|
Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
| ||||||
|
To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Fatah, Hamas Holding Reconciliation Talks - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Palestinian Militants Explode Bomb at Hamas Compound in Gaza (Reuters)
Hamas Denies Tapping Mobile Phones Using Iranian Technology (DPA/Cellular-News)
Iran Donates $25 Million for South Lebanon Reconstruction (AKI-Italy)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Attacks on American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb said to be supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, according to Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq. The devices, known as explosively formed penetrators, were used in 99 attacks last month and accounted for a third of the combat deaths suffered by the American-led forces. Such bombs are used almost exclusively by Shiite militants. According to Gen. Odierno, Shiite militants carried out 73% of the attacks that killed or wounded American troops in Baghdad in July. (New York Times) With Moscow's coffers replenished by the global oil boom, Adm. Vladimir Masorin, Russia's naval commander, has announced ambitious plans to expand the country's primary Black Sea base and establish a "permanent presence" in the eastern Mediterranean for the first time since the Cold War. "The Mediterranean is very important strategically for the Black Sea Fleet," the admiral told reporters Friday on a visit to the Russian base at Sevastopol. "I propose that, with the involvement of the Northern and Baltic fleets, the Russian navy should restore its permanent presence there," the admiral said. The rebuilding of the Russian navy has been a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin and reflects the Kremlin's growing confidence and willingness to project power. The admiral's comments have fueled speculation that Russia is considering the creation of a permanent, full-service naval base in the Syrian town of Tartus, on the Mediterranean. Russian engineers have been involved in dredging the waters around both Tartus and Latakia, a second Syrian town. (Washington Times) Since the Islamists took over Gaza in June, Israel has shut the main commercial crossing at Karni, citing security concerns. That left the Sufa crossing, where, in the absence of formal Israeli-Palestinian coordination, goods from Israel are offloaded during the morning and then Palestinian merchants are allowed in to pick up the cargo and take it to market. Merchants said they can't get their products to market without first paying 2,000 shekels ($465) in fees to Hamas, despite a decree by Mahmoud Abbas exempting individuals and companies from paying such taxes. "(Abbas) is not here. Hamas is here and they say pay and load your trucks - so we pay," said Gaza produce dealer Mohammad Attaweel. (Reuters) Around 1,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of Hamas supporters, are thought to remain in Egypt from the original 6,000 trapped there after the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed following the Hamas takeover. Supporters of the Islamist Hamas movement face arrest if they return via the Kerem Shalom crossing controlled by Israel. (AFP/Yahoo) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Defense Minister Ehud Barak considers the development of technological defenses against rocket fire on the home front a precondition for any significant withdrawal from the West Bank. Such a withdrawal would put Israel's main population centers in Kassam rocket range of the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, Israel must first develop and deploy an effective anti-missile system - a process that is expected to take three to five years. (Ha'aretz) See also Eitan: Don't Even Consider West Bank Withdrawal Yet As long as Israel does not possess defense systems against high-trajectory weapons, it should not even consider withdrawing from territories in the West Bank, security cabinet member and Pensioners party chairman Rafi Eitan said Wednesday. Eitan said hills and areas opposite the Judean desert were vital for Israel's security. "We should not even speak about the possibility of giving them up," he told Israel Radio. "As long as there are threats from the east, including Ahmadinejad in Iran, al-Qaeda and Shi'ite groups in Lebanon and Syria, Israel must not relinquish territories that are vital for its security." (Jerusalem Post) A 51-year-old man was shot and wounded on Tuesday in central Israel while traveling on Route 6, the country's only toll highway, which at some points runs adjacent to the separation fence with the West Bank. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the shots came from the West Bank and struck the driver in the chest. According to an initial inquiry, it appears the man was hit by a stray bullet fired in the air during celebrations at a high school graduation in a nearby Palestinian village. (Ha'aretz) See also Palestinians Fete School Exam Scores with Gunfire - Mohammed Daraghmeh and Dalia Nammari The streets of West Bank cities reverberated with the boom of gunfire in an emotional response to the publication of the results of the high school final exams. (AP/Washington Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The time has come for the U.S. to challenge Saudi Arabia to act as an ally. Half of the suicide bombings in Iraq are carried out by Saudi citizens, and of the 135 foreign fighters in American detention facilities, half are Saudi. Instead of help from Saudi Arabia, we get high-ranking Saudi officials who encourage Saudis to join the insurgency in Iraq. Elements of the Saudi government do indeed fight terrorism - by exporting Saudi terrorists to Iraq. It's time for the administration to take off the blinders when assessing bilateral relations with the Saudis. The U.S. should threaten the Saudis with the prospect of losing the recently announced $20 billion arms deal unless the Saudi government shuts the faucets of terror and extremism spewing suicide bombers. The writer is an associate analyst at the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington. (New York Post) Ahlam Tamimi - the person who planned the Jerusalem terror massacre that killed my daughter Malki - and dozens of other Palestinian terrorists star in the Israeli documentary "Hot House." Shimon Dotan's film exposes astonishing aspects of life behind bars in Israel where convicted Palestinian terrorists enjoy country-club-like conditions. They all have access to Israeli and Palestinian radio, television and newspapers. They enjoy bi-weekly family visits. Prison garb is waived. Prayer halls are available for the free practice of the very faith that inspired their crimes. And many of them earn university degrees, at the Israeli citizen's expense. Dotan says he sat with my daughter's murderer for two hours, having a "gripping" conversation. He asked whether she knew how many children had perished in the Sbarro bombing. Smiling, as she generally does, she guessed "three." "It was eight," Dotan corrected her. She seemed delighted and smiled again, asking, "really?" You may emerge convinced that this film conveys a balanced picture of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict - a film without a single appearance by a victim of the terrorists. (Ha'aretz) European states over the past decades did not understand that the threats Israel was encountering in those years were essentially precursors of the menaces they would face as well. Had leading European politicians realized that a broader assault by radical Islam was underway - ultimately directed at their countries rather than at Israel alone - they likely would not have made the major errors they committed - particularly in the area of immigration - that have undermined European security today. Those who represent a major menace to the Jews and Israel will also increasingly threaten Western democracy as a whole. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Observations: African Countries Support Israel More Than They Do the Palestinians - Amnon Rubinstein (Jerusalem Post)
Unsubscribe from Daily Alert |
|||||