Israeli bulldozers raze arable lands in Rafah
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center
Israeli army bulldozers, accompanied with tanks, incurred on Sunday some hundred meters into the Shuka village, to the east of Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses in the area said that the Israeli bulldozers razed the arable land of Samir aL-Masri, thus depriving about 50 farmers of their source of income. aL-Masri family member added that the bulldozers also damaged a number of green houses after they have razed the area. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said that an Israeli army undercover special unit stormed late at yesterday night the Sufa crossing area, to the southeast of Rafah city. The reports said about 40 Palestinian residents were taken prisoners during the yesterday night attack [end]
Israeli settlers stab a Palestinian boy, attack an ambulance crew
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center
A number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron, stabbed a Palestinian boy near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba', to the east of the city. Palestinian medical sources identified the victim as Mohammad Abdelkarim Aseela, 15 year-old, and said he was attacked with a sharp tool, for which he was evacuated to the aL-Ahli hospital of Hebron. The medics confirmed Aseela sustained critical bruises in his body along with a bleeding in his back. Witnesses said that the boy was stabbed when he was passing by the Kiryat Arba; settlement. A number of settlers attacked him with knives and sharp tools and beat him very severely, witnesses added. In the meantime, other settlers from the Nikodim settlement, to the east of Bethlehem city in the West Bank, attacked yesterday a Palestinian ambulance...
Two medics beaten, child stabbed in West Bank settler violence
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in two incidents on Saturday, leaving two Palestinian medics and a fifteen year old boy injured. The medical workers were attacked by Israelis near the Nokdeim settlement, east of the West Bank City of Bethlehem Saturday. Abdul-Halim Ja'afira, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent society in Bethlehem, said that the settlers beat a Red Crescent ambulance crew with clubs and the butts of guns. Medic Muhammad Abu Ajamiyya and ambulance driver Samir Abu Sarah were treated at Beit Jala hospital of injuries sustained during the attack. According to Ja'afira, the medics were transporting a patient on a road near Nekodim settlement when the ambulance was stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint.
Israeli forces raid four Palestinian towns, attacking Muslims during prayer
Ma'an News Agency
Jenin – Ma'an – Israeli forces raided residential areas in at least four separate attacks on the West Bank and Gaza Strip this weekend. Eyewitnesses said eight Israeli military vehicles invaded the West Bank town of Qabatiya's old city. Israeli soldiers occupied rooftops and roamed the streets. The incursion came after an explosive device was reportedly thrown at an Israeli military patrol near the town. Israeli forces blocked the street, held up passing vehicles and searched the residents of the area. In a separate incident in the Al-Far'a valley in the northern West Bank Israeli soldiers threw tear gas canisters into the Al-Isra mosque during the evening prayer. Soldiers occupy West Bank home - Approximately 50 Israeli troops occupied a residential building in the West Bank town...
Hamas: Abbas's militias complement IOF mission against Palestinian resistance
Palestinian Information Center
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Hamas Movement has unequivocally accused PA security apparatuses under PA chief Mahmoud Abbas of supplementing the IOF troops' job against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank. Responsible source in Hamas Movement affirmed Sunday that the PA security forces in the West Bank carried out a number of arrests in lines of Hamas cadres in the aftermath of the heroic resistance the Hamas fighters demonstrated against the IOF troops in the Ein Biet Al-Maa refugee camp in Nablus city. According to local witnesses, the PA security elements and armed Fatah militias who are usually seen in Palestinian streets vandalizing and arresting Palestinian citizens refrained from defending the camp and opted to remain arms folded towards the IOF onslaught.
Israel to release 90 Palestinian prisoners for Ramadan
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – By a vote of 16 to six, the Israeli cabinet approved a list of 90 Palestinian prisoners Sunday to be released as a goodwill gesture for the month of Ramadan, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The prisoners are to be released on Tuesday. The Israeli public has until then to appeal composition of the list. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had promised to release more prisoners for Ramadan during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on September 10th. Olmert hesitated to follow through on the promise last week due to resistance from his cabinet. Israel's unilateral decision - Ashraf Ajrami, the Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs expressed disappointment at what he said was a one-sided move on the part of Israel.
PA: Police deployed in Nablus before receiving Israeli okay
Barak Ravid Avi Issacharoff, Ofer Aderet and Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz
Palestinian Authority sources said Sunday that the PA had already begun policing the West Bank city of Nablus without Israeli approval, following Israel's announcement that it had agreed to a PA request to allow the deployment of 500 police officers to enforce law and order in Nablus during daylight hours. The government also approved Sunday the release of 91 Palestinian prisoners, as a goodwill gesture for the holiday of Eid el-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, roughly one-third of the prisoners to be released are Gaza Strip residents. In response to the prisoner release, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said there can be no peace agreement while thousands more Palestinians remain in Israeli jails.
U.S. to invite Syrians, Lebanese to peace summit
Avi Issacharoff Barak Ravid and Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz
The U.S. was going to accede to the Palestinian Authority's demand to invite Syria and Lebanon to the November regional peace conference in Washington, the political advisor to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has told Haaretz. Political advisor Nimer Hamad also said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged during a meeting with Abbas on Thursday that the U.S. would invite the monitoring committee of the Arab League to the November peace conference in Washington. Hamad specified that this included representatives from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, and that members of the Middle East Quartet and the G-8 would also take part. Hamad added that talks were underway between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams ahead of their first official meetings.
Report: Cheney may have mulled pushing Israel to hit Iran
Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz
Newsweek Magazine reported Sunday that Vice President Richard Cheney may have considered a plan for Israeli missile strikes against an Iranian nuclear site in an effort to draw a military response from Iran, which could in turn spark a U.S. offensive against targets in the Islamic Republic. Citing two unnamed sources the magazine called knowledgeable, the magazine quoted David Wurmser, until last month Cheney's Middle East advisor, as having told a small group of people that "Cheney had been mulling the idea of pushing for limited Israeli missile strikes against the Iranian nuclear site at Natanz - and perhaps other sites - in order to provoke Tehran into lashing out." According to the report, "The Iranian reaction would then give Washington a pretext to launch strikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran.
Authors call for truce with Hamas
Shiri Lev Ari and Mazal Mualem, Ha'aretz
A long list of prominent intellectuals recently signed a petition calling for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to negotiate a cease-fire with Hamas. The signatories of the petition - which was organized by the sponsors of the Geneva Initiative and will be published today - include the novelists Amos Oz, A. B. Yehoshua, David Grossman, Meir Shalev, Judith Katzir, Eli Amir, Savyon Liebrecht, Yehoshua Sobol and Dorit Rabinyan. The petition, titled "Agreement with [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas, cease-fire with Hamas," reads: "Israel has in the past negotiated with its worst enemies... Now, the appropriate course of action is to negotiate with Hamas to reach a general cease-fire to prevent further suffering for both sides." "We believe Israel is facing an opportunity to promote the peace process...
Intellectuals urge Olmert to talk to Hamas
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews
Ahead of November peace conference, Israeli intellectuals sign petition calling for negotiations with Hamas in an attempt to reach a ceasefire "We believe an opportunity to promote the peace process ahead of the international conference in November has been created. We urge the prime minister to make the greatest effort to reach substantial agreements with the PLO head and not miss this opportunity," prominent Israeli intellectuals wrote in a petition addressed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The petition, which called on Olmert to reach an agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was written in cooperation with the Geneva Initiative organization and was signed by AB Yehoshua, Amoz Oz, David Grossman, Meir Shalev, Yehudit Katzir, Eli Amir, Yeshua Sobol, Esti G Chaim, Professor Alice Shalvi and Dorit Rabinyan, Savion Librecht.
