Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, December 13, 2004

MEMRI:Leading Egyptian Government Daily Columnist: Develop Relations with Israel and Drop the Negative Attitudes Towards Her

Under the title 'Relations with Israel,' columnist Hazem Abd Al-Rahman, in the leading Egyptian Government daily Al-Ahram, calls for developing Egyptian-Israeli relations and dropping the negative attitude towards Israel. The following are excerpts from the article:(1)

'Egyptian-Israeli relations occupy an important place in Egypt's foreign policy and the first serious signs of openness in [Egyptian-Israeli] relations that we are now observing are important.

'Enhancing relations with Israel also increases Egypt's ability to influence Israel's policy towards the Palestinians in the territories in a way that will fulfill the [Palestinians'] national aspirations, [their] right to self-determination, and the establishment of a state for the Palestinian people. It is obvious that under conditions of a 'cold peace,' no such opportunity exists. This is because when relations diminish or stagnate, the ability to take advantage of them in order to influence also diminishes or stagnates.

'In addition, the development of relations with Israel and interest in [these relations] can open a window [of opportunity] that will free Egyptian-Israeli relations from any form of reliance upon [Egypt's] relations with the U.S. It is not natural, necessary, or essential for relations with Israel to be influenced by [Egypt's] relations with the U.S. Namely, we hope that [Egypt's] relations with Israel will be strong, self-sufficient and completely independent from relations with the U.S.

'The same should hold true for relations between Egypt and the Arab countries because we should not allow [Egypt's] relations with the Arab countries to negatively impact relations with Israel. Moreover, the development of Egyptian-Israeli relations could step up the impact of the Arab factor in relations with Israel. This is a very important point because through these [Egyptian-Israeli] relations, the Arabs can achieve positive results.

'Objective analysis on this matter cannot lead to any other conclusion. It is time to drop the negative attitudes towards Israel, and relations with it. The basic value of the peace accord between Egypt and Israel lies in the fact that it expunges the term 'prohibition' or 'taboo,' which was created in the past by Arab policies towards Israel, and which turned relations with Israel into an abomination that could not be allowed.

'Relations with Israel are a privilege and a correct [step] which should be developed in a way that will fulfill the achievable interests.'

Endnote:
(1) Al-Ahram (Egypt), December 8, 2004.

Israeli Conflict No Obstacle to Middle East Reforms, Powell Says

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the countries of the Middle East and North Africa realize they have to move ahead with political and economic reforms regardless of the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Powell made the remarks to reporters December 10 while en route to the Forum for the Future meetings in Rabat, Morocco, on building political and economic reforms in the region.

'We can't keep pointing to the Middle East Peace Process as the reason we don't undertake reform efforts that are needed by these nations and as these nations have identified for themselves,' Powell said.

'The very fact that they are coming tomorrow to talk about these issues and so many nations are moving down a correct path suggests to me that they understand that, as much as we would all like to see progress in the Middle East Peace Plan, they also know that they can't wait for that solution to occur and not move forward,' he said.

Organized in part by the G8 industrialized countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), the forum will look also at civil society and education as part of democratic and economic reforms.

Neither Israel nor Sudan was invited to participate in the forum. Powell said he hoped future meetings of the forum 'will become more and more inclusive of the entire region.'

Powell indicated that the G8 countries would be announcing some sort of spending initiatives, including for entrepreneurship training facilities in Bahrain and Morocco.

70% of Palestinians could be induced to leave

In a scientific survey conducted face-to-face with Palestinians in the West Bank, 71 percent specified one or more material factors that would induce them to emigrate permanently.

The poll, which queried a random sample of 528 people Nov. 15-21, showed about half would consider leaving permanently for life in another land if they had the wherewithal and ability.

The survey asked, "If today you had the wherewithal and ability to leave and live permanently in another country would you?"

A total of 50 percent would consider it, with 33 percent saying "maybe" and 17 percent yes. Forty-one percent said no.

The poll indicated 42 percent have considered leaving permanently.

