Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Palestine Papers: Fake letter from "Palestinian businessmen" to Obama

In the trove of so-called "Palestine Papers," we find a draft letter that was supposedly written by anonymous "Palestinian businessmen" was written to then-President Elect Obama.

The letter was obviously drafted by the PLO, as it echoes similar letters ghost-written by Abbas to Obama in the same time period.

This is a cynical ploy, akin to presenting a petition with fake names. It is a good example of the deception that the PLO uses when trying to influence world leaders. Even more cynical is that the fake "businessmen" can tell baldfaced lies to Obama without being called out for being liars - something that the PLO negotiators cannot do directly. Some are highlighted below.

November 10th, 2009

Dear President Obama,

As Palestinian businessmen, we wish to share with you some major Palestiniane’s concerns about today’s deteriorating situation brought about by Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory.in our long-lasting conflict with Israel.

We are grateful for your diplomatic efforts and will to solve the Palestinian-e – Israeli conflict, d. This despite the fact that for almost a whole year, the United States has been unable to impose a settlement freeze by Israel.

Mr. President, nothing sows more distrust in the Palestinian minds than crushing Palestinian homes from which families are ejected for the purpose of replacing them with Jewish settlers. True some Israeli checkpoints have been dismantled; but with more than 500 checkpoints and physical obstacles still in place in both the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza, Palestinian business remains fragile. Israel continues to retain control of all borders. Nothing can get into or out of the West Bank or Gaza without Israeli permission. Because of the tenuous political situation, few domestic or foreign investors are willing to invest in the Palestinian economy, and many Palestinian businessmen holding American passports are being denied entry by the Israeli authorities to Palestine.

Israeli restrictions, together with Israel’s fragmentation of the occupied West Bank, remain the greatest impediment to economic development in Palestine and to reaching a two-state solution.

Mr. President, as Palestinian businessmen, our hope and dream is to build a sovereign, viable and thriving Palestinian state, alongside Israel.

But without a political outcome that secures Palestinian territorial rights, including East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and a just solution for refugees, more problems will lie ahead. A settlement freeze is a crucial first step to saving the two-state solution. What is needed is an intensification of your will and a display of greater resolve by taking some bold steps forward to ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Sincerely,

Palestinian Businessmen

rephrase

get more exact number

Of course, the Palestinian Arab economy has boomed since Netanyahu has been in office. And the relevance of "East Jerusalem" and "refugees" to "businessmen" is never quite explained.

This is nothing but cynicism and an easy excuse to promote lies.

Some Sunday links

I know a few people sent me some that I misplaced, but here are a few:

The JCPA looks at what the Muslim Brotherhood wants - in its own words

Just Journalism on Egyptian attitudes towards Israel

British PM David Cameron has some surprisingly good things to say in this speech at the Munich Security Conference, but not quite good enough:

We have got to get to the root of the problem, and we need to be absolutely clear on where the origins of where these terrorist attacks lie. That is the existence of an ideology, Islamist extremism. We should be equally clear what we mean by this term, and we must distinguish it from Islam. Islam is a religion observed peacefully and devoutly by over a billion people. Islamist extremism is a political ideology supported by a minority. At the furthest end are those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm, governed by an interpretation of Sharia. Move along the spectrum, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist worldview, including real hostility towards Western democracy and liberal values. It is vital that we make this distinction between religion on the one hand, and political ideology on the other. Time and again, people equate the two. They think whether someone is an extremist is dependent on how much they observe their religion. So, they talk about moderate Muslims as if all devout Muslims must be extremist. This is profoundly wrong. Someone can be a devout Muslim and not be an extremist. We need to be clear: Islamist extremism and Islam are not the same thing.

The problem is that such a distinction is not as easy to make as Cameron thinks. In the end, Islam is both a religion and a political movement (as was Christianity a few hundred years ago) and placing Western labels on it to create artificial distinctions when the adherents themselves do not is not helpful.

But at least he calls it Islamist terror, and not generic "terror."

