Amos Harel, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007Two Islamic Jihad gunmen were confirmed killed and 15 others injured in an Israel Air Force attack south of Khan Yunis last night. The aerial attack targeted two Palestinian vehicles, a sedan and a commercial vehicle. Islamic Jihad confirmed two of its members were killed. Some of the injured were civilians. Meanwhile, an undercover Israel Defense Forces unit shot and killed an Islamic Jihad militant in Nablus' old market area on Friday morning. Also Friday, two civilians were taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for light injuries sustained in a Qassam rocket attack on Sderot. The incident occurred when soldiers surrounded the home in which Raed Abu al-Adas was hiding. Al-Adas is considered the head of Islamic Jihad's military organization in the Balata refugee camp, near Nablus.
Arafat was poisoned by Israeli agents, says his former political adviser
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Former political adviser to the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Bassam Abu Sharif, said on Saturday that former French President Jacques Chirac and three French doctors, who treated the late leader, are adamant that he was killed and know which poison killed him. Abu Sharif also said that Chirac decided to keep the findings of the French doctors a secret, claiming that it was in the interests of the Palestinian population. During a press conference in Ramallah, Abu Sharif renewed his accusations against Israel and said that they poisoned the former Palestinian leader. He added that the method of assassinating Arafat was the same as the one used to kill former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader, Wadie Haddad, in East Germany in 1978.
Britain may seek extradition of IDF soldiers killing of cameraman
Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Britain may seek the extradition of Israeli troops in the shooting death of a British television cameraman in May 2003 in Rafah unless Attorney General Menachem Mazouz reverses his position and carries out a criminal investigation against those suspected of involvement. In a letter to the family of James Miller, a 34-year-old photojournalist shot and killed in the Gaza Strip, Lord Peter Goldsmith, Britain's attorney general, says he wrote Mazouz on June 26 and gave him six weeks to respond. The deadline is on Tuesday. According to Goldsmith, after an inquest by a coroner, Dr. Andrew Scott Reid, Miller had been unlawfully killed by troops of the Israel Defense Forces. "Dr. Scott Reid wrote to me and invited me to consider instituting criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom against.
Report: Abbas, Olmert to meet in Jericho
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Palestinian source says leaders to meet in West Bank city on Monday, to discuss foundations of upcoming Mideast peace conference proposed by US President Bush Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to meet in Jericho on Monday, Abbas' aide said on Saturday. The Prime Minister's Office reported that the two would meet next week, but said that the date and venue of the meeting were not yet determined. The leaders will discuss for the first time the Mideast peace conference proposed by US President George Bush a few weeks ago, and according to the source, the Jericho meeting should lay the foundation for agreements the Palestinians wish to reach in the conference which should take place in the fall.
Hundreds march to mark Jewish terror attack in Shfaram
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Hundreds marched through Shfaram yesterday to mark the second year since a Jewish Israel Defense Forces deserter carried out a terrorist attack in the town. The procession was organized by the People's Committee, which was established in the town following the incident. Most of the participants were locals, but Arab MKs and representatives of political movements in the Arab community also attended. Jewish left-wing activists, including Tali Fahima, also took part in the commemorative event. Boycotting the event were Shfaram mayor, Orsan Yasmin, who does not recognize the People's Committee, and the leadership of the Islamic Movement - Northern Branch, headed by Sheikh Raed Salah. The attack on Shfaram civilians was carried out by IDF deserter Eden Natan Zade, who used his army-issued rifle to kill four civilians in a bus and injure others.
Palestinian shepherds lose water tank over 'illegal presence' in military zone
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
The Civil Administration confiscated a tractor and a water tank belonging to Palestinian shepherds living in the northern Jordan Valley. This was the only readily available water source for the approximately 60 members of the Basharat and Bani-Oudeh families and their 1,500 heads of sheep and goats. The Civil Administration is reportedly prepared to return the equipment if its owners agree to leave the area and pay transport costs. It said the tractor was confiscated during a regular patrol because it was being used "in the commission of the offense of presence in an area declared a closed military zone." The tractor driver, Ahmed Bani-Oudeh, said he was stopped near the Beka'ot roadblock when he was on his way to fill the tank with water.
Al Aqsa Brigades bomb two Israeli vehicles, west of the Abu Matipk military post, central Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The Ayman Judeh unit of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, have announced that they have detonated two explosive devices during an Israeli military incursion, between Al Maghazi refugee camp and the border with Israel, in the central Gaza Strip. In a statement received by Ma'an, the Brigades announced, "It [the unit] detonated two explosive devices when [Israeli] Special Forces landed in the area, and engaged with troops in a firefight. Israeli military reinforcements attended the location, accompanied by two military vehicles. They searched the area, under the cover of heavy gunfire, supported by Apache helicopters. Israeli ambulances attended to transport the dead and wounded from the scene". [end]
PA Civil Affairs Corporation returns to work after receiving thousands of Israeli permits for Palestinian workers
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – The head of the Civil Affairs Corporation in the Palestinian Authority, Hussein Ash Sheikh, has said that the coordination offices in West Bank cities "are returning to work as before the contacts were cut between Israel and the PA", with all staff returning to work as normal. In a television interview with Ma'an, Ash Sheikh added, "The corporation is attempting to solve problems which have been accumulating for years. ''He also confirmed that the coordination work will include the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Ash Sheikh stated, "Amongst the issues to be considered vital between the two sides [Israel and the PA] is the return of the Palestinian officers to the Allenby bridge [border crossing with Jordan], in order to facilitate movement for Palestinian citizens.
Transport for Palestinians trapped at Rafah crossing will resume on Sunday
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - The transport of Palestinians stranded at the Rafah Crossing will resume on Sunday, via the Al Awja crossing between Egypt and Israel, after being suspended during the period of Shabbat [the Jewish sabbath]. Hundreds of Palestinians have arrived at Arish Stadium, in preparation for the transport to the Gaza Strip in the morning. The First secretary in the Palestinian embassy to Cairo, Hani Jabbour, stated that the coordination to transport more Palestinians is still ongoing, and that the coordination is being managed, according to a formeragreement with Israel, to allow all the Palestinians at the Rafah crossing to return to the Gaza Strip. Over the course of the week, at least 2400 of the 6000 stranded Palestinians have now entered the Gaza Strip, crossing into Israel at the Awja crossing, and then being transported to the north-Gazan Erez crossing.
Mustafa Barghouthi describes Israeli water theft to Emory University official
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an - The secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative and former information minister, Mustafa Barghouthi, has met in Ramallah with an official from Emory University in Atlanta, describing the difficult situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. In a statement received by Ma'an, Dr Bargouthi declared that "the problem remains that the Israeli occupation didn't stop for a moment since 1967, which makes it the longest military occupation in the modern era". Dr Bargouthi said that Israel "wants a Palestinian state with temporary borders, without dealing with issues at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as final borders, Jerusalem, refugees and water. The former information minister revealed that Israel has stolen some 800 million cubic metres of water, out of a total of 936 million available in the West Bank.
Acting PLC speaker calls for unified campaign to release imprisoned PLC members
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - Acting PLC speaker, Dr Ahmad Bahar, has called for a widespread Arab and Islamic campaign to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and abducted PLC members. Dr Bahar declared, "The PLC's non-recognition of the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation stresses that the PLC members are hostages in the Israeli prisons." In a press conference in Gaza, Dr Bahar urged President Abbas to immediately move in order to end the crisis of the Palestinians stranded at Rafah, and rejected the use of any crossing controlled by Israeli authorities. He also urged President Abbas to respect the freedom of journalism in the occupied territories. Dr Bahar added that Fayyad's government "failed to form a constitutional point of view, because it has not received the necessary confidence of the PLC.
Executive Force declare ban on gunfire at social events
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - The spokesman of the Executive Force, Islam Shahwan, stated yesterday evening that the Executive Force will not allow any person to shoot gunfire at social events. The statement came after an incident yesterday evening, in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in the Gaza Strip, where celebratory gunfire at a wedding caused the injury of a relative to the groom and a second, more serious, injury, when party-goers shot randomly in the air. Shahwan added that the Executive Force immediately began to investigate the incident. He confirmed that the culprit will be facing trial. The Executive Forces earlier issued a resolution, prohibiting shooting in social events, "in order to preserve the lives of citizens". [end]
President Abbas issues decree, posthumously awarding honors to those killed during Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday evening issued a number of resolutions, recommending a number of honors toward his officers, following the investigation into the causes of "the revolt in the Gaza Strip". President Abbas granted the martyr, Mohammad Mousa Mohammed Almusah, from the Military Intelligence, the Order of Jerusalem and posthumously promoted him to the rank of Colonel. The martyr, Major Osama Rashid Salim Madhoun, of the National Security service was also awarded the Order of Jerusalem, and was promoted posthumously to the rank of Colonel. Captain Shahid Hasan Muhammad Hasan Daas, of the medical services, was granted the Order of Jerusalem, and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The martyr, First Assistant Mahmoud Mohamed Mansour Dghamash, from the National Security,...
2 Gazans found after cut through fence to seek work
Amos Harel, Roni Singer-Heruti, Eli Ashkenazi and Mijal Grinberg, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
A special-forces unit Friday found two Palestinians who cut through the fence with Gaza in an apparent attempt to find work. The police and the Israel Defense Forces had set up roadblocks in the south and center of the country in the fear the two Gazans were terrorists. The moves snarled traffic along Road 6 and at the entrances to Tel Aviv. The pair, who were apparently seeking work, came through the security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel at around 3:30 P. M. near Kibbutz Mefalsim, southwest of Sderot, and were apprehended in the Arab town of Tira near Kfar Sava in the late evening. Shortly after they were arrested, the man who had allegedly driven them into Israel was arrested in Bat Yam. The IDF is to begin an investigation into the incident in the coming days.
