Israeli president says pope should visit Oct 19 01:55 PM US/Eastern
By IAN DEITCH Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli president Shimon Peres urged the Vatican on Sunday not to let a contentious reference to World War II and Pope Pius XII stand in the way of a visit to the Holy Land by the present pontiff. A caption accompanying a photograph on display at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial alleges the wartime pope did not act to save Jews from the Nazi genocide. The caption is an obstacle to a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, said a Catholic official promoting a cause which could lead to sainthood for Pius. But a spokesman for Benedict said Saturday that although no visit is currently planned, the spat with Yad Vashem will not be the deciding factor. Israeli president Shimon Peres on Sunday stood by Israeli criticism of Pius but told reporters the issue should not be a barrier to a trip by Benedict. We have reason to believe that Pius XII didn't do enough to save Jewish life, I don't want to pass judgment. If there is evidence then it should be checked carefully, Peres said. The visit to the holy country is nothing to do with anger or disputes. It's holy all the time, it is holy for all of us.
Benedict has a long-standing invitation from Israel for a visit.
The Holy See and Israel established diplomatic relations in the early 1990s, but they must still resolve the status of expropriated church property, tax exemptions for the Church and permits for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank. The late John Paul II visited Israel in 2000. Benedict recently reiterated the Vatican contention that Pius, who became pontiff in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, quietly worked behind the scenes to save as many Jews as possible. As an Italian prelate, Pius worked as a diplomat at the Vatican in the years leading up to the war. The Vatican has asked authorities at the Holocaust memorial to make a new, objective and in-depth review of the caption, which says Pius did not use the weight of his office to try and halt the activities of the Nazi death camps. While the (gas) ovens were fed by day and by night, the most Holy Father who dwells in Rome did not leave his palace, the caption states.
About six million Jews were killed by the Nazis and their accomplices during the war. Yad Vashem said in a statement that a papal visit is strictly a political matter and the museum display has no bearing. Pope Pius XII's activity during the Holocaust is an issue debated among historians throughout the world, the museum said. The presentation of the subject in the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem is based on the best research regarding this topic.
Egypt drafts Palestinian unity paper OCT 20,08 By Nidal al-Mughrabi Nidal Al-mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) – Egypt Monday called on rival Palestinian factions to form a unity government and restructure their security forces in a bid to end hostilities that have undermined efforts to reach a statehood deal.Cairo presented a four-page proposal, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Islamist Hamas, outlining steps the groups should take to end their power struggle.Egypt also said Abbas should continue peace talks with Israel but that any deal needs approval from Hamas and other factions sworn to Israel's destruction.Egypt drafted the proposal after a series of talks with 13 Palestinian factions and it will be discussed when the groups meet again in Cairo on November 9.Previous Arab-led initiatives have failed to reconcile the bitter rivals.
The Egyptian proposal calls for the immediate formation of a Palestinian unity government and an agreement on when to hold national elections.A previous unity government collapsed after Hamas routed Fatah forces to take control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Abbas sacked the Hamas-led government and appointed a Western-backed administration in the occupied West Bank where Fatah holds sway.The groups also disagree on when to hold new elections with Fatah calling for both presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2010 and Hamas saying Abbas's term ends in January 2009. Cairo's proposal calls for simultaneous elections.Egypt said that Hamas and Fatah security forces, which have frequently fought each other, should be removed from factional politics and be operated at a national level.The proposal also said any peace deal Abbas reaches with Israel should be brought to a national referendum or presented to a restructured Palestinian Liberation Organization that includes Hamas and other factions that oppose peace with the Jewish state.(Editing by Jon Boyle)
Israel's Livni given two more weeks to form govt Mon Oct 20, 10:04 am ET
AP JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday was given an additional two weeks to form a government in her bid to become Israel's second woman prime minister, public radio reported.President Shimon Peres granted Livni's formal request for more time to negotiate a new coalition led by the centrist Kadima party.
Peres had asked Livni on September 22 to form a new government after she was elected to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as head of their Kadima party.Olmert resigned last month to battle a wave of graft allegations, and police have called for him to be indicted on corruption charges.Last week Livni, 50, reached a draft agreement with the Labour party to form a coalition government.She still needs the support of other political parties to form a majority in the 120-member Knesset and faces tough negotiations with the religious Shas party, which in the past has played the role of kingmaker.If Livni is unable to form a new coalition by November 3, either the president asks another MP to try form a new government, or snap general elections will be scheduled for 2009, which polls indicate could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.Livni as foreign minister has been leading US-backed negotiations with the Palestinians since the November 2007 Annapolis conference and has vowed to press ahead with the peace process if she becomes prime minister.
