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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:
"Bin Laden Ordered Rocket Attacks" on Israel - Zarqawi (AFP/Al-Jazeera)
In Video, Al-Qaeda's No. 2 Tells Bush to Admit Defeat in Iraq - Nelson Hernandez (Washington Post)
Death Threats Sent to Journalists in PA - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Saddam's Terror Training Camps - Stephen F. Hayes (Weekly Standard)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon began breathing on his own on Monday as doctors tried to rouse him from a medically induced coma after a massive stroke last Wednesday. While Sharon remained in critical condition, his surgeons say there is a good chance he will live. But medical consensus is he has suffered too much damage to ever return to politics. (Reuters) See also below Observations: Sharon's Last Interview (Ynet News) Iran said Sunday that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency would remove seals from some nuclear facilities by Monday, opening the way for the Iranians to resume research on fuel production and heightening concerns in the West that the Iranians are moving toward building atomic weapons. (AP/New York Times) The Foreign Office Saturday closed the British embassy in Jordan after MI6 received specific intelligence of an al-Qaeda suicide plot to blow up the building along with American targets in the country. Counter-terrorism sources said the prime suspect was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who is now head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Before Zarqawi moved to Iraq, his goal had been to assassinate the King of Jordan. (Sunday Times-UK) See also Australia Closes Jordan Embassy The Australian and Canadian embassies in Jordan shut their doors to the public Sunday because of an undisclosed security threat a day after Britain closed its embassy in Amman for the same reason, diplomats said. (The Australian) Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades members ordered international observers overseeing this month's Palestinian election to leave the Jenin area of the northern West Bank "as soon as possible." (AFP/Yahoo) See also Britain Advises Citizens to Leave Gaza Britain advised its citizens on Friday to leave Gaza unless they have round-the-clock professional bodyguards. "This is due to the continuing deterioration in the security situation," the Foreign Office said. (Reuters) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Weapons experts in Palestinian terror groups who have undergone training in Lebanon, Syria, and possibly Iran have recently infiltrated the Gaza Strip, a senior security official said on Sunday. Most of the experts are Hamas members who specialize in making explosive devices and improving high-trajectory weapons - specifically, building warheads and improving the rockets' aerodynamics ahead of a possible renewed confrontation with Israel. (Ha'aretz) See also Iran Increases Efforts to Infiltrate Israel - Margot Dudkevitch Sources in the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said Saturday that there has been a significant increase in attempts by Iran to infiltrate Israel and link up with Palestinian terror groups. Jaris Jaris, an Israeli Arab and former head of the Fasuta Local Council in the Upper Galilee, has been arrested on suspicion of spying on Israel for Iranian intelligence. The Iranians have also supplied Hizballah and Palestinian terror groups such as Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigades with funds to support their terror operations against Israel. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The PA may look like a failed state even before it becomes one. "All the chaos is coming from inside the PA and Fatah," said Khaled Duzdar, a Palestinian analyst at the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. A senior Israeli intelligence officer said, "Hamas wants Israel gone and they want to keep the means of terror. Yet they are allowed into the political process by those who believe that afterwards, for some unknown reason, Hamas will change its soul or that Abu Mazen can deal with them." "Anyone who thinks Hamas will become pragmatic if they win and it will be easier to settle the conflict is unrealistic," Duzdar said. "Hamas will never shift or change its charter or agenda." Duzdar and the senior Israeli intelligence officer say they think Hamas will get 45% or more of the seats - if the election is allowed to proceed. (New York Times) See also Anarchy and the PA Elections - Danny Rubinstein The ones responsible for the lawlessness in the territories are affiliated with the Palestinian security services and the Fatah movement. In the Palestinian street, they understand that this is no coincidence. The popular interpretation is that this is intentional and organized chaos whose goal is to generate riots that will lead to the cancellation of the parliamentary elections. There is serious doubt that the elections will take place in the end. Nearly the entire world does not want elections that Hamas will win. (Ha'aretz) Even if Sharon had remained healthy and done well in the Israeli election on March 28, further separation moves in the West Bank would have been much more difficult than the Gaza withdrawal. Instead of the hoped-for Palestinian moderation and emphasis on vital economic development, the reality is chaos and more terrorism. Mahmoud Abbas is barely a figurehead, while Hamas appears set to gain power if the Palestinian elections take place as scheduled in late January. And along what remains of the border with Gaza, Egyptian guarantees to prevent the smuggling of weapons and terrorists have disintegrated. As a result, even the most pragmatic Israelis will be far more cautious about withdrawal from areas that would bring Tel Aviv and Jerusalem into rocket-firing range. (Australian Financial Review, 9Jan06) Sharon's illness may be distracting attention from the Palestinian crisis, but it is the Palestinian political situation which makes any progress toward peace impossible for years to come. The Palestinian movement is rushing headlong into the past, with both Hamas and the new Fatah leaders, headed by Marwan Barghouti, returning to the strategies of Arafat that have failed for four decades. The only ones who still think Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas counts for anything are the Western media. The single most remarkable event was a January 4 armed attack by Fatah on the Egyptian army, forcing that country's troops to withdraw from the Egypt-Gaza border. This event shows how ridiculous it is to expect Egypt to do anything to safeguard this border or prevent terrorists and arms from crossing it. The Egyptians are boiling mad and their anger will manifest itself in the future. No Arab state will give the Palestinians serious economic support. (Jerusalem Post) Observations: Sharon's Last Interview - Ronen Bodoni (Ynet News) Prime Minister Sharon gave the Japanese newspaper Nikkei an interview just one day before suffering a massive stroke.
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