Abbas and Olmert did not reach final status issues
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – Chief Palestinian negotiator, Dr Saeb Erekat, said that Tuesday's discussions between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not reach the level of the final status issues, especially the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and the finalising of borders. In a press conference in Ramallah after the meeting between the two leaders, Erekat said that "The temporary borders are rejected and are not on the agenda." ''Palestinians shouldn't build up their expectations with regard to these talks", he added. He said that no details or documents were exchanged concerning final status issues. Erekat pointed out that there are some other sides "who are attempting to start negotiations with Israel.
PM, Abbas discuss three major final status issues
Aluf Benn Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/29/2007
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held one-on-one talks Tuesday on the three issues that are at the heart of a final status agreement - borders for a Palestinian state, the future of Jerusalem and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel. It was the first time the two men discussed these matters in depth, according to an Israeli official. The two aim to bring an "agreement of principles" to an upcoming international summit on Middle East peace, set to take place in November. These core issues have to be discussed on the way to finding a diplomatic solution of two states for two peoples, an official in the Prime Minister's Office quoted Olmert as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the two leaders spoke privately.
Israeli forces fire on mentally disabled man in northern Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Gaza – Ma'an –Israeli artillery fired on an apparently mentally disabled man who wandered too close to the Israeli border with northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Palestinian medical sources said that twenty-four-year-old Raed Rafati was injured by shrapnel from the artillery shell. Mu'awiyah Hassanein, director of the ambulance and relief department at Ash Shifa'a Hospital in Gaza City, told reporters that Rafati is still being detained by Israeli troops, so ambulance staff were prevented from reaching him. Troops were seen dragging the victim from the scene so it is presumed he is still alive, Hassanein said. Local Palestinian sources believe that Rafati mistakenly came close to an Israeli military post in the Sudaniyya neighbourhood, west of Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip. [end]
Caretaker government shuts down 103 Palestinian charities affiliated to Hamas
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an – Palestinian caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday revealed that his government has decided to close 103 charitable societies. Israeli website, Ynetnews, reported that Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, for freezing the funds of a hundred associations affiliated to Hamas. Fayyad alleged that the closure was for 'legal reasons'. The PM claimed that the beneficiaries of the societies will be compensated. In a meeting with representatives of local newspapers, Fayyad said that the interior minister, Abdur Razzaq Mahmoud al-Yahya, ordered the closure of the charities after deeming them guilty of financial misconduct. Fayyad said that al-Yahya, with the cooperation of humanitarian organisations, discovered...
Palestinian worker chased to death by Israeli policemen
Amin Abuwardeh, International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Palestinian medical sources reported on Tuesday that a Palestinian worker died after he was chased by Israeli policemen, in Israel. The worker, Fahim Mustafa Hamdan, 45, died after attempting to hide in a yard totally exposed to the extreme summer heat. His family reported that Israeli policemen chased him and a group of Palestinian workers for a long distance but when he entered an exposed yard he tried to rest in an exposed area under the sun and suffered from sunstroke (heatstroke). He was moved to Belenson Israeli hospital, in Tel Aviv, and was officially declared dead. His body was transferred back to his village, Salem, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Hundreds of residents took off to the streets chanting slogans expressing anger against the Israeli police and military.
8 Palestinians injured in armed confrontation between Hamas' EF and the Zo'rob family in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Khan Younis – Ma'an – At least eight Palestinian citizens were injured, including a Fatah leader, in violent clashes between Hamas' Executive Force and members of the Zo'rob family in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday. Armed confrontations erupted when members of the EF attempted to arrest a member of the Zo'rob family. One eyewitness told Ma'an "more than eight of the family were injured, including Kamal Zo'rob, who is a Fatah leader." Eyewitnesses said that Kamal was injured in the hand and that all of the wounded were evacuated to the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Spokesperson of the EF, Islam Shahwan, told Ma'an, "The Executive Force opened fire after one of its patrols was shot at by the family members." He added that "while one of our patrols was on its way to return someone who...
One injured as Qassam hits home in Sderot
Mijal Grinberg, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
A Qassam rocket scored a direct hit on a home in Sderot yesterday, lightly injuring one person who was walking by at the time. The rocket was fired at Sderot in the morning hours, and hit a home in the Neot Rabin neighborhood. This neighborhood has suffered numerous rocket attacks in recent months. At the time of the attack, the family was in the house. They heard the alarm and entered their secure room before the rocket struck. A passerby was injured by shrapnel that hit his eye. He was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon for treatment. A few minutes after the attack, Minister of Social Affairs Isaac Herzog arrived at the scene. Herzog had been touring communities surrounding the Gaza Strip to deal with pending issues related to the welfare of the citizens suffering from the rocket attacks.
Gaza officials: Palestinians bomb two Hamas buildings in Gaza City
Reuters, Ha'aretz 8/29/2007
Palestinian gunmen set off two bombs in Gaza City on Tuesday at separate locations belonging to forces of the Islamist group Hamas, causing damage but no casualties, local security officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the simultaneous explosions, and an Israel Defense Forces spokesman ruled out any Israeli involvement. Attacks on Hamas have been relatively rare since it seized control of the coastal Gaza Strip after a bloody battle with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction in June. Earlier on Tuesday, a Hamas security officer and eight armed members of a Gaza clan were wounded in a clash in the town of Khan Yunis. When members of the Hamas Executive Force tried to arrest a clan member, other clansmen opened fire and threw pipe bombs at the Hamas force, who fought back.
Hamas says Fateh gunmen fired rounds at one of Ramallah city council member
International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Hamas sources stated on Tuesday at night that Fateh gunmen fired at Rabee' Rabee', member of Ramallah Municipality Council as he was leaving the City Hall after a meeting held on Tuesday evening. [end]
Rabbinate forces Arab farmers to sell land 'for kashrut'
Yair Ettinger, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The beginning of the Jewish sabbatical year is just two weeks away, but the kashrut certification bureaucrats are breaking new records for the absurd: Kashrut supervisors from the Chief Rabbinate are forcing Israeli Arabs to sign a document that gives the Israel Lands Administration and the Chief Rabbinate the right to sell the land to a non-Jew as a condition for continued kosher certification for their produce. If they refuse to sign, they were told that the wholesalers to whom they sell their goods will also lose their kashrut certification. The loss of the certificate would mean that the farmers and wholesalers would be unable to sell their produce in Jewish towns and stores. MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al) called on Arab farmers not to sign the forms, saying that it was an illegal demand. -- See also: Growers: Rabbis'' spat could raise produce cost 50%
Palestinians stranded at Al Oja border terminal call for swift resolution to their plight
Wisam Afifa, International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
The Hamas movement has condemned the treatment of those Palestinians stranded at the Beit Hanoun and Al Oja border Crossings, blaming both the Fatah-led government and the Israeli administration for their suffering. Palestinians stranded at Cairo airport presented a petition to the officials to bring an end to their continued plight after they too had been help-up at the Al Oja border terminal. Faouzi Barhoom, the spokesperson for the deposed Hamas stated that "the current Abbas-led government, headed by Fayyad, is using their policy to make the Al Oja border crossing a formal crossing under the full control of Israeli occupation, instead of using Rafah border terminal. " Barhoom cited the example of the Palestinian infant, Ibrahim Abu Nahl, who recently died at the Beit Hanoun crossing while waiting to cross...