Israel mulls non-belligerence pact with Lebanon Mon Oct 20, 9:24 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel is considering negotiating a long-term non-belligerence treaty with neighbouring Lebanon, an Israeli official said on Monday.This option was presented and discussed two weeks ago, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.He added that the issue was raised as part of foreign ministry discussions over the strategic challenges of the Middle East peace process.Eran Etzion, who heads the ministry's political department, stressed at the talks that a full peace agreement with Lebanon only could be signed after a peace deal is reached with Syria.
Israel and Syria launched indirect negotiations, brokered by Turkey, in May, eight years after they were broken off over the fate of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The talks with Syria have made it possible to work toward a separate non-belligerence pact with Lebanon, the Israeli official said, adding: That is one option, there are others.A deal with Lebanon would settle disputes over the siting of the common border and include a solution to the Shebaa Farms issue, he said.
Israel captured the Shebaa Farms from Syria in 1967, and Beirut now claims the small sliver of land at the junction of the three countries with the backing of Damascus. Israel insists the area is Syrian.The pact would also include agreement on coordination between the Israeli and Lebanese armed forces and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL.)The Haaretz daily said Israel is expected to ask Lebanon to significantly curb the arsenal of the Hezbollah militia and extend the national army's authority over the whole country.In return, agreement would have to be reached to halt Israeli overflights in Lebanese airspace, the newspaper said.
Peres, Mubarak to meet in Egypt Mon Oct 20, 9:15 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli President Shimon Peres will meet his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Egypt this week, Peres's office said on Monday.Mr Peres and Mr Mubarak will meet on Thursday at Sharm el-Sheikh, Peres spokeswoman Ayelet Frish told AFP.Israeli public radio said the two men would discuss bilateral and security issues as well as the regional impact of the global financial crisis.They will also discuss efforts to obtain the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in June 2006, public radio said.Egypt has been mediating efforts to secure a deal under which the Islamist Hamas movement, which has ruled the Gaza strip since June 2007, would release Shalit in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israel.
Israel removes wildcat settlements in West Bank Mon Oct 20, 8:58 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli troops have cleared three Jewish wildcat settlements in the occupied West Bank, the army said on Monday.The three outposts, one of which was built six months ago and the other two set up on Sunday by right-wing activists, were removed during the night by border police and army troops, it said in a statement.Wildcat settlements, considered illegal by Israel, are generally built on ridge tops, close to settlements recognised by the Jewish state. About 100 wildcat settlements dot the West Bank, some consisting of just a few trailers and others made up of a dozen mobile homes connected to the power grid.The international community regards all West Bank settlements as illegal and the Palestinians say continued settlement construction is a major hurdle in the US-backed peace process.
More than 260,000 Israelis are estimated to live in government-authorised settlements across the West Bank, with another 200,000 in settlements in annexed east Jerusalem.
Barak: Israel considering Saudi peace plan By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer Sun Oct 19, 8:28 pm ET
Israel AP JERUSALEM – Israeli leaders are seriously considering a dormant Saudi plan offering a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for lands captured during the 1967 war, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday.Barak said it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region because individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians have made little progress.
Barak said he has discussed the Saudi plan with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni, who is in the process of forming a new government, and that Israel is considering a response. Barak, who leads the Labor party, is expected to play a senior role in the next government.
Livni's office refused to comment on her talks with Barak.
Saudi Arabia first proposed the peace initiative in 2002, offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967 — the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The 22-member Arab League endorsed the plan last year.Israel has said the plan is a good basis for discussion, but expressed some reservations.There is definitely room to introduce a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace, Barak told Israel's Army Radio.
He noted the deep, joint interest with moderate Arab leaders in containing Iran's nuclear ambitions and limiting the influence of the radical Islamic Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.Analyst Ghassan Khatib, a former minister in the Palestinian Cabinet, said interest in the plan was a little bit late but welcome.