Palestine Papers: How the PA tried to write an Obama "peace plan"

In May, 2009, the Palestinian Arab negotiating team tried a new tactic: They wrote their own "road map" together with the Arab League and tried to make Obama adopt it as if it was his idea.

SE: We are working hard on one thing: the Regional Road Map (RRM). I have shared it with Russia (Lavrov), Javier Solana, Spain (Moratinos), UK (Miliband), French, Germans. The Jordanians made comments; they want to identify their role in Jerusalem. Egypt wanted to change “Rafah” to “all crossings” and wants to change the term “terrorism.” We are still waiting on comments from Syria, we should get them by the 14th. They have said they will have stylistic, not substantive changes.The Saudis said the RRM is excellent but want to add Morocco. Solana also said it is excellent. This time we are involving the Chinese and Japanese. Mitchell heard about it and said he needs a copy before Obama receives it so I gave him a copy.

We are breaking the Arab behavior of going to America and telling him what we need. Instead we are telling Obama that we can help. We can help in Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. And Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan all need to tell Obama how they can help him. I went to Kurdistan. If other countries think they can use Hamas as a card we will do the same with them. We are not running a charity. Iran is playing games; they are using Hamas as a card.

We are taking the RRM and telling Obama we consulted with everyone on earth, now it’s your plan not ours. Make it your own. We can tell all the Arab countries, we got this document from Obama, are you in, yes or no? Put your money where your mouth is. We are instituting a zero tolerance policy for bullshit.

There are 4 new elements in the Obama administration: 1) They are pushing for the two-state solution as an American national interest, 2) they are saying the two-state solution is the only solution 3) their strategy is not a Palestinian-Israeli track, but a comprehensive regional peace, a matrix of interests and responsibilities 4) they are urging Palestinian institution reform and Fatah reform.

Rami Dajani: Is there a risk that Obama will say the RRM is a great start but then start dissecting it, like it seems he is doing with the Arab Peace Initiative (API)?

SE: whether we like it or not, Obama will take the approach we don’t want of taking baby steps. But if we give the RRM to him, it might open up his thinking. We will tell him, if you take baby steps you must define an end game and a definitive end date, and demand a complete settlement freeze.

Azem Bichara: Will you present the RRM publicly?

SE: No, not publicly. It’s Obama’s plan, we worked on it for him for free.

Azem Bichara:There is lots of buildup to Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, how can we help with that? Should we write an Op-ed before AM’s meeting outlining our ideas?

SE: Do one in my name. Prepare for me a good press conference after AM’s meeting. We need to issue a statement right after Netanyahu’s meeting.

Look at the comments from Jordan and Moratinos and tell me what you think, what we should incorporate. We don’t want Jordan involved in Jerusalem.

Also, change the title. Maybe something like “RRM for a Comprehensive Peace.” But get rid of API [Arab Peace Initiative] in title.

This was right before Obama's Cairo speech.

Abbas again brags about his intransigence

From Ma'an:

President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday told his party's young members that the Palestinian Authority never abandoned the national agenda.

“The Palestinian leadership is still adherent to the national agenda which was approved by the Palestinian National Council in 1988, and never gave up on any of the inalienable principles as some claim."

Meeting with Fatah Youth in his Ramallah office, the president said negotiations with Israel were suspended because of the PA's firm stance.

Meaning that the PLO has not changed it's position one bit since Arafat's heyday, just as Abbas has said in the past.

If the Palestinian Arab leadership brags about how they have not deviated from the position devised by a master terrorist - who continued to use terror long after 1988 - what exactly makes them "moderate" again?

Another senior Hamas member arrives in Gaza from Egypt prison

From Ma'an:

A leader of Hamas' armed wing arrived in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after escaping from an Egyptian prison.

Thousands of prisoners broke out of jail in Egypt amid security chaos as ongoing anti-government protests spread across the country.

Al-Qassam Brigades militant Ayman Noufel returned to Al-Buriej refugee camp in central Gaza, where he was received by his family and senior Hamas leaders.

