I HAD AN INTERESTING DREAM TODAY,I SAW A WORLD MAP WITH ISRAEL SHINING BRIGHTLY ON IT,I WONDER IF GAZA IS GOING TO GET IT AGAIN OR GOD WILL BE SHINING HIS SPOT LIGHT FROM ISRAEL,WE WILL SEE WHAT IS TO HAPPEN IN ISRAEL.
Abbas rejects Hamas leader's call for new PLO by Hossam Ezzedine JAN 31,09
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is leading a chorus of opposition to calls by rival Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal for a new leadership to replace the Palestine Liberation Organisation.The Damascus-based Meshaal this week said that the PLO -- which has long been internationally recognised as the sole representative of the Palestinian people -- had become obsolete.Meshaal's remarks threw the spotlight again on the protracted and sometimes vicious Hamas-Fatah feud which has prevailed since the Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after deadly street battles with Abbas loyalists.The PLO, which was founded in 1964, includes Abbas's secular Fatah party and several other Palestinian factions but not the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)The Palestine Liberation Organisation in its current form does not represent anymore a point of reference for the Palestinians, Meshaal said on Wednesday in the Qatari capital Doha.It has become a centre of division for the Palestinian household.Meshaal said Hamas and other radical factions opposed to the policies of the Western-backed Abbas would set up a new, national authority representing all Palestinians groups.
Abbas, who is also president of the Palestinian Authority and heads the negotiations with Israel, accused Meshaal of wanting to destroy the PLO.Meshaal's statements regarding the establishment of a new authority to replace the Palestine Liberation Organisation is an exercise in time-wasting, Abbas said on Friday.While he talks about establishing an organisation, he really wants to destroy what has been the voice (of the Palestinian people) for 44 years.The PLO is recognised by Arabs, Muslims, and... 120 countries, Abbas said.If he wants to destroy this edifice he will not succeed, because no one from among our people or any other will side with him.The PLO also released a defiant statement on Friday, saying it would not be toppled.The Palestinian people... will resist and bring down this conspiracy along with anyone who plans it or pursues it under any justification, it said.The Palestinians have been divided since Hamas took over Gaza, with Abbas's rule confined to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Tensions have boiled over in the wake of Israel's massive 22-day air and ground offensive on Gaza, which it said was aimed at halting rocket attacks from the blockaded territory.Attempts by Egypt to hold reconciliation talks between the two Palestinian rivals collapsed in November after Hamas accused Fatah of arresting its members in the West Bank.Abbas is due in Cairo on Sunday to discuss efforts to shore up the January 18 ceasefires that ended the Gaza war, and Hamas officials are also due in the Egyptian capital. Meshaal's call has also been dismissed by other Palestinian figures, including former Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad and Khaled al-Batsh, a member of the militant Islamic Jihad group, which is not part of the PLO. Personally I do not accept more divisions... we must find a language of unity, Hamad, a relative moderate, told Al-Jazeera television on Saturday. The problem is not the PLO. The problem is one of security institutions, the Palestinian political system and other aspects of our daily lives, he said, warning that the divisions could deal a fatal blow to efforts to set up an independent Palestinian state. Batsh said he was not in favour of an alternative Palestinian umbrella organisation, calling instead for reform of the PLO.
Gaza rocket hits Israel ahead of truce talks by Joseph Krauss Joseph Krauss – 56 mins ago JAN 31,09
JERUSALEM (AFP) – A rocket fired by Gaza militants exploded near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Saturday, the third since ceasefires ended Israel's devastating three-week war on the territory.The Israeli army said no casualties or damage were reported from the rocket strike, which came ahead of talks in Cairo on Sunday on efforts to shore up the fragile truce.It was the third rocket attack since ceasefires on January 18 brought an end to Israel's three-week onslaught against Hamas-ruled Gaza which left more than 1,330 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis were killed in the same period.It came as US President Barack Obama's new Middle East envoy George Mitchell continued his mission in the region.Mitchell has been touring the region for talks on consolidating the ceasefire, and on Saturday held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II on the status of the lifeless Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who met Mitchell this week, is due in Cairo on Sunday for talks on efforts to bolster the fragile truce, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said on Saturday.Officials from Hamas, the Islamist movement which ousted pro-Abbas forces from Gaza in June 2007, are also due in the Egyptian capital on Sunday.Mitchell said in Jerusalem on Friday that the United States was committed to actively and aggressively seeking lasting peace in the Middle East, but warned there would be further setbacks.He kicked off his maiden regional tour in Egypt and has held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas.The former US senator, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland in 1998, has been charged with vigorously resuscitating Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which were relaunched in November 2007 but have made little progress.In his talks with Mitchell, the Jordanian king insisted on the importance of relaunching peace negotiations on the basis of two states, Palestinian and Israeli, stressing that we must not start a different process, a palace official said.We need to act quickly -- without wasting time -- on negotiations based on two states and not be diverted by new proposals, he was quoted as saying.Abbas is due on Monday to start a tour of several European countries but has cancelled a visit to the Czech Republic because of the truce talks.
