INTERNATIONAL PULSE Period: September 2006 6666666 End-Time Church / Pluralism Global Politics Israel

ISRAEL ROAD MAP TO PEACE? ISRAEL WILL MAKE A COVENANT WITH MANY "And he (the beast) shall confirm (guarantee) the covenant with many for one week"(Daniel 9:27). The beast will confirm (guarantee) Israel's soon-coming covenant for one week of years (seven years). This confirmation event indicates the very first day of the seven-year tribulation. Can the beast confirm a non-existent treaty? NO! The treaty must come into existence before the first day of the tribulation. Can the beast confirm the agreement if he is not already in a position of great political authority to do so? NO! The beast must already be in position before the tribulation begins. Israel's covenant is now in the works. President Bush developed a "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace. This "road map" has been adopted by the European Union (EU), Russia and the United Nations (UN). These four are called "the Quartet." QUARTET MET IN NEW YORK IN SEPTEMBER, 2006 In addition to Sec. Rice, the quartet meeting was attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The meeting was part of a broader series of initiatives to bring the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process back to the forefront of global diplomacy. President Bush, whose Administration has been accused of virtually ignoring the Palestinian issue as it focussed on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the broader war against terrorism, promised a new push for Israeli-Palestinian peace in his address to the world body last Tuesday.The US plan involves sending Sec. Rice to the region in the coming weeks to work out a program with moderate Arab allies on how to strengthen Palestinian security services, which answer to Abbas rather than Hamas, US officials said. In New York Abbas told US President George W. Bush that the Palestinians, who face their worst fiscal and political crisis in years, were in “dire need” of American help. Bush recommitted himself to US-backed efforts to create a Palestinian state living side by side at peace with Israel, but made no public offers to end the international boycott of the Palestinian government led by Hamas militants. Full story http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_road_map_to_peace.html ----- ISRAEL SOLDIERS WON'T BE FREED WITHOUT SWAP: HERBOLLAH ABC News Reuters: September 13, 2006. - Israel soldiers won't be freed without swap: Hezbollah Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says his group will only release the two Israeli soldiers it kidnapped if Israel freed Samir al-Qantar, the Lebanese prisoner held for the longest time by the Jewish state. "After all that happened and this ends without Samir?" Mr Nasrallah told Al Jazeera television in an interview. Mr Nasrallah stopped short of saying the group would not set the release of other prisoners as part of its conditions.  A Lebanese woman and her daughter speak to Lebanese soldiers from behind barbed wires erected in downtown Beirut as a part of security measures for the visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.© AFP/Marwan Naamani "There are other prisoners," the interviewer said. "You ask me, will there be a deal without Samir, I say no ... Absolutely not," Mr Nasrallah answered. Mr Nasrallah said he expected an United Nations "mediator" to visit Lebanon next week to try to secure a deal for the release of the two Israeli soldiers the group kidnapped in July. "He was supposed to come late last week and he is expected to come next week, but negotiations have not yet started," he said.Mr Nasrallah said the envoy was European but did not give more details. The kidnapping of the two soldiers triggered a 34-day war between Israel and the group. Reuters http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/middleeast/ ----- MR ABBAS ANNOUNCED COMMITMENT TO PEACE ABC/AFP = September 10, 2006. - Commitment to peace: Mr Abbas has made the announcement after a meeting with the British Prime Minister. (Reuters) Abbas ready to resume peace talks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he is ready for unconditional talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He made the comments after talks in Ramallah with the British Prime Minister, echoing remarks by Mr Olmert after his earlier meeting with Tony Blair. Mr Abbas has welcomed Mr Blair's call for dialogue with Israel. "We confirm that we are very ready to carry out negotiations, serious negotiations, to end the struggle and to halt the vicious cycle of violence in the region," he said. "And we are ready to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Olmert, without any preconditions." The Palestinian leader also says he plans to travel to Gaza to try to negotiate the establishment of a government of national unity representing all Palestinians. He says Palestinian factions, which have been trying for several months to cobble together a broad coalition government, will try and finish the process "within the next few days". Western governments have refused to recognise the Hamas-led Palestinian Government, while it continues to refuse to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. The Israeli Government cut nearly all contacts with the Palestinians after the radical Islamist Hamas group formed its government in March, following their January election victory. The EU and the US froze all direct financial aid to the Palestinian Government, demanding Hamas renounce violence, recognise Israel and agree to abide by past agreements. Mr Abbas belongs to the Fatah faction. 'Window of opportunity' Mr Blair says such a government based on the road-map-for-peace requirements should be treated as a basis on which to make progress. "For the past months, the situation has gone backwards and not forwards," he said. "And I'd like you to believe there is a window of opportunity here. "Even though it may seem very bleak, nonetheless I think there is such a window of opportunity." He says the world should deal with a Palestinian unity government, following the west's crippling boycott of the current Hamas-led administration. During his visit, which began late yesterday, Mr Blair has urged both sides to return to the road-map, an internationally drafted peace blueprint that has made next to no progress since it was launched in 2003. Drafted by the European Union, Russia, the UN and the US, the road-map sets out a series of steps necessary to establish a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Mr Blair, who arrived in the region aiming to breathe new life in the peace process, has urged Israelis and Palestinians not to miss the opportunity to revive stalled talks. "This is a moment that we have to try and seize and move this process forward," he said. HAMAS Hamas has reiterated its rejection of the conditions set by the west for resuming ties with the Palestinian government. Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri says the conditions are unjust. "We are doing everything possible to lift the siege against the Palestinian people but this will not be done at the expense of Palestinian principles and rights," he said. He says Hamas "supports the creation of a national unity government, put in place for the Palestinian people and not for powers abroad". The embattled Mr Blair, who last week announced he would stand down as Prime Minister in the next 12 months, has received a cool reception on the streets of Ramallah. Around two dozen demonstrators, who accuse him of pro-Israeli bias, gathered outside the government compound where he was meeting with Mr Abbas, waving Palestinian flags and holding up a placard that read: "Be a darling Tony and don't show your face here". Prior to his meeting with Mr Abbas, Mr Blair met senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem and the families of Israeli soldiers seized by militants in Gaza and Lebanon. "The Prime Minister said he would raise the issue of the prisoners with the people he is going to meet during this trip," a Blair aide told reporters. The British Prime Minister is due to travel to the Lebanese capital of Beirut tomorrow. - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1737478.htm ----- . ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER READY TO REVIVE PEACE PROCESS ABC/AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to revive the peace process. (File photo) (ABC TV) Israeli PM ready to meet with Palestinian leader Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair he plans to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas soon. Mr Olmert addressed a joint news conference with Mr Blair in Jerusalem. "I intend to meet with chairman Abbas in order to make progress on outstanding issues on our agenda," he said. "I have no preconditions or prerequisites for such a meeting." Earlier, Israeli public radio quoted Mr Olmert as saying that the meeting would take place soon. Mr Blair is on a Middle East tour seeking diplomatic gains in the Middle East peace process and guarantees of goodwill from Israel and Lebanon following 34 days of hostilities that ended under a UN-brokered cease-fire on August 14. He has called for Israelis and Palestinians to revive their dormant peace talks. "It is very important to see what we can do to re-energise this process," he said. "There is a tremendous suffering amongst the Palestinian people as a result of the inability to make progress [in the peace talks]. "The only agreement that's ever going to stick ... is an agreement where people resolve their differences through politics and not through violence. "We have a plan to get there - the road map. We have to find a means of getting back to it." Road map The road map, drafted by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, outlines steps toward establishing a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel by 2005. It was launched in 2003, but has made little progress since then. Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas last met in an informal setting in Jordan on June 23, two days before militants in the Gaza Strip captured an Israeli soldier and killed two other troops in a cross-border raid that sparked a massive, ongoing Israeli offensive in the coastal strip. Mr Olmert said his meeting with the Palestinian leader could contribute to the liberation of the seized soldier. "I know very well that it is not Abbas who is holding the soldier and that he wants his release," he said. Faced with widespread criticism in the wake of the month-long Lebanon war, Mr Olmert has turned his focus on reviving the dormant peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. The Israeli Government cut contacts with the Palestinians in April, after the Islamist Hamas movement formed a Government. Western states, which along with Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organisation, cut direct aid to the Palestinian Government, demanding that Hamas renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state. Blair's tour Mr Blair, who this week announced he will leave office within a year, will meet with senior Israeli officials on Sunday before travelling to the West Bank to meet with Abbas. He will also meet with the families of Israeli soldiers captured by Palestinian and Hezbollah militants. On Thursday, Palestinian political groups and intellectuals accused him of bias on the Palestinian question, of favouring Israel and "helping besiege and starve the Palestinian people without scruple". Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wrote in Britain's Guardian newspaper on Saturday that by supporting boycotts and sanctions against his Hamas party, Mr Blair had caused "untold hurt" to the Palestinians. Mr Blair's spokesman said that the visit was a genuine attempt to help resolve "one of the most significant things he is involved in" and "not just warm words". "This trip in itself is not going to resolve these big, fundamental questions," he told reporters travelling with Blair. "What he believes it will do is begin the process of... trying to get the players to talk to each other." - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1737216.htm ----- FORMER IDF CHIEF OF STAFF CALLS FOR OLMERT, HALUTZ TO RESIGN Arutz Sheva News - by Hillel Fendel - September 14, 2006 / 21 Elul 5766 Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, who himself was essentially ousted by the previous government, says the final battles in the recent war, costing 33 lives, had no military value. In an interview with Haaretz, Yaalon came down hard on both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his own successor as the top IDF general, former Air Force Commander Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz. He also said that Defense Minister Amir Peretz should be replaced. Yaalon blames all three for their faulty handling of the recent war in Lebanon, leading to the unnecessary loss of many soldiers' lives. Most specifically, he slammed the decision to initiate a heavy ground offensive two days before the ceasefire came into effect. 33 IDF soldiers were killed in the last two days of the war, August 12 and 13. "This was a move based only on media spin," Yaalon said. "It had no essential political-security objective. It was designed to achieve the missing picture of victory. This should not be done. You can't send soldiers on a mission in vain after the diplomatic results have already been set. In my eyes, this is corrupt, yes. And therefore people must resign; you don't need a committee of inquiry for this - people who made a decision like this should just take responsibility and quit." Regarding Defense Minister Peretz, Yaalon said, "He can't say he didn't know or that they misled him. No one can say this. Even if he was not a military man from before... he knows that... this is not the way to go to war [or] to wage a war." Over the past few days, the IDF's Northern Commander, Gen. Udi Adam, and its Central Commander, Gen. Yair Naveh, have announced their plans to resign. Announcing his decision, Gen. Adam said only, "I am at peace with myself. Let everyone else think what he should do." This was widely understood to be a hint to those above him to follow in his footsteps. Gen. Adam is the son of the late Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Yekutiel Adam, who was killed in the first Lebanon war, known as "Peace for Galilee," in 1982. Another former Chief of Staff, Gen. (ret.) Amnon Lipkin-Shachak, said, "This resignation [of Adam] is just the beginning. It doesn't exempt us from what we must examine in and out of the army. There is still much work." Former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who retired from the IDF with the rank of Brig.-Gen. and is now a Labor Party government minister, called upon Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to resign: "I say to the Chief of Staff that he should learn from Gen. Adam to take responsibility and do the same thing." Calls from public figures - such as MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), former MK and retired IDF general Amram Mitzna, and others - upon Olmert, Halutz and/or Peretz to resign abound. http://www.arutzsheva.org/ ----- PM OLMERT BEING INVESTIGATED FOR YET ANOTHER REAL ESTATE SCAM Arutz Sheva News - by Ezra HaLevi - September 14, 2006 / 21 Elul 5766 Channel 10 reported that PM Ehud Olmert is linked to yet another suspicious real estate deal, this time pertaining to the home located at 54 Shilo Street, in Jerusalem’s Nachlaot neighborhood. According to the report, a home registered in his wife Aliza’s name was sold in 1996 to American business tycoon Uri Harkham of Los Angeles, for the amount of $650,000. – 30% more than it was sold for its two concurrent sales. The report states that Harkham is a known Olmert supporter, and in the past, contributed $25,000 to the former Jerusalem mayor’s campaign list. Olmert was represented by Attorney Uri Messer, a power-broker who has accompanied Olmert through his unlikely rise to power. Olmert allegedly provided services worth millions of dollars to many of Messer’s other clients – effectively creating a price at which Olmert’s influence could be purchased. Olmert’s office said that Olmert indeed paid a fee to Messer for the sale of the Nachlaot home, but refused to say how large it was.Similar to the other ongoing investigations against Olmert for alleged bribery, it is alleged that the home was sold to a supporter under the guise of a legitimate real estate deal when in essence, the buyer overpaid, giving a bribe to Olmert. Harkham sold the property on Sept 20, 2000 for $400,000, incurring a significant loss. Real estate experts report that although property values did indeed go down during the time period Harkham owned the home, he paid an inflated amount. One investigation against Olmert, regarding a property in the Katamon area of the capital, was closed. In another case, wealthy American Jew S. Daniel Abraham paid an inflated sum for one of Olmert’s properties. A third investigation into yet another property is still ongoing. Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the dates and amounts reported in the case are indeed accurate. http://www.arutzsheva.org ----- ARABS ESCALATE DIPLOMATIC WAR TO SHRINK ISRAEL'S BORDERS Arutz Sheva News September 14, 2006 / 21 Elul 5766 by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - A growing pro-Arab world alliance is trying to shrink Israel's borders following government failures in the war, which left the U.S. weaker and gave the U.N. a stronger voice in the Middle East. The Arab diplomatic offensive includes a new Fatah-Hamas unity government announced a week after a move by Arab nations to win international support to force Israel to return to the 1949 Armistice borders. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni landed in the United States Wednesday night and will meet with American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to try to reach an agreement on strategy in the face of the developments. The Foreign Minister will be followed on Thursday by PA president Mahmoud Abbas, who also will visit Washington. Both Livni and Abbas will travel to New York for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. The proposed Fatah-Hamas unity government is viewed by Israel and the United States as an attempt to circumvent the American-led ban on funds from being transferred to the Hamas-led government. The Bush administration already has stated its agreement with Israel that the unity government must renounce terrorism and recognize Israel, two conditions which Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders have refused to fulfill. The pan-Arab alliance has received strong support from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has expressed optimism that the new Fatah-Hamas government will allow funds to be transferred to Hamas, which the U.S. has labeled a terrorist organization. Annan said PA president Mahmoud Abbas told him the unity plan would require Hamas to accept previous agreements with Israel. "It should really allow...the international community, the donor community, to move ahead very quickly and provide the assistance that the Palestinian people need, because it is a very desperate and serious situation," Annan told a news conference." He did not address Israel's demands for a renunciation of terrorism and recognition of the Jewish state. The Hamas cabinet resigned Wednesday en masse with the intention that the Hamas prime minister will be re-chosen under the Fatah-Hamas banner. Israel's failure to fulfill expectations, shared by the Bush administration, to return two kidnapped IDF hostages and to devastate the Hizbullah terrorist organization has left Israel and its principal allies weaker. The Arab world, the U.N. and the European Union (EU) have been filling most of the vacuum. Buoyed by a strong representation in the UNIFIL force, which has rejected the U.N. ceasefire clause calling for disarming Hizbullah terrorists, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana emphasized this week that Israel should return to its 1949 borders except for agreed exceptions. The Arab world has enjoyed new confidence after Annan visited Syria and Iran, rejecting American demands for immediate sanctions against Tehran for not meeting a U.N. mandate to allow inspection of its nuclear program. Annan soon will finish his term of office, but the five candidates vying to replace him include leaders from the non-Western countries of Jordan, South Korea, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. The Arab diplomatic offensive also has taken advantage of the inability of Israel to formulate a strong policy concerning its borders. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently shelved his campaign platform to turn over most of Judea and Samaria to the PA. The Israel public has overwhelmingly rejected the idea following continued terrorism after Israeli withdrawals. Hizbullah's war on northern Israel came after the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and Kassam rocket attacks have plagued the northern Negev despite last year's expulsion of Jews from the Gaza and northern Samaria regions. Israel reclaimed Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) following the Six-Day War in 1967 but has refrained from declaring Yesha part of the country except for the Old City and Jerusalem suburbs. After 39 years of indecision, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have tried to take the initiative away from the U.S. and last week proposed determining Israel's borders according to PA demands. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah recently told Time magazine, "We want to jump ahead to something tangible. We need to get to the point where people want to sign on the dotted line. We want to move to a two-state solution, but we are not going to go back and forth with lawyers until we get there." PA president Abbas has insisted that a new Arab state will occupy the post-1967 land in Israel, but he told western media Wednesday that he backs the American Roadmap plan, which calls for Israel to retain only the major Jewish population centers of Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel and Gush Etzion. The Arab League also is organizing a joint diplomatic effort to convene the U.N. Security Council to try to force new borders, according to the official Kuwait news agency. The Council's 22 foreign ministers have decided to meet in New York next week. It also plans to ask the U.N. to pressure Israel to stop its efforts to weaken the terrorist infrastructure in the PA. The extent of the shift in power in the Middle East was underscored by a United Press International (UPI) analysis of Israel's retaliation against the Hizbullah terrorist war on the north. "The magnitude of [Israel's] defeat is considerable," the report stated. "Israel appears to have lost at every level--strategic, operational and tactical. Nothing she tried worked. "These failures only begin to measure the magnitude of Israel's defeat.... The ceasefire in Lebanon will allow camera crews to broadcast the extent of the destruction to the world, with further damage to Israel's image. Israel's 'wall' strategy for dealing with the Palestinians has been undone; Hamas rockets can fly over a wall as easily as Hezbollah rockets have flown over Israel's northern border." http://www.arutzsheva.org ----- 'RAMADAN HELL FOR ISRAELIS': ISLAMIC JIHAD TERROR CAMPAIGN FOR MUSLIM, JEWISH HOLIDAYS A7 Radio News September 15, 2006 / 22 Elul 5766 Aaron Klein, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for WorldNetDaily.com, reports that there are very serious indications the Islamic Jihad terror group is planning to launch a string of suicide bombings against Israel throughout the Muslim holiday month of Ramadan, which begins this year on Sept. 23 and coincides with the almost month-long series of Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashana (Sept. 23); Yom Kippur (Oct. 2) and Sukkot (Oct. 7-14). What Price will Israel Pay to get back its Soldiers? Will terrorists try to kidnap many more IDF solders if, as reports indicate, the Omert government releases more than 1,000 terrorists in order to secure freedom for Shalit, Goldwasser and Regev? For more A7 Radio http://www.IsraelNationalRadio.com. ----- MORE TALK ON FREEING GILAD SHALIT Arutz Sheva News by Hillel Fendel - September 15, 2006 / 22 Elul 5766 Arab press: Captive soldier Gilad Shalit sent a letter, deal for his release is imminent. Shalit's father: "Nothing the Arab press has reported has turned out to be true." Kassams at the Negev. Al-Ayyam, published in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, reports today that Corp. Shalit sent a hand-written letter to Israel, showing that he is alive. He was abducted by Hamas in Gaza nearly three months ago, and if the report is accurate, this would be the first sign of life received from him since. Another Arabic-language paper - Al-Quds Arabi, published in London - has an even more optimistic report, stating Shalit will be released by Sunday. The paper says Israel and Hamas have concluded a deal whereby Israel will free 740 terrorist prisoners, in two stages, in exchange for the 20-year-old soldier. The purported agreement also stipulates the end of terror attacks against Israel and of Israeli retaliation and targeted killings. Hamas Authority official Mahmoud Zahar denied the report. Noam Shalit, Gilad's soft-spoken father, would not even relate to the reports. He told Army Radio this morning (Friday) that so far, "not one word the Arab press has reported on my son has turned out to be true." Al-Ayyam's report stated that the alleged letter from the captive soldier was given to Israeli officials in Cairo on Wednesday, after Hamas terrorist representatives brought it to Egypt. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) told reporters Thursday night that Gilad Shalit must be exchanged for Israeli-held Arab prisoners before his Fatah movement and Hamas can join together in a unity government. He also said that all violence must first stop - apparently referring to violence between Hamas and Fatah, as well as other internecine fighting, in the PA areas. European Union Warming to Hamas? Abbas' partner at the press conference, visiting French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, hinted that the European Union should begin re-considering its economic boycott against the Hamas-led PA, now that Fatah is set to join the government. Hamas statements, however, show that no change in attitude towards Israel should be expected in the new PA government. Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the PA's prime minister, said this week that terrorism will continue and that Hamas will not talk with Israel: "The outlines of any political agenda in the coming period will not harm the legitimacy of the resistance against the Israeli occupation." Israel says it will continue not to recognize the PA government unless it fulfills three conditions: It must recognize Israel, ratify previous agreements made with Israel, and swear off terrorism. Kassam Rockets At least seven Kassam rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel this week, including three Friday morning and another one shortly afterwards. Friday's rockets landed near Sderot, Netiv HaAsarah, and elsewhere. No one was hurt, and no damage was reported. The Israel Air Force bombed a Hamas terrorist's house in southern Gaza, under which an arms-smuggling tunnel had been dug. Several secondary explosions were heard afterwards, a sign of the presence of explosives and ammunition. The IDF has been active in the area consistently since Shalit's abduction nearly three months ago. http://www.arutzsheva.org/ ----- “LEBANESE SECURITY" IS THE PRETEXT FOR THE NAVAL BUILD UP AROUND LEBANON'S SHORES DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report - September 4, 2006 - The extraordinary buildup of European naval and military strength in and around Lebanon’s shores is way out of proportion for the task the European contingents of expanded UNIFIL have undertaken: to create a buffer between Israel and Hizballah. Close investigation by DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources discloses that “Lebanese security” and peacemaking is not the object of the exercise. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/cdg.htm It is linked to the general anticipation of a military clash between the United States and Israel, on one side, and Iran and possibly Syria on the other, some time from now until November This expectation has brought together the greatest sea and air armada Europe has ever assembled at any point on earth since World War II: two carriers with 75 fighter-bombers, spy planes and helicopters on their decks; 15 warships of various types – 7 French, 5 Italian, 2-3 Green, 3-5 German, and five American; thousands of Marines – French, Italian and German, as well as 1,800 US Marines. It is improbably billed as support for a mere 7,000 European soldiers who are deployed in Lebanon to prevent the dwindling Israeli force of 4-5,000 soldiers and some 15-16,000 Hizballah militiamen from coming to blows as well as for humanitarian odd jobs. A Western military expert remarked to DEBKAfile that the European naval forces cruising off Lebanese shores are roughly ten times as much as the UNIFIL contingents require as cover, especially when UNIFIL’s duties are strictly non-combat. After all, none of the UN contingents will be engaged in disarming Hizballah or blocking the flow of weapons incoming from Syria and Iran. So, if not for Lebanon, what is this fine array of naval power really there for? First, according to our military sources, the European participants feel the need of a strong naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean to prevent a possible Iranian-US-Israeli war igniting an Iranian long-range Shahab missile attack on Europe; second, as a deterrent to dissuade Syria and Hizballah from opening a second front against American and Israel from their eastern Mediterranean coasts. Numbers alone do not do justice to the immense operational capabilities and firepower amassed opposite Lebanon. Take first the three fleet flagships. From France’s nuclear-powered 38,000-ton Charles De Gaulle carrier (see insignia), 40 Rafale M fighter craft whose range is 3,340 km can take off at intervals of 30 seconds. The ship also carries three E-2C Hawkeye surveillance craft. The combat control center of the French carrier can handle 2,000 simultaneous targets. The carrier leads a task fore of 7 warships carrying 2,800 French Marines. Charles De Gaulle s also a floating logistics center operating water desalination plants for 15,000 men and enough food to feed an army for 90 days. The USS Mount Whitney has the most sophisticated command and control suite in the world. Like the French Charles De Gaulle , it exercises command over a task force of 1,800 sailors, Marines, Air force medical and other personnel serving aboard the USS Barry, the USS Trenton , HSV Swift and USNS Kanawha . Available to the fleet commander, US Vice Admiral J. “Boomer” Stufflebeem, formally titled commander of Joint Task Force Lebanon, is the uniquely advanced C41 command and intelligence system through which he can flash intelligence data to every American commander at any point between the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf and Iran. USS Mount Whitney communications are described as unsurpassed for the the secure transmission of data from any point to any other point in the world through HF, UHF,VHF, SHF and EHF. The third carrier joining the other two is the Italian aircraft-helicopter carrier Garibaldi , which has launch pads for vertical takeoff by 16 AV-8B Harrier fighter-bombers or 18 Sikorsky SH-3D Seak King sea-choppers (or Italian Agusta Bell AB212 helicopters), designed to attack submarines and missile ships. Military experts estimate that the Garibaldi currently carries 10 fighter planes and 6 helicopters. The new European naval concentration tops up the forces which permanently crowd the eastern Mediterranean: the Italian-based American Sixth Fleet, some 15 small Israeli missile ships and half a dozen submarines and the NATO fleet of Canadian, British, Dutch, German, Spanish, Greek and Turkish warships. They are on patrol against al Qaeda (which is estimated to deploy 45 small freighters in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean). The British have permanent air and sea bases in Cyprus. This vast force’s main weakness, according to DEBKAfile’s military sources, is that it lacks a single unified command. A sudden flare-up in Lebanon, Syria or Iran could throw the entire force into confusion. On paper, it has three commanders: 1. French General Alain Pellegrini is the commander of the expanded UNIFIL ground, naval and air force in Lebanon. In February 2007, he hands over to an Italian general who leads the largest of the European contingents of 3,000 men. It is hard to see France agreeing to place its prestigious Charles De Gaulle flagship under non-French command. 2. The American forces opposite Lebanese shores are under direct US command. Since the October 1993 debacle of an American peace force under the UN flag in Somalia, Washington has never again placed its military under UN command. (There is no American contingent in the UNIFIL ground force either.) In other words, USS Mount Whitney , while serving the European fleets as their operational and intelligence nerve center will stay under the sole command of Vice Admiral Stufflebeem in all possible contingencies. 