Noufel was detained three years ago in El-Arish, when thousands of Palestinians broke out of Gaza through the wall on Egypt's border.

He was one of eight Palestinians who escaped from Egyptian jails, and six of the group have returned to Gaza.

Hezbollah weapons cache explosion?

Palestine Press reports that yesterday morning there was a massive explosion near Tyre, Lebanon.

Officially, the explosion was at an electricity generator, but Hezbollah men surrounded the area of the explosion, a building where they control three floors.

According to witnesses, Hezbollah prevented the Lebanese security forces and the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces from approaching the scene. A fire broke out that lasted several hours.

According to Lebanese sources, the place where the explosion occurred was a meeting place for Hezbollah militants.

I cannot find the story anywhere else at this time.

Palestine Papers: PA trying to get rid of Netanyahu

Here is another theme of the "Palestine Papers" that The Guardian did not believe is newsworthy: The PA is using the negotiations - and refusal to negotiate - as a way to get rid of Netanyahu and to bring back Livni.

When Netanyahu first started forming a government, Saeb Erekat tried to use his supposed intransigence as a weapon to get the US to go against him. From a February 27, 2009 meeting with George Mitchell:

It seems they are moving towards a government with 65 seats. Livni told Netanyahu her conditions for coalition: two states and political negotiations. AM [Abu Mazen/Mahmoud Abbas] cannot demand less than Livni. We want to continue the political process and negotiations. We are committed to that. But if Israel doesn’t recognize the two-state solution and continues settlements, it will be the last nail in AM’s coffin if we send him to negotiate.

...If Netanyahu forms a government with a party that has 15 seats, with an official platform of ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Muslims and Christians who are Israeli citizens … if Barack Obama wants a policy of reconciliation with the Muslim and Arab world … with your kids dying all over the region.

You have a choice. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. You have either the cost-free way: pressure us to negotiate, which means AM negotiating with Netanyahu under continuing settlement and without recognition – this would be the last nail in AM’s coffin, or you have another choice: take the Annapolis statement: two states, and negotiations over all core issues. If the Israeli government doesn’t include in its mandate the two-states and negotiating on all issues including Jerusalem … [hands GM paper submitted to the EU via the Czechs] We are committed to peace and negotiations for two states, but we won’t engage without this.

Netanyahu will go to President Obama and tell him “Iran.” He will say he is committed. Then he will build settlements in E1 and elsewhere – like he did in Har Homa. You cannot be expected to demand less of Netanyahu than what Livni demanded.

In a later meeting with the Negotiations Support Unit, Erekat talks a little more frankly about his strategy with to split Obama from Netanyahu and get him to wholeheartedly take the Palestinian Arab side.

Hamas is a tool for Netanyahu, he is counting on them to stay the course. And Hamas is counting on Netanyahu to stay the course. Netanyahu’s only card is Palestinian division, and also Ahmadinejad. Everyone can see how Israel is using Ahmadinejad’s comments. Ahamadinjed should be saying we want to add Palestine to the map, not removing Israel from the map. He doesn’t serve our cause with his holocaust denials.

As far as contact with Israel, its business as usual. I talk with Amos Gilad and other generals. Uzi Arad and I mutually do not want to meet with each other. I want to wait to see what they present to Obama. Netanyahu is saying he doesn’t want a two state solution. It is not us who are saying we don’t want to negotiate. Anyone who says they don’t recognize the two-state solution rejects final status negotiations. The question everyone should be asking Netanyahu is, “will you talk about Jerusalem, refugees, etc., Yes or No?”
...
Azem Bichara: There is lots of buildup to Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, how can we help with that? Should we write an Op-ed before AM’s meeting outlining our ideas?

SE: Do one in my name. Prepare for me a good press conference after AM’s meeting. We need to issue a statement right after Netanyahu’s meeting.

Alex Kouttab: Do you have any concrete idea of what Netanyahu is going to propose to Obama?

SE: He is going to say “we will remove road blocks, outposts, etc. but if a settler child needs a new bathroom, we will build it.” But he will continue to build E1 and demolish homes. He is a master of ambiguity.

