zaterdag 15 december 2007

Sobere vooruitzichten na Annapolis

Is het Israëlische publiek al niet optimistisch over de kansen op vrede na Annapolis, Ami Isseroff is nog pessimistischer.
 
Volgens hem heeft het rapport over Iran van de Amerikaanse veiligheidsdiensten bepaald geen positieve invloed op het vredesproces. De nucleaire dreiging van Iran speelde namelijk een rol bij de urgentie van de Arabische staten om tot een oplossing van het Israëlisch-Palestijnse conflict te komen (om zo de radicalen de wind uit de zeilen te nemen) en voor de regering Olmert om concessies aan het Israëlische publiek te verkopen. Ook het Amerikaanse aanzien liep hierdoor verdere schade op.
 
Op het gebied van de nederzettingen, de buitenposten en de route van het veiligheidshek heeft Israël nog geen stappen ondernomen om de situatie voor de Palestijnen te verbeteren of hen vertrouwen te geven in Israëls goede wil. Rechtse Zionisten roeren zich al om op voorhand te protesteren tegen enige concessie omtrent Jeruzalem.
 
De Palestijnen van hun kant hameren enkel op hun 'onvervreemdbare rechten' op heel Jeruzalem - die ze in de Palestijnse wet willen verankeren - en de terugkeer van de vluchtelingen, en willen ook 60 jaar na de VN delingsresolutie nog steeds van geen Joodse staat weten. Dat maakt het nogal lastig om over vrede en compromissen te gaan onderhandelen.
 
Bovendien waarschuwde de PA dat ze het vredesproces als beëindigd beschouwt indien het Israëlische leger een grote legeroperatie tegen Hamas lanceert. Hamas is tegen het vredesproces, dus die zal er alles aan doen om zo'n reaktie uit te lokken - en daarvoor is niet veel meer nodig: de situatie in Sderot is al maanden onhoudbaar door de eindeloze Qassam beschietingen. Uit protest tegen het uitblijven van Israëlische maatregelen wilde deze week de burgemeester van Sderot opstappen.
 
Intussen spelen Egypte en Saudi-Arabië een dubieuze rol in het promoten van 'eenheid' tussen Hamas en Fatah.
 
Om maar een paar zaken te noemen, die nog bovenop de bekende problemen komen, zoals dat beide leiders zwak zijn en er nauwelijks te overbruggen verschillen van mening zijn over de vluchtelingen en Jeruzalem...
 
 
Wouter
___________
 
(Overgenomen met toestemming van de auteur / Reproduced here with permission)
 

After Annapolis - Business as usual?

http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000656.htm

12/10/2007

The Annapolis conference concluded with due fanfare. Those who predicted an utter, complete and immediate disaster were wrong, but it requires a great deal of optimism to see any positive movement or real prospects for peace.

The weaknesses of the Israeli and Palestinian governments were a known factor going into the negotiations. As as been pointed out, they will not make it easier to make peace. But other factors are intervening to make it much harder to make peace.

The largest monkey wrench thrown into the peace works was undoubtedly the United States National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iranian nuclear weapons development. The NIE left foes smiling and friends on all sides in confusion. The NIE blew away any hopes of building a regional coalition against Iran. It removed the case for the imaginary impending attack on Iran conjured up by foes of the Bush administration, but it also killed the case for an urgent need for peace and unity among Middle East moderates. In Israel, it greatly weakened the case of the Olmert administration that concessions in the occupied territories were needed in order to gain U.S. support for confronting the very real strategic threat posed by Iran. Throughout the Middle East, the NIE bombshell and subsequent backtracking, hemming and hawing, destroyed any illusions that United States political and military leaders know what they are doing, have a coherent policy and speak with one voice. A Fatwa of the Ottoman ulema, apparently based on a hadith, states, "If there are two Caliphs, kill one of them." This extreme measure was wisely deemed to be better than the sort of anarchy that is gripping American policy. In the United States, it appears that there is more than one Caliph.

Israel released over 400 Palestinian prisoners as a confidence-building measure, but this could not inspire much confidence, since Israel arrests about 600 prisoners a month and is holding over 9000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli intentions to expand the Har Homa project in Jerusalem could hardly inspire confidence on the Palestinian side that Israel is serious about peace. On the other hand, Secretary Rice's inept public reprimand of Israel on this issue, succeeded in making the Israeli government angry because of its confrontational tone, and didn't do anything to appease the Palestinians, who know that the reprimand is a pro-forma ritual. The illegal outposts, which Israel promised repeatedly to eliminate, have instead proliferated, and there is no sign of their removal. Instead, the government committee that was formed after the Sasson report to deal with the problem is not looking for ways to eliminate the outposts. Rather it is considering ways to continue funding the illegal outposts by passing legislation to circumvent the law. While Israeli officials were talking about making life easier for the Palestinians, the "facts on the ground" were telling a different story. South of Hebron, Palestinian Arabs and Israeli activists defied the IDF in order to plow fields of Palestinians that are beyond the security fence and therefore "off limits." In Bilin, activists continued to confront IDF soldiers and elicit violent responses over the location of the security fence, though the Israeli courts ruled that the fence must be moved. The fence may be needed to control terror, but nothing can explain why the Israeli government has done nothing to alleviate the needless hardship it causes.

At the same time, the possibility that Israel would make concessions in Jerusalem or elsewhere in the West Bank mobilized and united the forces of the naysayers, especially Jews living abroad. In the past dovish Jews in the United States claimed the right to determine Israeli policy and to push Israel into concessions it didn't want to make. Now it is the turn of the right wing Zionists to proclaim that there must be no concessions in Jerusalem, and that Israel must avoid peace conferences "like the plague." It seems that American Jews are all for democracy, as long as they can get to dictate to Israeli citizens what we ought to do.

On the other hand, the Palestinians, for their part, pretend that they don't know what the peace process is all about. They are still intent on the idea that the "peace process" is only about Palestinian Arab "rights" as they interpret them, and doesn't involve granting any rights to Jews at all. They seem to have forgotten that the conflict formally began when the Arab League and the Arabs of Palestine refused to accept UN General Assembly Resolution 181 sixty years ago. That resolution mandated the creation of an Arab state and a Jewish state in the territory of the Palestine Mandate. The Palestine Mandate itself, which the Arabs had not accepted, mandated the creation of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. That home is the state of Israel. There can be no other resolution of the conflict than acceptance, in principle of the idea of two state for two people. Yet the Palestinian leadership insists, again and again, that it will never recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The excuse given is that this would prejudice the rights of the Arab minority, but the rights of the Arab minority in Israel can in no way depend on what the Palestinian government recognize or do not recognize. If the refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is symbolic and emotional, then it is a psychological barrier that must be overcome. If is a hint that the Palestinians will reserve for themselves the right to interfere in Israeli internal affairs, and to claim "rights" for Israel's Arabs in the same way as the German government once claimed "rights" for the Germans of the Sudetenland, then the Israeli government is quite right to insist on recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, as attempts to change the status quo would not end well.

There are some signs that the West Bank is returning to a semblance of civilized order. On the other hand, the distribution of ammunition by Israel has resulted in a precipitous drop in the price of ammunition in the West Bank. The market doesn't lie - those bullets are obviously getting into the wrong hands.

The Annapolis proceedings also studiously ignored the number one obstacle to peace: the separate government of the Hamas in Gaza. It is not just an impediment to a future agreement on a peace solution, it is a threat to the Abbas government, and a source of continuing violence. Over 2000 Qassam missiles have been lobbed into Israel this year and there is no end in sight. Hamas has hinted at the desirability of a truce, but this would tie Israel's hands in the war against arms smuggling and undermine the Abbas government. Meanwhile Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while paying lip service to the legitimacy of the Abbas government, are promoting "unity" between Hamas and Fatah -- at the expense of the Fatah. Egypt is also allowing Hamas members to go to Iran for combat training and return to Gaza, as well as presiding over the proliferation of arms smuggling tunnels. All this under the supposedly watchful eyes of the United States. Looming over the entire peace process is the threat of a major IDF operation in Gaza. As the depopulation of Sderot continues and the rocket and mortar attacks are stepped up, it is increasingly hard for the Olmert government to explain why it is not taking decisive steps to defence Israeli citizens. The United States isn't really bothering to find a solution, the Egyptians are helping the Hamas.

The Fatah government in the West Bank cannot do very much, but what they did was worse than nothing. It created a situation with a built - in mechanically fatalistic inevitability. Palestinian Authority leaders announced that a large scale IDF operation in Gaza would put an end to the peace process. Nobody asked them to make this announcement - they they did it as their own bad-will gesture. Palestinian leadership apparently do not understand that most people in the Israeli government believe that Israel needs a Palestinian state like it needs a hole in the head. Putting an end to the peace process hurts the Palestinian cause much more than it hurts Israel.

In effect, this gives both the Hamas and Israeli hawks an absolute veto over the peace process. A massive Hamas attack would make decisive Israeli reaction inevitable. Hamas has every reason to launch such an attack if it will derail the peace process and force the Palestinian authority to accept unity on Hamas conditions. As for the Israelis, the situation in Sderot long since violated every possible red line. If Olmert's government is weak, one doesn't have to search far to find a major cause of the weakness. No government can expect to be really popular if it can't defend its people. No country can stand by forever while towns are depopulated by continuous rocket fire. At any time, if Israel decides it has no interest in making concessions, it could launch an attack that would stop the peace process, and claim that the situation had become "intolerable." . Of course, whatever you won't tolerate is "intolerable."

