Obama adviser says no US Mideast peace plan ready
Fri Apr 9, 8:44 am ET
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE – President Barack Obama's national security adviser says the administration discussing how to jump-start the lagging Mideast peace process, but doesn't have a new U.S. plan to offer.Speaking to reporters accompanying Obama back to Washington Friday from Prague, Gen. James Jones said, There's been no decision on that.There had been reports earlier this week that the administration was poised to offer a new U.S. peace proposal to the Israelis and Palestinians that would build on understandings reached at Camp David, Md., in 2000.Jones said the Mideast strategy came up during a meeting Obama recently had with a half-dozen former national security advisers. He said these are ongoing discussions and said that we don't intend to surprise anybody at any time.
Gaza power plant shuts down for lack of fuel
Fri Apr 9, 7:46 am ET
GAZA CITY (AFP) – The sole power plant in the besieged Gaza Strip was shut down on Friday because fuel supplies ran out, with Palestinians and Israel blaming each other.The power plant shut down completely this morning as a result of a shortage of fuel caused by the Israeli siege, said Kanaan Obeid, assistant director of Gaza's electricity authority, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza since its 2007 takeover by the Islamist Hamas movement.But Israel said the shut-down was caused by a rift over funding among the Palestinians, and that the Hamas rival, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, had stopped fuel purchases.The industrial diesel needed to run the power plant -- which supplies about 25 percent of Gaza's energy -- comes through an Israeli-controlled fuel terminal, with Israel setting import quotas.The imports have declined since November when the European Commission transferred responsibility for buying the fuel to the Palestinian Authority, after its aid program expired.The Israeli army said the Palestinians had stopped buying fuel in recent days after Hamas failed to pay its share of the costs.There is no Israeli involvement; if they buy fuel we will let it in as we do on a daily basis, said Guy Inbar, a spokesman for the Israeli military liaison to Gaza.
Fuel supplies were particularly low in the past weeks, in part because there were no deliveries for two days over the recent Jewish Passover holiday.Only 550,000 litres (145,294 gallons) were delivered this week, and 721,660 litres (190,642 gallons) the week before that, compared with the 3.5 million litres (924,602) a week normally needed to operate the plant, according to the OXFAM aid group.Israel supplies about 70 percent of Gaza's power and Egypt provides five percent, with the remainder from the closed power plant.Since March 3, the facility had been producing only 30 megawatts of electricity, or 38 percent of its full capacity.This has led to blackouts of eight to 12 hours a day in parts of the impoverished territory, affecting the provision of essential services, including water supply, medical treatment and sewage disposal, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.The power plant has had to shut down on several occasions in the past because of fuel shortages.
Netanyahu pulls out of summit to avoid nuclear spotlight by Gavin Rabinowitz – Fri Apr 9, 5:39 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's abrupt withdrawal on Thursday from next week's nuclear summit in Washington has underscored Israeli reluctance to expose its own nuclear programme to scrutiny.The invitation to attend the 47-nation summit on nuclear security hosted by US President Barack Obama posed a dilemma for Netanyahu.Israel desperately wanted to discuss the perceived threat from Iran's nuclear drive and the risk that Islamist extremists could get hold of an atomic bomb.
At the same time, it did not want the spotlight turned on its own alleged nuclear arsenal.From the start, everyone said attending the conference would put him in a trap, but Netanyahu insisted, the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot newspaper said on Friday.The prime minister wanted to go. He is very committed to the agenda set for the conference, how to maintain nuclear safety and prevent terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons,a senior Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Netanyahu will instead send Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor.
Israel's commitment to halting nuclear proliferation in the region is evident, as is its uniquely aggressive approach -- bombing an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 and reportedly attacking what many believe to have been a nascent Syrian reactor in 2007.
Israel has threatened to strike Iran to goad the international community towards imposing further sanctions on arch-foe Tehran. Israel and the West believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.Israel also fears the consequences of a nuclear weapon falling into the hands of radical Islamic groups that have vowed to destroy the Jewish state.This is a very, very serious issue that nuclear weapons, even crude nuclear weapons, would find their way into the hands of terrorists and the consequences could be very very dire for all of humanity, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.But in the end this commitment was overshadowed by fears that the conference would be hijacked to focus on Israel's nuclear programme.
Recently we learned some countries were going to use it as an excuse to bash Israel over the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Israeli official said, explaining the late-night decision to pull out.Like nuclear-armed countries India, Pakistan, and North Korea, Israel is not party to the nuclear NPT in order to avoid international inspections.Foreign military experts believe Israel has an arsenal of several hundred nuclear warheads, but Israel has never publicly acknowledged it has nuclear weapons and has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity since it inaugurated its Dimona nuclear reactor in 1965.Israel has consistently insisted it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East.In 1969, Israeli leaders undertook not to make any statement on their country's nuclear potential or carry out any nuclear test, while Washington agreed to refrain from exerting pressure on the issue.