The Arabic-language survey was conducted by Maagar Mohot Interdisciplinary Research and Consulting Institute in Israel in collaboration with the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, reported Independent Media Review and Analysis

The Palestinian center carried out the sampling and interviews while the questionaire design, data input, statistical processing and formulation of the final report were done by the Israeli firm.

Asked what would make you permanently move to another country, the respondents answered [Note: More than one factor allowed; weighted figures presented]:

* 15 percent – Nothing would make me leave

* 16 percent – Guarantee of a good job overseas

* 12 percent – Situation here gets worse

* 10 percent – Generous financial assistance

* 9 percent – Financial guarantee equal to average wages in the West Bank today for life

* 8 percent – Guarantee of good housing

* 6 percent – Guarantee of good education for the children

* 5 percent – On condition that the entire family goes with me

* 2 percent – Supportive community in the new place

* 17 percent – Other.

Asked whether they believe the Palestinian Authority is doing enough today to improve their lives, 53 percent said no, 33 percent yes, and 14 percent "other."

A plurality of 46 percent said they believe the PA is corrupt, while 35 percent said it was not, and 14 percent had another response.

Judge Awards $156M to Terror Victim's Parents from Islamic "Charity"

CHICAGO - Three Islamic charities and an alleged fund-raiser for the Palestinian militant group Hamas were ordered Wednesday to pay $156 million to the parents of an American teenager killed by terrorists outside Jersusalem.

A federal jury deliberated for one day before awarding $52 million in damages to the parents of David Boim, shot down at a bus stop eight years ago. U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys then tripled the damages.

But it is uncertain whether the family can collect much money from the defendants, some of whom have had their assets frozen by the government.

Joyce and Stanley Boim, parents of the slain teenager, showed no emotion as the jurors announced the verdict. Their attorneys smiled broadly.

Before the trial started, the judge had found the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Islamic Association for Palestine and alleged Hamas fund-raiser Mohammed Salah liable in Boim's death.

The jury found that the Quranic Literacy Institute of suburban Oak Lawn, a group that translates Islamic religious texts, was also responsible for the shooting.

The Boims, Americans who moved to Israel in 1985, sued under a U.S. law that allows victims of terrorism abroad to collect damages in American courts from organizations that furnish money to terrorist groups.

The weeklong trial focused on the Quranic Literacy Institute and its relationship with Salah, who claimed to be an employee and served five years in prison in the Mideast in the 1990s after pleading guilty to funneling money to Hamas.

The institute's attorney, John Beal, refused to take any active part in the trial. He said the judge didn't provide enough time to prepare a defense.

Beal repeatedly insisted there was an innocent explanation for each of the allegations.

But he didn't bother to present them to the judge and jury. -EoZ

Bush Rewards Terror

To give money to people who, to this day, support the murder of Jews and Americans is absurd. The "elections" are a sham and have nothing to do with democracy. The leader of Fatah is in fact the leader of the Palestinians and that position is unelected. Whether it happens directly or indirectly, this money will end up towards contributing to the deaths of innocents. - EoZ

Bush Gives Palestinians $20 Million

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday announced it was giving $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority to help it through a financial crisis.

A senior Bush administration official said it hoped the aid would encourage additional donations from other countries 'at a time when the Palestinian Authority is in desperate need of budget support to pay its bills, maintain stability and allow it to focus on the larger question of governing.'

The Palestinian Authority is facing a severe financial crisis due to falling tax revenues during four years of violence which has paralyzed the Palestinian economy.

The $20 million in direct aid was to be announced during an international donors conference for the Palestinians in Oslo.

It is part of a push to help the Palestinians before their Jan. 9 election, at which President Bush hopes the Palestinians will elect a democratic leader willing to negotiate peace with Israel.

'The upcoming Palestinian elections have made a functioning Palestinian Authority more important than ever,' the official said. 'The United States has a national security interest in helping to end the ongoing violence and terror in the Middle East and to make progress toward the president's June 24, 2002, vision of peace.'

The money is to help pay utility services, including the payment of arrears to Israeli utility companies.

The False Dawn of Peace

Now that the old brute’s dead, are his successors any better?