At this point, the PA's main card with the US has been their conviction that Netanyahu was going to remain publicly against a two-state solution.

Then Netanyahu publicly said he would support a two-state solution under specific conditions.

This put the Palestinian Arabs on the defensive:

Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh
1) AM must deliver a speech and he should use the opportunity of the graduation of the Arab American University in Jenin to deliver it from there.

2) We need to have a diplomatic campaign across the world to explain what was misleading
and false in BN’s speech and what our positions are.

3) We have to give BN a hard time in the international arena.

4) We need to summon the Consuls General and brief them so they will deliver the message
to (their) respective capitals before BN goes to Europe.

5) We must not give the impression that we are dealing with this Israeli government. This is a very wise decision. Limit interactions to a minimum and to the most urgent. We need to
focus our time away from negotiations and on our internal affairs.

We don’t need a spokesperson, we need a media machine. We want to launch this campaign
– not have the journalists come to us or wait for us. We have to think of our objective: What
is the purpose of this? A) isolate BN, B) make him resign, or C) or make him change his
position.

Erekat to George Mitchell, October 20, 2009, shows the PA's new intransigent position regarding Netanyahu:

Either they are partners – 67 border, swaps – anything short of that, that’s it. This is a defining moment for the government. Don’t listen to him [BN]. He’s dead, if he has no engagement with us.

And then the next day:

[Erekat]: We cannot have resumption of negotiations with this government. We will punish Netanyahu. He can’t survive without a process with us. We won’t give him leverage of taking us for a ride and continuing settlements while we negotiate. Am I clear, David? This is the decision of the leadership – the PLO executive committee and the Fatah central committee. They won’t allow it. Period. Finito.

David Hale: Your staying in this position means no direct negotiations.

SE: No direct negotiations if there is no freeze and an exclusion of Jerusalem.

DH: So what do you propose?

SE: I know what I’m talking about and I see where things are heading. ... So no Palestinian decision-making body will change this position on the freeze. Not after Goldstone.

... We're also in touch with Israelis and Jewish groups – not [just] J street or just the Labour party. We don’t see Netanyahu as the end of the world – the Lieberman/Netanyahu cabinet. If we go for negotiations with them we will kill the others.

There's a lot more in that last memo that we will get to soon.

(h/t Kramerica)

PA rejects unilateral Israeli proposals

Netanyahu proposes several specific moves to help the PA and its citizens - and the PA rejects them.

From YNet:

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected on Saturday a series of economic incentives proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Quartet envoy Tony Blair.

During their meeting Friday, Netanyahu and Blair agreed on a new Israeli proposal aimed at easing economic and security restrictions imposed on Palestinians in the West Bank as part of the effort to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and convince the Palestinians to return to the negotiation table.

The proposal was presented as the committee of the Quartet – made up of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia – prepared to meet in Munich, Germany. It reportedly includes expanding Arab construction in east Jerusalem and giving the Palestinian Authority security powers in seven West Bank cities.

Netanyahu also agreed to begin discussions on the development of a Palestinian Authority gas field adjacent to an Israeli gas field off the coast of Gaza. The PM said future revenues from the Palestinian field will go to the PA.

Erekat said the proposal "is just a trick and procrastination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

"What Netanyahu should do, if he wants to build confidence, is immediately stop settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and recognize a Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967,” the Palestinian news agency Ma'an quoted the chief negotiator as saying.

Once again, the "hawkish, right-wing" Israeli is the one making concrete suggestions for moving along the peace process - suggestions that could be worth missions of dollars - and the "moderate, flexible" PA is rejecting it.

And there's more:

Addressing the dramatic political developments in the Arab World, Erekat said "what is driving the region to violence and extremism is the continued occupation and Israeli insistence to maintain the settlement enterprise."

Why does anyone take this guy seriously anymore? Seriously!

The Palestinian Arab leaders are just babies who want all or nothing - and they complain when their enemies want to give them stuff for free that would help their own citizens.

