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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:
UN Claims Proof Iran Plans Nuclear Bomb (AP/ABC News)
See also Atomic Agency Sees Possible Link of Military to Iran Nuclear Work - Elaine Sciolino and William J. Broad (New York Times)
IDF: Hamas Still Trying to Attack Israel - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
U.S. Talking with Sunni Insurgents in Iraq (Newsweek)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
The U.S. is compromising in order to broker dual accords in confrontations over Iran's nuclear program and the future of aid to the Palestinians. In each case, the agreements put off potential conflicts by postponing harsh consequences for Tehran or the Palestinians. One agreement puts Russia and China on record supporting Iran's referral to the Security Council when the UN nuclear watchdog agency votes on the matter later this week. It was agreed, though, that the Security Council should wait until March to take up the Iran case. Secretary of State Rice described the move as a compromise between the U.S. preference for immediate referral and action and the Russian preference to put off referral. On the Palestinians, Rice won international support for the principle that overseas aid will be conditioned on a new Hamas government renouncing violence and accepting Israel's right to exist. The PA gets roughly half its annual budget of up to $1.9 billion from other governments and international organizations. Monday's statement from would-be Mideast peacemakers was less than an outright threat to boycott Hamas. (AP/Washington Post) Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based head of the political bureau of Hamas, wrote in the Guardian on Tuesday: "When the Palestinians went to the polls last Wednesday they were well aware of what was on offer and those who voted for Hamas knew what it stood for....Our message to the U.S. and EU governments is this: your attempt to force us to give up our principles or our struggle is in vain....Our message to the Muslim and Arab nations is this: we expect you to step in and compensate the Palestinian people for any loss of aid." "We shall never recognize the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil in order to atone for somebody else's sins or solve somebody else's problem. But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms." (Guardian-UK) See also Hamas: We Will Not Give Up a Single Inch of Palestine Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar told Al-Manar TV on Jan. 25: "Palestine means Palestine in its entirety - from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River....We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy's [right] to a single inch. That is one thing. The second thing is that if the right of return is an individual right, neither Mahmoud Al-Zahar nor Abbas Zaki can relinquish it, because all these concessions will constitute a national catastrophe. The third point is that we can found a state on any piece of the land, and this will not mean we give up on any other part of the land." (MEMRI) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
A Kassam rocket fired by Palestinians in Gaza landed in the Israeli city of Sderot Tuesday evening, causing damage to a parked car. Earlier two rockets landed near Sderot and another landed near Kibbutz Zikim. Palestinian sources said electricity was cut off in large parts of northern Gaza after two rockets aimed at Israel landed in Palestinian territory and struck a main electrical pole. The IDF identified at least ten rocket launchings from Gaza toward Israeli targets - six landed in Gaza. IDF officials said Islamic Jihad was behind the rocket attacks, (Ynet News) A Border Policeman was seriously wounded and two Islamic Jihad fugitives killed on Tuesday in a gun battle in Arabe south of Jenin. The border police anti-terror unit was on an operation to nab fugitives planning suicide bomb attacks in Israel. According to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the two Islamic Jihad fugitives, Nidal Abu Sadah and Ahmed Tubassi, were members of the same infrastructure responsible for a series of suicide bomb attacks in Netanya, Hadera, and Tel Aviv last year that resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of Israelis. (Jerusalem Post) Hamas will oppose any attempt to transfer authority over the Palestinian security services to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Hamas' parliamentary slate, Ismail Haniya, told Ha'aretz on Tuesday. On Saturday, Abbas informed the security service chiefs that they answered directly to him. Haniya promised that current employees of the security services will not lose their jobs under the new government. (Ha'aretz) See also Hamas Holds the Power, But Fatah Has the Most Guns - Mitch Potter What happens when the winners of the religiously inspired Hamas want to change everything, but the losers of the soundly secular Fatah have far and away the most guns? (Toronto Star) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Tough Israeli action against terrorism has been critical in the past in teaching Hamas the rules of the game. The targeting of key figures caused Hamas to reconsider the continuation of its terrorist activities, and provided the organization with a push into the realm of politics. If Israel remains on guard and acts swiftly and resolutely to end the activity of any and all Hamas leaders who return to terrorism, Hamas can be kept in line. Hamas has proven itself capable of recognizing and respecting certain red lines. Now is the time to sit tight, walk softy, carry a very big stick, and work with the international community to force Hamas to dismantle its arms and cease its incitement. Perhaps over time, the Palestinian public will sober up from this experience, and elect a more mature leadership that will be ready for a real end-of-war deal with Israel. (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies/Bar-Ilan University) Hamas' victory reveals a major strategic deficiency in the American design for democracy in the Middle East. Current U.S. policy will not lead to democracy because democracy is much more than elections. Democracy is based on values, institutions, and constitutions - that by their very democratic nature cannot empower Islamic terrorist organizations such as Hamas. Commentators have suggested that radical Islamic movements become more moderate and pragmatic when they assume power. After 25 years, the Islamic theocracy in Iran is still extremist; the Taliban established a repressive regime in Afghanistan; and Hizballah remains a terrorist organization, although it has representatives in the Lebanese government. In the months ahead, Hamas is more likely to create a strategic relationship with Islamic radical forces such as Iran and Hizballah than to forge serious ties with the West. Democratizing the Middle East will take many years, and instant elections, however successful and legitimate, will prove insufficient in the quest for true democracy. The writer, a professor of politics and communication at Bar-Ilan University, currently is a visiting professor of public diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. (Los Angeles Times) The Quartet said in a statement Monday that Hamas "must be committed to nonviolence, recognize Israel and accept the previous agreements and commitments," like the Oslo accords that set up the Palestinian Authority and the "road map" peace plan, which calls for the dismantling of armed groups like Hamas. But this is like asking Hamas to convert to Christianity, diplomats concede. Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel, defends the right to use arms, and considers Oslo null and void. The most Hamas offers is a long-term truce with Israel, as a stage to Muslim rule over all of the former Palestine, if Israel agrees unilaterally to pull back to its pre-1967 boundaries and cede eastern Jerusalem. (New York Times) Observations: Bush: "Hamas Must Recognize Israel, Disarm, Reject Terrorism" (White House) In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Bush said:
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