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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:
Bin Laden Vows Jihad to Liberate Palestinian Land - Inal Ersan (Reuters)
Warning: Al-Qaeda Planning Attacks on Israelis in Turkey - Alex Fishman (Ynet News)
Iran, France Offers Egypt Cooperation on Nuclear Program - Yoav Stern (Ha'aretz)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israel said on Saturday it had seized 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate several weeks ago in bags marked as sugar from a Palestinian truck traveling in the West Bank with EU aid for Gaza. Potassium nitrate can be used to make explosives and to power homemade rockets. (Reuters) France "will have no more contact with Syria...until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a president by consensus," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday in Cairo. (AFP/Yahoo) The U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago overturned a lower court's $156 million jury award Friday, saying the plaintiffs failed to prove that financial contributions to Hamas by the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and the American Muslim Society/Islamic Association for Palestine, played a direct role in the slaying of David Boim, an American teenager in Israel, by Hamas operatives in 1996. (Washington Post) See also Boim Family Disappointed by Court Ruling - Maurice Possley (Chicago Tribune) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Olmert paid tribute to Cpl. Ahikam Amihai and Sgt. David Rubin, who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists on Friday not far from Hebron: "This incident, perhaps more than any other, again highlights what the State of Israel has been saying throughout the diplomatic process between us and the Palestinians. As long as the Palestinian Authority does not take the necessary measures, with the necessary strength, in order to act against the terrorist organizations, the State of Israel will be unable to carry out any changes on the ground that could expose it to dangers and create problems for the security of the country, both for the Jewish residents in the areas in which they live and in any other area." "We do not intend to compromise on these issues and they will certainly be an inseparable part of any dialogue that we hold with the PA. The Government of Israel sends its condolences to the bereaved families and salutes the heroism of the two soldiers, who fought bravely for their lives even when caught by total surprise." (Prime Minister's Office) See also Olmert: No West Bank Construction Without My Prior Approval - Barak Ravid Prime Minister Olmert sent an official letter on Sunday to government ministers with an order to refrain from authorizing any construction in the West Bank without his and Defense Minister Barak's prior approval. Olmert did not address construction in eastern Jerusalem in the letter. However, he said Sunday, "the sweeping order regarding all of Judea and Samaria [West Bank] won't touch upon Jerusalem, but even on Jerusalem, we must act wisely and cautiously." (Ha'aretz) The sole survivor of Friday's terror attack on hikers near Hebron, Naama Ohion, is a first-year law student. She told friends that the hike was to have ended at the springs in Wadi Iskha, where there is a cave hundreds of meters long with numerous levels. According to one theory, the cave served as a hideout for the second-century CE rebel against Rome, Bar Kokhba. Amihai, who served for a year with Hebrew University's Cave Research Unit, knew the cave and wanted to show his friends. (Ha'aretz) See also Families Recall Sons' "Inner Flame" - Matthew Wagner (Jerusalem Post) Some of the gunmen who participated in Friday's shooting attack near Hebron belong to Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, Fatah activists in the West Bank have confirmed. They said the attack was carried out jointly by Fatah and Islamic Jihad. The attack shows that several armed Fatah groups continue to operate in the West Bank despite statements by top PA officials to the effect that most of these groups had been dismantled. Although many members of Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, have in recent months handed over their weapons to the PA security forces in return for jobs and salaries, dozens of Fatah gunmen are still refusing to follow suit. The PA's plan to dismantle all the Fatah-affiliated militias in the West Bank is still far from achieving its goal. Shortly after PA Interior Minister al-Yahya announced Saturday that the Aksa Martyrs Brigades had ceased to exist, the group responded by distributing thousands of leaflets throughout the West Bank scoffing at the claim and vowing to continue the armed struggle against Israel. (Jerusalem Post) See also Fatah Armed Wing Rejects PA Declaration of Its Dissolution (Xinhua-China) See also Aksa Martyrs Brigades Calls for PA Prime Minister Fayad's Assassination - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post) Hizbullah has again positioned itself on Lebanon's southern border with Israel, Channel 1 television reported on Sunday. Several Knesset members toured the northern border to witness the terror group's presence there firsthand. (Jerusalem Post) See also UNIFIL Steps Up Activity to Deter Hizbullah Rearmament - Barak Ravid (Ha'aretz) Israel, Egypt, and the PA agreed on Sunday to allow thousands of Palestinians returning from the haj pilgrimage to Mecca to return to Gaza. Palestinian sources claimed the agreement stipulated that Egypt would check the Palestinians and report any suspected smuggling incidents to Israel. (Ynet News) See also Gaza Palestinians on Haj Refuse to Return via Israel Thousand of Palestinians returning from Mecca Saturday resisted Egypt's attempts to have them return to Gaza through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing. Some are members of the radical Islamic group Hamas, and they fear Israel will arrest them. Israel fears that if the group is allowed to return to Gaza through Rafah, Hamas militants might get through with smuggled cash. Egyptian President Mubarak said the problem with using the Rafah crossing was that the EU no longer had monitors posted there. (AP/International Herald Tribune) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Whoever killed Benazir Bhutto belonged to one of the nebulae of organizations that have vowed to kill not only those who stand for election but also those who vote. To people in the West, voting in an election might appear banal. In the Muslim world, over the past decade, thousands of people, from top politicians to ordinary voters, have been murdered by Islamists (in Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia). Islamist opposition to democracy is based on the claim that allowing men to legislate would be a form of sherk, associating man with God, who is the "sole and ultimate legislator." Man-made law cannot rival God-made Shariah. Referring to Islam's history, in which the murder of leaders, including three of the first four caliphs, was the surest way of coming to power, the Islamists hope that by assassinating senior politicians they would kill hopes of democracy in the Muslim world. Bhutto believed that the only way to save Pakistan from a Taliban-style regime was to mobilize the masses through democratic means. For her, dictatorship and terror were political twins that kept each other alive. "Only the fresh air of democracy can kill the monster [of Islamism]," she liked to say. "When the people are allowed to speak, they will not speak in support of terror." The terrorist who killed Benazir believed that Islam is worth killing for. Benazir proved that democracy is worth dying for. (Times-UK) With U.S. military aid, Egypt has purchased 36 Apache helicopters, 220 F-16 aircraft, 880 M1A1 tanks, and the accompanying training and maintenance to support these systems, among other items. In 2007, the Defense Department notified Congress of several possible Foreign Military Sales to Egypt including: M1A1 Abrams tank kits, rolling airframe missiles, TOW anti-armor guided missiles, Stinger missiles, and E2C airborne early warning command and control aircraft (AWACS). (Congressional Research Service) Observations: How to Pressure for Peace - Saul Singer (Jerusalem Post)
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