Palestinian police arrest top Hamas cleric in West Bank
Compiled by, Daily Star
Palestinian police arrested a prominent Hamas preacher in the Occupied West Bank on Sunday, while the Israeli Cabinet agreed to release 90 Palestinian prisoners, both part of continuing efforts to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of an upcoming US-sponsored peace conference. Sheikh Maher Kharas, knwon as the "White Lion" to his supporters, was one of Hamas' most prominent members in the West Bank. He was snatched by pro-Fatah Palestinian intelligence officers as he traveled in Nablus, a Hamas spokesman said. The city is considered a stronghold of Hamas, which is locked in a bitter power struggle with Abbas' Fatah. Security official Abdullah Kumail said Kharas actively worked to incite worshippers, and that he would be briefly detained for questioning.
Israeli High Court will hear petition against Israel's policy of dividing families in West Bank
Btselem.org, International Middle East Media Center
On 24 September, the High Court of Justice will hear four petitions filed by HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual on behalf of families from the West Bank contending infringement of their right to family life. The court's decision will determine the outcome of forty-three other petitions that HaMoked has filed on this issue. All of the cases involved families in which one of the spouses is a resident of the West Bank or Gaza Strip and the other is a foreigner who does not have formal status in the area. Because of the importance of the issue, eight other human rights joined as petitioners. Since the beginning of the second intifada, Israel has frozen family unification in cases in which one of the spouses is a foreign resident.
Arab, Jewish groups to petition High Court against town admission panels
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz
Several Jewish and Arab human rights organizations are to jointly petition the High Court of Justice on Sunday morning to dissolve the admissions committees for communal towns in Israel. The petition is directed against the Israel Lands Administration and the admissions committee of the communities in the Misgav region. The is being submitted by attorney Suhad Bishara of the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, on behalf of an Israeli Arab couple whose application to live in the communal town of Rakefet was rejected. Joining the petition are the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, the Sephardi Democratic Rainbow, the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights, and Kol Aher BaGalil - A different voice in Galilee.
Israeli rights groups condemn proposed state sanctions against Gaza civilians
Btselem.org, International Middle East Media Center
Seven Israeli human rights organizations jointly warn that Wednesday's Israeli Cabinet decision to limit the electricity and fuel supply to the Gaza Strip and to further restrict movement in and out of Gaza will exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis there. The human rights organizations urge the Cabinet to reverse its decision to impose collective punishment on the Gaza Strip -- a grave violation of international humanitarian law. The coalition of human rights groups consists of: The Association for Civil Rights in Israel; Bimkom -- Planners for Planning Rights; B'Tselem -- the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories; Gisha: Legal Center for Freedom of Movement; HaMoked: The Center for the Defense of the Individual; Physicians for Human Rights; The Public Committee Against [Torture in Israel. -- See also: PRESS RELEASE: Israeli rights groups condemn proposed state sanctions against Gaza civilians
Na'im asks human rights organizations to pressure IOA to stop random arrests
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Basem Na'im, the minister of detainees and ex-detainees affairs in the caretaker government, has called on the international human rights organizations to pressure the IOA to stop its policy of random detention against the Palestinian people, describing it as a mass punishment policy. Na'im explained that the Israeli arbitrary arrests are practiced in order to exercise pressure on the Palestinian people not to support the Palestinian resistance and to gain new collaborators with the Israeli intelligence in order to expose the places of rocket firing and Palestinian resistance fighters. The minister stated that the IOF troops kidnapped more than 70 Palestinian citizens during its recent military operation in the Ein Beit Al-Ma refugee camp in Nablus, pointing out that the IOF troops subjected the Palestinian detainees to field interrogations...
Israeli settler stabs, seriously wounds Palestinian boy
Palestinian Information Center
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- An Israeli settler from Kiryat Arba settlement south of Al-Khalil city on Sunday stabbed the 15-year-old Palestinian child Mohammed Asaila. PA security sources said that Asaila was carried to Al-Khalil government hospital after being stabbed several times at the hands of the Israeli settler. A medical source said that the boy arrived in hospital in a very serious condition, adding that stab wounds were all over his body. Also in Al-Khalil city, IOF soldiers stormed the home of detained MP Nizar Ramadan and took away another son of his called Huzaifa, 17. The soldiers had kidnapped his brother Muntaser two weeks earlier. The father is held in Israeli occupation jails for two years now without trial or charge. [end]
Mother of Palestinian prisoner dies before seeing her son
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, (PIC)-- The mother of Palestinian prisoner Ashraf Al-Baluji died on Saturday without seeing her dream of having her son released come true, the Wa'ed society for prisoners and ex-prisoners said in a statement. The IOA was barring the mother from visiting her son for several years at security pretexts and she died without seeing Ashraf. The mother had high hopes that her son might be released in the prisoners exchange deal with Israel in return for the freedom of IOF captive Gilad Shalit but the swap deal did not materialize so far. Ashraf, who has been in occupation jails for almost 17 years, is serving three life sentences on charges of killing three Israelis in 1990. Wa'ed pointed out that Ashraf is held in solitary confinement and is deprived of visits other than being the regular target of beatings at the hands of Israeli jailors.
Israeli forces seize two in Nablus raids
Ma'an News Agency
Nablus – Ma'an – Israeli forces stormed the town of Kafr Qallil, south of the the West Bank city of Nablus Sunday evening, seizing an activist affiliated with the armed wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The detained man, twenty-two-year-old Faris Mansur, had been one of the fighters who received amnesty from Israel in July. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli forces seized a Hamas activist named Ahmad Abu Al-Iz from Al-Ayn refugee camp, also near Nablus. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth alleged that Abu Al-Iz was arrested after he attempted to hide in a weapons cache under a pregnant woman's bed. Nasser Salman, head of the municipal council of the town of Qawsin, south of Nablus, said that Israeli forces invaded during Iftar, the daily breaking of the fast during Ramadan.
'No alternative to ground operations'
Roi Mandel, YNetNews
Reports of IDF raid on secret military site spark debate regarding necessity of ground operations. 'No technology can replace people when it comes to intelligence gathering,' former commando and current Meretz MK Vilan says - Reports in the foreign press regarding a raid by an elite IDF commando unit on a secret military site in Syria that took place prior to the alleged IAF overflight this month have once again sparked a debate regarding the necessity of ground operations in the modern battlefield. In a conversation with Ynet on Sunday, Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan, a former commando, said there was no alternative to collecting intelligence on the ground. "No technology can replace people when it comes to intelligence gathering," he said.
