a few houses already have been obliterated by Israeli bombs. I remember the name of the neighborhood, of course: Saja'iyya. I have forgotten the name of the young woman who had just begun to publish her poetry: personal poems, in a minor key. The pages of the newspaper in which they appeared were laid out, with great excitement, on the table in the rented apartment. [...]
Amoz Oz, "Don't march into Gaza"
The fury, frustration, and inflamed emotions are impairing our judgment.
Israel must not fall into the trap that Hamas has laid for it by marching into Gaza. Because the casualty figure in a land invasion into Gaza will be much greater than the number of Qassam casualties in the past seven years. And because in five out of the seven Qassam years we controlled the entire Gaza Strip, and still, hundreds of rockets were fired from it at Sderot, in addition to the repeated bloody attacks against the settlers. Apparently, we forgot that.
The occupation of Gaza will not necessarily put an end to the rocket attacks on Sderot and its environs. In addition to the attacks on Sderot, the occupying forces will be attacked on a daily basis – roadside bombs, shooting attacks, and bloody suicide bombings. Moreover, an invasion into Gaza will unite the Palestinian masses and the Arab and Muslim world around Hamas, which is now isolated and despised by most Arabs. Upon the invasion of Israeli forces into Gaza, Hamas fighters will be portrayed in the eyes of the Palestinians and in the eyes of international public opinion as a Palestinian Masada – few against many, a residential neighborhood against a regular army, refugee camps against fighter jets, boys against tanks, David against Goliath.
Measure of hope
As the occupiers of Gaza, we will be dealing with many thorns and scorpions out there. The occupying forces will not enjoy one day of quiet, and neither will Sderot and its environs.
Even during these moments of fury, with our hearts going out to the ongoing suffering of the residents of Sderot and area, we must not forget that the root of the Gaza problem has to do with hundreds of thousands of people who are rotting there in refugee camps; camps that are hotbeds of poverty and despair, ignorance, religious and national zeal, hatred, and violence. From a historical perspective, there is no solution to the Gaza problem without having, at least on the horizon, a measure of hope for those desperate people. And what can we do now? We can and should reach a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Such ceasefire, of course, comes with a difficult political price. Yet out of all the prices that Israel may pay for a false and hasty decision, this is the least lethal and most tolerable price.
Hezbollahs Imad Mughniyeh killed in Damaskus
Ein gefundenes Fressen für alle Liebhaber der gepflegten Conspiracy-Theory: Imad Mughniyeh, one of America's most wanted fugitives implicated in a series of infamous attacks against U.S., Israeli and Jewish targets in Lebanon and abroad, has been killed by Israeli agents, Hezbollah announced in a statement Wednesday. An Iranian television station said he was killed in a car bomb in Syria. [...] Israel's government declined comment on the assassination. Syria has not said anything either, nor did Hezbollah explicitly link his death to the Damascus bombing, which would be an embarrassment for the government of President Bashar Assad for hosting him. [...] The statement did not say how he was killed, but the announcement came a few hours after a late night explosion in Damascus, capital of neighboring Syria, destroyed a vehicle. Witnesses in Damascus said at the time that a passerby was killed as security forces sealed off the area and removed the body, but authorities there would not give details. Der Anschlag dürfte für den syrischen Präsidenten Assad eine bloßstellung bedeuten: Zum Einen ist nun klar erwiesen das sich internationale top-Terroristen in Syrien frei bewegen können. Zum Anderen gilt dies auch für internationale Mörderbanden. Nach dem derzeitigen Stand der Dinge sind keine weiteren Personen zu Schaden gekommen. Die politischen Auswirkungen können derzeit noch nicht abgeschätzt werden. Hezbollah lawmaker Ismail Sukeyir said the organization's leadership would meet in Beirut to discuss its response. "Hezbollah has the right to retaliate anywhere in