Arabische kandidaat Jeruzalem trekt zich terug en steunt Gaydamak bij verkiezingen

 

Vorige maand berichtten we over een Palestijn uit Oost-Jeruzalem die zich -als eerste- kandidaat had gesteld voor de gemeenteraad. In onderstaand bericht is echter sprake van burgemeestersverkiezingen. In elk geval heeft Hamdan zich teruggetrokken als kandidaat in ruil voor een adviseursrol bij een andere burgemeesterskandidaat, een rijke Joodse zakenman (ja, die bestaan). Nu maar hopen dat dit een slimme zet was.

 

 

Wouter

_____________

Jerusalem: Arab candidate joins Gaydamak

 

Arab candidate withdraws from mayoral race, signs agreement with billionaire businessman to be his advisor on east Jerusalem in move devised to secure Arab vote

 

Ronen Medzini - YNET

Published: 10.08.08, 00:06
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3606819,00.html

 

Zohir Hamdan, the mukhtar (head) of the village of Sur Baher in Jerusalem, has decided to withdraw from the capital's mayoral race, and on Tuesday signed an agreement with billionaire businessman Arcadi Gaydamak, according to which he will serve as the latter's advisor in east Jerusalem matters if Gaydamak is elected mayor.

Gaydamak signed the deal in the hope that it will help him secure the Arab vote in the upcoming elections, as he currently lags in the polls behind lead candidates Nir Barkat and Meir Porush. He has also recently made an effort to appeal to ultra-Orthodox voters.

Hamdan's decision to join the billionaire's roster was startling as he has denigrated Gaydamak in the past. In a previous interview with Ynet the mukhtar said he was unimpressed by the businessman despite his promise to appoint an Arab deputy.

He explained the move to Ynet on Tuesday: "As an Arab and a leader in the eastern part of the city I have my power. I can bring in many votes for my people and for my approach, and I believe Gaydamak will win. Once I signed an agreement with him to be his advisor, I achieved my goal."

Earlier Tuesday Jerusalem's election committee recommended to Gaydamak that he change his name. The reasoning behind this was that the name on his identification card is Aryeh Bar-Lev, and if the billionaire neglects to alter it, this publicly unrecognized name will be the one to appear on the election ballots.

In order to change his ID Gaydamak will have to apply to the Ministry of the Interior, as the law requires the name on the ballot to match the name on the candidate's certificate of identification.


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

Israelische toelating van bewoners Gazastrook voor medische zorg

 

Israel wordt er veelvuldig van beschuildigd doodzieke Gazanen geen toestemming te geven voor behandeling in Israel of elders buiten de Gazastrook, waardoor honderden of zelfs duizenden patiënten zouden sterven. Onderstaand artikel gaat in op deze beschuldigingen, zoals onlangs nog gedaan in een rapport van Physicians for Human Rights - Israel. Hierbij zijn naast gegevens van PHP-I, de WHO, de VN ook gegevens van de Israelische veiligheidsdienst en instanties opgenomen. Zo blijkt dat in zeker 20 gevallen een medische verklaring vals was en/of werd gebruikt om een aanslag te plegen in Israel. Ook blijken sommige gegevens van PHP-I domweg niet te kloppen. De plicht haar eigen burgers te beschermen wordt al te gemakkelijk vergeten door mensenrechtenorganisaties, die alleen over mensenrechten van Palestijnen spreken. Onterecht worden deze organisaties door de media en veel politici beschouwd als objectief en onpartijdig, en worden hun gegevens zonder meer geloofd en overgenomen, zonder navraag te doen bij de Israelische autoriteiten.

 

RP

----------- 

 

 

by  Dr. Elihu D. Richter

Published October 2008

No. 567   1 October 2008

Israeli Approvals for Medical Entry
in the Shadow of Terror Attacks at the Erez Crossing

Elihu D. Richter MD, MPH

• For several years, the Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights (now the UN Human Rights Council) and human rights groups have criticized the Israeli government and health care system for denying access to Gazans seeking to receive permits for care in hospitals in Israel, the PA and Jordan. Yet the data shows that the number of patients receiving permits for referrals to hospitals in Israel - or the PA or Jordan - increased by 45 percent from 4,932 in 2006 to 7,176 in 2007, and continued to increase in the first six months of 2008. These trends occurred despite a decline in entry approval rates, mostly because of security reasons.
• The facts are that Israel has provided ever increasing numbers of approvals of permits since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, despite increasing rocket attacks on Israel's civilian population, including mortar and terror attacks directed at the Erez crossing used by patients.
• At the same time, there have been at least 20 incidents where Palestinians used medical missions to attempt terror attacks.
• The premise that guides medical ethics is that there should not be even one death from delay, but sometimes the delays were related to problems of availability of beds, and at other times to security concerns. There were cases in which patients' deaths or complications were attributable to delays. But in other cases, deaths and complications were attributable to efforts to transfer to Israel critically ill or near terminal patients from Gaza whose care was deemed as bothersome or too costly.
• The longer term solution to the problem of delays associated with referrals is to promote medical capacity-building in Gaza's hospital and health care systems so that patients should not have to travel elsewhere for critical care.
• The mandate of the Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights has so far been restricted to reporting only on violations of human rights to life, safety, and access to health care of members of one national group, Palestinians, but not members of another group, Israelis. The result is a selective concern with the human rights of one that ignores assaults on the human rights of the other.

Background

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Gazans have been coming to Israel for medical treatment and for training in many Israeli hospitals, including Hadassah in Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Tel Hashomer, Beersheva, and others. With implementation of the Oslo accords in 1994, the Palestinian Authority reduced access for training and referrals for care as it sought to increase reliance on its own health care system, but in recent years, there has been a tendency towards increased patient referrals to Israeli hospitals. Even so, for several years, human rights groups - notably Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I), the UN Commission on Human Rights (now the UN Human Rights Council), and World Health Organization (WHO) agencies - have criticized the Israeli government and health care system for denying access to Gazans seeking to receive permits for care in hospitals in Israel.

To examine the validity of these criticisms and their context, we tracked trends (January 2006 to June 2008) for approved permits and reported deaths in individual patients. In parallel, we tracked trends during the same period for rocket, missile, and terror attacks targeting the Erez crossing, through which Gazans enter Israel.

[........]

Trends in Approvals for Patient Referrals

The data showed that patients receiving permits for referrals to hospitals in Israel - or the PA or Jordan - increased by 45 percent from 4,932 in 2006 to 7,176 in 2007, and continued to increase in the first six months of 2008.

For the rest of the article see here: Israeli Approvals for Medical Entry from the Gaza Strip (JCPA)

 

NAVO geen rol in stoppen nucleaire ambities Iran, volgens De Hoop Scheffer

"Scheffer said that NATO did not have a direct role to play in the issue, but said he was worried that the United Nations had failed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions."

Waarom heeft de NAVO hier geen directe rol in? Het krijgt straks wellicht wel met de gevolgen te maken. Er lijkt een soort sfeer te zijn waarin iedereen de hete aardappel doorschuift, en niemand zelf wil handelen. En met handelen bedoel ik niet alleen of vooral militair, want er zijn (nog) alternatieven zoals echt stevige sancties, waarvoor bepaalde landen zwaarder onder druk moeten worden gezet en van de ernst van de zaak doordrongen.

 

RP

-----------

NATO chief: Given Iran nukes, we can't ask Israel to disarm

By Reuters
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026981.html

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday he was not certain the world can stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Scheffer told a conference in southeast France that given Iran's nuclear activities, he would never expect Israel to abandon its own, "supposed nuclear arsenal". Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear weapons, but has never formally said so.

"As we all know, Israel never admits to what it has, but I do not see very many arguments for the Jewish state to abandon its potential," he said.
Scheffer said that NATO did not have a direct role to play in the issue, but said he was worried that the United Nations had failed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"It is a major challenge to prevent Iran from continuing to strive to get the bomb," Scheffer told a World Policy Conference organized by France's IFRI foreign affairs think tank.

"I am not positive about the world being able to stop Iran from fulfilling its ambitions," he added.

"My concern is that the Security Council, as we speak, is rather incapable of coming to further conclusions on further sanctions," Scheffer said.