Palestinian Detainees in Al Jamala Israeli prison held a one-day hunger strike
International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Palestinian detainees confined to solitary in Al Jalama Israeli interrogation center conducted on Monday a one-day hunger strike in protest to the bad conditions and the repeated attack they face. The detainees managed to smuggle a letter from the facility appealing human rights groups and their families and hold protests against the ongoing violations practiced against them by the soldiers and the prison administration. The detainees stated in their letter that they decided to hold a hunger strike after the Prison Administration rejected their demands to receive their rights which are guaranteed by the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. They said that this one-day hunger strike in the first step of their ongoing protests which will include further protests and hunger strikes in the coming days.
Palestinian security services abduct 11 Hamas loyalists
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – The Hamas movement revealed on Tuesday that the Palestinian security services arrested eleven Hamas loyalists from the West Bank on Monday night. A statement from Hamas said that the arrestees were from the West Bank cities of Tubas, Tulkarem, Tammun, Jenin, Al-Yamun and Nablus. [end]
Hamas statement accuses Fatah of abducting and injuring a loyalist
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – Hamas accused Fatah of abducting a Hamas loyalist in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday and shooting him in the feet. In a statement Hamas said, "Thirty-year-old horse-breeder, Firas Al-Qutub, received a telephone call from an unknown person asking him to go to his farm in eastern Nablus. The unknown caller told Al-Qutub that he wanted to meet him at the farm to buy horses. When he arrived at the farm Al-Qutub was abducted by a group of gunmen who brutally beat him before firing four gunshots into his feet. They then telephoned his father to come and get him." The statement added that Al-Qutub was taken to Rafedya hospital in Nablus and then transferred to the government hospital in Ramallah in the central West Bank. [end]
Executive Force issues a statement on Khan Younis Tuesday clashes
International Middle East Media Center 8/29/2007
The Hamas-formed Executive Force, under the authority of the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, issued a press release regarding the internal clashes that took place on Tuesday evening between members of the force and members of Zo'rob family, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The Force stated that its members were carrying "routine activities" in Khan Younis and received information about certain family disputes in the city. The Force added that after its members arrived at the house of Zo'rob family, they had a verbal dispute with family members and that one of the family members punched a member of the Force, while other members insulted force members, according to the statement. Later on, members of the Force decided to call for backup after one member was shot and injured by gunfire shot by a member of Zo'rob family.
Hamas says Fateh gunmen shot and injured one of its supporters in Nablus
International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Hamas movement stated on Tuesday that gunmen of Fateh movement in the northern West Bank city of Nablus shot and injured one supporter of Hamas after kidnapping him on Monday evening. In a press release, Hamas stated that Fateh gunmen abducted Firas Al Qotob, 30, from a horse ranch he own, east of Nablus city, and shot him in his legs. Media sources reported that an anonymous caller phoned Firas and asked to meet him in the horse ranch after claiming that he wants to buy some horses from him. But when Firas arrived to his ranch, gunmen abducted him to another area and tortured him before firing four rounds of live ammunition at his legs. After shooting him, the gunmen phoned his father informing him come over and transfer his injured son to a hospital.
PRC combatants prevent infiltration of Israeli forces into northern Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, on Tuesday claimed responsibility for frustrating the infiltration of Israeli undercover forces into the northern Gaza Strip. The brigades issued a statement reporting that intensive crossfire erupted between invading Israeli forces and their fighters. [end]
Several near-lynchings in past week, officials say
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Despite lack of media coverage at the time, Palestinian police prevented several incidents of mob violence against Israelis who accidentally entered Palestinian towns - The near-lynching of an IDF officer in Jenin that made headlines Monday night is the latest of a string of similar, but unreported, occurrences, according to the defense establishment and Palestinian officials. In recent weeks, there were four incidents in which Israelis accidentally drove into Palestinian towns, encountered mobs of civilians and were evacuated by Palestinian police. The Monday night beating and the recent incident of a family who ended up in Jericho on their way to Tiberias received widespread media coverage. But there were many other instances of Israelis who lost their way and ended up in hostile Palestinian territory, including a number in the past two weeks, Palestinian sources said.
2 Qassams land near Sderot; no injuries
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Rockets fired by Palestinans from north Gaza land outside western Negev town just hours after Olmert-Abbas meeting in Jerusalem Palestinians in north Gaza fired two Qassams towards Sderot Tuesday evening. The rockets landed in open areas outside the western Negev city, and no injuries or damage were reported. The al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack came just a few hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem, during which the two leaders agreed to draft a joint declaration of principles to resolve the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Earlier on Tuesday, a Sderot resident was lightly to moderately wounded by shrapnel and several other people suffered shock after a Qassam rocket hit a house in the town.
Frazzled in Sderot
Haaretz Editorial, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The parents of Sderot feel that they are sending their children to schools that are not completely reinforced, and this feeling is justified. Although the Home Front approved the means of reinforcement for each individual institution - and announced that the existing means do provide the children with reasonable security, the parents asked the defense minister to authorize the reinforcement and state that it was in keeping with his policy. The deputy defense minister, Matan Vilnai, saw this demand as placing too much responsibility on his ministry. The debate between the education and defense ministries certainly does not contribute to a sense of security for the people in Sderot. Sderot's houses, streets and educational institutions cannot be completely protected from Qassams.
Israeli final status terms leaked
Al Jazeera 8/28/2007
Al Jazeera has obtained a document claiming to be Israel's terms on which final status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can begin. The Palestinian president and the Israeli leader have been discussing the issue of Palestinian statehood in two hours of talks on Tuesday, an Israeli spokesman said. Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's Jerusalem correspondent, who has seen the Israeli document, said it "lays out some broad principles that Israel believes both sides should sign up to as a starting point for formal negotiations"." Some of the things are fairly obvious - renouncing words and actions associated with war, recognition of United Nations Security Council resolutions." Also, previous peace endeavours such as the Madrid conference of 1991 and the declaration of principles signed between Yasser Arafat and the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993.
PA, Israel expand teams preparing for fall summit
Aluf Benn Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The framework of discussions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be expanded to include the establishment of negotiating teams for each side, which will discuss the agreement of principles to be prepared ahead of the international conference in November, a senior government official said yesterday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to meet today to further discuss the agreement of principles. Meetings between Olmert and Abbas have so far been private, but the framework will now be expanded in order to "reach November with a logical product," the official said. Olmert and Abbas are expected to meet again before Rosh Hashanah; sources in the Palestinian Authority said that in their next meeting, Olmert and Abbas will try to agree on as many issues as...
Israel weighs Abbas' request to extend amnesty
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Israel is considering a Palestinian request to include in its amnesty for Fatah fugitives 26 militants expelled in 2002 after a siege on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The request, made by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during his meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday, calls for the inclusion of the 26 fugitives in an amnesty scheme offered to members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades earlier this summer. Some in the current request are from Fatah rivals such as Hamas. The amnesty being considered for the Bethlehem exiles is spread over a three-month period, during which they are expected to present themselves daily at PA security headquarters in the city. In addition, they will be forbidden to carry arms or be members of any militant organization.
Olmert evades Abbas' demands in meeting of two leaders
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met on Tuesday in Jerusalem, in order to discuss plans for US President Bush's international peace conference this autumn. Abbas has said that the conference will be pointless unless it addresses the core Palestinian issues of statehood, the borders, refugees and the status of Jerusalem. Abbas said to Voice of Palestine radio, "If there is a clear framework including final status issues, we will welcome this and go to the conference." The timing and agenda of the planned international summit have not yet been set. Abbas rejected Olmert's recent proposals for a territorial exchange of Palestinian populated areas of Israel, for Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank.
