| There is a ceasefire in Gaza, but the BBC has found evidence of militant groups preparing for a return to violence. One group, Islamic Jihad, is training female suicide bombers. Middle East correspondent Paul Wood went to meet a Palestinian woman who has volunteered. The young, veiled woman was sitting quiet and still as the room bustled around her. The black flag of Islamic Jihad was pinned on the wall behind her and two Kalashnikovs were carefully placed in camera shot. Her husband, an Islamic Jihad fighter himself, tied on her "martyr's" headband. Umm Anas - not her real name - had just graduated from a programme to train female suicide bombers in Gaza. Our meeting was a highly-orchestrated propaganda event laid on by Islamic Jihad. It was almost theatre - and certainly Israel accuses the Palestinian leadership of manipulating young women like 18-year-old Umm Anas. Yet, although she nervously twisted her wedding ring, Umm Anas did not appear to be a cipher. She was articulate - more so than the men staging the event - and she knew her own mind. Secret ambition When she spoke of becoming a suicide bomber, Umm Anas's voice was strong and steady: "This is a gift from God. "We were created to become martyrs for God," she continued, her eyes burning behind the full face veil. "All the Palestinian people were created to fight in God's name. If we just throw stones at the Jews they get scared. Imagine what happens when body parts fly at them." The bomb belt which she hopes will end her life - and kill many Israelis - rested on the table next to us. Her main motivation in becoming a suicide bomber appears to be religious rather than nationalistic - the fulfilment of a long-held ambition. Even getting married recently hadn't changed her mind. "When my husband married me, he knew my way of thinking. He knew exactly who I am and based on this he decided to marry me. Marriage doesn't give me a second's doubt." I asked if that would alter if she became pregnant. "I would wait until I delivered the baby," she said. "I would give him to my parents and ask them to look after him... Then I would leave them and the baby would remain behind as a piece of me." Her parents, brothers and sisters did not know. "Martyrs - male or female - have to work in secret. No one can know about it. We have to be careful not to give our parents any sign of what we are about to do. "Sometimes, maybe, they can tell and see on your face the signs of martyrdom. They are suspicious but they don't know for certain." Ready for death Umm Anas thinks she knows the manner of her death, but she doesn't know the timing. She is waiting for the collapse of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic movement which rules Gaza.
Fifty percent of all water technology deals in Europe last year involved Israeli companies. En de andere helft betrof Nederlandse bedrijven? ;-) Als Limburger ben ik niet erg ervaren met het watermanagement waar Nederland zo befaamd om is. Zo snap ik maar niet waarom zeewater ontzilten nog steeds zo duur en ingewikkeld is. Ik zou denken, met de hitte daar verdampt een hoop water; vang die damp op en je hebt drinkwater? Het is goed dat Israël en Jordanië op watergebied samenwerken, maar ik krijg niet de indruk dat het nou erg veel concreet resultaat oplevert.. Wouter ______________
Jordan, Israel work to overcome regional water deficit
Ehud Zion Waldoks , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 10, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910086247&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. While Israel's water crisis is severe and much publicized, Jordan's is much worse.
Jordan is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world in terms of water per capita. Water runs there for just one day a week. The rest of the week, residents must carefully ration the water they have stored in rooftop containers.
Israel has offered to desalinate water and pass it on, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
"There has been a deficit for the last 10 to 15 years," Friends of the Earth Middle East Jordan Director Munqeth Mehyar told the Post. "And with this past dry year, I fear the authorities are drawing on our strategic reserve of aquifers and that's scary."
The Jordanian Water Ministry has done a good job of meeting the needs of residents, industry and agriculture, he said, and has kept up a steady flow once a week.
That very reliability prompted Mehyar to worry about the danger of depleting the strategic reserves. Jordan relies mostly on groundwater and the Jordan River for its water because there aren't many other rivers or lakes.
Recently, Israel offered to desalinate water from the Mediterranean and pass it on, according to a source. Both another source and Mehyar confirmed that there had been rumors about utilizing Israeli desalination expertise.
Mehyar added that he believed that Israel siphoned off water from Lake Kinneret as well, when it could, for the Jordanians.
Israel and Jordan have been meeting regularly about water at the highest levels since signing the peace treaty in 1994. Under the treaty, Jordan is entitled to 50 million cubic meters per year from the Jordan River. Jordan's water minister was here two weeks ago for consultations with National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
Another delegation of water experts from Jordan was here last week to learn about Israeli technology and techniques.
