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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:
Abbas Requested Meeting with Freed Lebanese Terrorist (AP/International Herald Tribune)
Hamas Will Fight Any Arab Forces that Try to Deploy in Gaza - Saed Bannoura
(IMEMC-PA)
Pro-Qaeda Fighters Train in Gaza (Reuters/Gulf Times-Qatar)
Israeli Soldiers at Checkpoints Ordered Not to Eat or Smoke During Ramadan (Maan News-PA)
Jigsaw Puzzle Championship Held in Israel (ITN-UK)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Ever since its bloody takeover of Gaza in June 2007, Hamas has seemed to be an existential threat to Israel. But on the dusty, chaotic streets of Gaza, after more than a year of isolation under Hamas rule, popular support seems thin, and people dare to speak openly of what Hamas considers heresy - peace with Israel. In Gaza City's market square, a crowd gathers as people pour out their anger. "We have no jobs, no fuel," says one man, "and the borders are closed." A woman says: "It's our neighbors who are oppressing us." Nobody disagrees. Most adult Gazans can remember when it was possible to make a living by working in construction or agricultural jobs in Israel. "We want them to find an agreement with Israel so we can go and work in Israel," says one man. "Everyone here wants to go to Israel to find a job." As long as Hamas threatens to destroy Israel, Gaza remains isolated and wretched. Many Gazans blame Hamas as well as Israel. (CBC News-Canada) Egypt on Monday closed the border crossing between Sinai and Hamas-run Gaza after a brief opening allowed thousands in and out of the territory. The crossing was opened for the first time in weeks on Saturday. In that time, "Egypt has allowed 4,545 Palestinians and Egyptians to cross, including 3,437 who came into Egypt and 1,108 Palestinians who headed to Gaza," an Egyptian official said. (AFP) More than 3,500 insurgents have been "taken off the streets of Baghdad" by the elite British force in a series of audacious "Black Ops" over the past two years. While the majority of the terrorists were captured, several hundred, who were mainly members of "al-Qaeda in Iraq," have been killed by the SAS. The prime targets have been those intent on joining the wave of suicide car bombers that claimed around 3,000 lives a month in Baghdad at the height of the terrorist campaign in 2006. The SAS is part of "Task Force Black" which also includes the U.S. Delta Force. Together they have helped reduce bombings in Baghdad from about 150 a month to just two. (Sunday Telegraph-UK) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
The Israeli defense establishment has foiled five attempted kidnappings of Israeli businessmen abroad by Hizbullah, Yediot Ahronot reported Tuesday. A senior security source said, "This was a concentrated effort by Hizbullah, backed by Iran, to carry out kidnappings in retaliation for the assassination of top Hizbullah operative Imad Mugniyeh. "Hizbullah is scouring for prey, and it's going country by county." All of the attempts were foiled with the assistance of foreign intelligence agencies. (Ynet News) Judge Aharon Farkash of the Jerusalem District Court ruled on Monday that it is possible to enforce in Israel a U.S. court ruling ordering the Palestinian Authority to compensate terror victims. The judge rejected a PA petition to forego paying $116 million to the family of two American terror victims, Yaron and Efrat Ungar, as was decreed in a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. "How can one accept the claim that a legal ruling should not be enforced because it might hurt the perpetrator financially? Should we not punish convicted persons for no other reason than that it might cause their bankruptcy?" Judge Farkash wrote. (Ynet News) Prior to his arrest by the IDF in 2002, Husam Khader, a Fatah member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who was released from an Israeli prison last week, was an outspoken critic of financial corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Almost immediately after his release, Khader started holding meetings with scores of Fatah members in the northern West Bank to discuss ways of reforming the faction. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, he said, "All the Fatah members and elements have their own criticism against the traditional leaders. We have to rebuild Fatah." He expressed hope that a long-awaited Fatah conference would bring about changes in the faction. "If we succeed in convening the sixth conference of Fatah there will be a real change and there will be a new Fatah and new leaders will lead the Palestinians." He also warned that unless Fatah reformed itself and got rid of all the icons of corruption, Hamas would take over the West Bank. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
On August 17, Iran announced the launching of an experimental satellite-carrying rocket - the Safir-e-Omid-1 ("Ambassador of Hope"). American defense sources claimed that they monitored the launch using the SPY-1 radar on the destroyer USS Russell, and that contrary to Iran's declarations, "the launch did not proceed as planned." According to them, while the first stage proceeded smoothly, the flight pattern of the second stage was "erratic." Despite the failure of the recent launch, Iran is progressing in the development of a liquid-fueled, two-stage satellite launcher. This launcher will enable it to launch a satellite weighing several dozen kilograms into space. The multi-stage technology may also have a large impact on the development of the capability to launch military grade surface-to-surface missiles. Such an ability could enable Iran to launch longer range missiles - up to several thousand kilometers - or to carry heavier loads. At present, however, Iran is still encountering numerous problems. At this point, the project is still little more than a hope for the future and an attempt to spark national pride. (Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Senior Jordanian officials have been meeting with Hamas in what represents a significant shift for Amman, since relations between Jordan and the Palestinian group had been frozen for two years, following the arrest of three Hamas members in the kingdom on terrorism and weapons charges. Senior Jordanian security officials now appear confident that they have contained the Hamas terror threat in the kingdom. Hamas has been active in Jordan for many years and maintained its headquarters there throughout the 1990s under the leadership of Mousa Marzouk and Khaled Mashal. But in 1999, Jordan expelled the leadership for engaging in operational planning from inside the kingdom. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Observations: A New Strategy for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon (Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
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