EGYPT BANS GAZA AIDE

Egypt bars Gaza-bound aid convoys
JAN 9,10 9AM

CAIRO (AFP) – Aid convoys bound for the Gaza Strip will now be banned from travelling across Egypt after activists this week clashed with police, the foreign minister said in remarks published on Saturday.Ahmed Abul Gheit told government newspaper Al-Ahram that members of one convoy led by British MP George Galloway committed criminal acts on Egyptian soil on their way to the blockaded Palestinian coastal enclave.Egypt will no longer allow convoys, regardless of their origin or who is organising them, from crossing its territory, Abul Gheit said.Members of the (Viva Palestina) convoy committed hostile acts, even criminal ones, on Egyptian territory, the foreign minister added without elaborating.On Tuesday night activists with the Viva Palestina convoy clashed with police in Egyptian the port town of El-Arish, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from the Gaza border.They had been protesting an Egyptian decision to send some of the convoy's trucks to Gaza through Israel.

Seven protesters were arrested during Tuesday's clashes, but police swapped them for four policemen held by the activists.A prosecutor in El-Arish later issued warrants for the arrest of seven activists, including two Britons and an American woman.Abul Gheit was speaking to Al-Ahram from Washington where he is on a visit to discuss the Middle East peace process. He said that, from now on aid, to Gaza must be handed over to the Red Crescent at El-Arish who will turn it over to the Palestinian chapter of the Muslim relief organisation in Gaza.The comments come a day after a foreign ministry official told Galloway he was no longer welcome in Egypt as he flew out of the country.Later on Friday, Galloway told Sky News television he and a friend had been bundled into a car and given little choice but to get on a plane out of Egypt.On the steps of the plane a representative of the foreign affairs ministry in Egypt told me that I was declared persona non grata, he said.Egypt accused Galloway, who once called at a London rally for the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, of trying to embarrass the country, which has refused to permanently open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

Lebanon asks US to reverse ban on Hezbollah TV
Sat Jan 9, 7:59 am ET

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has urged the United States to reverse a decision to ban the Hezbollah television channel, Al-Manar, during talks with US Senator John MCain.President Sleiman asked that Washington backtrack on its decision to ban certain television channels, including Al-Manar, a statement from his office said after the Friday meeting.Sleiman's concerns come after the US House of Representatives passed a bill in December calling for punitive measures against Middle East television networks seen as fuelling anti-American hatred.Arab information ministers are due to meet on January 24 at the Cairo headquarters of the 22-member Arab League to discuss the US bill.The bill, adopted in a decisive 395-3 vote, asks President Barack Obama to report, six months after the text has passed,on anti-American incitement to violence in the Middle East, and for other purposes.

For years, media outlets in the Middle East have repeatedly published or broadcast incitements to violence against the United States and Americans,the bill read.The networks listed include Al-Aqsa, the television station of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, which broadcasts from the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah's Al-Manar.Al-Manar is on a list of terrorist organisations announced in December 2004 by the United States, where the television has lost its feed and is banned from broadcasting.Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and its key Middle East ally Israel, although the Shiite movement is a major political party in Lebanon.Hezbollah has two ministers in the new national unity cabinet that US- and Western-backed Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri unveiled in November.

Palestinians list preconditions for peace talks
Sat Jan 9, 5:28 am ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) – The resumption of Middle East peace talks requires a full Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP on Saturday.A resumption of peace talks requires the complete halt of settlements, Erakat said a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged both sides to revive peace talks without preconditions.Erakat also said negotiations should be picked up from the point they were left when they broke down in December 2008.

Clinton urges resumption of Mideast talks by Lachlan Carmichael – Sat Jan 9, 12:23 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks without preconditions, backing Palestinian aims for a state along the 1967 boundaries.However, trying to revive Obama administration diplomacy that fell flat last year, Clinton said the lines would be modified through mutually agreed land swaps, presumably to account for some Israeli settlements that would remain.Flanked by Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Clinton urged the Palestinians to try to end settlements through negotiations on core issues rather than conditioning the resumption of talks on a total freeze.As Minister Judeh and discussed earlier, resolving borders Jerusalem resolves settlements. Resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements, the chief US diplomat told reporters.We are working with the Israelis, the (Palestinian Authority), and the Arab states to take the steps needed to relaunch the negotiations as soon as possible and without preconditions, Clinton said.The parties can reach a solution that reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders,she said.Clinton was referring to the boundaries at the end of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, moving in the direction of Palestinian demands for a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital.The United States says the status of Jerusalem, all of which Israel claims as its capital, and the exact boundaries of a future state must be determined through negotiations.In her opening remarks, Clinton also said both Washington and Amman were concerned about recent activities in Jerusalem, echoing their opposition to new Jewish settlement building in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.Though Clinton did not say so, Judeh alluded to a two-year timeline for negotiations mentioned in a television interview Wednesday by US envoy George Mitchell, whom the Jordanian met here Friday.