The group, six men and four women, was not here to discuss transferring water to Jordan. The experts came as part of a program organized by CINADCO - The Center for International Agricultural Development Cooperation.
Under the program, Israeli and Jordanian water experts are to share their expertise in four week-long workshops- two here, two there - over the course of the year. Last week's was the second of four. Last year, Israelis went to Jordan to learn from its experts.
CINADCO is the professional arm of MASHAV - The Center for International Cooperation in the Foreign Ministry.
A source close to the Jordanian delegation told the Post that the point of the workshops was to compare and find solutions to the water crisis.
"Both parties suffer from a shortage of water and search for solutions. We gained a lot of experience from the visit. We saw lots of practical lessons and projects. The impression is that these kinds of meetings and workshops should continue," he said.
Jordan was focused on two main projects to alleviate the crisis, the source said. The first was the Red-Dead Canal project. The second was the Aldisi project to bring 100 million cubic meters from the south to Amman. The project has been ongoing for a decade at a cost of $600 million.
From an Israeli perspective, the goal of the canal is to save the Dead Sea. The Jordanians, though, are much more interested in desalinating water from the Red Sea at the Dead Sea. If the project passes the World Bank's feasibility study, two-thirds of the roughly 1 billion cubic meters of water would go to Jordan and the other third to Israel and the Palestinians.
In the face of water scarcity, both Israel and Jordan have developed very marketable expertise. The source close to the delegation said Jordanian experts are routinely consulted by the Gulf countries and the Arab world to the east. Israel, meanwhile, has been exporting its know-how to Europe.
Fifty percent of all water technology deals in Europe last year involved Israeli companies.
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
Abbas legt precies uit waarom er nog geen vrede is:
"We rejected Israeli proposals that stipulated making concessions including on Jerusalem and the refugees," he said.
"We either get all six points - Jerusalem, settlements, borders, refugees, water and security - or nothing at all," Abbas said.
Zo werkt dat natuulijk niet in onderhandelingen.
Het volgende is nogal vreemd:
Arafat died at a hospital in France in November 2004 at the age of 75 of a stroke triggered by a blood-clotting disorder brought on by food poisoning.
Although his French hospital record published by The New York Times said no traces of commonly used poisons were found in his system and his liver and kidneys were not damaged as is common after poisoning, Arafat's nephew insisted on Tuesday that Israel was behind the late Palestinian leader's death, and that the type of poison and method used by Israel would soon be revealed.
Het is onwaarschijnlijk dat hij door vergiftiging omkwam, en zijn neef is natuurlijk geen neutrale bron. Als in het ziekenhuis geen sporen van vergiftiging zijn gevonden, is de kans groot dat hij gewoon een natuurlijke dood is gestorven. Waarom Haaretz hier meedoet met de Palestijnse complottheorieën is me een raadsel. RP Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that during peace talks over the past year, Israel had proposed concessions to him regarding Jerusalem, but he rejected them because they were partial.
Abbas told tens of thousands of Palestinians who gathered at his Ramallah headquarters to mark four years since the death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that he wants a full peace deal and will accept no partial one.
"We rejected Israeli proposals that stipulated making concessions including on Jerusalem and the refugees," he said.
"We either get all six points - Jerusalem, settlements, borders, refugees, water and security - or nothing at all," Abbas said.
The Palestinian leader added that he had made his position clear during a meeting Sunday with the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia - in Egypt.
Israel has consistently insisted in recent months that the sides had not yet touched on the issue of Jerusalem, although it had agreed "in principle" to include it in the negotiations. Outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert had promised ultra-Orthodox coalition partners in the past that negotiations on Jerusalem would be left for last.
Abbas has rejected his offer for a peace deal that would sideline the highly sensitive issue and leave it for later, arguing that partial peace agreements have thus far not yielded any progress toward statehood for the Palestinians.
Abbas strongly attacked the Islamic movement Hamas, at one point calling them "traitors."
Abbas also accused Hamas, the bitter rival of his and Arafat's more secular Fatah movement, of having undermined efforts to achieve "national reconciliation" by refusing to attend Egyptian-hosted talks which had been scheduled to start in Cairo on Monday, but were canceled when Hamas announced a last minute boycott of the talks.
He said he was ready to hold presidential and legislative elections immediately, calling on Hamas to accept this proposal.
Abbas charged Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, used force to prevent Gazans from marking the anniversary of Arafat's death.