Increasing Hamas terror activity would end the peace process even without any Israeli intervention. The Israeli government would be caught between responding to Hamas, which would stop the "peace process" or succumbing to opposition pressure and holding elections. Elections in those circumstances would almost certainly empower a right-wing coalition that would offer peace on very different terms if at all.

Perhaps a determined US effort could get the sides together, but it doesn't seem likely. The Palestinians never trusted American policy. The handling of the NIE on Iran gave Israel to understand that there is no American policy to trust. Moreover, the actions of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not give much confidence that either side really wants peace.

Ami Isseroff

 

Original text copyright by the author and MidEastWeb for Coexistence, RA. Posted at MidEastWeb Middle East Web Log at http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000656.htm where your intelligent and constructive comments are welcome. Distributed by MEW Newslist. Subscribe by e-mail to mew-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Please forward by email with this notice and link to and cite this article. Other uses by permission.

Joodse families weer welkom in Peki'in - op twee na

Leiders van het hoofdzakelijk door Druzen bewoonde dorp Peki'in in noord-Israël nodigen de verdreven Joodse inwoners uit om terug te keren, maar niet allemaal:
 
Peki'in local council head Muhammad Kheir called on the Jewish families that lived in the town to return, although he and other speakers noted that two Jewish families seen as provocateurs were not welcome to come back.
 
 
Het is niet acceptabel dat de Druzische leiders van het dorp bepalen wie er mogen wonen, en wie een herrieschopper is. Iedereen heeft recht om in het dorp te wonen, en als mensen de wet overtreden dienen zij daarvoor veroordeeld te worden door de rechter. De mensen die de Joodse families bedreigden zijn evenzeer onderdeel van het probleem als de Joodse 'provocateurs'. Er zijn duidelijk herrieschoppers aan beide kanten. In een rechtsstaat maken families niet onderling uit wie goed en fout is en waar mag wonen. De Israëlische politie heeft fouten gemaakt, maar daarvoor dienen geen privé personen of gezinnen te boeten.

 
Ratna
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Peki'in: Jews welcome back

About two months after violent riots that rocked Druze town, World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency organize assembly to promote coexistence in Peki'in. Town leaders call on Jewish residents to return, emphasize that 'provocateurs' are not welcome

Ahiya Raved
Published:  12.14.07, 00:13 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3482544,00.html
 

Leaders of the majority Druze Galilee town of Peki'in, which was the scene of ethnic tensions two months ago, declared Thursday night that Jewish residents were welcome to return to live in the town at an assembly organized the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency.

 "We are calling on the Jews of Peki'in and all those who are interested to come back and live in Peki'in, however we will not agree to again take in provocateurs," the leaders said.

The speakers described the riots of October as an anomaly that would not have long-term consequences on Jewish-Druze relations in the Galilee or in Israel as a whole.

The assembly featured many members of Galilee municipal and regional councils as well as Zionist leaders such as Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski.

Leaders of the Druze community showed up in force. They brought up what they saw as the catalysts for the rioting.

Other speakers, primarily heads of Jewish municipalities, remarked that the events that took place in Peki'in were primarily the result of frustration brought on by discrimination, a lack of infrastructure, jobs and education.


'Troublemakers stay out'

Peki'in local council head Muhammad Kheir called on the Jewish families that lived in the town to return, although he and other speakers noted that two Jewish families seen as provocateurs were not welcome to come back.

 "It's as if someone comes into your home, goes into the living room, creates a mess and flips over the couch. (All the Jewish residents) were welcome and are still welcome except for those people."

Chairman Bielski spoke about the rioting and warned about taking democracy for granted: "Democracy is an invaluable gift but it has its limits. We also have criticism about police conduct, but when people attack a governmental body they need to act carefully.

"Today it is the police, tomorrow it is the court and later the military. In a democratic regime we don't raise our hand against the police even if it seems to us that the police presence is exaggerated."

The Jewish Agency has about 25 buildings that it has acquired through the years in Peki'in's center. The buildings are not suitable for habitation and the town leadership is requesting that the agency remodel them and allow them to be used as public buildings.

Nasrallah vervangen als hoofd van militaire tak Hezbollah

Volgens verlichte linkse intellectuelen, journalisten, vredesactivisten en zogenaamde 'Midden-Oosten specialisten', is Hezbollah een legitieme verzetsorganisatie en geen 'stroman' van Iran, door haar opgericht om tegen Israël te strijden en Libanon te destabiliseren. Waarom gaat Iran dan over wie de organisatie leidt en hoe dit gebeurt?
 
According to London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has ordered Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to hand over control of Hizbullha's military wing to deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qasim.
 
These reports, based upon "sources within the liaison and recruitment office of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in Lebanon," serve to confirm earlier reports in various media regarding this transfer of power from Nasrallah to Qasim.
 
Sources within the Revolutionary Guards operating in Lebanon, report that there have been marked differences of opinion between Nasrallah and Qasim as of late regarding key issues facing Hizbullha's military wing. This ultimately led Khamenei to restructure Hizbullah's chain of command, and transfer power to Qasim.
 
 
Klinkt niet erg naar een zelfstandige organisatie. Overigens heeft niet alleen Israël van Hezbollah te lijden, maar vooral ook Libanon zelf, waar de verkiezing van een president al acht keer is uitgesteld en twee dagen geleden een generaal van het Libanese leger (die de operatie tegen de extremistische Fatah al Islam in het Palestijnse vluchtelingenkamp Nahr el-Bared leidde) bij een bomaanslag is omgekomen. Hezbollah is de belangrijkste pro-Syrische groep in Libanon, die niet alleen langs politieke weg strijdt tegen de pro-Westerse krachten, al is nooit directe betrokkenheid bij de vele aanslagen op anti-Syrische politici en journalisten aangetoond.
 
 
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Report: Nasrallah replaced as head of Hizbullah military wing
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3482538,00.html

According to London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has ordered Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to hand over control of Hizbullha's military wing to deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qasim

Roee Nahmias
Published:  12.13.07, 23:31 / Israel News

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has ordered Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to relinquish control of Hizbullah's military wing to his deputy, Sheikh Naim Qasim, the London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Thursday.
 
These reports, based upon "sources within the liaison and recruitment office of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards based in Lebanon," serve to confirm earlier reports in various media regarding this transfer of power from Nasrallah to Qasim.
 
Sources within the Revolutionary Guards operating in Lebanon, report that there have been marked differences of opinion between Nasrallah and Qasim as of late regarding key issues facing Hizbullha's military wing. This ultimately led Khamenei to restructure Hizbullah's chain of command, and transfer power to Qasim.

Nasrallah will continue to reign as Hizbullah secretary-general, as well as heading the organization's intelligence unit. Imad Mornia, Hizbullah's chief of operations, will continue to act as liaison between Hizbullah, the Palestinians, Iranian intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards.
 
Hizbullah was quick to deny these reports of turmoil facing its military wing. "These reports are utterly unfounded, groundless and lack all basis in objective fact," said Hizbullah sources.
 
"These reports of turmoil in Hizbullah's leadership stem from the world's distress at the support the organization enjoys, the lofty status that its leader Sheik Nasaralla enjoys within the Arab world, and the resolve that Hizbullah's warriors show in face of Israeli occupation."

Palestijns veiligheidsplan faalt in bestrijden gewapende milities

De Palestijnse politie en veiligheidsdiensten zijn tot nu toe niet erg effectief in het bestrijden van de gewapende milities, ondanks het feit dat er in totaal zo'n 70.000 mensen voor de verschillende diensten werken.
 
Another official said the security operation did not target militiamen belonging to Fatah's armed groups. "These gunmen are continuing to operate freely in the refugee camps near Nablus and Tulkarm," he told the Post. "We arrested citizens who stole olive oil three years ago or fired into the air during weddings two years ago."
 
 
Toch wil de Palestijnse Autoriteit het zogenaamde veiligheidsplan, volgens welk men de afgelopen weken in Nablus en Tulkarem heeft geopereerd, uitbreiden naar plaatsen als Jenin en Hebron en de vluchtelingenkampen, waar de Hamas, Islamitische Jihad en Al Aqsa Martelaren Brigades het sterkst zijn.
 
Als oorzaken voor het falen tot nu toe wordt in de eerste plaats naar de PA zelf gewezen, en het feit dat van een hervorming en reductie van de veiligheidsdiensten nog weinig terecht is gekomen. Gebrek aan discipline en corruptie, en de terughoudendheid of onwil om mensen te ontslaan uit angst hen in de armen van de Hamas en andere extremisten te drijven, spelen daarbij een rol.
 
Daarnaast wijst men op Israëlische reisbeperkingen en checkpoints als obstakel. Dit is ironisch, want die zorgen er juist voor dat, ondanks het slechte optreden van de Palestijnse politie en veiligheidsdiensten, toch geen aanslagen worden gepleegd. Het maakt de situatie uiteraard wel complexer, en de samenwerking tussen de Palestijnse politie en het Israëlische leger zou zeker beter kunnen.

 
Ratna
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PA: Security plan lacking ahead of donors' meeting
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 13, 2007
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847336410&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

On the eve of the donors conference in Paris, which is expected to discuss ways of strengthening the Palestinian Authority, PA officials admitted Thursday that they still have a long way to go in reforming their security forces - a key condition set by the international community for funding the government of Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.