the world and in any way it sees fit," he said. Die Frage nach der Täterschaft ist hier von zentraler Bedeutung, jedoch gibt es möglicherweise drei Dutzend Länder, Gruppen, Geheimdienste die in Frage kommen. Ebenso interessant wird die Nachfolgediskussion: Mughniyah headed Hezbollah's operations branch serving in a role similar to chief of staff. Die Zielrichtung des Anschlags ist also eindeutig: Die Hezbollah-Militärführung wurde zur innenpolitischen Destabilisierung [Shiiten vs Sunniten im Libanon], zur Verschlechterung der Beziehungen zu Syrien und zur Enthauptung der aktiven Anti-Israel-Strategie [Entführung von Soldaten, künftige Grenzkonflikte] beseitigt. Damit ist keineswegs schlüssig Israel als Täter identifiziert, da gerade diese Woche ["It's true that Hezbollah is raising its flag along the border," an IDF official said. "But in a year and a half not one of our soldiers on the border has sustained even a scratch. During the entire period only two rockets have been launched by an extremist group unaffiliated to Hezbollah," the official added. "Of course, that may change tomorrow. Hezbollah, for its own reasons, has not changed its jihadist ideology that calls for our destruction, but refraining from launching attacks testifies to the blow it suffered during the war and, for now, it has refrained from launching a new round."] im taktischen Bereich Rationalität ausgebrochen ist und man eigentlich einen Nord-Konflikt angesichts der Lage in Gaza kaum gebrauchen kann. Eher wahrscheinlich ist eine eher unbedeutende politische Gruppe des Libaonon ausführend, wobei ein amerkanisches Engagement realistisch ist. Da die Grenze zu Israel nun mit Sicherheit attackiert wird dürfte Israel vorab informiert worden sein. Zwar hat die Welt mit Mughniyeh nichts verloren, aber die Zeche werden Zivilisten bezahlen. Die Gegenanalyse besagt das die Tötung von Mughniyeh ein klares Zeichen an die Hamas-Führung um Khaled Meschal in Damaskus war: Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom on Wednesday welcomed the death of Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Imad Mughniyah in a bomb blast in Damascus, calling it "a great achievement for the free world in its fight on terror." "Mughniyah was one of the most dangerous and cruel terrorists of all time," said the Labor MK. "There are numerous intelligence agencies and countries that have been pursuing him, and the one that was successful in reaching him [has proven itself] - to have a high intelligence and operational capability." Yatom called Mughniyah's death a serious blow to Hezbollah, both in terms of morale and in terms of its operational capabilities, saying the assassination could only have been made possible by penetrating deep into the organization. "Whoever can take him out can take out anyone in Hezbollah," he said. "It will take Hezbollah a long time to find an heir." Analyse: If Israel is behind this act, it can be seen as the most significant intelligence accomplishment in the war on terror, coming before the assasination of Fathi Shikaki, leader of the Islamic Jihad in 1995.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni toured Sderot and the Gaza vicinity communities Wednesday, along with 70 foreign diplomats, as part of Israel's international efforts to show the world the realities of Qassam fire. The diplomats were also given a security briefing by defense establishment officials, and met with residents of the various communities hit by Qassam rockets. [...] "We continue the negotiation process," she added, "but we have to be realistic – the negotiation will not fix the problems in Gaza all on its own, not in the short-run at least. On the contrary, the situation in Gaza makes it difficult to implement the results of the negotiations." In der Zone Rafah sind kleine israelische Panzerverbände zu Gange. Ein DFLP-Kämpfer wird bei einem Schußwechsel verletzt. In Jabalia kommt es ebenso zu Kampfhandlungen. Es werden heute bislang keine Qassam-Raketen gemeldet. Während dessen tourt UK-Deneral-Konsul Richard Makepeace im Gaza-Streifen um sich ein Bild über die humanitäre Lage zu machen. DEr Besuch sollte politisch nicht überbewertet werden. Makepeace ist momentan von der amerikanischen Präsenz in Jeruslaem und dem untätigen Hofstaat von Tony Blair derartig erdrückt, das er sich kaum Gehör verschaffen kann.