Hundreds of Palestinians march on the second anniversary of Shfarm killing
George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 8/4/2007
Hundreds of Palestinians joined a march commemorating the second anniversary of the death of four of the city's Arab residents by an Israeli extremist. Several Arab members of Knesset attended the march which arrived at the site killing then moved to the memorial site. MK Jamal Zahalka, said "the killer Natan Zadah, did not come from Mars, he is a product of the Israeli society, and the increasing racist attitudes and education. " Zahalka said that it is true that Israeli politicians condemned Zadah's act, however, they refrained to mention the reasons behind his deadly attack. On August 4, 2005, Natan Zahda opened unprovoked fire from his automatic machine gun at Arab-Palestinian residents from the city of Shfaram in northern Israel killing four and wounding several others.
Nafha society: Israel is responsible for the health of imprisoned general director Muhammad Bsharat
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – The Nafha society for the defending human rights of prisoners on Saturday held the occupying Israeli authorities completely responsible for the deterioration in health of the society's general director, Muhammad Bsharat, after depriving him of necessary treatment in Israeli jail. In a statement received by Ma'an, the society declared that Bsharat, recently imprisoned in Israel, suffers from hyper-sensitivity and severe spasms as a result of kidney stones, and should be transferred to hospital. The Nafha society appealed to the Red Cross and all humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately in order to secure the release Bsharat from Israeli prison, or at least to ensure that he can receive the necessary medicines. [end]
Minister of prisoners' affairs visits Bethlehem and discusses issue of Palestinians in Israeli jails
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian minister of prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, on Saturday visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The visit began with a meeting with local governor, Salah Ta'mari, who stated the importance of pursuing the issue of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails as a government priority. Head of the Bethlehem society for detainees' affairs, Muhammad Hameida, delivered a speech in which he appealed to the Palestinian Authority to avoid any prisoners swap bound by Israeli demands. He also requested that the PA pay any fines imposed on Palestinian citizens by the Israeli courts. Al-Ajrami said that the PA will not accept any prisoners exchange limited by Israeli conditions, but that they welcome the release of any Palestinian prisoner. [end]
IDF officers reprimanded for battalion's "unruly behavior"
Amos Harel, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
A number of commanding officers in the Israel Defense Forces Central Command were reprimanded on Friday following an incident of disorderly behavior involving the Lavi Battalion in Dahariya, south of Hebron. The incident occured on July 26, when a platoon commander and five soldiers commandeered a Palestinian taxi, kidnapped its driver and then shot a town resident, who suffered moderate injuries. GOC Central Command, Gadi Shamni, has decided to take a number of punitive measures against those responsible for the incident. The Kfir Brigade commander, Col. David Menachem, the officer in command of the Lavi Battalion, was reprimanded for shortcomings in educating, supervising and controlling the battalion's activities. Outgoing battalion commander, Lt.
An Nasser Brigades clash with Israeli force in central Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The An Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, have reported clashing with Israeli troops, east of Juhor ad Dik, in the central Gaza Strip, at dawn today. The brigades stated that this engagement "comes in response to the continuing arrests and raids carried out by the occupation forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank… To continue the way of resistance is the way to liberate Palestine". [end]
Qassam Brigades launch 10 mortars at Israeli military post
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades revealed their responsibility on Friday evening for launching 10 mortars at an Israeli military post, north of Beit Lahia in the very north of the Gaza Strip. A statement issued by the Brigades stated that the operation was "part of the retaliation against the Israeli aggression against Palestinian people. " [end]
Islamic Jihad combatants fire projectiles at Erez Crossing
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, the Al Quds Brigades, on Saturday claimed responsibility for launching two mortar shells at the Israeli-controlled Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a statement that the operation came in retaliation for the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
PFLP fighters launch projectiles at Sderot
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, on Saturday announced that they launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli Western Negev town of Sderot." The operation is a natural retaliation to Israeli criminal acts against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," said the brigades in a statement. The brigades called on all Palestinian resistance factions to attack Israel as "the Israeli enemy only understands the language of force." [end]
One Palestinian killed and fifteen injured in Israeli air raid on southern Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Rafah – Ma'an – Palestinian citizen, Hisham Al-Jamal, was assassinated and fifteen others were injured after Israeli drones targeted a car in the Jneina neighbourhood, east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday night. Director of Abu Yousif An Najjar Hospital, Ali Mousa, stated that the hospital received the corpse of Al-Jamal and the fifteen wounded Palestinians, three of whom are in a critical condition. The car was hit near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Mousa said that medical staff are exerting all efforts to save the injured citizens, whose wounds cover their bodies. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli drones launched at least two rockets at a car, in which a number of Palestinian activists from Islamic Jihad's Al Quds Brigades were traveling.
Israel launches Gaza air raid
Al Jazeera 8/4/2007
At least two people have been killed and 15 others injured in an Israeli air raid on two vehicles in the Gaza Strip, ambulance crews and local residents said. Witnesses in Rafah, near Gaza's border with Egypt, said missiles fired from an Israeli aircraft on Saturday hit a car and a truck. Two Islamic Jihad members travelling in the car reportedly escaped unharmed. An Israeli army spokeswoman in Tel Aviv said the attack had prevented "an imminent terrorist strike on Israel" and claimed that the truck had been carrying weapons. Witnesses said explosions came from the vehicle after it was attacked, but there was no immediate independent confirmation that it had been carrying explosives. Some residents said the truck appeared to have been disguised as an Israeli tank transporter.
Russia confirms Hamas officials invited to Moscow for talks
Avi Issacharoff and Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Russian Foreign Minsiter Sergei Lavrov said his country is holding talks with Hamas in order find solutions for the conflict in the Middle East, Israel Radio reported on Saturday. "It's important to hold such talks and countries that do not do so are wrong," he was quoted as saying. On Wednesday, Russia publicly embraced Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, calling him the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and vowing to downgrade its ties with Hamas. Hamas lawmaker Halil al-Haya on Thursday claimed, however, that Russia had invited officials from the Islamic group to visit Moscow for talks. Al-Haya told a Hamas-affiliated Palestinian magazine that the Russian government had officially invited a Hamas delegation, headed by Damascus-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, to Moscow.
ANALYSIS / J'lem lowering expectations over peace talks
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz 8/5/2007
Seven years after the failed Camp David summit, and six and a half years after negotiations ended with the Taba talks, Israel has started talking with the Palestinians on a peace agreement again. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho on Monday is supposed to launch dialogue on the future Palestinian state. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave the parties their homework during her visit last week: to reach an agreed-on diplomatic formula by November's Washington summit and to continue confidence-building gestures. Veteran negotiators in the current government - President Shimon Peres from the Oslo days, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak from Camp David - are, not coincidentally, much more skeptical than Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni regarding the chances of renewing the process.
Olmert and Abbas due to meet on Monday
IMIEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/4/2007
The spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed the meeting between President Ehud Olmert and Abbas is due to take place this Monday, in the West Bank city of Jericho. The meeting is due to discuss the political framework for the future peace deal in the region. Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (File) Mr. Nabil Amr stated that the meeting would be held in private in order to discuss the preparations for the international Middle East peace conference, which was announced last month by the U.S. President George Bush. Mr. Amr also added that the pair would discuss the issues of both the Palestinians and Israelis concerning the final solution. He explained that the Palestinian side had made many observations from the Israeli proposal, stating the positive and encouraging aspects of itl.
Olmert, Abbas to discuss summit in Jericho tomorrow
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to meet tomorrow in Jericho, Palestinian sources told Haaretz. The two leaders are expected to discuss the formulation of the agreement of principles between Israel and the Palestinians, ahead of the international peace conference to be held in Washington in November, the sources said. According to a government official in Jerusalem, Olmert and Abbas "will try to see how they can progress and where they want to get to before November." Aides to the two leaders are scheduled to meet today to discuss tomorrow's agenda. The Palestinians said that during tomorrow's meeting, Abbas would seek to determine the extent of Israel's willingness to advance the peace process.
Plan revealed for Turkey to mediate between Israel and Hamas
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an – The former Israeli ambassador to Turkey has revealed that, during the Israeli prime minister's February trip to Turkey, a proposal was presented by Olmert to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, asking the Turkish PM to mediate between Israel and Hamas, if Hamas were to agree on the Quartet conditions. The Saudi-based newspaper, Al Watan, reported on Saturday that the ambassador admitted failure in "making the Turkish people like Israel", but maintained that "we [Israel] have normal relations with the Turkish." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are due to meet for further talks on Monday, in the Palestinian city of Jericho. [end]
Abbas to meet Higher Arab Monitoring Committee
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Committee members to try and mediate between Hamas, Fatah. 'We intend to show our support for national dialogue,' says committee chair - Members of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee in Israel are scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday. The meeting was scheduled after the committee decided it should try to help mediate between Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinians' latest political crisis. The committee intends to call on both sides to increase negotiation efforts. The committee also intended to meet with former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, but due to the difficulties entering Gaza, such a meeting has not been scheduled yet. "We sent Abu Mazen (Abbas) a letter and he responded favorably"¦ We intend to meet with the Palestinian leadership...
Arabic press unconvinced by Rice
BBC Online 8/3/2007
Editorials and commentaries in the Arabic press have few kind words for the United States, the day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended her visit to the region. - The popular Palestinian daily al-Quds tries to see "encouraging conditions" for peace after Ms Rice's talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders; but many other commentators appear scornful of US policy in the region, and in particular a proposed US-sponsored peace conference in the autumn. - EDITORIAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-QUDS - In the midst of the apparently encouraging conditions following US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit, it seems that there are some who are trying to hinder the progress of the intensive Palestinian, Israeli, Arab and US diplomatic efforts.
Ex-Arafat aide: Chirac should air rais' real cause of death
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Former French President Jacques Chirac knows what killed Yasser Arafat and should make it public, an ex-Arafat aide said yesterday, reiterating that he believes his boss was poisoned by Israel. Arafat died November 11, 2004, after being treated in a French military hospital. Bassam Abu Sharif, a former Arafat aide, told reporters yesterday - on what would have been Arafat's 78th birthday - that Chirac and Arafat's French doctors know the real cause of death. However, he maintains, they decided to withhold it from the public for fear of further destabilizing the Middle East. Abu Sharif said he believes Israel killed Arafat with a substance that destroys red blood cells. Asked for proof, he said he would reveal his sources if Chirac publicly denies his allegations.