Meanwhile, PA Civil Police commander Gen. Kamal al-Sheikh revealed that more than 600 Fatah-affiliated policemen helped Hamas take control of the Gaza Strip last June.

"Out of 13,000 policemen in the Gaza Strip, only 612 participated in the Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority," Sheikh said during a tour of Bethlehem.

Downplaying the significance of the move, he noted that this constituted only 1.8 percent of the entire police force.

This is the first time that a senior PA security official has spoken about the involvement of Fatah-affiliated policemen in the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Sheikh did not say what kind of role the rebellious policemen played during the coup, but pointed out that the PA leadership had dismissed them and was no longer paying them.

The PA, which is hoping to raise $5.6 billion over the next three years at Monday's donors conference, still hasn't made enough progress in imposing law and order in the West Bank, the PA officials conceded.

They told The Jerusalem Post that despite the lack of progress, they expected the 90 countries that were scheduled to participate in the conference to approve the PA's request.

According to the officials, the PA's US-backed security plan, which was launched in the last few weeks in Nablus and Tulkarm, had failed to achieve most of its goals, largely due to the incompetence of the PA security forces.

They also held Israel partially responsible for the failure, citing security checkpoints and travel restrictions as main reasons.

"The security operation has not been a big success," one official said. "We arrested many wanted criminals and members of the Islamic Hizb al-Tahrir party, but we weren't able to lay our hands on many weapons."

Another official said the security operation did not target militiamen belonging to Fatah's armed groups. "These gunmen are continuing to operate freely in the refugee camps near Nablus and Tulkarm," he told the Post. "We arrested citizens who stole olive oil three years ago or fired into the air during weddings two years ago."

In addition, the PA's efforts to reform the Fatah-controlled security forces in the West Bank continued to face major obstacles, the official said, citing a lack of discipline among the ranks of the Palestinian policemen.

"We still have many officers who are involved in various crimes and corruption," he said. "We are still far from talking about real reforms in the security establishment. In the coming days we will launch a similar security operation in Bethlehem. But the real test will be in Hebron and Jenin, as well as in the refugee camps, where Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah militiamen call the shots."

The PA has also failed to make good on its pledge to cut by half the number of policemen serving in the various branches of its security forces, a number estimated at over 70,000. The PA is reluctant to fire large numbers of policemen for fear of driving them into the open arms of Hamas and other radical groups.

Fayad, who does not have control over the security forces, said Thursday he would ask donors at the December 17 conference to provide about $5.6b. in aid over three years to strengthen the PA economy. The aid will be used for budgetary support and development.

More than 70% of this sum, or $3.9b., is needed to cover operational expenses, including the salaries of more than 150,000 civil and security employees, Fayad told reporters in Ramallah.

"Substantial financial assistance is needed in order to ensure the continued operation of the PA," he said. "There is a great need."

Fayad said the government could not afford to absorb the large number of Palestinians entering the work force. "We will not be able to continue to function without this budgetary support," he said.

The PA, Fayad said, faced a budget deficit of $1.4b. next year. However, he expressed hope that the political situation would improve and Israel would ease travel restrictions in the West Bank, which would allow more and improved economic activity.

"For this improvement to be sustainable, it is vital that Israel remove movement restrictions on Palestinians, particularly its siege of Gaza, which has severely damaged the Palestinian economy and made life in the Gaza Strip unbearable," he said. "External assistance cannot and should not be an alternative to removal of these restrictions."

Burgemeester Sderot blijft aan op verzoek van Barak

Gisteren berichtten we dat de burgemeester van Sderot was afgetreden, maar op verzoek van minister van defensie Barak heeft hij besloten toch op zijn post te blijven. Het klinkt als een stunt om aandacht te vragen voor de Palestijnse Qassam raketten, maar op de radio zei hij al jaren te worstelen met zijn verantwoordelijkheid voor de burgers van een stad die continu onder vuur ligt:

"I cannot take the responsibility to manage a city that is under attack for seven years," he said. "If 20 children are killed tomorrow from a rocket, I will be asked, 'why did you open the kindergarten?' I have been deliberating matters pertaining to human life for years now, and I cannot continue," he said.

Moyal said later that "this is a decision I have been weighing for many years. A year ago I threatened to quit, and today I have reached a decision. For seven years no one has taken responsibility for what is happening here. It is unreasonable to start the morning with eight Qassams. I am not willing to take this responsibility. I was chosen to manage a city, and not this situation."

Maar waarom wil hij die verantwoordelijkheid dan wel weer nemen nadat Barak met hem heeft gepraat? Hij zei ook dat hij hoopte dat zijn ontslag tot een grootschalige operatie tegen de Qassams zal leiden. En misschien heeft Barak wat dit betreft concrete toezeggingen gedaan.
 
Ratna
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Last update - 20:43 13/12/2007

Sderot mayor Eli Moyal rescinds resignation at Barak's request 
 
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934335.html
 

Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal decided on Thursday to remain in his post after submitting his resignation the day before, according to sources close to him.

Moyal changed his mind at Defense Minister Ehud Barak's request. The two met Thursday evening.

Moyal announced he would step down after a barrage of at least 17 Qassam rockets struck the western Negev on Wednesday morning. He cited his inability to function as mayor in the difficult security situation as reason for his resignation. 

 Barak told Moyal that his responsibility and commitment to the people of Sderot takes precedence over every other consideration, and that replacing him at this time would not be possible. He also promised him that the defense establishment would make an effort to find a solution to the Qassam problem.

Before meeting with Barak, the mayor told Haaretz he was debating his next move. "If the Defense Minister tells me 'stay,' then from my end, that's like being called to reserve duty."

The announcement came soon after a Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck the porch of a Sderot house on Thursday. A 40-year-old woman was moderately wounded from the impact of the strike, and taken to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. Two other people suffered from shock.

In an interview with Israel Radio on Wednesday, Moyal blamed the government for an evasion of responsibility and helplessness against the threat from Gaza, saying he hoped his resignation would encourage a major military operation in the coastal territory.

"I cannot take the responsibility to manage a city that is under attack for seven years," he said. "If 20 children are killed tomorrow from a rocket, I will be asked, 'why did you open the kindergarten?' I have been deliberating matters pertaining to human life for years now, and I cannot continue," he said.

Moyal said later that "this is a decision I have been weighing for many years. A year ago I threatened to quit, and today I have reached a decision. For seven years no one has taken responsibility for what is happening here. It is unreasonable to start the morning with eight Qassams. I am not willing to take this responsibility. I was chosen to manage a city, and not this situation."

Incoming UN envoy denounces Qassam attack

The incoming UN Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, denounced Thursday's rocket attack in unusually strong terms after meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "Let me be clear about this: We consider that to be terrorist acts," he said.

Earlier Thursday, militants fired three Qassam rockets toward the western Negev. Only one of the rockets was located. No injuries or damages were reported in the incident.

donderdag 13 december 2007

Burgemeester van Sderot treedt af uit protest tegen Qassam raketten

Twintig Qassam raketten vielen er woensdag op Israël. Nadat de regering desondanks een grote operatie in de Gazastrook uitstelde, trad de burgemeester van Sderot - de meest getroffen Israëlische stad - af uit protest.
 
De Palestijnse raketten zijn zelden dodelijk, hoewel een paar maanden geleden bij een aanval wel ca. 70 soldaten gewond raakten. Geen enkel land accepteert dat haar steden dagelijks met raketten worden beschoten, ook al blijft het meestal bij materiële schade, en het feit dat de Palestijnen in de Gazastrook het nog veel zwaarder hebben is geen excuus.
 
Als Israël de grenzen open zou zetten zou dit niet tot vrede en welvaart leiden, maar tot nog meer wapensmokkel en meer aanslagen. Hamas maakt keer op keer duidelijk wat zij onder vrede verstaat: een wereld zonder Israël en zonder Zionisme.
Ongetwijfeld speelt Amerikaanse druk en het feit dat woensdag de eerste van twee-wekelijkse vredesbesprekingen tussen Israël en de Palestijnse Autoriteit plaatsvonden, een rol in het Israëlische besluit een grootscheepse invasie uit te stellen. De landen die van Israël vragen 'terughoudend' te zijn, zouden misschien ook eens met een realistisch alternatief kunnen komen, en om te beginnen Egypte onder druk zetten om wat aan de wapensmokkel te doen.

(Zie ook: Peace talks get 18 rocket salute)

 
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Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal resigns in protest of refusal of government to act against Kassams
Dr. Aaron Lerner  12 December 2007

Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal resigned in protest in the middle of a live interview broadcast on Israel Radio's noon news magazine today.

Moyal expressed his frustration over the refusal of the Olmert administration to take serious measures to stop the ongoing attacks of Kassams against his city.

As of now IDF operations have been limited to a depth of around a mile within the Gaza Strip.

Moyal resigned immediately after an Israel Radio correspondent reported that the Olmert Administration's defense cabinet decided that it was not the time to carry out a massive operation in the Gaza Strip to stop the Kassam attacks.

So far 20 rockets have been launched today.


--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website:
www.imra.org.il

Israëlische roman gepubliceerd in Egypte

Het zou geen nieuws mogen zijn, maar is het helaas wel.

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Israeli novel published in Egypt
Eli Amir's novel 'Jasmine' will be the fourth Hebrew-language novel ever published in Egypt
Ynet Published: 12.11.07, 11:14 / Israel Culture
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3481213,00.html
 
Israeli novelist Eli Amir's novel 'Jasmine' will soon be available to readers shopping in Egyptian bookstores. While many Hebrew-language novels are translated around the world, rarely does an Israeli author get to see his work translated into Arabic and published in an Arab country.