We agreed on the need to relaunch serious negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, negotiations that are bound by a timeline and a clear plan,Judeh said.The risk of violence increases if negotiations are open-ended, he warned.Clinton and Mitchell also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.We come to try and regenerate energy and to create enough momentum for peace efforts, Abul Gheit told reporters as he and Clinton posed for the cameras before their meeting.It is crucial that we would win.Egypt and Jordan are the key Arab mediators as the only Arab countries to have made peace with Israel.

The US initiative will continue when Mitchell leaves Sunday for Paris and Brussels for consultations with allies and more members of the quartet made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.US officials said Friday that Mitchell already met in the last few days with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Mitchell is due to return to the United States before heading to the Middle East by the end of the month. Days after entering the White House in January last year, President Barack Obama signaled that Arab-Israeli peace was a top priority. But the effort stalled as Arab nations accused the administration of reneging on its demand that hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government completely freeze Jewish settlement construction.On Monday, Israel's Maariv newspaper said Washington was pushing a plan to restart peace talks that foresees reaching a final deal in two years and agreeing on permanent borders in nine months.

Israeli village mashes up world's largest hummus by Patrick Moser – Fri Jan 8, 2:37 pm ET

ABU GHOSH, Israel (AFP) – Fifty chefs in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh on Friday mashed up over four tonnes of hummus, beating the Guinness World Record set in Lebanon just months ago.This is a new record, said Guinness adjudicator Jack Brookbank as the massive dip, dished out in a six-metre (20 foot) satellite dish provided by sponsors, weighed in at 4,087.5 kilos (8992.5 pounds).That is about twice as much as the previous record set in October in neighbouring Lebanon, Israel's political and culinary rival.I've heard Lebanon is already planning to strike back, Brockbank told AFP as a band struck up a traditional Arabic tune to words hailing the humble hummus.A simple but tasty dish of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, hummus stirs passions and rivalries across much of the Middle East.Lebanon recently sought to have the European Union register the dip as a Lebanese speciality, drawing hoots of derision from Israeli afficionados, who claim that would be like claiming intellectual ownership of bread.Hummus, sometimes described as one of the oldest known prepared foods, is enjoyed in much of the Middle East and has probably been around for centuries.Most hummus pundits agree its historical origins are lost in the sands of time, with various theories mentioning several areas of the Middle East, Rome, Greece and the Crusaders.For Jawadat Ibrahim, who organised the event, the roots of the popular dish are irrelevant.It's something we all share and enjoy, said Ibrahim, who owns the Abu Ghosh Restaurant in the heart of the Arab-Israeli village of the same name which every weekends attracts hordes of hungry visitors, many in search of the perfect hummus.About 50 chefs worked side by side to prepare the massive plate of hummus set up on a specially erected platform outside the restaurant located just a short drive from Jerusalem.The Guinness official was impressed.It's really very good, Brockbank told AFP.I was a little worried they might sacrifice quality for quantity, but that was not the case,he said.

Ibrahim was beaming.

Abu Ghosh is the town of the biggest hummus plate in history, he shouted out to cheers from a crowd of several hundred.He acknowledged that Lebanese hummus is very good but boasted that Abu Gosh is the hummus capital of the world -- fighting words to rival fans.With Lebanon apparently determined to one-up Abu Ghosh, Brockbank is convinced it's going to be a long battle.But a nice one,he added.

