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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:
Rockets that Hit Haifa Were Syrian Made - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post) Israel Campus Beat - July 16, 2006 Point Counter-Point: Is Convergence in the West Bank Still a Viable Option?
Iran Glorifies Hizballah's Attacks Against Israel (Xinhua-China)
Soldier Killed, Five Wounded in Nablus - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Palestinians Fire 20 Rockets at Israel from Gaza - Shmulik Hadad (Ynet News)
Palestinian Caught with Bomb in Jerusalem - Etgar Lefkovitz (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Pilots Prepare to Face Advanced Missiles - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Will Not Be Pushed Around - Editorial (Times-UK)
Convicts Offer to Refurbish Bomb Shelters - Jonathan Lis (Ha'aretz)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
The Bush administration on Sunday appeared to give Israel tacit approval to cripple Hizballah, casting the widening conflict in the Middle East in terms of a wider war on terrorism. That was a central theme of both public and private statements from senior U.S. officials as they tried their best to minimize differences with European nations and their Russian hosts at the opening of the annual meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations. (New York Times) See also Bush Counting on Israel to Quash Influence of Islamic Militants The U.S. is banking on Israel achieving in Lebanon what years of diplomacy and conflict have so far failed to do: limit the ability of Syria and Iran to use Islamic radicals to undermine regional stability. President Bush and Secretary of State Rice have signaled that Israel largely has a free hand in attacking the militant group Hizballah in Lebanon. They have declined to set limits on Israeli action, and Rice says she won't engage in personal diplomacy until there is a clear path toward ending the extremist threat. (Bloomberg) Israel may need to prolong its offensive in Lebanon to further reduce the threat from Hizballah, Secretary of State Rice said on Sunday. Rice appeared to support a longer-term Israeli effort to inflict decisive damage to Hizballah's presence in Lebanon. She also said she was considering a trip to the region. "A cessation of violence is crucial, but if that cessation of violence is hostage to Hizballah's next decision to launch missiles into Israel or Hamas' next decision to abduct an Israeli citizen, then we will have gotten nowhere," she said. (New York Times) See also Rice Says No Ceasefire with Armed Hizballah - Paula Wolfson Secretary of State Rice says she wants to see a sustainable ceasefire in the Middle East, but peace will not come as long as Hizballah remains an armed threat to Israel. She says a ceasefire that does not address the root causes will not hold, and that any ceasefire that leaves Hizballah with the ability to launch rocket attacks on Israel and opens the door to Iranian and Syrian interference will accomplish little. "And we will be right back here, perhaps, in a worse circumstance, because the terrorists will assume that nobody is willing to take on what has been a very clear assault, now, on the progress that is being made by moderate forces in the Middle East." (Voice of America) See also Rice Defends Israel Rice, in Russia, defended Israel's attacks in Lebanon. "No state is going to sit and allow rockets to be fired into its country and not defend its citizens," she said of Israel. (UPI/Washington Times) Group of Eight leaders on Sunday issued a statement on the Middle East that blamed Lebanon's Hizballah and elements in Hamas for starting a crisis that has left dozens dead, describing those responsible as "extremists" and calling on them to immediately halt their attacks. The G8 put the onus on Hizballah to act first to end the fighting and said Israel had the right to defend itself. (Reuters) See also Text of G-8 Statement on Mideast Fighting (AP/Los Angeles Times) Key Arab governments have taken the rare step of blaming Hizballah, underscoring their growing fear of influence by the group's main sponsor, Iran. Saudi Arabia, with Jordan, Egypt, and several Persian Gulf states, chastised Hizballah for "unexpected, inappropriate, and irresponsible acts" at an emergency Arab League summit meeting in Cairo on Saturday. (New York Times) Iran's leadership has rejected demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work contained in a proposal by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. and handed to Tehran on June 6. The package offers trade, technology, diplomatic, and other incentives as well as multilateral talks - also involving the U.S. - if Iran agrees to freeze enrichment. "The leadership has reached the conclusion that it will not accept the precondition set by the Europeans," said Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli, the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. (AFP/Yahoo) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Prime Minister Olmert told the Israeli cabinet Sunday that since last Wednesday, 1,400 rockets have landed inside Israel. "1,400 hits means 1,400 attempts to attack citizens of the State of Israel in their homes and places of work with unparalleled and bloodthirsty cruelty and brutality. We see here the gap between us when we act with exemplary caution and respect for the sanctity of life and human dignity - and the brutality that we see on their part." "It must be clear that Israel will not return to the status quo that