Pro-Fatah Palestinian media also said Hamas forces, both in civilian clothes and military uniforms, had deployed across Gaza to prevent any gathering of Fatah supporters trying to commemorate Arafat's death. They said they also entered schools and "beat up" a number of pupils who wore Arafat's trademark kaffiyeh.
Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters flocked to the Ramallah compound, which contains Arafat's mausoleum and tomb, since the early hours of Tuesday, carrying yellow Fatah flags and portraits of their late leader.
Arafat died at a hospital in France in November 2004 at the age of 75 of a stroke triggered by a blood-clotting disorder brought on by food poisoning.
Although his French hospital record published by The New York Times said no traces of commonly used poisons were found in his system and his liver and kidneys were not damaged as is common after poisoning, Arafat's nephew insisted on Tuesday that Israel was behind the late Palestinian leader's death, and that the type of poison and method used by Israel would soon be revealed.
Hoeveel aanslagen zouden er worden gepleegd wanneer het Israelische leger deze stoffen, reeds gefabriceerde explosieven, pijpbommen, messen en andere wapens niet zou onderscheppen en onschadelijk maken? RP ---------
IDF Spokersperson Office November 11th, 2008
Hundreds of Kilograms of Dangerous Substances Uncovered in Judea and Samaria since September
Now released for publication: On October 28th, 2008, Security forces operating in Salfit uncovered 2.5 kg of naphthalene and 20 kg of 20-20-20 type fertilizer.
In recent months the IDF, ISA, Civil Administration, the Crossing Administration and the Israeli Police have been operating in order to uncover dangerous substances, based on ISA intelligence.
In light of the fact that these substances are used to make weapons and explosives, their use or possession in the Judea and Samaria region is forbidden by order of the G.O.C of the Central Command.
The IDF and Israeli security forces have uncovered such dangerous substances in other incidents this year: 160 kg and 56 liters of hazardous materials were uncovered in Qalqilya on September 15th, 65 liters of Formalin were uncovered in Ramallah on September 8th, and 25 kg of fertilizers, 10 kg of sulfur and 5 liters of pesticides were uncovered in the village of Fasayil, north of Jericho, on September 1st.
Security Forces will continue these operations in order to stop the spread of these hazardous materials, which are often used for making explosives and in terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Controlling these potentially lethal substances will prevent their use by terrorist groups and stop them from committing acts of terror.
Hoewel de Israelische vredesbeweging is ingestort tijdens de Tweede Intifada, is sinds de dagen van Rabin in Israel het besef verder doorgedrongen dat een Palestijnse staat onvermijdelijk is om tot vrede met de Arabieren te komen. Wat Rabin nog niet hardop zei, zei - of all people - ijzervreter Sharon later wel, en Olmert (akkoord, hij heeft niets meer te verliezen) pleit openlijk voor de noodzaak om Jeruzalem te delen. De vraag is of Livni dit ook openlijk zal kunnen zeggen en toch de verkiezingen winnen.... Ziet iemand Abbas al de komende Palestijnse presidentsverkiezingen winnen, als hij openlijk zou verkondigen dat de Palestijnen het 'recht op terugkeer' moeten opgeven? Als Livni en Abbas dit nu beiden zouden doen, en beide verkiezingen op dezelfde dag houden? Wouter ________________
The Jerusalem Post
Nov 10, 2008 16:22 | Updated Nov 10, 2008 19:30
Olmert at Rabin memorial: We must give up parts of J'lem
By JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910083935&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFullPrime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday used a Jerusalem memorial ceremony for former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to reiterate that Israel must be willing to cede parts of the capital.
"If we want to keep Israel Jewish and democratic, we need to give up parts of the homeland we have dreamed about for generations and [mentioned] in our prayers, even Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to return to a 1967 Israel with certain amendments," he said.
"The decision must be made now. The moment of truth has arrived. There is no escaping it, but [the opportunity] can be missed. If, God forbid, we dither, we will lose the support for the idea of two states. There is no need to expand on the alternative…Rabin will win," he continued.
"The moment of truth has arrived," he repeated. "We can push if off for many years in which blood will be spilled. But we must look at it honestly, proudly and responsibly. The bullets that killed Rabin could not stop the historic path that he led. Even after his death, Rabin will be victorious."
During the state ceremony at Mount Herzl, President Shimon Peres emphasized that even today, there were those who were inciting and causing harm and he said that the state must "utilize the law to its fullest, without fear."
He said that like then, there was now a small minority that had "the audacity" to undermine the state's authority.