In the introduction to the Arabic version, translator Hussein al-Sarag, deputy editor-in-chief of 'October' magazine, wonders why only three Israeli novels have been published in Egypt so far.

Al-Sarag also quotes Eli Amir's statements from a literary conference in Cairo: "After the peace agreement with Egypt was signed, many Egyptian authors were translated into Hebrew. We, Israelis, do not fear the spread of Arab culture in Israel. I wish the same would be true for you. How can there be peace without us knowing each other?"

'Jasmine,' which was released by Am Oved in 2005, is the love story of a Jewish immigrant from Iraq and Yasmin (Jasmine), a young Palestinian widow, in Jerusalem after the Six Day War.

Hamas kinderprogramma: bevrijd Al Aqsa Moskee met geweld, en dood alle Zionisten!

Dit is nog eens wat anders dan Sesamstraat of de Teletubbies:
 
Girl: "To Al-Aqsa, to Al-Aqsa – we shall unite our ranks. We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them."
 
Boy: "Will it be through conferences? No, not through conferences, but by means of force, because the Zionist entity, your enemy, the enemy of Allah, the enemy of Islam, knows nothing but injustice and the killing of Palestinians, the persevering people on the frontline. Indeed, the [mosque] will be returned only by means of force."

 
Jong geleerd, oud gedaan.
Hoe kan het toch dat zoveel mensen blijven beweren dat Hamas een redelijke partij is die bij het vredesproces betrokkken moet worden?
 
 
Ratna
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To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD178307

The following are excerpts from a children's show which aired on Hamas Al-Aqsa TV on December 3, 2007.


Boy: "My beloved brothers, as you know, today the Al-Aqsa Mosque is crying out: 'Where are the people of the frontline, the Palestinian people?' Yes, my dear brothers, that is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The subject of our lesson today is Jerusalem, to where your Prophet made his nocturnal journey – the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"Yes, my beloved brothers, as you know today, and as you knew yesterday and the day before, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has fallen into oppressing and malicious hands, the hands of those who know nothing but injustice. But let me tell you how the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be returned, how we shall rescue it from the shackles of the occupation, from the shackles of the Zionist entity.

"Will it be through conferences? No, not through conferences, but by means of force, because the Zionist entity, your enemy, the enemy of Allah, the enemy of Islam, knows nothing but injustice and the killing of Palestinians, the persevering people on the frontline. Indeed, the [mosque] will be returned only by means of force.

"In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued. Balfour decided on the cleansing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. But look what the Zionist enemy has done, look what Israel and America have done. Look what the allies of Israel and America have done. They have dug tunnels underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the sheikhs and mujahideen of the Al-Aqsa Mosque have exposed these tunnels and called upon the Palestinian people: 'Look what has happened, look what has happened.'

"These calls have gone unheeded, my beloved brothers. But is it too late? No, it is not too late. If we all unite, the Al-Aqsa Mosque will not remain in the hands of the Zionist enemy, it will not remain in the hands of your enemy, despite all their conspiracies against the Palestinian people."

[...]

Girl: "To Al-Aqsa, to Al-Aqsa – we shall unite our ranks. We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them."


Search previous MEMRI publications at
www.memri.org

woensdag 12 december 2007

Hadash voor 2 staten - maar geen van beiden Joods

Hadash is één van de drie (overwegend) Arabische partijen in de Knesset. Hoewel van oorsprong gemengd en communistisch, heeft Arabisch nationalisme de overhand gekregen. Voor een eerder bericht met commentaar zie: Israëlische communisten voor tweestatenoplossing zonder Joods karakter
____________________________________

They've given up on Israelis 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/933201.html
Haaretz, Last update - 09:22 11/12/2007
By Avirama Golan
 
"Israel's Jewishness is like a sword against our necks," Hadash general secretary MK Mohammad Barakeh declared at his party's convention last Friday. "Hadash," he added, "does not accept the demand that every Jew can come to Israel." With this, Barakeh coined a new interpretation for the slogan "Two states for two peoples": one national state, Palestine, for the Palestinian people, and a second state, Israel, for those who live there. A national home for the Jewish people - no way.

This interpretation has prevailed in Hadash in recent years and has silenced other voices. The movement still takes pride in its definition as a "Jewish-Arab party" and calls upon leftists "to support the movement in which Jews and Arabs are partners, who without blurring their identities work together for peace and a just distribution of the state's resources," but these words have lost their meaning.

The argument under way in Hadash is not heard outside the circle of its voters and supporters, but it exemplifies the depth of the rift in the party and how its new leadership is dragging it into a narrow, dead-end street. It's hard to believe that the new leadership, which has pushed out a politician with definite civil-leftist positions like Issam Mahoul, is connected to the social movement it was back in the mid-1990s. Hadash then, headed by Tamar Gozansky, succeeded in raking in votes from the veteran left, which was persuaded that Hadash was the only party truly concerned for the weak and that it was ahead of the entire political spectrum in its insistence on partitioning the land into two states.

A look at the internal debate within the party shows that there is disappointment over the disassociation between that Hadash and today's. It is expressed in two central complaints: First, against Hadash's linking up with nationalist groups and even forces of an Islamic nature - both of them ideologies that contradict the character of the movement; and second, against the edging out of women from realistic places on the party list for the Knesset, and Jewish women in particular. Hadash members and veteran leftist activists have no hesitation nowadays in saying openly that they regret the grating division into "Jews and Arabs" and the movement's distancing from the civil definition of "Israelis."

"The Hadash convention and council," wrote Alex Macias in Hagada Hasmalit (The Left Bank) journal, "are held in Nazareth and Haifa, almost entirely in Arabic. The Israeli flag is not flown at them. The Palestinian flag is." Macias should not be suspected of fighting for "Jewish" nationalist symbols. On the contrary: He wants a civic symbol that unites. Many of those disappointed with Hadash, especially Jews, but also Arabs, feel as he does that the new values voiced by the leadership are no longer concordant with their basic principles.

Macias' protest against the ethnic division expresses the root of the problem. The question is not whether it is the number of Arabs and the number of Jews on the Hadash Knesset list that determines the party's character, but rather the question as to how many Israelis will be on the Knesset list, and to what extent the leaders of the party still see Hadash as Israeli, with a civil-rights agenda. Since Hadash succumbed to the separatist-nationalist and populist stream, and decided to join up with MK Ahmed Tibi of Ra'am-Ta'al and later with Balad, and chosen to turn its back on a social and civil agenda in favor of questions related to Palestinian nationalism, to the detriment of the right to national realization for Jews - it appears that the answer to these questions is negative.

Many people will unite against the occupation; few will agree to knock the national ground out from under their feet in order to be acceptable to former MK Azmi Bishara and his successors. As Hadash has chosen to slam the door in the face of anyone who is not capable of being a Balad enthusiast, it has lost a large public, which is seeking and not finding elsewhere a home on the militant economic and social left. In so doing, the party is not only thinning its ranks and becoming marginal and negligible, it is also playing into the hands of the right and strengthening its anti-civic, nationalist agenda.

Palestijnen kwaad over aannemen VN van Israëlische resolutie over landbouwtechnologie

Het is voor Israël niet makkelijk om een resolutie in de VN aangenomen te krijgen, zelfs niet als die niks met het conflict te maken heeft. Dat dit nu - voor het eerst - is gelukt is dan ook een kleine doorbraak.
 
Een reden hiervan is mogelijk dat de resolutie goed is voor derde wereld-landen: hij roept de rijke landen op om hun landbouwtechnologieën - een gebied waarin Israël voorop loopt - meer beschikbaar te stellen aan de derde wereld. Toch hebben alle Arabische staten zich onthouden, evenals Zuid-Afrika. Honger en droogte zijn voor sommigen blijkbaar te prefereren boven iets steunen dat van Israël af komt.
Dit doet denken aan de Iraanse weigering van Israëlische hulp na de aardbeving in Bam drie jaar geleden, waarbij zo'n 20.000 mensen waren omgekomen. Beter gezegd: sommige leiders laten hun volk graag lijden voor hun antizionistische principes.
 
Erger dan de Arabische onthouding van stemmen was de houding van de Palestijnse gezant, die meende dat Israël slechts politieke punten wou scoren en tegen de geest van de recente vredesconferentie handelde! Je moet veel fantasie hebben om zoiets te kunnen bedenken, en vooral ook een diepe haat tegen Israël koesteren. Onnodig te zeggen dat juist de Arabische onthouding indruist tegen de geest van vrede en verzoening. Als een resolutie die werkelijk niets met het conflict heeft te maken en de Palestijnen en Arabieren op geen enkele manier schaadt (integendeel), aanleiding is voor een dergelijke reactie van de Palestijnen, dan belooft dat weinig goeds voor de verdere vredesbesprekingen.
 
 
Ratna
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Palestinian UN envoy slams adoption of Israeli resolution
By News Agencies Last update - 05:56 12/12/2007
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/933583.html

Israel, often pilloried in the United Nations, claimed an unprecedented diplomatic triumph on Tuesday when a resolution it had drafted, on farm technology rather than Arab-Iraeli issues, was approved by a UN committee. However the decision was blasted by the UN's Palestinian envoy, Riyad Mansour.