prevailed before last Wednesday; this situation was intolerable from the outset." Olmert said that the Israel Defense Forces would not stop its current campaign until we can tell the Israeli people that the threat hanging over it has been removed. (Prime Minister's Office) See also IDF Briefs Cabinet on Lebanon - Herb Keinon IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz told the Israeli cabinet Sunday that Israeli air attacks on the Damascus-Beirut highway had foiled plans for another shipment of rockets to Hizballah. He also said Israel intended to create a one-kilometer-deep "fire zone" along the border that would be cleared of any Hizballah elements. Head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet that Nasrallah was surprised by the extent of Israel's response. "If he had known that this would be our response, he would not have kidnapped the soldiers," he said. Nasrallah thought that this action would make him a hero in the Arab world, but instead he has found himself criticized in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon. (Jerusalem Post) A Hizballah rocket hit a house in the Acre area early Monday, landing in a bedroom at 4:30 a.m. The father of the family was hurt by shrapnel. Additional rockets landed north of Nahariya, near Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, and at Bustan Hagalil. (Ynet News) See also Hizballah Rockets Strike Afula, Jezreel Valley - Yuval Azoulay, Amos Harel, and Yoav Stern Rockets landed in the city of Afula, Upper Nazareth, Migdal Ha'emek, and Givat Ela Sunday evening, up to 50 km from the northern border. The army is concerned that Iranian-made Zalzal missiles, whose range is estimated to exceed 200 km, may be used, thus allowing Hizballah to target the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Hizballah still has a significant arsenal "of very many rockets of all kinds," Israel Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedy said Sunday. (Ha'aretz) See also Will Tehran Authorize Hizballah to Rocket Tel Aviv? - Ze'ev Schiff Will Tehran authorize Hizballah to launch long-range missiles with more powerful warheads? This is a capability Hizballah still retains, despite the heavy blows it has suffered in the IDF air strikes. Air strikes are focusing on Hizballah infrastructure, including rockets, positions, and bunkers in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut. Hizballah has prepared some 600 storage bunkers, a third of which were for the longer range rockets. Israel will also try to target the most senior members of Hizballah, some of whom are hiding in bunkers deep in the Dahiya quarter in southern Beirut. Targets in Dahiya include a subterranean ammunition factory. (Ha'aretz) See also Home Front Command Lowers Alert Level for Tel Aviv Region (Jerusalem Post) See also Monday Afternoon: Rockets Hit Haifa, Tiberias, Safed, Carmiel, Acre (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Lebanon has become the battleground between pro-Western and radical Islamic forces. Few governments, even Arab states, want to see Hizballah win the contest. As the conflict has intensified, Israel has found a degree of international sympathy, or at least understanding. The last thing Washington needs is for Syria and Iran to win a proxy victory in Lebanon. Hizballah's attack on Israel has been of benefit to the whole "arc of extremism" stretching from the Gaza Strip to Iraq. It has given Hamas a boost, diverted international attention away from Iran's nuclear program, and may have strengthened the position of Syria as envoys plead with it to help restrain Hizballah. (Telegraph-UK) Israel's necessary decisions to launch military campaigns against Hizballah and Hamas have created an opportunity to change the balance of forces between Israel and the terror networks that have plagued the Middle East since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The most important thing that Israel needs is time: time to root out the weapons caches stockpiled in private homes; time to hit the rocket and missile-launching sites and terrorist training camps Hizballah has established throughout Lebanon; and time to hunt down the jihadists in the Bekaa Valley whose life's work is to destroy the Jewish state. In Lebanon and Gaza, Israel has a number of key goals in addition to freeing the soldiers kidnapped by terrorists: 1) forcing Lebanon and the PA in Gaza to prevent terrorists from operating out of their territory; 2) crippling the military capabilities of Hizballah and Hamas; 3) re-establishing the credibility of the Israel Defense Force's deterrence against terrorist groups; 4) deterring state sponsors of terror like Iran and Syria. All of these strike us as legitimate goals that are broadly consistent with U.S. foreign policy interests and merit Washington's support. President Bush has made clear that he is sympathetic with Israel's plight and understands that Israel is acting in self-defense. But the central problem remains: the fact that for Iran and Syria, terror remains a largely cost-free exercise. Both regimes have been largely spared any of the consequences for their roles in sponsoring the terrorist groups responsible for igniting the current fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Until the leaders of Iran and Syria lose the ability to fight to the last Lebanese and last Palestinian at no cost to themselves, look for the terror to continue. (Washington Times) Observations: Iran Plans to Dominate the Middle East - Dore Gold (Telegraph-UK)
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