In der Westbank wird die Stadt Tulkarm im sechsten Tag von marodierenden IDF-Soldaten belagert. Der Islamic Jihad sucht erfolglos eine anliegende Siedlung zu beschiessen. Marodierende IDFler bringen es auf einen Rekord: Israeli military forces launched a major campaign of early morning raids throughout the West Bank on Wednesday morning, seizing 56 Palestinians in the course of a few hours. Most of the arrests took place near the city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank. Witnesses said that more than 30 Israeli military vehicles stormed the town of Beit Ummar, conducting house to house searches, seizing 43 young men and imposing a curfew.
Ansonsten "Progress": Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says it is possible to advance significantly the resolution of the issue of borders in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in spite of a shared concern by officials of both sides, and the United States, as to their ability to realistically achieve a detailed agreement by the end of 2008. [...] Persian Gulf nations believe Israel will strike at Iran's nuclear facilities rather than allow Teheran to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, Reuters quoted a senior Kuwaiti adviser as saying Tuesday. [...] Fatah is undergoing unprecedented internal reforms to democratize the ailing movement in the face of the electoral threat from political rivals such as Hamas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. [Jaja, erst die Demokratie abschaffen und dann eine demokratische Reform durchführen. eine neue Geschmacksrichtung...]
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni toured Sderot and the Gaza vicinity communities Wednesday, along with 70 foreign diplomats, as part of Israel's international efforts to show the world the realities of Qassam fire. The diplomats were also given a security briefing by defense establishment officials, and met with residents of the various communities hit by Qassam rockets. [...] "We continue the negotiation process," she added, "but we have to be realistic – the negotiation will not fix the problems in Gaza all on its own, not in the short-run at least. On the contrary, the situation in Gaza makes it difficult to implement the results of the negotiations." In der Zone Rafah sind kleine israelische Panzerverbände zu Gange. Ein DFLP-Kämpfer wird bei einem Schußwechsel verletzt. In Jabalia kommt es ebenso zu Kampfhandlungen. Es werden heute bislang keine Qassam-Raketen gemeldet. Während dessen tourt UK-Deneral-Konsul Richard Makepeace im Gaza-Streifen um sich ein Bild über die humanitäre Lage zu machen. DEr Besuch sollte politisch nicht überbewertet werden. Makepeace ist momentan von der amerikanischen Präsenz in Jeruslaem und dem untätigen Hofstaat von Tony Blair derartig erdrückt, das er sich kaum Gehör verschaffen kann.
In der Westbank wird die Stadt Tulkarm im sechsten Tag von marodierenden IDF-Soldaten belagert. Der Islamic Jihad sucht erfolglos eine anliegende Siedlung zu beschiessen. Marodierende IDFler bringen es auf einen Rekord: Israeli military forces launched a major campaign of early morning raids throughout the West Bank on Wednesday morning, seizing 56 Palestinians in the course of a few hours. Most of the arrests took place near the city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank. Witnesses said that more than 30 Israeli military vehicles stormed the town of Beit Ummar, conducting house to house searches, seizing 43 young men and imposing a curfew.
Ansonsten "Progress": Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says it is possible to advance significantly the resolution of the issue of borders in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in spite of a shared concern by officials of both sides, and the United States, as to their ability to realistically achieve a detailed agreement by the end of 2008. [...] Persian Gulf nations believe Israel will strike at Iran's nuclear facilities rather than allow Teheran to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, Reuters quoted a senior Kuwaiti adviser as saying Tuesday. [...] Fatah is undergoing unprecedented internal reforms to democratize the ailing movement in the face of the electoral threat from political rivals such as Hamas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. [Jaja, erst die Demokratie abschaffen und dann eine demokratische Reform durchführen. eine neue Geschmacksrichtung...]
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