Mansour said Israel was "trying to score political points" and had rejected a move by others in the committee to have the motion presented by the chair as a consensus resolution.

He said the Israeli action only emphasized "the divisions between Israel and the Arab countries," in contrast to the spirit of the recent peace conference at Annapolis.

Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman hailed the decision as historic. "It is the very first time that Israel initiates and authors and submits a resolution which has nothing to do with the (Arab-Israeli) conflict," Gillerman said.

The resolution passed the General Assembly's Second Committee, dealing with development issues, with 118 votes in favor, none against and 29 abstentions, according to UN figures. It will go before the full assembly next week.

The resolution calls on developed countries to make their agricultural technology know-how - an area where Israel has expertise - more available to the developing world.

Israel is more used to resolutions criticizing its actions in the Middle East being passed by various UN bodies, especially the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

"It is not easy for Israel to have its resolutions and its points of view adopted," Gillerman said.

Countries that abstained on Tuesday included all 19 Arab states present, although Muslim Afghanistan and Pakistan voted in favor. Iran, Israel's fiercest critic at the world body, did not take part.

Gillerman criticized South Africa, one of several African countries to abstain. The abstention was "a shameful mistake for a country that considers itself to be the leader of Africa," he said.

It took Israel six months to negotiate the text of the resolution, which calls on developed countries to make their agricultural technology more accessible to developing nations in order to fight poverty.

The UN has set the goal of halving the number of poor by 2015, as one of the targets of the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs). The other goals deal with education, child and maternal mortality and HIV/AIDS.

Qassam kunnen kwart miljoen Israëli's gaan bedreigen

Als Israël niks doet, komen steeds meer burgers binnen het bereik van Palestijnse raketten, aldus de minister van interne veiligheid. Dit geldt ook voor een eventueel staakt-het-vuren, want dat verhindert de Palestijnen niet om hun raketten te verbeteren. Gebouwen vlak bij de Gazastrook worden nu al extra versterkt, maar het is ondoenlijk om alle huizen in forten te veranderen, en het zal slechts tijdelijk helpen omdat de Palestijnse raketten steeds beter worden en verder reiken.
 
Toch is nog niet tot een grootschalige invasie in de Gazastrook besloten, al zijn vandaag wel 8 Palestijnen omgekomen in operaties van het Israëlische leger. Of dit de 'opmaat' is voor een grote operatie, waar al zo lang over wordt gesproken, is de vraag. Iedereen weet dat dat tot vele doden kan leiden, en tot harde internationale veroordelingen. Bovendien brengt het Abbas en de Fatah partij in een lastig parket: een deel van Fatah heeft al gezegd Hamas te zullen steunen in hun strijd tegen 'de bezetter', maar Abbas voert vredesonderhandelingen met Israël.
 
 
Ratna
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Dichter: 250,000 under Qassam threat if we don't act
'Palestinians conducting war of attrition against Negev communities,' internal security minister tells cabinet. 'We must not allow any mistakes that may raise the number of Israeli communities facing the Qassam threat'
Roni Sofer YNET Published: 12.09.07, 12:35 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3480533,00.html

Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter warned Sunday of a tenfold increase in the number of Israelis subjected to a "war of attrition" should Ashkelon and nearby communities also fall under the threat of Palestinian terror and Qassam rocket fire.

"We must check to see where we went wrong and deal with the problem of Sderot if we do not want to face the same problem when Ashkelon, Ofakim and Netivot will enter the cycle of rocket fire and terror," he said during the weekly cabinet meeting. "We must complete the fortification plan for Sderot and the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip."

According to him, Palestinian terror organizations, led by Hamas, are "conducting a war of attrition" against Sderot and the rest of the western Negev communities.

The minister said the number of Israelis facing the threat of Palestinian terror may increase from 25,000 to 250,000.

"Qassam attacks are being carried out daily and we have also seen an increase in mortar fire directed at IDF bases near the Strip," Dichter told the ministers. "Statistics indicating an 8% drop in the number of students in Sderot are extremely worrying. We must not allow any mistakes that may raise the number of Israeli communities facing the Qassam threat."

During the cabinet meeting, ministers were updated by IDF Home Front Command officials on the progress made in the fortification of educational and public institutions in the Negev region, which is expected to cost between 1 and 1.5 billion shekels ($258-387 million).

The army also presented cabinet members with a fortification plan that would also include Israeli communities such as Ashkelon, Netivot and Ofakim, which are within the range of the Grad missile (range of about 25km) and other surface-to surface missiles the Palestinian terror groups have in their possession.

The cost of this plan is estimated at NIS 5.5 billion ($1.4 billion).

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset's State Control Committee last week that Israel should not enter a process of "over-fortification", and officials in his office said the State was investing hundreds of millions of shekels in the development of rocket-interception systems to be placed along the border with Gaza.

De strijd om de Russische Joden

Russische Joden schijnen momenteel erg in trek te zijn. Rusland probeert de naar Israël geëmigreerde Joden terug te halen, Israël wil ze graag houden en ook Duitsland toont interesse. Vanwaar opeens die liefde voor een groep die in Rusland altijd werd uitgekotst, in Israël wordt gediscrimineerd en laten we over Duitsland maar zwijgen?
 
Rusland en Duitsland willen graag laten zien dat (vooral hoogopgeleide) Joden bij hun welkom zijn, en weer een levendige Joodse gemeenschap in hun land opbouwen. Nadat de Joden daar eeuwenlang zijn getreiterd en vervolgd, en uiteindelijk grotendeels uitgemoord, mist men een groep die zich altijd wonderwaarlijk wist aan te passen zonder de eigen identiteit te verliezen, en een grote bijdrage aan de Europese cultuur en wetenschap heeft geleverd.
 
Bovendien wil men graag het imago van antisemitisme van zich af schudden.
 
Vandaar dat hoogopgeleide Russische Joden uit Israël nu goeie banen en huizen krijgen aangeboden in Rusland. Ondertussen is het antisemitisme alles behalve verdwenen, en wordt extreemrechtse groeperingen die de straten onveilig maken voor al wat niet Russisch genoeg is, geen stroobreed in de weg gelegd.
 
Hopelijk hebben de Russen in Israël genoeg van de geschiedenis geleerd om niet in de val van Poetin te trappen, maar ook de Israëlische regering treft blaam: men was erg blij met al die Russische Joden in de jaren '90, maar heeft niet genoeg gedaan om ze te integreren, waardoor velen nog steeds in grote wijken bij elkaar wonen en de slechtere banen hebben.
 
 
Ratna
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Sources: Russia working to get its emigrants back
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 07:24 10/12/2007
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932737.html

The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv is operating a branch of a government body, under the guise of a cultural center, whose goal is to persuade Russian emigrants to return, according to Israeli intelligence sources.

The cultural center, which opened about two months ago, is headed by a Russian intellectual, who the intelligence sources believe worked for the Soviet secret service, the KGB. Senior government officials have reportedly expressed concerns recently over the development of "competition" between Russia and Israel over where former Russians choose to reside.

The Russian Embassy was unavailable for comment on Sunday.

The intelligence bodies are certain that the Russian cultural center that opened two months ago on Geula Street in Tel Aviv is a cover for the local branch of the Sons of the Homeland movement, established by Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring back Russians who emigrated to Israel.

More than three million Russian-speaking Jews are living on five continents. Just over one-third live in Israel. They mostly came in the large wave of immigration that took place after the former Soviet Union opened its gates. After Putin was elected in 2000, he established the Sons of the Homeland to maintain communication between Russia and its emigres, and eventually Putin charged the group with bringing back as many Russians as possible, with an emphasis on those in skilled professions.

The high level of education among many of the Jewish emigres and the fact that they are concentrated in large communities have made them a desirable target for the organization. Putin's goal is not only economic; the millions who have left Russia since the fall of communism are a blow to national pride.

Putin also wants to counter the image of Russian anti-Semitism, by showing the country as a place that attracts Jews.

A number of groups, like the Russian-Speakers Congress, are considered fronts for the Sons of the Homeland.

The cultural center opened following an agreement between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Putin, which also authorized several Israeli cultural centers to operate in Russia.

During last week's general elections in Russia, the cultural center held activities in 60 towns in Israel to encourage Russians to register and vote, and collected their contact details.

Meanwhile, some Israelis have reported received tempting job offers in Russia. "I was offered a job in a research institute in Moscow for $15,000 a year," said a leading academic in her field, who has been in contact with the cultural center. She mentioned additional incentives, such as an apartment.

The cultural center is headed by Dr. Alexander Kryukov, a leading Russian expert on Israeli culture with extensive connections in Israel, who has also translated a number of books from Hebrew into Russian. When the Russian government last year announced his appointment as a diplomat in the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Shin Bet security service tried to prevent him from receiving a visa, citing his past as a KGB spy. However, Russia insisted, and Israel acquiesced in order to avoid a diplomatic incident.

Israel and Russia are not the only countries seeking to court as many Russian Jews as possible; Germany is also encouraging Russian Jews to settle there by giving individual grants and special funding to communities to assist in settling the newcomers. According to government officials in Berlin, the arrival of some 200,000 former citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States is an opportunity to rebuild the great pre-Holocaust Jewish community. Canada and Australia also have programs to encourage Russians with professions in demand to immigrate.

According to Absorption Ministry statistics, more than 100,000 Jews who came to Israel from the CIS have returned to Russia and Ukraine, and an estimated 70,000 Israelis are currently living in Moscow.

