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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: [email protected] In-Depth Issues:
Israeli Military Intelligence: Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (Yediot Ahronot-Hebrew; 11 Apr 04)
Syria Smuggles Missiles, WMD to Sudan (Middle East Newsline)
11% of Palestinians Killed by Other Palestinians, Study Shows - Arnon Regular (Ha'aretz) Key Links |
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
After meeting with Egyptian President Mubarak in Texas, President Bush said: "We both are in agreement that if Israel makes the decision to withdraw, it doesn't replace the road map, it is a part of the road map, so that we can continue progress toward the two-state solution." "The problem is, is that there's terrorists who will kill people in order to stop the process. And that's why it is essential that we work together to stop terrorist killing. There will never be a Palestinian state, in my judgment, if terrorists are willing to kill. And so the first step we've got to do is to work on the mutual security concerns of the region. And we can't let people blow up a process." (White House) President Bush, who will meet with Prime Minister Sharon at the White House on Wednesday, signaled that the U.S. would be happy to see a withdrawal from Gaza, but was silent on Israel's hopes of securing approval from the administration for its plan to hold on to contested portions of the West Bank. (New York Times) See also Bush Qualifies Praise for Israeli Plan (Washington Post) Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said Monday, "Clearly, there are indications from intelligence folks that there are some Iranian activities going on that are unhelpful...and there's also unhelpful actions coming from Syria." (Defense Department) See also Iran's Role in the Recent Uprising in Iraq A former Iranian intelligence official in charge of activities in Iraq, identified as Haj Sa'idi, told the London Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian plan to turn Iraq into another Iran involves the recruitment of thousands of young Shi'ites. He said more than 300 reporters and technicians who are working now in Iraq for television and radio networks, newspapers, and other media agencies are in fact members of the Al-Quds Army and the Revolutionary Guards intelligence units. He also claimed that Iranian allocations for activities in Iraq reached $70 million per month. (MEMRI) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Hungarian police have detained three Arab nationals suspected of planning to assassinate Israeli President Moshe Katsav during his state visit to Budapest that begins on Tuesday. (Ha'aretz) Security forces uncovered and prevented a plan by a Fatah-Tanzim terror cell to add blood contaminated with AIDS to an explosive charge and detonate it in an Israeli city during Passover. (Maarivenglish.com) Thousands of Palestinians staged rallies over the weekend to mark the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, calling on Iraqis to rise up against the U.S. in a holy war. Following Friday prayers, protesters burned Israeli and American flags and chanted slogans against President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon. In Nablus, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets, carrying pictures of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and Iraqi flags. In Gaza, Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi Thursday sent his greetings to Iraqi Shiite insurgent leader Moqtada al-Sadr, saying, "We support you and God be with you." (Jerusalem Post) IDF soldiers killed two gunmen and wounded a third Monday when eight Palestinians tried to attack Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, army sources said. (Ha'aretz) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The largest obstacle to President Bush's democracy initiative in the greater Middle East may be Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt. Mubarak, 75, is an unrepentant autocrat who has ruled his country under emergency law for 23 years; his repressive policies have helped fuel al-Qaeda, whose top leadership has included a number of Egyptians. "Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe," Mr. Bush said in November. Egypt has been at the center of that flawed policy. Since 1979, the U.S. has showered the regime with some $50 billion in aid while asking for little outside a cooperative foreign policy. (Washington Post) See also Anti-Semitism in Egypt Continues In Egypt, anti-Semitism remains virtually unchallenged by government leaders, while mainstream publications give voice to the most vicious anti-Semitic caricatures and canards imaginable," according to a new ADL report, Anti-Semitism in Egypt: Media and Society. (Anti-Defamation League) With the decline of the Iraqi military, in the short run the threat of an eastern front against Israel no longer exists, but it is premature to assume that the threat from the east has been permanently removed. There are still several unknowns including the nature of the new Iraqi regime. The Jordan River Valley separates the future Palestinian state from Jordan in case the Palestinians ever try to undermine and topple the Jordanian monarchy. Therefore, Israeli presence along the Jordan River is of critical importance to the security and stability of the Hashemite regime. Additionally, a joint Jordanian-Palestinian border and Palestinian control over the bridges of the Jordan River would allow the Palestinians to import heavy weapons, terrorists, and military reinforcements from abroad. (Saban Center for Middle East Policy/Brookings Institution) Increasingly, Europeans find themselves surrounded by immigrants who have little respect for local traditions. In the Netherlands, Muslims are a majority among children under 14 in the country's four largest cities. In Brussels, the capital of the European Union, Muhammad has been the name most frequently given for newborn baby boys. Osama is a close second. A paper found in the apartment of one Moroccan terrorist accused of involvement in the Madrid train bombing said, "We must develop immigration into Western countries as the path to the glory of Islam and the destruction of the godless pagans." The fifth column is also alive and well in the U.S. Some 400 American Muslims are currently being monitored 24/7 by the FBI. Either they have been fingered by Islamist prisoners, or phone taps or e-mail intercepts have shown their verbal propensity for violence against the hated American enemy. (Washington Times) Observations: Sharon Names Some Areas to Remain in Israeli Hands - Aluf Benn and Nathan Guttman (Ha'aretz) Prime Minister Sharon said Monday:
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