Egypt installing cameras, sensors at Gaza border JAN 31,09
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt has begun installing cameras and motion sensors along its border with the Gaza Strip to try to combat smuggling to the Hamas-run territory, security sources said on Saturday.The sources said Egyptian authorities had begun installing the equipment two days ago with joint U.S., French and German expertise, and added that they hoped the sensors and cameras would help detect any tunnel construction in the border area.Cables that are part of a tunnel detection device are being installed along the Gaza-Egypt border, a security source said, adding the cables were being installed from south of Rafah to the Mediterranean coast.The source said some cameras and sensors had already been installed, and the cameras would be connected by the cables.For the 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip, the tunnels have become a main source of goods, including fuel, since Israel tightened its embargo after Hamas seized control of Gaza from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.Israel bombed the tunnels during its recent 22-day Gaza offensive, and its military fears Hamas could use them to re-arm. But many tunnels have sophisticated systems and seem to have survived weeks of Israeli bombardment.Roughly 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the Gaza offensive before both sides declared an end to the fighting on January 18. Israel says its offensive was aimed at halting Hamas rocket attacks on its southern communities.Egypt, which has kept its Rafah border crossing with the territory largely closed, has agreed to help stop the tunnel smuggling with international technical assistance.But no firm plan is yet in place as Israel and Hamas argue through Egyptian mediators about installing a longer term ceasefire that would meet Israel's demands for shutting off the arms supply and Hamas's demands for an easing of the blockade.(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Cyprus to search suspected Hamas arms ship again Sat Jan 31, 8:40 am ET
NICOSIA, Cyprus – The saga of a ship suspected of carrying arms from Iran to Gaza grew more complicated Saturday as Cypriot authorities searched the ship, then backed away from previous assertions that it was violating U.N. resolutions.Authorities will now conduct a second search, the Cypriot foreign minister said.Suspicions that the Cypriot-flagged container ship Monchegorsk was ferrying arms from Iran to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas had been raised by the United States. The U.S. military stopped the vessel in the Red Sea last week but could not legally detain it or seize its cargo.The ship continued on to Port Said, Egypt, then headed for Cyprus, where it arrived Thursday. It remains anchored off the island nation's southern port of Limassol under tight marine police security.Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said Saturday that a first inspection of the Monchegorsk was complete. He said authorities were still trying to determine whether the ship's cargo contravened United Nations resolutions.On Friday, Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias had said without qualification that the ship had violated U.N. resolutions.The foreign minister refused Saturday to divulge any details about the ship's cargo.This is a very serious matter concerning the Cyprus Republic's responsibilities as a member of the United Nations and the European Union, but also its relations with the international community, Kyprianou told state radio.He urged patience for a few days, saying disclosure of information would hinder the government's handling of the issue.Israel launched a 22-day offensive late last month on Hamas-controlled Gaza, trying to end rocket fire on Israeli civilians and halt arms smuggling to Hamas.
Iran hails Turkish PM for Gaza walkout Sat Jan 31, 8:26 am ET
TEHRAN (AFP) – Iranian leaders hailed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday for his spat with Israel over its deadly offensive on Gaza.The Zionist regime's behaviour is an insult to humanity... I thank Mr Erdogan for his act, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, describing Erdogan's storming off the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a very valuable act.The Turkish premier walked out of the forum on Thursday saying Israel had committed barbarian acts during its war on Gaza war, which killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, a third of them children.
Iran is a staunch supporter of the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip and does not recognise Israel.Islamist students staged a demonstration outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, chanting Erdogan, Erdogan, We support you, and Death to Israel! Death to America!, the Fars news agency reported.Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted as saying that Erdogan's action exploded like a bomb around the world.Ahmad Janati, a hardline cleric who heads the powerful Guardians Council in Iran, sent a message to Erdogan hailing him for his courageous stand... against the Israeli criminals.The epic position you took will make Hamas and their supporters happy, he added.We hope Turkey will take a bold step and cut its political ties with Israel and kick out the ambassador of the Zionist regime, prominent MP Kazem Jalai told the Mehr news agency.Ahmadinejad has drawn international condemnation by repeatedly predicting the Jewish state is doomed to disappear and branding the Holocaust a myth.