It was decided that, in light of the competition for Russians, the program approved by the cabinet yesterday to bring back Israelis living abroad would be marketed as early as next week in Russian and tailored to Russian employment needs.

The Russian cultural center activity gives the government organization Nativ, in charge of contacts with the Jews of the former Soviet Union and under the aegis of Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a reason to undergo a controversial expansion to other countries with large groups of Russian Jews.
 

Geen optimisme in Israël na Annapolis (opiniepeiling)

Volgens een veelgehoorde opvatting, weet een meerderheid aan beide kanten dat de enige oplossing een twee-statenoplossing is, en is bereid het land te delen.
In de praktijk liggen de posities van zowel het leiderschap als meerderheden aan beide kanten wat betreft belangrijke zaken als Jeruzalem en de vluchtelingen, mijlenver uit elkaar. Uit deze enquete van na de conferentie in Annapolis blijkt dat desondanks 55% van het Israëlische publiek meent dat Abbas vrede wil; bijna de helft gelooft dat de Palestijnen vrede willen, en meer dan 60% meent dat de Palestijnen recht hebben op een eigen staat, en dat zo'n staat Israël niet in gevaar hoeft te brengen. Toch is men pessimistisch over de kansen op vrede:

However, despite the positive attitude toward the two-state solution both in terms of justice and pragmatism, a large obstacle is the widespread belief among the Jewish Israeli public that even if a peace agreement is signed along these lines, it will not end the conflict with the Palestinians. Whereas 61 percent hold this pessimistic assessment, only 31 percent believe an agreement on two states would end the conflict from the Palestinians' standpoint.

Furthermore, a large majority - 71 percent - believe it is impossible to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians without Hamas' consent, with only 21 percent claiming the opposite. Given the perception of Abbas' weakness, it is clear why this assessment also contributes to the lack of faith in the feasibility of a peaceful solution.

Wat ik vreemd vind is, hoe je enerzijds van mening kunt zijn dat de Palestijnen vrede willen, en anderzijds dat zij geen genoegen zullen nemen met een staat naast Israël, en het conflict zal voortduren. Wellicht gelooft men dat de meerderheid oprecht vrede wil, maar een minderheid ervoor zal zorgen dat na het sluiten van een vredesverdrag het conflict nog zal voortduren. Dit betekent dat men vooral het Palestijnse leiderschap niet toevertrouwt de eigen extremisten in toom te kunnen houden, zelfs wanneer er vrede is en men een eigen staat heeft.

Ratna
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Just another forgotten peace summit
By Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann

Haaretz December 10, 2007
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/933214.html

The optimism of the leaders was lost on the Jewish Israeli public, whose pessimism stems from its belief that a two-state solution wouldn't appease the Palestinians

Many assume that if the Israeli decision-makers were to openly change their position on the conflict and its resolution, the public would throng after them en masse and support an agreement. The present survey, like earlier surveys we conducted, shows that this assumption is very flimsy and that people are not hurrying to get on the Olmert government's peace train.

And apparently, despite the wide media coverage of the Annapolis conference and the prime minister's proclamation that it marked a political turning point of historic importance, the Jewish Israeli public's level of interest remained quite low; as in the period before the conference, the majority did not follow it with any regularity. Furthermore, notwithstanding the joint statement and the positive final spirit, the overall public sentiment was negative, particularly regarding whether the conference achieved a basic clarification of the disagreements between Israel and the Palestinians, or advanced chances of peace. People were more likely to remain skeptical, or not change their opinion about the chances of reaching a lasting peace with the Palestinians, than to be encouraged by the event and more optimistic about the chances for peace.

Not surprisingly, the public believes almost unanimously that both the Israeli government and the people genuinely want peace with the Palestinians. Surprisingly, today there is also a majority, albeit a small one, that thinks the Palestinian Authority genuinely wants the same, while views regarding the Palestinian people are divided, with a very slight advantage for those leaning to the positive side. Moreover, a considerable majority of the Jewish public sees the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state.

The source of the Jewish public's skepticism - and even pessimism - is apparently the widespread belief that a peace agreement based on the "two states for two peoples" formula would not lead the Palestinians to end their conflict with Israel. This distrust of the Palestinians' intentions is also evident in the Jewish public's clear, ongoing preference for a closed border without free passage, even if the two-state solution were to be implemented.

However, the Jewish public does not think this desirable solution is within reach; the prevailing view is that without Hamas' agreement, there is no chance of reaching a peace treaty, and that the sides will have difficulty overcoming their disagreements on the core issues.

As in the past, this time, too, we found that the main issues on which the public thinks the sides will have trouble reaching a compromise are (in this order) Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees' right of return, though compared to the late 1990s, less weight is now ascribed to Jerusalem and considerably more is given to the refugee issue.

Those are the main findings of the Peace Index survey that was carried out on Monday and Tuesday, December 3-4.

Public detachment

According to what the interviewees themselves said, despite the heavy media coverage, less than one-quarter of the Jewish Israeli public (24 percent) regularly followed what happened at the Annapolis conference, 47 percent followed the events only "sometimes," and 26 percent not at all. This division is almost identical to those we found two months and a month before the conference.

In other words, the positive attitude that the Israeli, Palestinian, and American decision-makers showed toward the gathering was not shared by the public, most of which remained skeptical or pessimistic. That detachment is evident in assessments of the outcomes: 63 percent think the conference did not bring about a basic clarification of the disagreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and a similar percentage say it did not increase the chances of a peace settlement.

This skepticism apparently also explains the segmentation of views on whether the positions Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed at the conference were too tough (only 8 percent), too conciliatory (31 percent), or appropriate (32 percent). Twenty-eight percent had no opinion on the matter, unlike past conferences, when the public showed great awareness and strong opinions about the positions that the Israeli representatives presented.

The responses as to how the conference influenced interviewees' optimism or pessimism about chances for peace also reflect a low degree of public involvement: 29 percent said they were more optimistic, 38 percent they were more pessimistic, and 33 percent did not change their attitude, had not heard of the conference at all, or did not know.

As in the past, the dominant view in Israel is that the Israeli government and people are interested in peace - 78 and 80 percent, respectively.
Surprisingly, though, now there is also a majority - albeit a small one - that says the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas also wants peace (55 percent). Regarding the desire for peace among the Palestinian people in general, the opinions are divided, with a very slight lead on the positive side: 48 percent think the Palestinians want peace, while 45 percent think they do not.

Notwithstanding all the events in recent years, a majority of the Jewish public also views the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as justified - 62 percent (compared to 34.5 percent who see it as unjustified).
As in the past, there is also a majority - 58 percent - that is sure or thinks Israel can permit the establishment of an independent Palestinian state (32 percent think or are sure it cannot, and the rest do not know).

No faith in the Palestinians

However, despite the positive attitude toward the two-state solution both in terms of justice and pragmatism, a large obstacle is the widespread belief among the Jewish Israeli public that even if a peace agreement is signed along these lines, it will not end the conflict with the Palestinians.
Whereas 61 percent hold this pessimistic assessment, only 31 percent believe an agreement on two states would end the conflict from the Palestinians' standpoint.

Furthermore, a large majority - 71 percent - believe it is impossible to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians without Hamas' consent, with only 21 percent claiming the opposite. Given the perception of Abbas' weakness, it is clear why this assessment also contributes to the lack of faith in the feasibility of a peaceful solution.

All this apparently explains the belief of the majority of the Jewish Israeli public - 53 percent versus 26 percent - that, even if an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is signed based on the "two states for two peoples" formula, the border between the two states should remain closed (5 percent prefer it be closed to Palestinians and open to Jews; 1 percent, open to Palestinians and closed to Jews; and 15 percent do not know).

In light of the upcoming resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, we asked the interviewees what they see as the most difficult issues blocking an agreement between the two sides. Out of a list of six issues, the question of Jerusalem came out on top (39 percent).

Yet, compared to the findings of the November 1999 Peace Index, it appears there has been a significant decline in that assessment, which was then 57 percent. There has been, however, a considerable increase in the importance ascribed to the refugee question, which has come to be perceived as the most important obstacle, from 5 percent in 1999 to 32 percent today. Other matters of dispute - the borders, the settlements, the independent Palestinian state and water - lag far behind, in this order: borders (14 percent), settlements (8 percent), establishment of an independent Palestinian state (6 percent) and water (1 percent)

General Peace Index: 48.1 (Jewish sample - 45.6); Oslo Index: 36.9 (Jewish sample - 34.5); Negotiation Index: 50.7 (Jewish sample - 47.7)

The Peace Index Project is conducted at the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Studies and the Evans Program for Conflict Resolution Research of Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann. The telephone interviews were conducted by the B. I. Cohen Institute of Tel Aviv University on December 3-4, 2007, and included 592 interviewees who represent the adult Jewish and Arab population of Israel (including the territories and the kibbutzim). The sampling error for a sample of this size is 4.5 percent. For the survey data see: http://www.tau.ac.il/peace

dinsdag 11 december 2007

Mensenrechtendag en de Verenigde Naties

Amnesty International (waar ik lid van ben), Human Rights Watch en al die andere organisaties die opkomen voor de mensenrechten doen belangrijk en noodzakelijk en soms letterlijk levensreddend werk, en dat lijkt Steinberg hieronder een beetje uit het oog te verliezen.
 