3. Similarly, the NATO fleet will remain under NATO command, and Israel’s air and naval units will take their orders from Israeli Navy Headquarters in Haifa and the General Staff in Tel Aviv. The naval Babel piling up in the eastern Mediterranean may therefore find itself at cross purposes when action is needed in an armed conflict. Iran, Syria and Hizballah could be counting on this weakness as a tactical asset in their favor. http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1208 ----- AL QAEDA APPEARS TO BE PREPARING .. TERRORIST ATTACK ON ISRAEL AND UN IFIL FORCES IN SOUTH LEBANON DEBKA - According to some Western and Lebanese intelligence sources, al Qaeda has named veteran Abu Rush al-Miqati, 56, an old Middle East hand, to organize the attack. Lebanese interior minister Ahmad Fatfat reports 13 al Qaeda cells are operating in Lebanon and are being mustered for the attack. The Italian defense minister Arturo Parisi, who visited Italian forces at Ras a Maroun in South Lebanon, reminded them that al Qaeda’s Ayman Zawahiri this week stated that UNIFIL forces in Lebanon faced attack as “enemies of Islam.” Parisi said he was not surprised by al Qaeda’s message and warned the soldiers their mission could be “long, risky, costly and difficult.” But we are here, he said, to defend the security of Israel and strengthen Lebanon’s ability to control its territory. “We know the terrorists are not on our side.” Italy has agreed to send up to 3,000 soldiers to Lebanon, making it the biggest contributor to the UN's force there. Over a thousand Italians are already deployed. All UN troops in South Lebanon are on terrorist alert. French sources report that a new message was posted on Islamist websites by Deputy al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, calling on a militant Algerian Islamist group to target France. In a taped recording Zawahiri called on the Algerian GSPC group to become "a bone in the throat of the American and French crusaders". He also urged the GSPC - the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat - to sow fear "in the hearts of the traitors and the apostate sons of France" and to crush the "pillars of the Crusader alliance". Prime minister Dominique de Villepain advises treating this warning with the greatest seriousness. France must prepare for the worst, he said. File is unavailable: http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?id=2759 ----- THE SHALIT KIDNAPPING August 6, 2006 - by Barry Chamish - For twelve years I've been shouting and screaming that Israel's "leadership" utterly controlled by the Council On Foreign Relations, known broadly as "the neo-cons", would contrive a war which they would lose. For that my reputation has been slammed with rumors about my sanity, sobriety and common sense. When that didn't do the trick, a common car "accident" was supposed to take care of me. Every effort was made to shut me up. And you know what, I think that finally "they" did it. Who needs this while my nation dissolves before our eyes?.. Most damningly, Eilat affirmed that the corporal’s abduction could have been aborted. The kidnappers and their hostage were clearly visible on the unit’s electronic screens as they crossed the border into the Gaza Strip, but the tank commander delayed by first asking his superior for permission to open fire and abort their flight. .. Eiland refrained from asking whether those strict prohibitions may not have handicapped the command levels of the army to the point of rendering them incapable of performing their duties. They officers had due warning of an impending Palestinian cross-border attack through an undiscovered tunnel. What more logical than to put IDF ambushes squads behind enemy lines to trap the assailants when they return to their base in Gaza? Knowing they might be there, the Hamas-led kidnap team would have realized its escape route with Shalit was blocked and might have been deterred from the abduction. 3. The Eiland probe should have examined the strategic concepts guiding Israel’s top commanders before and after the fall of the Kerem Shalom post. Given the far-reaching consequences, the Israeli public is entitled to a lot more enlightenment. The tailored facts released show a prime minister and defense minister still in a state of denial over the root-causes of the present security crisis. Israel’s unconsidered disengagement from the Gaza Strip and its military withdrawal from the Philadelpi border route in September 2005 constitute Israel’s most damaging military and political blunder in a decade. Until this is confronted and objectively analyzed, the top IDF brass will be constrained from looking squarely at the escalating terror threat posed ... The scales have fallen from many Israeli eyes in the wake of the Gilead Shalit disaster. People have begun asking hard questions, such as how did Hamas come to take over Palestinian government in the first place. And why is Hamas being permitted to terrorize southern Israeli with Qassam missiles after the Gaza Strip was handed over lock, stock and barrel to full Palestinian control. And the missile menace is beginning to percolate into the West Bank too. Even some of Kadima’s leading figures appear perplexed. In his report to the chief of staff, Giora Eiland implied that the IDF may be in urgent need to revise some of its outdated concepts and apply a fresh approach to the new realities - even at the cost of standing up to civilian government. Unless this is broached, Israel’s armed forces are in for more command failures and further misfortunes. ** To book me for North American speaking dates or interviews only, write chamishba@gmail.com http://www.barrychamish.com/ ----- OLMERT AND PEREZ SHOULD BE FORCED FROM OFFICE TO CLEAN HOUSE THE JERUSALEM POST - Caroline Glick - September 18, 2006 - Again last week our hopes were raised, only to be dashed once more. OC Northern Command Major General Udi Adam raised our hopes when he resigned his command. Adam, the first of our incompetent leaders to leave his job after mishandling the war against Hizbullah this summer, made us think that perhaps other incompetents in the IDF and the government would follow his example. Our hopes were also raised later in the week when former IDF chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Ya'alon made public his demand that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and his successor, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, quit or be forced from office due to their mismanagement of the war. Charging at the heels of Ya'alon's frontal assault were the retired generals. In a meeting with Halutz Friday afternoon the IDF elders, too, told him he must go. And Halutz isn't the only commander who needs to resign... Clearly the IDF is due for a serious house-cleaning. But Halutz, like Olmert and Peretz, refuses to follow Adam's example and go away. ..And so, rather than sound the alarms as Hizbullah overtly armed itself with thousands of rockets and missiles, the government and the media lulled the public into complacency. Any general, politician or commentator who dared to point out that since the withdrawal Hizbullah had been transformed from a tactical nuisance into a strategic threat, was dismissed as a warmonger. And based on the perceived success of the Lebanon withdrawal, the Sharon-Olmert-Livni government convinced the public that the model ought to be implemented in Gaza and northern Samaria as well. Yet to argue this is to ignore one of the side effects of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. When the IDF pulled out it abandoned the best allies Israel had ever had - the soldiers and officers of the South Lebanese Army, who fought side by side with the IDF for nearly 18 years. After this betrayal it doesn't take a genius to understand the kind of difficulties Israel experienced in finding spies. It is clear, then, that our irresponsible and incompetent leaders have placed us in a situation where no effective action is being taken to fix what is clearly broken. It is similarly apparent that they wish to lull us again into complacency by investigating everything except the cause of everything. They intend to capture our attention with juicy stories about various generals' malfeasance on the third or 13th day of the war, and so delude us into believing that something is being done. But the only way for something to be done is for the current leadership to be replaced. The only commission of inquiry that will be capable of clearing out the rot is general elections. The only way we can remedy our operational and tactical woes is by having leaders who can understand, and are brave enough to correct our strategic mistakes. IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: http://www.imra.org.il ----- UNKNOWN MILITANTS ATTACK WAFA OFFICE SOUTH OF GS