By Steven Stalinsky

With Arafat's death, there has been an unprecedented amount of optimism in the West regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state and the possibility of peace. Yet amongst Palestinian officials there is little talk of such a peace, the continuation of Yasser Arafat's "jihad" against the Jewish state instead being endorsed. (To watch examples of these statements, visit www.memritv.org.)

Some members of the Palestinian establishment close to Arafat are now stating in public that he never really wanted peace, and instead considered the Oslo Accords a strategy to destroy Israel in phases. It was reported on November 21 that Abd Al-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, discussed a meeting he held with Arafat shortly before the latter's return to Gaza from Tunis. When Atwan criticized the Oslo Accords, Arafat reassured him: "The day will come when you will see thousands of Jews fleeing Palestine. I will not live to see this, but you will definitely see it in your lifetime. The Oslo Accords will help bring this about."

The Palestinian ambassador in Iran, Salah Al-Zawawi, explained in an interview on Iranian Al-Alam TV on November 12: "[Arafat] knew that this path is the path of martyrdom and Jihad. He knew that this great cause requires martyrs, not leaders.... He fought the Jihad and we saw him in many battles...if you ask me what will surely be the end of this Zionist entity, I will say to you that this entity will disappear one of these days...It's a matter of time.... Our phased plan, which I already mentioned, is to establish an independent sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital...."

Similiarly, Palestinian analyst Yunis Udeh told London's ANB TV November 11: "When we told him [Arafat] that the road to Oslo would mean the termination of the Palestinian cause, he said, 'I am hammering the first nail in the Zionist coffin.'... I asked him how. He said: 'I will go to Gaza, I will return to Palestine...."

Fatah Supreme Council Member Abu Ali Shahin also hinted in an interview on November 13 on Lebanon's Al-Manar TV that Yasser Arafat considered the Oslo Accords a strategic move to destroy Israel: "Yasser Arafat led a revolution, a revolution of a barrel of gunpowder alongside a barrel of petrol.... But when Yasser Arafat saw that the USSR...collapsed without a single shot being fired.... Arafat understood this great international game. He made a 180-degree turn.... He accepted...Madrid, and after it Oslo...."

Countless Palestinian officials have also spoken about continuing the violent campaign against Israel. Fatah leader Hussein Al-Sheikh told Al-Arabiyya TV on November 11: "The gun Yasser Arafat raised...will be raised by...the Palestinian people, so they continue to believe that the gun is the way to get rid of this occupation, the shortest way to get rid of this occupation. This is Abu Ammar's promise and this is his will, and we will continue to be true to them."

Also on November 11, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader Raid Al-Aidi said on Al-Arabiyya TV, "We call from here to all the heroes...[to] strike this occupier anywhere, with no holds barred. We...will direct our painful blows against this monstrous entity. The Palestinian state will be achieved only by strengthening the resistance.... This occupier understands only the language of gunfire and gunpowder and we will teach this occupier, Allah willing, a lesson as we have taught it in the past, in Tel Aviv, Hadera, and everywhere. We will escalate our blows against this occupier...."

In the same program, Fatah Central Committee member Hani Al-Hassan explained that, "In Fatah we have a rule: the armed struggle sows and the political struggle reaps.... Therefore, when Oslo didn't bring results, the sowing came in the form of the Intifada.... We will see now whether the political situation allows us to reach political results and to bring about a change in our favor. Otherwise, we will go back to sowing."

Quoting former Egyptian president Abd-Al Nasser — "what was taken by force will be restored only by force" — is how the new leader of Fatah, Faruq Al-Qaddumi, described the Palestinian strategy against Israel on Al-Arabiyya TV on November 14. Al-Qaddumi has considerable popularity among the Palestinian street for never accepting Oslo. With his naming as leader of Fatah, Al-Qaddumi is openly challenging Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmad Qureia to be Arafat's successor. As he stated in the interview, "Anyone who thinks that I have abdicated my authority is mistaken."