Gaza militants aspire to al-Qaida link, study says By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 8, 2:04 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Palestinian militant groups are trying to link with al-Qaida, but Osama bin Laden's terror network has so far snubbed Hamas and its offshoots for infighting and failure to prove their global jihadist intentions, a new study says.Al-Qaida has granted formal ties with insurgent organizations in Yemen and North Africa but doesn't yet appear to believe that Hamas and its splinter groups are sufficiently focused beyond Israel to the Western world, according to the study by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.The study, which was obtained by The Associated Press and is scheduled to be released next week, suggests al-Qaida may be waiting patiently for one of the Gaza-based terror groups to establish itself — perhaps by successfully attacking Western targets.Al-Qaida likely remains unconvinced of the ideological commitment of groups like Jaish al-Islam, said Matthew Levitt, co-author of the study.Al-Qaida may also have concerns about the survivability of such groups, including their susceptibility to infiltration by Israeli intelligence.Levitt's co-author is Yoram Cohen, who until recently served as the deputy director of the Israel Security Agency, Shin Bet.

Their report quotes one militant leader as saying, We are waiting to carry out a big jihadist operation" dedicated to bin Laden. If al-Qaida asks us to pledge allegiance to it, we are completely ready for it.U.S. administrations have struggled but so far failed to broker an enduring deal in the six-decade old Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the establishment of a Palestinian state.Hamas surged to power in Palestine in 2007, and has pounded Israel with rocket attacks. A year ago, Israel struck back with a fierce offensive that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead, including many civilians.Since then Gaza's Hamas rulers have gained strength but they've also drawn sharp criticism from extremist operatives who have denounced the group's temporary cease fires or truces with Israel, and call for the immediate implementation of Sharia — or strict Islamic — law.According to the study, the rift between Hamas and its more formidable extremist offshoots — such as Jaish al-Umma, Jaish al-Islam and Jaish Ansar Allah — provides fertile ground for al-Qaida-inspired terrorism. So far, however, the numbers are low, with about 200-300 militants in each group.Small numbers of foreign fighters also slip into Gaza, including radicalized Europeans from France and Belgium along with militants from Egypt and Yemen.Levitt and Cohen warn that the al-Qaida-inspired groups in Gaza think big and are regularly plotting large-scale attacks against Israel.Their capabilities could be enhanced if larger numbers of foreign fighters enter Gaza or if Palestinians who have fought abroad return there,the report says.On the Net:Washington Institute for Near East Policy: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateI01.php

Israeli strikes against Gaza tunnels kill 3 By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 8, 4:10 am ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli airstrikes against targets in Gaza killed three men early Friday in a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, Palestinian officials reported.The Israeli strikes came in retaliation for a rocket and mortar barrage launched into Israel on Thursday.The bodies of two men killed when missiles hit a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border have reached the morgue at nearby Rafah Hospital, according to Dr. Salam Abu Salem. An AP Television News cameraman saw a third body being removed later Friday from the same tunnel.Dozens of Palestinian smugglers have died in collapses and strikes against the tunnels, which are used to bring everything from cigarettes and chocolate to livestock and weapons into the blockaded territory. Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade to weaken Gaza's rulers, the Islamic militants of Hamas, who violently seized power there in 2007.Israel's military said that in addition to the smuggling tunnels its aircraft also targeted a weapons manufacturing facility and another tunnel meant to allow militants to sneak into Israel for an attack.In a statement, the military said Israel will not tolerate the firing of rockets by terrorist organizations at Israel and will continue to respond against any attempt to disrupt the calm in Israel's southern communities.