Olmert, Abbas to form declaration of principles by November
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews 8/28/2007
VIDEO - Israel, Palestinian Authority to try to come to mutual understanding prior to scheduled peace conference in Washington - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday revolved around the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Ynet has learnt. The two, who met at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem, discussed some of the more sensitive issues, such as the status of Jerusalem and the possible borders of the future Palestinian state. Olmert and Abbas decided to hold at least two more meetings before October, in an effort to come to an understanding about all core issues before presenting a declaration of principles to the international peace conference scheduled to take place in Washington this November.
Entire establishment failed miserably, Gilad Shalit's father says
Roee Mendel, YNetNews 8/28/2007
'After an endless number of meetings and assessments - Gilad is still not with us,' Noam Shalit says during Tel Aviv rally to mark kidnapped soldier's 21st birthday - During a rally held at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Tuesday evening in honor of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit's 21st birthday, his father, Noam, said, "After two birthdays and 429 days in captivity (at the hands of Hamas), and after an endless number of meetings and assessments - Gilad is still not with us. "We feel as though the entire establishment under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership failed miserably in its efforts to return him home," he added. "In my opinion, there was never a prepared deal (for Gilad's release). It doesn't seem likely. We receive very little phone calls from official sources.
Hamas paper nixes Shalit birthday letter
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Noam Shalit has been attempting to get the leading Hamas newspaper to print a birthday letter to his son, captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, but the editor has refused to run it, according to an Israeli advocacy group for abducted soldiers. The group said Noam Shalit had used Palestinian and Israeli mediators to ask the Gaza-based newspaper, Palestine, to run a personal letter ahead of his son's 21st birthday today - his second in captivity - but that the editor said he would not cooperate with Israelis. Noam Shalit has previously sent a letter to his son to the Palestinian paper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, considered an independent newspaper, but this time he said he was interested only in having it run in a Hamas paper. Meanwhile, friends and family of the Israeli soldier plan to celebrate his 21st birthday in a public rally in Tel Aviv.
Barak to propose: Replace W. Bank roadblocks with mobile checkpoints
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to replace permanent checkpoints in the West Bank with mobile ones, to ease restrictions on Palestinian traffic while still safeguarding Israel's security. However, he believes that such a change cannot be implemented immediately, as the Israel Defense Forces must first train a sufficient number of troops in the new methods, which is likely to take some time. Barak held his first meeting with senior defense officials on the checkpoint issue last week. More than two months ago, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assigned Barak the job of easing movement restrictions in the West Bank to improve Palestinian daily life. Since then, the IDF has been conducting staff work on the issue, but has still not finished. Barak is seeking a more permanent solution than simply removing a few checkpoints here and there.
Jenin security chief: We've changed our attitude, Israel still has not
Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
JENIN - Members of the Palestinian security forces in Jenin were very excited yesterday by the presence of many Israeli media teams in town. They were doubly excited by what was being considered the Palestinian security forces' biggest success in recent years: saving an Israeli officer from being lynched after he accidentally drove into the city. Commanders of Jenin's main security forces - police, intelligence and national security - said their swift intervention to save the major in the Israel Defense Forces proved that the Palestinian Authority's security teams can deal with real threats and take over security in West Bank cities. Visiting Jenin yesterday, the Palestinian security commander in the West Bank, General Ziab al-Ali, told Haaretz that during the past year, the PA's forces have prevented dozens of attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers in the West Bank.
Israel considers border fence with Egypt
Ruth Sinai and Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Israel is considering the construction of a border fence in cooperation with Egypt to prevent the passage of terrorists, smugglers and asylum-seekers between the two countries, Prime Minister's Office Director General Ra'anan Dinur told the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers yesterday. A government official said Vice Premier Haim Ramon pitched the idea of the fence to the head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Cairo a few weeks ago. Following Ramon's visit, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was considering opening official negotiations with Egypt on the fence. Egypt has yet to respond to the proposal. Construction of the fence unilaterally by Israel would cost between NIS 2. 5 to 3 billion. Officials in Jerusalem said it was unlikely Egypt would agree to the fence's construction, and thus a unilateral move would damage the relations between the two countries.
Hezbollah to blast Israel with blitz of law suits
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Hezbollah is planning to file a host of lawsuits against Israel over the damages it caused during the Second Lebanon War. Lebanese individuals with dual citizenship will file the suits in the countries where they hold citizenship. Attorney Ibrahim Awada, who heads Hezbollah's legal department, revealed the plan last week on a Syrian television program devoted to "Zionist crimes against Lebanon." He said that each plaintiff will hire a lawyer in the country where he files suit, and Hezbollah will pay the lawyers' fees. The Lebanese government began mulling lawsuits against Israel immediately after the war ended last summer, but was stymied by the fact that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war, blamed Hezbollah, rather than Israel, for its outbreak.
PA security forces say Jenin rescue proves their mettle
Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 8/29/2007
Members of the Palestinian security forces in Jenin were very excited Tuesday by the presence of many Israeli media teams in town. They were doubly excited by what was being considered the Palestinian security forces' biggest success in recent years: saving an Israeli officer from being lynched after he accidentally drove into the city. Commanders of Jenin's main security forces - police, intelligence and national security - said their swift intervention to save the major in the Israel Defense Forces proved that the Palestinian Authority's security teams can deal with real threats and take over security in West Bank cities. Visiting Jenin Tuesday, the Palestinian security commander in the West Bank, General Ziab al-Ali, told Haaretz that during the past year, the PA's forces have prevented dozens of attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers in the West Bank.
Reinventing Nativ with triple the funds, more territory
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Nativ, once a clandestine organization that promoted Jewish identity and immigration to Israel from behind the Iron Curtain, is hoping that last month's cabinet decision redefining its mission will reverse its decline since the Soviet Union collapsed. During most of its existence, Nativ was subordinate to the prime minister. But after the fall of communism, successive premiers paid it less and less attention. Last year, however, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, himself a Soviet immigrant, entered the government and promptly took Nativ under his wing. He secured both a budget increase to bail it out of a financial crisis this year and a promise to triple its funding in 2008. In early July, an interministerial committee recommended that Nativ's operations be expanded to Germany, and the cabinet approved this recommendation a few weeks ago.
MIDEAST: Bush Peace Plan Met with Scepticism
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, Inter Press Service 8/28/2007
CAIRO, Aug 28(IPS) - Last month, U.S. President George W. Bush called for an international summit aimed at reaching a final settlement of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But while most Arab capitals welcomed the proposal, unofficial reactions to Bush's newfound zeal to revive the Middle East "peace process" have been less sanguine. "This is a last-minute attempt by the U.S. President to prove that he cares about the Palestinian issue," Mohamed Abu al-Hadid, political analyst and chairman of the state-owned print-house Dar al-Tahrir (which publishes official daily al-Gomhouriya), told IPS. "He sat for seven years in the presidency without making any serious effort until now to restart negotiations." On Jul. 16, Bush announced a new U.
UK charity targets Israel
Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 8/28/2007
War On Want: Israel's disregard for human rights is one of gravest injustices in century - A British charity has denied charges of anti-Semitism after coming under fire for producing a detailed guide to boycotting Israel. War on Want, ostensibly a charity set up to fight worldwide poverty, recently published a guide on its website, entitled, "Towards a global movement for Palestine; a framework for today's anti-apartheid activism." "Boycotts, divestment, and sanctions have gained currency in recent years as a series of strategies to pressure Israel in pursuit of justice for Palestinians," the guide's introduction said. "Yet, it is clear that initiatives need to strengthen and gain greater popular support if they are to be an effective force in support of Palestinians," it continued, before instructing...