However, some believe that Netanyahu backed out of the trip not over nuclear concerns but because of Israel's recent rift with Washington. It is more connected to Israel's relations with the US. It was a mistake to go to Washington last time and they learned the lesson,said Efraim Inbar, the director of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies. Netanyahu returned from talks with Obama last month to a wave of derision in the Israeli press, with a showdown over Jewish settlement construction in east Jerusalem unresolved amid some of the most open hostility in US-Israeli relations in years. Netanyahu has not yet come up with a response to US demands aimed at paving the way for fresh peace talks with the Palestinians. Even before Netanyahu's announcement, the White House had said Obama had no plans to hold talks with the Israeli leader during the nuclear meeting in light of their recent tete-a-tete behind closed doors.Because Israel has not answered Obama's demands, why expose him to more pressure and have Obama treat him badly again? said Inbar.
Rival groups clash at Palestinian base in Lebanon By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 8, 3:35 pm ET
BEIRUT – Rival groups armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers battled for hours Thursday inside a Palestinian military camp in a remote part of eastern Lebanon, killing one person, security officials said.The Ein al-Bayda camp is one of several bases run by Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon. Most of them are located in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the border with Syria, whose government supports the groups.The bases, which are separate from the country's Palestinian refugee camps, are illegal. Lebanese authorities, however, have left them be for fear that any clash with the groups could be explosive.Thursday's fighting was between rival Palestinian groups and lasted three hours, Lebanese security officials said. The camp is run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.A senior military official said the fighting stopped after four militants — three Palestinians and a Lebanese man — handed themselves over to Lebanese troops. Lebanese forces were seen taking up positions near the base but did not intervene.
Police officials said a member of the militant group was killed in the fighting.The security and military officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.
Israel corruption trial for ex-PM suspended By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer - Thu Apr 8, 11:16 am ET
JERUSALEM – An Israeli court suspended the corruption trial of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday, a day after a longtime confidant of the ex-premier was arrested in a multimillion-dollar bribery scandal.Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem when the bribery allegedly took place. It is not clear whether he was implicated in that case because there is a partial gag order on it.The money allegedly changed hands to promote several real-estate projects, including a large development in Jerusalem that required a radical change in zoning laws.On Wednesday, police arrested six men suspected of involvement in the case. Among them was Olmert's longtime confidant Uri Messer, who police suspect acted as a middleman, funneling bribes to a high-ranking city hall official who was not identified. The other suspects included a former city hall official and property developers.Messer was responsible for Olmert's campaign finances and the two were partners in a law office.Olmert is standing trial on separate corruption charges that include illegally accepting funds from an American supporter and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad. Messer has been questioned numerous times over the charges.The formal charges against Olmert include fraud and breach of trust. Israel's Justice Ministry has not said what penalties Olmert could face, but the fraud charge alone could carry a prison term of up to five years.
The incidents in question date from his time as Jerusalem mayor and later as a Cabinet minister, but emerged after he was elected prime minister in 2006.American supporter, businessman Morris Talansky, said he had given Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in envelopes stuffed with bills. His testimony helped galvanize public opinion, and in late 2008 Olmert was forced to resign.The trial began last September. On Thursday, the Jerusalem district court agreed to suspend the case until May — a four-week delay — after Olmert's lawyers said he couldn't receive a fair trial in the current climate.At the hearing, Olmert's lawyer Eli Zohar demanded to stop this trial here and now. Another Olmert lawyer made a personal plea to the court to allow for more time to prepare.The judges read a statement saying they partially accepted the request to suspend the trial and that it would resume May 6.The 63-year-old Olmert has largely been out of the public eye since leaving politics.Olmert is currently abroad on business and is expected to return to Israel next week. His spokesman, Amir Dan, said he had no plans to cut short his trip.Zohar did not expect the ex-premier to be arrested when he returns. He told Israel's Channel 10 TV,I can't imagine a reason, logic or basis for something like that to occur.