Ministry of health celebrates launch of Japan-sponsored health project
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – The Ministry of Health has held a ceremony to open a Japanese Consultancy Office for The Japan International Cooperation Agency's "Reproductive Health / Mother & Child Health Project", together with the delivery of new vehicles for the project. The ceremony was held August 2nd at the central laboratory of the Ministry of Health, Ramallah, in the presence of Dr. Anan Masri, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Assad Ramlawi, Director General of PHC and Public Health from the Ministry of Health and Mr. Takeshi Naruse, resident representative of JICA, alongside JICA consultants Dr. Hagiwara, Ms Tsuda and Mr. Yamazaki. The recently donated medical and other equipment has a value of over US$180,000. [end]
DFLP leader-in-exile discusses a history of Palestinian peace negotiations and life in Damascus
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatma, on Friday gave an interview to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he said it that instead of dwelling on the past, the dialogue should turn to the future. Hawatma added that that the Israeli leadership must avoid listening to the Palestinian right-wing. In an extended interview with the Israeli newspaper, Hawatma appeared to speak with caution. He avoided expressing regret for the military operation carried out by the DFLP in the Israeli town of Ma'alot-Tarshiha over 33 years ago. In May 1974, the DFLP attacked an elementary school in the town, which resulted in the massacre of 21 school children. The paper asked how he felt about the operation, he replied, "You shouldn't ask me such questions, ask the military wing of the Front.
Nabil Amr: Olmert-Abbas meeting in Jericho to focus on both immediate and final status issues
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Political advisor to President Abbas, Nabil Amr said on Saturday that the date for the meeting between President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not yet been set. However, Amr expected the meeting to go ahead on Monday, in the eastern West Bank city of Jericho. Amr told Ma'an that the meeting would discuss two key channels: the separation wall, detainees, and the removal of military checkpoints from the West Bank on one hand; with the final status issues and the resumption of negotiations en route to the US sponsored autumn peace conference on the other. With regards to the latest visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region, Amr said "it gave a push towards the Abbas-Olmert meeting through the financial support the US donated to the PA".
Nativity Church deportees in Gaza appeal to Abbas to address their case
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinians from the West Bank who were exiled to Gaza after the siege of the Nativity Church in 2002 on Saturday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to present their cause in his upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday. The deportees said during a press conference in Gaza City that their living conditions have severely deteriorated since the recent domestic clashes between Hamas and Fatah in the strip. They appealed to the Palestinian presidency to address their case immediately." The appeal comes ahead of the expected meeting scheduled between Abbas and Olmert, we are hoping that we will be able to return to our homes after five years in exile," said deported Palestinian, Ali Alqam. Another deportee, Jawad 'Ubayyat, expressed his deep understanding of the...
Ben-Eliezer: Israel reviving plan to build nuclear power plant
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Israel is reviving plans for a nuclear power plant in the Negev Desert, Army Radio quoted Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) as saying on Friday. Ben-Eliezer said he has the support of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and that the Prime Minister's Office and the Infrastructure Ministry have formed a joint team to look into the matter. David Baker, an official in Olmert's office, declined comment. Ben-Eliezer spoke Friday to a gathering of engineers in the town of Herzliya, according to Army Radio. "The government of Israel is to make a historic decision concerning the building of a nuclear power plant... in the Negev," Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying. He said the project would be presented to the government for approval in coming months.
J'lem march to go ahead despite disputes among survivor groups
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Some 5,000 people are expected to march between the Knesset and the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem today to protest against the government's proposed assistance package for Holocaust survivors. The March of the Living had been in jeopardy of being canceled because of disputes between the survivors' organizations, and due to pressure from the government. The Holocaust Survivors' Welfare Fund and Tafnit, the two organizers of the march, said Friday that they were not satisfied with the decisions announced the night before by the Prime Minister's Office that granted a monthly stipend of NIS 83 to each survivor. The organizations said they are demanding a formal statement by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to revoke the decision and promise to hold immediate talks with representatives of the survivors.
Detectives in Tulkarem arrest a forgery gang with fake official documents
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Tulkarem - Ma'an - Police detectives in Tulkarem have arrested a gang suspected of forging official documents, belonging to organizations and companies. The forgery was part of a plot to present money to foreign embassies, in order to assist the application for a visa. Director of the Department of Investigation in Tulkarem, Abed Al Latif Al Kaddoumi, stated that this case had been closely monitored, and the culprits "were caught red-handed". Kaddoumi revealed that these documents were forged bank certificates, and signed seals of some banks, companies and institutions in the region. The passports of the offenders have been seized, along with a number of technical devices used in the counterfeiting process. The police chief in Tulkarem declared, "This arrest is a sign of achievement for the hard-working staff, which care for the community.
Putting the 'motivation crisis' in perspective
Stuart Cohen, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
By combining Yagil Levy's analysis ("The root of the motivation crisis," August 1) of Israel Defense Forces recruitment figures with data from other sources, we can place the supposed "motivation crisis" in true perspective. Clearly, no such "crisis" actually exists. On the contrary, Israeli enlistment remains at extraordinarily high levels - especially, as Levy shows, among the better educated, healthier and more prosperous segments of the population - precisely the upper-middle class that senior defense establishment sources would have us believe are shirking in droves. Look at the facts: 1. The rise in the percentage of Jewish men who do not serve is by far derived from the exploding number of exemptions granted to the ultra-Orthodox (Haredim).
Not civil servants
Zvi Zrahiya, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Only a few weeks ago, after the state comptroller published his report on the preparedness of the home front during the Second Lebanon War, Knesset members bombarded journalists with endless beeper messages that almost brought down the system, and faxes that felled forests, all to give their response to the report. But in spite of their professed worries, only one MK actually showed up at the meeting of the Knesset State Control Committee last week to discuss the comptroller's report: the committee's chairman, Zevulun Orlev. MK Yakov Litzman also showed up near the end of the session after attending a meeting of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee scheduled for the same time. A few MKs had acceptable excuses: David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu had a doctor's appointment, Limor Livnat (Likud) was moving...
OPT: Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report24 - 30 Jul 2007
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 7/30/2007
SUMMARY POINTS - Gazan Economy: 1. The Gazan economy continues to deteriorate as a result of the limited opening of the Gazan crossings. The vast majority of import-dependent industries – notably the wood, construction and garment sectors – have temporarily closed down. Only 10% of Gaza's industries, those depending on previously-stored raw materials, remain partially functional. 2. If the closures continue, the Palestinian Association of Businessmen expects that at least 120,000 workers in Gaza will lose their jobs. 3. The total accumulative and direct losses since the closure of the Gaza crossings in mid-June is now reaching about $23 million, with an average daily loss of about $0. 5 million. 4. Production capacity in the furniture sector, one of the most important sectors in Gaza, has...
Business in Brief
Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Israelis are beginning to feel the effects of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States: mortgage rates here rose last week by 0. 5 percent, according to the mortgage banks. The rates are those of popular fixed-rate mortgages - loans linked to an inflation index, usually the Consumer Price Index, with the interest rate staying the same for the life of the deal. For now, the rate for such a 20-year mortgage is in a range of 4. 5 to 4. 9 percent, before linkage. (Tal Levy). The Finance Ministry is seeking to raise water prices by 10-11 percent in 2008, TheMarker has learned. The intent is to cover desalinization costs, which total an estimated NIS 400 million a year. The National Infrastructures Ministry objects to the increase. Desalinization plants charge more for water than the Mekorot water company does, at NIS 2.
Three bathers drown across country after lifeguards strike
Igal Hai, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Three bathers on Saturday drowned -two at a beach in Netanya and another in the sea off the southern city of Ashdod- as lifeguards went on strike to protest stalled negotiations over their salaries. Lifeguards ceased working at 17:00 across the country apart from in Haifa and Tel Aviv to demonstrate against local authorities' alleged foot-dragging in talks over a new work agreement. Lifeguards are asking for a raise in the salaries of new employees who earn NIS 19. 5 ($4. 50) an hour. The Histadrut labor union that is representing the lifeguards informed a labor court they would cease working at 13:00 on Friday and Saturday because talks with local authorities over a raise have reached an impasse. A labor court ruled lifeguards in Haifa and Tel Aviv are not allowed to join the strike because of clauses in their contracts.
Heftsiba chair Yona alleged to be in Russia
Anat Georgi, Arik Mirovsky and Anat Roeh, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Where is Boaz Yona, the controlling owner and CEO of real estate company Heftsiba? - According to ultra-Orthodox sources who have been following Yona for the past two weeks, he left Israel last Thursday on a flight to Russia, while his company is expected to ask a court to protect it from its creditors. A Yona family confidante, however, said he is still in Israel. But there is still no sign of his whereabouts. In the meantime, various documents came out over the weekend showing that Heftsiba owes certain companies NIS 1. 5 billion, and that there are about 4,000 families waiting for unfinished apartments. In addition, hundreds of families spent the Sabbath in their unfinished apartments after breaking in over the past three days to prevent Heftsiba's creditors from taking hold of the flats.
Pork-selling deli set on fire in Netanya
Raanan Ben-Zur, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Month of protests against non-kosher delicatessen following by law prohibiting sale of pork products takes violent turn with one suspect arrested for arsonAviv's Delicatessen which sells pork products was set on fire in Netanya on Saturday, and significantly damaged. One suspect was arrested in the matter. The store has been under attack since its opening about one month ago, and was protested against several times, despite the fact that other pork-selling stores operate in the city. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, when the police received reports of a fire. Arriving at the scene, the police spotted a suspicious man and chased after him. The 36-year-old was caught after a short chase and taken in for questioning.