"They hurt Palestinians, just because they are Palestinians, and challenge the law enforcement authorities, police and soldiers, who are protecting the country and also protecting them," he said. "The violent and dangerous minority must be condemned and isolated and we must silence their abusive and inciting words. Their damaging and destructive acts must not be tolerated as if they are a state within a state.
"Israel's honor, the power of democracy and rule of law, obligate this. The extremists have no future because they don't act justly. The majority of the electorate won't be frightened by this threatening minority. The people will defend their land, peace and democracy with all their might. They will overcome those struck by blindness, like just one candle can dissolve darkness."
"Yitzhak underwent a difficult metamorphosis," continued the president. "It didn't develop overnight and wasn't devoid of misgivings and deep concerns. As 'Mr. Security,' who for most of his years dealt with strengthening Israel military might and in ensuring its capability to win wars, and also as 'Mr. Peace,' Yitzhak suffered misgivings. But when Yitzhak made the moral and diplomatic decision, he never looked back. He reached forward with a determined and energetic heart."
"The bullets that were fired into Yitzhak's back didn't kill his way, because ideas and visions cannot be killed." stressed Peres. "But they were aimed at delaying, ruining and damaging a huge process, which had enormous regional and international support, for creating a new political and economic reality in this land and on its borders for the nations living here and the surrounding neighbors. The despicable murderer who showed contempt for Israel's democracy, and who assassinated its elected leader, hurt the nation's soul. It is not fitting for his voice to be heard.
A killer is a killer and there is no need for his fictitious philosophy."
Rabin's son, Yuval, also spoke at the ceremony.
"Another year has passed and we are still here. The atmosphere is similar, the mood has not changed. The same things are happing, the same voices are being heard," he lamented. "The smell of gunpowder is upon us again, this time from the house of an academic, and again the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head has warned of a political assassination. Again, it is clear to everyone that the gun is loaded."
Rabin blijft herinnerd als de leider die het vredesproces met de Palestijnen op gang bracht in de jaren '90, met de erkenning van de PLO van Arafat en van het Palestijnse streven naar onafhankelijkheid. Terwijl het voor de internationale gemeenschap toen al evident was dat het Oslo vredesproces om niets anders kon gaan dan een zelfstandige Palestijnse staat op basis van de grenzen van voor 1967, wilde Israel zich daar (nog) niet openlijk toe bekennen. Het is gissen in hoeverre dat Rabins overtuiging was en in hoeverre het zijn politieke inschatting was dat voor een echte Palestijnse staat nog te weinig draagvlak was bij het Israelische publiek. Tijdens 'Oslo' vonden de eerste series Palestijnse zelfmoordaanslagen door Hamas en co plaats, terwijl rechtse Israeli's Rabin voor verrader uitmaakten. Het was dus balanceren op een wankel koord voor de regering. Na vele decennia van totale afwijzing en terroristisch geweld was de erkenning van Israel door de PLO pas enkele jaren jong, en werd Arafat met gepast wantrouwen gevolgd, die voor eigen publiek helemaal niet sprak over een twee-staten-oplossing en vrede met de Joodse staat. As for two state solution, Rabin told the Knesset in his last policy statement on October 5, 1995: "We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority."
Het was - en blijft voorlopig - ondenkbaar dat die Palestijnse 'entiteit' bijvoorbeeld een eigen leger zou hebben dat voor Israel een reële bedreiging zou vormen.De Palestijnen hadden wellicht een voorbeeld moeten nemen aan hoe Israel werd opgebouwd: decennialang was er geen sprake van een Joodse staat, maar van een 'nationaal thuis voor het Joodse volk'. Eerst werden de staatsinstituties opgebouwd, en toen die zich eenmaal hadden bewezen, was een staat de logische consequentie en werd deze ook door de internationale gemeenschap gesteund en geaccepteerd. (Nou ja, min of meer dan...) Wouter
_______________________
PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE
President Shimon Peres's Remarks at Candle Lighting Ceremony in Memory of Yitzhak Rabin
The President's Residence - 9.11.08
Rachel, Dalia, Yuval, the dear Rabin family,
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Otniel Schneller,
Honored guests,
When the murder of Yitzhak became known, the streets of Israel were filled with young and old, women and infants, mothers and soldiers.
They could not stop the flow of tears, and with trembling hands they lit yahrzeit candles. The tears were tears of loss. The candles were candles of prayer.
The candle that we have lit here is another candle, to illuminate the path and the activities of a statesman and military leader of Israel. In it burns the democratic wick which will strengthen the flame of peace.