Israel Wages War on Army of Refuseniks
Annette Young, MIFTAH 8/28/2007
WHEN Arik Diamant's mother discovered her son was to refuse to do reserve duty for the Israeli army she pleaded with him to reconsider his decision, even offering to resign her job and work in a charity of his choice. But the former paratrooper and now software engineer was determined. "My parents were terrified that the ramifications of such a decision would destroy my life and endanger my career opportunities," said the 34-year-old co-founder of the Courage to Refuse movement. While Diamant and 600 fellow reservist refuseniks are making headlines over their choice, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is becoming increasingly worried that the numbers of Jewish men evading army service is on the rise. The trend is particularly noticeable among those aged 18 to 21, who under Israeli law must serve three years in the military.
Negev's Arab Education Forum refuses to open school year
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Sector's schools, kindergartens suffer serious infrastructure shortcomings, health hazards. 'Our children deserve same school environment as Israeli children' they say - The Arab Education Forum in the Negev announced Tuesday it would refuse to open the school year in the sector's five schools and 12 kindergartens in protest of the local school system's hardships. The forum's administrator, Dr Awad Abu-Farih, told Ynet that "this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is a symptom indicating the distress and extreme discrimination the Arab school system in the Negev faces." The forum's data on the Arab school system in the Negev paints a gloomy picture: Overcrowded schools, sometimes up to double their capacity, classrooms in caravans, safety deficiencies and alarming sanitary conditions are just some of the problems it faces.
WV Lebanon extends response to Palestinian crisis
Jessy Chahine World Vision, ReliefWeb 8/28/2007
World Vision Lebanon staff Lama Al Batal helping out with the distribution of baby cribs in Beddawi Palestinian camp, North Lebanon. LEBANON - New funding from the German government will allow World Vision Lebanon to continue meeting the needs of refugees displaced by fighting in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian camp for at least another three months. "Thanks to this grant, World Vision can continue distributing essential hygiene items for babies and children under four years of age," said Maya Assaf, Palestinian Refugee Program programme officer. "We were the only nongovernmental organization on the ground meeting those needs." World Vision is distributing baby hygiene kits twice a month to more than 2000 babies and children in the Palestinian refugee camps of Beddawi, Burj Barajneh, Chatila Bekaa and El-Bus.
Abbas spokesman denies initiative for dialogue between Hamas and Fatah
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – A spokesman for the Palestinian presidency on Tuesday denied media reports about an initiative to open a dialogue between Hamas and Fatah." That news is baseless. We have not received anything in this regard," the spokesman said." Any initiative should begin after Hamas retracts what it did in the Gaza Strip, returns things to as they were before the coup and apologises to the Palestinian people and to the PLO for the crimes they have committed,"he added. [end]
Zahhar denies claims in Israeli media that Hamas presented a political initiative to Abbas
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli radio reported on Tuesday morning that the Hamas movement has presented its first written political initiative to President Abbas since it established control over the Gaza Strip. The initiative is intended to end the political impasse between Fatah and Hamas, reported Israeli radio. The radio station added that "a Palestinian source said that Hamas leader and former minister of foreign affairs, Mahmoud Zahhar, gave the initiative to minister of foreign affairs in the deposed government, Ziad Abu Zmr, last week." Refuted - Zahhar denied reports in the Israeli media about a proposed initiative for dialogue with President Abbas, through Ziad Abu Amr." I have not presented any initiative and the whole story is false, baseless Israeli claims," said Zahhar.
Security services urge Abbas to prosecute those who fled Gaza during infighting
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinian security services members on Tuesday issued a statement calling on President Abbas to compose an impartial Palestinian committee to investigate the security services leaders who fled the Gaza Strip to Ramallah during the infighting. In a statement, the security personnel expressed their support for Abbas' policy of prosecuting the abandoners under the charge of high treason. The statement also recommended the maximum sentence for everyone proven guilty of murder, treason or spying. At the same time, the security services members condemned caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's decision to cease payment of their salaries. They said they would consequently be unable to provide food for their children. The statement appealed to the deposed Palestinian government to "end criminal...
Hamas spokesperson criticizes Fayad for sealing off charitable societies
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, criticized the appointed Palestinian Prime Minister in Ramallah, Salam Fayad, for ordering closure of some one hundred local charitable societies across Gaza and the West Bank under the pretext of fraud. Barhoum was quoted as saying " Fayyad's decision is intended at succumbing the Palestinian people to the pressures intended at isolating Hamas". A press release issued by the Hamas's spokesman in Gaza maintained that the closure is a part of the warfare, Abbas is waging against the leaders, supporters and institutions of Hamas, including those aiding families of the Intifada victims and orphans. He accused President Mahmoud Abbas of yielding to what he termed 'Israeli and American dictations' for the sake of starving the Palestinian people, leading eventually to accepting...
Hamas orders private clinics shut
Al Jazeera 8/28/2007
Hamas has ordered striking doctors to shut down their private clinics in Gaza, in a challenge to its rival, Fatah. Hospital doctors across Gaza launched a work slowdown earlier this month to protest against the arrest of a prominent physician allied with Fatah. Most hospital doctors are affiliated with Fatah. On orders from the West Bank-based Fatah government, which pays their salaries, most curtailed their daytime hospital schedule to three hours a day, receiving patients afterwards in relatively more expensive private clinics. Hamas struck back on Monday by ordering the immediate shutdown of the clinics. Paralysis - Doctors who do not comply will be fired, and clinics will also be scrutinised to ensure they are properly registered and licensed, Hamas officials said.
Labor Party to liquidate all of its assets
Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 8/28/2007
MKs told party faces shutdown if it doesn't settle its NIS 122 million debt; steering committee to formulate recovery plan that will include selling dozens of party's properties, closing branches and firing most employees The Labor Party will sell dozens of properties it owns and fire most of its employees, in an attempt to deal with its huge NIS 122 million debt. On Monday, the Labor MKs were informed that if it does not sell all of its assets - which include some 80 buildings and 400 acres of land, close its branches and dismiss employees, the party would face complete financial collapse. The party has set up a steering committee to formulate a recovery plan, which will be brought for the Labor secretariat's approval after the holidays.
'Peres barely in office - already releasing murderers'
Roee Mendel, YNetNews 8/29/2007
Brother of Jewish teenager murdered 24 years ago slams newly elected president for saying he would release men convicted of brutal killing. Arab MK welcomes move, says Peres must now also release killer of Israeli girl Hanit Kikos - "Peres hasn't even warmed the presidential seat and already he is busy releasing the vile men who murdered my brother," said Amnon Katz on Tuesday evening following President Shimon Peres' statement that he would reduce the sentences of the five men convicted of murdering his brother Danny Katz in 1983. The five are currently serving life sentences for the murder. Two of them were also convicted of murdering female Israeli soldier Daphna Carmon in 1987 and are serving longer sentences. Peres signed off on the decision along with Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann after receiving the recommendation of a statutory committee.
Threat to close airport lifted
Moran Rada, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Minister of the Environment Ezra says decision to shut down Ben Gurion Airport due to noise pollution wasn't approved by him - Several hours after the Ministry for Environmental Protection threatened to shut down the Ben Gurion Airport due to noise pollution, Minister of the Environment Gideon Ezra said that the airport would not be closed. Minister Ezra said that he was not informed of the plan to send the letter to the Israel Airports Authority, and that as far as he was concerned, the decision was invalid. According to Ezra, a discussion on the issue would be held Tuesday. Earlier, the Ministry of Environmental Protection informed the IAA in a letter that the airport would be shut down as of tomorrow if nighttime flight traffic is not discontinued immediately.
