From The Australian: Emma-Kate Symons, Paris October 19, 2005 . . .
GARETH Evans has launched a savage attack on UN inertia, condemning the troubled organisation's botched attempt at wholesale reform in its 60th year as a depressing disaster.
. . .Though a strong supporter of the UN, Mr Evans warned that the failure to embrace the panel's reform blueprint, along with disagreements on security questions, development issues, the use of force, disarmament, management and the discredited Human Rights Commission constituted 'a huge wasted opportunity'.
....Speaking at a conference in Paris on the UN and international security challenges, Mr Evans clashed over the outcome of the UN world summit in New York last month with his friend Hans Blix, formerly the UN's chief weapons inspector. After Mr Blix told reporters the UN was in reasonably good shape, suffered from overly high reform expectations and was not gripped by endemic corruption, Mr Evans accused him of "gathering rosebuds of consolation".
According to Mr Evans, the summit was a "deep disappointment". "It needed to be a big leap forward. It wasn't - it was a slow, small crawl and I don't think we've got any reason for any great optimism that we're going to get better than that for a very long time to come. That's a huge wasted opportunity."
More than 175 world leaders at the World Summit endorsed a watered down 35-page reform document that avoided most of the big questions facing the UN such as security council reform and the definition of terrorism.
. . ."If you compare it (the summit outcome) with the hopes and expectations of three months earlier in June, it is close to a disaster. And I say that not because I think expectations were over-inflated," Mr Evans said. He added that the UN system "for all its flaws" had worked positively to reduce conflicts in the past 15 years, but the overall outlook was "depressing".
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Egypt: 'Attack too small to stop calm'
From Ynetnews (10.17.05, 19:16) ...
Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Assam Ibrahim...describes terror attack as 'too small to destroy process of calm' in the region
Ali Waked
Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Assam Ibrahim, does not frequently address the Israeli public directly....Hours after the drive-by terror attack in Gush Etzion, in which three Israelis were murdered,...Ibrahim's faith in regional calm is unshaken.
In an interview with Ynet, Ibrahim expressed optimism, saying, "with all due respect, a small attack" wouldn't endanger moves towards creating calm in the region. He rejected accusations in Israel that the Egyptians abandoned the Gaza- Egypt border for a number of days, allowing unrestricted movement, saying: "It's natural that people who haven't met with their families for dozens of years will break though in the way they did. The Jews, who suffered in the past, can understand the needs of these people who were under occupation."
Mr. Ambassador, we were witness to terror attacks resulting in Israelis being killed, and a Palestinian wanted figure being killed in Jenin. Is the calm which Egypt has worked for collapsing, or can it be saved?
"There's no reason to talk about the saving the calm, because it's not crashing...It will create a (negative) impression on the international community, and the Arab, and the Israeli public opinions, it will create the illusion that the peace process is in danger, or even crashing....The Palestinians must understand that another attack won't change the Middle East, and Israel must understand that shooting one wanted Palestinian or another won't solve the conflict."
Will Egypt now try and coordinate a ceasefire among Palestinian factions, especially Hamas and Islamic Jihad?
"We are in daily contact with them – and I emphasize daily contact - with the Palestinian Authority and all the organizations, with the entire Palestinian public sectors in the world...."
Has Egypt changed its preparations on the Egypt-Gaza border, in Rafiah, after Israel's harsh criticisms about the open border in the first few days (after the disengagement?)
There is always criticism in Israel and there is always a lack of satisfaction. The nation in Israel is critical in a constant way, it criticizes itself, its government, and its press. ... What has happened in Gaza, with all its importance – and I am aware of the suffering that the Israeli society has gone though,... but it is till half a step...and if Israel wants security and hopes for a peace-seeking Palestinian state, the second half step must be taken, in order to know if the whole step was correct."
In Israel, figures such as Knesset Committee Chairman Yuval Shteinitz have criticized your border activities and said they are not enough.
"I don't want to address specific people and committees."
Mr. Ambassador, the head of the IDF's Intelligence Corps has reported on the presence of al-Qaeda in Sinai. He said that the organization has set up a real base there.
"The Head of Intelligence has the right to say what he wants as we have the right to express our view. I'm not going to put on the hat of Egyptian security officials and discuss their work against cells, which could be in Sinai, and who have caused attacks that we saw in Taba and in Sharm el-Sheikh. There is a problem, and the security forces are dealing with it, but I'm not an expert on the details, and I don't know if al-Qaeda are there or not. These details are being left to our security people, but up to now I haven't heard that al-Qaeda have a branch in Sinai."
... How would you classify Israeli – Egyptian relations today?
"Relations are good. In recent months since the intifada started to calm down, and since the Sharm el-Sheikh understanding, we reestablished full diplomatic relations. There are economic deals, gas deals, and other arrangements, and Israelis now come to Cairo and lecture in front of hundreds of people – that means there is an improvement. Relations are still not fully open the way peace seekers would want to see. But they developing securely.
When will President Mubarak come to visit Israel?
"In principle there is nothing to prevent the president from visiting Israel. It's a matter of timing, and the right conditions for both sides...There is the Palestinian problem which is central to the Egyptian public opinion, and when relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians move away from violence… the Egyptian people will see this and calm down, and relations will improve. When this happens, the president will be first to feel the momentum that will allow a visit and will contribute to the success of the process."
Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Assam Ibrahim...describes terror attack as 'too small to destroy process of calm' in the region
Ali Waked
Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Assam Ibrahim, does not frequently address the Israeli public directly....Hours after the drive-by terror attack in Gush Etzion, in which three Israelis were murdered,...Ibrahim's faith in regional calm is unshaken.
