Rare snowstorm hits the Middle East By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 30, 11:25 AM ET
JERUSALEM - A rare snowstorm swept the Middle East on Wednesday, blanketing parts of the Holy Land in white, shutting schools and sending excited children into the streets for snowball fights. The weather in Jerusalem topped local newscasts, eclipsing a government report on Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.Men in long Arab robes pelted each other with snowballs in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government, came to a standstill.I'm originally from Gaza where snow never falls, said Bothaina Smairi, 28, who was out in Ramallah taking photographs. The white snow is covering the old world and I feel like I am in a new world where everything is white, clean, and beautiful.Jerusalem's Old City was coated in white. A few ultra-Orthodox Jews, wearing plastic bags over their hats to keep them dry, prayed at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site.Snow falls in Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick. The Israeli weather service said up to 8 inches of snow fell in the city.By late morning, the snow changed to rain, turning the city into a slushy mess. But forecasters said temperatures were expected to drop, and the snow would continue through Thursday morning.
Heavy snow also was reported in the Golan Heights and the northern Israeli town of Safed, and throughout the West Bank.In Ramallah, residents were surprised to see snow when they awoke. For some, it was their first time.I am just astonished with the snow. When I saw the snow this morning, I felt happy, my heart was laughing, said Mary Zabaro, 17.In Amman, where a foot of snow fell, children used inflatable tubes as sleds. Some roads were temporarily closed.Snow covered most mountain villages and blocked roads in Lebanon. The storm disrupted power supplies in most Lebanese towns and villages, exacerbating existing power cuts. Parts of the Beirut-Damascus highway were closed.Temperatures in Syria dipped below freezing and snow blanketed the hills overlooking the capital, Damascus.
Israel PM mostly unscathed by war report By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer JAN 30,08
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emerged relatively unscathed from the final report Wednesday on his handling of Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon, even though the inquiry criticized both the government and the army for serious failings and flaws.The report stopped short of blaming Olmert personally for what many Israelis saw as a stunning debacle that emboldened the Jewish state's enemies. A harsher indictment could have threatened Olmert's rule and his stated goal of signing a peace treaty with the Palestinians within a year.The head of a five-member investigative panel, retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, described a U.N.-brokered cease-fire as an achievement for Israel. And he said Olmert, in ordering a last-minute ground offensive, acted out of a strong and sincere perception of what the prime minister thought was Israel's interest.
The final report stood in sharp contrast to a strongly worded interim report last April, which criticized Olmert personally for severe failure in hastily going to war.The war erupted on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others.Olmert entered the conflict with enormous support from the Israeli public, but his popularity plunged after the campaign failed to achieve his declared goals — winning the soldiers' release and crushing Hezbollah. The two soldiers have still not been heard from.
The 629-page report was delivered to Olmert an hour before it was made public at a news conference, and the prime minister's office was breathing a sigh of relief, Olmert's spokesman, Jacob Galanty, was quoted as saying.In a statement, Olmert's office said he had begun reading the report and would study its conclusions.The prime minister relates to the final report of the Winograd commission ... with full seriousness, the statement said.Hussein Haj Hassan, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon's parliament, told The Associated Press that the report underlined Hezbollah's victory. The Winograd report is an acknowledgment of Israel's responsibility for the war and its defeat, he said.Despite calls for his resignation from political opponents, the conventional wisdom was that Olmert would weather the inquiry's findings — a comfort to those who are relying on him to pursue a U.S.-sponsored peace push with the Palestinians after seven years of bloodshed.I think that Olmert has a good chance to survive the report, but that still can change, said Tamir Sheafer, professor of politics at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. Olmert will not resign, that's for sure.The commission did not pull punches in describing the failures of Olmert's government during the 34-day conflict that, according to official figures from both sides, killed between 1,035 and 1,191 Lebanese civilians and combatants, in addition to 119 Israeli soldiers and 40 civilians.Winograd told a packed news conference in Jerusalem that Israel did not win the war and the army did not provide an effective response to a sustained, deadly barrage of rocket fire from Hezbollah guerrillas.