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades claim fight with Israeli forces in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza – Ma'an – The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed to have clashed with Israeli forces in the eastern Gaza Strip on Saturday night. The brigades said they fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns in an "operation … to emphasize our adherence to resistance as our choice to retaliate for Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people." [end]
Headquarters of Fatah Al-Yasser set ablaze in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza – Ma'an – The central Gaza headquarters of the Fatah-offshoot movement Fatah Al-Yasser were set ablaze Sunday evening. Witnesses said the building caught fire around dusk. Fighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire. The building, located near the entrance of Al-Bureij refugee camp was nonetheless damaged. They added that the building was set ablaze at the Iftar time, and that figher fighter hurried to the scene and extinguished the fire which caused material damage to the building near the entrance to Al-Buraij refugee camp. In July explosive device was detonated at the entrance of one of the movements offices in Gaza City [end]
Palestinian fighters fire at Israeli bus stop
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli sources said that Palestinian fighters opened fire atan Israeli bus stop near Shile settlement in the northern West Bank Sunday. No injuries were reported in the incident. The sources added that the shots came from a speeding car. Israeli forces began to comb the area in an attempt to find the assailants. [end]
Al-Aqsa Brigades launch two homemade projectiles at Sderot
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli border town of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip Sunday. Israeli sources said that one projectile landed on an open area, and another landed near a highway. No damage or injuries were reported. [end]
IOA claims capturing Palestinian with explosive belt
Palestinian Information Center
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- Israeli policemen have arrested a Palestinian worker after finding a booby-trapped belt in his apartment in Tel Aviv where he was residing illegally, according to the Israeli police claim. It added that the policemen quarreled with the workers who lived in that apartment before arresting the young man, who intended to carry out a human bombing operation against an Israeli target. Meanwhile, IOF troops blasted their way into several Palestinian homes in Nablus and wreaked havoc in them at dawn Sunday. In Bizaria village, north of Nablus, the IOF soldiers kidnapped Mohammed Salem, 23, from his family home at an early hour on Sunday. Locals in the village noted that Salem was released from Israeli occupation jails only six month ago.
Mid-East peace conference backed
BBC Online
The four key sponsors of the Middle East peace process have given strong backing to a November summit and say an Arab League panel will be invited. The Quartet - the US, EU, Russia and the UN - were meeting in New York to discuss the US-led peace summit plan. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the invitees would include Syria. The Quartet's new envoy, former UK PM Tony Blair, said that by the end of the year there could be a sense of how a Palestinian state could look. The Quartet issued a roadmap in 2003 for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, but little progress has been made. 'Natural invitees' After Sunday's meeting, the Quartet issued a statement expressing its support for the proposed international meeting that the Americans have been in the forefront of promoting.
Rice hopes Lebanon, Syria attend November summit
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed hope Sunday that key Arab nations, including Syria, will attend a Mideast peace conference this fall hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush. Rice said "invitations have not been issued yet but we would hope that the invitations would include the members of the Arab follow-up committee, charged by the Arab League with following up with the international community on an Arab Peace Initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict." The committee members are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. Only two, Egypt and Jordan, have peace deals with Israel and some, notably Syria and Saudi Arabia, remain technically at war with Israel.
Khan Younis governor meets with UNRWA to discuss plans for potential Israeli invasion
Ma'an News Agency
Khan Younis – Ma'an – Khan Younis Governor Usama Al-Farra met with UNRWA's emergency department in Gaza to discuss a joint plan to prepare for a potential major Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip. Since Israel's labeling of the Gaza Strip as an "enemy entity" last Tuesday, there has been speculation that Israel is planning an escalation of military operations there. Governor Al-Farra said cooperation amongst municipal councils in the district will be critical in dealing with an emergency situation resulting from Israeli aggression. He also warned that an attack on Gaza would make Israel less secure, not more UNRWA, the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, administers numerous social services to Gaza Strip residents.
Palestinian PM of Hamas discusses lifting siege with Iranian President
Rami Almeghari & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center
Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismaail Haniya, of Hamas, discussed over phone on yesterday night the latest developments in the region including the international boycott of the Hamas-dominated government in Gaza. The Iranian president, Ahmad Mahmoud Nejjad, stressed on the 'strength' of Palestinian-Iranian ties, making clear he would work on lifting the siege being imposed on the Palestinian people, during the United Nations meetings, scheduled for early this week. Nejjad reiterated his government's support to the Palestinian people by helping alleviate the Palestinian people suffering. The Islamic republic of Iran is said to be a supporter of the Islamist Hamas government in Gaza, which has been outlawed by the 'moderate' Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, since the Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June.
Rokob: Forcing Gaza pilgrims through Jordan meant to spoil their Hajj
Palestinian Information Center
GAZA, PIC-- Dr. Saleh Al-Rokob, the under-secretary of the PA Awkaf (endowment) ministry has warned Saturday that the alleged coordination between the "illegitimate" PA government in Ramallah city and the IOA to let Gaza pilgrims pass through Jordan was meant to spoil the Hajj season for this year. Rokob's remarks were prompted by press statements of Jamal Bawatneh, the Awkaf minister in the "unconstitutional" government of Salam Fayyadh alleging that everything was arranged with the IOA to allow Gaza pilgrims pass to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via Jordan by land. Batayneh claimed that PLO's chief negotiator Saeb Erikat was the one coordinating with the Israelis in this regard, and that he (Erikat) had received the Israeli approval for that scenario.
Israel rejects Hamas's offer for cease-fire in Gaza Strip
Jerusalem Post, ZNet
(September 21, 2007) Israel has rejected an offer by Hamas to renew a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported Friday. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's office reportedly contacted a senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem through a third party before the cabinet decided on Wednesday to declare Gaza a "hostile territory." After the cabinet decision, the source responded to Hamas's proposal, saying Israel would not hold talks with the group at this time. On Thursday, Haniyeh met with representatives of the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza and asked them to abide by any cease-fire agreement Hamas would strike with Israel. The groups expressed willingness to assent, but wanted to wait for Israel's response.
Israel to take in 500 Darfur refugees
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli government agreed on Sunday to grant residency to nearly 500 Darfur refugees after months of public debate, but said it would expel all other Africans who had entered illegally from Egypt. Premier Ehud Olmert's cabinet appointed a ministerial panel which is expected to grant legal residency to 498 refugees from Darfur who have illegally crossed into Israel through its nearly 200-kilometer desert border with Egypt, a senior government official told AFP. "All other refugees from African countries who are already in Israel, as well as those who enter after today, will be expelled to a third African country," another official said. It was not immediately clear what exact legal status the Darfur refugees would be granted.
Fewer Sudanese refugees entering Israel
Barak Ravid and Ruth Sinai, Ha'aretz
The decision to deport Sudanese refugees back to Egypt has served to drastically reduce the number of refugees crossing into Israel over the past weeks, government officials told Haaretz yesterday. But the High Court of Justice has yet to decide whether the deportations are legal. The sources said that only 150 refugees had crossed over to Israel in September, compared to 900 last July - the month that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reportedly agreed to accept the deported refugees. But officials in Cairo denied reports concerning the agreement in the past few days. The High Court of Justice is scheduled today to review a petition against the deportations. The petitioners - the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Hotline for Migrant Workers and Doctors for Human Rights - are demanding the state let refugees apply for political asylum.
JNF to tell court it will market land to non-Jews
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha'aretz
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is expected to tell the High Court of Justice today that it will agree to market its lands to non-Jews in the near future, although it has long insisted that JNF lands should be used only for housing Jews. This "tactical retreat" reportedly stems from the JNF's concern that the High Court will issue a precedent-setting ruling in the petition now before it. The petition was submitted in 2004 by a group of Arab citizens who were refused permission to bid on an Israel Lands Administration (ILA) tender for residential housing lots in Carmiel. The potential purchasers were told that the land belonged to the JNF, and was therefore intended only for Jewish use. Several Arab rights organizations joined the petition, as did the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
End to Jewish Agency's monopoly on aliyah
Natasha Mosgovya, YNetNews
Cabinet allows groups dedicated to aliyah to become independent from Jewish Agency, receive direct funding from state - The government put an end Sunday to the Jewish Agency's monopoly on bringing Jewish immigrants to the country, and approved funding to independent groups dedicated to aliyah. In recent years, two organizations engaged in aliyah - Nefesh B'Nefesh, which brings olim from North America and the UK and AMI (Aliyah Meilleur Integration), which operates in France, have been struggling to get direct funding from the State of Israel. Until now, the two groups have received partial funding for their activities through the Jewish Agency, but they now seek to separate entirely from the Agency and become completely independent.
