|
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:
Top Hamas Terrorist in Contact with Al-Qaeda - Jacky Hogi (Maariv-Hebrew, 9Apr06) Israel Campus Beat - April 9, 2006 Point Counter-Point: Israel's Elections: A Mandate for Territorial Withdrawal?
Military Intelligence: Palestinians May Have 100 Katyusha Rockets in Gaza - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Mahmoud Abbas says Israel's plan to impose its final borders will lead to another war in a decade. "After 10 years our sons will feel it is unfair and they will return back to struggle," Abbas said. "Nobody will accept it. The struggle will continue." (Guardian-UK) See also Abbas: "Convergence" Will Lead to War (Jerusalem Post) The U.S. will cancel or suspend up to $411 million in Palestinian aid out of concern the money could help the new Hamas leaders of the government there, the State Department announced Friday. At the same time, the U.S. will redirect some of that money to humanitarian projects. Also Friday, the EU's executive office cut off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. The impact could be even stronger if EU foreign ministers decide at a meeting Monday to also freeze their governments' bilateral aid to the Palestinians. Britain and the Netherlands have already taken such a step. (AP/FOX News) See also Europe Mulls Path Forward with Hamas - Ralf Beste, Jan Fleischhauer, and Christoph Schult Berlin has spent millions supporting development in the Palestinian Authority. But in the wake of the election victory of terrorist organization Hamas, that aid - like all EU funds - has been frozen. According to an official at the German Foreign Ministry, the official policy toward Hamas is clear: "no face-to-face talks, no writing, no contact by telephone." (Der Spiegel-Germany) See also Norway Freezes Aid to PA (Reuters/Khaleej Times) See also France Denies Visas for Hamas Legislators France has denied visas to two Hamas members of the Palestinian legislature invited to talks in Strasbourg this week, the Council of Europe said Monday. (AP/Forbes) See also Threats to Cut Off Aid Don't Sway PA Prime Minister - Alissa J. Rubin In the face of imminent funding cuts from Europe and the U.S., PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday reiterated his government's refusal to recognize the State of Israel and forswear violence. (Los Angeles Times) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told the Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya on Saturday that civil war "has almost started" in Iraq and an American troop withdrawal would only make the situation worse, adding that the current unrest was Saddam Hussein's fault. He also questioned the loyalty of Iraq's Shiite Muslims to their home country. "Defiantly Iran has influence for Shiites....Most of the Shiites are loyal to Iran, and not to the countries they are living in," he said, reflecting a concern among Arab nations that Iran has too much influence in Iraq and that its Shiite-majority Islamic theocracy could spill over into their largely Sunni countries. (AP/Houston Chronicle) See also Iraqi Leadership Annoyed by Mubarak's Remarks on Shiites The Iraqi leadership on Sunday said statements by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over Shiites in Iraq were a source of "annoyance for our Iraqi people" from different faiths, sects, and political segments. (KUNA-Kuwait) The Bush administration has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. U.S. officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium. Bush and others in the White House view Iranian President Ahmadinejad as a potential Adolf Hitler, a former senior intelligence official said. "That's the name they're using. They say, 'Will Iran get a strategic weapon and threaten another world war?'" "This is much more than a nuclear issue," one high-ranking diplomat told me in Vienna. "The real issue is who is going to control the Middle East and its oil in the next ten years." (New Yorker) See also U.S. Is Studying Military Strike Options on Iran - Peter Baker, Dafna Linzer, and Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
After a discussion Sunday of the security establishment's recommendations on steps Israel should take in the wake of the rise of the Hamas regime, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert summarized the recommendations to be submitted for Cabinet approval: 1) Israel will not hold ties with the Palestinian Authority, which is a hostile authority, and will act to prevent the administrative establishment of the Hamas government. 2) The PA is one authority and does not have two heads; links with it will be reduced and no ties will be held with it. There will be no personal disavowal of the PA Chairman (Abbas). 3) Foreign visitors who meet with Hamas officials will not be received for meetings with Israeli officials. 