Scheffer added that he was equally concerned about Iran's drive to develop its missile capabilities.

"What is as dangerous [as the nuclear program] is the missile technology which [Iran] is also developing at a fast pace," he said. "This becomes an element for the security of the United States and of course Europe.

Iran has a series of medium-range missiles, which experts say could target Israel. Tehran has also said it is working on long-range missiles.
Iran delivered a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana later Monday which Tehran said stressed that pressure would not resolve the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.

The letter was handed to Solana, who has represented six major powers in talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, by Iran's ambassador to the European Union, Solana's spokeswoman Cristina Gallach said.

"I do not know what is in the letter ... but the letter is now in the hands of Mr. Solana," she said.

Iranian media reported that the letter, from Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to the foreign ministers of the six powers, said pressure would not resolve the nuclear issue.

Iran says its uranium-enrichment program is only for electricity generation, but is under United Nations' sanctions over past undeclared activity and its failure to prove its intentions are wholly peaceful.

The UN Security Council last month again ordered Iran to "comply fully and without delay" to demands it stop enrichment, but failed to introduce any new sanctions as sought by the United States and its Western European allies.


Met dank aan:
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2008/10/passing-buck-nato-chief-implies-nato.html

 

Egyptische politie stopt hulpconvooi Moslimbroederschap voor Gazastrook

 

Niet alleen Israel blokkeert Gaza, Egypte doet dat ook, maar om de een of andere reden vinden mensen dat veel minder erg. De oppositie probeert geregeld om de blokkade te breken. Hamas is voortgekomen uit de grootste Egyptische oppositiepartij, de Moslimbroederschap, en beiden zijn ideologisch aan elkaar verwant. Opvallend is dat ook de seculiere Kifaya beweging aan deze protestactie meedeed.

 

Onderstaande artikel uit de Jerusalem Post is door Ami Isseroff van Israel News van enkele aanvullingen voorzien (in vet).

 

RP

---------

Egyptian police stop Muslim Brotherhood aid convoy to gaza.

http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2008/10/egyptian-police-stop-muslim-brotherhood.html

 

Dozens of activists from Egypt's radical opposition Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, were arrested Monday after attempting to send a supply convoy to the blockaded Gaza Strip, the organization and Egyptian security officials said. In a novel twist, the secular Kifaya (enough!) movement had joined forces with the Muslim Brotherhood, perhaps signalling that "liberal democratic" forces in Egypt are no longer so interested in peace with Israel.

Abdel-Fatah Rizq, who was coordinating the convoy for the extremist group, claimed police arrested at least 50 activists when they tried to gather at the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo before making the 200 mile (300 kilometer) journey across the Sinai desert to the border.

"Activists from all over the provinces were planning on joining the convoy on its way through the Sinai to Rafah crossing," said Rizq. The Muslim Brotherhood Website claimed that some activists, including parliament members, slipped through security to reach Rafah on the border.

Police stated that  three members of the Brotherhood were arrested at the Suez Canal Sunday night while trying to reach the border. Other opposition movements had joined the Muslim Brotherhood for their protest and convoy.  In Rafah, another 14 activists from the secular Kifaya movement were arrested while staging a protest.

Organizers decided to halt the convoy in hopes of negotiating the release of the detainees, said Mahmoud el-Khodairy, a convoy coordinator and retired judge.

Sympathy for the Palestinians blockaded in Gaza by Egypt and Israel runs high among Egyptians, and especially the opposition, which periodically attempts to send food and medicine convoys to the border, partly to embarrass the government for its role in the blockade. The Egyptian government prohibits protest against the government, but encourages extremist attacks on Israel and on Jews in government and semi-governmental media. The Muslim Brotherhood was responsible for the murder of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and are natural allies of the Hamas, which is essentially an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

President Hosni Mubarak stated that Egypt would not reopen the crossing as long as Hamas controls Gaza.

"We are still committed to the 2005 agreement," Mubarak was quoted as saying on Monday. He was referring to the agreement under which the Palestinian authority, Israel and EU monitors were supposed to supervise the Rafah crossing.

On Monday, authorities opened the crossing to let 67 Palestinians returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia back into Gaza.

Hamas wrested control of Gaza in June 2007, prompting the blockade by Israel and Egypt and the withdrawal of European monitors. Hamas and sympathizers have spread horror stories about "Gaza under siege," but photos show shops full of merchandize in Gaza.

Public demonstrations, other than those organized by the government,  are not tolerated in Egypt. Thousands of riot police and plainclothes officers surrounded the streets around the syndicate and chased activists into nearby buildings. Several journalists were detained and their cameras were confiscated.

 

 

Bron: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017477029&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

 

Bedoeinen in Negevstad Rahat waarschuwen voor illegale Palestijnen

 

De geschatte 4.000 illegale Palestijnen die in Rahat leven vormen bijna 10% van de bevolking. Het is opmerkelijk dat ze schijnbaar zonder al te veel problemen Israël binnen zijn gekomen. Het verhaal van de schoenenverkoper die elke week vanuit 'openluchtgevangenis' Gaza naar Rahat zou reizen lijkt haast ongeloofwaardig.

 

De illegale migranten vormen onwelkome concurrentie op de arbeidsmarkt, die nogal belabberd is in de meest Bedoeinensteden, maar ze zijn voor Israël vooral een veiligheidsrisico. De Bedoeinen waarschuwen dat er ook terroristen tussen zitten.

 

Wouter

______________

Last update - 04:23 07/10/2008

Bedouins in Negev town decry Palestinian influx

 

By Haaretz Staff
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027038.html

 

 

The Bedouin living in the Negev town of Rahat are worried by the influx of 4,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who are living there illegally, Rahat's mayor said this week.

 

"The residents are worried," Talal al-Karnawi said. "One of the illegal residents could plan a terror attack, and from here he could reach any place in the country."

 

Over the last few years, the Bedouin town has become home to thousands of illegal residents from Gaza, Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus. Many have taken the jobs of Bedouin residents and taken over commerce in the city.
 
But the greatest concern of the residents and mayor is that an illegal resident will turn out to be a terrorist whose actions tarnish Rahat and Bedouin in Israel.

 

"There are quite a few resident complaints about illegal residents involved in crime and theft," said al-Karnawi. "Some of the illegal residents come to provide for their families in a dignified way, but there are some youths who wander around the city and are involved in crime."

 

The mayor said he thinks the illegal Palestinians feel more secure not just in Rahat, but in any Israeli town where Arabs live. "They're simply looking for a city of refuge," he said.

 

Rahat resident Salam al-Hoziel has been speaking out about the illegal-resident phenomenon for a long time, and recently even sent letters on the matter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. The day is not far when that terror attack somewhere in Israel comes, he warns.

 

"They wander around the city, no one knows how many there are, where they come from or what they do at night," he said. "I am warning the State of Israel about their presence in Rahat."

 

According to Abu Sharib Diab, another resident: "I think the state needs to build them houses or tents and place a guard at the entrance. There are terrorists among the illegal residents, and we're scared they'll sully the name of Rahat."

 

But Rahat residents aren't concerned solely by the possibility of terrorism. Businessmen in the town say they have suffered heavy losses recently because the illegal residents smuggle goods into Rahat, damaging the economy.

 

"Some of the illegal residents deal with trade, and they are bothering us," said Sami Gafar, who owns a shoe stall in Rahat. "The police know, but aren't cleaning out the city. They sell things on the cheap and destroy my livelihood."

 

Next to Rahat's market stalls sits Abed, an illegal resident who travels to the Bedouin town from Gaza every week to sell shoes. He said he makes NIS 150 a day and sends the money to his family to help ease their financial woes. Then there is Issa, an illegal resident from Hebron who has been selling toys in the Rahat market for more than six years.

 

Authorities blame Rahat residents who take advantage of the illegal residents, pay them slave wages and form business connections with them, which leads them to stay.

 

 

Joodse lobby in VS verantwoordelijk voor financiële crisis (volgens Hamas)

 

Bij elke financiële crisis, of andere crisis in Europa, kregen de Joden de schuld. De nazi's weten de depressie in Duitsland in de jaren '30 aan de Joden, aangezien zij de macht in de financiële wereld in handen zouden hebben. Nu beschuldigt Hamas het 'Internationale Finanzjudentum', sorry, de Joodse lobby, ervan de financiële crisis in de VS te hebben veroorzaakt.