The tears will not evaporate. The lights will not be put out. And they will add to the call to all of us to pursue the goal of peace - this is the foundation for our future existence.
Yitzhak was murdered while ascending a steep path, on which we walked together in a meeting of minds, in order to speed the State of Israel to the realization of the dream of the people of Israel from generation to generation: peace for everybody and security for everyone.
Yitzhak walked a path full of harassers. Legitimate democratic criticism did not threaten him; however the arrows of incitement and the spears of hatred, wrapped in a lie of holiness, these which were aimed at him silenced his heart.
They aimed for the leader in order to stop the journey. A journey of values and a journey of purpose. Indeed, our story of independence. To leave the house of bondage in Egypt and not to create a house of masters in another place.
We have walked together in order to pave the road to the destination of peace. And as close as we have gotten to this goal, so too have the escarpments around us grown taller, and the voices that wish to instill fear have gotten louder. Curses, invective, and threats, and from time to time in the name of God, these became part of our lot, and particularly so for Yitzhak.
But he walked in the lead, with bravery and perseverance, without hesitation and without fear. He believed with all of his soul that we serve the greater national Zionist interest above all else, and from this feeling, from this belief he drew uncommon courage.
And then, tragically, at nearly the last bend before the summit, a murderer ambushed Yitzhak and fired at him bullets of death. All at once a dark cloud came down, encompassing the horizon. The way forward was lingered and obscured, but as we continued seeking, the clear path slowly, slowly became the path of the decisive majority of the people.
The strengthening of the acceptance of the two-state solution for two people living in peace and security, each to its own, is today accepted even by the majority of those who opposed it in the past.
The flame of hope that was dulled on the night of the awful murder was not extinguished and will not be extinguished.
It will light up the future of Israel as a just society and as a Jewish democratic state living in security with peace agreements, in friendship and mutual respect with all of its neighbors and with all of its citizens at home.
The flickering lights on the night of the murder were an expression of the love and respect that the masses of Israel felt for Yitzhak, for his path, and for his message of peace. The message that came from the good heart of the public was sharp and clear: don't let the darkness prevail, don't leave the truth die, don't let the mission lose its significance. The "Song of Peace" will be sung anew in the reality of peace.
Dear Rabin family,
Already thirteen years all of us, and particularly you, have borne the sadness and longing for Yitzhak the father and the grandfather, the head of the family, and for the beloved and devoted mother and grandmother Leah. To them you all were the most dear, intimate companions. Nobody but you can share in the pain, discomfort, and grief that you have felt.
I want to tell you from the depths of my heart, which was broken by the murder of Yitzhak, that I miss him every day, from the day he was placed in his grave to this very day.
The partnership, the understanding, the faith and the friendship that was formed between us at the end of the road I keep in my soul as an eternal conscience.
The "Light of Yitzhak" will not be extinguished and his light will mark the coming of peace.
May the memories of Yitzhak and Leah Rabin be for a blessing.
Omdat die in onze media altijd ontbreekt, hier Israels positie wat betreft de sluiting van de grensovergangen met Gaza en het (vermeende) electriciteitstekort. RP ----------
State of Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Interruption of Fuel Supplies in Gaza
10 November 2008
Since 4 November, Palestinian terrorists in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have fired 60 Kassam rockets and 20 mortar bombs at Israel.
Israel's response to the continuing barrage was to temporarily close the truck crossing points used to deliver humanitarian goods and fuel to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has decided to exploit the situation, threatening to shut down Gaza's main power station, for the benefit of the media.
1. Israel is committed to maintaining the state of calm and expects the Hamas to uphold its commitments - cessation of terrorism and the arms buildup.
2. Overall responsibility for the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the suffering of the residents in particular, lies with Hamas alone. Hamas invests all of its resources in arms and terrorism instead of health, education and economy of the Gaza residents.
3. In the last few days, Hamas has been conducting a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians that includes:
· the firing of dozens of rockets and mortar bombs at civilian population centers, creating a serious threat to a quarter of a million Israelis living in this area;
· planning the abduction of Israeli soldiers and civilians from Israeli soil and digging a tunnel for that purpose;
· the continued smuggling of huge amounts of arms into the Gaza Strip, etc.
4. The continued shooting of rockets and mortars makes it impossible for Israel to provide the Gaza Strip with all the necessary supplies. As a result of the terrorist policies of Hamas, Israel has been forced to temporarily close the truck crossing points into Gaza, which have also been targeted by Hamas terrorism.