Israel has developed an anti-rocket system, dubbed Iron Dome, which is slated to be deployed along the Gaza border later this year and could neutralize the crude rockets that have become the Gaza militants' most effective weapon. Egypt has also begun building an anti-tunnel barrier along its border with Gaza, potentially ending Hamas' supply of cash and weapons.Together, the two moves by Gaza's neighbors could soon change the strategic equation in and around the territory.Violence in Gaza has dropped but not ceased since Israel's devastating offensive in the territory a year ago, aimed at halting years of rocket fire at Israeli towns and cities nearby.On Thursday, the U.N. said Israel had agreed in principle to pay the organization around $10 million for damage caused to U.N. buildings by Israeli forces during the fighting. An Israeli official said an agreement on such a payment was close but had not been finalized.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of planting explosives By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 7, 8:51 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS – Israel said Thursday that 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of buried explosives recently discovered by U.N. forces in southern Lebanon were likely planted by Hezbollah operatives.Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the government believes the explosives were an advanced type possibly industrially produced in Iran or Syria.In letters to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, Shalev said the explosives were another serious violation of the 2006 council resolution that ended the 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah war. The resolution bans Hezbollah and other militias and their weapons from the area between the Litani River and the U.N.-drawn boundary with Israel.The buried explosive devices were discovered on Dec. 26 about one kilometer (less than a mile) from the border by a U.N. peacekeeping patrol when they searched the area after suspicious figures fled the scene, Shalev said.Israel ... believes that the types of explosives and the manner in which they were deployed demonstrate that it was Hezbollah operatives that, in fact, planted the ... explosives, she said.Shalev did not say how Israel was informed of the discovery, in the area of Mazraat Sarda near Al-Khiyam.She said the Lebanese government is responsible for all violations of the resolution and must take serious steps to tackle Hezbollah's growing military activity, particularly in civilian villages.Israel expects a full and prompt investigation into the circumstances of this incident and wants the results sent to the Security Council as soon as possible, Shalev said.She said Israel is still waiting for the results of an investigation into an incident in Tayr Falsay. On Oct. 12, a fire, possibly caused by an explosion, erupted in the garage of a residential building owned by a Hezbollah official in the village. Shalev said a Hezbollah arms depot exploded.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of keeping other weapons caches south of the Litani River. In October, Israeli Navy commandos stopped a cargo vessel which Israel said was bound for Hezbollah with missiles, anti-tank weapons, grenades and ammunition. Hezbollah denied the arms were meant for them.While Israel has criticized the more than 13,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon in the past for failing to stop arms smuggling, Shalev said the government welcomes the force's efficient activity in discovering the latest violation.The fact that the latest discovery took place at night, she said, demonstrates the need for the U.N. peacekeepers to intensify their activities.

Israel signals tougher terms for prisoner swap talks
Thu Jan 7, 7:29 pm ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled a tougher stance in talks on a possible prisoner swap with Hamas Islamists involving a captive Israeli soldier, an official in his office said on Thursday.As a German mediator renewed talks between Israel and Hamas after a holiday hiatus, a senior Israeli official said Netanyahu would not allow any additional maneuvering room in negotiations that have dragged on for months.The statement issued by the official suggested the prisoner talks, which seemed near a breakthrough last month, may now take longer than anticipated.Under a proposed deal about 1,000 of the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails would go free in exchange for the soldier Gilad Shalit, now aged 23, seized by militants who tunneled into Israel from the Gaza Strip.Netanyahu has said privately in the past few days that Israel was making great efforts to bring Gilad Shalit home, safe and sound, and will continue to do so for a long time but would insist on meeting Israeli security needs, the official said.

Israel would demand that dozens of Palestinians jailed for involvement in lethal attacks, whose release Hamas has sought, be deported upon their release, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Officials familiar with the talks have said Israel was intent on barring Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis from returning to the occupied West Bank, which is close to Israeli population centers. They might instead be sent to Gaza or foreign countries.Hamas had accepted that some released prisoners would be exiled but wanted them to be able to choose their destinations, officials have said.As a right-wing leader, Netanyahu faces a particular dilemma in freeing Palestinians who could commit further violence, though he is also under great public pressure to free the soldier, largely because military conscription in Israel is compulsory.(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by David Stamp)

Hamas squeezed between Iron Dome and steel wall By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 7, 6:45 pm ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Gaza's Hamas rulers have suffered back-to-back setbacks with Israel's successful test of a rocket shield and Egypt's push to block smuggling tunnels.The Iron Dome rocket defense system, reportedly to be deployed near Gaza in May, would deprive Hamas of its main leverage against Israel — the threat of rocket salvos. Egypt's underground anti-tunnel barrier of steel beams, now under construction, could eventually cut Hamas' supply of cash and weapons.The looming double squeeze is poised to limit Hamas' options and change the rules of engagement on Gaza's volatile, blockaded borders.However, the Islamic militants remain firmly entrenched in the territory they seized from their Western-backed Fatah rivals in 2007.Hamas has already struck back against the steel wall by trying to rally public opinion against Egypt and experts warn Hamas could attempt to renew suicide attacks in Israel if rockets are intercepted.Hamas can adjust to any new circumstances, said Ahmed Yousef, an official in the group, without giving specifics. He said more pressure on the movement would only make it more popular.

In recent years, Hamas, Israel and Egypt have been locked in a violent impasse.