Despite a heavy Israeli aerial campaign, the guerrilla group rained nearly 4,000 rockets on northern Israel. Israeli reservists returning from the battlefield complained of poor training and a lack of ammunition and key supplies.The overall image of the war was a result of a mixture of flawed conduct of the political and military leadership ... of flawed performance by the military, especially the ground forces, and of deficient Israeli preparedness, the 81-year-old Winograd said. We found serious failings and flaws in the lack of strategic thinking and planning.
Winograd said the committee had decided not to assign personal blame for the war's shortcomings, preferring to search for ways to prevent similar mistakes in the future. It should be stressed that the fact we refrained from imposing personal responsibility does not imply that no such responsibility exists, he said.A large section of the report was devoted to the last-minute offensive that stirred controversy because it was ordered just as the U.N. truce was about to take effect. More than 30 Israeli soldiers were killed in that fighting. Winograd said the 11th-hour offensive failed in its mission, did not improve Israel's position and that the army was not prepared for it. However, he said the operation's goals were legitimate. There was no failure in that decision in itself, despite its limited achievements and its painful costs. Winograd said both Olmert and his then-defense minister, Amir Peretz, acted in what they thought at the time was Israel's interest.Since most of the army's wartime commanders, including Peretz and the chief of staff at the time, have resigned, the big mystery Wednesday was how Olmert would fare. The prime minister was able to beat back calls for his resignation after the interim report was released. This time, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, the former prime minister who now serves as defense minister, is under pressure to deliver on his promise to push for Olmert's resignation or advance elections.
If Barak pulls Labor's 19-member faction out of the coalition, Olmert will no longer have a parliamentary majority and could be forced to call an election. His coalition now controls 67 of parliament's 120 seats. Polls show Olmert trailing far behind Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the hawkish Likud Party. A Netanyahu victory would bode poorly for President Bush's goal of brokering a Mideast peace accord before leaving office next January. Opposition lawmakers, from dovish supporters of peace talks to hard-line critics, insisted Olmert must go. The report paints a very dark picture, said Yossi Beilin, a dovish lawmaker. This should not have happened and the man who is responsible cannot continue in his job.
Silvan Shalom, a Likud leader, called the report an indictment of the gravest sort and urged Olmert to announce new elections, to go to the people and let the people say what they think.Associated Press writers Matti Friedman, Aron Heller, Rory Kress and Josef Federman contributed to this report.
Gaza deal elusive as Palestinian rivals toughen stand by Lamia Radi JAN 30,08
CAIRO (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas hardened their positions on Wednesday over ways to control the Egypt-Gaza border as Cairo scrambled for a deal between the rivals. After meeting President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas reiterated his rejection of talks with Hamas and said the Islamist group's breach of the border last week amounted to an invasion.Hamas has to go back on its coup d'etat and ... accept the legitimacy (of the Palestinian Authority), and then hearts and minds would be open for dialogue, he said, referring to Hamas's ouster of the PA from Gaza last June.
We talked about what happened in Gaza, the Israeli blockade and what happened after that concerning the invasion of the Egyptian borders, Abbas told reporters.A Hamas delegation led by political supremo Khaled Meshaal was expected in Cairo for talks on Thursday with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, a Hamas spokesman there told AFP.On Wednesday, the movement accused Abbas of neglecting Gazans.The statements of president Mahmud Abbas in Cairo ... confirm his intention that the talks in Cairo should fail, spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement from Gaza.He is challenging Palestinian public opinion and turning his back on the pain and suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip.Abbas, supported by the West and Israel, met Mubarak before leaving for Amman, as security forces in the divided border town of Rafah moved to secure the frontier.Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have swarmed across the border since border barricades were blown up on January 22 after Israel imposed a punishing blockade.Hamas militants guarded the Palestinian side of the border as Egyptian forces barred traffic at all but two crossing points.A limited number of trucks headed to Rafah to replenish dwindling supplies has been allowed to reach the border town, after being barred from entering Sinai for three days, a security source told AFP.We have received some of the medication we ordered, one pharmacist in the Egyptian town of Rafah told AFP.Egyptian security also intensified its search of Palestinians who had travelled further than Rafah.