In an interview with Ynet, Ibrahim expressed optimism, saying, "with all due respect, a small attack" wouldn't endanger moves towards creating calm in the region. He rejected accusations in Israel that the Egyptians abandoned the Gaza- Egypt border for a number of days, allowing unrestricted movement, saying: "It's natural that people who haven't met with their families for dozens of years will break though in the way they did. The Jews, who suffered in the past, can understand the needs of these people who were under occupation."
Mr. Ambassador, we were witness to terror attacks resulting in Israelis being killed, and a Palestinian wanted figure being killed in Jenin. Is the calm which Egypt has worked for collapsing, or can it be saved?
"There's no reason to talk about the saving the calm, because it's not crashing...It will create a (negative) impression on the international community, and the Arab, and the Israeli public opinions, it will create the illusion that the peace process is in danger, or even crashing....The Palestinians must understand that another attack won't change the Middle East, and Israel must understand that shooting one wanted Palestinian or another won't solve the conflict."
Will Egypt now try and coordinate a ceasefire among Palestinian factions, especially Hamas and Islamic Jihad?
"We are in daily contact with them – and I emphasize daily contact - with the Palestinian Authority and all the organizations, with the entire Palestinian public sectors in the world...."
Has Egypt changed its preparations on the Egypt-Gaza border, in Rafiah, after Israel's harsh criticisms about the open border in the first few days (after the disengagement?)
There is always criticism in Israel and there is always a lack of satisfaction. The nation in Israel is critical in a constant way, it criticizes itself, its government, and its press. ... What has happened in Gaza, with all its importance – and I am aware of the suffering that the Israeli society has gone though,... but it is till half a step...and if Israel wants security and hopes for a peace-seeking Palestinian state, the second half step must be taken, in order to know if the whole step was correct."
In Israel, figures such as Knesset Committee Chairman Yuval Shteinitz have criticized your border activities and said they are not enough.
"I don't want to address specific people and committees."
Mr. Ambassador, the head of the IDF's Intelligence Corps has reported on the presence of al-Qaeda in Sinai. He said that the organization has set up a real base there.
"The Head of Intelligence has the right to say what he wants as we have the right to express our view. I'm not going to put on the hat of Egyptian security officials and discuss their work against cells, which could be in Sinai, and who have caused attacks that we saw in Taba and in Sharm el-Sheikh. There is a problem, and the security forces are dealing with it, but I'm not an expert on the details, and I don't know if al-Qaeda are there or not. These details are being left to our security people, but up to now I haven't heard that al-Qaeda have a branch in Sinai."
... How would you classify Israeli – Egyptian relations today?
"Relations are good. In recent months since the intifada started to calm down, and since the Sharm el-Sheikh understanding, we reestablished full diplomatic relations. There are economic deals, gas deals, and other arrangements, and Israelis now come to Cairo and lecture in front of hundreds of people – that means there is an improvement. Relations are still not fully open the way peace seekers would want to see. But they developing securely.
When will President Mubarak come to visit Israel?
"In principle there is nothing to prevent the president from visiting Israel. It's a matter of timing, and the right conditions for both sides...There is the Palestinian problem which is central to the Egyptian public opinion, and when relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians move away from violence… the Egyptian people will see this and calm down, and relations will improve. When this happens, the president will be first to feel the momentum that will allow a visit and will contribute to the success of the process."
Abbas says "sorry" ... and praises Chirac
From Jerusalem Post Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: Oct. 17, 2005 20:30 Updated Oct. 17, 2005 22:26 By ASSOCIATED PRESS PARIS ...
...Abbas, in Paris on his way to a highly awaited trip to Washington, said he was 'sorry' about the killings Sunday by Palestinian gunmen....
The attack near the Gush Etzion settlements was the deadliest since July, and Israel responded with dozens of new checkpoints on major West Bank roads and halting negotiations with the authority.
...The shootings followed Israeli intelligence warnings that Palestinian terrorists, who claim they drove Israel out of Gaza by force, would now shift their focus to the West Bank...
Abbas, on his first trip to Paris since taking office in January, was meeting Chirac to discuss possibilities for Middle East peacemaking since Israel's withdrawal. ...Turning to Chirac, Abbas said he knew that Palestinians could "count on you," praising the French leader as a "friend" of his late predecessor, Yasser Arafat....
...Abbas, in Paris on his way to a highly awaited trip to Washington, said he was 'sorry' about the killings Sunday by Palestinian gunmen....
The attack near the Gush Etzion settlements was the deadliest since July, and Israel responded with dozens of new checkpoints on major West Bank roads and halting negotiations with the authority.
...The shootings followed Israeli intelligence warnings that Palestinian terrorists, who claim they drove Israel out of Gaza by force, would now shift their focus to the West Bank...
Abbas, on his first trip to Paris since taking office in January, was meeting Chirac to discuss possibilities for Middle East peacemaking since Israel's withdrawal. ...Turning to Chirac, Abbas said he knew that Palestinians could "count on you," praising the French leader as a "friend" of his late predecessor, Yasser Arafat....
Monday, October 17, 2005
Israeli response to West Bank violence
From The Australian: Four killed in West Bank violence [October 17, 2005]:
...A Defence Ministry source said troops would encircle major West Bank cities and require that Palestinians travel between them by public transportation only, rather than private cars.
'We will reconsider this measure if the Palestinian Authority cracks down on terrorists,' the source said....
...A Defence Ministry source said troops would encircle major West Bank cities and require that Palestinians travel between them by public transportation only, rather than private cars.
'We will reconsider this measure if the Palestinian Authority cracks down on terrorists,' the source said....
Old Europe votes for its decline
From The Australian: ...
With Germany, France and Italy politically paralysed, European voters appear to have expressed their disapproval of the reform agenda, writes Anatole Kaletsky
October 17, 2005
AFTER last week's creation of a German government in which Angela Merkel will not even control the finance and foreign ministries, all three of the great European nations that have dominated the continent's history for 2000 years - Germany, France and Italy - are effectively leaderless.
