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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in association with Access/Middle East by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: [email protected]
In-Depth Issue:
Saudis Consider Nuclear Bomb - Ewen MacAskill and Ian Traynor (Guardian-UK)
Powell Sued Over Jerusalem's Status (BBC)
Jordan Retracts Decision to Freeze Hamas Accounts (AP/Ha'aretz) |
News Resources - North America and Europe:
The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on the Russian state-owned arms manufacturer Tula Instrument Design Bureau for selling laser-guided artillery shells to Iran, sending a clear signal that the Bush administration is prepared to use economic muscle to prevent the transfer of new weapons technology to the Islamic Republic. Russian analysts said the Bush administration appears to be signaling that it will pursue all avenues to halt Russia's involvement in the nuclear power plant at the Iranian port of Bushehr, but U.S. officials denied any connection. (Los Angeles Times) Paula DeSutter, assistant secretary of state for verification and compliance, told the U.S.-Israel Joint Parliamentary Committee in Washington Wednesday that Iran is likely to develop missiles capable of reaching the U.S. or Western Europe. Israeli lawmaker Yuval Steinitz warned that Iran's nuclear program could reach the "point of no return" by next year. Iran has until the end of October to prove to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it does not have a nuclear weapons program. (AP/Washington Post) The U.S. has stepped up pressure on Saudi Arabia to halt financial support for terrorist organizations after fresh charges that millions of pounds have been sent to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. (London Times-18Sep03) News Resources - Israel, the Mideast, and Asia:
Prime Minister Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass and Defense Ministry director-general Amos Yaron are to meet National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on Monday in Washington to try to persuade her that the separation fence is a security expense, rather than a civil one, and that the U.S. should not deduct the cost of the fence from U.S. loan guarantees. Sharon will withhold the decision on the fence's route until the U.S. clarifies its intentions. President Bush charged Secretary of State Powell to set the rules for deducting sums from the guarantees. (Ha'aretz) Israel is basically afraid that another cease-fire will be a repeat of the failed hudna which was not accompanied by Palestinian moves against terror. "Their proposals do not mention any serious attempt to dismantle terror groups....We have seen what happens when we make concessions to terror and I am not prepared to repeat this and pay with more lives," Sharon said Wednesday. Sources in Jerusalem expressed satisfaction with the American stance - no support for the cease-fire and stringent demands of PA prime minister-designate Qurei. The U.S. has indicated that Qurei will not receive any credit until he has proven himself in the field. (Ha'aretz) IDF troops in Gaza killed Jihad Abu Swerah, 34, a key Hamas terrorist, in a gun battle that wounded three soldiers, one seriously. The pre-dawn raid into the Nuseriat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip Thursday indicates the army sees no restrictions on ground operations. But it also shows the vulnerability of ground forces attempting to arrest terrorists. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Palestinians must choose a new leadership and commit themselves to ending violence and negotiating peace before they can expect cooperation from Israel and support from the West. And Palestinians themselves must carry out this change. It is painful for supporters of a peace settlement on all sides to endure Arafat's obstructionism and to contemplate that it could endure for years to come. But intervention by Israel, either to expel or kill Arafat, will only postpone the day when a positive change in Palestinian leadership can occur. (Washington Post) Saudi Arabia's royal family of more than 5,000 "princes" has once again regrouped and stabilized around its desire to hang on to power. The rulers see an urgent need to reform the perception of Islam in the U.S. and the West, but none to reform the Saudi-based religious practices and propagation that influenced Osama bin Laden and the other zealots of al-Qaeda. (Washington Post) See also Changing Saudi Arabia - Editorial Since a radical Islamist takeover in the kingdom would be as much a catastrophe for Saudis as for Americans, both countries share an interest in Saudi reform. The Saudi princes must permit more equitable participation in the economy. Saudi women and the 20% Shi'ite minority have to acquire equal rights. Governance must become transparent and accountable. And there must be a stop to the radical clerics' incitement of religious war. The Saudi princes have learned that al-Qaeda cannot be bought off or deflected to other targets; now they must learn to change their ways or be swept away. (Boston Globe) Steve Pomerantz, 60, former head of the FBI's Anti-Terror Unit, was in Israel for the third international conference on terror at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. In an interview, he said: We have a common enemy and the American public understands this. It understands that there is no difference between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda, and Hizballah. I don't believe in negotiating with terrorists. I don't believe in negotiating with a gun at your head. I don't believe in compromise with them. It's not possible to reach a ceasefire with terror organizations. All you can do is fight against them and take them apart. Unfortunately, Israel is the world's leading expert on terror, with regard to both prevention and reaction. After you've seen a bus that's been blown up, you don't want to hear about the difficult life and troubles of the person who blew up the bus. Nothing can justify this. (Maariv-Hebrew-12Sep03) Observations: Sharansky: Israel More Sensitive to Human Rights than Any Other Democracy - Julia Duin (Washington Times) Knesset Minister and former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, speaking at the University of Maryland Wednesday during a tour of 13 U.S. and Canadian college campuses, said:
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