Hoezo is Hamas slechts tegen Israël of zelfs slechts tegen de bezetting en de blokkade van Gaza? Hoezo hebben antisemitisme en antizionisme niks met elkaar te maken? Dit is niet de eerste keer dat Hamas zijn ware gezicht toont, en laat zien dat het nog volledig achter haar handvest staat.

 

RP

-----------

Last update - 13:24 07/10/2008

Hamas: Jewish Lobby in U.S. to blame for global financial crisis

 

By News Agencies and Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027306.html

 

 

The Hamas militant group on Tuesday accused the United States Jewish Lobby for fomenting the global financial crisis.

 

The crisis was the result of "bad administrative and financial management and a bad banking system put into place and controlled by the Jewish lobby," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement.

 

Barhum said that despite approving a bailout plan of $700 billion dollars, the U.S. government was ignoring the role of "the Jewish lobby that put the U.S. banking and financial sector into place."
 
This lobby, said Barhum, "controls the U.S. elections and defines the foreign policy of any new administration in a manner that allows it to retain control of the American government and economy."

 

The Anti-Defamation League reported last week a major upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic postings on the Internet relating to the financial crisis engulfing the United States.

 

The Jewish-American organization cited hundreds of posts regarding the bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers and other institutions affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.

 

The messages railed against Jews in general, with some charging that Jews control the U.S. government and finance as part of a "Jew world order" and therefore are to blame for the economic turmoil.

 

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said: "We know from modern history that whenever there is a downturn in the global economy, there will be an upturn in the level of anti-Semitism and bigotry, and that is what we are seeing now."

 

Voortzetting rechtzaak Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury in Bangladesh

 

De nachtmerrie voor de Bengaalse journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is nog steeds niet ten einde. Zijn misdrijven: hij waarschuwde tegen de radikale islam en predikte verzoening met Israël, waar hij in 2003 heen wou reizen om op een schrijverssymposium in Tel Aviv te spreken. Dat was verboden, want Bangladesh beschouwt Israël als een 'vijandige staat'. Waarom eigenlijk? De regering van Bangladesh erkent Israëls bestaansrecht niet, maar ze hebben nooit oorlog gevoerd of elkaar (bij mijn weten) de oorlog verklaard. De aanklacht tegen Choudhury heeft een hoog Kafka gehalte.

 

Voor het laatste nieuws omtrend zijn rechtzaak zie de speciale website Free Choudhury.

 

Wouter

 

 

Eerdere berichten over Choudhury en oproepen om brieven te schrijven:

13 okt. 2006: Bangladesh Journalist Choudhury on Trial for Supporting Israel

april 2007: Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury: dissident in Bangladesh

aug. 2007: Moslim Zionist Shoaib Choudhury uit Bangladesh

aug. 2008: Petition for Journalist Salah Choudhury in Bangladesh

_________________________

Trial of moderate Muslim in Bangladesh goes on

http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2008/10/trial-of-moderate-muslim-in-bangladesh.html

 

Bangladesh journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is  on trial for his life, essentially because he spoke out against radical Islam. He was caught trying to travel to Israel, an "enemy" state. This "offence" carries a maximum jail sentence of six months. But Bangladesh radicals cooked up a stew of charges against him including treason and a court system sympathetic to the radicals has dragged the trial on for almost 5 years. The nature of the "trial" and the justice he is likely to get in Bangladesh is illustrated by the latest episode in Kafkaesque Bangladesh justice.

 

Ami Isseroff

_________________________

 

Dhaka: October 5, 2008

 

Officer in Charge in Bangladesh Police and plaintiff and investigation officer in the Sedition, Treason and Blasphemy charges brought against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Mohammed Abdul Hanif told the court of Metropolitan Session Judge, Mohammed Azizul Huq that Israel is an enemy state of Bangladesh.

Abdul Hanif was cross examined on Sunday by the counsel of Mr. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, senior advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court, Advocate Samarendra Nath Goswami, who is also the Secretary General of Bangladesh Minority Lawyer's Association [BMLA].

Counsel for Mr. Choudhury informed the court that, after arresting him on November 29 2003, he took him on remand and tortured him mercilessly and conspired to kill him in extra judicial killing. Once failed in this attempt he [Hanif] sent Shoaib Choudhury in the Cell 14 in Dhaka Central Jail [which is for mentally insane people and conspired to get him killed by the mentally insane people. Then he [Shoaib] was sent to Cell # 15, which is for hardened criminals where Hanif once again tried to get him killed through hired hooligans.

Mohammed Abdul Hanif has been assigned by the Bangladeshi government to be the plaintiff as well the investigation officer in the case, which is very irregular.

 

 

Syrië viert 35ste verjaardag van Yom Kippoer Oorlog

 

In deze 'bevrijdingsoorlog' werd niet veel bevrijd: aan het einde ervan was Israel op beide fronten dieper Arabisch land binnengedrongen en stond op 20 mijl van Damascus. Syrië heeft na 35 jaar nog steeds de Golan hoogvlakte niet terug, een gebied dat tot 1923 bij het Britse Mandaatgebied voor Palestina hoorde.

Dergelijke vieringen van de Arabische 'overwinning' van 1973 vinden jaarlijks plaats in zowel Syrië als Egypte, en doen sterk denken aan de geschiedvervalsing in de vroegere Sovjet-Unie, om niet te zeggen aan George Orwell.

 

RP

-------------

Syria celebrates the 35th anniversary of October Liberation War

 

Monday, October 06, 2008 - 03:35 PM
www. sana.sy/eng/21/2008/10/06/195313.htm

 

DAMASCUS, (SANA -Syrian news agency)-Syria on Monday celebrated the 35th anniversary of October Liberation War which broke out on the 6th of October, 1973 by the Syrian and Egyptian armies against the Israeli occupation forces in Golan and Sina'a to  liberate the occupied Arab lands.

On this occasion, the Syrian army with its different land, air and maritime units participated in the celebrations of  the glorious anniversary by holding mass ceremonies and delivering speeches that commemorate the heroic struggle of our soldiers.

The Army top officers talked about the just and comprehensive peace that Syria aspires in the region according to the UN relevant resolutions, the peace that restores the land and rights to their real owners.

This war was in fact a turning-point in the Arab-Israeli conflict which consolidated the principle of linking peace and stability in the region to the end of Israeli occupation of the Arab lands. The liberation war proved the Arab's capability of taking the initiative and defending themselves.

Today, after 35 years of the war, Syria is still a basic and main factor in outlining the region's future and finding solutions to the Middle East problems. This was proved by the latest developments and events in the region where Syria has been able to break the US attempts to isolate Syria and cancel its pivotal role.

Syria is still committed to achieve the just and comprehensive peace that guarantees restoration of the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem into the line of June 4th, 1967.

The Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan to that line and realization of peace are two strategic options and national priorities for Syria. and in order to consolidate security and stability in the region, Syria has entered into indirect peace talks with Israel under Turkish mediation in a bid to reach the aspired peace.

Mazen


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

IDF en Israëlische politie coördineren Palestijnse olijfoogst met PA

 

In het verleden hebben extremistische Joodse kolonisten herhaaldelijk geprobeerd om de olijfoogst van de Palestijnen te saboteren. Het IDF doet er gelukkig alles aan om dit te voorkomen.

 

Wouter

__________

 

October 5th, 2008 IDF Spokesperson

Security Forces Prepare for the Olive Harvest Season

 

The IDF in coordination with the Civil Administration and the Israeli Police are preparing for the forthcoming olive harvesting season in the Judea and Samaria area, which will take place during the months of October through December.

As a part of these preparations, meetings have been held between Civil Administration personnel and their Palestinian colleagues. The meetings included representatives of the various villages in the region, as well as important figures from the Palestinian Authority (PA) including the PA Olive Oil Department, and were held in order to coordinate a schedule for the harvest. In addition, Israeli security forces authorized the plan for the harvest, during which they will provide security, after conducting security assessments.