They will almost certainly remain politically paralysed at least until the French presidential election of 2007. The power vacuum now covering the whole of continental Europe is almost unprecedented, at least since the disastrous period between the two world wars.
... the main theme of the German election, as of the French referendum campaign before it, was public rejection of an economic reform agenda that was demanded by the business and political elites. The market reforms that would supposedly make Europe the "most competitive economy in the world" had been unanimously endorsed by Europe's political leaders in their now-notorious Lisbon Declaration.
But while the business and political elites across Europe became more and more obsessed with Lisbon's promises of open markets, competition and globalisation, voters couldn't help noticing that all these reforms, instead of improving their living standards or working conditions, were making them poorer and more insecure.
... After 10 years of economic reforms, the Germans decided they had had enough... the French electorate is sending a similar message, ...A similar pattern seems to be developing in Italy... reforms have been tried for a decade and they have failed to produce the promised increase in living standards or economic growth.
..But all this is water under the bridge; the question now is whether the end of reforms should be seen as a disaster, an opportunity or a non-event. ...does the impending paralysis over reform in Europe really matter? ...
...For Euro-idealists who hoped to see the EU moving towards federation and establishing itself alongside the US and China as one of the three global powers of the 21st century, the failure of European economic initiative may seem a disaster, but for ordinary citizens, why should this matter? ... one has to acknowledge that the ageing electorates of Germany, France and Italy are entitled to vote for political paralysis, economic decline and global irrelevance. ...
The Times
With Germany, France and Italy politically paralysed, European voters appear to have expressed their disapproval of the reform agenda, writes Anatole Kaletsky
October 17, 2005
AFTER last week's creation of a German government in which Angela Merkel will not even control the finance and foreign ministries, all three of the great European nations that have dominated the continent's history for 2000 years - Germany, France and Italy - are effectively leaderless.
They will almost certainly remain politically paralysed at least until the French presidential election of 2007. The power vacuum now covering the whole of continental Europe is almost unprecedented, at least since the disastrous period between the two world wars.
... the main theme of the German election, as of the French referendum campaign before it, was public rejection of an economic reform agenda that was demanded by the business and political elites. The market reforms that would supposedly make Europe the "most competitive economy in the world" had been unanimously endorsed by Europe's political leaders in their now-notorious Lisbon Declaration.
But while the business and political elites across Europe became more and more obsessed with Lisbon's promises of open markets, competition and globalisation, voters couldn't help noticing that all these reforms, instead of improving their living standards or working conditions, were making them poorer and more insecure.
... After 10 years of economic reforms, the Germans decided they had had enough... the French electorate is sending a similar message, ...A similar pattern seems to be developing in Italy... reforms have been tried for a decade and they have failed to produce the promised increase in living standards or economic growth.
..But all this is water under the bridge; the question now is whether the end of reforms should be seen as a disaster, an opportunity or a non-event. ...does the impending paralysis over reform in Europe really matter? ...
...For Euro-idealists who hoped to see the EU moving towards federation and establishing itself alongside the US and China as one of the three global powers of the 21st century, the failure of European economic initiative may seem a disaster, but for ordinary citizens, why should this matter? ... one has to acknowledge that the ageing electorates of Germany, France and Italy are entitled to vote for political paralysis, economic decline and global irrelevance. ...
The Times
First full-time rabbi in Krakow since Holocaust
From Jerusalem Post Oct. 16, 2005 12:48 Updated Oct. 16, 2005 13:00 By TIDHAR OFEK ...
The Shavei Israel organization reported Sunday that Krakow will have its first full-time rabbi in the six decades since the Holocaust. The Jerusalem-based organization dispatched Rabbi Avraham Flaks, 38, to Krakow after Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich requested that a rabbi be sent to the city.
Rabbi Flaks was excited about his new position. "The challenge is immense, as is the responsibility," Rabbi Flaks said, "but I look forward to working together with the community and its leadership to help keep the flame of Judaism burning brightly in Krakow, particularly among the younger generation of Polish Jews".
Shavei Israel, which reaches out to 'lost Jews' and tries to reconnect them with the Jewish community, will try to rekindle Jewish life in the city after the bulk of its Jewish residents were murdered by Nazis. The organization reported that of the 1,000 Krakow residents who are Jewish, only 200 are members of the Jewish community. Since the fall of Communism in 1989, people in the city have begun to uncover their Jewish roots.
The city is filled with “hidden children,” Jews adopted by Catholic families during WWII who have only recently began to reconnect to their Jewish roots. “In a place where the Germans sought to erase all traces of Judaism, and nearly succeeded, it is gratifying to see that Jewish life still endures,” said Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund. “Many of Poland's 'hidden Jews' are seeking to reconnect with the Jewish people, and we must do what we can to help them return. Six decades after the Holocaust, the best revenge is to rebuild Jewish life and to bring as many of these people back as possible,” he said.
The Shavei Israel organization reported Sunday that Krakow will have its first full-time rabbi in the six decades since the Holocaust. The Jerusalem-based organization dispatched Rabbi Avraham Flaks, 38, to Krakow after Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich requested that a rabbi be sent to the city.
Rabbi Flaks was excited about his new position. "The challenge is immense, as is the responsibility," Rabbi Flaks said, "but I look forward to working together with the community and its leadership to help keep the flame of Judaism burning brightly in Krakow, particularly among the younger generation of Polish Jews".
Shavei Israel, which reaches out to 'lost Jews' and tries to reconnect them with the Jewish community, will try to rekindle Jewish life in the city after the bulk of its Jewish residents were murdered by Nazis. The organization reported that of the 1,000 Krakow residents who are Jewish, only 200 are members of the Jewish community. Since the fall of Communism in 1989, people in the city have begun to uncover their Jewish roots.