France launches joint Industrial Park in Bethlehem
Thu Apr 8, 10:06 am ET
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP) – French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi laid the foundation stone on Thursday of a Franco-Palestinian industrial park in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.The project, Estrosi said, underlines France's commitment to the economic development of Palestine.National economy minister Hassan Abu Lidbeh represented the Palestinian side at the ceremony for the project aimed at creating between 500 and 1,000 jobs while boosting the private sector.The 20 hectare (almost 50 acre) industrial park south of Bethlehem has a target opening date of January 2011.France has set aside 10 million euros (13.3 million dollars) to connect the site to the water and electricity networks as well as to build access roads.The project forms part of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad's efforts for the establishment of a de facto state by August 2011.The Bethlehem project was launched in June 2008 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Israel, US have not settled east Jerusalem spat By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer – Wed Apr 7, 3:10 pm ET
JERUSALEM – Israel's prime minister acknowledged Wednesday that his government has yet to iron out its differences with the U.S. over Israeli construction in east Jerusalem, a dispute that has stalled American efforts to restart Mideast peace talks.Benjamin Netanyahu said both countries are still working to find a solution but staunchly defended his government's contentious settlement plans in the disputed holy city, calling them a long-standing Israeli policy.There are things we agree on, things we don't agree on, things we are closing the gap on, Netanyahu said of his talks with Washington. We are making an effort.The worst crisis in U.S.-Israeli ties in years erupted last month when Israel announced plans to build 1,600 new homes for Jews in east Jerusalem during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, drawing sharp condemnation from Washington and calls to cancel the construction.The announcement also derailed U.S.-mediated indirect peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians just before they were slated to start.The Obama administration has pressured Israel to halt construction in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state, and has also pushed for a broader building freeze in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
In November, Netanyahu agreed to a 10-month freeze on most West Bank construction in order to get peace talks started, but refused to include east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1967 and considers part of its capital.Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed talk of a crisis with Washington and accused the media of blowing the disagreement out of proportion — despite the tension in U.S.-Israeli ties.What is being published doesn't fit what we are talking about, he said. Apparently the discussion between us is more serious and more to the point than what is generally believed.The Palestinians, meanwhile, are wary of Netanyahu and his hawkish coalition partners, and have refused to resume direct negotiations until Israel halts all construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim those territories, along with the Gaza Strip, for their future state.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did, however, agree last month to return to the negotiating table for indirect talks, only to back off after Israel announced the new construction plans in east Jerusalem.Netanyahu, however, blamed the Palestinians for the delay in negotiations, saying the Palestinians simply climbed up the tree on the first day (of talks) and said, We're not coming to negotiations, we're setting all kinds of conditions.He also said his government has taken steps to boost conditions in the West Bank, removing dozens of military checkpoints and roadblocks in the territory to help revive the Palestinian economy. He also endorsed the concept of Palestinian independence for the first time last year, although with conditions the Palestinians say are unacceptable.
Netanyahu, who leads the hard-line Likud Party, took office in March 2009 on pledges he would take a different approach to peacemaking than his predecessor, Ehud Olmert. The more dovish Olmert has said he offered a broad pullout from the West Bank and some Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem to the Palestinians.Peace talks broke down in the waning days of Olmert's term, after Israel launched a bruising military offensive in the Gaza Strip to halt rocket fire coming from the territory.Also Wednesday, Israel expressed outrage after a report on Israeli TV showed that a street in the West Bank administrative center of Ramallah was named after Yehiya Ayyash, a master Hamas bombmaker blamed for attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis.
The Israeli statement called the decision "an outrageous glorification of terrorism by the Palestinian Authority.Ayyash was killed in 1996 in a blast assumed to have been set off by Israeli agents.
Israel PM doubts sanctions have teeth to dissuade Iran by Gavin Rabinowitz – Wed Apr 7, 12:37 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he doubts the sanctions being mulled against Iran would be tough enough to rein in the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.I doubt that such a programme will have teeth and the real ability to stop Iran's nuclear drive, he said at a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to US-led efforts to slap new UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear defiance.Netanyahu stressed that the only real effective sanctions would those which hit Iran's energy market, either the imports of refined fuel or the production of petroleum.Israel shares the US conviction that Iran, its arch-foe, is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.The sole, if undeclared, nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, the Jewish state has repeatedly said it would not rule out a military option in dealing with Iran.Netanyahu made the comments ahead of next week's international summit on nuclear security summit in Washington, which he will attend.The US administration said in a policy document presented on Tuesday that it would only use atomic arms in extreme circumstances and would not attack non-nuclear states, although Iran and North Korea were exceptions.
The Nuclear Posture Review described nuclear terrorism as an immediate and extreme threat, with efforts to prevent the spread of atomic weapons given top priority.This is a very, very serious issue that nuclear weapons, even crude nuclear weapons, would find their way into the hands of terrorists and the consequences could be very very dire for all of humanity, Netanyahu said.Responding to a question, he deflected concerns the spotlight could be turned onto Israel's nuclear arsenal.I'm not concerned that anyone will think that Israel is a terrorist regime. Everybody knows a terrorist and rogue regime when they see one, and believe me they see quite a few around Israel.Israel has never publicly acknowledged it has nuclear weapons and has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity since it inaugurated its Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert in 1965.This policy of ambiguity constitutes one of the pillars of Israeli national security and the Americans consider it very important, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told army radio.There is no reason for the Americans to change their approach or for Israel to change its position, he said.