Permits to harvest olives in the seam zone have been granted to approximately 3,000 Palestinian workers for the duration of the harvest. Accordingly, the agricultural gates, which allow Palestinian workers to enter the olive groves in the zone, will remain open for longer hours than usual.

In general, access to most of olive growing regions in Judea and Samaria will not require coordination with the IDF and Civil Administration. However, as a result of experience from recent years and due to the prevailing security conditions, entry into certain limited areas during the harvest must be coordinated with the IDF and Civil Administration.

In addition, Israeli civilians will not be permitted to enter particular olive growing areas, in order to prevent friction. Representatives of the Civil Administration, Israel Police and IDF will be present in these areas.

This year, as in the past, various Israeli non-profit aid organizations are expected to be extensively involved in the Palestinian olive harvest. Representatives of the Civil Administration have met with representatives of these organizations and agreed on guidelines for their activity during the olive harvest.

The IDF, the Civil Administration and the Israeli Police will continue to strive in order to create conditions for the Palestinian population to lead normal daily lives, while continuing to fight terrorism and ensuring the security of the citizens of Israel.


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

Hezbollah niet onder de indruk van Israëlisch dreigement

 

Een Israëlische generaal dreigende onlangs hard terug te zullen slaan als Hezbollah weer vanuit zuid-Libanon raketten op Israël afschiet. De ondanks VN-resoluties en UNIFIL volop herstelde militaire capaciteit van Hezbollah maakt Israël nerveus, zeker in combinatie met de groeiende Iraanse dreiging. De kans lijkt niet groot dat Hezbollah binnenkort een nieuwe oorlog zal uitlokken, maar als Iran inderdaad atoomwapens ontwikkelt liggen de kaarten weer anders. Israël zal zich deze dubbele dreiging niet kunnen veroorloven, en voordien tenminste één van beiden moeten uitschakelen.

 

Wouter

____________

 

Hizbullah says Israel a cardboard state

 

In interview with UAE newspaper, senior Lebanese organization member declares Jewish state 'will be destroyed by resistance fighters.' Responding to Northern Command chief's threats, he says 'Israel is frustrated over internal problems and is incapable of launching a new war'

 

Roee Nahmias
Published:  10.05.08, 09:28

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605259,00.html

 

 

Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkot's recent declarations in a Yedioth Ahronoth interview, that the Israel Defense Forces would respond in a disproportionate manner against villages from which Hizbullah fires missiles into Israel, have apparently not caused panic in the Lebanese organization.

A senior group member responded to the statements with contempt, saying he did not fear Israel's threats.
 
In an interview published Sunday in the United Arab Emirates-based al-Ittihad newspaper, the Hizbullah member said his organization was on the alert. He referred to Israel as "a cardboard country which will be destroyed by the resistance fighters, who achieved the grand victory against the entity robbing Palestine's land in the years 2000 and 2006."

 

He added that his organization does not believe Israel will launch an attack against Lebanon. "Israel is frustrated by many internal problems and is incapable of launching a new war against Lebanon," he said.

He went on to say that Major-General Eisenkot's remarks were a "media war."

The senior Hizbullah member repeated remarks made by his leader, Hassan Nasrallah, that whether Israel send five or eight divisions to Lebanon – they will all be destroyed.

 

Eisenkot told Yedioth Ahronoth that the next war, if and when it breaks out, must be determined fast, forcefully, and without being concerned about the global public opinion.

"We have the ability to do this. I have great power in relation to what we had before. I have no excuse not to fulfill the goals I am tasked with," he said.

"Hizbullah understand very well that firing from villages will lead to their destruction. Before Nasrallah issues an order to fire at Israel, he will have to think 30 times if he wants to destroy his basis of support in the villages. It's not a theoretic thing with him. The possibility of hurting the population is Nasrallah's main restraint and the reason for the calm in the past two years."

He noted that Israel's armament scope has grown hundredfold since the Second Lebanon War, more than two years ago.

Hizbullah brigades in Palestine?
The London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Sunday that a new Palestinian organization, "The Hizbullah Brigades in Palestine," has announced its establishment.

  
According to a statement issued by the group, its members are dissidents of other Palestinian organizations aimed at "fighting the occupation." The organization claims to be a Sunni movement with no ties to Lebanon's Hizbullah, saying its goal is "jihad in the name of Allah and a war on the enemies of Islam."

The organization also said it will work "for the national Palestinian interest." The newspaper noted that the reliability of the statement could not be determined.

 

*** Balanced Middle East News ***
MidEastweb http://www.mideastweb.org
Subscribe - mail to mewnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

MewBkd - Background & analysis -
mail to Mewbkd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

News Letter -  our commentary -
mail to mideastweb-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

IDF vindt pijpbommen bij controle aan checkpoint

 

Daarom kan Israel niet zomaar alle checkpoints opheffen.....

RP

------------

IDF thwarts smuggling of pipe bombs

 

Alertness of soldiers stationed at Hawara checkpoint prevents terror attack. Two pipe bombs found in Palestinian man's parcel detonated in controlled manner; no injuries reported

 

Efrat Weiss - YNET

Published: 10.05.08, 12:08
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605399,00.html

 

Troop's alertness prevents terror attack: Two pipe bombs were found Sunday morning in a parcel carried by a Palestinian man upon his arrival at the Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus.

The explosive devices were detonated in a controlled manner, without causing any injuries.

The Palestinian arrived at the checkpoint in possession of a bag which raised the soldiers' suspicion. A sapper dispatched to the area found two small pipe bombs in the parcel and detonated them in a controlled manner.

The Palestinian was taken in for questioning by security forces.

About two weeks ago, a Palestinian youth was arrested at the checkpoint after pulling out a 10-centimeter (4-inch) knife and attempting to stab a soldier. The soldier cocked his weapon, and the terrorist let go of the knife.

Two days earlier, a Palestinian woman poured acid on a soldier stationed at the same checkpoint. The soldier was lightly to moderately injured and may lose eyesight in one of his eyes.

The woman was detained for questioning. She was believed to be the same woman who hurled an acidic substance on a soldier at the checkpoint two weeks earlier.

 

 

Kolonistenleiders moedigen geweld aan op Westoever

 

'Incitement' (opruiing, stemmingmakerij, ophitsing) is één van de ernstige problemen in de Palestijnse gebieden waarvoor te weinig aandacht is. Die incitement komt vaak van de (officiële) Palestijnse media, van 'verzets' organisaties en imams, maar ook aan Israelische kant van kolonistenleiders en rabbi's. Het IDF beschermt de Joodse nederzettingen zowel als Israël zelf tegen Palestijns geweld, maar beschermt ook Palestijnen tegen geweld door radicale kolonisten. Dat geweld neemt de laatste tijd schrikbarend toe en richt zich ook tegen het IDF zelf.

 

Wouter

_____________

IDF West Bank commander: Rightist violence encouraged by settler leaders

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1025585.html

By Amos Harel
Last update - 04:52 02/10/2008


Israel Defense Forces GOC Central Command Major General Gadi Shamni has leveled harsh criticism against extremist West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinians and IDF soldiers in recent weeks.

In an interview with Haaretz over the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Shamni said the radical behavior among rightists has grown in light of encouragement they receive from the settler leadership, rabbis and public. As the officer heading Central Command, Shamni is responsible for the entire West Bank.

"There has been a rise in Jewish violence in Judea and Samaria. In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds. That's a very significant change. These hundreds are engaged in conspiratorial actions against Palestinians and the security forces. It's a very grave phenomenon," he said.

 

In recent weeks, settlers have let a dog loose on an IDF reserves company commander, broke the hand of a deputy battalion commander and punctured the car tires of a reserve soldier. In Hebron, a Golani Brigade officer was attacked after trying to prevent Jewish children from hurling stones at Palestinians.

"What does a reserve soldier say who comes to protect Israeli citizens and discovers that masked Jewish youths have punctured the tires of his vehicle?" Shamni asked during the interview.

"And this happens today, when Judea and Samaria is a relatively secure area. The roads are open. There is friction [with Palestinians], but the feeling of the Jewish population overall is excellent," he said.

"The majority of people here act normally. We're talking about a hard core of a few hundred activists among some 300,000 Jews who live beyond the Green Line. But what this bunch does is causing tremendous damage, both to the image of the IDF and to the state of Israel," he added.