Hij heeft natuurlijk gelijk dat deze organisaties wat betreft Israël vaak selectief verontwaardigd zijn, en aan Israël vaak de slechtste bedoelingen (bewust doden van burgers) toeschrijven, terwijl ze opvallend mild zijn jegens Palestijns geweld.
 
Extremer dan Amnesty of HRW zijn de Algemene Vergadering en de Mensenrechtenraad van de Verenigde Naties. Daar gaan immers de grootste schenders van mensenrechten schaamteloos vrijuit, terwijl iedere anti-Israël resolutie of veroordeling op een automatische meerderheid van het Arabische en niet-geliëerde blok kan rekenen. Vandaar dat in de Mensenrechtenraad Israël in anderhalf jaar al meer dan tien keer is veroordeeld, terwijl een veroordeling van Soedan werd tegengehouden.
 
Ondanks het feit dat men zich hiermee totaal ongeloofwaardig maakt, zijn er nog steeds veel mensen die de VN aanhalen als bewijs van Israëls misdaden. Zo betoogde Dries van Agt gisteren weer eens dat Israël op grote schaal de mensenrechten en VN resoluties schendt, en dit wordt genegeerd door Nederland, en hij noemde minister Verhagen zelfs Israëls tweede ambassadeur.
Tja, onze regering is gelukkig (nog) niet zo erg als de Mensenrechtenraad, maar Israëls tweede ambassadeur is wat veel eer :-). Misschien moet Van Agt eens wat meer op zijn eigen compas varen in plaats van continu te verwijzen naar organen die worden beheersd door dictatoriale regimes.
 
 
Ratna
___________

From defenders to defamers
Dec. 9, 2007

Gerald Steinberg , THE JERUSALEM POST
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847295606&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
 

Monday, December 10 is International Human Rights Day - commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the members of the United Nations in 1948. Following the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, the signatories pledged to protect the "inherent dignity" and the "equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."

But like other promises made during this period, this one was also soon violated.

In much of the world, human rights, including the basic right to life, are given short shrift. The watchdogs, both in the United Nations itself, and in the accompanying network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that claim to promote morality and human rights, have become a major part of the problem. The words that expressed revulsion at the crimes committed against the Jewish people - "war crimes," "collective punishment," "indiscriminate mass killing," "violations of international law," and so on - have become weapons in the political war accompanying the terror campaigns against Israel.

The "reformed" United Nations Human Rights Council, which is charged with implementing the 1948 Declaration, is run by many of the worst violators of human rights. Its reports are written by "experts" who are obsessed with attacking Israel. In 2001, the UN held a conference in Durban attended by thousands of delegates, ostensibly to combat racism and xenophobia. Following a preparatory conference in Iran, led by Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson, this exercise became a vehicle for hatred and anti-Semitism.

Many of the NGO "superpowers" are guilty of aiding and abetting this disgraceful process. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Paris-based FIDH (International Federation of Human Rights), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Geneva, routinely exploit these norms to pursue their own narrow ideological agendas. They participated in the NGO Forum of the 2001 Durban Conference, which was even worse than the diplomatic session. Like the UN, the NGO reports focus obsessively on Israel, and erase the context of terrorism in order to make false and frequent accusations. In 2002, an Amnesty official was quoted on the BBC confirming the false reports of a massacre in Jenin. In 2006, HRW published hundreds of pages attacking Israeli responses to Hizbullah attacks, and glossing over Hizbullah's aggression and use of human shields.

Similarly, Israel-based NGOs such as B'tselem, Bimkom, and Gisha, which claim to support universal human rights, use double standards to falsely and systematically portray Israeli responses to terror as violations of these moral norms.

The halo effect enjoyed by the UN and NGO human rights network two or three decades ago has also been eroded by reports which make headlines, but are later shown to be fabricated or unverifiable. Essentially lacking their own research capabilities, HRW and Amnesty rely on "local eyewitnesses" for evidence. These "eyewitnesses" know that their reports, regardless of the lack of evidence or context, will be used to promote boycotts, demonization and other political campaigns. In this way, human rights have become a vehicle to promote incitement, hatred and terror - the antithesis of the objectives proclaimed in 1948.
 

IN ORDER to change this dismal state of affairs, and restore the moral foundation and universality of human rights, the structure of the international diplomatic and NGO mechanisms must be overhauled. Kenneth Roth, who has headed Human Rights Watch since 1993, and Irene Khan, who has controlled Amnesty International since 2001, have been in power for far too long. The donors and members of these organizations must also act responsibility to ensure that their support is not abused. Donors to NGOs are like directors of corporations who are accountable for transgressions committed by the officers of their firms.

The Ford Foundation, which was threatened with investigation by the US Congress after funding the most virulent participants in the 2001 Durban NGO Forum, adopted guidelines to prevent a repetition. Some donors to HRW and the New Israel Fund (which funds B'tselem, Machsom Watch, Gisha, Bimkom, Adalah, and others) have cut or conditioned their donations on an end to the double standards, and some members and officials of Amnesty have resigned in protest. These are all steps in the right direction.

In the Spring of 2009, the UN Human Rights Council has scheduled a follow up to the infamous Durban conference. This provides a rare opportunity for the governments that actually care about human rights, as well as the NGO community, to reverse course, and demonstrate that the lessons have been learned. If they succeed, this will mark an important step in the restoration of the values embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But if they fail, the Declaration, and the foundation of an international moral code based on a single universal standard, may never recover.
 

The writer is the chair of the Political Studies department at Bar Ilan University, and Executive Director of www.ngo-monitor.org
 

Hamas wil dialoog met VS

Zelfs Hamas wil eigenlijk vrede, maar wel een vrede zonder compromissen. Tussen hen en de vrede die zij nastreven staat een landje met een paar miljoen Joden erin.
 
Hamas vraagt een dialoog met de VS; misschien denken ze die ervan te kunnen overtuigen hun steun aan Israël te staken. Dat zou immers wat makkelijker vechten. Maar het zijn realisten daar bij de Hamas, dus ze zullen wel alleen van Amerika verlangen om Israël onder druk te zetten geen militaire akties meer te ondernemen en de grenzen van de Gazastrook open te gooien, zodat de arme Gazanen weer wat lucht krijgen en - als mooie bijkomstigheid - Hamas makkelijker wapens en terroristen kan smokkelen en aanslagen in Israël kan plegen. Dat er de laatste paar jaar geen bussen en discotheken meer zijn ontploft in Israël is immers niet te danken aan de gegroeide humanitaire inzichten van Hamas, maar aan harde veiligheidsmaatregelen van Israël.
 
Het is een duivels dilemma, maar de Palestijnen hebben zelf voor Hamas gekozen in een democratisch proces, daarover lijken vriend en vijand het eens. Een racistische en terroristische beweging heeft echter niets te zoeken in een democratisch proces, en volgens het Oslo akkoord hadden ze helemaal niet mee mogen doen aan de Palestijnse verkiezingen. De PA is opgericht als onderhandelingspartner met Israël, maar het enige waarover Hamas bereid is te onderhandelen is de onvoorwaardelijke overgave van de Joodse staat, om deze te vervangen door een islamitische staat.
 

In the letter, which was posted on a number of Palestinian Web sites, Yousef said that even some Westerners had complained about Washington's "narrow-mindedness" in dealing with Hamas.
 

Dat is helaas waar, en het zal niet leiden tot matiging van Hamas, maar tot versterking van hun extremisme en compromisloosheid.
 
Wouter
________________

Hamas to Rice: We want dialogue with US

Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 9, 2007


"Many people make the mistake of presuming that Hamas has some ideological aversion to making peace. Quite the opposite; we have consistently offered dialogue with the US and the EU," Ahmed Yousef, a senior Hamas official, said Sunday.

In an open letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yousef, who serves as senior political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said that his movement did not have any "ideological arguments" with the West.

"We are not anti-American, anti-European or anti-anyone," he explained, adding that the time has come for Washington and other Western countries to talk to Hamas.

Sources close to Hamas told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other top leaders of the Islamist movement had given their blessing to the content of the open letter. According to the sources, the letter reflects Hamas's growing predicament under international sanctions and its fear of a massive Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.

But the letter is also seen as a sign of growing divisions inside Hamas, where many officials and activists remain strongly opposed to any form of dialogue with the US.

The letter comes against a backdrop of reports suggesting that Hamas had sought to patch up its differences with Fatah. Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has been summoned to Riyadh for talks with Saudi leaders on ways of ending the Hamas-Fatah power struggle.

According to some reports, Hamas has agreed to hand over to Fatah a number of Palestinian Authority institutions in the Gaza Strip, among them the home and office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

In his letter, Yousef accused the US of "hypocrisy" for refusing to accept Hamas's victory in the January 2006 parliamentary election.

Addressing Rice, he wrote: "Meaningful steps toward a resolution cannot take place while the legitimacy of the elected government in Palestine continues to be ignored by your administration. Not only is the policy to isolate Hamas unethical, it is ineffectual as well. Your administration ignores the realities on the ground."

"The Change and Reform Party, the name of the new political party we formed for the Palestinian elections, won an overwhelming majority in the occupied territories. To pretend otherwise is not only futile but detrimental to US interests in the region for many years to come and likely to add to the anti-American sentiment throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world. You cannot preach about exporting democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan and ignore the democratic process in Palestine."

In the letter, which was posted on a number of Palestinian Web sites, Yousef said that even some Westerners had complained about Washington's "narrow-mindedness" in dealing with Hamas.