Since 2006, following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Gaza militants, Israel and Egypt have kept Gaza largely sealed, mainly to contain Hamas. The Islamic militants, in turn, tried to force open the borders by firing crude rockets, often triggering harsh Israeli retaliation.After Israel unleashed a punishing offensive against Gaza a year ago to stop the daily barrages, rocket and mortar fire ebbed but did not stop. Meanwhile, basic goods, cash and weapons kept coming in through tunnels from Egypt, in addition to limited humanitarian supplies Israel lets through one of its crossings into Gaza.Israel's Iron Dome and Egypt's steel wall could change the equation, analysts said.This weakens the position of Hamas in the strip and confronts them with a challenge, on ... the Egyptian and the Israeli front, said Ephraim Halevy, former chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency.They will now have to devise a strategy to face up to these new developments.Israel announced Wednesday that it successfully tested the Iron Dome system, which intercepts short-range missiles of the type fired from Gaza and Lebanon.Developed at a cost of more than $200 million, it shoots down incoming rockets within seconds of their launch, the Defense Ministry said. The system is so sophisticated that it can almost instantly predict where a rocket will land, changing its calculations to account for wind, sun and other conditions in fractions of a second.Israeli security officials acknowledge the system is expensive and will probably not be able to stop every rocket. Nonetheless, they say it is an important development in protecting Israelis and will strike an important psychological blow to Hamas.

The first battery is to be deployed in May to shield the town of Sderot near Gaza, the most frequent target of rocket attacks in recent years, according to Israel Channel 10 TV.Uzi Rubin, a former top Defense Ministry official who was in charge of the long range anti-missile Arrow project, said changes will be profound. Until now, we were totally exposed to anyone in Gaza who had a rocket to shoot at Israel, he said.The ability (of Hamas) to cause losses and casualties in Israel will be greatly diminished.Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas' military wing — Izzedine al Qassam — declined comment on Iron Dome.A Hamas security officer in Gaza City, who is not linked to the military wing, shrugged off Israel's shield, saying it would be very expensive to shoot down every rocket. He refused to be quoted by name, in keeping with Hamas practice. Ted Postol, an expert on missile defense at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was not familiar with all the details of Iron Dome, but believed it could help protect small communities from direct hits. However, he said it was not clear if the system could stop a massive rocket barrage, and the high cost could also be a problem. A homemade projectile costs less than $200, Hamas said, while intercepting one would cost around $100,000. Rubin, the former defense ministry official, said the shield is worthwhile anyway, citing the high human and economic cost to communities that live under rocket threat.

Israeli experts say the cost will drop once the system is in mass production. For now, cross-border friction typical of the recent years still plays itself out. Early Friday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a series of targets, including smuggling tunnels, a Hamas training site and a metal workshop. Hospital doctors say one man was killed. Earlier, Gaza militants had fired a rocket toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon and at least 10 mortar rounds toward Israel's border, causing no injuries or damages. Militants said the mortar fire came in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that killed a Gaza gunman and wounded three earlier this week. Three of the mortars hit the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main conduit for humanitarian goods into Gaza, but caused no damage. In response, Israel closed the crossing, stopping a shipment of food and medicine. On Wednesday, Hamas loyalists clashed with Egyptian troops over Egypt's border wall. An Egyptian border guard was killed and seven Gazans were wounded in a brief exchange of fire. Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a stern warning, saying it would not stand for another violent protest on the border.

Some, meanwhile, have questioned the effectiveness of the steel wall, saying tunnel smugglers could simply dig deeper. Khaled Hroub, a Hamas expert and lecturer at Cambridge University, said he believes the recent developments will restrict Hamas' military options, but not its control over Gaza. Demonstrating its position of power, Hamas last week opened its first four-year police academy to mark the anniversary of the Dec. 27, 2008 start of Israel's military offensive against Gaza. On the first day of the war, massive Israeli bombing raids had killed more than 250 Hamas police in their posts. Hundreds of young Gazans competed for 155 spots in the academy's freshmen class, said Raed Barghout, a spokesman. On Thursday, the young cadets jogged along Gaza's coastal road in black track suits in the morning drill, chanting slogans about liberating the homeland. We wanted to tell the world that you can't suppress the government of Gaza,Barghout said.