Israelis are up in arms at celebrity draft dodgers
Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv, The Guardian 8/5/2007
For decades, Israel's heroes were its soldiers and pioneers who fought to build and protect the state, but now its cultural icons are models and singers likely to have dodged military service. The new trend was graphically demonstrated last week when it emerged that five out of eight contestants in A Star is Born, a talent contest on the lines of Pop Idol, had not served in the army. In Israel, military service for men and women is compulsory, but increasing numbers of young people are opting out by claiming to be religious or feigning mental illness. Recent figures revealed that 43 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men do not perform their military service, which lasts three years for men and two years for women. Some of Israel's biggest celebrities have never served in the forces, such as the model Bar Refaeli, girlfriend of Leonardo diCaprio, and Avi Geffen, a pop star.
Lebanon braces for key elections
BBC Online 8/4/2007
Lebanon is preparing to hold two by-elections, one a key test ofsupport among the deeply divided Christian community. - Polls open on Sunday to replace two assassinated anti-Syrians, Walid Eido and former minister Pierre Gemayel. Former President Amin Gemayel is vying to take his son's parliamentary seat. His supporters clashed with those of opposition leader Michel Aoun last week. Both are potential candidates in this year's divisive presidential race. The ruling Western-backed, anti-Syrian majority is expected to easily win the election to replace Mr Eido in mainly Sunni West Beirut, but the result in the Maronite Christian stronghold of Metn is keenly awaited. Tension has been rising and the army had to intervene there to stop a brawl among rival supporters.
Nasrallah calls for Lebanon to unite
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
Hezbollah chief says party ready for settlement, US Administration seeks to plant discords. - BEIRUT - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday his party was ready for a settlement of the political crisis in Lebanon. "We are ready for a settlement internally," said Nasrallah, the charismatic Shiite leader who has been spearheading the opposition against the government. Lebanon has been in deep political crisis since November when six ministers, including five Shiites, stepped down from the government, demanding the formation of a cabinet with greater representation. Nasrallah was speaking amid tensions in the country ahead of Sunday's crucial by-elections to replace two MPs killed earlier this year in attacks blamed by the ruling majority on Syria.
US curbs on 'undermining' Lebanon
BBC Online 8/3/2007
The US government has ordered the freezing of assets of anyone it accuses of undermining the Lebanese government. - A letter to Congress said the order would apply to anyone fomenting instability in Lebanon or contributing to "Syrian interference". The letter from President George W Bush did not name any specific individuals. Mr Bush has already banned Syrian and Lebanese officials whom Washington considers are undermining the Lebanese government from travelling to the US. A White House spokesman said Mr Bush had issued this executive order because Lebanon's sovereignty and democratic institutions were increasingly under attack. The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says this latest action may be more symbolic than anything else, but certainly shows relations between the US and Syria are as strained as ever. -- See also: Bush freezes assets of persons undermining Siniora Cabinet
Hamas sponsors mass wedding in Palestinian camp in Syria
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Some 60 Palestinian couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony at their refugee camp in Syria in the first event of its kind to be sponsored by the Islamist Hamas movement. The pro-Hamas marriage ceremony late Friday night was attended by 5,000 people. It aimed to help young people deal with the prohibitive costs of marriage, according to Hamas officials at the event. "Hamas helped me make my dreams come true. I want to thank Hamas simply because it made me happy," said 27-year-old groom Abdel Rahman Taha. In addition to organizing the event, Hamas provided each couple with $1,500 in a mixture of cash and household appliances, the couples said. While this is the first such mass wedding to be held by Hamas in Syria, the group has sponsored others elsewhere in the region, including one in the Palestinian city of Nablus in 2005 involving 226 couples.
Jordan police arrest one of two Islamists who escaped jail
DPA, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
One of two convicted Islamists has been arrested days after he fled Joweideh prison in Jordan, a police spokesman said in Amman Saturday. Captain Bashir Dejah said Moath Khaled Breizat, 20, sentenced to 20 years with hard labor in September, was arrested a few days after he escaped from prison along with Iraqi fugitive Saad Fakhri Noaimi, 40, who had been convicted for life in a different terrorism-related case in April. Breizat had been convicted - along with two other Jordanians - for plotting to target US trainers at an international police academy, designed to train Iraqi recruits east of Amman. The Iraqi man was convicted - along with two of his compatriots, a Saudi and a Libyan - for plotting to blow up Jordan's international Queen Alia airport back in 2005.
Maliki: timetable for US withdrawal not possible
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
Iraqi PM says neither Baghdad nor Washington can set timetable for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. - WASHINGTON - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a US television interview to be aired Friday that neither he nor the United States can set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. "Anything specific I cannot give, neither us nor the US government can set up a timetable," ABC News quoted Maliki as saying in an interview with the network's correspondent in Baghdad. Maliki has previously insisted that Iraqi security forces were ready to take over security from US troops by this summer, but told ABC News he would not rule out US troops being in Iraq in five years time. "It all depends on the success and the agreements between us.
British strike causes Basra blaze
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
British artillery fire hits disused oil facility causing extensive blaze, sending thick black smoke into air. - BASRA, Iraq - British artillery fire on Saturday slammed into a disused oil facility in Iraq's southern city of Basra, causing an extensive blaze and sending thick black smoke into the air, the military said. The strike was ordered after militiamen attacked a joint coordination centre used by British and Iraqi forces in the city, and their firing point was identified, British military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said. "This afternoon, the multi-national force in the southeast returned fire against a rogue militia following an indirect fire attack on a provisional joint coordination centre in Basra," he said. "The multi-national force fire hit a disused oil facility that subsequently caught fire,"...
Grim camps for Iraqis avoid 'pull factor'
Bernd Debusmann - SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, Middle East Online 8/3/2007
Camps suffer from poor infrastructure for essential services, residents exposed to extreme threats. - Refugee workers call it the "pull factor" -- camps with conditions comfortable enough to attract people in a country where an average of 60,000 Iraqis a month are driven from their homes by sectarian violence. So the challenge for aid workers is to provide safe havens that do not invite permanence. The Qawala camp on the outskirts of Sulaimaniya in northern Kurdistan, a haven of stability in a treacherous country, fits the bill. Conditions are unlikely to pull in all but the most desperate. You smell the camp before you enter it -- the stench caused by the absence of proper latrines and the lack of running water. There is no kerosene for cooking and no electricity.
Exodus from Somali capital triples
Middle East Online 8/3/2007
Over 21,000 Somalis abandon Mogadishu in July as life worsens in war-battered capital. - GENEVA - The number of people fleeing the war-battered Somalia capital Mogadishu more than tripled in July from the previous month, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday. Over 21,000 abandoned the city in July against 6,000 in June, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a news conference here. In the first phase of fighting in the city between the militia and government troops between February and May, some 400,000 people left the capital and only 125,000 have returned since, he said. The displaced, housed in camps outside the city, said life in Mogadishu was "worse than ever," and underlined that daily violence made their return impossible, Redmond said.
US DOS: Joint statement following July 31 meeting
United States Department of State, ReliefWeb 7/31/2007
Washington, DC - The following is the text of the joint statement released at the conclusion of the July 31, 2007 Foreign Minister's meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt, Jordan, and the United States in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: The Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt, Jordan, and the United States met today in Sharm El-Sheik to consult as partners and friends and to coordinate their efforts to promote regional peace and security. The participants reaffirmed their shared vision of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Middle East and their commitment to work together to achieve this common goal. This meeting follows the meetings previously held in New York, Cairo, at the Dead Sea and in Kuwait city. The participants emphasized the importance of dialogue and diplomacy and...
Articles
__._,_.___Bethlehem – Ma'an – Former political adviser to the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Bassam Abu Sharif, said on Saturday that former French President Jacques Chirac and three French doctors, who treated the late leader, are adamant that he was killed and know which poison killed him. Abu Sharif also said that Chirac decided to keep the findings of the French doctors a secret, claiming that it was in the interests of the Palestinian population. During a press conference in Ramallah, Abu Sharif renewed his accusations against Israel and said that they poisoned the former Palestinian leader. He added that the method of assassinating Arafat was the same as the one used to kill former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader, Wadie Haddad, in East Germany in 1978.
Britain may seek extradition of IDF soldiers killing of cameraman
Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Britain may seek the extradition of Israeli troops in the shooting death of a British television cameraman in May 2003 in Rafah unless Attorney General Menachem Mazouz reverses his position and carries out a criminal investigation against those suspected of involvement. In a letter to the family of James Miller, a 34-year-old photojournalist shot and killed in the Gaza Strip, Lord Peter Goldsmith, Britain's attorney general, says he wrote Mazouz on June 26 and gave him six weeks to respond. The deadline is on Tuesday. According to Goldsmith, after an inquest by a coroner, Dr. Andrew Scott Reid, Miller had been unlawfully killed by troops of the Israel Defense Forces. "Dr. Scott Reid wrote to me and invited me to consider instituting criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom against.
Report: Abbas, Olmert to meet in Jericho
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Palestinian source says leaders to meet in West Bank city on Monday, to discuss foundations of upcoming Mideast peace conference proposed by US President Bush Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to meet in Jericho on Monday, Abbas' aide said on Saturday. The Prime Minister's Office reported that the two would meet next week, but said that the date and venue of the meeting were not yet determined. The leaders will discuss for the first time the Mideast peace conference proposed by US President George Bush a few weeks ago, and according to the source, the Jericho meeting should lay the foundation for agreements the Palestinians wish to reach in the conference which should take place in the fall.
Hundreds march to mark Jewish terror attack in Shfaram
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Hundreds marched through Shfaram yesterday to mark the second year since a Jewish Israel Defense Forces deserter carried out a terrorist attack in the town. The procession was organized by the People's Committee, which was established in the town following the incident. Most of the participants were locals, but Arab MKs and representatives of political movements in the Arab community also attended. Jewish left-wing activists, including Tali Fahima, also took part in the commemorative event. Boycotting the event were Shfaram mayor, Orsan Yasmin, who does not recognize the People's Committee, and the leadership of the Islamic Movement - Northern Branch, headed by Sheikh Raed Salah. The attack on Shfaram civilians was carried out by IDF deserter Eden Natan Zade, who used his army-issued rifle to kill four civilians in a bus and injure others.