State to invest in new communities for Gush Katif families
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Cabinet unanimously approves project for building network of communities in Negev meant to house hundreds evicted from Gaza in 2005 disengagement - The State will invest in the establishment of a new network of communities for families evicted from Gaza during the 2005 disengagement, the cabinet decided unanimously Tuesday morning. This will be done by building in seven towns, some of them new, in the east Lahish area of the Negev. The network of communities - Amtzia, Haruv, Shekef, Hazan, Mersham, Shomria and Karmit - will be based heavily on agriculture, tourism and development of local industry. It is hoped that in addition to absorbing Gush Katif refugees, the bloc of towns will attract other groups. Developing the Negev Negev residents outraged by gov't budget cut/ Zvi Alush Plan...
Palestine Today 082807
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
Click on Link below to download or play MP3 file - Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Tuesday August 28th, 2007. In the West Bank, the Israeli army launches a number of invasions in various towns and cities. In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, one resident of Sderot is lightly injured by a home-made missile fired from the coastal region. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned. The West Bank - The Israeli army implemented a series of military operations in different areas of the West Bank in the early hours of Tuesday morning. In Nablus, security sources reported that troops invaded the city and the Balata refugee camp, kidnapping four Palestinians. In a separate operation, the army invaded the Ein Beit Al Ma refugee camp near Nablus, and Al Bathan, located north of Nablus. -- See also: || File 2.74MB || Time 3m 0s ||
Egyptian film star faces ban for acting with Israeli
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 8/29/2007
CAIRO: A rising Egyptian film star who plays the son-in-law of Saddam Hussein in a BBC drama faces a possible ban on performing in Egypt for acting with an Israeli in the film. Actor Amr Waked, now shooting in Tunisia, ran into trouble when his union discovered that Israeli actor Yigal Naor had been cast in the role of the ousted and executed dictator in the drama about his life. Waked, who appeared alongside Hollywood stars George Clooney and Matt Damon in Stephen Gaghan's 2005 blockbuster "Syriana," defended his position, telling several Egyptian newspapers that he did not know an Israeli was involved until after he signed a contract. He also said the film was pro-Arab and criticizes United States foreign policy, according to the English-language newspaper The Egyptian Mail.
POLITICS: Israel Warned US Not to Invade Iraq after 9/11
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service 8/28/2007
WASHINGTON, Aug 28(IPS) - Israeli officials warned the George W. Bush administration that an invasion of Iraq would be destabilising to the region and urged the United States to instead target Iran as the primary enemy, according to former administration official Lawrence Wilkerson. Wilkerson, then a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and later chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, recalled in an interview with IPS that the Israelis reacted immediately to indications that the Bush administration was thinking of war against Iraq. After the Israeli government picked up the first signs of that intention, Wilkerson says, "The Israelis were telling us Iraq is not the enemy -- Iran is the enemy." Wilkerson describes the Israeli message to the Bush administration in early 2002...
Minister of Women's Affairs meets Egyptian Ambassador
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an – The Palestinian minister for Women's Affairs, Khulud D'eibis, met on Tuesday with the Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian territories, Ashraf 'Aqil, in Ramallah in the northern West Bank. The minister briefed her guest on the establishment of the ministry as well as updating him on the daily suffering of Palestinian women as a result of Israeli measures. D'eibis also stated the importance of Egyptian support for the celebrations of Jerusalem, the capital of Arab culture 2009. She said that Egyptian participation was vital in making the celebrations a success, stressing that Jerusalem remains the symbol of Arab sovereignty. The Egyptian ambassador reiterated his government's support to the legal Palestinian government and highlighted his government's readiness to engage in an exchange of expertise with the Palestinians.
Nativity Church deportees may be allowed home
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian sources said on Tuesday that they believe that the file on the deportees from the Bethlehem Nativity Church will be closed during the holy month of Ramadan and that the deportees will be able to return to their homes in the West Bank from the Gaza Strip and Europe, where they have been in exile since 2002. Jihad J'aara, one of thirteen deportees to Europe told Ma'an via telephone that "Israel has expressed readiness to have 28 deportees in the Gaza Strip return to their homes in the West Bank." J'aara also said that the issue of the 14 deportees in Europe is still under discussion. At the beginning of 2002 an Israeli incursion into the West Bank city of Bethlehem resulted in dozens of Palestinians seeking refuge in the Nativity Church where they thought they would be safe.
An Economist's Task: Building a Model for his People
Steven Erlanger, MIFTAH 8/28/2007
THE first time Salam Fayyad was in the Oval Office, he did not know where he was. He got a hint when President Bush walked in with an upraised arm, giving the "Hook 'em Horns" sign. Mr. Bush may not have been fortunate enough to go to the University of Texas, having been exiled to Yale. But Mr. Fayyad earned a Ph. D. in economics in Austin. He follows the Texas football team, and his eldest son, Khaled, just started college there. Mr. Fayyad, 55, the non-Hamas prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, considers his real alma mater American University of Beirut, where he graduated in 1975. Its motto, he says, is, "That they may have life and have it more abundantly. " That is his hope for the Palestinian people, and his own difficult, ambitious and dicey task.
Groups demand more non-Haredi judges in rabbinical court
Yair Ettinger, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Israel's Reform movement, the Tzohar organization of religious Zionist rabbis, and various women's groups are demanding that the selection committee for rabbinical judges - which is slated to appoint 17 new judges Wednesday, increase the number of judges who are not ultra-Orthodox. The committee is expected to reelect all 15 of the incumbent judges in the running, 12 of whom are ultra-Orthodox. The 17 judges represent nearly a fifth of all rabbinical judges in the country. The women's groups are planning to hold a rally tomorrow outside the Justice Ministry, where the selection committee headed by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann will be meeting. Religious Zionist and Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox representatives are trying to get their own people into the two, or possibly three, empty slots.
Education minister a no-show at committee on school violence
Jonathan Lis, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Education Minister Yuli Tamir did not appear Monday at a meeting of the ministerial committee on violence, where she was scheduled to present her office's plan to prevent violence in schools just as the academic year is about to begin. Committee officials said this was the third time Tamir had failed to participate in discussions of the subject. Tamir did not immediately respond to the criticism." Unfortunately, we will not discuss the topic of reventing violence in schools today, since the minister did not appear at the meeting, and it's too bad," said committee chairman Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. A source who participated in the meeting yesterday said violence in schools was supposed to be the most important item on the agenda, which also meant to deal with violence in sports and a project to curb urban violence.
Lost without translation
Zvi Bar''el, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
SULEIMANIYA, IRAQ - Hundreds of books lie on the sidewalk in Suleimaniya's central square, a city in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. As in many other Middle Eastern cities, sidewalks substitute for bookstores and the crowd is free to gaze at the colorful bindings and leaf through the text, unencumbered by swift interference from a peddler who rises to shove them aside. Most of the books are written in Kurdish - only a few are in Persian." Novels do well," says the merchant, as he lifts several titles from the pile. "So do sex books." Everything is translated. We still don't have authors for this sort of literature. Here's Homer's, 'Iliad,'" he said. "We have a book about Freud, too." Few shoppers examine the books during the relatively cool morning.