The State Department, he added, "should be looking for new solutions instead of reinforcing old stereotypes. On a personal note, we found it amusing that a black person empathizes with Israeli deaths on the one hand and Palestinian segregation on the other - if media reports are accurate. It is a military occupation, Ms. Rice. Their citizens face insecurity and death because that is the situation they have created for themselves. We do not beg you to recognize us. Our party is the legitimately elected party in the occupied territories. You owe it to your sense of fairness to engage meaningfully with all relevant parties to the conflict."

Yousef complained that the Palestinians were being punished for holding a free and fair election and voting for Hamas. "It is hard to get across the appalling level of privation that the Palestinian people, and in particular the 1.3 million Palestinians who live in Gaza, currently suffer from," he said.

"Our isolation is complete, confining us in a ghetto (worse than the Jewish ghettos of Warsaw) where our sewage, power and water systems have been destroyed, all normal supplies constrained and even humanitarian aid withheld. Many people have not been paid for nearly two years, over 75% are unemployed and now the Israelis are threatening to cut off fuel and power supplies and to invade us once again."

He reminded Rice that her predecessor, General Colin Powell, had stated that the US should find a way to engage with Hamas because it won the election and because it continues to enjoy the support of many Palestinians.

"If you were even-handed in this conflict, if you engaged with us openly, then the chances of peace would dramatically increase," he concluded. "As it is, you are setting yourself up for failure and with that failure will come more pain and anguish for the Palestinian people, a further colonization of our lands and a blank space in history for the Bush administration's role in making peace in the Middle East."
 
 

maandag 10 december 2007

VS defensieminister Gates: Israël vormt geen nucleaire bedreiging zoals Iran

De Amerikaanse minister van defensie Robert Gates legt op een conferentie van de Golfstaten uit wat het verschil is tussen een Iraans kernwapen en een Israëlisch. Hij ontmaskert ook het selectieve gebuik door Iran van de bevindingen van de Amerikaanse veiligheidsdiensten:
 
 
And in a sarcastic riff, he goaded Iran to acknowledge its bad behavior - from arming terrorists in Iraq to its support for militant organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas.
 
Asked if the United States would be willing to sit down and talk with Iran, Gates said the behavior of the "new leadership of Iran has not given one confidence that a dialogue would be productive."
 
Noting that Iran embraced the recent U.S. intelligence report, Gates said Iran should accept that all other intelligence conclusions about its conduct are true. When the report came out earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed it as a declaration of victory for his country.
 
"In reality, you cannot pick and choose only the conclusions you like of this National Intelligence Estimate," Gates said. "Since that government now acknowledges the quality of American intelligence assessments, I assume that it also will embrace as valid American intelligence assessments of its funding and training of militia groups in Iraq."
 
Gates said Iran should also acknowledge it delivers weapons to terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, supports terror groups and continues to develop ballistic missiles that could be used to carry weapons of mass destruction.
 
 
Ratna
-----------
 
Gates: Israel doesn't pose nuclear threat like Iran
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended Israel's reputed nuclear program on Saturday, saying Israel did not seek to destroy its neighbors or support terrorism, unlike Iran.
 
By News Agencies
 
 
Asked at an international security conference in Bahrain on Saturday whether he thought Israel's nuclear program posed a threat to the region, Gates replied: "No, I do not."
 
The statement was greeted by laughter from a room filled with government officials from Middle Eastern countries.
 
Israel is widely assumed to have the region's only atomic arsenal, but refuses to confirm or deny it. Washington has long avoided pressing Israel to go public with its capabilities.
 
Gates did not specifically mention Israel's nuclear weapons or arsenal, but responded to questions about its "nuclear program" -- giving the Pentagon chief room to dismiss any suggestion that he implicitly confirmed the existence of nuclear weapons in Israel.
 
He dismissed the allegation that the United States applied a double standard on the nuclear issue by supporting Israel while calling for Iran to abandon its enrichment activities, which Tehran says are for peaceful
purposes.
 
"Israel is not training terrorists to subvert its neighbours. It has not shipped weapons into a place like Iraq to kill thousands of innocent civilians covertly," Gates said.
 
"It has not threatened to destroy any of its neighbours. It is not trying to destabilise the government of Lebanon.
 
"So I think there are significant differences in terms of both the history and the behaviour of the Iranian and Israeli governments. I understand there is a difference of view on that," he said.
 
Iran denies U.S. allegations that it has armed, trained and funded Shi'ite militias in Iraq, blaming the violence in Iraq on the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
 
A year ago, Gates first angered Israelis during testimony to the U.S. Congress by including Israel in a list of nuclear-armed countries in the regions around Iran to explain why Tehran might have sought the means to build an atomic bomb. He has not publicly discussed it since.
 
Iran accuses U.S. of spying on nuclear weapons program Iran has sent a protest letter to the United States accusing it of spying on the Islamic state's nuclear activities, the official IRNA news reported on Saturday, citing the country's foreign minister.
 
The letter, submitted to the Swiss embassy in Tehran which handles U.S. interests in the country, was in reaction to the U.S. intelligence report published last Monday, which concluded that Iran had actually stopped atomic weapons development in 2003.
 
"The ministry submitted a letter to the Swiss embassy in Tehran ... demanding explanations over America's espionage on Iran's nuclear case," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by IRNA.
 
Gates: Gulf States must demand Iran come clean on nuclear program Persian Gulf nations must demand that Iran come clean about its past nuclear ambitions and openly vow to not develop such weapons in the future, Gates said Saturday.
 
In a broad call to diplomatic arms, Gates exhorted leaders from the Gulf to band together to force Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program and to help the fragile Iraqi government.
 
"Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or cost in the blood of innocents - Christians, Jews and Muslims alike," Gates said in a keynote address at the Manama Conference in Bahrain. "There can be little doubt that their destabilizing foreign policies are a threat to the interests of the United States, to the interests of every country in the Middle East, and to the interests of all countries within the range of the ballistic missiles Iran is developing."
 
And in a sarcastic riff, he goaded Iran to acknowledge its bad behavior - from arming terrorists in Iraq to its support for militant organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas.
 
Asked if the United States would be willing to sit down and talk with Iran, Gates said the behavior of the "new leadership of Iran has not given one confidence that a dialogue would be productive."
 
Noting that Iran embraced the recent U.S. intelligence report, Gates said Iran should accept that all other intelligence conclusions about its conduct are true. When the report came out earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed it as a declaration of victory for his country.
 
"In reality, you cannot pick and choose only the conclusions you like of this National Intelligence Estimate," Gates said. "Since that government now acknowledges the quality of American intelligence assessments, I assume that it also will embrace as valid American intelligence assessments of its funding and training of militia groups in Iraq."
 
Gates said Iran should also acknowledge it delivers weapons to terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, supports terror groups and continues to develop ballistic missiles that could be used to carry weapons of mass destruction.
 
Gates' rebukes didn't reach any Iranian ears directly, since Iran decided at the last moment not to attend the gathering, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
 
While Gates used the intelligence estimate as a hammer against Iran here, the report has bruised the Bush administration. The findings were in stark contrast to a 2005 estimate that said Tehran was continuing its weapons development.
 
And it flies in the face of U.S. President George W. Bush's rhetoric on Iran, such as when he said in October that people interested in avoiding World War III should be working to prevent Iran from having the knowledge needed to make a nuclear weapon.
 
The administration has acknowledged that the report may make it harder to build international support to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program.
 
Gates' speech followed efforts by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press for new sanctions against Iran.
 
Rice asserted Friday in Brussels, Belgium, that Washington would continue pressing for new sanctions against Iran while holding talks to convince Tehran to come clean about its nuclear program.
 
But Russia ignored her calls to punish Iran. Despite continued support from NATO and other European allies, Rice was unable to convince Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that fresh sanctions were urgently needed.
 
Rice said her talks with Lavrov were an extension of other conversations we have had, suggesting the two didn't see eye to eye.
 
Gates, in his speech, pressed Gulf nations to back sanctions to force Iran to suspend enrichment, and to demand that Iran openly affirm that it does not intend to develop nuclear weapons in the future.
 
"In a complex region where partnerships do not come easy," Gates said the countries need to pull together and develop regional air and missile defense systems.
 
Gates ended his speech with a grim warning against underestimating the United States.
 
"Some countries," he said, may believe our resolve has been corroded by the challenges we face at home and abroad. This would be a grave misconception."
 
"Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy and the former Soviet Union all made that miscalculation," Gates said. "All paid the price. All are on the ash heap of history."
 
Gates' stop in Bahrain is the last stop on a frenetic, weeklong tour of the region, which included meetings with military commanders on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
Bolton: U.S. intelligence report influenced by politics
U.S. intelligence services were seeking to influence political policy-making with their assessment Iran had halted its nuclear arms program in 2003, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said.
 
Der Spiegel magazine quoted Bolton on Saturday as saying the aim of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), contradicting his and President George W. Bush's own oft-stated position, was not to provide the latest intelligence on Iran.
 
"This is politics disguised as intelligence," Bolton was quoted as saying in an article appearing in next week's edition.
 
Bolton described the NIE, released on Monday, as a "quasi-putsch" by the agencies, Der Spiegel said.
 
Bolton has long criticized Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for refusing to declare that there was hard evidence Tehran was trying to develop nuclear weapons.
 
Earlier this year Bolton said: "Regime change or the use of force are the only available options to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapons capability, if they want it."