For the past four decades, Israeli governments have insisted the Jewish state will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East.This policy will continue and no pressure from any country will make it change, Ayalon said.In a slight departure from the usual wording, Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, said in an interview with CNN last year that to introduce meant to deploy.
Foreign military experts believe Israel has an arsenal of several hundred nuclear weapons. In 1969, Israeli leaders undertook not to make any statement on their country's nuclear potential or carry out any nuclear test, while Washington agreed to refrain from exerting pressure on the issue. The Israeli programme is under military censorship. Like nuclear-armed countries India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to avoid inspections by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel to maintain nuclear ambiguity
Wed Apr 7, 4:38 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel plans to remain ambiguous over its nuclear policy, with US backing, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Wednesday.This policy of ambiguity constitutes one of the pillars of Israeli national security and the Americans consider it very important, Ayalon told army radio.There is no reason for the Americans to change their approach or for Israel to change its position, he said.
For the past four decades, Israeli governments have insisted the Jewish state will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East.This policy will continue and no pressure from any country will make it change, Ayalon said.But foreign military experts believe Israel has an arsenal of several hundred nuclear weapons.Ayalon's comments came ahead of next week's nuclear security summit in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be among the leaders attending the international gathering.Israel has maintained its policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear programme since it inaugurated its Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert in 1965.In 1969 it reached an understanding with the United States under which Israeli leaders refrain from making any statement on their country's nuclear potential and do not carry out any nuclear test, while Washington refrains from exerting any pressure on the issue.
The programme is under military censorship.Like nuclear-armed countries India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to avoid inspections by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel FM insists no settlement freeze in Jerusalem
Tue Apr 6, 3:31 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reiterated on Tuesday that there would be no halt to construction in east Jerusalem despite international demands for a complete settlement freeze.We cannot freeze construction in Jerusalem, neither in the east nor the west, neither for Arabs nor for Jews, because it would jeopardise our sovereignty as a state in our own capital, he told public radio.Israel seized mostly Arab east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed it shortly thereafter in a move not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who consider it the capital of their promised state.Lieberman, the tough-talking head of the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, said international demands that Israel withdraw from the entire West Bank, including east Jerusalem, were unrealistic.The international community wants us to go back to the lines of June 1967, which would not end the conflict but move it closer to Tel Aviv, he said.The United States has been struggling for months to relaunch peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians suspended after the launch of the Gaza war in December 2008.The Palestinians have refused to hold negotiations, direct or indirect, with Israel without a complete settlement freeze, including in east Jerusalem.
Israel in November imposed a 10-month halt to new settlement construction, but the move was rejected by the Palestinians as insufficient because it left out east Jerusalem, public buildings and projects already under way.In March the Palestinians, with Arab backing, reluctantly agreed to indirect US-brokered talks for a period of four months, but those plans collapsed days later when Israel said during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden that it would build 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem.
Israeli inquiry criticizes soldiers in 4 Palestinians deaths
Mon Apr 5, 8:09 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – An Israeli military inquiry has criticised soldiers in the death of four Palestinians last month in clashes near the West Bank city of Nablus, an army spokesman said late Monday.In a first incident on March 20 in the village of Iraq Burin, a soldier fired rubber bullets at Palestinians after getting out of a vehicle during a riot, a statement from the spokesman said.Palestinians Osayed Qadus, 20, and 17-year-old Mohammed Qadus died of their wounds.The conclusions of the investigative team show that the rioters were apparently hit by live rounds, the statement said said.It added that the army could not verify the autopsy and could therefore not confirm that the rioters were in fact hit by live rounds.Israeli human rights association B'Tselem and medical sources said shortly after the clash that the two Palestinian youths had been killed by live rounds.According to the military investigators, the situation on the ground should have led to different actions than those taken by the force when it entered the village.
This operational incident is considered unnecessary, and its results severe,the inquiry concluded.In a second incident the following day in the village of Awarta, security forces were inspecting two Palestinians when one of the suspects began acting suspiciously and finally assaulted one of the soldiers with a bottle.
According to the inquiry, one of the soldiers felt his life was in danger and fired at the Palestinian.At that point, the second suspect, who was a few meters away, raised his hand holding a sharp object, causing the soldier to believe that he, too, was attempting to attack. As a result, the soldier fired and killed the Palestinian.
The inquiry found that the soldiers could have operated in a more professional manner and thus could have avoided the need to use fire although the first soldier operated correctly and in accordance with the rules of engagement.However,the second suspect was far enough so that the soldiers should have been able to disarm him without using live fire, the report said.Military authorities were currently considering taking steps against the commanding levels involved in the incident and the inquiries conclusions would be transmitted to the general staff, the statement added.The region around Nablus is the site of frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers.The deaths of the four Palestinians cames amid high tensions between the Palestinians and Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