Palestinian shepherds lose water tank over 'illegal presence' in military zone
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
The Civil Administration confiscated a tractor and a water tank belonging to Palestinian shepherds living in the northern Jordan Valley. This was the only readily available water source for the approximately 60 members of the Basharat and Bani-Oudeh families and their 1,500 heads of sheep and goats. The Civil Administration is reportedly prepared to return the equipment if its owners agree to leave the area and pay transport costs. It said the tractor was confiscated during a regular patrol because it was being used "in the commission of the offense of presence in an area declared a closed military zone." The tractor driver, Ahmed Bani-Oudeh, said he was stopped near the Beka'ot roadblock when he was on his way to fill the tank with water.
Al Aqsa Brigades bomb two Israeli vehicles, west of the Abu Matipk military post, central Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The Ayman Judeh unit of the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Brigades, have announced that they have detonated two explosive devices during an Israeli military incursion, between Al Maghazi refugee camp and the border with Israel, in the central Gaza Strip. In a statement received by Ma'an, the Brigades announced, "It [the unit] detonated two explosive devices when [Israeli] Special Forces landed in the area, and engaged with troops in a firefight. Israeli military reinforcements attended the location, accompanied by two military vehicles. They searched the area, under the cover of heavy gunfire, supported by Apache helicopters. Israeli ambulances attended to transport the dead and wounded from the scene". [end]
PA Civil Affairs Corporation returns to work after receiving thousands of Israeli permits for Palestinian workers
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – The head of the Civil Affairs Corporation in the Palestinian Authority, Hussein Ash Sheikh, has said that the coordination offices in West Bank cities "are returning to work as before the contacts were cut between Israel and the PA", with all staff returning to work as normal. In a television interview with Ma'an, Ash Sheikh added, "The corporation is attempting to solve problems which have been accumulating for years. ''He also confirmed that the coordination work will include the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. Ash Sheikh stated, "Amongst the issues to be considered vital between the two sides [Israel and the PA] is the return of the Palestinian officers to the Allenby bridge [border crossing with Jordan], in order to facilitate movement for Palestinian citizens.
Transport for Palestinians trapped at Rafah crossing will resume on Sunday
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - The transport of Palestinians stranded at the Rafah Crossing will resume on Sunday, via the Al Awja crossing between Egypt and Israel, after being suspended during the period of Shabbat [the Jewish sabbath]. Hundreds of Palestinians have arrived at Arish Stadium, in preparation for the transport to the Gaza Strip in the morning. The First secretary in the Palestinian embassy to Cairo, Hani Jabbour, stated that the coordination to transport more Palestinians is still ongoing, and that the coordination is being managed, according to a formeragreement with Israel, to allow all the Palestinians at the Rafah crossing to return to the Gaza Strip. Over the course of the week, at least 2400 of the 6000 stranded Palestinians have now entered the Gaza Strip, crossing into Israel at the Awja crossing, and then being transported to the north-Gazan Erez crossing.
Mustafa Barghouthi describes Israeli water theft to Emory University official
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an - The secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative and former information minister, Mustafa Barghouthi, has met in Ramallah with an official from Emory University in Atlanta, describing the difficult situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. In a statement received by Ma'an, Dr Bargouthi declared that "the problem remains that the Israeli occupation didn't stop for a moment since 1967, which makes it the longest military occupation in the modern era". Dr Bargouthi said that Israel "wants a Palestinian state with temporary borders, without dealing with issues at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as final borders, Jerusalem, refugees and water. The former information minister revealed that Israel has stolen some 800 million cubic metres of water, out of a total of 936 million available in the West Bank.
Acting PLC speaker calls for unified campaign to release imprisoned PLC members
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - Acting PLC speaker, Dr Ahmad Bahar, has called for a widespread Arab and Islamic campaign to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and abducted PLC members. Dr Bahar declared, "The PLC's non-recognition of the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation stresses that the PLC members are hostages in the Israeli prisons." In a press conference in Gaza, Dr Bahar urged President Abbas to immediately move in order to end the crisis of the Palestinians stranded at Rafah, and rejected the use of any crossing controlled by Israeli authorities. He also urged President Abbas to respect the freedom of journalism in the occupied territories. Dr Bahar added that Fayyad's government "failed to form a constitutional point of view, because it has not received the necessary confidence of the PLC.
Executive Force declare ban on gunfire at social events
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - The spokesman of the Executive Force, Islam Shahwan, stated yesterday evening that the Executive Force will not allow any person to shoot gunfire at social events. The statement came after an incident yesterday evening, in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in the Gaza Strip, where celebratory gunfire at a wedding caused the injury of a relative to the groom and a second, more serious, injury, when party-goers shot randomly in the air. Shahwan added that the Executive Force immediately began to investigate the incident. He confirmed that the culprit will be facing trial. The Executive Forces earlier issued a resolution, prohibiting shooting in social events, "in order to preserve the lives of citizens". [end]
President Abbas issues decree, posthumously awarding honors to those killed during Hamas takeover of Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday evening issued a number of resolutions, recommending a number of honors toward his officers, following the investigation into the causes of "the revolt in the Gaza Strip". President Abbas granted the martyr, Mohammad Mousa Mohammed Almusah, from the Military Intelligence, the Order of Jerusalem and posthumously promoted him to the rank of Colonel. The martyr, Major Osama Rashid Salim Madhoun, of the National Security service was also awarded the Order of Jerusalem, and was promoted posthumously to the rank of Colonel. Captain Shahid Hasan Muhammad Hasan Daas, of the medical services, was granted the Order of Jerusalem, and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The martyr, First Assistant Mahmoud Mohamed Mansour Dghamash, from the National Security,...
2 Gazans found after cut through fence to seek work
Amos Harel, Roni Singer-Heruti, Eli Ashkenazi and Mijal Grinberg, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
A special-forces unit Friday found two Palestinians who cut through the fence with Gaza in an apparent attempt to find work. The police and the Israel Defense Forces had set up roadblocks in the south and center of the country in the fear the two Gazans were terrorists. The moves snarled traffic along Road 6 and at the entrances to Tel Aviv. The pair, who were apparently seeking work, came through the security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel at around 3:30 P. M. near Kibbutz Mefalsim, southwest of Sderot, and were apprehended in the Arab town of Tira near Kfar Sava in the late evening. Shortly after they were arrested, the man who had allegedly driven them into Israel was arrested in Bat Yam. The IDF is to begin an investigation into the incident in the coming days.
Hundreds of Palestinians march on the second anniversary of Shfarm killing
George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 8/4/2007
Hundreds of Palestinians joined a march commemorating the second anniversary of the death of four of the city's Arab residents by an Israeli extremist. Several Arab members of Knesset attended the march which arrived at the site killing then moved to the memorial site. MK Jamal Zahalka, said "the killer Natan Zadah, did not come from Mars, he is a product of the Israeli society, and the increasing racist attitudes and education. " Zahalka said that it is true that Israeli politicians condemned Zadah's act, however, they refrained to mention the reasons behind his deadly attack. On August 4, 2005, Natan Zahda opened unprovoked fire from his automatic machine gun at Arab-Palestinian residents from the city of Shfaram in northern Israel killing four and wounding several others.
Nafha society: Israel is responsible for the health of imprisoned general director Muhammad Bsharat
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – The Nafha society for the defending human rights of prisoners on Saturday held the occupying Israeli authorities completely responsible for the deterioration in health of the society's general director, Muhammad Bsharat, after depriving him of necessary treatment in Israeli jail. In a statement received by Ma'an, the society declared that Bsharat, recently imprisoned in Israel, suffers from hyper-sensitivity and severe spasms as a result of kidney stones, and should be transferred to hospital. The Nafha society appealed to the Red Cross and all humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately in order to secure the release Bsharat from Israeli prison, or at least to ensure that he can receive the necessary medicines. [end]
Minister of prisoners' affairs visits Bethlehem and discusses issue of Palestinians in Israeli jails
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian minister of prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, on Saturday visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The visit began with a meeting with local governor, Salah Ta'mari, who stated the importance of pursuing the issue of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails as a government priority. Head of the Bethlehem society for detainees' affairs, Muhammad Hameida, delivered a speech in which he appealed to the Palestinian Authority to avoid any prisoners swap bound by Israeli demands. He also requested that the PA pay any fines imposed on Palestinian citizens by the Israeli courts. Al-Ajrami said that the PA will not accept any prisoners exchange limited by Israeli conditions, but that they welcome the release of any Palestinian prisoner. [end]
IDF officers reprimanded for battalion's "unruly behavior"
Amos Harel, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
A number of commanding officers in the Israel Defense Forces Central Command were reprimanded on Friday following an incident of disorderly behavior involving the Lavi Battalion in Dahariya, south of Hebron. The incident occured on July 26, when a platoon commander and five soldiers commandeered a Palestinian taxi, kidnapped its driver and then shot a town resident, who suffered moderate injuries. GOC Central Command, Gadi Shamni, has decided to take a number of punitive measures against those responsible for the incident. The Kfir Brigade commander, Col. David Menachem, the officer in command of the Lavi Battalion, was reprimanded for shortcomings in educating, supervising and controlling the battalion's activities. Outgoing battalion commander, Lt.