Olmert to meet with Sarkozy, Brown
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris and with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London at the end of October. He will brief the two leaders on his meetings with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the peace conference in Washington in November, and will discuss ways of stopping Iran's nuclear program. Olmert was last in Paris and London in June 2006. His talks with the previous leaders of France and Britain focused on the convergence plan, which has since been taken off the political agenda. Olmert has met with both Sarkozy and Brown in their previous posts. [end]
Hamas: Palestinians have right to oppose occupation by all means
Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz
"Palestinians have the right to oppose Israeli occupation by all means available," Hamas said Saturday, following media reports of a thwarted suicide attack set for Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur. (For more, click here "We must put in place a balance of retaliation for Israel's violent actions. This is not a new policy, but a clear stance that Hamas has opted to take. It concerns the right of every Palestinian to defend his or herself by any possible means," Barhoum concluded. Palestinian Authority officials said that the Nihad Shkirat (whose arrest last week led security forces to explosives in Tel Aviv) acted as head of Iz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing, in Nablus. The officials said the attack was meant to disrupt plans for the November peace summit in Washington, D.
Evangelicals disturbed by rabbis' call to Jews to shun joint Sukkot event
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz
The Chief Rabbinate has abruptly called on Jews to shun a major Christian tourism event, baffling and upsetting evangelical groups that traditionally have been big supporters of Israel. More than 6,000 Christians from more than 90 nations are expected to arrive in Jerusalem this week to take part in the 28th annual Christian celebration of the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, according to the event's organizers, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. Thousands of Christians take part in the celebration annually, as do Israeli lawmakers, government representatives and ordinary Israelis. Rabbi Shlomo Goren, a former chief rabbi, personally welcomed participants one year. But this year the Chief Rabbinate urged Jews to stay away from the event, saying some of the groups want to convert them to Christianity.
Egypt says teen arrested for trying to join militants in Gaza
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz
An Egyptian teen was arrested Sunday as he tried to sneak into Gaza to join suicide bombers and attack Israel, the Interior Ministry said. The 16-year-old was arrested for the second time in six months at the Sinai Rafah crossing. The teen confessed he wanted to meet with Palestinian militants in Gaza in order to blow himself up in a suicide attack on Israelis, the ministry said. After his prior arrest, the teenager was handed to his family rather than punished by the state due to his young age. It was not immediately clear how Egyptian authorities would deal with the teen's most recent arrest as he is under 18 and still considered a minor. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, and the border has never been heavily fortified.
Pardoned Fatah militant detained for planning terror attacks
Avi Issacharof, Yuval Azoulay and Mijal Grinbergs, Ha'aretz
Border Police special forces Sunday arrested a Fatah militant that had been pardoned by Israel some two months ago, on suspicion that he had resumed militant activity. Fares Mansour, a member Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was found in possession of explosives and weapons. He was one of around 180 Fatah militants granted amnesty by Israel two months ago in a deal with the Palestinian Authority. Mansour, like all prisoners pardoned in the July deal, had signed an affidavit renouncing terror acts, however he was suspected of involvement in shooting attacks on Israel Defense Forces troops. Explosives, a rifle and a handgun were found in his home. Three Palestinian militants were arrested Sunday after trying to snatch weapons from IDF troops in Hebron.
Barak approves 500 armed Palestinian police for Nablus
Yuval Azoulay, Ha'aretz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has agreed to the deployment of 500 armed Palestinian police officers on the streets of Nablus, to enforce law and order in the West Bank's largest city. Defense Ministry officials said the officers would be deployed within two weeks and will only be permitted to operate during daylight hours. Barak's decision followed a request made by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad in a recent meeting with Barak. The matter was also discussed at Barak's meeting last week with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In preparation for the deployment, the officials said, security coordination meetings will be held between IDF officers operating in that sector and Palestinian police officers. One source in Barak's office said that if the Nablus model is successful, it could be extended to other West Bank cities.
North American immigrants "worth" $200,000 each
Lilach Weissman, Globes Online
The government will provide various aliya support organizations with aid. Beginning in 2008, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption will provide organizations supporting aliya (immigration) with NIS 18 million a year. At today's meeting, the cabinet approved by majority vote a proposal by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Immigration Absorption Jacob Edery to provide support for these organizations. Under the decision, the government will recognize immigrant aid organizations. The cabinet also decided to set up an advisory committee headed by the immigrant absorption minister, and also including the director generals of the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, and the chairman of the Jewish Agency.
Nativity Church deportees may not return home by the end of Ramadan as pledged
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza – Ma'an – A group of Palestinians who were deported from the West Bank after a 2002 standoff in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem are worried that they may not return home before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as had been suggested by Israeli authorities. The 42 deportees, 28 in the Gaza Strip and 14 in Europe, hoped to return after a breakthrough in negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli authorities this year. Deportees in Gaza told Ma'an Sunday that if they are not permitted to return to Bethlehem by the end of Radan, they will begin a hunger strike to protest their continued exile. One of the deportees, Jamal 'Ubayyat said that the Palestinian minister of interior, Abdur Razzaq Mahmoud al-Yahya had told him that the deportees will return home during the last days of Ramadan, without giving an exact date.
Lebanon arrests Israeli for murder, espionage
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz
A dual citizen of Israel and Germany has been arrested in Lebanon on charges of espionage, a Lebanese judicial source said yesterday. Security officials said the man, Daniel Sharon, has been handed over to military intelligence for questioning. According to Lebanese publication Al-Akhbar Wa-Sapir, Sharon was arrested on Thursday as part of an investigation into the murder of a Lebanese citizen. During questioning, it emerged that Sharon had visited Lebanon 11 times on his German passport over the last two years. He denied allegations that he was on an espionage mission and said he was in Lebanon for leisure purposes, according to the source. Media reports said that police in the Merje area, a hotbed of the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah movement in Beirut's southern suburbs, were investigating the killing of Moussa al-Shalaani when the probe led them to Sharon.
Official insists Israeli arrested in Beirut wasn't working for gov't
Yoav Stern and News Agencies, Ha'aretz
Israel said on Sunday that an Israeli man who has been arrested in Lebanon is not a spy, and his father said the young man converted to Islam several years ago and immersed himself in Arab culture. Lebanese officials announced the arrest of Daniel Sharon on Saturday and said they had handed him over for military interrogation because he visited Lebanon frequently. A government official insisted Sunday that Sharon was not working with Israeli authorities in any role. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive diplomatic nature of the case. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz told Israel Radio Sunday that "Sharon had entered Lebanon on his own accord and in doing so had crossed the line," apparently referring to the ban on Israelis visiting countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations.