Israeli students score low on heritage exam
Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Country's 9th graders from all Jewish sectors average 66% on mandatory national examination on Jewish Heritage, Zionism, Democracy - Israeli ninth graders averaged a score of 66% on a national examination in Jewish Heritage, Zionism, and Democracy last May, according to data collected by the National Authority for Assessment and Evaluation in Education. NAAEE findings revealed little difference in scores between students in the religious sector and those in the secular sector. The largest discrepancy between the two groups was seen in Jewish Heritage scores; secular students averaged a score of 65%, while religious students averaged a score of 75%. The exam, which is divided into three parts, consists of 100 terms concerning Jewish Heritage, Zionism, and Democracy.
Three generations of boys, guns and ants
Jim Quilty, Daily Star 8/29/2007
BEIRUT: It's an intriguing way to start a screening. The movie was "Wassat Beirut (Central Beirut)," a 10-minute, black-and-white film shot in 1992 by Rachad al-Jisr and Akram Zaatari. Scrambled Eggs' frontman Charbel Haber, this evening in electronic improv mode, provided musical accompaniment. It was an appropriately discordant start to Sunday evening's session of short films, the most intriguing line-up presented so far at Ne a Beyrouth's Festival of Lebanese Film. The film was the first of a triptych of works that are at once disparate and oddly related. "Wassat Beirut" looks in on a group of little boys playing a game of militiaman - effectively hide-and-seek with some kids armed with toy guns. As they scatter to hide within the architecture of Downtown Beirut, the camera becomes as preoccupied by its location,...
Rabbi Ovadia: I was referring to soldiers from biblical times
Yaron Doron, YNetNews 8/28/2007
Shas spiritual leader explains that his statement that 'soldiers died in war because they did not observe mitzvot' not aimed at today's troops - In an attempt to clarify his recent statement that "soldiers died in war because they did not observe mitzvot," Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said Monday that he was actually referring to soldiers in biblical times. In a sermon delivered just two weeks after Israel marked the war's first anniversary, Shas' spiritual leader said, "It is no wonder that soldiers are killed in war; they don't observe Shabbat, don't observe the Torah, don't pray every day, don't lay phylacteries on a daily basis - so is it any wonder that they are killed? No, it's not. " The rabbi's words caused fury and drew harsh criticism from bereaved parents of soldiers who died in the last war.
A Gaza human rights organization warns of economic collapse
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 8/28/2007
The aL-Dameer foundation for human rights, warned on Tuesday of an imminent collapse of the Palestinian economy in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza-based non-profit organization released a report on the said deterioration over the past couple of months, stating that 3190 workshops have been forced to shut down as 56. 0000 workers have gone jobless, as a result. The United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has turned to be a major supplier of assistance to the Gaza residents; providing aid to approximately 870. 0000 Palestinian refugees out of one million, the report reads. At the construction sector level, the Israeli closure of the commercial and travel crossings have led to a complete halt of income of 120. 0000 laborers including 13 percent from the agriculture sector.
Thousands of unemployed Palestinians demonstrate outside PLC in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/28/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - Thousands of unemployed Palestinians demonstrated in front of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) building in Gaza on Tuesday in protest at their living conditions. Many of them have been unemployed for over six years. They shouted slogans calling on the PLC to find them jobs, particularly as the most expensive time of year is fast approaching -the beginning of the school year and the month of Ramadan. Secretary of the Independent Labour Union, Fayez Al-Omari, warned that thousands of Palestinians may attempt to leave for neighboring countries if the situation continues. Workers expressed their anger because of the living conditions in the Gaza Strip and urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to help them. They also called for free education and medical care and the lifting of the siege.
OPT: More Egyptian aid heading for Gaza through Israeli checkpoint
Xinhua News Agency, ReliefWeb 8/28/2007
CAIRO, Aug 28, 2007 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Eleven Egyptian trucks loaded with sugar and medical supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were moving towards their destinations after crossing Karem Salem checkpoint in southern Rafah, the official MENA news agency reported Tuesday. This batch of aid, provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent, included 126 tons of sugar and 8. 5 tons of medical supplies, said the report. Contacts were under way with Palestinian officials to deliver the aid as soon as possible, a senior official of the Egyptian relief body Mohamed Abdullah was quoted as saying. Abdullah added that the association had already sent 1,500 tons of flour, sugar, rice and medical supplies to help Palestinians living in Gaza. The Egyptian Red Crescent was making further efforts to sent 600 tons...
Test results show elderly Acre woman died of West Nile Virus
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The Environmental Protection Ministry on Tuesday alerted local authorities across Israel to increase mosquito extermination practices after test results for an 82-year-old woman who died Sunday showed the mosquito-born West Nile Virus had caused her death. Mosquitoes carrying the virus were found at three separate sites across Israel, most recently two weeks ago near Carmiel in the north. The woman, from Acre, was admitted last week to Nahariya's Western Galilee Hospital with a high fever as well as chronic heart and respiratory problems and died Sunday. Test results revealed Tuesday that West Nile Virus was the cause of her death, prompting the Environmental Protection Ministry to issue an Israel-wide warning. Health Ministry representative in Acre, Dr Shihab Shihab said previous testing for virus-carrying...
Growers: Rabbis' spat could raise produce cost 50%
Amiram Cohen, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
It's now two weeks before the beginning of the Jewish sabbatical year for agricultural fields, but it's still certain whether the public will continue to enjoy a reasonably priced supply of fruits and vegetables. Some farmers predict that fresh produce prices could climb by as much as 50%, because of stricter interpretation of Halakha (Jewish law). Halakha says that fields owned by Jews within Israel must lie fallow every seventh year. And every seven years, as that year nears, debate rages concerning heter mechira, the permission to sell land as a solution to the halakhic prohibition. According to heter mechira, farmland is "sold" to a non-Jew, usually a Druze, making its produce permissible to eat. At the end of the sabbatical year the land is sold back to its former owners. -- See also: Rabbinate forces Arab farmers to sell land ''for kashrut''
Teachers union may defy order, strike in first week of school year
Or Kashti, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The Association of Secondary School Teachers may violate an injunction forbidding them to strike during the first week of the new school year, according to people who attended an emergency meeting called by the union yesterday. The sources said a decision would be made soon, as the school year opens on Sunday. Alternatively, the union may appeal the National Labor Court's injunction to the High Court of Justice." We decided to continue to fight with all our strength, to take the gloves off, even to the point of 'torching the clubhouse,'" union chair Ran Erez declared after the meeting. The union has been embroiled in a labor dispute with the government since December. It seeks a new wage agreement, an agreed mechanism for determining how much teachers' wages have eroded in recent years, extra pay for...
Adler will try to mend fences
Haim Bior, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The National Labor Court and its regional counterparts see their task as different than that of the regular courts. The courts decide cases where a worker sues an employer, or vice versa, but also actively seek solutions to conflicts between both parties. Among the entourage appearing in every case before the Labor Court are two officials: one to represent the workers and another for the employers. They are there to help judges come to a ruling that goes beyond a dry decision between the two sides; ideally, the judgment considers the institution's future of labor relations. National Labor Court President Steve Adler has promoted the judge's function of mediator in calming labor conflicts on a number of occasions. When the Histadrut labor federation was about to announce a general strike, Adler didn't hesitate...
'Fortunately, most infiltrators are seeking work'
Mijal Grinberg, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
The car, carrying a reporter for Haaretz, a photographer, and Haim Yellin of Kibbutz Be'eri, rides along the road between the Gaza Strip and Israel, known as Hoovers B. Israel Defense Forces soldiers should be along any minute now to ask us what we are doing there. A military vehicle passes us, but does not stop to ask what a civilian vehicle is doing on the road. We continue along the road, which should be under camera surveillance. Some of the time, we stand, some of the time we drive. In the distance we spy two soldiers. We approach them, on our own initiative. "What are you doing here," one asks. "You're not allowed here. Get off the road." We had been in the area for 40 minutes, half that time on a road that civilian traffic is warned away from.