And the West will ignore this further evidence of Palestinian Arab intransigence as they always have, because it doesn't fit the meme.

What the West needs to understand about the Muslim Brotherhood

It is maddening to see Western reporters get the Muslim Brotherhood so very wrong.

The MB publicly eschewed violence in the 1960s, but it was a tactical move (and a response to Nasser's crackdown on them), not a sea change in their methods.

The MB is now saying that they do not seek an Islamist state and that they will not field a candidate for President - and these are tactical moves as well.

The question that Western observer need to be asking is: what are their goals?

They are very explicit in answering that question. Their main goal is to restore the caliphate, creating a single state run according to Islamic precepts that would stretch from Spain to Indonesia.

Once you know what their goals are, it is shortsighted to accept their statements made today as indicating anything opposing those goals. In fact, everything they are saying is consistent with their overarching goal of overthrowing not just Egypt but the governments of dozens of states with Muslim majorities or that were once under Muslim conquest.

The goals of the Muslim Brotherhood are exactly the same goals as their offshoots Hamas and Al Qaeda. At this time, their methods are different, but that does not make them any less of a long-term danger to world peace.

While it is not an MB offshoot, one only needs to look at how Hezbollah effectively has taken over Lebanon. They also claimed they did not want to upset the status quo; they also claimed to respect democracy; they also claimed that they did not want to field a candidate to lead the country. Yet here they are, with veto power over everything that happens in that state and with their own independent army and communications system, poised to gain more power in the coming years as Christians flee and organized opposition withers or flees in fear. The most-watched (and feared) speeches in Lebanon are from Hassan Nasrallah, who is not even part of the government. They became the de-facto rulers of Lebanon - even without being a majority - by executing a strategy that completely and thoroughly outmaneuvered any competition. They are still treading carefully, and going slowly, but one day in the not too distant future Lebanon will wake up to being an Iranian satellite with no possible recourse.

Islamists take a very long-term view of events. While Westerners think in terms of election cycles, Islamists think in terms of centuries. To these groups, a decade is an eye-blink.

To Islamists, the Crusades were an unfortunate century or so, which they rectified. They look at Israel the same way - as an anomaly that will inexorably be destroyed in the coming decades, due to their current strategy of picking away at it piece by piece and enlisting clueless Westerners to rally to the cause in the name of "international law" and "human rights" that the Muslim world itself utterly rejects. Their patience and ability to take the long view is their strength.

The important word is "strategy." The Islamists have one - a long term plan - and the West does not.

In most Arab countries, the Islamists have been quietly gathering strength for the eventual takeover of the lands - if not this decade then in five. They act with one voice. They use social service programs to gain acceptance with the masses. They engage in outreach to gain adherents. They happily use new and old media to spread their ideology. They are executing a brilliant, long term strategy.

Their strength comes from their single-minded purpose, their lack of internal dissent, their apparent authenticity and honesty, their seeming care for every Muslim, and their consistent message over the decades.

Is their any countervailing strategy that the West has? Is there any already existing, pro-Western movements in Egypt or any other Arab country that have been quietly building up an organization and adherents, ready to take advantage of the political vacuum and chaos that could occur at any time?

The very idea is absurd. To Westerners, creating a pro-democracy satellite TV station that is not viewed by anyone is the height of strategic thinking. And even if we had a strategy, the next occupant of the White House would probably change it, as would his successor.

Western-style freedoms and democracy are not as easy a sell as we think. And building truly democratic institutions is time consuming.

Egypt and Tunisia shows us how poor our planning has been. We should have been prepared for these events - because our enemies sure have been. (and, yes, the Muslim Brotherhood is gearing to eventually take over Tunisia as well, even though they are relatively weak now.)

Even worse, the Islamists have co-opted Western terminology to advance what is ultimately an anti-Western, anti-freedom agenda, making any legitimate Western ideals seem like a cheap knock-off of Islamist propaganda.

They have a strategy. We don't. And you cannot win over the long term without one.

