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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: [email protected] In-Depth Issues:
Gaza Smugglers Belong to PA Security Forces - Nina Gilbert (Jerusalem Post)
Mofaz: Many Egyptian-Made RPG Launchers Smuggled into Gaza - Gideon Alon (Ha'aretz)
U.S. Focuses on Iraqi-Syrian Border (Middle East Newsline)
Terrorist in Israeli Embassy Bomb Plot Sentenced in Australia (AP/New York Times)
Palestinians Kill PA Policeman - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post) Key Links |
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Witnesses said Monday that the terrorists who killed 22 civilians in Saudi Arabia and took more than 40 people hostage were let out of the besieged compound by Saudi security forces. An employee at the compound in Khobar said a hostage told him he had heard the gunmen shouting that they would release captives if security forces let them go. Security forces at first refused, but agreed after the militants, who also threatened to blow up the building, began killing hostages. Time and again, when Saudi police have mounted raids on al-Qaeda suspects, many terrorists have been able to slip away as they did on Sunday. Last year al-Qaeda spent more than $500 million in maintaining its network in Saudi Arabia where it enjoys the support of a cross-section of Saudi society. Saudis acknowledge privately that al-Qaeda has infiltrated its security forces and military. The CIA concluded last year that al-Qaeda could draw from a pool of up to 10,000 Saudis for operations and logistics. The Khobar terrorists used military vehicles and uniforms to penetrate the secure areas. (Telegraph-UK) A proposal for Madison, Wis., to form a sister-city relationship with the Palestinian city of Rafah has divided Jews and others in this college town and prompted personal attacks and accusations of anti-Semitism. While some of the city's 5,000 or so Jews say people here should reach out to the people of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, others see the city as a hotbed for Hamas and other militant groups. Any partnership with the city, opponents say, would be a condemnation of Israeli foreign policy and Prime Minister Sharon. (New York Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Two Kassam rockets said to have been of a new advanced type were fired by Palestinians in Gaza Tuesday at the Israeli Negev city of Sderot, causing structural damage but no casualties. Police sappers who examined the rockets said they possessed longer range and more explosive potential than previous models. One rocket damaged a building in an industrial zone less than three kilometers from Prime Minister Sharon's Sycamore Ranch. (Ha'aretz) The pan-Arab Al-Quds-al-Arabi reported Monday that Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman handed Arafat three demands: First, unite all the Palestinian security forces under one command authority. Second, give PA Prime Minister Qurei complete authority to conduct negotiations with Israel over Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan. Third, stand aside and accept a symbolic position and let others lead the PA. If these demands are not met, the Egyptian-American shield saving Arafat's life may be removed. Arafat was given a deadline of June 15 to give a decisive reply or else his future would be "left in the hands of Ariel Sharon," the newspaper reported. A senior Palestinian official said Arafat told him he intends to refuse the Egyptian demands. (Jerusalem Post) A Vatican-led conference in Qatar on dialogue with Muslims ended with bickering over whether to allow Jews to take part in future meetings, because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Emir of the Gulf state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said in a speech delivered on his behalf on Thursday that Jews should also take part: "Perhaps it would be worthwhile widening next year's seminar to an Islamic-Christian-Jewish dialogue." But Sheikh Abdel-Karim al-Kahlout, the Mufti of Gaza, and Bishop Basilious Nassour, a Syrian representative of the Greek Orthodox Church, disagreed on Saturday. "We at the Patriarchy of Antioch reject the principle of dialogue with Jews before all the inhabitants of Palestine regain their rights," Nassour said. (Reuters/Ha'aretz) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Great anguish gripped us all during the past two weeks at the sight of 13 coffins draped in the state flag of soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip. The death of soldiers is more painful to us and vexes us more, because they were young, because they are our beloved sons, because every one of us has, or will have, someone there. There is not only solidarity here, but also alarm - when soldiers are killed, it's as if we are all more exposed, and there is no choice but to immediately rehabilitate the IDF "deterrent capability." The differences in the Israeli response also attest to the stupidity and maliciousness of the Palestinians. Some say they know Israeli society much better than we know theirs. If they really did, they would know already what hurts us most. And then those war criminals, headed by Yasser Arafat, would rid themselves and us of their appalling terror, they would not be forcing themselves into the world of international pariahs, and would not be marking their war of independence with the indelible stain of terrorism against civilians. If they really knew us, and had a little more wisdom, the Palestinians would behave in war as in war - not as in a slaughterhouse. (Ha'aretz) Israeli government spokesmen almost automatically issue statements of deep sorrow when a military operation results in Palestinian civilian casualties. This instinct to apologize is counterproductive since it implies an acceptance of responsibility for those losses. Yet the Palestinian losses are clearly not Israel's moral responsibility. The Palestinians have chosen the path of violence, particularly after September 2000. It is they who are to blame for the morally despicable acts of terror and Israel's countermeasures, harsh as they may be. Israel should point out systematically that all casualties are the result of Palestinian terrorism. The writer is director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. (Jerusalem Post) Just after 9/11, 142 Saudis - two dozen of whom were members of the bin Laden family - were permitted to depart on six charter flights. According to newly released documents, 160 Saudis also left the U.S. on 55 commercial airline flights immediately after 9/11 - making a total of about 300 people who left. Prince Ahmed bin Salman, who has been accused of being an intermediary between al-Qaeda and the House of Saud, boarded one of the evacuation planes in Kentucky. If the 9/11 commission dares to address this issue, it will undoubtedly be accused of politicizing one of the most important national security investigations in American history. But if it does not, it risks the betrayal of the thousands of people who lost their lives that day, not to mention millions of others who want the truth. (New York Times) Observations:
Everyone Now Agrees It Was Right to Attack Iraq Preemptively
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