German official to meet with Israeli held in Lebanon
Yoav Stern and Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz
A representative from the German Foreign Ministry is scheduled to meet today with the dual citizen of Israel and Germany whom Lebanese security forces arrested last week for alleged espionage and murder. "I know the Germans are in the loop and are trying to help," Daniel Sharon's father told Haaretz. "I'm also in contact with the Foreign Ministry's team in Jerusalem, so I have no intention of speaking to the media so I don't damage their efforts." Sharon's mother, who is also German and currently living in Australia, is also said to be in contact with the German Foreign Ministry. According to uncorroborated media reports from Lebanon, the Israeli national may have been connected to terrorist attacks in Israel's northern neighbor.
Israeli arrested in Lebanon is a Muslim convert
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews
German-Israeli citizen arrested in Beirut converted to Islam over 11 years ago, visited Lebanon on numerous occasions - Daniel Sharon, the Israeli citizen arrested in Beirut on Thursday, converted to Islam over 11 years ago. Sharon was interviewed by Yedioth Ahronoth upon his conversion to Islam. He said he was a devout Muslim who fasted on Ramadan and attended Friday prayers. Sharon's father's ex-wife, Orli, told Ynet on Saturday that the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the German Consulate in Beirut were working on his release. "The Foreign Ministry and the German Consulate are working on the issue. We know nothing beyond that and we do not want to harm the chance of ending this problem fast," Orli said.
Father of Israeli arrested in Lebanon says his son is no spy
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews
Moshe Sharon whose son Daniel was arrested in Lebanon on Thursday says he is concerned for his son's safety - The father of the Israeli citizen arrested in Lebanon rejected reports on Sunday that his son was a spy and said he was concerned for his safety. Moshe Sharon's son Daniel was arrested in Beirut on Thursday after Lebanese police found a photocopy of his Israeli passport at the scene of a murder. Daniel Sharon entered Lebanon 11 times in the course of last year using his German passport, Lebanese newspapers reported Saturday. "I believe my son encountered a problematic situation because he holds dual citizenship - German and Israeli," Moshe Sharon told Ynet. "I believe it will soon become clear that my son is neither a spy nor a criminal.
IRAQ-BRAZIL: First group of Palestinians arrive in Brazil from desert camp
A.van Genderen Stort/UNHCR, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
SAO PAULO, 23 September 2007 (IRIN) - The first batch of Palestinians previously living in a squalid refugee camp on the Iraqi-Jordanian border arrived in Brazil on 21 and 22 September and has been receiving medical assistance, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice. The 35 Palestinians are part of a group of 117 Palestinian refugees who had been living in Ruwaished refugee camp in the desert on the Iraqi-Jordanian border since the fall of late former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003. "Brazilians have welcomed with open arms our new arrivals. The population is glad with the government initiative, which hopes to offer a better life to those who have suffered violence in Iraq," Luiz Paulo Barreto, secretary general at the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, told IRIN.
Palestinian poet Tamim Barghouthi gives recital in Bethlehem
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Prominent Palestinian poet Tamim Barghouthi gave a recital to a packed audience at Al-Finiq hall in Diheisha refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem Saturday evening. Hundreds stood outside the hall, listening through the doors. Barghouthi won fifth place in an Arabic poetry competition organized by an Abu Dhabi television station earlier this month. Among the attendants were PLC members Muhammad Lahham and Isa Qaraqi', UN office director Mustafa Subani as well as a number of poets and academics. "The phenomenon of Tamim Barghouthi came just in time. The audience is eager to listen to poetry, to hear about Jerusalem, and to reject the ongoing inter-Palestinian dispute. Tamim seems to be a prominent, highly educated poet, and most importantly self-confident, and for...
Palestinian forces arrest prominent Hamas preacher in W. Bank raid
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz
Palestinian police arrested a prominent Hamas preacher in the West Bank on Sunday as a part of its continuing crackdown on the militant Islamic group. Sheik Maher Kharas, called the White Lion by supporters, is one of Hamas' most prominent members in the West Bank. He was snatched by pro-Fatah Palestinian intelligence officials as he traveled in Nablus, a Hamas spokesman said. The city is considered a stronghold of Hamas, which is locked in a bitter power struggle with rival group Fatah. Security official Abdullah Kumail said Kharas actively worked to incite worshippers, and that he would be briefly detained for questioning. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad warned Islamic preachers in June that he would not tolerate calls for violence delivered from mosque pulpits.
Hamas says more of its supporters arrested in West Bank
Ma'an News Agency
Nablus – Ma'an – The Hamas movement claimed on Sunday that Fatah-allied Palestinian security services have arrested 15 Hamas supporters around the West Bank. The arrests reportedly took place in Ramallah, Tubas, and Nablus. [end]
Prominent Hamas activist siezed by Palestinian security services in Nablus
Ma'an News Agency
Nablus – Ma'an – Fatah-allied Palestinian security services seized prominent Hamas leader Mahir Al-Kharraz in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday. Al-Kharraz was abducted during a visit to the home of Khalid Druza in Nablus' old city. Israeli forces demolished the house Saturday night, Hamas sources said. Hamas said that Sheikh Kharraz was deported to Lebanon in 1992, had also been imprisoned by Israel times. They added that the Israeli forces failed to arrest Al- Kharraz two weeks ago after they stormed his Nablus residence. [end]
Abbas aide slams Hamas
Ma'an News Agency
Ramallah – Ma'an – An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas lashed out at Hamas Sunday saying that the de facto government of the Gaza Strip should not be allowed to interfere in the plans of a group of leaders from Abbas' Fatah movement to return to the Gaza Strip. "Hamas is illegal entity and unqualified to hold any of Fatah leaders or Palestinian people [accountable], as Hamas' leaders threatened," said Presidential aide Ahmad Abdul-Rahman. Fatah announced Saturday that a delegation of Fatah leaders who had fled the Gaza Strip after Hamas' takeover in June is planning to return to the coastal territory soon. The group, which includes former Palestinian cabinet ministers, has resided in the West Bank city of Ramallah since the June fighting.
Ministers furious with Olmert's new committee
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews
Cabinet ministers furious at approval of new ministerial committee headed by prime minister that has power to nullify previous cabinet decisions. Call move 'anti-democratic', say it makes ministers' jobs unnecessary - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced on Sunday the establishment of a ministerial committee headed by himself and including two of his close comrades, Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, that would have the authority to revoke any previous cabinet decisions. A Labor Party official responded to the move saying, "This is a completely anti-democratic decision. The ministers are being turned into marionettes." Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel attempted to calm the mood, saying, "This is a procedure that will allow decisions that were not carried out to be changed.
2 more investigations against Olmert expected
Aviram Zino, YNetNews
State Prosecutor's Office believes attorney general to order criminal investigations against PM in Small Business Authority case and Investments Center affair. Final decision to be made within ten days - Sources from the State Prosecutor's Office believe Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will announce over the next 10 days his decision to open criminal investigations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Small Business Authority and Investments Center affairs. Mazuz is looking into the affairs, which could lead to an unprecedented situation in which the prime minister is under three simultaneous criminal investigations. The prime minister is already under criminal investigation in the matter of the privatization of Bank Leumi .
Barak warns of 'illusion of bogus calm'
Yuval Azoulay, Ha'aretz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Israelis yesterday that they must be prepared for the next war "as if it is just around the corner." In an address on Mount Herzl commemorating those killed in the Yom Kippur War 34 years ago, Barak said that "Israel emerged from that terrible war changed, pained and more modest, but undefeated." "The lesson [for the nation] is that in matters of defense we should not be deceived by the illusion of a bogus calm," Barak warned. He added that "in matters pertaining to our national security, Israel's power must be ready and prepared at all times. We must always care and update our qualitative edge." Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi also stressed the importance of the lessons of that war, saying that "for me, the lesson of the war is the following...