"This is harming our ability to carry out security missions in the territories. We have to divert our efforts to there from other issues. The margins [in the settler community] are expanding, because they are enjoying a tailwind and the backing of part of the leadership, both rabbinical and public, whether in explicit statements or tacitly."

 

 

Iraanse preek: 'VS gestraft door God met economische crisis'

Hoe ongelukkiger de Amerikanen, en hoe slechter het hun vergaat, hoe gelukkiger wij zijn, aldus Ayatollah Jannati. Met zulke ideeën is het logisch dat Iran zoveel investeert in de promotie van haat en geweld en zo weinig in het ledigen van de noden van de eigen bevolking. Onterecht zegt hij dat de Amerikanen gelukkiger worden van Iraans ongeluk. Dit geldt wellicht wat betreft Iraans verdorven leiders, niet voor de bevolking.  

RP

--------------
 
Special Dispatch | No. 2070 | October 3, 2008
Iran

 

Ayatollah Jannati In Iran Friday Sermon: U.S. Economic Woes 'Divine Punishment' – 'The Unhappier They [Americans] Become, The Happier We Get'; 'Americans Should Wait To Be Slapped In The Face By Islam, Muslims, And The Islamic Revolution'


In his October 3, 2008 Friday sermon at the Tehran University campus, Iranian Guardian Council secretary and interim Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said that Iran's enemies had targeted its economy, and that the U.S.'s economic crisis was "divine punishment" that had made Iranians very happy. Calling the U.S. presence on the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders a problem that "cannot be ignored." He said that Americans could expect to be "slapped in the face by Islam, Muslims, and the Islamic Revolution," and concluded his sermon by saying that since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, "drugs are being produced and distributed under U.S. supervision."(1)
  
To view the MEMRI TV page for Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, visit http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/487.htm  .

 

Jannati: Iran Enemy Tactics Target Iranian Economy, Pit Sunnis Against Shi'ites, Undermine Iranian Officials

According to a report by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Interim Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said today in his sermon that Iran's enemies have targeted its economy in vain hopes of countering the Islamic Republic.
  
IRNA said that Jannati told worshipers at the Tehran University campus that the enemies are bent on fanning economic crisis and problems, in a bid to confront Iran. He said that other enemy tactics included dividing Shi'ites and Sunnis and pitting Sunnis against Sunnis or Shi'ites against Shi'ites, and added that this policy is being pursued mostly in Iran and Iraq but also in other Muslim states.
  
Another enemy strategy, Jannati said, was distorting the image of Iranian officials. "They wish to undermine those who are backing the public and are trusted by them."
    
"We Are Happy That The U.S. Economy Has Come Across Difficulty... The Unhappier They Become, The Happier We Get"

 

Of the U.S.'s recent economic woes, Jannati said, "We are happy that the U.S. economy has come across difficulty. They are attesting unfavorable consequences of their conducts. They are experiencing divine punishment. We are happy over that. The unhappier they become, the happier we get, as they become happy as we get unhappy."

"Americans Should Wait To Be Slapped In The Face By Islam, Muslims, And The Islamic Revolution"
  
Jannati called the U.S. presence on the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders a problem that "cannot be ignored," saying, "They invade forcefully, refuse to observe any boundary, and are not committed to anything. They attack anywhere they wish; they kill anybody they want and consider anywhere as their property. Americans should wait to be slapped in the face by Islam, Muslims, and the Islamic Revolution."
  
In another part of his speech, Ayatollah Jannati hailed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his recent successful visit to the U.S. and speech at the U.N. General Assembly. "Anybody bravely raising the Islamic Republic and Revolutionary stances at the U.N. authoritatively and proudly, naming God, reciting the Koran, and citing the things that nobody dares to cite is worth admiration," he added.
  
He said that Ahmadinejad's announcement of support for the oppressed and for trying the U.S. for injustices it has committed, as well as his outlining if Iran's clear stances on Israel, are valuable subjects which deserve to be set as a precedent. He added that "Iranian ambassadors should honor the stance anywhere and should not show any weakness." 

"Drugs Are Being Produced And Distributed Under U.S. Supervision"

 

To end his sermon, Ayatollah Jannati said that since the occupation of Afghanistan by the U.S., poppy cultivation has increased several times over, and drugs are being produced and distributed under U.S. supervision.

 

 

Endnote:
(1) IRNA (Iran), October 3, 2008.  

========================
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org | www.memritv.org | www.thememriblog.org  

 

'Hezbollah Brigades' nieuwe Palestijnse verzetsgroep

 

Een nieuwe gewapende groep, dat kunnen de Palestijnen goed gebruiken. De beste remedie tegen onafhankelijkheid, vrijheid en een eigen staat.

 

"death to Israel, and death to the United States."

 

 

RP

----------------------
 

New military group calling themselves "Hizbullah Brigades" to begin operation

 

Date: 04 / 10 / 2008  Time:  14:03
www. maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32309

 

Bethlehem - Ma'an - A new military group calling themselves the Hizbullah Brigades will begin operating in the Palestinian areas as a force against occupation, according to a Saturday statement.

The group will be made up of fighters from several other resistance factions that the statement accuses of "abandoning resistance." Their stated aims are to "fight the enemies of Islam," in the interests of the Palestinian national project.

"We are a new Islamic Sunni group which has nothing to do with the political process," said the statement, "but we will not contradict with public Palestinian interests."

With regards to the group's ties with Hizbullah in Lebanon, the statement asserted that the group follows Hizbullah's steps in resistance, but has no ties with the Lebanese Hizbullah. "All we have in common is Islam and our admiration of their resistance methods," the statement explained.

The group stressed in their statement that they would not be involved in the ongoing inter-Palestinian rivalry. They also pledged to adopt the case of political prisoners, detained by factions in the West Bank and Gaza as one of their top priorities.

The statement concluded with a slogan used by Lebanese Hizbullah; "death to Israel, and death to the United States."

Noord-Korea leverde atoomtechnologie aan 6 landen Midden-Oosten

 

Bij de Syrische reactor die Israel vorig jaar bombardeerde waren Noord-Koreanen aanwezig, een duidelijk teken dat Syrie technologie of materiaal van Noord-Korea had ontvangen. Het feit dat Syrië zelf dit bombardement lang geheim hield, en hier geen groot punt van heeft gemaakt in de VN, lijkt verder bewijs dat inderdaad van een kernreactor sprake was. De bewering dat 6 landen in het Midden-Oosten atoomtechnologie van Noord-Korea hebben ontvangen, is dan ook zeker niet denkbeeldig.

 

Volgens sommigen is het hypocriet dat Israel, dat zelf kernwapens bezit, anderen wat dit betreft de les leest. Vergeten wordt dat Israel vanaf zijn stichting door de Arabische landen wordt bedreigd en meermaals is aangevallen. Zonder militair overwicht zouden Egypte en Jordanië hoogstwaarschijnlijk geen vrede met Israel hebben gesloten, en momenteel wordt het direct bedreigd door Iran. Israel op zijn beurt bedreigt geen enkel land in haar bestaansrecht. Kernwapens in de handen van instabiele landen, waar fundamentalistische moslims de macht hebben of mogelijk in de toekomst krijgen, zijn om meer dan een reden zeer gevaarlijk. Niemand moet toch denken aan kernwapens of massavernietigingswapens in handen van Hezbollah of Al Qaida.

 

RP

------------ 

Israel: North Korea supplying weapons to six Mideast states

 

By Reuters

Last update - 15:08 04/10/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026281.html

 

Israel accused North Korea on Saturday of providing weapons of mass destruction to at least six countries in the Middle East that ignored arms-control commitments.

Israel's delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spoke as the 145-nation assembly of the United Nations nuclear watchdog adopted a resolution unanimously urging North Korea to reverse steps it has taken to revive its dormant atom bomb program.

Israel itself is the target of two hotly disputed Arab-sponsored draft resolutions in the assembly urging it to give up its alleged nuclear arms monopoly in the Middle East, join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and accept full IAEA inspections.

Israel said there were six Middle Eastern countries which had obtained the means [to] produce doomsday weapons and ballistic missiles covertly from North Korea while ignoring commitments as members of the NPT and other arms-control regimes.