The city is filled with “hidden children,” Jews adopted by Catholic families during WWII who have only recently began to reconnect to their Jewish roots. “In a place where the Germans sought to erase all traces of Judaism, and nearly succeeded, it is gratifying to see that Jewish life still endures,” said Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund. “Many of Poland's 'hidden Jews' are seeking to reconnect with the Jewish people, and we must do what we can to help them return. Six decades after the Holocaust, the best revenge is to rebuild Jewish life and to bring as many of these people back as possible,” he said.
U.S. churches back off divestment
From Ynetnews (10.16.05, 13:58) ...
No church in U.S. except Presbyterians has voted for divestment. Some say corporate engagement is more effective strategy to bring about change than selloff that leaves former shareholders without voice or influence
Reuters
CHICAGO - Some U.S. Protestant churches are turning their back the idea of dumping investments in companies profiting from Israel's West Bank occupation, people involved in the issue said. Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, along with a debate over whether divestment is the right move in the first place, may have helped cool what looked like a growing trend just a few months ago.
'My reading, as a central Jewish player in this, is that there never was a (general) move toward divestment,' said David Elcott, director of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee . 'Here is the reality: No church in the United States except the Presbyterians has voted for divestment,' he added, and the only place where divestment looked like it was moving forward may have been in the media.
U.S. Episcopal Church leaders recently rejected divestment in favor of corporate engagement and another major denomination, the United Church of Christ, turned down the divestment idea at its convention last summer.
Five singled out
The 2.5 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest body of that denomination in the country, approved in 2004 a "phased, selective divestment" involving its USD 8 billion portfolio beginning no earlier than July 2006. In August, it singled out five companies - Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc., United Technologies Corp., Motorola Inc. and ITT Industries Inc. - for "dialogue, shareholder resolutions and public pressure."
... How much the Presbyterians have invested in the companies was not revealed, and the church said divestment was only a last resort that may be considered if "progressive engagement fails." Barry Creech, church spokesman on the issue, said the matter is still on course and "we're not in a hurry" to get to the point of divestment before the church's membership meets again next summer.
'Major mistake'
The Rev. William Harter of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a force behind Presbyterians Concerned for Jewish and Christian Relations, which opposes divestment, said, "As people look at this with clear heads and understand what's really involved, there's a growing awareness that this was a major mistake. It won't work. There's no way what's being proposed is going to have an impact on decisions that the Israelis or Palestinians make about peace and certainly not the U.S. government," he said. It is also outdated because the Israelis have made "major concessions and a major step toward peace," Harter said. There is a "widespread and growing" movement among church members to reverse the divestment idea at next summer's membership meeting, he said.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the 2.3 million-member U.S. Episcopal Church recently chose a different path: to use the church's USD 3.6 billion portfolio and future investments as a tool "for selected companies to change behavior resulting in a more hopeful climate for peace." Its report said "corporate engagement is a more effective strategy to bring about change" than a selloff that leaves former shareholders without a voice or influence in a company. The action drew praise from the American Jewish Congress. Juda Engelmayer, a group representative,
said the trend is away from the divestment idea "when you get past the leadership and get to the (general church) membership. It is shifting."
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles said: "I think as the concerns of the Jewish world become known and as people began to see that these moves do not improve the lot of Palestinians, there is a move to go in a slightly different direction ... investment in positive things that will benefit Jews and Palestinians in general." ...
No church in U.S. except Presbyterians has voted for divestment. Some say corporate engagement is more effective strategy to bring about change than selloff that leaves former shareholders without voice or influence
Reuters
CHICAGO - Some U.S. Protestant churches are turning their back the idea of dumping investments in companies profiting from Israel's West Bank occupation, people involved in the issue said. Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, along with a debate over whether divestment is the right move in the first place, may have helped cool what looked like a growing trend just a few months ago.
'My reading, as a central Jewish player in this, is that there never was a (general) move toward divestment,' said David Elcott, director of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee . 'Here is the reality: No church in the United States except the Presbyterians has voted for divestment,' he added, and the only place where divestment looked like it was moving forward may have been in the media.
U.S. Episcopal Church leaders recently rejected divestment in favor of corporate engagement and another major denomination, the United Church of Christ, turned down the divestment idea at its convention last summer.
Five singled out
The 2.5 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest body of that denomination in the country, approved in 2004 a "phased, selective divestment" involving its USD 8 billion portfolio beginning no earlier than July 2006. In August, it singled out five companies - Caterpillar Inc., Citigroup Inc., United Technologies Corp., Motorola Inc. and ITT Industries Inc. - for "dialogue, shareholder resolutions and public pressure."
... How much the Presbyterians have invested in the companies was not revealed, and the church said divestment was only a last resort that may be considered if "progressive engagement fails." Barry Creech, church spokesman on the issue, said the matter is still on course and "we're not in a hurry" to get to the point of divestment before the church's membership meets again next summer.
'Major mistake'
The Rev. William Harter of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a force behind Presbyterians Concerned for Jewish and Christian Relations, which opposes divestment, said, "As people look at this with clear heads and understand what's really involved, there's a growing awareness that this was a major mistake. It won't work. There's no way what's being proposed is going to have an impact on decisions that the Israelis or Palestinians make about peace and certainly not the U.S. government," he said. It is also outdated because the Israelis have made "major concessions and a major step toward peace," Harter said. There is a "widespread and growing" movement among church members to reverse the divestment idea at next summer's membership meeting, he said.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the 2.3 million-member U.S. Episcopal Church recently chose a different path: to use the church's USD 3.6 billion portfolio and future investments as a tool "for selected companies to change behavior resulting in a more hopeful climate for peace." Its report said "corporate engagement is a more effective strategy to bring about change" than a selloff that leaves former shareholders without a voice or influence in a company. The action drew praise from the American Jewish Congress. Juda Engelmayer, a group representative,
said the trend is away from the divestment idea "when you get past the leadership and get to the (general church) membership. It is shifting."