AG expected to decide soon on new criminal probe of Olmert
Yuval Yoaz, Ha'aretz
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is expected to make a decision after the Sukkot holiday on whether to launch a new criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The investigation would focus on several affairs involving the prime minister. In a letter sent Sunday to MK Ophir Pines-Paz, Mazuz aide Ran Nizri wrote, "We will make every effort to speed up the handling of these cases, and we believe that the attorney general will soon make a decision on the various affairs." One of the affairs being considered byinvolves suspicions that Olmert gave special consideration to a company represented by his friend and former law partner, Uri Messer, in grant allocations by the Industry, Trade, and Labor Ministry's Investment Center.
The Bottom Line / The fat cats and their NIS 4 billion in gifts
Ora Coren, Ha'aretz
Industrialists know that the treasury wants to cancel the grant framework as part of the law to encourage capital investments -and find an alternative. This is the historic framework that gives out free gifts to industrialists in return for their willingness to establish factories in the periphery. In private, you can hear them saying that they would have built the same factory anyway, or expanded it, even without the grant. But you have to be an idiot not to take a gift worth millions, they say. The industrialists work to advance their own interests using populist cliches like saying that aiding industry means more jobs. It's true, but there are more creative, and even more efficient, ways to increase employment in the periphery.
'Secret clause lets Shin Bet get data from cell phone firms'
Yuval Yoaz, Ha'aretz
The licenses that the state gives to cell phone companies contain a secret codicil requiring them to give the Shin Bet security service information about conversations and messages that its customers transmit on their cell phones, according to the Movement for Freedom of Information in Israel (FOIM). However, the cellular companies - Pelephone, Cellcom, Partner and Mirs - as well as the Communications Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, which oversees the Shin Bet, all declined to confirm the existence of such a directive. If this addendum does exist, it would potentially impair the privacy rights of millions of cell phone customers in Israel without their knowledge. FOIM plans to petition the administrative court in Jerusalem this morning against the Communications Ministry and the Prime Minister's...
Report: Claims Conference withholding money from survivors
Michal Grievsky, YNetNews
Report commissioned by Jewish Agency, minister for pensioners' affairs finds organization entrusted with managing reparation funds is holding back huge sums of money instead of giving it to survivors - Tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors in Israel and abroad are suffering from financial hardship. However, while these Holocaust survivors are waging a struggle in Israel for a monthly stipend of a few hundred shekels, it turns out the Conference for Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is managing the assets and reparation funds for survivors, has in its possession a large amount of money that is not getting to survivors in Israel. These grave accusations regarding the Claims Conference's handling of reparation funds are detailed in a rough draft of a report commissioned by the Jewish Agency and the minister for pensioners' affairs, Rafi Eitan.
Report: IDF raid seized nuclear material before Syria air strike
Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz
Israel Defense Forces commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a raid on a secret military site in Syria before the Israel Air Force allegedly bombed it this month, British newspaper The Sunday Times reported Sunday. The report, based on what the newspaper called "informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem," said the air strike was carried out with United States approval after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related. The paper quoted Israeli sources as saying Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, and had located the nuclear material at a compound in the country's north. In another report, Newsweek quoted Uzi Arad, a former senior Mossad official and ex-policy advisor to then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu,...
Livni: UN should be ashamed
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews
Iranian president lands in New York for UN General Assembly amidst fierce protests against his visit, Israeli foreign minister calls platform being offered to Ahmadinejad 'shameful' - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York on Sunday for the 62nd annual UN General Assembly as critics protested his planned speech at Columbia University and UN visit. Behind the scenes US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continues working to promote a possible third round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran as a response to its advancing nuclear program. Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni, who is also in New York, has spoken out harshly against the divisive visit. "In a just world, his visit would never have been authorized and Iran would not be a member of the United Nations," said Livni.
Jordan allocates $1.5m to rebuild "Temple Mount"
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz
Jordan will allocate 1. 113 million Jordanian Dinars ($1. 5 million dollars) to the Jordan Hashemite Fund for the Reconstruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, King Abdullah II announced yesterday during a meeting of the trustees of the new fund. The king also instructed a bonus salary to be given to employees of the Waqf, as a gesture of thanks for their commitment and work. The new fund will be headed by Prince Ghazi, a cousin of the king. At the opening session, Ghazi proposed that Jordan offer passports to 90,000 residents of East Jerusalem. Reports of the proposal were made on the Arab satellite news organization, Al-Arabiya, but were omitted from the official release on the fund's activities, reported on Petra, the kingdom's news agency.
Sderot residents: Prisoner release? We're the real prisoners
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews
Two more Qassam rockets hit Sderot area, while many residents were outside building sukkahs. No damages were caused, but residents complain: Public ignores our situation until tragedy strikes - After another day of relative quiet, two Qassam rockets were fired at western Negev communities from the Gaza Strip Sunday evening. One landed in Sderot and the second landed on a highway outside the city. Both landed in what the media refer to as "open areas". However, this term doesn't quite manage to accurately represent what happens when a rocket falls, and residents end up feeling that the public only acknowledges their plight when tragedy strikes. Ilana Azran was at home with her five children when the rocket hit right outside her house.
Hamdan holds Arab world responsible for Gaza suffering
Palestinian Information Center
BEIRUT, (PIC)-- Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, held the Arab world fully responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, calling on Arab states, especially Egypt and Jordan, to open up to the Strip and assist it to come through adversities, instead of closing the doors at the Palestinians. In a televised statement, Hamdan revealed that Ismail Haneyya, the premier of the caretaker government in Gaza, had many contacts with Arab and Islamic countries to explain the current Palestinian situation, pointing out that the Arab countries are unanimous in the need for immediate dialogue between Hamas and Fatah. Regarding the Israeli decision which classified the Gaza Strip as a hostile entity, the Hamas representative stated that it is a multi-dimensional decision...
How one of Israel's most beautiful wadis became a garbage dump
Fadi Eyadat, Ha'aretz
Just west of Isfiya lies what used to be one of the most splendid wadis on Mount Carmel. Wadi Heik would have remained lovely had it not been turned into a garbage heap. The Carmel municipality and the Ministry for Environmental Protection are trading accusations, but seem to be having little success in restoring the wadi's past beauty. Hikers passing the natural spring at Wadi Heik can observe dead farm animals sprawled over debris from construction sites and garbage bags from neighboring towns. It is not uncommon to see pickup trucks leaving the main road with loads of garbage and waste meant for the wadi - which is part of the Israel Trail, a scenic route for hikers running the country's full length. One of the most polluted parts of Wadi Heik is Rom Carmel - the highest point of the mountain chain, towering to some 520 meters.