"At a time when the international community concentrates on North Korea's nuclear activities and its non-compliance with safeguards agreements, the Middle East is at the receiving end of North Korea's reckless practices," Israeli envoy David Danieli told the global meeting in Vienna.

"North Korea has long become a source of proliferation of dangerous weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles in the Middle East," he said.

"At least half a dozen countries in the region who do not even pay lip service to control regimes and are acting in bad faith regarding their stated policy and their undertakings regarding non-proliferation conventions have become eager recipients of North Korea mostly through black market and covert network channels," Danieli said, but did not name the six nations.

Western intelligence officials and non-proliferation experts have said that Iran, Syria, Libya and Iraq under Saddam Hussein were believed to have received North Korean military aid, some applicable to mass-destruction weaponry, in the past.

"No due attention is paid to this dark aspect of North Korean behavior which has become a matter of great concern to my government and others," Danieli said.

He said there was growing evidence that such states were "emulating the dangerous unlawful practices" of North Korea, which left the NPT in 2003 and developed atom bombs.

"[We] call the attention of the international community to these dangerous developments and their consequences," he said.
Iran is under IAEA investigation over intelligence allegations of secret atomic bomb research. Syria is under IAEA scrutiny over U.S. reports it had nearly completed a plutonium-producing reactor before Israeli warplanes bombed the site a year ago.

Iran and Syria, adversaries of Israel, deny the allegations. Libya scrapped a covert nuclear arms program in 2003.

U.S. envoy Chris Hill ended three days of meetings in North Korea on Friday meant to salvage the collapsing denuclearization deal, calling the talks substantive but not saying if he swayed Pyongyang to give up plans to restart its nuclear complex.

The resolution passed by the IAEA assembly underlined the need for denuclearization fully verifiable by IAEA inspectors - a demand resisted by Pyongyang and at the heart of disputes that have crippled its denuclearization deal with five powers.

PA alert voor Hamas overname Westoever

 

Hamas nam de macht over in Gaza omdat het alleenherschappij wilde, al had het in de verkiezingen geen absolute meerderheid van stemmen behaald (door een soort districtenstelsel had zij wel de absolute meerderheid in afgevaardigden). Sinds enige tijd staat Fatah in peilingen op een flinke voorsprong, ook in de Gazastrook. Het is bovendien niet erg democratisch dat een militaire organisatie tegelijk politieke partij is en als zodanig aan de verkiezingen deelneemt, en dit druist in tegen de Oslo vredesakkoorden, waarin Palestijnse verkiezingen worden geregeld. Het valt de VS aan te rekenen dat zij aandrong op verkiezingen waaraan Hamas deelnam, zonder de voorwaarde te stellen dat zij zich tot een ware politieke partij omvormt en de militaire tak afstoot.

 

RP

--------

Last update - 15:38 04/10/2008

Palestinian Authority on alert for Hamas takeover of West Bank

 

By DPA
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026283.html

 

 

Palestinian security forces in the West Bank have taken measures to prevent killings of leaders of the Palestinian Authority and its political power base, Fatah party, by the Islamic group Hamas, a pan-Arab newspaper reported on Saturday.

The London-based daily al-Sharq al-Awsat quoted Hamas members in West Bank as saying that the Islamists plan to take over the PA-ruled West Bank in the same way they took control of the Gaza Strip last year.

"The oppression that the security services put on us will not last for long," a Hamas supporter was quoted as saying, referring to the Fatah crackdowns on Hamas members in the West Bank.

The source added that security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "have not learned their lesson from what happened in Gaza."

Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and seized control of the salient in reaction, Hamas claims, to attempts by Abbas' U.S.- and Israeli-backed Fatah movement to prevent Hamas from ruling after the Islamist party won parliamentary elections.

The Gaza Strip and West Bank became politically separate entities, with the two warring sides cracking down on their opponents.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader, based in Gaza, said the crackdown by pro-Abbas forces against Hamas members in the West Bank "will backfire."

 

 

Israëli's verdeeld over komend Amerikaans radar station in Negev

 

Als dit radarstation er alleen maar komt om Israel tegen Iran te helpen beschermen, waarom krijgt het dan geen directe toegang tot alle gegevens? En waarom worden Israelische technici niet getraind om het radar te bemensen? Is dit radar een sympathieke geste van een bondgenoot of een ideale manier voor de VS om een aantal landen te bespioneren?

 

RP

-----------

 

Israelis Wary of a US Radar Base in the Negev

 

By Tim McGirk and Aaron J. Kein/Jerusalem TIME Magazine

Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008
www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1846749,00.html

 

When a contingent of U.S. soldiers opens a radar facility on a mountaintop in the Negev desert next month, Israel will for the first time in its 60-year history have a permanent foreign military base on its soil. And despite the early warning that the American radar would provide if Iran launches a missile attack on Israel, some senior Israeli officials are nonetheless wary about its presence. Complained one top official, "It's a like a pair of golden handcuffs on Israel."

From its mountain perch in Har Keren, the U.S. radar will be able to monitor the take-off of any aircraft or missile up to 1,500 miles away - giving Israel a vital extra 60-70 seconds to react if Iran fired a missile, Israeli military sources told TIME. Israel has its own radar system trained on Iran, but it's range is much shorter. Still, some see several drawbacks for Israel in the radar, and blame Defense Minister Ehud Barak for requesting its deployment in Israel without consulting anyone other than his chief of staff. Some in the upper echelons of the Israeli Defense Force fear that although the radar will enhance Israel's protection against Iran, it may also open up Israel's own military secrets to the Americans.

The radar will allow the U.S. to keep a close watch on anything moving in Israeli skies, "even a bee", says one top Israeli official who asked not to be identified. The U.S. may be a close ally, but Israel nonetheless has aviation secrets it would rather not share. "Even a husband and wife have a few things they'd like to keep from each other," explains this source. "Now we're standing without our clothes on in front of America."

Israel will have no direct access to the data collected by the radar, which looks like a giant taco. It will only be fed intelligence second hand, on a need-to-know basis, from the Americans - unless the radar picks up an immediate, direct attack on Israel, Israeli sources claim. And Israeli officials expressed concern that the radar's installation may anger Moscow, since its range will enable the U.S. to monitor aircraft in the skies over southern Russia. When the U.S. stationed anti-missile radar and interceptor systems in Poland and the Czech Republic - ostensibly directed at a future Iranian threat, although the Russians believe their own missile capability is its real target - Moscow warned those countries that the move could result in their being added to the target list of Russia's missiles.

Israeli military sources say that Barak requested the radar from U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in July, after U.S. requests to station such a system in Turkey and Jordan were rejected. Barak was eager to acquire the advantage of the early warning that the system would provide in the event of a possible Iranian attack. But with the Russians already peeved at Israel for having had military advisers inside Georgia when war broke out over South Ossetia, the radar's deployment in Israel, say officials, might make Moscow even more likely to supply Iran and Syria with its highly-accurate SA300 anti-aircraft missile batteries.

The top-secret X-band radar will be staffed by around 120 American technicians and security guards in the Negev, say Israeli military sources. But Israeli planning and air force officials are perturbed that Defense Minister Barak did not carry out any evaluation of the radar's possible impact on Israeli military operations before approving it. For one thing, Israeli defense experts are worried that waves from the X-band radar might throw off the accuracy of a new Gil anti-tank missile also being tested in the Negev. "The Bush Administration is in the mood to give us anything, as long as we don't attack Iran," gripes one senior official. "So why did we take this radar?"

 

 

Gewelddadige confrontatie tussen activisten en kolonisten bij Hebron

 

Het lijkt erop dat dit soort gewelddadigheden toenemen, en extremisten van beide kanten steeds aggressiever worden.

RP

-------------

Leftist suspected of assaulting rightist's wife

 

Extreme right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir claims left-wing activist shoved his wife, baby to ground during clash in Hebron. Leftists: They beat us

 

Efrat Weiss - YNET

Published: 10.03.08, 14:17
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3604857,00.html

 

Violent clash in Hebron: Police on Friday detained for questioning a left-wing activist suspected of assaulting the wife of extreme right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir.

At around 11 am, dozens of left-wing activists and Palestinians arrived at an olive grove in the West Bank city of Hebron and clashed with settlers.
Police forces were present at the area.

