Cynical ultra-nationalists

There will not be any "cutting off water" or any "cutting of Gaza"! That´s maybe is one part of the problem. You think you live in some other dimension than the Gaza residents. It´s about time that Israel realizes you are very much affected of what happens in Gaza!

This"cutting off water" talk is really disturbing! There will be no "cutting of water"!

Land lost after terror and war fare back for peace?

When it comes to Syria it´s really ironic. They will give you peace if you give Golan back? After 16 years of terror and a war they declared and after they have been occupied Lebanon for 29 years and spreading the word"occupiers" about Israel in the whole Middle East? So Syria will give Israel peace for giving back land Syria lost in a war Syria instigated?

Discussing ways to stop rocket attacks..

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signalled for the first time on Wednesday that Israel's willingness to talk seriously about the Arab peace initiative depends on a cessation of Kassam rocket fire on Israel. Olmert also emphasized that it was impossible to hold serious negotiations on the initiative as long as rockets were falling on Israeli citizens on a daily basis. The Quartet issued a statement following its meeting calling on the Palestinian authority to "do everything necessary" to restore law and order. The statement urged "all Palestinians to immediately renounce all acts of violence and respect the ceasefire."

In another development, Abbas met in Gaza City on Wednesday with Ismail Haniyeh and discussed with him the possibility of declaring a unilateral truce with Israel. The two also discussed ways of defusing tensions between Fatah and Hamas and preventing the collapse of the Hamas-led unity government. Also Wednesday, Haniyeh met with members of the Egyptian security delegation who are based in the Gaza Strip. They discussed the proposed truce with Israel and the situation inside the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh said after the meeting that his government was close to announcing a series of security measures to impose law and order in the Gaza Strip. He added that the measures include the appointment of new security commanders in the Gaza Strip. Asked about the possibility of halting the Kassam rocket attacks, Haniyeh said: "We support a simultaneous, mutual and comprehensive cease-fire to protect the interests of the Palestinian people. The ball is now in the Israeli court."

"Armed counterrevolutionary insurgents"

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian troops Wednesday killed 10 militants in ongoing clashes in the country's northwest, near the border with Turkey, Iran's official news agency reported. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency said the troops of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards killed the insurgents during an operation to remove "armed counterrevolutionary insurgents" in the Salmas region, a mostly Kurdish area some 440 miles northwest of Tehran, the capital. Earlier Wednesday, IRNA reported that seven Revolutionary Guard members and five militants had been killed in clashes in the same area on Monday night. Those clashes occurred when militants ambushed a patrol of border guards. Several more Iranian troops were injured and one of the insurgents was detained, the report said but gave no other details.

Turkey - Police on Wednesday captured 11 suspected al-Qaida militants

ANKARA, Turkey - Police on Wednesday captured 11 suspected al-Qaida militants who allegedly were planning to stage terrorist attacks in Istanbul, officials said.

We sits in the same boat! Stop paddling in different directions!

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Arab officials and commentators said Tuesday they feared the budding dialogue between Washington and Iran could cut them out of the debate over the future of Iraq, one of the region's most important countries. Many of the Iraq Sunni Muslim-dominated neighbors worry that the U.S.-Iran dialogue could boost Iran's already enormous influence over Iraq's majority Shiites. "Iraq should not be stripped out of its Arab identity, especially as Iraq is one of the outstanding members and founder of the Arab League," Ahmed ben Heli, the Arab League's undersecretary general told reporters in Cairo Tuesday

A United Nations human rights investigator criticized Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday for violating international law

A United Nations human rights investigator criticized Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday for violating international law in the latest round of violence between the two sides. John Dugard, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, slammed both the Palestinian rocket fire on southern Israel and Israel's response.

About 25,000 people have fled nine days of fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah Islam militants holed up in Nahr el-Bared.

....

Who are we fighting? Why are we fighting?

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week, and the latest Israeli-Palestinian violence is sure to be on the agenda. Olmert's office confirmed the two men would meet next week, but said the date and place had not been set. The two men will discuss security issues, his office said, without elaborating.

Abbas is trying to work out a truce agreement with the various Palestinian factions, and told the news conference that he would take it to Israel once he wrests their approval. "All problems and difficulties can find a solution through negotiations," he said.

Abbas, meanwhile, appealed to militant groups to initiate a cease-fire with Israel, saying the alternative would be the collapse of the Palestinian coalition government.

"The truce project means all acts by all parties stop, the Palestinians first and the Israelis, so we can move after to the West Bank," Abbas said. In unusually harsh criticism of the militants, Abbas said the rocket attacks are pointless. "We say the Israelis have left Gaza, and all the settlements were dismantled. Who are we fighting? Why are we fighting?" Abbas said. Abbas also said he was in frequent contact with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, but that the two don't meet daily because, according to Abbas, "Haniyeh's life is in danger." Haniyeh has kept out of sight since an air attack Thursday on the Shati refugee camp where he lives, and he did not show up to head Monday's Cabinet session.