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles said: "I think as the concerns of the Jewish world become known and as people began to see that these moves do not improve the lot of Palestinians, there is a move to go in a slightly different direction ... investment in positive things that will benefit Jews and Palestinians in general." ...
Al-Aqsa Brigades: We carried out attacks
From Ynetnews (10.16.05, 21:00) ...
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades spokesman says drive-by shooting attacks were 'response to Israeli assassinations of Palestinian activists'
Ali Waked
A spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has claimed that the drive-by terror attacks on Israelis in Gush Etzion and Binyamin were a response to previous Israeli anti-terror operations.
'The attacks in Gush Etzion and Eli are a response by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to Israel's crimes, the last of which are assassinations of Islamic Jihad senior member in Gaza and of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members in Nablus and in Jenin,' senior al-Aqsa member Abu Odawi told Ynet. The al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade terror group is part of the Fatah organization.
According to Abu Odawi, the attacks are a response to the assassination of Muhammad Khalil, a commander of the Jerusalem Brigades of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Odawi claimed his organization respected a period of calm in recent months, "and only Israel has repeatedly killed us and assassinated the Palestinian activists." He threatened more terror attacks, saying his organization is planning to "avenge the blood of the Palestinian activists who were killed in recent days."
"We'll respond in the territories and inside Israel, the incidents today are just the start of a chain. The Palestinian resistance won't agree to a situation of one-sided calm, and every Palestinian organization has the right to respond to the Israeli violations," said Abu Odawi.
Responding the question of whether Sunday's shooting attacks weaken the stance and demands of Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Odawi said: "The one who embarrasses the Palestinian leadership and Abbas is not the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, but the Israeli enemy which continues in its aggressive policies. They are the ones who embarrass Abu Mazen and embarrass him, like (they did) when he was prime minister. We in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are the ones gave Abbas the most amount of support, but I ask: is the embarrassment only when Israelis are killed, should the Palestinian leadership not feel embarrassment when Palestinian blood is spilled? Shouldn't (the Palestinian leadership) be understanding of our right to respond to Israeli operations?" .....
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades spokesman says drive-by shooting attacks were 'response to Israeli assassinations of Palestinian activists'
Ali Waked
A spokesman for the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has claimed that the drive-by terror attacks on Israelis in Gush Etzion and Binyamin were a response to previous Israeli anti-terror operations.
'The attacks in Gush Etzion and Eli are a response by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to Israel's crimes, the last of which are assassinations of Islamic Jihad senior member in Gaza and of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members in Nablus and in Jenin,' senior al-Aqsa member Abu Odawi told Ynet. The al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade terror group is part of the Fatah organization.
According to Abu Odawi, the attacks are a response to the assassination of Muhammad Khalil, a commander of the Jerusalem Brigades of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Odawi claimed his organization respected a period of calm in recent months, "and only Israel has repeatedly killed us and assassinated the Palestinian activists." He threatened more terror attacks, saying his organization is planning to "avenge the blood of the Palestinian activists who were killed in recent days."
"We'll respond in the territories and inside Israel, the incidents today are just the start of a chain. The Palestinian resistance won't agree to a situation of one-sided calm, and every Palestinian organization has the right to respond to the Israeli violations," said Abu Odawi.
Responding the question of whether Sunday's shooting attacks weaken the stance and demands of Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Odawi said: "The one who embarrasses the Palestinian leadership and Abbas is not the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, but the Israeli enemy which continues in its aggressive policies. They are the ones who embarrass Abu Mazen and embarrass him, like (they did) when he was prime minister. We in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are the ones gave Abbas the most amount of support, but I ask: is the embarrassment only when Israelis are killed, should the Palestinian leadership not feel embarrassment when Palestinian blood is spilled? Shouldn't (the Palestinian leadership) be understanding of our right to respond to Israeli operations?" .....
3 killed in 2 terror attacks
From Jerusalem Post Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: Oct. 16, 2005 16:18 Updated Oct. 16, 2005 22:47 By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN AND JPOST STAFF ...
Three Israelis were killed and five were wounded in two back-to-back shooting attacks along Highway 60, a north-south route in the West Bank, on Sunday afternoon. All three of the victims were residents of the Southern Hebron Hills: Kinneret Mandel and her cousin, Matat Rosenfeld Eldar, both of the settlement of Carmel and Oz ben Meir, 15, of Maon. Eldar, 21, was married three months ago. Al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to the ruling Fatah Party, claimed responsibility for both attacks in anonymous phones calls. The attacks occured as Israeli security services were on high alert ahead of the week-long Succot holiday, which begins Monday night.
In the first shooting, Palestinians in a passing Subaru sprayed bullets at a group of people waiting for rides at the hitchhiking post near the Gush Etzion Junction in Judea, between Bethlehem and Hebron. The highway is jointly used by Israelis and Palestinians.
Four others were wounded in the attack; one seriously, two moderately, and one lightly. Eyewitnesses described blood-spattered backpacks strewn haphazardly at the busy intersection.
All of the victims of the Gush Etzion shooting were evacuated by ambulance to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, except for one lightly wounded victim who was transported Shaare Zedek, ZAKA medics reported.
Less than an hour later, passengers in a Hyundai opened fire at two residents of the settlement Eli as they walked on the shoulder of the highway near the Eli Junction in the Benyamin region, north of Jerusalem. One of them was wounded in the thigh and was evacuated to the nearby settlement of Eli for first aid before Magen David Adom teams arrived on the scene. Security forces were searching for the attackers in the Israeli-controlled sections of the area, but had not yet apprehended any suspects. It was suspected that the terrorists fled to the Palestinian-controlled area nearby.
