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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: click here
In-Depth Issues:
Israeli Cities Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, and Ofakim Soon in Range of Palestinian Rockets - Itzik Saban (Ynet News)
7/7 Bomber Linked to British Bombers in Israel (BBC News)
Iran Says Did Not Pay $50 Million to Palestinians Yet (Reuters)
Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigades Announce Female Bomber Unit - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Nestle's Israel Activity Brings Arab Boycott Threat - Hadas Manor (Globes)
High School Students in Gaza Border Communities to Learn to Treat Rocket Attack Injuries - Meital Yasur-Beit Or (Ynet News)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Assem Hammoud, the Lebanese man arrested in an alleged plot to bomb New York transit tunnels under the Hudson River, had been recruited by al-Qaeda three years ago and members of his cell had been attempting to seek help from the organization for the attack, U.S. and Lebanese officials said Monday. Maj.-Gen. Ashraf Rifi, commander of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, said Hammoud was recruited to al-Qaeda in 2003 by a Syrian who later took him twice to Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh, for weapons training. (Washington Post) Shamil Basayev, the ruthless Chechen rebel leader responsible for terror attacks that led to the deaths of more than 800 people, was killed Monday when a dynamite-laden truck in his convoy exploded. (AP/ABC News) The U.S. has quietly removed Libya from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, a step that was supposed to trigger a damage payment by the Libyans to the families of the 270 people killed in the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. But the Libyans are holding off paying due to a disagreement over public acknowledgment of Libya's rehabilitation. (International Herald Tribune) Hundreds of religious leaders, politicians, and youth gathered outside the Syrian Mission to the UN Monday to demand the safe return of Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas. "Syria supports Hamas and encouraged the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. We are here to say that Syria is not immune," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler. (New York Sun) See also "Free Gilad" Rallies in NY, DC, London - Gal Beckerman, Elana Brownstein, and Adinah Greene Rallies and communal meetings have been held in New York, Washington, London, Paris, Johannesburg, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Sydney as part of a worldwide effort to pressure the Syrian government into aiding in the release of kidnapped Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit. (Jerusalem Post) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
A 10-year-old Palestinian girl was seriously injured by a rocket fired by Palestinian gunmen that hit her family home in Beit Lahiya, Palestinian sources in Gaza reported Monday. (Ynet News) On Friday, Nasser al-Lahem, editor-in-chief of the independent Palestinian news agency Maan, published an article criticizing the PA's handling of the Gaza kidnapping crisis. The very high number of casualties (most of them armed) and the suffering of the population in the northern Gaza Strip are cause for questions regarding the wisdom behind the latest adventure into which Hamas has led the PA. The position expressed by al-Lahem, a resident of Dehaishe near Bethlehem, appears to reflect the opinion of many Palestinians. The Palestinians are particularly pointing fingers at the Kassam rocket crews, blaming them for causing massive losses to the Palestinian militants. A source at the Palestinian security organizations said Saturday that every militant taking part in the fighting against Israel receives payment. "For launching Kassams, there is a price, just like for firing an anti-tank rocket," the source said. This money comes from Khaled Mashaal in Damascus. (Ha'aretz) Haitham Rai, one of the leaders of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip, was kidnapped over the weekend in Gaza City by some 30 masked gunmen, who took him to the local cemetery and sprayed him with bullets. Tensions between Hamas and Fatah intensified following PA Chairman Abbas' decision to appoint Tunis-based PLO official Farouk Kaddoumi as PA foreign minister. Hamas officials condemned Abbas' decision, since the Hamas cabinet already has a foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
There will be no surrender to blackmail; prisoners will not be released in return for freeing Cpl. Shalit; and the military action will not end until the Kassams stop. The fiercer the attacks on the rocket-launchers and their bosses in Gaza, the more the captured soldier has gone from being an asset to a liability for Hamas. Israel should not grant this murderous terror organization recognition and legitimacy, first, because it is impossible to trust an organization with so many branches, each doing whatever it likes. Second, we cannot negotiate with a prime minister who is not prepared to recognize Israel's existence. Third, we cannot strengthen Hamas at the expense of Abbas, the only reasonable partner we have, even if he is a weak one. And most importantly, Hamas cannot be allowed to claim any kind of strategic victory. (Ha'aretz) See also Hamas vs. Israel - Danny Rubinstein Recent developments have left only two players in the Israeli-Palestinian arena: Israel and Hamas. There are no others. The most notable non-player is PA Chairman Abbas, who has nearly no ability to influence events - not in the case of the kidnapped Israeli soldier and not in the matter of Palestinian rocket fire. For now it does not appear that Hamas is willing to make concessions. Even if just a few Palestinian prisoners are released, Hamas will be able to interpret this as a major victory and Hamas will emerge from this round of the conflict empowered. (Ha'aretz) North Korea's ballistic missile test last week was bad news for Israel in the example it set for Iran's leaders. Ignoring threats and warnings not to try out the missiles, Kim Jong-Il has paved the way for other leaders wishing to arm themselves with weapons of mass destruction. He exposed those trying to block his nuclear program, headed by the U.S., as ineffectual and proved that whoever has nuclear weapons becomes immune to military attack. Policy makers in Jerusalem and Washington should be concerned that Iran will draw conclusions from last week's missile tests and accelerate its development of nuclear weapons. (Ha'aretz) The Jordanian government took special pride in its role in cornering Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Zarqawi, given his role in the trio of terrorist bombings in Amman last year, and the Jordanian political and media establishments have launched a broad campaign to discredit the Islamist agenda inside the kingdom. This was a major shift for the Jordanian regime, which has, for decades, given the Muslim Brotherhood a wide berth as a popular safety valve for opposition dissent. There is a notable shift toward raising the profile of security in the kingdom. Not only did Jordan hold one its largest ever military parades last month, but government spokesmen announced that Jordanian intelligence services have been empowered to operate beyond the country's borders to counter threats to Jordanian national security. A process of political reform has been stopped in its tracks. Most observers cite the fear of creating an electoral system that would dilute the disproportionate power of tribal elites and enhance the voting power of urban voters, often of Palestinian origin. Traditionalist political groupings - both secular and Islamist - are fighting anything that could shrink their advantages. The writer, a Jordanian scholar, is a Fulbright visiting research fellow at the Washington Institute. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Observations: Alms and Arms - The Future of Hamas - Benny Morris (New Republic)
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