In Cairo on Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called Israel's use of force "excessive" and "demanded the Israeli side immediately halt all of its military operations in the Gaza Strip." He also emphasized "the necessity of stopping the launching of Palestinian rockets," calling them "a pretext for Israeli troops to carry out more military operations."

Stop what you continued..

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops killed two Hamas militants in a shootout a mile inside Gaza on Tuesday, a day after Israeli leaders authorized larger numbers of ground forces to enter the volatile territory on pinpoint missions against Hamas rocket squads. In another raid, in the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops arrested Palestinian legislator Jamal Tirawi of Fatah, who has close ties to the movement's violent offshoot, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and was wanted for alleged involvement in attacks on Israel.

Abbas has called on militants to take the first step in forging a new truce with Israel.

Anti-whaling nations said on Monday they oppose Japan's proposal to permit whale hunting

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Anti-whaling nations said on Monday they oppose Japan's proposal to permit whale hunting in its coastal communities and will push for Japanese concessions on other issues. On the first day of the International Whaling Commission''s annual meeting, the United States and its anti-whaling allies said they see Japan's proposal as a way to resume commercial whaling through the backdoor. "Japan's proposal for coastal whaling is, in effect, a partial resumption of commercial whaling," said Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's environment minister, at a news conference.

Those whaling companies really need an alternative to whales and whale hunting for a living. That´s what is needed..You can not go on impoverish the oceans the rain forests and the earth this way!

May 28, 2007

May 28, 2007. Iran and the United States resumed public diplomacy Monday for the first time in more than a quarter century. The meeting in Baghdad between ambassadors on security in Iraq could produce a chapter in world history.

Big losses..

Hamas will not benefit anything by firing rockets and disrespect the internationally community and everyone that works for peace. There are more losses for Hamas to expect if they don´t find a solution and stop this rockets attacks. .Both in the process in a peace process, engagement from the internationally community and in fact from the Palestinians themselves. Hamas spokesmen says they talk for all the Palestinians, but in fact..We do know the Palestinians or most of them are really tired of this fighting. Both among factions and towards Israel. And that there are some "coup like own agendas" from Gaza which the overall Palestinians not stands behind!

There are big losses..Both in human lives, in a diplomatic way and among the Palestinians themselves..Hamas does not sit with any benefits in a situation with firing rockets and having Israel going in, in Gaza! It would really be naive to think that..So get out from your classrooms and take responsibility for your actions and behave like adults!

Israel expand Gaza operations

JERUSALEM - Israel's army received approval Monday to broaden its ground operations against Gaza Strip militants who have been barraging Israeli border towns with deadly rocket fire, but no large-scale incursion is in the works, military officials said.

Witnesses said rival forces deployed gunmen on some of Gaza's main roads

Witnesses said rival forces deployed gunmen on some of Gaza's main roads, raising fears among local residents of more bloodshed.

Spanish police arrested suspected of recruiting Islamic fighters

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police said on Monday they had arrested 15 people suspected of recruiting Islamic fighters for Iraq and North Africa.

The 13 Moroccans and two Algerians are alleged to have indoctrinated others with radical Islamic teachings and glorified "jihad," or holy war, the ministry said in a statement. "Moreover, it (the group) was allegedly linked with the financing and sending of combatants to different terrorist organisations in North Africa and other countries in conflict like Iraq." Police arrested 12 in Barcelona and nearby towns, while another two were detained in Aranjuez, 50 km (30 miles) south of Madrid, and one in the resort city of Malaga. Documents, diaries, computers, mobile telephones and papers related to jihad were seized, in an operation that police said was connected to the arrest of 22 jihadists in January. Spanish police have now arrested over 100 Islamist suspects since deadly train bombings in Madrid in 2004, detaining some over an alleged plot to blow up Madrid's High Court.

Worried Palestinian leaders

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Palestinian mediators pressed for a negotiated solution to a week-long siege of a Palestinian refugee camp Sunday, with the Lebanese government demanding the surrender of Islamic militants inside but reluctant to rush into an all-out assault.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Palestinian leaders on Monday tried to end a bloody standoff between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants holed up in a refugee camp - the battleground for Lebanon's worst fighting since the civil war. Worried that violence could spill over to other Palestinian camps, the government is giving the Palestinian factions time to try to deal with the. Fatah al-Islam group, which has been battling the army around the Nahr al-Bared camp since May 20.

U.S., Iran hold first talks in decades.

Iran and the United States resumed public diplomacy Monday for the first time in more than a quarter century. The meeting in Baghdad between ambassadors on security in Iraq could produce a chapter in world history for its success or a footnote for its failure.

U.S. forces raided an al-Qaida hide-out

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces raided an al-Qaida hide-out northeast of Baghdad on Sunday and freed 41 Iraqis imprisoned inside, including some who had been tortured and suffered broken bones, a senior U.S. military official said Sunday. Some of the freed Iraqis had been held for as long as four months and some had injuries from torture and were being taken to medical facilities for treatment, he said. U.S. officials said the hostages were kept in a small, concrete and mud compound and were forced to sleep on dirty linens in cramped rooms. Soldiers found rotting food in the building, the U.S. military said. One said he was just 14 years old, Caldwell said.