An Nasser Brigades clash with Israeli force in central Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The An Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, have reported clashing with Israeli troops, east of Juhor ad Dik, in the central Gaza Strip, at dawn today. The brigades stated that this engagement "comes in response to the continuing arrests and raids carried out by the occupation forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank… To continue the way of resistance is the way to liberate Palestine". [end]
Qassam Brigades launch 10 mortars at Israeli military post
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza - Ma'an – The Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades revealed their responsibility on Friday evening for launching 10 mortars at an Israeli military post, north of Beit Lahia in the very north of the Gaza Strip. A statement issued by the Brigades stated that the operation was "part of the retaliation against the Israeli aggression against Palestinian people. " [end]
Islamic Jihad combatants fire projectiles at Erez Crossing
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, the Al Quds Brigades, on Saturday claimed responsibility for launching two mortar shells at the Israeli-controlled Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a statement that the operation came in retaliation for the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. [end]
PFLP fighters launch projectiles at Sderot
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, on Saturday announced that they launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli Western Negev town of Sderot." The operation is a natural retaliation to Israeli criminal acts against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," said the brigades in a statement. The brigades called on all Palestinian resistance factions to attack Israel as "the Israeli enemy only understands the language of force." [end]
One Palestinian killed and fifteen injured in Israeli air raid on southern Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Rafah – Ma'an – Palestinian citizen, Hisham Al-Jamal, was assassinated and fifteen others were injured after Israeli drones targeted a car in the Jneina neighbourhood, east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday night. Director of Abu Yousif An Najjar Hospital, Ali Mousa, stated that the hospital received the corpse of Al-Jamal and the fifteen wounded Palestinians, three of whom are in a critical condition. The car was hit near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Mousa said that medical staff are exerting all efforts to save the injured citizens, whose wounds cover their bodies. Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli drones launched at least two rockets at a car, in which a number of Palestinian activists from Islamic Jihad's Al Quds Brigades were traveling.
Israel launches Gaza air raid
Al Jazeera 8/4/2007
At least two people have been killed and 15 others injured in an Israeli air raid on two vehicles in the Gaza Strip, ambulance crews and local residents said. Witnesses in Rafah, near Gaza's border with Egypt, said missiles fired from an Israeli aircraft on Saturday hit a car and a truck. Two Islamic Jihad members travelling in the car reportedly escaped unharmed. An Israeli army spokeswoman in Tel Aviv said the attack had prevented "an imminent terrorist strike on Israel" and claimed that the truck had been carrying weapons. Witnesses said explosions came from the vehicle after it was attacked, but there was no immediate independent confirmation that it had been carrying explosives. Some residents said the truck appeared to have been disguised as an Israeli tank transporter.
Russia confirms Hamas officials invited to Moscow for talks
Avi Issacharoff and Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Russian Foreign Minsiter Sergei Lavrov said his country is holding talks with Hamas in order find solutions for the conflict in the Middle East, Israel Radio reported on Saturday. "It's important to hold such talks and countries that do not do so are wrong," he was quoted as saying. On Wednesday, Russia publicly embraced Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, calling him the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and vowing to downgrade its ties with Hamas. Hamas lawmaker Halil al-Haya on Thursday claimed, however, that Russia had invited officials from the Islamic group to visit Moscow for talks. Al-Haya told a Hamas-affiliated Palestinian magazine that the Russian government had officially invited a Hamas delegation, headed by Damascus-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, to Moscow.
ANALYSIS / J'lem lowering expectations over peace talks
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz 8/5/2007
Seven years after the failed Camp David summit, and six and a half years after negotiations ended with the Taba talks, Israel has started talking with the Palestinians on a peace agreement again. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho on Monday is supposed to launch dialogue on the future Palestinian state. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave the parties their homework during her visit last week: to reach an agreed-on diplomatic formula by November's Washington summit and to continue confidence-building gestures. Veteran negotiators in the current government - President Shimon Peres from the Oslo days, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak from Camp David - are, not coincidentally, much more skeptical than Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni regarding the chances of renewing the process.
Olmert and Abbas due to meet on Monday
IMIEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/4/2007
The spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed the meeting between President Ehud Olmert and Abbas is due to take place this Monday, in the West Bank city of Jericho. The meeting is due to discuss the political framework for the future peace deal in the region. Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (File) Mr. Nabil Amr stated that the meeting would be held in private in order to discuss the preparations for the international Middle East peace conference, which was announced last month by the U.S. President George Bush. Mr. Amr also added that the pair would discuss the issues of both the Palestinians and Israelis concerning the final solution. He explained that the Palestinian side had made many observations from the Israeli proposal, stating the positive and encouraging aspects of itl.
Olmert, Abbas to discuss summit in Jericho tomorrow
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to meet tomorrow in Jericho, Palestinian sources told Haaretz. The two leaders are expected to discuss the formulation of the agreement of principles between Israel and the Palestinians, ahead of the international peace conference to be held in Washington in November, the sources said. According to a government official in Jerusalem, Olmert and Abbas "will try to see how they can progress and where they want to get to before November." Aides to the two leaders are scheduled to meet today to discuss tomorrow's agenda. The Palestinians said that during tomorrow's meeting, Abbas would seek to determine the extent of Israel's willingness to advance the peace process.
Plan revealed for Turkey to mediate between Israel and Hamas
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an – The former Israeli ambassador to Turkey has revealed that, during the Israeli prime minister's February trip to Turkey, a proposal was presented by Olmert to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, asking the Turkish PM to mediate between Israel and Hamas, if Hamas were to agree on the Quartet conditions. The Saudi-based newspaper, Al Watan, reported on Saturday that the ambassador admitted failure in "making the Turkish people like Israel", but maintained that "we [Israel] have normal relations with the Turkish." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are due to meet for further talks on Monday, in the Palestinian city of Jericho. [end]
Abbas to meet Higher Arab Monitoring Committee
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Committee members to try and mediate between Hamas, Fatah. 'We intend to show our support for national dialogue,' says committee chair - Members of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee in Israel are scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday. The meeting was scheduled after the committee decided it should try to help mediate between Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinians' latest political crisis. The committee intends to call on both sides to increase negotiation efforts. The committee also intended to meet with former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, but due to the difficulties entering Gaza, such a meeting has not been scheduled yet. "We sent Abu Mazen (Abbas) a letter and he responded favorably"¦ We intend to meet with the Palestinian leadership...
Arabic press unconvinced by Rice
BBC Online 8/3/2007
Editorials and commentaries in the Arabic press have few kind words for the United States, the day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended her visit to the region. - The popular Palestinian daily al-Quds tries to see "encouraging conditions" for peace after Ms Rice's talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders; but many other commentators appear scornful of US policy in the region, and in particular a proposed US-sponsored peace conference in the autumn. - EDITORIAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-QUDS - In the midst of the apparently encouraging conditions following US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit, it seems that there are some who are trying to hinder the progress of the intensive Palestinian, Israeli, Arab and US diplomatic efforts.
Ex-Arafat aide: Chirac should air rais' real cause of death
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Former French President Jacques Chirac knows what killed Yasser Arafat and should make it public, an ex-Arafat aide said yesterday, reiterating that he believes his boss was poisoned by Israel. Arafat died November 11, 2004, after being treated in a French military hospital. Bassam Abu Sharif, a former Arafat aide, told reporters yesterday - on what would have been Arafat's 78th birthday - that Chirac and Arafat's French doctors know the real cause of death. However, he maintains, they decided to withhold it from the public for fear of further destabilizing the Middle East. Abu Sharif said he believes Israel killed Arafat with a substance that destroys red blood cells. Asked for proof, he said he would reveal his sources if Chirac publicly denies his allegations.
Ministry of health celebrates launch of Japan-sponsored health project
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an – The Ministry of Health has held a ceremony to open a Japanese Consultancy Office for The Japan International Cooperation Agency's "Reproductive Health / Mother & Child Health Project", together with the delivery of new vehicles for the project. The ceremony was held August 2nd at the central laboratory of the Ministry of Health, Ramallah, in the presence of Dr. Anan Masri, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Assad Ramlawi, Director General of PHC and Public Health from the Ministry of Health and Mr. Takeshi Naruse, resident representative of JICA, alongside JICA consultants Dr. Hagiwara, Ms Tsuda and Mr. Yamazaki. The recently donated medical and other equipment has a value of over US$180,000. [end]
DFLP leader-in-exile discusses a history of Palestinian peace negotiations and life in Damascus
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatma, on Friday gave an interview to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he said it that instead of dwelling on the past, the dialogue should turn to the future. Hawatma added that that the Israeli leadership must avoid listening to the Palestinian right-wing. In an extended interview with the Israeli newspaper, Hawatma appeared to speak with caution. He avoided expressing regret for the military operation carried out by the DFLP in the Israeli town of Ma'alot-Tarshiha over 33 years ago. In May 1974, the DFLP attacked an elementary school in the town, which resulted in the massacre of 21 school children. The paper asked how he felt about the operation, he replied, "You shouldn't ask me such questions, ask the military wing of the Front.
Nabil Amr: Olmert-Abbas meeting in Jericho to focus on both immediate and final status issues
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Political advisor to President Abbas, Nabil Amr said on Saturday that the date for the meeting between President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not yet been set. However, Amr expected the meeting to go ahead on Monday, in the eastern West Bank city of Jericho. Amr told Ma'an that the meeting would discuss two key channels: the separation wall, detainees, and the removal of military checkpoints from the West Bank on one hand; with the final status issues and the resumption of negotiations en route to the US sponsored autumn peace conference on the other. With regards to the latest visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region, Amr said "it gave a push towards the Abbas-Olmert meeting through the financial support the US donated to the PA".
Nativity Church deportees in Gaza appeal to Abbas to address their case
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinians from the West Bank who were exiled to Gaza after the siege of the Nativity Church in 2002 on Saturday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to present their cause in his upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday. The deportees said during a press conference in Gaza City that their living conditions have severely deteriorated since the recent domestic clashes between Hamas and Fatah in the strip. They appealed to the Palestinian presidency to address their case immediately." The appeal comes ahead of the expected meeting scheduled between Abbas and Olmert, we are hoping that we will be able to return to our homes after five years in exile," said deported Palestinian, Ali Alqam. Another deportee, Jawad 'Ubayyat, expressed his deep understanding of the...