5. It should be noted that the supplies not provided via the truck crossing points, such as electricity and water, are still flowing into the Gaza Strip. Electricity is being provided to Gaza through 10 high power lines. A total of 124 megawatts are constantly being supplied by Israel through those lines, providing 70 % of Gaza's total needs. An additional 17 megawatts are being supplied by Egypt, constituting an additional 5% of Gaza's consumption. On average, 70-80 megawatts (only 25 % of Gaza's consumption) are produced by the Gaza power station.
6. The cynical Hamas exploitation of the civilian population in Gaza is contemptible. There is sufficient electricity in the Gaza Strip to operate hospitals and other essential facilities. Hamas, as usual, is orchestrating a media show. For example, in the past, Hamas has been documented manipulating the media with images of children holding candles in broad daylight, in a room darkened by drawn curtains.
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
Naast de vraag of het lukt om nu de rust weer te herstellen, is het de vraag wat er zal gebeuren na 19 december, wanneer het staakt-het-vuren eindigt. Had Hamas eerder aangegeven voor verlenging te zijn, nu verbindt het daaraan de voorwaarde dat het wordt uitgebreid naar de Westoever.
Wat betreft Haniyeh's opmerking dat Hamas bereid is een Palestijnse staat binnen pro-1967 grenzen te acepteren, zie: RP
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Last update - 12:29 10/11/2008
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip may be planning to execute terror attacks against Israel which would require responsive military operations like the one carried out last week, Israeli defense officials said on Sunday.
Over the next two days, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will determine whether to reopen the border crossings with Gaza, which were shut down last Wednesday after Gaza militants resumed rocket fire on the western Negev.
After nearly two days of quiet, militants in Gaza fired a Qassam rocket at the western Negev, but it exploded in Palestinian territory.
Some 70 rockets were fired from Gaza between last Wednesday and Saturday, in response to an Israel Defense Forces raid on the coastal territory which killed at least six militants.
Sunday marked the first resumption of calm since the raid and the rocket barrages. Israel and Gaza are still technically in the midst of a six-month old cease-fire, which both sides have breached since its implementation last June.
The critical question facing Israeli defense officials now is what will become of the truce in the coming months.
Hamas has declared that the truce ends on December 19 and is up for negotiation only if Israel keeps its word to expand the calm to the West Bank.
Israel said it never committed to such a deal and said that the truce has no official "expiry date." Egypt, which mediated the temporary truce, apparently sides with Israel on this matter.
Hamas' consideration for maintaining the calm are clear: The group believes the cease-fire serves its own well-being in allowing it to establish a firm basis as the prime political power in the Gaza Strip. Continuing rocket fire only increases the chances that Israel will close off its borders - and while Hamas relies on the smuggling of weapons and trade from Egypt, long-term closures have great effect on the comfort of the territory's residents.
Some Israeli military officials estimate that Hamas would prefer to blur the disagreement over these details and continue the truce, for the same political and security reasons it agreed to the calm in the first place.
Other Israeli officials claim there is high potential for renewed clashes between December 19 and January 9 - the date Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' term ends.
The same officials believe that as tensions between Hamas and Abbas' rival Fatah movements resume with the end of the president's term, so too will rocket fire on the western Negev.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official said Sunday that the group would not implement a long-term truce with Israel for the time being.
The offer "was not canceled," Mahmoud al-Zahar said, but added that there was "no room to implement it for the time being" since "there is no one to talk about this proposal with on the other [Israeli] side."
He said a long-term truce was "a project that can be developed when there are intentions."
The Hamas long-term truce offer was first made by the organization's late spiritual advisor, Ahmed Yassin, who suggested a 20-year-long ceasefire, without recognizing Israel's right to exist, in return for an Israeli withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967 Six-Day war.
Zahar's remarks were made a day after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his government could accept a Palestinian state only in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
Door de gevechten in Gaza en de raketaanvallen als gevolg daarvan wordt Israel weer met de oude dilemma's geconfronteerd. 'Had het maar geen Hamas strijders in Gaza moeten doden vorige week' zullen sommigen zeggen, negerend dat Israel inlichtingen had over een tunnel die vanuit Gaza onder de grens met Israel was gegraven en bedoeld om soldaten te ontvoeren. De confrontatie met de Hamas strijders volgde op het opblazen van die tunnel. Het komt een beetje suf over dat de regering de afgelopen maanden van rust niet efficiënter heeft gebruikt voor het bouwen van safe rooms in alle huizen in de buurt van Gaza. Anderzijds zal dit niet afdoende zijn omdat de raketten steeds verder komen en omdat het evengoed geen leven is dat je op ieder moment van de dag binnen twee minuten in de safe room moet kunnen zijn. Vandaar dat de vraag naar de moraliteit van legeroperaties in dichtbevolkt gebied weer opkomt. De internationale gemeenschap staat klaar om Israel hard te veroordelen als daarbij onschuldige doden vallen, zonder de moraliteit van het afschieten van raketten vanuit burgergebied ter discussie te stellen. RP ----------
Barak seeks OK to hit residential areas
Yaakov Lappin , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 9, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910077265&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on the government on Sunday to examine ways of approving IDF action against residential areas in Gaza from which rockets are fired at Israel.