U.N. found Hezbollah arms pits in Lebanon: Israel By Louis Charbonneau – Thu Jan 7, 5:53 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon recently uncovered hundreds of pounds of explosive devices near the Israeli border, which the Jewish state said on Thursday had been planted by Lebanese Hezbollah militants.Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council that U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon encountered suspicious individuals on December 26 and later found pits containing around 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of explosive devices.Shalev said the devices were possibly industrially produced in Iran or Syria. She added that the types of explosives and the manner in which they were deployed showed that Hezbollah planted them.Shalev gave no details about the explosive devices. U.N. officials in New York had no immediate comment.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River and the Blue Line, the U.N.-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon.Israel has criticized the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, UNIFIL, for not stopping weapons it says are still flowing to Hezbollah guerrillas. The United Nations says that is the responsibility of the Lebanese authorities.The Lebanese government must take serious steps in order to tackle the growing phenomenon of Hezbollah military activity, particularly in civilian villages, Shalev said.Israel expects a full and prompt investigation into the circumstances of this incident, she said, adding that the Security Council should be informed of the results of the investigation as soon as possible.U.S. President Barack Obama urged Lebanon last month to crack down on arms smuggling into the country, saying the weapons posed a potential threat to neighboring Israel.The United States has accused Iran of illicit arms deliveries to Hezbollah guerrillas.Israel said in November that its navy had seized a ship carrying hundreds of tons of Iranian-supplied weapons to Hezbollah, a political movement and also the dominant military force in Lebanon, stronger even than the Lebanese army. Hezbollah denied any connection to the shipment.(Editing by Eric Beech)

Mitchell to visit Europe, Middle East in January
Thu Jan 7, 5:30 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Middle East envoy visits Europe next week and the region later this month as Washington tries to coax the Palestinians and Israel back to peace talks, the State Department said on Thursday.The State Department said George Mitchell will visit Paris and Brussels next week to meet European officials and members of the quartet of Middle East peace mediators, which groups the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.Mitchell's travel is part of a push to try to resume peace talks broken off a year ago over the Gaza War. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to hold talks with foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan in Washington on Friday as part of that effort.Israel, Egypt and the United States want Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume negotiations but he has so far refused to do so as long as Israel allows construction of any kind in Jewish West Bank settlements.The State Department said Mitchell would leave for Europe on Sunday and will return to the United States before flying to the Middle East later in the month. It did not give precise dates or stops for his trip to the region.(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Israel complains to US over Palestinian incitement
Thu Jan 7, 2:57 pm ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel has complained to the United States that the Palestinian leadership is glorifying those involved in attacks against the Jewish state, officials said on Thursday.Over the last few days the Israeli government has raised serious concerns with Washington over incitement in the Palestinian Authority, a senior Israeli official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.The official said Israel took its concerns to Washington -- which has been mediating between the two sides, trying to get them back to long-stalled peace talks -- in the hope that they would take up the issue with the Palestinians.Israel was angered when Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas reportedly endorsed the naming of a public square in the West Bank city of Ramallah after Dalal Mughrabi, a woman who led an attack on a bus in 1978 that killed 38 Israelis, the official said.Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayad reportedly referred to three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces last week as martyrs. Israel said they launched an attack that killed a settler driving in the occupied West Bank.Israel's complaints were conveyed to the White House and State Department, the official said without providing further details.These people are terrorists and murderers, not martyrs, Ron Dermer, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told AFP.

We expect the Palestinian Authority to prepare the Palestinian people to live in peace with Israel, not to glorify killers and name public squares after them, he said.Palestinian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Israel successfully tests Iron Dome missile shield
By Ilene R. Prusher – Thu Jan 7, 1:57 pm ET CH SC MON

Jerusalem – Israel tested the use of its new Iron Dome antimissile system several times over the past few days, boosting the likelihood that it can neutralize or severely weaken the ability of Hamas and Hezbollah to launch successful missile strikes at the Jewish state.In recent days, the short-range missile defense system that has been developed over the past 2-1/2 years by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a government-owned company, has been successfully tested against Qassam rockets, Grad rockets, and mortar shells. The system is expected to be fully operational in May.But after Israel announced the successful tests on Wednesday, Hamas in Gaza appeared to answer on Thursday with a round of mortar fire from the Gaza Strip. At least 10 mortar shells hit Israel on Thursday.The Iron Dome is designed to target the weapons of Israel's most significant regional enemies. These include Hamas's mortar shells and Qassam rockets, Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets, and even Iranian Fajr rockets, some of which Israel says have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz newspaper. The program is part of an improved, multilayered defense system that Israel has been developing over the past decade. This includes the Arrow system for long-range ballistic missiles and a still-under-construction medium-range system called Magic Wand.