(See also here.)

Gas pipeline attacked in Egypt (updated)

From Ma'an:

An Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline targeted by an explosion early Saturday in the Sinai supplied Jordan with gas, according to Egyptian officials who said the line was connected to others used by Israel.

The Israeli-Egyptian gas company, East Mediterranean Gas, said attackers blew up a measuring station at the Jordanian sub-line.

The attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip, a security official said. Some media initially said the pipeline to Israel was attacked.

The pipeline which exploded originates in Port Said before it splits off in two directions, one toward Israel and the other to Jordan through the Sinai, Ma'an's El-Arish correspondent reported from the scene.

"The pipeline to Jordan has been attacked and the supply to Israel has been cut off," an official said.

Security sources said foreign saboteurs were suspected and Bedouin forces were on heightened alert.

Egyptian forces shut down the gas supply from the main source immediately after the explosion. The army has taken precautionary measures to stop the fire from spreading, an official said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible, or whether the attack was linked to the deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's rule, which entered their 12th day Saturday.

Egyptians have been vocally opposed Egypt's selling natural gas to Israel, and it seems likely that the saboteurs were trying to blow up the Israel pipeline and made a mistake.

UPDATE: Jordan says that the bombing is going to cost the kingdom some 3 million dinars a day.

Huge sale at The Elder store February 5th

This coming Saturday, February 5th, you can get an amazing 45% discount on all the items in the Elder of Ziyon Printfection store.

T-shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, mugs, cutting boards and more are on sale.

Use coupon code FEBLUV11.

Incredible find: Byzantine church that may cover Zechariah's tomb

From AFP:

Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Wednesday the remnants of a newly discovered Byzantine-era church they suspect is concealing the tomb of the biblical prophet Zechariah.

The church, with intricate and well-preserved mosaic floors, was discovered on the slopes of the Judaean hills at Horbat Midras, the site of a Jewish community in Roman times, southwest of Jerusalem.

Underneath is a second layer of mosaics dating from the Roman period, with a cave complex still further below which archaeologists think could be Zechariah's tomb.

"Researchers believe that in light of an analysis of the Christian sources ... the church at Horbet Madras is a memorial church designed to mark the tomb of the prophet Zechariah," the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

A statement noted, however, that more work is needed to confirm the hypothesis.

Al Arabiya adds:

Beneath the church's altar is a burial chamber that the Antiquities Authority said may have been the tomb of the prophet Zechariah, known from the eponymous book in the Bible, written around 520 BC.

The claim, which a number of experts have based on Christian sources and an ancient diagram known as the Madaba Map, has not been proved and is still being studied, they said.

Like many ancient structures, it was built on even older foundations dating back to the Roman Empire and the period of the second Jewish Temple. It includes a subterranean complex of caves and tunnels used by Jewish rebels fighting the Romans in the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132 AD.

The AP photos are amazing (click to enlarge):

The Madaba Map is the earliest known map of the Holy Land. Its map of Jerusalem is famous:

Archeologists recently found the main road shown on that map going through the center of the city.

But the Jerusalem map at is actually a detail of the much larger map:

This larger map covers places as far as Ashkelon.

Qaddafi's plan for Egypt, 1973

What a prophet - he called for a democratic revolution in Egypt!

The word "democracy" is cheap. The implementation is hard.

Israeli bomb-sniffing mice?

From New Scientist:

ONE day, there may be more than X-ray machines and full-body scanners awaiting you at the airport. Listen out for the snuffling of sniffer mice as you pass through security.

The critters will not be angling for a snack, though. They are part of a bomb-detecting unit created by Israeli start-up company BioExplorers, based in Herzeliya, which claims that trained mice can be better than full-body scanners and intrusive pat-downs at telling a bona fide passenger from a terrorist carrying explosives.

Eran Lumbroso conceived the mouse-based explosives detector while serving as a major in the Israeli navy. Along with his brother, Alon, he founded the company and built a device that looks much like an average airport metal detector or full-body scanner.

