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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in association with the Fairness Project by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: [email protected]
In-Depth Issue:
By keeping a double set of books, the Palestinian Authority has systemically
channeled at least 14% of its public budget, as stated to the IMF and donor
states, to Fatah, other terrorist organizations, and various covert
destinations. An explanation of captured original Arabic documents (with their
English translations) details the mechanism of this multi-million dollar
money-laundering operation that has turned international humanitarian aid into
support for terror and suicide bombing.
Saddam Killed Abu Nidal over al-Qaeda Row
Useful Reference:
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Palestinian Violence and Terrorism
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News Resources - USA and Europe:
A Palestinian militia in Tulkarem shot and killed a Palestinian woman suspected of collaborating with Israel Saturday. Dozens of suspected Palestinian collaborators have been killed since the beginning of a Palestinian uprising in September 2000, but Ikhlas Khouli was the first woman reported executed. Her son said Sunday that Palestinian gunmen tortured him until he invented a story about his mother's involvement in a militant's death. (AP/Washington Post) None of the major obstacles to peace will be easily overcome, but on some issues, such as Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and the status of Jerusalem, tentative agreements have been drafted, and the sides agree that the potential for a final resolution exists. Not so the refugee issue. An overwhelming majority of Palestinian refugees say they want to go home to Palestine, and the younger they are, the more absolutist they seem. (Boston Globe)
News Resources - Israel and Mideast:
IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon on Sunday termed Palestinian terror the greatest threat to Israel's security, and warned that it was spreading like a cancer. Speaking at the annual convention of rabbis in Jerusalem, Israel Radio reported that Ya'alon said Israel needed to win the conflict with the Palestinians in order to make them understand that no diplomatic achievements could be achived through the use of terror. (Ha'aretz) Despite the slow progress in advancing regional cease-fires (Gaza and Bethlehem First), the IDF is sticking to the plan without setting a timetable. The PA is engaged in a difficult debate with the Hamas, and the defense establishment is waiting to see how that turns out. If indeed there is a further decline in the number of incidents, the next step will be up to Israel. It does not appear that at this stage Israel intends to move to lines it held previously in the Gaza Strip, but it does intend to open roads to traffic, to expand the fishing zone for the Palestinians in the Mediterranean, and to allow thousands more Palestinians into Israel to work. These are all humanitarian steps that will have an economic influence on the population (Ha'aretz) See also Ben-Eliezer: 'Gaza, Bethlehem First' Plan Continuing as Planned Senior members of the Saudi royal family paid $300 million to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban to prevent them attacking Saudi Arabia, the London Sunday Times reported yesterday. The cash enabled al-Qaida to fund training camps in Afghanistan that are said to have been attended by the September 11 bombers. The court documents reveal that the agreement committed bin-Laden not to use his forces to subvert the Saudi government. (Jerusalem Post) The chairman is holding fewer and fewer meetings with senior statesmen, making and getting fewer important international phone calls and exchanging fewer messages of political or diplomatic value. Just a few weeks ago, diplomats and journalists from all over the world were preoccupied with the status of the Palestinian leader who was under siege by Israel in his headquarters in Ramallah. Yet now he seems to be forgotten. Has Arafat's leadership effectively ended? The three-man kitchen cabinet that operated alongside Arafat during the siege no longer exists. Arafat's status may be wretched these days, but even in this state of affairs, no one is challenging his leadership - he is stronger than all the others. (Ha'aretz)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis
(Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The question now is asked: How can the U. S. justify initiating hostilities against Iraq at a time of peace? It is the wrong question. Better to ask how America can justify not going to war against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - and at the earliest possible moment. Before Saddam evicted the UN weapons inspectors, they discovered nearly 20,000 liters of concentrated botulinum, the most deadly substance on Earth, and nearly 9,000 liters of anthrax. More recent intelligence reporting suggests an intense, almost fanatical Iraqi effort to acquire fissionable materials, miniaturization equipment for atomic weapons and, perhaps, ballistic missiles. British intelligence recently revealed that Saddam was planning to give biological weapons to Palestinian terrorists to attack America and Israel. Those who predict dire results if we try to unseat Saddam simply refuse to understand that if we opt to live with a nightmare, it will only get worse. The best medicine is preventive medicine. (NY Daily News) Peace-loving nations have a moral responsibility to fight against the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by rogues like Saddam Hussein. The only realistic way to effect regime change in Iraq is through the application of military force, including sufficient ground troops to occupy the country (including Baghdad), depose the current leadership and install a successor government. Anyone who thinks we can effect regime change in Iraq with anything less than this is simply not realistic. The U.S. should advocate the adoption by the UN Security Council of a simple and straightforward resolution requiring that Iraq submit to intrusive inspections anytime, anywhere, with no exceptions, and authorizing all necessary means to enforce it. We cannot allow our policy toward Iraq to be linked to the Arab-Israeli dispute, as Saddam will cynically demand. But to avoid that, we need to move affirmatively, aggressively, and in a fair and balanced way to implement the president's vision for a settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute. That means, of course, reform by Palestinians and an end to terror tactics. But it also means withdrawal by Israeli forces to positions occupied before September 2000 and an immediate end to settlement activity. (New York Times) As Israeli involvement in any conflict is inevitable, it makes sense for U.S. planners to coordinate planning activities with their Israel counterparts. The most obvious use of Israel would be in the intelligence field. Israel could contribute to the widely expected air campaign, and by employing its Special Forces to destroy Iraqi mobile missile sites on the ground. Israel exists in a dangerous neighborhood. President Bush should - if he hasn't done so already - give the order to his military advisors to involve Israel in the planning and execution of the war. The brutal truth is that this will be Israel's war as much as America's. (UPI International Desk) After the murder of five Americans last month in Jerusalem - victims of a bomb placed by Hamas in a Hebrew University cafeteria - the Justice Department dispatched an FBI team to investigate. The record shows that past U.S. investigations of murdered American citizens in Israel have been a sham. The Justice Department has not returned a single indictment involving any of the 36 Americans killed in Israel since the 1993 Oslo agreement. The refusal to enforce the law has encouraged the terrorists to strike at places such as Hebrew University, where, they knew, young Americans would be found. (Washington Post) The forceful American stance has come as an unpleasant surprise to Iran's rulers, because it touches some very sensitive nerves. After five years in office, Khatami has overseen some significant changes. The reform movement's achievements include a penetrating public debate even on such delicate issues as religion and state, Islam and democracy, and attitudes toward the U.S. and even Israel. Nevertheless, there has been no real shift in the domestic balance of forces or in policy on issues of greatest concern to the U.S. The conservatives have so far retained effective control. Since Bush�s July declaration, the domestic debate in Iran has taken on a new intensity. But as the internal struggle reaches new heights, it is important to view the changes in Iran in a longer-term historical perspective. In that perspective, the conservatives are swimming against the current of change. (Dayan Center - Tel Aviv University) Talking Points: Israel Aspires to a True Peace - Summary of Israeli Cabinet Meeting - August 18, 2002 (Embassy of Israel, Washington)
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