US envoy in Jordan in bid to bolster Gaza truce Sat Jan 31, 6:05 am ET
AMMAN (AFP) – US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived in Jordan on Saturday for talks with King Abdullah II on consolidating the ceasefire that ended the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.Jordan's king is expected to tell Mitchell that the United States must be really engaged in the peace process based on a two-state solution, Israeli and Palestinian, a senior palace official told AFP.US President Barack Obama's new envoy said in Jerusalem on Friday that the United States is committed to actively and aggressively seeking lasting peace in the Middle East but warned there would be further setbacks.He kicked off his maiden regional tour in Egypt and has held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. He is still due to visit Saudi Arabia ahead of travelling to Europe.The 75-year-old former US senator, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland in 1998, has been charged by new Obama with vigorously resuscitating the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Hamas needs to be part of peace process: Blair Fri Jan 30, 6:49 pm ET
LONDON (Reuters) – Hamas should be part of the Middle East peace process, Tony Blair, envoy to the region of the international quartet of powers, said in comments published on Friday.I do think it is important that we find a way of bringing Hamas into this process, but it can only be done if Hamas are prepared to do it on the right terms, Blair said in an interview with the Times newspaper, published on its website.If you do this in the wrong way it can destabilize the very people in Palestine who have been working all through for the moderate cause.With a shaky ceasefire in place after the war in Gaza, efforts are under way to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.The West supports the Fatah administration in the West Bank and says it will not talk to Hamas unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.Former British Prime Minister Blair is the Middle East envoy for the quartet of Middle East peace negotiators -- the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union.
(Reporting by Matt Falloon; editing by Andrew Roche)
Cyprus searches suspected Hamas-arms ship By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 30, 2:14 pm ET
NICOSIA, Cyprus – Cypriot authorities on Friday searched a cargo ship suspected by the United States of carrying Iranian arms to Hamas militants in Gaza.Officials refused to divulge any details about the ship or its cargo.The Cypriot-flagged container ship Monchegorsk is anchored off the island's southern port of Limassol, where it arrived Thursday after a stop in Port Said, Egypt. The U.S. military stopped the vessel in the Red Sea last week, but allowed it to continue because the U.S. could not legally stop its journey or seize its cargo.Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said the ship had violated U.N. resolutions. But he gave no details, saying only that the ship was being searched.We're handling this responsibly, I can't at this time make any remarks that ... may create more problems, Christofias said.He added: We are investigating what it's carrying and I've told you that we must handle these things very responsibly and very seriously and without a lot of clamor in the media.Israel launched a 22-day offensive late last month on Hamas-controlled Gaza to try to end rocket fire on Israeli civilians and halt arms smuggling that has enabled Hamas to threaten southern Israel.Cyprus' Parliament Speaker Marios Garoyian described issues raised by ship as very sensitive.
Our aim is to resolve the matter in the best possible way without harming the interests of the Republic of Cyprus ... The less that is said the better.
Israel to give Spain information on Gaza raid probe Fri Jan 30, 1:40 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel on Friday said it would provide "relevant material" for a Spanish crimes against humanity probe over a 2002 Israeli bombing in Gaza, after vowing to quash the investigation.The Israeli justice ministry will provide the Spanish government with the relevant material, the foreign ministry said in a statement.Israel's embassy in Madrid on Friday sent judge Fernando Andreu of the National Audience documents which are still unofficial, in Hebrew and English, over the bombing in which a Hamas leader and 14 civilians were killed, a Spanish judicial source said.The judge will decide whether to go ahead with the inquiry or shelve it once the documents have been translated into Spanish, the source told AFP.Andreu agreed on Thursday to pursue a crimes against humanity complaint against seven senior Israeli military figures over the 2002 bombing, sparking strong objections from Israel.He was acting in line with Spain's assumption of the principle of universal jurisdiction in alleged cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni reiterated Israel's criticism of the probe, according to the foreign ministry statement.
The justice systems in different countries, including Spain, are being cynically used by politically motivated bodies that have nothing to do with with values or the rule of law and only want to criticise Israel, she said.The ministry said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told Livni the Spanish government decided to amend the law as soon as possible in order to prevent further such lawsuits.The complaint refers to an Israeli air attack on July 22, 2002, on Gaza City which killed a suspected leader of the Islamist movement Hamas, Salah Shehadeh, along with 14 civilians, mainly infants and children.Some 150 Palestinians were also wounded, according to the allegations.In his ruling, Andreu said the attack in a densely-populated area showed signs of constituting a crime against humanity, a judicial source said.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday rejected the complaint as delirious and said in a statement that he would do everything possible to get the investigation dismissed.