"The police and the army are searching, and the whole area has been cordoned off," said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. David Baker, an official in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, denounced the shooting. "Israel removed roadblocks and made a number of humanitarian gestures to ease up on the Palestinians," he told The Associated Press. "It's unfortunate that the Palestinians have exploited these measures to carry out these murderous attacks."
Less than four months ago, another two young residents of the Southern Hebron Hills, Aviad Mansour, 16, and Avihai Levy, 17, were killed in a similar attack at the Beit Haggai hitchhiking post.
Sunday's murders were the bloodiest assault in the West Bank since the completion of the pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria last month. Security officials have warned that following the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian terrorists would shift their activities to the West Bank.
With the Associated Press
Three Israelis were killed and five were wounded in two back-to-back shooting attacks along Highway 60, a north-south route in the West Bank, on Sunday afternoon. All three of the victims were residents of the Southern Hebron Hills: Kinneret Mandel and her cousin, Matat Rosenfeld Eldar, both of the settlement of Carmel and Oz ben Meir, 15, of Maon. Eldar, 21, was married three months ago. Al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to the ruling Fatah Party, claimed responsibility for both attacks in anonymous phones calls. The attacks occured as Israeli security services were on high alert ahead of the week-long Succot holiday, which begins Monday night.
In the first shooting, Palestinians in a passing Subaru sprayed bullets at a group of people waiting for rides at the hitchhiking post near the Gush Etzion Junction in Judea, between Bethlehem and Hebron. The highway is jointly used by Israelis and Palestinians.
Four others were wounded in the attack; one seriously, two moderately, and one lightly. Eyewitnesses described blood-spattered backpacks strewn haphazardly at the busy intersection.
All of the victims of the Gush Etzion shooting were evacuated by ambulance to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, except for one lightly wounded victim who was transported Shaare Zedek, ZAKA medics reported.
Less than an hour later, passengers in a Hyundai opened fire at two residents of the settlement Eli as they walked on the shoulder of the highway near the Eli Junction in the Benyamin region, north of Jerusalem. One of them was wounded in the thigh and was evacuated to the nearby settlement of Eli for first aid before Magen David Adom teams arrived on the scene. Security forces were searching for the attackers in the Israeli-controlled sections of the area, but had not yet apprehended any suspects. It was suspected that the terrorists fled to the Palestinian-controlled area nearby.
"The police and the army are searching, and the whole area has been cordoned off," said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. David Baker, an official in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, denounced the shooting. "Israel removed roadblocks and made a number of humanitarian gestures to ease up on the Palestinians," he told The Associated Press. "It's unfortunate that the Palestinians have exploited these measures to carry out these murderous attacks."
Less than four months ago, another two young residents of the Southern Hebron Hills, Aviad Mansour, 16, and Avihai Levy, 17, were killed in a similar attack at the Beit Haggai hitchhiking post.
Sunday's murders were the bloodiest assault in the West Bank since the completion of the pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria last month. Security officials have warned that following the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian terrorists would shift their activities to the West Bank.
With the Associated Press
Sunday, October 16, 2005
U.S. to offer Assad a 'Gaddafi deal'
from a Report on YNet News, by Roee Nahmias 15/10/2005...
The Times says Bush Administration offers Assad deal to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions, including full cooperation with investigation into Hariri assassination; cease support for terrorist Islamic organizations such as Hizbullah and Palestinian groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad
The Bush Administration has offered Syria’s beleaguered President a “Gaddafi deal” to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions, a senior American official told The Times.
According to the report, the U.S. will present four demands from Syria: Syria would have to fully cooperate with the U.N. team investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. ... Full Story
Secondly, if members of the Syrian regime are named as suspects they would have to be questioned and could stand trial under foreign jurisdiction. The Syrians would also have to stop any interference in Lebanon, where they have been blamed for a series of bomb attacks against their critics, most recently May Chidiac, a television presenter who was badly injured last month when a device exploded under her car.
Washington also wants Syria to halt the recruiting, funding and training of volunteers for the Iraqi insurgency, which they claim are openly operating in Syria with the connivance of the regime. They include former members of the Iraqi regime and foreign volunteers responsible for suicide car-bomb attacks.
The Bush Administration also has a long-standing demand that Syria cease its support for terrorist Islamic organizations such as Lebanon’s Hizbullah and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
In return America would establish full and friendly relations with Damascus, opening the way for foreign aid and investment and ensuring the regime’s survival.
The Americans are convinced that if Syria agrees to the aforementioned terms it may transform the whole climate in the Middle East - freeing Lebanon, dealing a serious blow to the insurgency in Iraq, and opening the way for progress between Israel and Palestine.
The precedent for the offer is the deal clinched two years ago with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. ...Full relations were restored after Washington and London concluded a secret deal with Gadaffi to dismantle and turn over all his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs...
The Times says Bush Administration offers Assad deal to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions, including full cooperation with investigation into Hariri assassination; cease support for terrorist Islamic organizations such as Hizbullah and Palestinian groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad
The Bush Administration has offered Syria’s beleaguered President a “Gaddafi deal” to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions, a senior American official told The Times.
According to the report, the U.S. will present four demands from Syria: Syria would have to fully cooperate with the U.N. team investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. ... Full Story
Secondly, if members of the Syrian regime are named as suspects they would have to be questioned and could stand trial under foreign jurisdiction. The Syrians would also have to stop any interference in Lebanon, where they have been blamed for a series of bomb attacks against their critics, most recently May Chidiac, a television presenter who was badly injured last month when a device exploded under her car.
Washington also wants Syria to halt the recruiting, funding and training of volunteers for the Iraqi insurgency, which they claim are openly operating in Syria with the connivance of the regime. They include former members of the Iraqi regime and foreign volunteers responsible for suicide car-bomb attacks.