He explained Fatah's position about Hamas: "The Hamas movement is our friend. It is a...movement of heroes. It is part of the national Palestinian movement. No...Fatah member could possibly harm Hamas." Al-Qaddumi is also close to Hezbollah, and during a meeting with Sheikh Nasrallah on September 4, 2003, they discussed "cohesion between the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance."

At a memorial for Arafat on November 23, Al-Qaddumi explained, "We can not achieve these goals except through continued resistance by all methods and means." He has also called for attacking U.S. interests throughout the world.

The Palestinian leadership is not alone in stating in public that terrorist attacks against Israel must continue. The Arabic and Iranian press have been particularly vocal. In response to an interviewer's question as to whether the Intifada will continue and grow stronger, Lebanese MP Zaher Al-Khatib said on November 13: "It will escalate and develop technologically. The martyrdom operations are no longer the only kind of operations in Palestine. The martyrdom operations have become a strategy. A strategy doesn't mean that we carry out these operations whenever possible; it means [real] military operations.... There is an infrastructure of resistance that wages battles, enters Ashdod, crosses borders, penetrates military zones, conducts operations as in Ashdod, and so on."

American officials intimately involved in the Oslo Accords now publicly state that more attention should have been paid to the issue of Palestinian incitement, and what the Arabs were saying amongst themselves about peace in Arabic. With Yasser Arafat gone, the U.S. should be paying close attention to his heirs to understand their true intentions.

— Steven Stalinsky is executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Ten million dollars for information on Ron Arad

The Born to Freedom Foundation has launched a 10 million dollar campaign to obtain information on missing Israeli Air Force navigator, Captain Ron Arad.

On October 16 1986, Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad bailed out of his plane on a mission in Lebanon and was captured by members of the Iranian-backed Shiite group, Amal. Since then, Ron has been held captive by a various of factions and groups, all of them extremist Shiite groups, backed by Iran.

France praises Israel's 'restraint'

In a radical departure from years of Parisian critical rhetoric, the French ambassador to Israel, Gerard Araud, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that he thought Israel "has tried to show the utmost restraint" in the course of the conflict with the Palestinians since 2000.

The ambassador even evinced a certain understanding of the deaths of Palestinians during the course of Israeli army activity. "It's unavoidable that in some operations...," he said, leaving that sentence uncompleted. "War is dirty, war is always dirty," he went on, and then added: "Occupation is never clean."

France has been at the forefront of repeated EU appeals to Israel to show greater restraint vis- -vis the Palestinians, and leading French politicians have frequently used far tougher language than employed by the EU.

French President Jacques Chirac, for instance, condemned Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March as being contrary to international law. Two years ago, then-French foreign minister Hubert V drine said that no solution to the Middle East crisis could be found by "armored vehicles firing" at Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. V drine had earlier accused Israel of following a "deliberate" and "fatal" policy in seeking to weaken or eliminate the Palestinian Authority and protested the army's "harassment" of Arafat.
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The Palestinian issue is "not the central problem" for Arab states, he said, most of whose regimes are "so fragile... They all have more pressing problems... being mostly obsessed with their own survival."

Iran claims Saudis getting nukes from Pakistan

Official Iranian sources are claiming that they have information about Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signing an agreement in 2003 in which Pakistan promised to help Saudi Arabia develop nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them.
The reports are coming out as Iran reached an agreement with the three European powers - the United Kingdom, Germany and France - about a cessation of uranium enrichment and the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of directors issues its report on Iran's nuclear activity.

The Iranian reports emphasize that the nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is at an advanced stage and that for the first time the Saudis have access to nuclear technology.

The international news agency United Press International (UPI) reported that Iranian Prof. Abu Mohammed Asgarkhani claimed in a lecture that Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear arms picked up after it learned about the Pakistani-Saudi deal and the possibility that Saudi Arabia would eventually acquire nuclear weapons.

Israeli and Western sources are not attributing much significance to the Saudi ability to develop, even partially, nuclear weapons.

