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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:
Defector Spied on Iran Since 2003 - Uzi Mahnaimi (Times-UK) Israel Campus Beat - March 11, 2007 Point Counter-Point: The Saudi Plan
Outcry Forces Hamas to Rescind Book Ban - (AP/Washington Post)
Israel Approves Jordan Rail Link (AFP/Yahoo)
Jordan Restores Military Conscription - Riad Kahwaji (Defense News)
Al-Qaeda Targets "Al-Andalus" (Spain) - Tracy Wilkinson
(Los Angeles Times)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Hizbullah forces have returned to the mountains north of the Litani River, beyond the jurisdiction of UN soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon, to build a new line of attack. "We know that they're here," says Hafez Kirwan, 42, leader of the Druze village of As-Srairi, 20 km. north of the Israeli border. During last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah, its fighters used the thick underbrush of these mountainsides as cover to fire missiles into Israel. Locals say those fighters are back, in greater numbers, moving more frequently and, everyone suspects, stockpiling more weapons than ever before. Hizbullah says it has spent the last seven months preparing for another major battle with Israel by regrouping and amassing some 33,000 missiles. "We are completing our preparedness for a greater and more dangerous stage," Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address last month. (Toronto Star) Salam Fayyad, 54, who is poised to start his second stint as PA Treasury chief in a new "unity" government, said that Palestinian finances have descended into such chaos that he has no idea where much of foreign donors' money has been spent in the 14 months since Hamas won elections. An estimated £362.5 million has flowed into Palestinian government coffers from abroad since the election that brought Hamas to power including £59.5 million from the EU. PA spending is out of control, salaries are being paid to workers who never turn up, and nobody can track where the money is going, according to Fayyad. (Sunday Telegraph-UK) China, backed by Russia, balked on Friday at financial sanctions against Iran during talks among six powers on a new UN Security Council resolution that would penalize Tehran for its nuclear program. Envoys close to the negotiations said Western nations had offered several ways to accommodate China and others on the financial sanctions. Russia and China also have not signed on to a mandatory travel ban on Iranian officials connected with the nuclear program. (Reuters) Many Egyptians are feeling the pressure of what has been called the biggest crackdown in 26 years on opponents of the regime. Tareq Khater, director of the Association for Human Rights and Legal Aid, said torture of suspects was routine in Egyptian police stations and an important weapon in the war on dissent. "Torture has become systematic under President Mubarak. He uses it to force people to submit to his absolute power and to create fear, so that people think twice about disobedience," he said. Suspects claim that the torture takes various forms, including being beaten or electrocuted. (Observer-UK) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas agreed Sunday that the Saudi initiative could serve as a basis for promoting a diplomatic process ahead of the implementation of the Roadmap. However, the two did not agree on the issues of the right of return, Jerusalem, prisoner releases, and the settlements. Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that in a recent meeting between Olmert and a senior European diplomatic source, the prime minister made it clear that Israel's red line in the Saudi initiative, and in initiatives of other moderate Arab countries, was the implementation of the Palestinian refugees' right of return. Abbas reiterated his commitment to the three Quartet conditions, which include recognizing Israel, renouncing terror, and honoring past agreements signed between Israel and the PA. (Ynet News) See also Israeli and Palestinian Leaders Meet, Producing Scant Results but a Pledge to Talk Again - Steven Erlanger Abbas and Olmert held their second meeting in a month on Sunday, but aides said afterward that there was little concrete progress to report. (New York Times) Mohammad al-Kafarna, a member of Hamas' Executive Force, was killed Sunday in fighting with Fatah in Beit Hanun in Gaza, the first fatality in such clashes since the two sides agreed a month ago to form a unity government. Explosions from mortar bombs and rocket-propelled grenades shook the town. Seven Palestinians were wounded. (Ha'aretz) The Israeli Navy opened fire at Palestinian boats suspected of weapons smuggling trying to infiltrate Gazan waters from Egypt early Sunday morning. The suspected smugglers were ordered to halt by an Israeli naval ship and, when they did not do so, the ship fired shots in warning, and then towards the boats. The Palestinian boats were damaged but were able to reach the shore in Gaza, where they were met by a large crowd. "These were not innocent fishermen, but smugglers," the IDF said. (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
There is a growing strategic alliance between Iran and the radical Palestinian forces in the territories. Iran is involved in supporting both the Islamic factions and Fatah. Today, at least 40% of Fatah's different fighting groups are also paid by Hizbullah and Iran. Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh does not speak from the parliament. Rather, he makes his declarations from the mosque every Friday. The Arabs are very aware of the images they project. The head of the government preaching from the mosque creates the image of a new caliphate being built inside Gaza. Hamas thinks it can build a new southern Lebanon in Gaza, and this is what it is busy doing. Hamas is seeking to build anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems that will neutralize Israel's current ability to easily penetrate Gaza, by using new kinds of missiles that were used in Lebanon. Hamas is also trying to fortify the cities in Gaza in which it has its main rocket and weapons factories. The IDF will have to enter Gaza in a very wide-scale operation in the next year. The big question is whether to do it now or wait, like Israel did in Lebanon - and look at the results. (ICA/JCPA) Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky said in an interview: "Whoever looks into what the IDF demonstrated in the Lebanon war in terms of its capabilities, power, accuracy, and the connection between intelligence and firepower, understands the power of the army. True, there were also mistakes. But every professional understands that what we saw here can be quickly corrected. I don't think the IDF needs to be rebuilt. It needs some changes in priorities, to train more, and we'll do it better next time." (Maariv-Hebrew, 9Mar07) The children of the second intifada that began in 2000 grew up in a territory riven by infighting, seared by violence, largely cut off from the world. "Ever since we were little, we see guns and tanks, and little kids wanting little guns to fight against Israel," said Raed Debie, 24, a student at An Najah University in Nablus. Issa Khalil, 25, said he was arrested for throwing stones in the first intifada that began in the late 1980s and again in the second uprising. "And for what?" he asked. "I wasted 14 years of my life. We all did." Many Israelis agree that the current generation of young Palestinians has been thoroughly radicalized, but say that is the product of Palestinian political and religious leaders who have sanctioned and promoted violence and terrorism against Israel. Where young Palestinians once dreamed of staying to build a new state, now many are giving up and scheming to get out. (New York Times) Observations: The Price of a Free Press - Anshel Pfeffer (Jerusalem Post)
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