The Bush Administration also has a long-standing demand that Syria cease its support for terrorist Islamic organizations such as Lebanon’s Hizbullah and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
In return America would establish full and friendly relations with Damascus, opening the way for foreign aid and investment and ensuring the regime’s survival.
The Americans are convinced that if Syria agrees to the aforementioned terms it may transform the whole climate in the Middle East - freeing Lebanon, dealing a serious blow to the insurgency in Iraq, and opening the way for progress between Israel and Palestine.
The precedent for the offer is the deal clinched two years ago with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. ...Full relations were restored after Washington and London concluded a secret deal with Gadaffi to dismantle and turn over all his nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs...
Gaza Thuggery
From "Stand for Israel" Friday, October 14, 2005, by Gary Bauer, co-chair...
In the month since Israel left the Gaza Strip, the lives of average Palestinians have taken a decided turn for the worse. With no more Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers to maintain order, and with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas unwilling to confront the armed terrorist gangs, Gaza is increasingly at the mercy of thugs, criminals and murderers.
The Washington Post reports that some Palestinian security commanders have literally become “warlords.” They use the thousands of men under their command to rob, extort and “run” weapons. What about the police? Many of them are holding down two jobs—policeman by day and paid gunman in the militias by night.
One of these warlords, Jamal Abu Samhadana, has an armed militia of 2,000 gunmen and is now the most powerful force along part of the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Palestinian civilians live in fear of these thugs who control the streets and take whatever they want. During the time Israel was in Gaza, the international media did endless interviews with Palestinians who complained about being under “occupation.” But now most of the world ignores the plight of Palestinians who increasingly live in fear— not of the IDF, but of the thousands of armed thugs who roam the streets of Gaza at will.
How can Gaza possibly be the foundation of a new Palestinian state that is supposed to live side by side in peace with Israel as President Bush and others envision? How can there be economic progress, political reform or democratic institutions established if all power in Gaza comes from the barrel of a gun? And how can anyone argue that Israel should make more concessions in Judea-Samaria or in Jerusalem when the Palestinians have not demonstrated the ability to govern themselves in Gaza? ....
In the month since Israel left the Gaza Strip, the lives of average Palestinians have taken a decided turn for the worse. With no more Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers to maintain order, and with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas unwilling to confront the armed terrorist gangs, Gaza is increasingly at the mercy of thugs, criminals and murderers.
The Washington Post reports that some Palestinian security commanders have literally become “warlords.” They use the thousands of men under their command to rob, extort and “run” weapons. What about the police? Many of them are holding down two jobs—policeman by day and paid gunman in the militias by night.
One of these warlords, Jamal Abu Samhadana, has an armed militia of 2,000 gunmen and is now the most powerful force along part of the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Palestinian civilians live in fear of these thugs who control the streets and take whatever they want. During the time Israel was in Gaza, the international media did endless interviews with Palestinians who complained about being under “occupation.” But now most of the world ignores the plight of Palestinians who increasingly live in fear— not of the IDF, but of the thousands of armed thugs who roam the streets of Gaza at will.
How can Gaza possibly be the foundation of a new Palestinian state that is supposed to live side by side in peace with Israel as President Bush and others envision? How can there be economic progress, political reform or democratic institutions established if all power in Gaza comes from the barrel of a gun? And how can anyone argue that Israel should make more concessions in Judea-Samaria or in Jerusalem when the Palestinians have not demonstrated the ability to govern themselves in Gaza? ....
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Moscow Arms Assad with a Top-Flight Surface Missile
From DEBKAfile October 10, 2005, 12:29 PM (GMT+02:00) ...
Two generals were in Moscow on ...September 26: the head of Israel's National Security Council Maj.-Gen (Res.) Giora Eiland and the Syrian chief of staff General Ali Habib. Both also called on the Russian chief of staff, Gen. Yuri Baluyevski. The Syrian general came out of his meeting with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile. The Israeli general ran into a blank wall when he tried to persuade the Russian to withhold the missile from the Assad regime. Last January, when the deal was first broached, the Bush administration stepped in and obtained a promise from president Vladimir Putin to call off the sale, as did Israel's Ariel Sharon during the Russian president's visit in May.
Putin has broken those pledges.
For a speedy delivery in the first quarter of 2006, the Syrians paid cash.
The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world.
The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 “Stone.” They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes. With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius. Two missiles with a range of 280km are mounted on each launch pad. The system can be used against small and large targets alike, easily overcoming air defenses. It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility. Its targets are found in mid-flight by satellites, accompanying airplanes, conventional intelligence centers or a lone soldier directing artillery fire. Targets may also be found by feeding photos into the missile’s computer by means of a scanner.
...Israel raised the ceiling over this transaction as radically shifting the balance of strength between the Jewish state and Syria. Washington embarked on a quiet diplomatic dialogue to deter Damascus from acquiring the new hardware, maintaining it posed a threat to the US army in Iraq.
After weeks of palaver and pressure, president Vladimir Putin and defense minister Sergei Ivanov relented and promised Washington and Jerusalem to withhold the Iskander SS-26 from Syria....
It is now clear that Putin’s promise to the Americans and Israelis to withhold the missile’s sale was no more than a time-winning ploy until an opportunity presented itself to go through with the transaction....
Two generals were in Moscow on ...September 26: the head of Israel's National Security Council Maj.-Gen (Res.) Giora Eiland and the Syrian chief of staff General Ali Habib. Both also called on the Russian chief of staff, Gen. Yuri Baluyevski. The Syrian general came out of his meeting with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile. The Israeli general ran into a blank wall when he tried to persuade the Russian to withhold the missile from the Assad regime. Last January, when the deal was first broached, the Bush administration stepped in and obtained a promise from president Vladimir Putin to call off the sale, as did Israel's Ariel Sharon during the Russian president's visit in May.
Putin has broken those pledges.
