|
Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
| ||||||
|
To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
U.S. Blames Hamas for Gaza "Chaos" (DPA)
Hamas Leader: Struggle Will Continue "Until Liberation of All of Palestine" (UPI)
Hamas Staged Some of the Gaza Blackouts - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Hamas Leader's Medical Specialty - Kevin Peraino (Newsweek)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
A Hamas border guard, Lt. Abu Usama of the Palestinian National Security, said the Islamist group had been involved for months in slicing through the heavy metal wall along the Gaza-Egypt border using oxy-acetylene cutting torches. That meant that when the explosive charges were set off in 17 different locations, the 40-foot wall came tumbling down. Asked whether he had reported the cutting operation to the [Hamas] government, he replied: "It was the government that was doing this." (Times-UK) See also Israel Expects Egypt to Solve Gaza Border Problem Israel said Wednesday it expects Egypt to "solve the problem" of the breached Gaza-Egypt border. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the open border posed a security risk. "When the exit [from Gaza] is open, so is the entrance," ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel said. "Hamas and other terrorist groups may use this opportunity to smuggle weapons and terrorists into Gaza." (CNN) See also below Observations: Implications of the Breached Gaza-Egypt Border France's foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday that any new sanctions on Iran would be "minimal." Kouchner conceded it's been difficult for the international community to agree on imposing tough sanctions on Iran, particularly after the recent U.S. intelligence assessment that Tehran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. "Whether it is wrong or it makes sense, the report by the U.S. secret service agents makes one believe that the danger was already averted years ago and there is a need to keep that in mind," said Kouchner. At the same time, Kouchner said that France believes new sanctions should be imposed against Iran due to its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. (AKI-Italy) See also UK: NIE Does Not Change Our Concerns about Iran - Sir Nigel Sheinwald On Jan. 15, 2008, British ambassador to the U.S. Sir Nigel Sheinwald told the Washington Institute: "As for the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), we made clear immediately that it did not change the rationale for our twin-track approach. Our concerns about the nuclear program were based on Iran's determination to develop enrichment and heavy water reprocessing capabilities (which would allow it to develop fissile material) and its deliberate concealment of these activities. Our concerns were intensified by Iran's refusal to accede to legally binding Security Council requirements." (Washington Institute for Near East Policy) See also Russia: No Harsh Sanctions on Iran - Vladimir Isachenkov Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday a draft UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program "does not foresee any harsh sanctions." "It calls for countries to be vigilant while maintaining trade and economic and transport and other ties with Iran so that they are not used for the transfer of forbidden nuclear material," he said. (AP) See also Powers Agree on "Watered Down" Iran Sanctions (Der Spiegel-Germany) See also Iran Now Free to Achieve Its Military Nuclear Ambitions: An Israeli Perspective on the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze'evi Farkash (Institute for Contemporary Affairs/ Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
IDF officials on Wednesday described the situation at the breached Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as "a first-class security risk." According to a military source, "The free passage of Palestinians into Egypt and back significantly increases the security threat coming from Gaza." "It's clear that each time civilians cross the border, terror activists are also there, taking advantage of the situation for their own needs," said an Israeli defense official. Israel recently expressed its anger over a similar incident, when hundreds of Palestinian pilgrims, returning from Saudi Arabia, entered Gaza unsupervised. (Ynet News) On Wednesday, Hamas caused an absolute and complete disconnection between the Gaza economy and the West Bank economy, ahead of the emergence of two separate Palestinian entities. The moment huge quantities of goods entered Gaza without coordinating it with Israel, all duty agreements were in fact breached. From now on, Gazans would not be able to export even a matchbox to Israel or to the West Bank. (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
When the siren sounds, the residents of Sderot, an Israeli town just a mile from Gaza, drop everything and run for cover. They have 15 seconds to reach a bomb shelter and face an almost daily barrage of Palestinian rockets. "We are living in a war zone," said Hava Gad, a 42-year-old mother of three. Sderot's streets, many of them cratered by rockets, are dotted with bomb shelters. Bigger concrete shelters decorated with colorful murals stand outside schools and community centers. (Reuters) See also Rockets Keep Raining Down on Sderot - Dina Kraft and Andrew Friedman After seven years of rocket fire from nearby Gaza and no end in sight, Sderot residents are weighing whether or not to stay, as crippled businesses survive on hope and loans. Home prices have fallen by 50%, said Yakov Levy, a realtor in town. "It gets to you. You think about it all the time," said Atara Orenbouch. "You are always thinking: If there were an alarm now, where would the safest place be to hide?" (JTA/Washington Jewish Week) A new fundamentalist player is emerging in Palestinian politics. The group sounds like Hamas - or even al-Qaeda - but doesn't support suicide bombings or secret militias. Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation) is now filling a hole left by Hamas in the West Bank. In many of the places where Hizb ut-Tahrir is popular - the party says they're active in 45 countries - governments often see them as a feeder organization to more extreme groups. James Brandon, a senior research fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion in London, says that party officials worldwide don't advocate or organize violent attacks. "But...they act as a conveyor belt organization, in which they attract people and radicalize them, and then those people eventually move on, reject the Hizb ut-Tahrir method, and start looking to al-Qaeda." The group is banned in many countries, including Egypt and much of the Middle East, Germany, Pakistan, and Russia. It also came under investigation in Britain after the London bombings in July 2005. (Christian Science Monitor) Observations: Implications of the Breached Gaza-Egypt Border
Unsubscribe from Daily Alert |
|||||