I strongly believe that the Arab initiative is the best approach to peace between the Arabs and the Israelis, he said. It fulfills all the legitimate objectives of Israel and those of the Palestinians and at the same time it has this regional dimension and it reflects one of the rare issues on which Arabs have consensus.While Israel's outgoing prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has welcomed the Saudi plan, he and other leaders want to keep small parts of the territories captured in 1967. Israel also objects to language that appears to endorse a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees to lands inside Israel. Israel says a massive influx of Palestinians would destroy the country's Jewish character.Yuval Steinitz, an Israeli lawmaker from the conservative opposition Likud Party and a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that for Israel, the Saudi plan is a nonstarter and called Barak's remarks an empty political gesture.It doesn't recognize Israel's right to defensible borders ... (and) demands Palestinian refugees settle in the Jewish state as well as the Palestinian state, which is totally unacceptable, he said.Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, proposed putting Israel's various peace talks on one track last month at the United Nations, calling on Saudi King Abdullah to further his initiative. He has since been pushing the idea in meetings with Israeli, Arab and Western officials, his office said.While Peres has no formal role in Israeli foreign policy, he is a Nobel peace laureate and well respected in the international community.In Sunday's interview, Barak said he was in full agreement with Peres.I had the impression that there is indeed an openness to explore any path, including this one, he said of his talks with Livni.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat noted that pursuing the Saudi peace initiative did not necessarily undermine the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians and he encouraged Israel to pursue this track. I think Israel should have done this since 2002. It is the most strategic initiative that came from the Arab world since 1948, he said. I urge them to revisit this initiative and to go with it because it will shorten the way to peace.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he would meet with Olmert on Oct. 27. The two leaders have been meeting regularly this year, to assess progress in peace talks.
Analysts: 1 million barrel OPEC cut not enough By TAREK EL-TABLAWY, AP Business Writer Sun Oct 19, 1:47 pm ET
CAIRO, Egypt – A crude oil production cut of even 1 million barrels per day at OPEC's upcoming emergency meeting is unlikely to reverse slumping prices in the short term, analysts said Sunday, amid mounting calls by several cartel members to take action to keep prices at the $80 per barrel level.A decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold an emergency meeting next Friday clearly signaled the group's concern that the recent pummeling of crude prices would erode revenues needed to sustain government spending and weather broader fallout from the global financial crisis.The meeting had initially been moved up to mid-November, about a month earlier than scheduled, but was pushed to Friday as the oil price dropped below $70 per barrel.Analysts said some key producers may be eying the meeting as the first step in reasserting control over the market — particularly as the cartel has argued that record rallies earlier this year were driven more by speculation than supply and demand.What they really want to do is position themselves now in a situation where they can manage markets ... a lot more comfortably next year, and potentially for the recovery in 2010, said Raja Kiwan, a Dubai-based analyst with the Washington-based oil consultancy, PFC Energy.
Kiwan and other analysts expect the 13 member group, which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude, to slash production by at least 1 million barrels per day. OPEC is looking to buoy a market in which the price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude has fallen about 50 percent from record highs of $147 in July on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Over a three day period last week, the November-delivery contract on the Nymex dropped $11 per barrel, rebounding slightly on Friday only on the back of OPEC's announcement of the emergency meeting.But even that gain could be short lived, say some analysts, as the market factors in the anticipated cut ahead of the meeting.In the very short-term ... OPEC will likely prove unable to significantly alter the prevailing market sentiment, particularly as crude traders look to equities as a barometer of global economic health (and hence oil demand), said a recent PFC Energy report.That presents OPEC with a dilemma. If they announce too big a cut, they risk fueling the global financial crisis. But, cut too little, and $80 per barrel will be wishful thinking. Some OPEC officials have said prices closer to $100 per barrel are ideal.I don't think there's been this sense of urgency since the Asian financial crisis, said Kiwan, referring to the market collapse in Asia in the late 1990s. I think those memories are still seared into the minds of (OPEC) ministers.Independent Kuwaiti oil analyst Kamel A. Al-Harami agrees. He argues that given such a delicate balancing act, disagreements are likely at the meeting between dovish Saudi Arabia and traditional price hawks like Iran.Even if the members agree on a production cut, 1 million barrels will not be enough and there will be cheating on the quotas from day one, said Al-Harami, who served as former president of Q8, the retail arm of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp.