GDP per capita hits record high in 2006
Zeev Klein, Globes Online 8/28/2007
Israel's GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power parity was $27,688. - The Bank of Israel reports that Israel's GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity was $27,688 in 2006, placing Israel 21st in a list that includes Israel and the 30 OECD countries. The OECD average was $30,872. The figures are based on the latest estimates by the Central Bureau of Statistics and OECD. Israel's GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity was $26,051 in 2005. The Bank of Israel adds that the World Economic Outlook published in April 2007 estimates Israel's PPP-adjusted per capita GDP in 2007, at $ 31,767, which puts Israel at eighteenth place on the list with the OECD countries. That comparison of per capita GDP shows that Israel is in a similar position to that of several OECD countries, including France...
Tourism returns to pre-Lebanon levels
Dalia Tal, Globes Online 8/28/2007
Hotel overnights in Jerusalem totaled 248,000 in July, 22% higher than in July 2006. - Israel's tourism industry has finally emerged from the shadow of the Second Lebanon War last summer. Figures released by the Israel Hotels Association show that tourist numbers and occupancy rates at hotels are now similar to those in the summer of 2005. However, the increase still isn't as high as was expected. Hotel overnights by foreigners and Israelis totaled 2. 1 million in July, 4% higher than in July 2006, but just 2% higher than July 2005. Hotel overnights by Israelis totaled 1. 4 million in July, down 5% over July 2006, and 3% less than July 2005. Hotel overnights by foreigners totaled 700,000, a 28% increase over July 2006, but only 2% higher than in July 2005.
Middle East Turmoil could Cause World War: U.S. Envoy
Reuters, MIFTAH 8/28/2007
Upheaval in the Middle East and Islamic civilization could cause another world war, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was quoted as saying in an Austrian newspaper interview published on Monday. Zalmay Khalilzad told the daily Die Presse the Middle East was now so disordered that it had the potential to inflame the world as Europe did during the first half of the 20th century." The (Middle East) is going through a very difficult transformation phase. That has strengthened extremism and creates a breeding ground for terrorism," he said in remarks translated by Reuters into English from the published German." Europe was just as dysfunctional for a while. And some of its wars became world wars. Now the problems of the Middle East and Islamic civilization have the same potential to engulf the world," he was quoted as saying.
Robots replace trigger fingers in Iraq
David Isenberg, Asia Times 8/29/2007
WASHINGTON - Every war is a test of many things: will, resolve, heroism and sacrifice, for example. But they are also testing grounds for material things, and technology in particular. From the first rocks and flints, to spears and swords, gunpowder, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, every war has served to allow improvements to military systems and weapons. The United States in particular has relied on its ability to leverage technology on the battlefield, both because of its advanced scientific and technology base as well as a way to compensate for having smaller forces than some of its past opponents, especially during the Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union. Iraq is no different. In fact, given the emphasis on producing a high-tech digital force as party of former US secretary...
Government sets sights on Hizbullah phone network
Daily Star 8/29/2007
BEIRUT: The government is planning to take action against private communication networks installed by Hizbullah, a Cabinet minister said Monday. "We agreed to draw a plan of action for a peaceful resolution of this issue, but we are serious about resolving it because it is a dangerous matter," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after a Cabinet session late Monday. Aridi said the government formed a committee to draft a report on recent information that Hizbullah had installed its own communication infrastructure in the South of the country. He said initial reports have shown that the Hizbullah networks "went beyond [the Southern village of] Zawtar Sharqiyya... to reach Beirut and the suburbs of Beirut which are outside the security areas of the leadership of the resistance.
Bush warns Iran over insurgents
BBC Online 8/28/2007
US President George W Bush has warned Iran to stop supporting the militants fighting against the US in Iraq. In a speech to US war veterans in Reno, Nevada, Mr Bush renewed charges that Tehran has provided training and weapons for extremists in Iraq. "The Iranian regime must halt these actions," he said. Earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that US authority in the region was rapidly collapsing, and Iran would help fill the void. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region," Mr Ahmadinejad said. "Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbours and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation." 'Murderous activities'In his speech to the American Legion, Mr Bush hit back, accusing Iran's Revolutionary Guards of funding and arming insurgents in Iraq.
US 'seizes Iranian group in Iraq'
BBC Online 8/28/2007
Seven Iranians working for the Iranian Electricity Ministry have been arrested by US forces in Baghdad, the Iranian embassy says. A spokesman told the BBC the embassy had contacted the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and would send a formal protest letter in the morning. He said the Iranians were in Baghdad in connection with the building of a power station. The group were detained at the Sheraton Hotel where they were staying. Video footage showed soldiers leading a group of men, blindfolded and handcuffed, out of the hotel in central Baghdad. Other soldiers were seen leaving the hotel carrying what appeared to be luggage and a laptop computer bag. The arrests come shortly after a speech by US President George W Bush in which he criticised Iranian interference in Iraq.
Iran ready to fill vacuum in Iraq left by US
Middle East Online 8/28/2007
By Edmund Blair - TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday the power of the United States was rapidly collapsing in Iraq and that Iran was ready to step in to help fill the vacuum, in comments likely to irritate Washington. "The political power of the occupiers (of Iraq) is being destroyed rapidly and very soon we will be witnessing a great power vacuum in the region," Ahmadinejad told a news conference broadcast live on state television. "We, with the help of regional friends and the Iraqi nation, are ready to fill this void." Ahmadinejad also rejected reports that Iran had slowed sensitive nuclear work which the West fears is aimed at making atom bombs, and said it would respond if the United States branded the elite Revolutionary Guards a terrorist force.
Iran pledges nuclear co-operation
Al Jazeera 8/27/2007
Iran has committed to a timetable for co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its investigation into Tehran's nuclear activities. Iran's mission to the IAEA said in the memorandum that it had cleared up questions from the UN's nuclear watchdog about its experiments with plutonium. The plutonium issue is one of several over which the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions to get Iran to co-operate with the IAEA, which is investigating US charges that Iran is covertly developing nuclear weapons. The text published on the IAEA's website at the request of Iran's mission, said: "On 20 August 2007, the agency stated that earlier statements made by Iran [on the issue of plutonium] are consistent with the agency's findings and thus this matter is resolved.
Colombia to seek extradition of Israeli who trained paramilitaries
Reuters, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
Colombia said Tuesday it would seek the extradition of a former Israel Defense Forces officer convicted of training paramilitaries in the Andean country, who was arrested Monday by Russian police at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Yair Klein, 61, was sentenced in 2001 in absentia to 10 years in jail by a Colombian court for training recruits for paramilitaries in their brutal campaign to counter Latin America's oldest left-wing rebel insurgency. Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo said the government would ask that Klein be extradited to carry out his sentence in the Andean country, where the disarming of illegal paramilitaries has helped ease violence." Colombia's government is going to make a formal petition to the Russian Foreign Ministry, so he is sent here to pay his sentence," Araujo said.