How it works

One of the advantages of the Iron Dome system is that it can distinguish worthwhile targets - missiles headed for a populated area – from those destined to land in an open field, for example, and not worth trying to knock out of the sky. In wartime, such a tool could be crucial. During Israel's war with Lebanon in the summer of 2006, more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets were fired into Israeli territory.The system has radar detection systems that Rafael says quickly pick up missile launches, transmit data to a computerized launch system, and can then quickly determine if a missile should be launched to intercept the rocket.If the estimated rocket trajectory poses a critical threat, a command is given within seconds and an interceptor is launched, the company writes. The interceptors themselves are maneuverable and have radars of their own to guide them to the target.Shorter-range missiles have become an ongoing threat to Israeli security, and were the ostensible reason Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza in late 2008. While past defense systems focused on long-range missiles, shorter-range missiles were deemed harder to hit because they take off and land so quickly. But the Iron Dome can neutralize rockets with a range between 2.5 miles and 50 miles. That would cover most of the rockets that can be fired from Gaza into Israel, as well as those from southern Lebanon. For the first time, Iron Dome faced multiple threats simultaneously. All the threats were intercepted with complete success,a statement from Israel's Defense Ministry said.To be sure, the system comes at a cost. Rafael has estimated that it will cost about $50,000 to shoot down an incoming rocket from the Gaza Strip, while Gaza rocket makers say they can make crude Qassam rockets for as little as $200.

Strategic shift

Analysts say that the new system offers a major strategic shift in how Israel can approach the missile threat.It's a fundamental change in the situation in a very broad sense, says Uzi Rubin, of Rubincon Defense Consulting.With the Qassams, Katyushas, and Sajjils, we were sitting ducks. They could fire at an Israeli city and cause no small amount of mayhem, Rubin says. Until around 2001, longer-range missiles from Iraq or Iran were considered to be the primary threat, and the main tool was an early-warning system, which sent off sirens telling people to hurry into bomb shelters.That's passive defense, which just aims to minimize fatalities. But this is a move from total helplessness to active defense, Rubin adds.Nonetheless, Rubin doesn't expect that it will change the dynamics of conflict.Hamas will still try to shoot rockets of various ranges at Israel. This is an ongoing war – they'll find other means to fight us, he says.But from their point of view, it will rob them of the ability to inflict easy casualties.

Labour MP quits Israeli parliament
Thu Jan 7, 1:05 pm ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – A Labour MP quit Israel's parliament on Thursday, further weakening the once-dominant centre-left party that is increasingly torn by internal divisions.Ophir Pines-Paz, 48, was highly critical of the coalition government of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the Labour party is a partner.

Netanyahu's government is giving up on future generations to maintain the current status quo, he said in reference to peace talks with the Palestinians, which have been stalled for more than a year.Pines-Paz said in a statement he felt he could no longer reconcile his values with his position in parliament.He will be replaced in parliament by the next person on Labour's list of candidates.Labour under Defence Minister Ehud Barak saw its support plummet in February elections when it got only 13MPs in the 120-member parliament.Labour governed Israel since the creation of the state in 1948 until 1977.

Man threatening Jews hauled off flight in Miami
Thu Jan 7, 9:40 am ET

MIAMI (Reuters) – A man who described himself as a Palestinian and said he wanted to kill all the Jews was hauled off a Detroit-bound Delta Air Lines flight in Miami and arrested, authorities said on Thursday.The plane was taxiing away from the terminal at Miami International Airport on Wednesday night when 43-year-old Mansor Mohammad Asad of Toledo, Ohio, began making loud anti-Semitic comments and chanting, apparently in Arabic, Miami-Dade police said in a statement.I'm Palestinian and I want (to) kill all Jews, he said, according to witnesses.The pilot returned the aircraft to the terminal and a Taser device was used to neutralize Asad after he charged an arresting officer, the police statement said.The incident came amid heightened airline security concerns following the attempted bombing of a Northwest flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.Police said Asad faced several criminal charges including threats against a public servant and disorderly conduct. The Delta plane departed for Detroit following a thorough security sweep.(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Will Dunham)