KHAN YOUNIS, September 19, 2006 (WAFA - PLO news agency) - Unknown masked gunmen attacked WAFA'a office in the southern Gaza Strip of Khan Younis, WAFA reporters and witnesses said. Witnesses affirmed that the armed men severely beat up WAFA reporter in Khan Yousin, Amr al-Farra, who was at the office. Al-Farra was admitted to hospital after the gunmen destroyed the office and left. Witnesses also said that the assailants threatened to attack the Agency and its employees claiming that "it is not partial" in dealing with specific issues. http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?id=7517 ----- IT HAS BECOME DANGEROUS FOR SAUDI AND MUSLIM STUDENTS IN THE U.S. ... The Western rules nowadays assume that every Muslim is guilty and a terrorist until proven otherwise. Each mother and father must think twice before sending their children to universities in the United States. ...it was becoming dangerous for Saudi and Muslim students to live in the United States. ...the situation is only getting worse and governments must be aware of the risk they are undertaking by sending students to such a hostile country. ... .I wish we could stop sending our students abroad and instead develop and support our public and private colleges in the Kingdom. Achieving international educational standards in our colleges and universities would serve our students better ... http://www.imra.org.il ----- JORDAN TIMES 18 September 2006 "Seeking to recover Arafat's funds" by Fahed Fanek QUOTES FROM TEXT: "Arafat managed the PLO funds as if they belonged to him personally" "British Intelligence ... put Aafat's wealth at $6 billion" "the real owners, the Palestinian people whose needs for the funds are now at its highest" http://www.imra.org.il ----- USAID PROVIDES SCHOLARSHIPS TO OVER 2000 PALESTINIAN STUDENTS RAMALLAH, September 18, 2006 (WAFA - PLO news agency) - The U.S. government announced Monday a $2.4 million scholarship fund to assist over 2000 students during this academic year, said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The announcement took place in a ceremony at the Abu Dis campus of Al Quds University. USAID said in a press release that the scholarships were announced by Deputy Principal Officer Thomas Duffy. Dr. Hassan Dweik, Vice President of Al-Quds University, opened the event, during which university President, Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, and USAID Acting Director David Harden also spoke. During his remarks, Dr. Nusseibeh thanked the U.S. government for this significant assistance to the students and the university. For his part, Mr. Duffy praised the contributions Al Quds University has made to educating generations of Palestinians and their cooperation with universities throughout the world. He noted that Al Quds University is internationally recognized as a strong academic institution. The $2.4 million USAID contribution will fund the studies of needy Palestinian undergraduates with high academic achievements. Simultaneously, USAID is providing Al Quds University with $100,000 of in-kind assistance through the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) to furnish 22 new lecture halls, 42 faculty offices, a computer lab and an auditorium. http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?id=7503 ----- THE RISING POPULARITY AND CURRENT STATUS OF HIZBALLAH LEADER NASRALLAH AFTER THE LEBANON WAR DOES IT MATTER? Jerusalem Issue Brief Institute for Contemporary Affairs founded jointly at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs with the Wechsler Family Foundation - Vol. 6, No. 11 - 19 September 2006 By Lee Smith - From North Africa to Iran, Hizballah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah's war has captured the imaginations of millions of Muslims. However, popularity of this sort in the Arab world seldom translates into anything substantive in political or strategic terms.It is worth remembering that in Lebanon itself, a highly sectarian society, at least two-thirds of the population is unsympathetic, if not hostile, to Hizballah. A majority of Lebanon's Christians, Sunnis, and Druze did not want Nasrallah's war and now even some Shiites are making public their displeasure. Nasrallah's ability to project power in the region is not a function of his mass popular appeal, but is rather contingent on the level of support he receives from Syria and Iran, and his ability to shape the political arena inside of Lebanon, especially given the fact that Hizballah, unlike every other Lebanese political faction, remains armed. Not since Hafez al-Assad put down an Islamist insurrection in the 1980s has the Alawite-led Syrian regime been more frightened of the country's 70 percent Sunni majority. But by positioning himself as the one Arab ruler who stood alongside the Islamic Resistance against Israel, Assad has shored up domestic support inside Syria. Hizballah's war with Israel has won it the admiration of the Arab masses, but eventually, ordinary Sunnis will recognize that their sectarian interests are represented not by a Persian Shia theocracy, but by the Sunni Arab establishment. The sustained bombing of Nasrallah's headquarters and home put the Hizballah leader underground for what may well be the rest of his life, regardless of how long that is. While much of Nasrallah's aura emanated from his actual physical presence in the streets of Beirut and south Lebanon, now the leader of Hizballah is reduced to nothing more than a recorded voice or image. Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_the_rising_populairty_of_hizballah_does_it_matter.html ----- IRAN: THE RISE OF A REGIONAL POWER MERIA Journal - by Barry Rubin- Published by the GLORIA Center, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya Volume 10, No. 3, Article 10/10 - September 2006 - One of the most important developments in the early twenty-first century Middle East is the rise of Iran to become a regional great power. This has come about not solely because Iran has an Islamist regime or even that it was driving strenuously for nuclear weapons, but also due to other factors including the country's geopolitical assets and a relative power vacuum. Given, however, the ideology and extremism of the Tehran regime, Iran's growing influence has serious consequences for the region's stability and Western interests that could well become a, or perhaps the, central global issue in the coming years. In July/August 2006, this influence was especially felt in the border attacks against Israel by Hamas and Hizballah, leading to wider-scale fighting. Iran is the patron of both groups, supplying them with arms, training, and encouragement to launch assaults. Iranian advisors in Lebanon have long aided Hizballah, while most of the weapons and equipment Hizballah used against Israel during this period were Iranian-built and supplied. This for the first time included longer-range missiles and the radar-guided C-102 anti-ship missile.[1] THE BASIS OF IRANIAN DISTINCTIVENESS AND AMBITIONS Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_iran_the_rise_of_a_regional_power.html ----- "WHY STILL SEND OUR KIDS TO THE U.S.?" ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 18 Sept.'06:Nora Al-Saad, Al-Riyadh - "Achieving international educational standards in our colleges and universities would serve our students better" EXCERPTS: .... The Western rules nowadays assume that every Muslim is guilty and a terrorist until proven otherwise. Each mother and father must think twice before sending their children to universities in the United States. ...it was becoming dangerous for Saudi and Muslim students to live in the United States. ...the situation is only getting worse and governments must be aware of the risk they are undertaking by sending students to such a hostile country. ... .I wish we could stop sending our students abroad and instead develop and support our public and private colleges in the Kingdom. Achieving international educational standards in our colleges and universities would serve our students better ... .IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il ----- SEEKING TO RECOVER ARAFAT'S FUNDS JORDAN TIMES 18 Sept.'06: by Fahed Fanek QUOTES FROM TEXT: "Arafat managed the PLO funds as if they belonged to him personally" "British Intelligence ... put Aafat's wealth at $6 billion" "the real owners, the Palestinian people whose needs for the funds are now at its highest" EXCERPTS: Under the present near bankruptcy of the Palestinian National Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, acting on behalf of Fateh, and the Palestinian government led by Ismail Hanyieh, acting on behalf of Hamas, one has to remember what used to be called the financial empire of Yasser Arafat, which was not subjected to any form of control and accountability. Arafat managed the PLO funds as if they belonged to him personally....If there is one person, besides Arafat, who has full or part of the information on this missing wealth, it is the Iraqi Kurd Mohammad Rasheed who was authorised to act on behalf of Arafat in all business transactions and related commissions.... Rasheed left Palestine for Cairo after Arafat's death... .The best way to find out the facts is to announce a prize to anyone who comes up with information that leads to the recovery of the funds. Estimates of Arafat's wealth vary a lot. The lowest was made by Forbes magazine that put it at $300 million. The highest estimate was made by the British intelligence, which put Arafat's wealth at $6 billion. ... .Arafat,...did not feel the need for a deputy, and his financial deals were never subject to transparent accountability. Therefore, the wealth registered to his name may never be recovered by the real owners, the Palestinian people whose need for the funds is now at its highest. After half a century, Zionist organisations were able to compel all Swiss banks to repay with interest the funds deposited by the Jews (now dead) of Germany when they felt insecure under the Nazi. Why should not the Palestinians be able to recover the wealth left by their chairman in the form of deposits and investments around the globe? International banks should be obliged to reveal such information because secrecy should not be applied to politicians who abuse their authority. IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il ----- UNPRECEDENTED LAWSUIT TO LIQUIDATE HAMAS BROUGHT BY TERROR VICTIMS September 18, 2006 - Gavish Family Acts to Seize Assets of Islamic Terror Organization. An unprecedented motion to financially liquidate the Hamas terrorist organization was filed this morning in the Jerusalem District Court. The liquidation motion, which was brought by the six surviving children of Rachel and David Gavish z"l, seeks to formally plunge the Islamic terrorist organization into bankruptcy. The Plaintiffs have requested a court order authorizing them to assume control over any and all of Hamas' assets along with the right to execute against them in order to satisfy a judgment awarded to them early this year. The liquidation proceeding has been filed on behalf of the six Gavish children by Shurat HaDin director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. On February 26, 2006, the Jerusalem District Court handed down a judgment in favor of the Gavish family in the amount of N.I.S. 92 million ($20 million U.S.). The historic judgment marked the first time that Hamas was successfully sued in an Israeli court. The case arose from the brutal terrorist attack on the Gavish family's home which left four members of the household, including both parents, dead. On the evening of March 28, 2002, a Hamas gunman, armed with an automatic rifle, infiltrated the Gavish's house in the community of Alon Moreh and opened fire on its inhabitants. The terrorist immediately killed Rachel and David Gavish, 50, their son Avraham Gavish, 20, and Rachel's father Yitzhak Kanner, 83 before being killed himself by neighbors. The remaining six children, ages 15 to 22, managed to escape out of a second floor window. At trial, Darshan-Leitner urged the District Court to find the Hamas organization liable for the four deaths and to award the Gavish family an unprecedented "American-style" judgment amount. The Plaintiffs argued that there was no justification nor mitigating circumstances that could rationalize this heinous terrorist attack and that the Palestinian terrorist group should not be provided any leniency by the court. District Court Judge Aharon Farkash accepted the arguments and his decision established an important legal precedent -- the awarding of punitive damages against terrorist defendants -- for other victims seeking justice against Palestinian terrorists in the Israeli courts... According to attorney Darshan-Leitner: "Placing Palestinian terrorist groups in bankruptcy will be a powerful new weapon in the effort by terror victims to secure a measure of justice and compensation for the criminal acts committed against them. The liquidation motion seeks to enable the Gavish children to seize any Hamas assets that can be located and utilize them to satisfy the NIS 90 million judgment they were awarded. The court appointed bankruptcy trustee will have tremendous authority to investigate Hamas and root out its assets which was not available to terror victims on their own." FOR MORE INFORMATION: 972-(0)3-736-1519 Email: info@israellawcenter.org IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il ----- TENNISON HAS RESUMED ALONG THE LEBANESE-SYRIAN BORDER NICOSIA [MENL] - Lebanese security sources said Lebanese Army positions near the Syrian border have been attacked amid efforts to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hizbullah. They said the army has captured several arms smugglers believed to have provided equipment to the Iranian-sponsored militia. On Sept. 15, the army reported an attack on an outpost near the northern border with Syria. A soldier was injured in the attack in Wadi Khaled, about a kilometer from the Syrian border. The army said 12 people were detained after the attack. Security sources said smugglers had been arrested in the area last week. IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il ----- FM LIVNI: ISRAEL'S 14 ROAD MAP CONDITIONS NOT PART OF DISCUSSION OF ROAD MAP WITH WASHINGTON Aaron Lerner - 14 September, 2006 - During the course of a live interview from Washington broadcast on Israel Radio early this morning (before midnight in Washington) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was asked if American officials related to Israel's 14 conditions for the Road Map (text follows)during the course of her meetings. Livni replied - with a tone of laughter - that "I happened to mention it myself in another context." Text: The Roadmap: Primary Themes of Israel's Remarks Adopted by the Cabinet on 25 May 2003 as the conditions for Israel's acceptance of the Road Map 1. Both at the commencement of and during the process, and as a condition to its continuance. calm will be maintained. The Palestinians will dismantle the existing security organizations and implement security reforms during the course of which new organizations will be formed and act to combat terror, violence and incitement (incitement must cease immediately and the Palestinian Authority must educate for peace). These organizations will engage in genuine prevention of terror and violence through arrests, interrogations, prevention and the enforcement of the legal groundwork for investigations, prosecution and punishment. In the first phase of the plan and as a condition for progress to the second phase, the Palestinians will complete the dismantling of terrorist organizations (Hamas. Islamic Jihad. the Popular Front, the Democratic Front Al-Aqsa Brigades and other apparatuses) and their infrastructure, collection of all illegal weapons and their transfer to a third party for the sake of being removed from the area and destroyed., cessation of weapons smuggling and weapons production inside the Palestinian Authority, activation of the full prevention apparatus and cessation of incitement. There will be no progress to the second phase without the fulfillment of all above-mentioned conditions relating to the war against terror. The security plans to be implemented are the Tenet and Zinni plans. [As in the other mutual frameworks. the Roadmap will not state that Israel must cease violence and incitement against the Palestinians]. 2. Full performance will be a condition for progress between phases and for progress within phases. The first condition for progress will be the complete cessation of terror, violence and incitement. Progress between phases will come only following the full implementation of the preceding phase. Attention will be paid not to timelines, but to performance benchmarks (timelines will serve only as reference points). 