Pakistan owes Saudi Arabia a great deal because Saudi Arabia essentially financed development of the Pakistani bomb. A Saudi representative may have been the only foreigner invited to visit Pakistan's nuclear facilities. Pakistan was also the middleman between Saudi Arabia and China for the purchase of long-range Chinese missiles. Those missiles, based in Saudi Arabia, have meanwhile become obsolete, and the Saudis want to upgrade them. The Americans told the Chinese that would be a violation of an agreement in which the Chinese promised not to sell missiles. The Chinese say it would not be a missile sale, but an upgrade of an existing missile sold a long time ago, but Washington remains opposed to the deal.

The Iranian reports about nuclear dealings between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is apparently motivated by Iran's interest in pointing out that other countries in the region are involved in military nuclear development and that they are not coming under international criticism because they are friends of the U.S.

Hamas and other terrorists reject truce; story buried

When a Hamas spokesman says to the Western press that Hamas might possibly consider perhaps thinking about a temporary cease fire with Israel, it gets headlines throughout the world. When they reiterate their desire to destroy Israel, even the Israeli press buries it in the last paragraph of a story not related to the topic. - EoZ

In Damascus, Abbas held talks with the leaders of three Palestinian radical groups to discuss the possibility of reaching a cease-fire with Israel and the upcoming presidential election in the PA.

Abbas met with a Hamas delegation led by the movement's leader, Khaled Mashaal. He also held separate talks with Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah.

Abbas also met with Ahmed Jibril, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, another Damascus-based group that is strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords.

The leaders of the three groups refused to comment on the results of their talks with Abbas. Mashaal walked in and out of the meeting at Abbas's hotel without being seen by reporters.

However, Palestinian sources in Damascus said the three urged Abbas to work towards establishing a national unity leadership in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would consist of representatives of all the Palestinian factions.

According to the sources, the groups rejected Abbas's demand for a temporary truce with Israel ahead of the January 9 election, insisting that they would pursue the fight against Israel.

Israeli Arab Charged With Spying for Iran

An Israeli Arab has been arrested on charges of spying for Iran, a police spokesman said Tuesday, underscoring growing Israeli-Iranian tensions.

Authorities believe Mohammed Ghanam came into contact with Iranian agents during one of his frequent trips to Saudi Arabia, where he facilitated the visits of Muslim pilgrims from Israel, police spokesman Gil Kleiman said.

'We suspect that it was there that he met people from Iranian intelligence,' Kleiman said.

A police statement said Ghanam had been introduced to an Iranian agent named Abu Osma in August 2003. The statement said the introduction was carried out by Nabil Mahzouma, an activist from the militant Islamic Jihad group whom Ghanam met in 1973 while serving a term in an Israeli prison for assaulting a soldier and stealing his weapon.

The police statement said Osma promised to pay Ghanam for enlisting young Israeli Arabs to carry out anti-Israeli missions after undergoing training in Jordan.

'In his interrogation ... Ghanam said he understood that the purpose of recruiting the young people was to carry out terror attacks, but he claimed that Osma did not specify the place or framework of the attacks,' the statement said.

Hezbollah working to reach unconventional capabilities

Classified report obtained by NRG Maariv reveals. Defense officials also concerned Palestinian terror groups might try to perpetrate WMD attacks.
Eitan Rabin

The Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah is working vigorously to achieve unconventional capabilities, a classified report obtained by NRG Maariv reveals.
“Just as they managed to obtain and use an unmanned aerial vehicle, they are planning to use other types of weapons”, a senior defense official said.

In addition, the defense establishment is concerned Palestinian terror groups might try to perpetrate biological and chemical attacks, despite recent statements made by Hamas leaders regarding a possible cease-fire

“The terror groups are becoming more and more sophisticated and are trying to execute ‘quality attacks’”, the source said.

According to the official, information that has recently reached Israel indicates that al-Qaeda may also be in the advanced planning stages of an attack in an Israeli city or against Israeli targets abroad.

One of the scenarios that is being examined is the inclusion of unconventional substances in the explosive charges made by the terrorists, in order to create what is known as “dirty bomb”, which contains radioactive material in small quantities.

“Any terrorist in the world can buy unconventional weapons or substances and smuggle them into the territories. The arms trade is flourishing”, the source added.