The trouble is that now the police are trying to track us down. We no longer have the right to go anywhere but Rafah, but there's nothing left there, said Hani Hamdan in the coastal town of Al-Arish, ducking the manhunt.Hamas has rejected any international presence on crossings between Egypt and Gaza.Any attempts to supplant the vision of Hamas, especially regarding the operation of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, will yield nothing but failure, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.Under a 2005 deal, the crossing was to be supervised by European Union monitors with cameras to allow Israel to see those passing through.
Mubarak was not expected to meet the Hamas representatives given their historic links to Egypt's own powerful Islamist opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the West's rejection of Hamas as a peace partner. In the past, the Egyptian president, a key US ally, has criticised Hamas's takeover of Gaza as illegitimate. The visit to Cairo will be first by a Hamas delegation since June. The diplomatic push in Cairo follows the UN Security Council's failure on Tuesday to adopt a compromise statement on the Gaza breakout amid disagreements between Arab states and Israel's key ally the United States. An Egyptian security force of around 20,000 has been deployed in the north of the Sinai peninsula since Saturday, a security source told AFP, many of them picking up Palestinians and returning them to the border. Egypt's official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted security sources as saying a deadline for Palestinians to return to Gaza had been set for the start of next week, and that Gazans remaining in Egypt would be punished. The White House has described Israel's blockade of Gaza -- where most people rely on outside aid -- as an act of justifiable self-defence in the face of rocket attacks from the territory into Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's Supreme Court backed the state's decision to cut fuel supplies to Gaza, rejecting an appeal by rights groups, who voiced fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Obama speaks to Jewish voters on Israel By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Tue Jan 29, 11:13 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Barack Obama wooed Jewish voters and skeptical Israelis in interviews published Tuesday, voicing support for key Israeli demands in peace talks with the Palestinians. Winning over Israel could help the Democratic presidential candidate gain favor with American Jews, who make up large voting blocs in key states like New York and Florida.But he faces a difficult task. Israeli officials say privately they would prefer Obama's main rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, due to her experience and the backing her husband, Bill Clinton, gave Israel during his two terms as president in the 1990s. In contrast, Obama is relatively unknown here.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office declined comment.
In a conference call with Israeli and Jewish reporters from Florida on Monday, Obama sought to put such concerns to rest, backing Israeli positions on key issues in its dispute with the Palestinians. He also took aim at a virulent smear campaign on the Internet that has depicted him as an observant Muslim.The interview was published in two Israeli dailies, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.Obama said he opposes the literal return of Palestinian refugees to homes they fled in Israel. This position is similar to Israel's stance in the talks, which were renewed after a U.S.-hosted peace conference in November.Palestinians insist that the refugees from fighting in 1948 and their descendants — who by U.N. estimates now number more than 4 million — be allowed to return to their original homes. Israel fears such a flood of Palestinians into its borders would endanger its existence as a Jewish state. Instead, it says refugees should be resettled in a future Palestinian state.
The outlines of any agreement would involve ensuring that Israel remains a Jewish state, Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Last spring, Obama said while he is committed to protecting Israel's security, he would also reach out to Arab leaders who are committed to recognizing Israel and renouncing violence.President Bush hopes to get the sides to agree, by the end of 2008, on a final deal that includes the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.In the interview, Obama insisted that Palestinians set up a security force that can ensure militants cannot attack Israel, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported. A future Palestinian state must be able to provide the security apparatus that would prevent constant attacks against Israel from taking place, Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.Obama said he opposes talks with the Islamic militant Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian moderates in June, until it recognizes Israel's right to exist, Haaretz said.In addition to their lack of familiarity with Obama, Israeli officials could be concerned by Obama's commitment to offer Iran carrots and sticks on its efforts to produce nuclear weapons. Obama told the reporters that he believed there should be diplomatic contacts between low-level U.S. and Iranian officials, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Israel has strongly backed the Bush administration's efforts to impose tighter sanctions on Iran to persuade it to drop its nuclear program. Israel fears Iran, whose president has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, is developing nuclear arms. Iran insists its program is for energy-producing purposes only.