3. The emergence of a new and different leadership in the Palestinian Authority within the framework of governmental reform. The formation of a new leadership constitutes a condition for progress to the second phase of the plan. In this framework, elections will be conducted for the Palestinian Legislative Council following coordination with Israel. 4. The Monitoring mechanism will be under American management. The chief verification activity will concentrate upon the creation of another Palestinian entity and progress in the civil reform process within the Palestinian Authority. Verification will be performed exclusively on a professional basis and per issue (economic, legal, financial) without the existence of a combined or unified mechanism. Substantive decisions will remain in the hands of both parties. 5. The character of the provisional Palestinian state will be determined through negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The provisional state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of sovereignty, be fully demilitarized with no military forces, but only with police and internal security forces of limited scope and armaments, be without the authority to undertake defense alliances or military cooperation, and Israeli control over the entry and exit of all persons and cargo, as well as of its air space and electromagnetic spectrum. 6. In connection to both the introductory statements and the final settlement, declared references must be made to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and to the waiver of any right of return for Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel. 7. End of the process will lead to the end of all claims and not only the end of the conflict. 8. The future settlement will be reached through agreement and direct negotiations between the two parties, in accordance with the vision outlined by President Bush in his 24 June address. 9. There will be no involvement with issues pertaining to the final settlement. Among issues not to be discussed: settlement in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (excluding a settlement freeze and illegal outposts), the status of the Palestinian Authority and its institutions in Jerusalem, and all other matters whose substance relates to the final settlement. 10. The removal of references other than 242 and 338 (1397, the Saudi Initiative and the Arab Initiative adopted in Beirut). A settlement based upon the Roadmap will be an autonomous settlement that derives its validity therefrom. The only possible reference should be to Resolutions 242 and 338, and then only as an outline for the conduct of future negotiations on a permanent settlement. 11. Promotion of the reform process in the Palestinian Authority: a transitional Palestinian constitution will be composed, a Palestinian legal infrastructure will be constructed and cooperation with Israel in this field will be renewed. In the economic sphere: international efforts to rehabilitate the Palestinian economy will continue. In the financial sphere: the American-Israeli-Palestinian agreement will be implemented in full as a condition for the continued transfer of tax revenues. 12. The deployment of IDF forces along the September 2000 lines will be subject to the stipulation of Article 4 (absolute quiet) and will be carried out in keeping with changes to be required by the nature of the new circumstances and needs created thereby. Emphasis will be placed on the division of responsibilities and civilian authority as in September 2000, and not on the position of forces on the ground at that time. 13. Subject to security conditions, Israel will work to restore Palestinian life to normal: promote the economic situation, cultivation of commercial connections, encouragement and assistance for the activities of recognized humanitarian agencies. No reference will be made to the Bertini Report as a binding source document within the framework of the humanitarian issue. 14. Arab states will assist the process through the condemnation of terrorist activity. No link will be established between the Palestinian track and other tracks (Syrian-Lebanese). http://www.imra.org.il ----- THE ISLAMIZATION OF EGYPT Adel Guindy* Published by the GLORIA Center, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya Volume 10, No. 3, Article 7/10 - September 2006 This article discusses the recent strengthening of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist movements in Egypt. It then looks at the resulting regression in modernization and Westernization efforts in the country. The article also focuses on the adverse effects these changes have had on Egyptian Copts. The success of the Muslim Brotherhood to gain a fifth of the parliamentary seats in the latest elections in Egypt (November 2005) seemed to have taken many people by surprise. The recent acceleration in the number of attacks on Copts in the country may also take some by surprise. These two phenomena are in fact linked and should be seen as a natural consequence of relentless efforts over the past few decades to Islamize the country. Six decades ago, Egypt's ruling system, under a corrupt monarchy and on the verge of collapse, nearly fell into the laps of the Muslim Brotherhood. Established only two decades earlier (in 1928), the Brotherhood appeared to have garnered such strength that to them it seemed natural they would take over the rule in the country and establish an Islamic state from the ruins of the dysfunctional liberal system. Then came the army's coup d'etat (later called a "revolution"). Even though most of the "Free Officers" had previously been Brotherhood members and, as new rulers, it was clear they had special connections with the Brotherhood, the realities of governance soon led to a clash of interests. As a result, the Brotherhood was banned in 1954, and its aspirations and designs had to be shelved. However, these aspirations never died. Following the Nasser years, with the wins, losses, and experimentations with Arabism and socialism, those shelved aspirations were revived with the arrival of Anwar Sadat. He began his rule by reopening the doors to the Brotherhood and other off-shoots of Islamic groups. He then initiated what one could, in hindsight, term "the Great Islamic Transformation" of Egypt. The first step was to stipulate in the Second Article of his new Constitution, promulgated in 1971 (long before Khomeini embarked on his Islamic revolutionary campaign), that the Principles of Islamic Shari'a were "a main source" of legislation. In May 1981, the "a" was replaced with "the," making Shari'a the term of reference for the entire constitution, meaning all other articles were to be interpreted in that light.[1] That change provided the legal, political, and "psychological" basis for the Islamic transformation to proceed in an inexorable fashion. Sadat's famous slogan, "I am a Muslim president of a Muslim state" was a clear indication of this transformation. THE ISLAMIC TRANSFORMATION Full story: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel_the_islamization_of_egypt.html ----- SYNAGOGUES AND CITIZENS HAVE BEEN TARGETED IN THE UK The Times [UK] September 02, 2006 - By Joanna Bale and Anthony Browne Excerpt - BRITISH Jews are facing a wave of anti-Semitic attacks prompted by Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Synagogues have been daubed with graffiti, Jewish leaders have had hate-mail and ordinary people have been subjected to insults and vandalism. The former minister Denis MacShane, who chaired the parliamentary inquiry, said: "These figures confirm the evidence given to us that anti-Semitic attacks are a very real problem." The Board of Deputies of British Jews submitted evidence to the inquiry that anti-Semitism in Britain was at its worst level. The July incidents "were more dispersed than usual", Mr Gardner said. "It is usually a small number responsible for a large number of attacks, but these were very widespread across the country and included graffiti attacks on synagogues in Edinburgh and Glasgow." The attackers, when visible, are from across society, he said. "When it's verbal abuse, it's just ordinary people in the street, from middle-class women to working-class men. All colours and backgrounds. We hardly ever see incidents involving the classic neo-Nazi skinhead. Muslims are over-represented." In hate-mail to senior Jewish figures, ordinary Jewish people were being blamed for the deaths of Lebanese civilians. "There are also references to the Holocaust, saying that Hitler should have wiped out the Jews." IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il    NEWSLETTERS  NEWS INDEX  MAIN INDEX