IRAQ: Fallujah Finds a False Peace
Ali al-Fadhily, Inter Press Service 8/28/2007
FALLUJAH, Aug 28(IPS) - Fallujah is quiet these days. After all the fighting and destruction of 2004, U.S. and Iraqi forces call this success. Many residents are not so sure. Fallujah, 60km west of Baghdad, produced some of the strongest resistance yet to U.S. forces and their Iraqi collaborators. These forces led two severe assaults on the city, in April and November of 2004. Three-quarters of the city was destroyed, massive numbers of people were killed. There has been little by way of reconstruction. The city sees no more of the kind of resistance attacks of old, and no more of the 2004 kind of crackdown. "We are so happy that our city is peaceful and quiet after all the battling that killed thousands of our citizens," a captain in the local police force of Fallujah, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS.
US assaults in Diyala kill 33 Iraqis
Middle East Online 8/28/2007
BAGHDAD - US-led air and ground assaults in the restive Iraqi province of Diyala have killed at least 33 suspected rebels, the military said on Tuesday. It said several hundred US and Iraqi troops took part in the operation in the town of Gobia in Diyala on Monday. "The pre-dawn assault, involving several hundred Iraqi and coalition forces, defeated numerous small-arms attacks throughout the day resulting in a combined 13 insurgents killed," a military statement said. US attack helicopters supporting the ground forces killed another 20 suspected insurgents, it said, adding that a large amount of weapons were found during the operation. The military said the clashes occurred when security forces were carrying out a mission to restore essential services to the nearby key town of Khalis.
Electronics chief: key Lockerbie evidence faked
Middle East Online 8/28/2007
ZURICH - A Swiss businessman on Monday said that a key piece of evidence in the Lockerbie trial was faked, following a French press report that one of his employees had lied to Scottish investigators. Edwin Bollier, head of the Swiss-based Mebo group, said that one of his employees had supplied Scottish investigators with a stolen timing device, which was then presented in the trial as having been found amidst the plane's wreckage. Mebo makes electronic equipment for the security forces. In fact, Mebo employee Ulrich Lumpert has now admitted that the device he handed over to Scottish investigators was one he himself had stolen from the company, rather than part of a batch delivered to Libya in the 1980s. "The exhibits were manipulated and used to make a link between Libya and the attack," Bollier said.
TURKEY: Gul Is President, What Next
Hilmi Toros, Inter Press Service 8/28/2007
ISTANBUL, Aug 28(IPS) - Overriding concerns by the ever-watchful military and the secularists, Turkey's parliament elected foreign minister Abdullah Gul as the first Islamic-rooted president of the 83-year-old republic on Tuesday. Along with him, Turkey also gets a First Lady who may wear the Islamic headscarf as the official hostess at the Cankaya presidential palace. The palace has so far banned such attire. Gul, whose candidacy put up by his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in April sparked military and secularist opposition, and led to early parliamentary election Jul. 22, received 339 votes from the 448 deputies who voted, way above the 276 needed. Gul won in the third round of voting when only a simple majority of the 550-member parliament was needed.
More Iraqis flee as figure tops four million
Middle East Online 8/28/2007
GENEVA - More than four million Iraqis have fled their homes because of sectarian violence, the largest population movement in the Middle East since Palestinians left the new state of Israel, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. "An estimated 4. 2 million Iraqis have been uprooted from their homes, with the monthly rate of displacement climbing to over 60,000 people compared to 50,000 previously," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told journalists. More than two million Iraqis are displaced within their own country, with around half being uprooted following the February 2006 Samarra bombings, seen as the catalyst for the latest wave of sectarian conflict, the UNHCR said. "Many are barely surviving in makeshift camps, inaccessible to aid workers for security reasons," Pagonis warned.
'No To Selling Egypt'
Will Rasmussen - CAIRO, Middle East Online 8/28/2007
An Egyptian former public-sector manager says a movement he began earlier this year is mobilising opposition to the government's privatisation programme and has started to have some effect on the pace of sales. Yehia Hussein Abdel Hady said in an interview that his campaign group, called "No To Selling Egypt", wants all sales of state assets halted, on the grounds that the government cannot be trusted to dispose of companies properly and has seriously undersold some state assets. "We are not against all privatisation but we are against privatisation by this government," he said. "We want to stop any selling until a new, democratic regime comes... that can ask the people what kind of privatisation programme they prefer," added Abdel Hady, who ran a state-owned retail company until, he says, his views led to demotion.
Arabs here to Stay
Ali Haider, MIFTAH 8/28/2007
The notion known as "population exchange," a term that aims to conceal the transfer principle inherent in disengaging from the Wadi Ara region and handing it over to the Palestinian Authority, has again been placed on the public agenda.
Yet what is special this time around and arouses great concern is the fact this issue was raised by the country's two top figures: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres. We are talking about ideas that were apparently agreed to by the prime minister and are being discussed with the Palestinian Authority as a basis for engaging in diplomatic negotiations.
Before Avigdor Lieberman joined the government, all those concerned about democracy warned against the possibility that he would make use of his status to implement his racist plans to disengage from Wadi Ara and hand it over to the Palestinian Authority. Now, it appears that the government adopted Lieberman's way as its official policy towards Arab citizens.
Those who thought that by bringing Lieberman into the government it would be possible to restrain him and thwart his plans erred gravely. On the contrary, Lieberman was able to inculcate most Knesset members, as well as the government and presidential institution, with his ideas.
Little Expected from Abbas-Olmert Meeting
MIFTAH, MIFTAH 8/28/2007
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet today in Jerusalem, ostensibly to outline an agenda for the planned November international summit in Washington. While Abbas has agreed to meet with Olmert, he has expressed concerns that the upcoming summit would be a "waste of time" if Israel only offers a "declaration of principles," maintaining that real progress must be made in order for the summit to have any success.
According to media sources, Olmert is pushing for a non-committal position limited to a "declaration of intent" while Abbas wants a detailed plan on Israel's position on primary issues between the two sides.
The two meeting between the two leaders is meant to smooth out a number of issues before the scheduled arrival of US Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice in mid-September.This seems highly unlikely however, given that Israel has yet to implement promises it made to the Palestinians two months ago as part of their "good will gestures", such as the removal of a number of checkpoints throughout the West Bank and other means of easing restrictions on the people.
West Bank: Food parcels for Hebron families
International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC, ReliefWeb 8/27/2007
One woman describes how she and her family survive in the West Bank town of Hebron – just one of more than 1,700 families supported by the ICRC through the monthly distribution of food parcels.
For centuries, Hebron was a flourishing economic centre, the most dynamic urban centre in the West Bank. The Old City served as a transportation hub connecting the city and the district to the rest of the West Bank. Thousands of passengers used to pass through Hebron every day. However, with the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Old City in 1979, a long economic decline began. A series of curfews and closures imposed since the beginning of the second Intifada has now turned the pulsing heart of Hebron into a ghost town.
As the settlements continued to expand, the central bus and taxi stations were closed down. The main commercial thoroughfare of the Old City, Shuhada Street, was declared off limits to Palestinians as settlers had moved into three nearby settlements.
Zahira Qafisheh lives in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron (H2), the heart of the city.
Three governments and one closed crossing
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 8/28/2007
There are three different governments in this land, and all three are absolutely sure that Western nations and Arab countries will continue to pay for food packages for the million and a half residents of the Gaza Strip for an unlimited period of time.
That is the only explanation for the continued closure of the Karni Crossing, the single transfer point for goods to and from Gaza for the last two and a half months. This is the only way to explain why the three governments - Israel, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza - are not taking seriously the solutions proposed by the Palestinian private sector to operate Karni privately with outside help.
It is still possible to transfer food, medicine and a small amount of raw materials through the Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings. But the vast majority of the raw materials needed to continue production in Gaza and all of the products intended for sale outside of Gaza can only pass through Karni. And when Karni is
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