Speaking during the weekly cabinet meeting, Barak said many rockets were fired from the vicinity of residential homes and schools, precluding an Israeli response due to fear of harming civilians.
Around 60 rockets and an unknown number of mortars have fallen on western Negev communities since last Tuesday evening, when the IDF raided a tunnel 250 meters inside Gaza that the army said was about to be used to kidnap troops.
In response, Barak has ordered all border crossings with Gaza to remain shut until further notice.
The Defense Ministry has also called on the government to approve an extra NIS half-billion to construct rocket-proof protective structures and complete safety rooms for 4,400 Israeli housing units in the Gaza periphery.
During Sunday's meeting, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter warned that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have improved their rocket capabilities and range, placing cities like Ashkelon - where Dichter resides - in their crosshairs.
He added that Hamas's heavy mortar shelling of the region presented a threat that could not be detected by the Color Red rocket alert system. He called for the installation of the Iron Dome rocket shield, set to be in place by 2011.
Some 8,000 homes are situated within 4.5 kilometers of the Gaza Strip.
On February 24, the government agreed to allocate NIS 327 million for the first stage of a program to to build security rooms for all older housing units within that radius. The first stage calls for building reinforced security rooms for all homes with tile roofs in 12 of the 21 communities within that radius.
In stage two, the government is to provide reinforced security rooms for apartment buildings with concrete roofs in Sderot. In the final stage, the government is to build reinforced security rooms for houses with tile roofs in the remaining nine communities within the 4.5-km. radius.
The communities slated for the third stage have petitioned the High Court, charging that the government is discriminating against them and in favor of the 12 communities included in the first stage of construction.
Dan Izenberg contributed to this report.
Niet alleen Joden en moslims vliegen elkaar in de haren in Jeruzalem, verschillende christelijke stromingen bestrijden elkaar.
RP Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.
Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.
Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.
Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.
Tapestries toppled
Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday's clash.
Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.
The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies.
An Armenian clergyman said the Greek clergy had tried to place one of their monks inside the Edicule, an ancient structure which is said to encase the tomb of Jesus.
"What is happening here is a violation of status quo. The Greeks have tried so many times to put their monk inside the tomb but they don't have the right to when the Armenians are celebrating the feast," he said.
The Armenians had been preparing to commemorate the 4th Century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.
A Greek clergyman said: "We protested peacefully, we stood here in the middle and we claimed that we shall not leave the procession finished unless they leave our guardian be inside. This didn't happen and in that moment the police interfered."
Six Christian sects share control of the ancient church and the BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says confrontations between them are not uncommon, but rarely descend into violence.
Een groepje Europese parlementariërs (zie onderaan dit bericht) liet zich dit wel wijsmaken: The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his government was willing to accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel within the 1967 borders. He spoke at a meeting with 11 European parliamentarians who sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip to protest Israel's naval blockade of the territory. Haniyeh told his guests Israel rejected his initiative.
Ze hoorden blijkbaar alleen wat ze wilden horen, want voor Hamas zou een Palestijnse staat binnen de grenzen van 1967 alleen een opstapje zijn voor de "bevrijding van heel Palestina". Dit is keer op keer op keer door Hamas verklaard. Hoevaak en hoe duidelijk moet Hamas het nog zeggen, voordat duidelijk is dat men Israel niet wil erkennen, geen vrede wil, en het 'recht op verzet' niet ophoudt bij de pre-1967 grenzen?
Een paar oudere berichten over Hamas: -----------------------
Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mash'al has said that his movement is opposed to recognizing Israel and wants a Palestinian state from Rosh HaNikra on the Israeli coast near the Lebanese border to Rafah, and from the Mediterranean to the Jordan.
Mash'al clarified that Hamas would agree to a Palestinian state within the June 5, 1967 borders in exchange for a hudna (temporary ceasefire) only, which would give the coming generations of Palestinians an opportunity to liberate the rest of the Palestinian lands.