Ben-Eliezer: Israel reviving plan to build nuclear power plant
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Israel is reviving plans for a nuclear power plant in the Negev Desert, Army Radio quoted Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) as saying on Friday. Ben-Eliezer said he has the support of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and that the Prime Minister's Office and the Infrastructure Ministry have formed a joint team to look into the matter. David Baker, an official in Olmert's office, declined comment. Ben-Eliezer spoke Friday to a gathering of engineers in the town of Herzliya, according to Army Radio. "The government of Israel is to make a historic decision concerning the building of a nuclear power plant... in the Negev," Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying. He said the project would be presented to the government for approval in coming months.
J'lem march to go ahead despite disputes among survivor groups
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Some 5,000 people are expected to march between the Knesset and the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem today to protest against the government's proposed assistance package for Holocaust survivors. The March of the Living had been in jeopardy of being canceled because of disputes between the survivors' organizations, and due to pressure from the government. The Holocaust Survivors' Welfare Fund and Tafnit, the two organizers of the march, said Friday that they were not satisfied with the decisions announced the night before by the Prime Minister's Office that granted a monthly stipend of NIS 83 to each survivor. The organizations said they are demanding a formal statement by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to revoke the decision and promise to hold immediate talks with representatives of the survivors.
Detectives in Tulkarem arrest a forgery gang with fake official documents
Ma'an News Agency 8/4/2007
Tulkarem - Ma'an - Police detectives in Tulkarem have arrested a gang suspected of forging official documents, belonging to organizations and companies. The forgery was part of a plot to present money to foreign embassies, in order to assist the application for a visa. Director of the Department of Investigation in Tulkarem, Abed Al Latif Al Kaddoumi, stated that this case had been closely monitored, and the culprits "were caught red-handed". Kaddoumi revealed that these documents were forged bank certificates, and signed seals of some banks, companies and institutions in the region. The passports of the offenders have been seized, along with a number of technical devices used in the counterfeiting process. The police chief in Tulkarem declared, "This arrest is a sign of achievement for the hard-working staff, which care for the community.
Putting the 'motivation crisis' in perspective
Stuart Cohen, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
By combining Yagil Levy's analysis ("The root of the motivation crisis," August 1) of Israel Defense Forces recruitment figures with data from other sources, we can place the supposed "motivation crisis" in true perspective. Clearly, no such "crisis" actually exists. On the contrary, Israeli enlistment remains at extraordinarily high levels - especially, as Levy shows, among the better educated, healthier and more prosperous segments of the population - precisely the upper-middle class that senior defense establishment sources would have us believe are shirking in droves. Look at the facts: 1. The rise in the percentage of Jewish men who do not serve is by far derived from the exploding number of exemptions granted to the ultra-Orthodox (Haredim).
Not civil servants
Zvi Zrahiya, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Only a few weeks ago, after the state comptroller published his report on the preparedness of the home front during the Second Lebanon War, Knesset members bombarded journalists with endless beeper messages that almost brought down the system, and faxes that felled forests, all to give their response to the report. But in spite of their professed worries, only one MK actually showed up at the meeting of the Knesset State Control Committee last week to discuss the comptroller's report: the committee's chairman, Zevulun Orlev. MK Yakov Litzman also showed up near the end of the session after attending a meeting of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee scheduled for the same time. A few MKs had acceptable excuses: David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu had a doctor's appointment, Limor Livnat (Likud) was moving...
OPT: Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report24 - 30 Jul 2007
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 7/30/2007
SUMMARY POINTS - Gazan Economy: 1. The Gazan economy continues to deteriorate as a result of the limited opening of the Gazan crossings. The vast majority of import-dependent industries – notably the wood, construction and garment sectors – have temporarily closed down. Only 10% of Gaza's industries, those depending on previously-stored raw materials, remain partially functional. 2. If the closures continue, the Palestinian Association of Businessmen expects that at least 120,000 workers in Gaza will lose their jobs. 3. The total accumulative and direct losses since the closure of the Gaza crossings in mid-June is now reaching about $23 million, with an average daily loss of about $0. 5 million. 4. Production capacity in the furniture sector, one of the most important sectors in Gaza, has...
Business in Brief
Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Israelis are beginning to feel the effects of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States: mortgage rates here rose last week by 0. 5 percent, according to the mortgage banks. The rates are those of popular fixed-rate mortgages - loans linked to an inflation index, usually the Consumer Price Index, with the interest rate staying the same for the life of the deal. For now, the rate for such a 20-year mortgage is in a range of 4. 5 to 4. 9 percent, before linkage. (Tal Levy). The Finance Ministry is seeking to raise water prices by 10-11 percent in 2008, TheMarker has learned. The intent is to cover desalinization costs, which total an estimated NIS 400 million a year. The National Infrastructures Ministry objects to the increase. Desalinization plants charge more for water than the Mekorot water company does, at NIS 2.
Three bathers drown across country after lifeguards strike
Igal Hai, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Three bathers on Saturday drowned -two at a beach in Netanya and another in the sea off the southern city of Ashdod- as lifeguards went on strike to protest stalled negotiations over their salaries. Lifeguards ceased working at 17:00 across the country apart from in Haifa and Tel Aviv to demonstrate against local authorities' alleged foot-dragging in talks over a new work agreement. Lifeguards are asking for a raise in the salaries of new employees who earn NIS 19. 5 ($4. 50) an hour. The Histadrut labor union that is representing the lifeguards informed a labor court they would cease working at 13:00 on Friday and Saturday because talks with local authorities over a raise have reached an impasse. A labor court ruled lifeguards in Haifa and Tel Aviv are not allowed to join the strike because of clauses in their contracts.
Heftsiba chair Yona alleged to be in Russia
Anat Georgi, Arik Mirovsky and Anat Roeh, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Where is Boaz Yona, the controlling owner and CEO of real estate company Heftsiba? - According to ultra-Orthodox sources who have been following Yona for the past two weeks, he left Israel last Thursday on a flight to Russia, while his company is expected to ask a court to protect it from its creditors. A Yona family confidante, however, said he is still in Israel. But there is still no sign of his whereabouts. In the meantime, various documents came out over the weekend showing that Heftsiba owes certain companies NIS 1. 5 billion, and that there are about 4,000 families waiting for unfinished apartments. In addition, hundreds of families spent the Sabbath in their unfinished apartments after breaking in over the past three days to prevent Heftsiba's creditors from taking hold of the flats.
Pork-selling deli set on fire in Netanya
Raanan Ben-Zur, YNetNews 8/4/2007
Month of protests against non-kosher delicatessen following by law prohibiting sale of pork products takes violent turn with one suspect arrested for arsonAviv's Delicatessen which sells pork products was set on fire in Netanya on Saturday, and significantly damaged. One suspect was arrested in the matter. The store has been under attack since its opening about one month ago, and was protested against several times, despite the fact that other pork-selling stores operate in the city. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, when the police received reports of a fire. Arriving at the scene, the police spotted a suspicious man and chased after him. The 36-year-old was caught after a short chase and taken in for questioning.
Israelis are up in arms at celebrity draft dodgers
Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv, The Guardian 8/5/2007
For decades, Israel's heroes were its soldiers and pioneers who fought to build and protect the state, but now its cultural icons are models and singers likely to have dodged military service. The new trend was graphically demonstrated last week when it emerged that five out of eight contestants in A Star is Born, a talent contest on the lines of Pop Idol, had not served in the army. In Israel, military service for men and women is compulsory, but increasing numbers of young people are opting out by claiming to be religious or feigning mental illness. Recent figures revealed that 43 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men do not perform their military service, which lasts three years for men and two years for women. Some of Israel's biggest celebrities have never served in the forces, such as the model Bar Refaeli, girlfriend of Leonardo diCaprio, and Avi Geffen, a pop star.
Lebanon braces for key elections
BBC Online 8/4/2007
Lebanon is preparing to hold two by-elections, one a key test ofsupport among the deeply divided Christian community. - Polls open on Sunday to replace two assassinated anti-Syrians, Walid Eido and former minister Pierre Gemayel. Former President Amin Gemayel is vying to take his son's parliamentary seat. His supporters clashed with those of opposition leader Michel Aoun last week. Both are potential candidates in this year's divisive presidential race. The ruling Western-backed, anti-Syrian majority is expected to easily win the election to replace Mr Eido in mainly Sunni West Beirut, but the result in the Maronite Christian stronghold of Metn is keenly awaited. Tension has been rising and the army had to intervene there to stop a brawl among rival supporters.
Nasrallah calls for Lebanon to unite
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
Hezbollah chief says party ready for settlement, US Administration seeks to plant discords. - BEIRUT - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday his party was ready for a settlement of the political crisis in Lebanon. "We are ready for a settlement internally," said Nasrallah, the charismatic Shiite leader who has been spearheading the opposition against the government. Lebanon has been in deep political crisis since November when six ministers, including five Shiites, stepped down from the government, demanding the formation of a cabinet with greater representation. Nasrallah was speaking amid tensions in the country ahead of Sunday's crucial by-elections to replace two MPs killed earlier this year in attacks blamed by the ruling majority on Syria.
US curbs on 'undermining' Lebanon
BBC Online 8/3/2007
The US government has ordered the freezing of assets of anyone it accuses of undermining the Lebanese government. - A letter to Congress said the order would apply to anyone fomenting instability in Lebanon or contributing to "Syrian interference". The letter from President George W Bush did not name any specific individuals. Mr Bush has already banned Syrian and Lebanese officials whom Washington considers are undermining the Lebanese government from travelling to the US. A White House spokesman said Mr Bush had issued this executive order because Lebanon's sovereignty and democratic institutions were increasingly under attack. The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says this latest action may be more symbolic than anything else, but certainly shows relations between the US and Syria are as strained as ever. -- See also: Bush freezes assets of persons undermining Siniora Cabinet
Hamas sponsors mass wedding in Palestinian camp in Syria
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Some 60 Palestinian couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony at their refugee camp in Syria in the first event of its kind to be sponsored by the Islamist Hamas movement. The pro-Hamas marriage ceremony late Friday night was attended by 5,000 people. It aimed to help young people deal with the prohibitive costs of marriage, according to Hamas officials at the event. "Hamas helped me make my dreams come true. I want to thank Hamas simply because it made me happy," said 27-year-old groom Abdel Rahman Taha. In addition to organizing the event, Hamas provided each couple with $1,500 in a mixture of cash and household appliances, the couples said. While this is the first such mass wedding to be held by Hamas in Syria, the group has sponsored others elsewhere in the region, including one in the Palestinian city of Nablus in 2005 involving 226 couples.
