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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:
Hamas Leader Prays in Gaza Synagogue - Ali Waked (Ynet News)
EU-Funded NGOs Behind Threat to Arrest Israeli General in London - Gerald Steinberg (Jerusalem Post)
Britain Won't Change Holocaust Tribute (Ynet News)
Israel Allows Unrestricted Pakistani Imports (AFP/Arab News-Saudi Arabia)
Saudis Partially Lift Boycott on Israel - Nathan Guttman (Jerusalem Post)
Useful Reference: Search
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
73% of Palestinians favor the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip that would gradually extend to the West Bank, a public opinion poll conducted last week by Khalil Shikaki's Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research established. 84% consider the withdrawal a victory for the armed resistance. (UPI) Under a secret plan, accepted in principle by Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, security and customs officials from Canada as well as Britain and other European nations would be sent to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. This would be the first time that Israel has allowed another country to take responsibility for security matters. The job of the British experts will be to scrutinize the security screening procedures by both Egyptian and Palestinian sides at Rafah to ensure no weapons or terrorists are allowed to enter Gaza. This "third party'' scrutiny of the border crossing's security arrangements satisfies the Israeli authorities who are anxious that Gaza does not morph into a giant terror headquarters for operations against them. (Telegraph-UK) Syria is harboring training camps for Iraqi insurgents, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Monday. U.S. patience with Syria is running out, he said. The U.S. has ruled out no option, including military force, for dealing with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Khalilzad said during a State Department briefing. Syria is already under U.S. economic sanctions. Khalilzad said Syria is a bigger threat to Iraq than Iran and more of a problem than Pakistan had been for Afghanistan. He called Syria "the No. 1 offender" in the region to "the success of Iraq." (USA Today) Syria "should not allow youngsters misguided by al-Qaeda, from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, from North Africa, to fly into Damascus international airport. It shouldn't be that hard, if you see young men between the ages of 18 and 28, who are coming without a return ticket, landing in Damascus airport to control that," said Khalilzad. (AFX/Forbes) See also below Commentary: Regime Change Slowly Advances Along the Road to Damascus - Dean Godson (Times-UK) In an increasingly tense atmosphere, security guards have become more prevalent on the streets of Damascus. Senior UN investigator Mehlis is initially expected to interrogate senior Syrian security officials who were based in Lebanon, including Maj. Gen. Rustom Ghazali, former head of Syrian military intelligence in Beirut, and several of his associates. But many Syrian officials fear that Mehlis may also interrogate much higher-level officials, such as the interior minister and others in Assad's inner circle. That, many say, could link the government directly to the assassination. (New York Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinian police on Tuesday were unable to halt looting of Gush Katif's prized greenhouses. The greenhouses, left behind by Israel as part of a deal brokered by international mediators, are a centerpiece of Palestinian plans for rebuilding Gaza's economy. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei implored Palestinians to leave the structures intact. Neve Dekalim was turned into a buzzing bazaar, with people haggling over bricks, scrap metal, and other building materials they had collected. Palestinians in Rafah continued to cross the Egyptian border on Tuesday, climbing over a wall and digging tunnels under it. Israeli lawmaker Ephraim Sneh said it was essential for the Egyptians to control the border. "This is their test and this is how they will be judged," he told Israel Radio. "We didn't bring them there for anything else." (AP/Ha'aretz) See also Anarchy in Gaza Strip - Ali Waked Thousands of Palestinians raided evacuated Gaza Strip settlements in the wake of the IDF's withdrawal, resorting to an orgy of looting and vandalism. What was supposed to be an orderly process of assuming control over the area turned into a huge scene of chaos mostly controlled by armed terrorists. In Netzarim, thousands rushed into the community with vehicles and are looting whatever they can find, including wood, aluminum, furniture, and plenty of mangos, taken from the orchards. (Ynet News) See also An Orgy of Looting and Arson - Matthew Gutman (Jerusalem Post) Egyptian border policemen on Monday opened fire at a group of Palestinians trying to cross the border into Egypt south of Rafah, killing one and wounding three, PA security sources reported. Eyewitnesses said thousands of Palestinians from Rafah and Khan Yunis crossed the border with Egypt during the day. The shooting apparently took place after gunmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad approached Egyptian security control towers, eyewitnesses said. (Jerusalem Post) Prime Minister Sharon will leave for New York on Tuesday, where on Thursday he will address the UN General Assembly, which this year will feature heads of state. Israel wants to strengthen international recognition for the end of its control of Gaza, and for the PA's responsibility for the fate of its residents. While at the UN, Sharon will meet with President Bush and the leaders of Russia, Turkey, Britain, Canada, Australia, and the EU, as well as the UN secretary general. Foreign Minister Shalom will meet at the UN for the first time with his Indonesian counterpart. (Ha'aretz) With Israel now out of the Gaza Strip, the U.S. will defend "even more vigorously" Israel's right to defend itself if terrorism continues to emanate from the area, departing U.S. Ambassador Dan Kurtzer said Monday. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
In an interview published Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon said: "The only plan that exists is the road map. We are not in the road map yet. We are in the pre-road map phase now. To enter the road map, there should be a full cessation of terror, hostilities, and incitement. The Palestinian Authority should dismantle the terrorist organizations, collect their weapons, and implement serious reforms in [the] security [services]. Once they take these steps, we will be able to start negotiations along the road map plan....We're not going to have another disengagement." (Washington Post) In a stunning display of the Syrian regime's vulnerability, President Bashar Assad has aborted his visit to this week's meeting of the UN General Assembly. Assad was terrified that he might be indicted while in New York off the back of the inquiry into the killing of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, conducted by the chief UN investigator, Detlev Mehlis. The dogged German had already fingered four pro-Syrian Lebanese security officials and is now - with the help of the French and other secret services - following the powder trail all the way back to Damascus. This is likely to bring him very close to Assad himself. There was a second, connected reason for Assad's unwillingness to travel at this time: fear of a coup. Some Baathist old stagers are desperately unhappy with his ineptitude. The Americans certainly want "behavior change," and would shed no tears if Assad fell. The Jordanians and Saudis might not be too unhappy, either: these Sunni monarchies are increasingly fearful of a radical Shia bloc stretching from Iran into Iraq and thence into Syria. (Times-UK) See also Justice in Lebanon - Editorial If Mehlis can provide details of Syria's involvement in the Hariri killing, Assad could find himself in the pariah's box once occupied by Libya's Moammar Gaddafi, who suffered years of international sanctions because of his sponsorship of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of an American airliner. (Washington Post) Observations: Palestinian State of Nature - Richard Cohen (Washington Post)
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