State of Economy Index continues to rise
Zeev Klein, Globes Online
The index rose 0. 7% in August. Bank of Israel: The rise shows continued rapid growth. The State of the Economy Index rose 0. 7% in August 2007, the Bank of Israel reports. The index rose 2. 4% in June-August. The Bank of Israel said that the increase "demonstrates continuing rapid growth in economic activity. " The State of the Economy Index has been rising by 0. 7-0. 9% per months since January, and rose 6. 5% in January-August. The rise in the index corresponds with growth estimates published by the Central Bureau of Statistics. [end]
Bank of Israel: Public's financial assets reach NIS 2.08t
Zeev Klein, Globes Online
The public's financial assets totaled NIS 288,000 per capita in July. The public held a record NIS 2. 087 trillion in financial assets in July 2008, the Bank of Israel reports, after increasing by 1. 5%, or NIS 30 billion, during the month. The public's financial assets grew by 11. 6%, or NIS 215 billion, in January-July. Israelis also held a record NIS 174 billion in foreign assets, including NIS 82 billion in foreign stocks. Israelis' foreign assets have grown by 16% since the beginning of the year. Israelis' investment in foreign stocks have risen by 20. 4%, or NIS 14 billion, since January. The public's financial assets totaled NIS 288,000 per capita in July. Assets held by the top decile totaled NIS 1. 15 million per capita.
Universities to strike over salaries, budgets
Moran Zelikovich, YNetNews
Universities want government to roll back budget cuts, increase university budgets and pay teachers higher salaries - University lecturers on Sunday threatened to launch an open strike after the Sukkot holiday if the government did not meet their demands for higher salaries and increased budgets. The union of Israeli universities announced Sunday that the 2007/2008 fall semester would not start if the government failed to implement recommendations by an independent commission to pump more money into higher education institutions by rolling back budget cuts among other measures. In addition, 5,000 senior university lecturers have threatened to boycott the start of the academic year unless their demands for a pay raise are met.
Amdocs targets Indian communications market
Adi Ben-Israel, Globes Online
Amdocs India managing director Alok Srivastava tells "CXOtoday": India is of strategic importance to Amdocs. Amdocs India managing director Alok Srivastava has told Indian news site "CXOtoday" that he is optimistic about the growth of the operational support systems (OSS) in India. Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX ) opened a development center in Pune in 2004, a business services division in 2005, and a second development centre in Gurgaon. Srivastava said, "The Indian OSS market is continuing to grow. Service providers must be able to ensure that they stand out from the competition, not just on price, but on the speed by which they can deliver reliable new services. The quest to create meaningful customer experiences is driving the market, and OSS/BSS technology is at the heart of that initiative.
Kosher investment
Roee Bergman, Globes Online
As elsewhere in the world, there are Israeli funds that cater to investors with a religious conscience. So far, the results are not uplifting. Both worldwide and in Israel, they have become a unique investment niche that belongs in the family of conscience-based investments: investment instruments with an economic and financial logic which operate according to religious principles. The Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund (AVEMX), for example, is a fund that plays a double game with the concept of value - it invests in value stocks and also invests according to Catholic principles, which it means does not invest in companies that are involved in abortions or pornography, or that support the idea of one-parent families, or parenthood outside marriage.
Merrill Lynch sees $2-3b inflow from FTSE upgrade
Globes correspondent, Globes Online
According to Merrill Lynch, the inflow will benefit the largest stocks on the TASE. Commenting on FTSE's upgrade of Israel to developed market status, Merrill Lynch reports that the Israeli market can expect a large inflow from investors in developed markets, while outflows should be small. "We learned at our meeting with FTSE that they expect net inflows of US$2-3 billion from developed market investors into the Israeli market," the report by Merrill Lynch analysts Michael Hartnett, Bill Kan, and Haim Israel says. "This will likely benefit the largest stocks our opinion," the report continues. "Outflows should be minimal because the amount of emerging market assets benchmarked to FTSE is very modest. "One exception to this is the EM Health Care sector.
Is being developed necessarily a good thing?
Tal Levy, Ha'aretz
"The FTSE's promoting Israel from an emerging market to a developed one is a nice pat on the shoulder, but if [Morgan Stanley's] MSCI does a similar thing it will be a catastrophe for Israeli markets," said analyst Haim Israel of the Merrill Lynch investment house. Israel explained that the change announced by the Financial Times group last Thursday was not surprising, since the state of Israel had already been on the company's waiting list for six months. He explained that 90 percent of the world's investments are managed by funds and investors based on Morgan Stanley's MSCI indexes, and only 10 percent use other indexes, such as the FTSE, as their base. According to Israel, the change in status by the FTSE will not necessarily lead to a similar move by Morgan Stanley, since it uses its own methodology that is not necessarily related to that of the FTSE.
Antiquities Authority: Archaeologists unearth quarry used to renovate Second Temple
Nadav Shragai, and Reuters, Ha'aretz
The Antiquities Authority announced Sunday that archaeologists have found an ancient quarry where King Herod's workers may have chiselled the giant stones used to renovate the Second Temple in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. The Authority said Sunday that experts believe stones as long as eight meters were extracted from the quarry and then dragged by oxen to building sites in Jerusalem for major projects such as the Temple. "This construction most likely included the walls of the Temple Mount and other monumental buildings," the authority said in a statement. Some of the blocks discovered at the site resemble stones used in the lower parts of the Temple Mount compound, the site of two biblical Jewish temples, the statement said.
Syria lashes out at accusations of role in Ghanem hit
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star
DAMASCUS: Syria rejected as "baseless and without proof" over the weekend accusations by Lebanon's ruling coalition that Damascus was behind Wednesday's killing of Lebanese MP Antoine Ghanem. The anti-Syrian MP was killed by a car bomb in the Beirut suburb of Sin al-Fil less than a week before Parliament is due to elect a new head of state to replace the pro-Damascus incumbent, Emile Lahoud. Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal, in a statement published on Saturday, said: "Accusations made against Syria by the March 14 Forces, which are linked to a foreign plan, are allegations without foundation and lacking proof." "Syria does not intervene in any way in Lebanese internal affairs. It works for entente between all Lebanese in favor of a president who would represent them all, because Syria is in favor...
Presidential impasse adds to Lebanon's woes
IRIN News.org, Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hajj Mustafa Zaatari, a baker from the Southern port city of Sidon, has little patience for his country's beleaguered politicians as they struggle to overcome deep divisions ahead of electing a new president. "Why would I want to talk politics? " he asks. "It's the holy month of Ramadan, and politics in this country is blasphemy, pure blasphemy." With Parliament set to convene on September 25 - the first time in just under a year - to begin electing a replacement for President Emile Lahoud, analysts and citizens alike say their hopes for an end to divisions remain laced with fears of further instability. The assassination last week of pro-government Christian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem raises serious doubts over whether Parliament will indeed convene as scheduled.
Amnesty accuses world of turning a blind eye to displaced Iraqis
Daily Star
The international community is failing to adequately address Iraq's spiraling refugee crisis, leaving the main host countries of Syria and Jordan to shoulder too much of the responsibility, Amnesty International says in a new report to be published on Monday. As a result, these two countries are now tightening border controls, and so cutting off the main escape routes for people fleeing from sectarian and other violence in Iraq. The report, "Millions in flight: the Iraqi refugee crisis," commends the Syrian and Jordanian governments for largely keeping their borders open to date but accuses other states of doing too little to help them cope with the huge demands they face in meeting the needs of the almost 2 million Iraqi refugees whom they now host.
IRAQ: Hospitals under pressure as doctors move abroad
IRIN, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
BAGHDAD, 6 September 2007 (IRIN) - Dr Muhammad Abdel-Sattar, 36, is packing his bags as he discusses on the phone with two colleagues the best time to leave for the airport. In December 2006 Abdel-Sattar sent his family to Jordan after three times receiving threats from militants. Recently his car was shot at in front of his house, and he has now decided to leave the country - and his job as a leading oncologist in Baghdad. "I love my country and would like to stay to help my people but"¦ I'm scared that any time a militant will come and shoot me dead," Abdel-Sattar said. "I'm leaving with two other doctors - a cardiologist and haematologist"¦ We know how hard it will be for the remaining doctors but we have had enough." According to the Iraqi Medical Association (IMA), the shortage of doctors and nurses...