Source: Al-Kafah Al-Arabi, Lebanon, February 11, 2008
Posted at: 2008-02-12
----------------- Er zijn nog oneindig veel meer berichten te vinden met dezelfde strekking. De parlementariërs werden goed ontvangen in Gaza: The peak of the group's first day in Gaza was their meeting with Haniyeh at his official guesthouse in Gaza City's exclusive Rimal area - formerly the guesthouse of Yasser Arafat. The two-hour meeting was a good-natured affair, at the end of which the parliamentarians noted their host's pleasant manner.
Met hun bezoek aan de Gazastrook werken de Europese parlementariërs mee aan de legitimiteit van Hamas en aan haar propaganda. De kritiekloze houding van deze mensen, die zichzelf zien als dappere vredesactivisten, is belachelijk. Zij geloven Haniyeh op zijn mooie bruine ogen en laten zich gewillig om zijn vingertje winden. RP
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Last update - 01:49 09/11/2008 Haniyeh: Hamas would accept state under 1967 bordersBy Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1035414.html The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his government was willing to accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel within the 1967 borders. He spoke at a meeting with 11 European parliamentarians who sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip to protest Israel's naval blockade of the territory. Haniyeh told his guests Israel rejected his initiative. Clare Short, who served in the cabinet of former British prime minister Tony Blair, asked Haniyeh to repeat his offer. He said the Hamas government had agreed to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians' national rights. In response to a question about the international community's impression that there are two Palestinian states, Haniyeh said: "We don't have a state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is occupied. What we have in the Gaza Strip is not a state, but rather a regime of an elected government. A Palestinian state will not be created at this time except in the territories of 1967." The parliamentary delegation was led by Baron Nazir Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan and is a member of the British House of Lords. Ahmed, Britain's second Muslim peer and the only one born Muslim, related how, 10 years ago, he was sworn into the House of Lords using a Koran. "And now you represent us," Haniyeh told him on Saturday.
Ahmed asked Haniyeh about Hamas' relations with Iran and requested his response to the claims of "our Zionist friends" that Hamas, like Iran, seeks to destroy the State of Israel and throw the Jews into the sea.
"Our ties with Iran are like those with other Muslim states. Does a besieged people that is waiting breathlessly for a ship to come from the sea want to throw the Jews into the ocean? Our conflict is not with the Jews, our problem is with the occupation," Haniyeh said.
The protest boat Dignity anchored at Gaza port Saturday morning, carrying nine MPs from Britain and Ireland, one from Switzerland and one from Italy. The parliamentarians sought to express their opposition to the Gaza blockade and see for themselves its effect on Gaza's population. The 11 were among a few dozen members of European parliaments who about two weeks ago were refused entrance to Gaza at the Rafah crossing by Egyptian officials.
This was the Dignity's third voyage from Cyprus to Gaza in 10 days, and the third time in three months the Free Gaza Movement organized a protest sail and visit to Gaza.
The peak of the group's first day in Gaza was their meeting with Haniyeh at his official guesthouse in Gaza City's exclusive Rimal area - formerly the guesthouse of Yasser Arafat. The two-hour meeting was a good-natured affair, at the end of which the parliamentarians noted their host's pleasant manner.
"Your visit proves that the Palestinian people is not alone in its struggle against the blockade and that many of the peoples of the free and cultured world support us," Haniyeh told his guests.
He explained to them why Hamas boycotted the talks with Fatah that were scheduled to begin on Sunday in Cairo. "We had 17 political detainees [from Fatah, held without trial and without being charged] being held in harsh conditions - I'm not proud of that," Haniyeh said. "They were released. We expected a similar measure from our brothers in Ramallah, but unfortunately the situation only worsened ahead of the meeting in Cairo."
According to Haniyeh, about 400 Hamas activists are being held in Palestinian Authority jails in the West Bank, and all requests to release them have fallen on deaf ears.
Haniyeh said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' statements to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit prove that the United States won't allow the two Palestinian factions to reach a reconciliation. He said the PA must shake off the "American fist" gripping it.
The European politicians took with them a ton of medical supplies and three medical scanners used for spinal injuries, said Arafat Shoukri, 37, a doctor based in Britain.
"We are taking very basic medical supplies like paracetamol and painkillers. We were shocked when we got the list from the Health Ministry in Gaza - it means they don't have anything," Shoukri said.
International aid agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have said virtually no medical supplies were reaching Gaza.
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