Obama supports Israeli genocide: Castro Fri Jan 30, 12:48 pm ET
HAVANA (AFP) – Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro unleashed his first condemnation Thursday of US President Barack Obama, accusing him of following previous US administrations by supporting Israel's genocide of the Palestinians.Castro attacked Obama for allegedly continuing the policies of his predecessor George W. Bush in giving unwavering support to Israel, and hence sharing the genocide against the Palestinians.The former Cuban president highlighted statements made by the Obama administration that reiterated its strong support for the Jewish state, which recently fought a 22-day war against the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip.In a foreign policy mission statement on its website, the US administration said its incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America's strongest ally in the Middle East.According to the statement, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden support this closeness, stating that the United States would never distance itself from Israel.Castro, who gave up power to his brother Raul in July 2006 for health reasons, said the United States had enabled Israel to become an important nuclear power, and kept on strengthening the military forces with which Israel threatens extreme violence against the population of all Muslim countries.In the article, published online on the website cubadebate.cu, the former Cuban president also criticized Obama for suggesting Havana would have to make concessions before Washington considers returning the territory of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
The territory was leased to the United States indefinitely in 1903 after the US occupation of Cuba during the 1898 Spanish-American war. Havana has previously, but unsuccessfully challenged the lease.Obama is demanding a change in communist Cuba's political regime, Castro wrote, adding that this was a price Cuba has fought against paying for the last half century.Maintaining the controversial military base -- which continues to house war on terror suspects -- on Cuban soil is against the will of our people, violating the most fundamental principles of international law, said Castro.His comments were in sharp contrast to the warm words the 82-year-old Cuban revolutionary leader reportedly voiced last week for the newly-inaugurated Obama.He told me that (Obama) not only had a very good background as a political leader, but also that he was a man he saw as being absolutely sincere, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner said after meeting with Castro.Cuba's government condemned Israel at the beginning of its 22-day assault on Gaza earlier this month, which left more than 1,300 dead and caused widespread destruction in the tiny Palestinian enclave.
Israel was committing a genocidal act against the Palestinian civilian population, a government statement charged in the newspaper Juventud Rebelde.
US puts up $20 million for Gaza relief By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 30, 10:32 am ET
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Friday made an emergency contribution of more than $20 million for urgent relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, a day after the United Nations launched a flash appeal for $613 million to help Palestinians recover from Israel's three-week military operation there.The State Department said President Barack Obama had authorized the use of $20.3 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for humanitarian assistance to the 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.The money will go to U.N. agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which are distributing emergency food assistance, providing medical care and temporary shelter, creating temporary employment and restoring access to electricity and potable water, the department said in a statement.The Israeli offensive killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, Palestinian officials say. The assault was launched to halt years of Hamas rocket fire on southern Israel.
Hamas persecuting Fatah members in Gaza by Mehdi Lebouachera Mehdi Lebouachera – Fri Jan 30, 9:01 am ET
GAZA CITY (AFP) – The Hamas rulers of Gaza are persecuting members of the archrival Fatah movement in a bid to quash any opposition to their grip on the Palestinian territory, human rights groups and victims claim.Dozens of Fatah members as well as people accused of being collaborators were attacked by Hamas during and after the three-week Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian human rights groups.The Islamists also put known members of the Fatah party of secular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas under house arrest, according several testimonies.
Taher al Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government denied Fatah members were being persecuted, dismissing the claims as lies spread by Ramallah, where Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are based.There have been dozens of cases of persecution across the territory during and after the war. There have been grave violations of human rights and investigations must be launched, said Samir Mussa, a lawyer with the Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights.The group says it has evidence that 10 prisoners were executed after they were accused of collaborating with Israel because Israeli forces bombarded the prison in which they were held.One of the prisoners, Saleh Hajuj, was executed outside Gaza City's Al Shifa hospital, in full view of doctors and patients. He had been taken to the hospital after being wounded in the bombing.The security HQ, the prisons, the courts have been destroyed. So the government settles its scores in the streets, Mussa told AFP.Hamas is determined to consolidate its power as it fears a Fatah comeback in Gaza, he said.The Islamist movement violently seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to Abbas.Hamas is afraid the same thing will be done to them as happened in June (2007), a Fatah member said, asking not to be named.Witnesses say armed and masked Hamas men show up at night at the homes of people the Islamists deem suspect, shoot them in the legs or drag them away to be interrogated.Osama Attalah, a 50-year-old Fatah member was found in the Shifa hospital morgue on Thursday. Masked men came to our house on Wednesday night. One of them showed us his interior security ID. He told us not to be afraid and that they were picking up Osama for routine questioning, a relative said.We don't know why they killed him.Attalah, a school teacher and a father of five, was shot in the back, according to family members.