Along one side of an archway, a detection unit contains three concealed cartridges, each of which houses eight mice. During their 4-hour shifts in the detector, the mice mill about in a common area in each cartridge as air is passed over people paused in the archway and through the cartridge. When the mice sniff traces of any of eight key explosives in the air, they are conditioned to avoid the scent and flee to a side chamber, triggering an alarm. To avoid false positives, more than one mouse must enter the room at the same time.

"It's as if they're smelling a cat and escaping," Eran says. "We detect the escape." Unlike dogs, which are often trained for explosives and drugs detection, mice don't require constant interaction with their trainers or treats to keep them motivated. As a result, they can live in comfortable cages with unlimited access to food and water. Each mouse would work two 4-hour shifts a day, and would have a working life of 18 months.

What's more, mice beat dogs for olfactory talent, and by much more than a nose: dogs have 756 olfactory receptor genes, while mice have 1120, resulting in a more acute sense of smell.

The company ran its first field test in December last year at Azrieli Center, a large shopping mall in Tel Aviv. More than 1000 people passed through the detector, 22 of whom were asked to hide mock explosives in pockets or under shirts. All 22 packages were detected, the Lumbrosos claim, adding that the false-alarm rate was less than 0.1 per cent.

Their web page is here...and it is awful.

I don't know how scalable this solution is, but it is interesting.

Palestine Papers: PA says "refugees" must be resettled in Arab states

I found where Al Jazeera put all of the "Palestine Papers" and, in response to the Guardian's absurd assertion that they have already published everything that is newsworthy, here is exhibit A showing otherwise:

On July 2, 2008, the PA produced a "talking points" memo about how the so-called "refugee" problem would ultimately be solved. Presumably this was meant to be used in negotiations with the US and Israel. But by its nature, it is not an off-the-cuff comment of negotiators floating trial balloons to the other side, but an official (if unpublished) position of the PA.

First of all, the PA makes it very clear that they do not want to be the place that some 7 million "refugees" will move to live:

The viability of the future Palestinian State is closely linked to the evolution of the Palestinian population that will live within the future State’s borders. In this regard, the terms of a settlement of the Palestinian refugee issue and the number of Palestinian refugees who will be offered to resettle or return to the future State of Palestine is a core parameter required to assess the viability of that State.

The resettlement/return of refugee communities touches numerous issues such as housing availabilities, access to water, education and social services, employment opportunities, infrastructure, environment etc. The ability of the Palestinian State to meet refugee needs and ensure an efficient functioning of these services will ultimately determine its viability.

Unlike Israel in 1948, which opened its doors to Jews all over the world even though it was severely restricted in resources and cash, the PA is not going to start an open-door policy. In other words, they don't seem to care nearly as much about their fellow "Palestinians" living in stateless misery as Israel does about Jews.

While the PA will still insist on the theoretical "right to return," it recognizes realistically that other Arab states are going to have to offer citizenship:

The Palestinian/Arab peace proposal regarding Palestinian refugees is to find a “just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UNGA resolution 194”. The goal is to reach a multilateral solution that will be accepted by all parties. For the resolution to be a success, Israel, host States (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon) and third countries will have to offer attractive options to refugees. Therefore, the viability of the Palestinian State also greatly relies on the ability of these stakeholders and the international community to provide with concrete relocation options to Palestinian refugees.

All of this is obvious, but the PA is publicly silent on the issue. Instead of laying the framework to get these Arab countries to gear up for their ultimate naturalization of their Palestinian Arab population, the PA's public position has been the opposite of what this paper states.

In fact, only a few months earlier, Mahmoud Abbas told The Daily Star of Lebanon:

"We would not accept any settlements that would lead to a demographic change in Lebanon. This is totally unacceptable ... We won't accept a settlement that obliges Lebanon to naturalize even one Palestinian."

It is impossible to believe that Mahmoud Abbas was not aware of the contents of this talking points memo. Which means that either he was lying to the Lebanese, or he was lying to the Americans.

Either way, it shows that he is a liar.