For a speedy delivery in the first quarter of 2006, the Syrians paid cash.
The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world.
The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 “Stone.” They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes. With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius. Two missiles with a range of 280km are mounted on each launch pad. The system can be used against small and large targets alike, easily overcoming air defenses. It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility. Its targets are found in mid-flight by satellites, accompanying airplanes, conventional intelligence centers or a lone soldier directing artillery fire. Targets may also be found by feeding photos into the missile’s computer by means of a scanner.
...Israel raised the ceiling over this transaction as radically shifting the balance of strength between the Jewish state and Syria. Washington embarked on a quiet diplomatic dialogue to deter Damascus from acquiring the new hardware, maintaining it posed a threat to the US army in Iraq.
After weeks of palaver and pressure, president Vladimir Putin and defense minister Sergei Ivanov relented and promised Washington and Jerusalem to withhold the Iskander SS-26 from Syria....
It is now clear that Putin’s promise to the Americans and Israelis to withhold the missile’s sale was no more than a time-winning ploy until an opportunity presented itself to go through with the transaction....
Nobel winner: Conflict won't stop
From Jerusalem Post Oct. 10, 2005 14:58 Updated Oct. 11, 2005 3:54 By AVI KRAWITZ ...
Hebrew University Professor of Mathematics Robert J. Aumann, who on Monday won the Nobel prize in economics for his work on using game theory to understand conflict resolution, says he sees no end to the Middle East conflict that claimed the life of his eldest son 23 years ago.
"This conflict has been going on for 80 years and to my sorrow I believe it will last for at least another 80," Aumann said in a press conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Givat Ram campus, where he resides as a professor emeritus in the Institute of Mathematics and as a member of Center for Rationality....
Hebrew University Professor of Mathematics Robert J. Aumann, who on Monday won the Nobel prize in economics for his work on using game theory to understand conflict resolution, says he sees no end to the Middle East conflict that claimed the life of his eldest son 23 years ago.
"This conflict has been going on for 80 years and to my sorrow I believe it will last for at least another 80," Aumann said in a press conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Givat Ram campus, where he resides as a professor emeritus in the Institute of Mathematics and as a member of Center for Rationality....
Sasson Nuriel murderers caught
From DebkaFile, October 10, 2005, 7:46 PM (GMT+02:00)...
The Shin Bet has caught the Palestinian Hamas kidnappers who murdered Sasson Nuriel in Jerusalem Sept 21. Its leader is the Ramallah police chief`s son who is employed as Palestinian interior minister’s senior staffer.
Altogether, 117 members of three Hamas networks responsible for five Israeli murders in four years have been rounded up in the West Bank towns of Ramallah, Kafr Shewoich north of Hebron and Dahariya southwest of Hebron. As a student in Egypt, their leader, Yasser Salah of Ramallah was recruited by a Gazan Hamas operative. The son of the Ramallah police chief, he was hired as an aide to Palestinian interior minister Nasser Yousef.
A young Palestinian woman of 22 was sent from the Gaza Jebaliya camp to the West Bank as a bomb-maker, expert in explosive vests. Israel permitted her relocation to marry a man from Tulkarm. In Ramallah she ran courses in bomb-making for Hamas network members and trained her husband to take her place if she were captured.
Under questioning, the detained terrorists admitted to the murder of four Israelis. Two women, an officer and a soldier, were shot dead outside the southern command in Beersheba in February 2002. Eitan Kukoi and Rema Novkov were murdered south of Hebron two years later.
In August, 2005, they engineered the suicide bombing at the Beersheba central bus station in which two security guards were gravely injured chasing the bomber away from the buses. The kidnap of Sasson Nuriel was to have been the first in a series of abductions of Israelis. Two Palestinians who worked with him lured him to A-Ram village north of Jerusalem to buy a coffee machine. At their Ramallah hideout they videotaped him before his murder.
The network had manufactured a 20-kilo bomb ready to plant at the Israeli air force base in the Judean desert and plotted more terrorist attacks, but they were captured in time.
Copyright 2000-2005 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
The Shin Bet has caught the Palestinian Hamas kidnappers who murdered Sasson Nuriel in Jerusalem Sept 21. Its leader is the Ramallah police chief`s son who is employed as Palestinian interior minister’s senior staffer.
Altogether, 117 members of three Hamas networks responsible for five Israeli murders in four years have been rounded up in the West Bank towns of Ramallah, Kafr Shewoich north of Hebron and Dahariya southwest of Hebron. As a student in Egypt, their leader, Yasser Salah of Ramallah was recruited by a Gazan Hamas operative. The son of the Ramallah police chief, he was hired as an aide to Palestinian interior minister Nasser Yousef.
A young Palestinian woman of 22 was sent from the Gaza Jebaliya camp to the West Bank as a bomb-maker, expert in explosive vests. Israel permitted her relocation to marry a man from Tulkarm. In Ramallah she ran courses in bomb-making for Hamas network members and trained her husband to take her place if she were captured.
Under questioning, the detained terrorists admitted to the murder of four Israelis. Two women, an officer and a soldier, were shot dead outside the southern command in Beersheba in February 2002. Eitan Kukoi and Rema Novkov were murdered south of Hebron two years later.
In August, 2005, they engineered the suicide bombing at the Beersheba central bus station in which two security guards were gravely injured chasing the bomber away from the buses. The kidnap of Sasson Nuriel was to have been the first in a series of abductions of Israelis. Two Palestinians who worked with him lured him to A-Ram village north of Jerusalem to buy a coffee machine. At their Ramallah hideout they videotaped him before his murder.
The network had manufactured a 20-kilo bomb ready to plant at the Israeli air force base in the Judean desert and plotted more terrorist attacks, but they were captured in time.
Copyright 2000-2005 DEBKAfile. All Rights Reserved.
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