4) Israel will coordinate with the international community regarding humanitarian assistance for the needs of the Palestinian population, not via the PA. (Prime Minister's Office/IMRA) "The PLO, Fatah fighters camp, Alasifa forces," southwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, adjacent to an elementary school, serves as a training camp for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing. The area is surrounded by barbed-wire fencing, and masked men armed with Kalashnikov rifles and two-way radios keep a 24-hour watch on vehicles passing close by. The masked men are members of Hamas' military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam. In the northern corner of the area sit five mobile structures belonging to Palestinian military intelligence. Gaza today looks like a powder keg that could be set off by the slightest spark, leading to a massive clash between Hamas and Fatah. Ever since Hamas won the Palestinian elections, and even more so since it formed a government, its activists and those from Fatah have been doing their utmost to recruit the street for the developing conflict. Dozens of locations in Gaza have seen training camps sprout up in recent weeks like mushrooms after the rain. Activists from Hamas, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad, and other local groups are taking over land that is not privately owned and are setting up training camps. Every camp is almost immediately mirrored nearby by a similar installation by another group. One such camp, belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, was the target of an Israel Air Force strike on Friday that killed six people. (Ha'aretz) See also Hamas Blames Fatah for Kassams - Khaled Abu Toameh Some Fatah-affiliated militias are behind the latest wave of Kassam rocket attacks, in the hope of prompting a massive IDF operation in Gaza that would eventually bring down the new Hamas cabinet, Hamas officials claimed on Sunday. Sources close to Islamic Jihad's al-Kuds Brigades announced on Sunday that the group had decided to halt its attacks for a week because of the IDF strikes over the past few days. Hours later, however, Khaled al-Batsh and Khader Habib, the top political leaders of Islamic Jihad, denied that the group had agreed to suspend its rocket attacks. (Jerusalem Post) See also PA Forces Loyal to Abbas Block Hamas PM's Convoy in Gaza - Khaled Abu Toameh PA security officers loyal to Mahmoud Abbas prevented PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's convoy from passing through one of Gaza City's main streets on Saturday. The convoy was stopped outside the offices of the Preventive Security Force, which consists solely of Fatah members, and ordered to turn away. A source in Haniyeh's office said the prime minister was on his way to a meeting with the Chinese representative to the PA. The incident is seen by some Hamas officials as a serious and dangerous escalation in tensions between Haniyeh and Abbas. (Jerusalem Post) IDF troops in Bethlehem on Sunday killed a senior wanted terror suspect, Jaber Ahras. Ahras was responsible for a shooting attack at a roadblock south of Jerusalem that killed IDF soldiers Shlomi Balski and Shaul Lahav on November 18, 2003. He was also involved in the planning of rocket attacks at Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood and was responsible for initiating attacks in the Bethlehem region. Palestinian sources said Ahras headed the Popular Resistance Committee's West Bank rocket infrastructure. After IDF troops surrounded the building where Ahras was hiding, he charged at the troops firing a Kalashnikov rifle. The forces returned fire. (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
There is an Iran-like administration gaining ground in the PA. The real rulers are the security and terror organizations, who themselves are subservient to highly secret authorities. In Iran, they are called "Revolutionary Guards" and "Modesty Patrols" and violent gangs that the administration nurtures for its own purposes. In the PA they are called "Popular Committees" and "Martyr's Brigades." The earlier Israel and the international community work to bring down the Hamas government, the better it will be for everyone. Hamas must not be allowed to function, or even raise its head. Preventing the Iranization of the PA is not just an Israeli interest. It is an interest of the entire Middle East, and of the entire world. The Hamas revolution will not stop at the border crossings of Gaza and the West Bank. (Ynet News) See also Hamas on the Way Down? - Danny Rubinstein In its election campaign, Hamas promised to bring an end to the anarchy in the territories, but instead, the anarchy has intensified, sparking much anger among the Palestinian population. In addition, all Palestinian analysts are predicting the imminent financial collapse of the PA. (Ha'aretz) Observations: A Conversation with Interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - Lally Weymouth (Washington Post)
To subscribe to the Daily Alert, send a blank email message to: [email protected] To unsubscribe, send a blank email message to: [email protected] |
||||