Shortly afterwards, one of the leftists reportedly approached Ayala Ben Gvir, grabbed her hand and shoved her to the ground while she was holding her baby girl. The two were not hurt.

A violent confrontation erupted, with members of the Jewish settlement beating the left-wing activists. Palestinians smuggled the suspect into one of the houses, prompting the settlers to encircle the house and announce they would not be leaving the area until the man is arrested.

The police eventually decided to detain the leftist for questioning, and the settlers left the area.

Itamar Ben-Gvir said following the incident, "The assault of my wife Ayala is a new level of provocation by the leftists, who are treated with mercy by the police.

"I find it hard to describe what would have happened if my baby and wife had been hurt. If the police fail to deal with them, we will be forced to handle the rioters as we did today," he warned.

The Palestinians and left-wing activists presented a different version, saying they were attacked by a group of settlers, headed by the Ben-Gvir couple, upon arriving at the olive grove which is located on Palestinian land.

"They beat us. Ben-Gvir hit Abdel Karim Jabari in the hand, as did his wife," 28-year-old Hebron resident Issa Amer told Ynet.

 

Roee Nahmias contributed to this report

Syrië weigert IAEA inspecteurs op militaire lokaties

 

Een kleine ramp is gelukkig afgewend: Syrië heeft zijn kandidatuur voor het Internationaal Atoomagentschap ingetrokken, ten gunste van Afghanistan. Syrië weigert intussen de IAEA onderzoek te laten doen naar een mogelijk geheim atoomprogramma, al zegt het aan dit onderzoek mee te werken.

 

RP

-----------

Syria declares its military sites off-limits to IAEA inspectors

 

Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST

Oct. 3, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017450309&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Syria pledged Friday to cooperate with a UN probe of allegations it had a hidden nuclear program that could be harnessed to make weapons but said its military sites would remain off limits - a condition that could hamstring the investigations.

The International Atomic Energy Agency - the UN nuclear monitor - already visited Syria in June to examine a site bombed last year by Israel. The US says the site was a nearly finished plutonium-producing reactor.

But diplomats familiar with the issue say requests for further visits that would include on-site inspections of three other locations allegedly linked to the reactor were turned down by Syria after the initial trip. Then - as on Friday - Syria argued that to allow access would compromise the country's military secrets.

"We would like to underline that my government is cooperating with the agency in full transparency," Ibrahim Othman, the head of Syria's nuclear program, told a 145-nation IAEA meeting. "However, this cooperation will not be in any way at the expense of disclosing our military sites or causing a threat to our national security."

Any refusal by Syria to permit visits to the suspected sites could spell the end of the IAEA's investigation. Initial results of environmental samples taken at the bombed site by IAEA experts have shown no nuclear link. But that was anticipated - US intelligence said the Syrians had not yet introduced radioactive material into the facility and the Damascus spent months cleaning up the site and encasing it in concrete before allowing the IAEA to visit.

Othman on Friday also challenged Israel to throw open its nuclear facilities to the IAEA. Arab nations repeatedly make that demand of Israel - which is widely believed to have nuclear arms but has a "no comment" policy on the issue.

The meeting - the IAEA's general conference - is expected to formally touch on the issue before it ends Saturday, likely by voting on two resolutions critical of Israel for refusing to join the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and open its program to IAEA inspection.

Another volatile topic - Syria's bid for a seat on the decision-making board of the IAEA - was defused Friday, when Syria decided to withdraw and cede the position to Afghanistan, the US-backed candidate from the Middle East South Asian region.

Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the meeting, said the decision was made to avoid a divisive vote at the meeting, which normally reaches decisions by consensus. But with any vote to be decided by secret ballot, some participants at the meeting suggested they Syrians feared they might lose.

 

 

Ayatollah Khamenei: 'Iran steunt Palestijnen en Hamas, Israël zal ondergaan'

 

Ondertussen nemen de binnenlandse problemen toe, en moet Iran steeds meer brandstof (!) importeren om in de groeiende behoefte te kunnen voorzien. In plaats van wat aan de werkloosheid, armoede en drugsproblematiek te doen, haalt men maar weer eens naar Israel uit. De Palestijnen worden daar uiteraard niet beter van, en op een heilige oorlog van de islam tegen Israel zitten weinigen te wachten, maar iets anders heeft Ayatollah Khamenei zijn volk niet te bieden.

 

RP

------------

Supreme Leader Pledges Support for Palestinians

 

Fars News Agency 1 October 2008
http://english. farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8707100355

 

TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei pledged Iranian support for the Palestinians and the Hamas government.

During his Eid ul-Fitr sermons Wednesday, the Leader called out to Hamas' prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh, saying Iran will not abandon the Palestinians.

He said that Iran will stand beside the Hamas government in Gaza and that Israel is weakening and on the path to eventual destruction.

Ayatollah Khamenei called Haniyeh, a "mujahed", or holy warrior, saying "the Iranian nation will never let you be alone."

He said Israel "has weakened day by day ... Today, officials of the Zionist regime acknowledge that they are moving towards weakness, destruction and defeat."

"Definitely, the world of Islam will see that day and hope the existing generation of the Palestinian people will watch the day Palestine is at the disposal of the Palestinian people, in the hands of the landlords," the Supreme Leader said.

He also said Muslims worldwide are united against Israel.

"The resistance of the brave Palestinian people is one of the most important factors behind the world's support for them. Palestinians have proved that they deserve to be called a vital Muslim nation," the Leader added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Islamic world has been awakened and is on alert about Palestine.

"Today, the Islamic world is becoming more sensitive and motivated about the Palestinian issue in comparison with 60 years ago when the enormous catastrophe occurred," he said.

The Leader added that the Islamic world faces an all-out political and cultural invasion, saying, "This does not mean that enemies have become stronger. Rather it means that they sense their weakness and are resorting to different strategies."

The Leader called on all the Muslims across the world to maintain their unity and to not allow enemies to cause strife between the Shiites and Sunnites.

Elsewhere, the Leader praised Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his firm stand on the nation's nuclear rights.

He also pointed to the great achievements of the Iranian nation and said, "Iranians are taking major steps toward progress. Their achievements belong to all Muslims."

Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.


*** Balanced Middle East News ***
MidEastweb http://www.mideastweb.org
Subscribe - mail to mewnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

MewBkd - Background & analysis -
mail to Mewbkd-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

News Letter -  our commentary -
mail to mideastweb-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Grenzen van Amerikaanse dialoog met Iran

 

Moet de VS met Iran gaan praten, en onder welke voorwaarden? Barack Obama en John McCain denken daar verschillend over. De historicus Michael Oren geeft een analyse van de voor- en nadelen en vooral de voorwaarden die de VS zou moeten stellen.

 

RP

--------------

Talk Isn't Cheap With Iran

 

By MICHAEL B. OREN and SETH ROBINSON
The Wall Street Journal

OPINION - SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122265290125384359.html

 

The issue of American dialogue with Iran featured prominently in Friday's presidential debate. Barack Obama pledged "to engage in tough, direct diplomacy with Iran." John McCain denounced that notion as "naive" and "dangerous."

This exchange capped a week in which five former secretaries of state, including Henry Kissinger and Colin Powell, called for talks between the United States and Iran, and when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assured the United Nations General Assembly that "the American empire is reaching the end of the road."

Amid all of these declarations, though, few questions were raised about the possible benefits of U.S.-Iranian talks as well as the potential pitfalls. What, for example, would be the talks' objectives -- to moderate Iranian behavior and renew Iranian-American relations or, more broadly, to recognize a new strategic order in the Middle East? What concessions might the Iranians seek from the U.S., and which ones would America be prepared to yield? And finally, how would the discussions affect America's allies in the region, its forces in Iraq, and its strategic standing world-wide?

Any attempt to talk with Iran must take into account its previous negotiations with the international community. These began -- without preconditions -- in 2003 in talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany. The most recent round took place in Geneva last July. It included the chief European Union negotiator Javier Solana and William Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs.

In exchange for opening their nuclear plants to inspection, the Iranians have been offered immunity from sanctions, membership in the World Trade Organization, and an energy partnership with Europe to modernize Iran's oil industry. In addition, Iran would have received a fully fueled nuclear reactor to service the country's agricultural and medical needs. It would have been welcomed into a Persian Gulf security forum and enlisted in efforts to rid the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction.