Jordan police arrest one of two Islamists who escaped jail
DPA, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
One of two convicted Islamists has been arrested days after he fled Joweideh prison in Jordan, a police spokesman said in Amman Saturday. Captain Bashir Dejah said Moath Khaled Breizat, 20, sentenced to 20 years with hard labor in September, was arrested a few days after he escaped from prison along with Iraqi fugitive Saad Fakhri Noaimi, 40, who had been convicted for life in a different terrorism-related case in April. Breizat had been convicted - along with two other Jordanians - for plotting to target US trainers at an international police academy, designed to train Iraqi recruits east of Amman. The Iraqi man was convicted - along with two of his compatriots, a Saudi and a Libyan - for plotting to blow up Jordan's international Queen Alia airport back in 2005.
Maliki: timetable for US withdrawal not possible
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
Iraqi PM says neither Baghdad nor Washington can set timetable for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. - WASHINGTON - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a US television interview to be aired Friday that neither he nor the United States can set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. "Anything specific I cannot give, neither us nor the US government can set up a timetable," ABC News quoted Maliki as saying in an interview with the network's correspondent in Baghdad. Maliki has previously insisted that Iraqi security forces were ready to take over security from US troops by this summer, but told ABC News he would not rule out US troops being in Iraq in five years time. "It all depends on the success and the agreements between us.
British strike causes Basra blaze
Middle East Online 8/4/2007
British artillery fire hits disused oil facility causing extensive blaze, sending thick black smoke into air. - BASRA, Iraq - British artillery fire on Saturday slammed into a disused oil facility in Iraq's southern city of Basra, causing an extensive blaze and sending thick black smoke into the air, the military said. The strike was ordered after militiamen attacked a joint coordination centre used by British and Iraqi forces in the city, and their firing point was identified, British military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said. "This afternoon, the multi-national force in the southeast returned fire against a rogue militia following an indirect fire attack on a provisional joint coordination centre in Basra," he said. "The multi-national force fire hit a disused oil facility that subsequently caught fire,"...
Grim camps for Iraqis avoid 'pull factor'
Bernd Debusmann - SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, Middle East Online 8/3/2007
Camps suffer from poor infrastructure for essential services, residents exposed to extreme threats. - Refugee workers call it the "pull factor" -- camps with conditions comfortable enough to attract people in a country where an average of 60,000 Iraqis a month are driven from their homes by sectarian violence. So the challenge for aid workers is to provide safe havens that do not invite permanence. The Qawala camp on the outskirts of Sulaimaniya in northern Kurdistan, a haven of stability in a treacherous country, fits the bill. Conditions are unlikely to pull in all but the most desperate. You smell the camp before you enter it -- the stench caused by the absence of proper latrines and the lack of running water. There is no kerosene for cooking and no electricity.
Exodus from Somali capital triples
Middle East Online 8/3/2007
Over 21,000 Somalis abandon Mogadishu in July as life worsens in war-battered capital. - GENEVA - The number of people fleeing the war-battered Somalia capital Mogadishu more than tripled in July from the previous month, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday. Over 21,000 abandoned the city in July against 6,000 in June, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a news conference here. In the first phase of fighting in the city between the militia and government troops between February and May, some 400,000 people left the capital and only 125,000 have returned since, he said. The displaced, housed in camps outside the city, said life in Mogadishu was "worse than ever," and underlined that daily violence made their return impossible, Redmond said.
US DOS: Joint statement following July 31 meeting
United States Department of State, ReliefWeb 7/31/2007
Washington, DC - The following is the text of the joint statement released at the conclusion of the July 31, 2007 Foreign Minister's meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt, Jordan, and the United States in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: The Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt, Jordan, and the United States met today in Sharm El-Sheik to consult as partners and friends and to coordinate their efforts to promote regional peace and security. The participants reaffirmed their shared vision of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Middle East and their commitment to work together to achieve this common goal. This meeting follows the meetings previously held in New York, Cairo, at the Dead Sea and in Kuwait city. The participants emphasized the importance of dialogue and diplomacy and...
Articles
Letter from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council
United Nations General Assembly, ReliefWeb 7/27/2007
July 26 - Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory - Security Counci
I write to you at the end of another violent day in the Occupied Palestinian Territory due to the continuation by Israel, the occupying Power, of its illegal policies and practices against the Palestinian people and its determination to continue on the path of violence rather than peace. While the Palestinian leadership is taking every step possible to promote stability and enhance the chances for peace, the occupying Power continues taking actions that undermine these steps and threaten the prospects for peace and stability.
The Israeli occupying forces continue carrying out military incursions and raids throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The ongoing raids have included daily arrest campaigns in which dozens of Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained in addition to the thousands of Palestinians already being detained and imprisoned by the occupying Power. Moreover, these incursions are typically violent operations endangering the safety and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population in those areas and involve the harassment, humiliation and physical ill-treatment of the civilians. One tragic example in this regard occurred in the village of Taqu' near Bethlehem, where Israeli soldiers beat 20-year-old Jihad Al-Sha'er to death. According to medical reports, the young man was bludgeoned to death and had not received any gunshot wounds, contrary to the story presented by the Israeli occupation forces. The brutal murder of this civilian is yet further indication of the total disregard for Palestinian life that the occupying Power has repeatedly displayed through its lax treatment of such blatant criminal acts by its forces. In addition, the occupying Power continues to carry out illegal extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, with at least three Palestinian men killed today by the occupying forces in a targeted missile airstrike at their car in Gaza City and another two men killed in military raids in the southern Gaza Strip.
Dreaming of Nahr al-Bared
Dr. Marcy Newman writing from Beirut, Lebanon, Electronic Intifada 8/4/2007
How do we get people to place the situation of the displaced from Nahr al-Bared at the forefront of people's minds? How do we get the media to cover the fact that according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Save the Children Sweden there are still 15 minors between the ages of 13-18 years old, 10 people between the ages of 18-35 years old, one 67-year-old man, and 21 women from Fatah al-Islam and 45 of their children trapped inside Nahr al-Bared. Two days ago one 17-year-old and one 19-year-old were killed by the army. Those remaining chose to stay inside the camp when the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) attempted to negotiate their evacuation last week. And while the army allowed the ICRC inside to try to retrieve these people, no aid -- neither food nor medicine -- was brought into the camp.The army's position seems to be that allowing aid inside necessarily means that one is supplying Fatah al-Islam. But there are human beings inside, including children, some of whom are under a month old. These children are facing an intense military bombardment every minute. But in this "you're with us or you're against us" universe one cannot even provide diapers to children in need.
As I ate lunch at a friend's house last week in Baddawi refugee camp, approximately 10 kilometers from Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, I was struck by the intensity of the bombing down the road. Every minute I could feel the vibration of and hear the bombings -- several times each minute. With several thousand Palestinians from Nahr al-Bared living in Baddawi I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that these families who fled this military bombardment must be reliving the trauma of their flight with each bomb each day. Each minute. How does one get the average Lebanese person or the average person more generally to understand, to feel, to work to end this siege? How can the situation be rendered more complex so that aiding families inside Nahr al-Bared is not automatically an indication that one supports Fatah al-Islam.
Anti-war voices aren't necessarily pro-peace
Ben Tanosborn, Middle East Online 8/4/2007
It seems that much of the anti-war sentiment in the US is more an anti 'how the war is being conducted' with little or no moral basis or consideration to the universal concept of peace.
In most countries that come to mind, there seems to be a very strong direct correlation between being anti-war and being pro-peace.Not in the United States. In our America being anti-war has little correlation with being pro-peace. It seems that much of the anti-war sentiment is more an anti "how the war is being conducted" with little or no moral basis or consideration to the universal concept of peace.It was true during the Vietnam War years and it is true today, as America resolutely pursues its imperial destiny.
You need only visit some of the high-profile, high-traffic anti-war web sites based in the US and dig into their lists of contributing writers.Although you are unlikely to see any neocon names among them, and only a handful of Republicans (Pat Buchanan comes to mind) and Libertarians (Ron Paul heading the list), it's a safe bet that the majority of these writers are in disagreement either with the economics of the war, or perhaps the way it is being run, or the casualties the military takes and the suffering of their families.There is a pronounced lesser concern expressed in their writings, however, about the destruction of other nations' infrastructures, or the suffering of tens of millions civilians caught in the fray – with millions forced into exile – or the inordinately high civilian casualty count, or the repugnant militaristic nature of wars of choice declared by the bullyocratic powerful.Even more important, America's fundamental foreign policy principles never seem to be questioned… only Bush's style of implementation.
As American as you are
Mohja Kahf, Middle East Online 8/4/2007
Pious Christian and Jewish values are not inherently in conflict with American civic life, as secular folk tend to forget. Devout immigrant Muslims don't belong? That ship has sailed. This is a letter to your beautiful heart: We are your blood.
Fayetteville, Arkansas - A certain Middle Eastern religion is much maligned in this country. Full of veils and mystery, it is widely seen as sexist. Often violent, sometimes manipulated by demagogues, it yet has sweetness at the core, and many people are turning to it in their search for meaning.
I'm talking about Christianity.
This Muslim squirms whenever secular friends – tolerant toward believers in Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Native American spirituality – dismiss Christians with snorts of contempt. "It's because the Christian right wants to take over this country," they protest.
That may be, but it doesn't justify trashing the religion and its spectrum of believers. Christianity has inspired Americans to the politics of abolition and civil rights, as well as to heinous acts. Christian values have motivated the Ku Klux Klan to burn houses, and Jimmy Carter to build them. You can't say that when Christianity informs politics, only bad things happen.
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