The Najjar family had a similar visit on January 4. Hicham Najjar, a 51-year-old Fatah supporter, was shot dead and 10 members of his family, including a seven-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman, were wounded.They made us lie down on the ground. When the women of the family came down to see what was going on, they opened fire blindly, said Hicham's son Ammar.A young man, speaking from his hospital bed, said he had received several anonymous telephone calls during the war telling him not to leave his home. The day of the ceasefire, masked men came to my home and shot me in the leg, he said, declining to give his identity for fear of being attacked again. I used to be with Fatah, but I left the party five years ago. I think they made a mistake.
Israel's Netanyahu rejects evacuation of settlers Fri Jan 30, 5:23 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to evacuate Jewish settlements in the West Bank if he is named prime minister after February 10 elections, Haaretz daily reported on Friday.Netanyahu, the frontrunner for the parliamentary elections, insisted he would not be tied by any pledge made by outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to withdraw settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory.I will not keep Olmert's commitments to withdraw and I won't evacuate settlements. Those understandings are invalid and unimportant, the newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying.Olmert told visiting US peace envoy George Mitchell earlier this week that Israel had offered in negotiations with the Palestinians to remove 60,000 settlers from the West Bank, according to Yediot Aharonot newspaper.He also wants Israel to annex large Jewish settlement blocs in exchange for the transfer to a future Palestinian state of territory in southern Israel, the daily said.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, whose centrist Kadima party trails Netanyahu's right-wing Likud in opinion polls, distanced herself from Olmert's statements, telling a meeting in Tel Aviv on Thursday they did not represent her views.A total of 285,000 settlers live in the West Bank and another 200,000 in annexed east Jerusalem, both of which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.Palestinians and the international community consider settlements a major hurdle to the peace process.
After confrontation, back to business at Davos By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER and COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writers – Fri Jan 30, 4:28 am ET
DAVOS, Switzerland – Efforts to fight global warming, help Africa and revive the faltering world economy were front and center at the World Economic Forum Friday, a day after Middle East tensions flared publicly at the elite gathering.An outburst by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had shocked the business and political elites Thursday night. Erdogan walked off the stage after trading accusations with Israeli President Shimon Peres.But on Friday, worries about global warming will get attention as forum participants look at the consequences of rising seas, expanding deserts and disappearing forests. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are also set to make appearances.Nobel Peace prize winner Al Gore will join U.N. climate change chief Yvo de Boer and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to look at prospects for a global climate pact by the end of this year. Later former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan leads talks on how to make any such deal fairer to poor countries.Annan also meets several African heads of state to discuss how to ensure the crisis-challenged rich world keeps its promises on aid to Africa.Early Friday, Erdogan was warmly greeted on arriving back home as some 5,000 supporters waving Turkish and Palestinian flags flooded Istanbul's airport when his plane touched down.Turkish TV showed some of the supporters outside of the airport gate holding banners that applauded his stance in Davos. CNN television said extra buses were being added so more people could turn out to welcome him.
Erdogan's angry exit Thursday night capped an hour-long debate at the forum. Erdogan tried to rebut Peres as the discussion was ending, asking the moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, to let him speak again.You kill people, Erdogan told the Israeli leader, speaking in Turkish through a translator. I remember the children who died on beaches. I remember two former prime ministers who said they felt very happy when they were able to enter Palestine on tanks.Afterward, Erdogan stressed he left not because of a dispute with Peres but because he was not given time to respond to the Israeli leader's remarks. Erdogan also complained that Peres had 25 minutes while he was only given 12 minutes.A Peres confidant, who asked not to be identified, emphasized that the two men have good ties and that the president understood that Erdogan's hasty exit was directed at the moderator, not at him.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli election front-runner Benjamin Netanyahu told another session in Davos that keeping nuclear weapons out of Iran's hands was more important than the economy because the financial meltdown is reversible.Iran maintains that it is seeking nuclear power for peaceful purposes and not for a weapons program.An Iranian official in Davos appeared to extend a hand to the Obama administration as discussion broadened to include Iran, oil and what might be expected from the new leaders in Washington.Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran would take a cooperative approach with the U.S. as long as it saw changes that go beyond words.We do believe that if the new administration of the United States, as Mr. Obama says, is going to change its policies not in saying but practice, they will find in the region a cooperative approach and reaction, Mottaki said.http://www.weforum.org