Al-Harami believes the group is being hasty in moving to cut production and believes they should hold off until at least the winter when demand for energy for heating picks up.But OPEC is making it clear that the time for waiting is over.Chakib Khelil, Algeria's oil minister and OPEC's current president, said Saturday that the cartel is going to take the decision that favors keeping market prices stable.There will be a reduction, and it is necessary that it's significant to establish balance between supply and demand, Khelil was quoted as saying by the country's APS news agency.The stakes are high — both for a meaningful production cut and for quota compliance, something on which OPEC has typically fared poorly. Over the past few weeks, the slide in prices has become more pronounced as the global financial crisis sapped demand for crude oil in the developed countries. The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and, most recently, OPEC have all lowered their forecasts for energy demand heading into next year. Such revisions, in tandem with the price drops, are particularly worrisome for some top producers like Iran — the cartel's second largest crude exporter, which relies on oil revenue for about 80 percent of its government budget. Iranian officials have repeatedly said crude at $100 seems fair. Others, including Qatar's oil minister and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, have pushed for levels closer to $80-90. Iran and Venezuela, in particular, have reason for concern because their production is heavier and more sulfurous and, as a result, sells at steep discounts to lighter crudes like the U.S. benchmark WTI. The OPEC basket — the weighted average of prices for crudes produced by OPEC countries — stood at $63 per barrel on Friday, according to Kiwan.
The Saudis have so far stayed quiet.
But analysts said Riyadh is well aware that developing nations, in particular, will not be silent if presented with steep cuts that could undermine U.S. and European-led efforts to stave off a global recession and shore up financial markets. PFC Energy's Kiwan said while other cuts could follow the expected reduction of 1 million barrel per day, the immediate focus is on halting the price slide. One of the keys here is that OPEC is not judging its failure or success on the short-term, he said. What it's hoping to do is provide fundamental support for recovery in the long-term, a plan which requires them to keep supplies tight going into next year.
Ultimately, added Al-Harami, the biggest player is Saudi, and what Saudi decides, the others have to follow.
US-backed reform forum meets in UAE amid doubts by Taieb Mahjoub Taieb Mahjoub – Sun Oct 19, 12:23 pm ET
ABU DHABI (AFP) – A forum on reform in the Middle East convened in Abu Dhabi Sunday amid Arab doubts about the US-backed initiative but with Washington insisting it is serious about promoting democracy.Arab officials said political change must come from within the region and warned against yielding to outside pressure.Reform in the Middle East is above all a national demand, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, told the Fifth Forum for the Future, co-chaired by his country and Japan.It is a necessity for the present and the future, he told the ministerial meeting.But frustration in the region as a result of the deadlocked Middle East peace process, and problems of poverty, illiteracy, extremism and unemployment are factors which are not conducive to a prosperous future.The meeting was the fifth since the forum was launched by US President George W. Bush in 2004 at a time when Washington was professing high aspirations for democratic reform in the Arab world following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein.The forum aimed to promote political, social and economic reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, with the backing of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations.Morocco hosted the first edition, followed by Bahrain the year after and Jordan in 2006. The 2007 events took place in both Germany and Yemen.Political reform in the Arab world topped the agenda of the Abu Dhabi conference, which was attended by 35 Arab countries, some G8 nations and civil society representatives.Some activists have voiced doubts about the usefulness of the forum, arguing that it has made little difference so far and is unlikely to break new ground in the twilight of the Bush administration.Since its launch, the forum has been going around in circles, Tunisia's Slaheddine Jourchi told AFP.Arab governments believe that their non-governmental organisations are influenced by the West, while the NGOs believe that the West is too accommodating toward their governments, said Jourchi, one of about 60 delegates from Arab NGOs who submited recommendations to the ministerial meeting after three-day deliberations in Dubai.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi articulated Arab governments' resistance to any outside pressure for reform.Any reform which is imposed and not accepted by the states and peoples of the region is doomed, he told the forum.In a thinly veiled reference to Western states, Kurbi warned that civil society organisations should not serve as a means of pressure on their governments, and even less as an alternative to ruling regimes.US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte begged to differ with the view that little progress has been made in democratising the Arab world since the forum was launched.Citizens in the region now have more opportunities to decide how their societies will be governed by participating as voters and candidates for political office, he told the gathering.David Kramer, US assistant secretary for democracy and human rights, said Washington will remain committed to democracy in the Middle East irrespective of who succeeds Bush in the White House. The United States as a country, and regardless of administration, will remain firmly committed to democracy, freedom and modernisation in the Middle East. We see it as a national interest, just as it is for countries in the region, he told AFP. A Foundation for the Future, set up in March in Jordan to help Arab NGOs, has so far raised 25 million dollars, according to its president, Nabila Hamza. Germany on Sunday announced a one-million-dollar contribution to the foundation. The sixth edition of the forum will take place in Morocco in 2009.
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