Most generously, Iran could have continued to enrich uranium for verifiably peaceful purposes. Iran's response to these far-reaching concessions was consistently and categorically "no."

In addition to nuclear issues, American interlocutors, should they undertake talks, must also address the question of Iranian expansionism. Through its Hezbollah and Hamas proxies, Iran has gained dominance over Lebanon and Gaza, and through its Baathist and Mahdist allies, has extended its influence through Syria and Iraq. An Iranian threat looms over the Persian Gulf financial centers and beyond, to the European cities within Iranian missile range. No attempt has yet been made to induce Iran to roll back or even curtail the export of its violent revolution, nor have the global powers seriously considered such a package.

Clearly, any U.S.-Iranian dialogue must exceed previous efforts and produce a unique array of concessions and incentives. The U.S. Embassy in Tehran (closed since the 1979 hostage crisis), might be reopened, sanctions could be reduced, and Iran's regional prominence acknowledged. Assurances could also be given that the U.S. will not seek regime change and that American forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf pose no threat to Iranian security.

None of these gestures, however, are likely to alter Iranian policies. It is unclear whether Iran would even agree to reopen the U.S. Embassy. A proposal in January 2008 to establish an American visa office in Tehran, though welcomed by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, was denounced by Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a CIA ploy.

Nor are the Iranians apt to respond dramatically to any easing of the sanctions that have so far failed to persuade them to moderate. Moreover, recognizing Iranian ascendancy means legitimizing Hamas and Hezbollah while weakening America's allies in Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.

Radical Shiite militias would also be empowered, eroding America's recent gains in Iraq and impelling Sunni states to procure their own -- possibly nuclear -- means of defense. The U.S. could abjure any hostility toward Iran. But with its forces in the area already overstretched, such promises would invariably ring empty.

Rather than improving U.S.-Iranian relations and enhancing Middle East stability, any American offer to dialogue with Iran is liable to be interpreted as a sign of American weakness, and not only in Tehran. Public opinion throughout the area will conclude that America has at last surrendered to the reality of Iranian rule. The damage to America's regional, if not global, influence may prove irreversible.

Yet dialoguing with Iran presents the even graver danger that Iran will use it as camouflage to complete its nuclear ambitions. That goal, according to U.S. and U.N. intelligence sources, could be achieved as early as 2010, and the Iranians could pass the interim blithely negotiating with the United States. And even if Iran agreed to halt the enrichment process, it might replicate the North Korean model: negotiate with the United States, agree to suspend nuclear activities, then renew them at the first opportunity.

It is difficult to take issue with a presidential hopeful who views talks with Tehran as a "way to keep America safe," and with seasoned secretaries of state. However, the stakes in the proposed talks with Iran are too critical to remain unweighed.

The next president may in the end try to engage in discussions with Iran. To avoid disaster, his approach must be conducted within well-defined parameters, including the cessation of uranium enrichment by Iran and any end to its support for terrorism.

Negotiations must be time-limited as well, and accompanied by intensified sanctions and a credible military threat. The U.S. can communicate with Iran, but as a power and not a supplicant, and with leverage as well as words.

 

=========
Mr. Oren, author of "Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present" (Norton, 2008), is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. Mr. Robinson, a former staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a graduate student in international relations at Georgetown University.

Kredietcrisis leidt tot opleving antisemitisme op internet

 

In bijna iedere discussie over Israel op internet zijn antisemitische reacties te vinden. Rampen en crises als de huidige kredietcrisis vormen een dankbare aanleiding voor antisemieten om hun haat de vrije loop te laten.

 

RP

----------

ADL sees surge of anti-Semitism following market crisis
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3604702,00.html

 

Internet forum, blogs rife with newfound wave of 'virulent' anti-Jewish rhetoric tied to ongoing financial calamity. 'Whenever there is trouble or uncertainty in the economy or world events, Jews become the scapegoats,' says ADL director

 

Yitzhak Benhorin - Ynet News

Published: 10.02.08, 22:31

 

WASHINGTON – The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a report on Thursday warning of a sharp resurgence of anti-Semitism in the wake of the financial crisis. Internet discussion boards and blogs dealing with the meltdown on Wall Street are being flooded with hate speech, ADL says.

"We know from modern history that whenever there is a downturn in the global economy, there will be an upturn in the level of anti-Semitism and bigotry, and that is what we are seeing now," said ADL National Director Abe Foxman.

"The age-old canards about Jews and money are always just beneath the surface. As we witnessed after 9/11, whenever there is trouble or uncertainty in the economy or world events, Jews become the scapegoats, and ugly anti-Semitic canards are given new life."

In hundreds of messages echoing rhetoric found on neo-Nazi and white supremacist websites, posters to mainstream forums promote centuries-old stereotypes and conspiracy theories alleging Jewish control of the economy, banking and the government.

The ADL notes that several posts "have gone so far as to resurrect Nazi-era propaganda with threads such as 'The Jewish Problem' or comments such as, 'The Final Solution 2?."

Other examples: 'Jews have infiltrated Wall Street and Government and have ruined our country.'
'What is a GS Jew? Goldman Sachs?'
'Jews are greedy, rotten slime balls. They (Jews) love money nothing else, no faith or religion can be so heartless to their victims.'

"The good news is that providers of Internet services and moderators of message boards and even individual users are quick to react whenever anti-Semitism enters the discussion," said Foxman. "The service providers are responsive, and in most cases the offensive messages are quickly removed. But in many cases - especially with online discussions that occur in real time and are closely followed by large groups of users - the damage is already done." 

The report says that in addition to the text posts, some are also posting videos to sites like YouTube, claiming that the Jews "are exploiting the current economic crisis as part of greater conspiracy to control the country and to harm non-Jews."

 

 

Met Amerikaanse technologie de smokkeltunnels van Hamas opsporen

 

Als het met nieuwe Amerikaanse technieken zal lukken om de meeste tunnels te vinden en onschadelijk te maken, zou dat een grote slag zijn voor Hamas. Waarschijnlijk zal Hamas dan proberen Egyptische leden van de politie en veiligheidsdienst om te kopen, wat niet zo moeilijk is gezien de wijdverbreide corruptie in Egypte en de lage lonen van deze mensen.    

 

RP

--------------

American technology stopping Hamas?

 

US and Egyptian soldiers pair up in recent weeks in a project to uncover Palestinian weapons' smuggling tunnels; 42 tunnels discovered in less than a month

 

Alex Fishman

Ynet News - October 2, 2008
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3604575,00.html

 

American soldiers have teamed up with Egyptian troops in the Sinai in recent weeks for an operation designed to uncover Palestinian weapons' smuggling tunnels underneath the Philadelphi Route, along the Egypt-Gaza border.
 
The operation has already yielded important fruits: Thanks to new, secret American-developed technology, the US Army's Corps of Engineers uncovered 42 tunnels running between Egypt and Gaza in less than a month, an unprecedented number in such a time span.

The joint American-Egyptian initiative was agreed upon half a year ago, during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Egypt. American experts arrived in the region a few weeks ago, making an effort to keep a low profile by using civilian dress.
 
The machinery that they brought with them, which probably relies on sonar in some way to identify underground tunnels, seems to be one of a kind. To date, it appears that Israel does not possess similar technology.
 
The recent rash of tunnel discoveries has appears to have Hamas worried. The Palestinian organization has taken to "nationalizing" certain "private" tunnels that were previously run by Rafah families. At this point in time, Hamas controls all underground activity in Gaza.
 
Additionally, the tunnel exposure project has led to heightened tension between Hamas and Egypt. An explosion in a Rafah tunnel, earlier this week, led to the deaths of five Palestinians from the same family who were inside it. Three Palestinians who were able to escape into Egypt through the tunnel were subsequently arrested.
 
The event led to mutual mud-slinging between Egypt and Hamas. The latter blamed the Egyptians for deliberately detonating the tunnel, a claim Egypt denies.
 
Despite the recent successes of the joint project, Hamas has managed to smuggle hundreds of explosives, RPGs and rifles into the Gaza strip.