Ethnic violence forces more Arabs to flee Iraq's Kirkuk
Middle East Online
KIRKUK, Iraq - Iraqi Arab residents of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, some 250km from Baghdad, say scores of Arab families are fleeing the city as ethnic violence increases there. "The attacks on our community have worsened since February 2007. We are being forced to leave the city almost empty-handed and the government isn't taking any action to support us," said Ali Akram Mahmoud, a spokesperson for Kirkuk's Arabs Association (KAA), formed in 2003 with the aim of safeguarding the rights of Arabs who had settled in the city. "The number of [Arab] families fleeing the city has increased by 20 percent on previous years. Their flight will seriously affect the upcoming referendum in which Kurds will have a majority not because of their numbers but because, with guns in their hands, they will have forced all Arabs to flee the city.
SOMALIA: Hundreds of thousands need urgent aid, says government
Hassan Mahamud Ahmed/IRIN, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
NAIROBI, 21 September 2007 (IRIN) - Somalia's transitional federal government has appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance for hundreds of thousands of people affected by drought, floods and displacement. "We need urgent assistance if we are to avert an impending humanitarian crisis," Information Minister Madobe Nuunow said on 20 September. "The government will take any step necessary to support those who come to help our people." He called on international relief agencies to "move quickly before it is too late". "We need help now," he added. The majority of those affected were in southern and central regions, he said, adding: "Some regions are experiencing drought, while others have been flooded." In the south, the Middle and Lower Shabelle regions and the Middle and Lower Jubas, Bay and Bakol are...
North Korea hosts Syrian delegation
Al Jazeera
Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's titular head of state and number two in the country's government, has met with a Syrian delegation in Pyongyang. Confirmation of the talks, which were held over the past two days, came amid US and Israeli allegations of a nuclear connection between the two countries. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the country's official news outlet, said Kim Yong Nam had had "a friendly talk" with the Syrian delegation, which was led by Saaeed Eleia Dawood, director of the organisational department of Syria's Baath Arab Socialist Party. 'Secret suppliers' - KCNA said the Syrian official expressed satisfaction that the "friendly and cooperative ties" between the two countries "are growing stronger under the deep care of" Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's president and Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader.
Columbia U. resists pressure to cancel Ahmadinejad talk
Shlomo Shamir, Ha'aretz
NEW YORK - Columbia University's heads are resisting pressure to cancel a scheduled appearance by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the school tomorrow. However, the real headache for the New York City police is likely to be the Iranian leader's attempt to visit Ground Zero. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had prohibited Ahmadinejad's visit to the scene of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the Twin Towers, but according to an interview he gave to "60 minutes," to be broadcast tonight, the Iranian president has not abandoned his plan to visit the site. However, when asked his opinion as to Kelly's refusal to allow the visit, Ahmadinejad said it would have to be coordinated with the local authorities, and if they did not agree, he would not insist.
INDIA/US: Nuke Deal May Trigger Mid-Term Polls
Analysis by Praful Bidwai, Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Sep 23(IPS) - As India's coalition government tries to complete the controversial nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, it finds itself caught between domestic opposition to the agreement from its Left-wing allies and pressure from Washington to seal the deal. For the agreement to be completed, it needs to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and must receive unconditional exemption from the rules for nuclear commerce set by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), before it is put up for ratification by the U.S. Congress. At stake is the survival of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, which needs the support of the Left for a parliamentary majority. After a second round of talks between the UPA and the Left in a 15-member committee two...
Articles
Puppet leader
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz
Mahmoud Abbas has to stay home. As things stand right now, he must not go to Washington. Even his meetings with Ehud Olmert are gradually turning into a disgrace and have become a humiliation for his people. Nothing good will come of them. It has become impossible to bear the spectacle of the Palestinian leader's jolly visits in Jerusalem, bussing the cheek of the wife of the very prime minister who is meanwhile threatening to blockade a million and a half of his people, condemning them to darkness and hunger.
If Abu Mazen were a genuine national leader instead of a petty retailer, he would refuse to participate in the summit and any other meetings until the blockade of Gaza is lifted. If he were a man of truly historic stature he would add that no conference can be held without Ismail Haniyeh, another crucial Palestinian representative. And if Israel really wanted peace, not only an "agreement of principles" with a puppet-leader that will lead nowhere, it should respect Abbas' demand. Israel should aspire for Abu Mazen to be considered a leader in the eyes of his people, not only a marionette whose strings are pulled by Israel and the United States, or affected by other short-term power plays.
How many were arrested last night?
Danny Rubinstein, Ha'aretz
Last Thursday I joined a group of senior Palestinian Authority officials who traveled from Ramallah to Jericho for the dedication of the new Palestinian Security Academy training ground. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was the guest of honor. He had just completed his joint press conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and was stopping in Jericho en route to Jordan. From there he was to fly to the United States, where he will meet today with President George Bush at the United Nations in New York.
Jericho is considered a quiet town. With the exception of the hotel, the closed casino at the southern entrance to the city and the destroyed police building, it looks fairly miserable, as it was when the Israel Defense Forces occupied it over 40 years ago. The Security Academy complex is northwest of the city. It is an impressive structure, with classrooms, computer systems, and a spacious, modern gym, all built with aid money, mainly American.
The first class, 120 officers from all of the PA security organizations, will begin its training in the coming days. The students will learn basic subjects, including administration and law. General Tawfiq Tirawi, the strongman of the West Bank security organizations, is emphatic: "They will also learn Hebrew - there will be no officer here who does not know Hebrew well.
To the international border, and no farther
Alexander Yakobson, Ha'aretz
The Syrian regime is not currently popular internationally. This lack of popularity, which was caused by the Syrians themselves, works in Israel's favor from various points of view - as was proven by the international ?(non?) response to what reportedly happened recently in Syria's skies.
But let us not delude ourselves: Syria's demand that its sovereignty over the Golan Heights be restored enjoys strong international support - not out of love for Bashar Assad, and not even for love of international law as such, but rather because the stability of recognized international borders is a vital interest of the international community.
The result is that, on one hand, Israel is not being pressured to leave the Golan Heights, but on the other, there is no chance that Israel will ever be able to sign a peace treaty with Syria that includes annexing the Golan or any part of it.
Bibi is looking for love
Ehud Asheri, Ha'aretz
A few years ago I chanced to meet Benjamin Netanyahu. It was at some social event, near the buffet table. A mutual friend introduced me to him ("he's from Haaretz") and promptly left us alone together. Netanyahu lost no time. He honed in on me with his political oration, a kind of intense, one-on-one campaign about the right way to deal with Arafat in particular and the Palestinian problem in general that included examples of his past successes as prime minister.
I do not remember the details, but I cannot forget the exaggerated effort he invested in impressing me, as if his fate hinged on my opinion of him. Perhaps I should have been flattered, but what I felt was a strange embarrassment at this surreal situation, especially his obvious need to prove his greatness to me, a total stranger.
I didn't need this chance meeting to identify this need in Netanyahu, but it clarified for me in a direct way the damage that this need wreaks on him as a public figure with leadership aspirations. What you are willing to tolerate from a stranger, even from an ordinary politician.
For More Information on Palestine see Window into Palestine
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