Not far from the Islamic extremists holed up in northern Lebanon this weekend, a boy called Yousef Abu Radi was lying on his side, swathed in bandages. He had escaped the hell of Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, but only just. "I was with my father and my mother and my little sisters and we were trying to get out of the camp," said the 12-year-old, his brown eyes wide and fearful as he clung to a blue sheet. "We were about 40 metres from the army checkpoint when there was shooting at the bus. "The bus flipped and I was trying to shield my little sister when I felt something hit my back. I saw my mother was hit in the head and she was dead instantly.

Mahdi Army militants

American forces freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis — some of whom had been hung from ceilings and tortured for months — in a raid Sunday on an al-Qaida hideout north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Some of the men suffered broken bones. Some had been captive for as long as four months. One said he was just 14 years old, Caldwell said.

Earlier this week, Mahdi Army militants captured at least seven members of the police's rapid deployment force during a gunbattle, police said. The militants badly beat the police and warned them to stop their offensive against the militia or they would kill them, an officer said. Some officers had their houses firebombed, their children kidnapped and their relatives killed, he said. "I fear reprisals, I want to keep my family and relatives safe," he said. Another officer who resigned said the Mahdi Army threw a grenade at a colleague's house, killing his mother and wounding his brother.

Youssef al-Qaradawi in Qatar speaking..

"We wish to die for the sake of God ... Sunni people are the spearhead against the Zionist Americans," said the bearded leader, who is suspected of having ties to al-Qaida. He was shown seated before a black banner, as another militant holding a machine gun stood next to him. The tape also showed militants training in an unidentified camp.

The psychopath speaks in messages through Al Jazeera.. And was in Iran and urge to "fight the enemies"..And his fellows in Algeria, Afghanistan etc..The rest are just repeating..And repeating of Assad and Iran like parrots.. Yes it´s 40 years of repeating! Like some mass psychos..Yes..we know how psychopaths minds work..They probably plays the same record..Yes you do that..Go and die, so the rest of us can go on with our lives!

Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist captured in the Gaza Strip over two months ago, is alive and well and could be freed

LONDON (AFP) - Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist captured in the Gaza Strip over two months ago, is alive and well and could be freed "very, very soon," a Palestinian government spokesman said late Saturday. "I know that he is well and healthy, and in a good situation. No one has tried to harm him or hurt him," Hamas government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said at the Hay literary festival in Wales.

Hamad, spokesman for Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, said he knows the group holding Johnston and is personally involved in negotiations for his release. "I think there are continuous efforts to release him. We hope we can do it very, very soon," Hamad said, adding he could not say exactly when. Hamad said he had received news about the journalist two days earlier, and added: "I have my own channels to talk to these people." "According to my analysis, I think it's possible to release him. A group calling itself the Army of Islam said it had snatched Johnston and is demanding that Britain release all Muslim prisoners or see more kidnappings.

Iraqi and U.S. troops detained a militant leader suspected of ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi and U.S. troops detained a militant leader suspected of ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards in a raid in Baghdad on Saturday in which five gunmen were killed in an air strike, the U.S. military said. "The individual detained ... is believed to be the suspected leader in a secret cell terrorist network for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training," the U.S. military said. U.S. military commanders in Iraq say Iran is supplying militants with EFPs, a particularly deadly type of roadside bomb that can destroy an Abrams battle tank. Iran denies the charges. The raid came two days before U.S. and Iranian officials are due to hold rare talks in Baghdad on Iraq's violence, and a day after Sadr appeared in public after a months-long absence. He called on his Mehdi Army to stop fighting Iraqi soldiers. The U.S. military said the man detained in the raid was "suspected of ... acting as a proxy for an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officer." It said gunmen in nine vehicles tried to ambush U.S. and Iraqi troops as they began withdrawing from the area. An air strike was called in and five of the gunmen were killed.

One dead civilian and 19 wounded others have been evacuated

One dead civilian and 19 wounded others have been evacuated by relief agencies ... which proves that the army did not target civilian areas but directed its fire on the positions of the gunmen," the army statement said. "The Fatah al-Islam gang is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, firing on humanitarian convoys and has even confiscated ambulances," it added.

Sporadic gunfire...

Sporadic gunfire, which grew heavier for a short period after nightfall, marred the two-day-old truce as the army moved troops around the Nahr el-Bared camp. But the troops did not attempt to advance, apparently giving time for negotiations and for the militants to comply with a government ultimatum to surrender or face a military assault.

Where to? Have a ticket?

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear work is nearing a "peak," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.

And where shall we send our "gratitude"? Russia? North Korea?

Just quoting:..
"The midgit is a sadistic liar and a filthy creep! he rides the corpses of the southerners and stands on the rubble of their homes thinking it will make him taller... he couldn't have sunk lower really."

Very much like Nasrallah..From my point of view..

"Absurd rockets." Abbas said, "We don't need them."

Abbas said he told the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and the factions "to stop the rockets, which I am used to calling the absurd rockets." Abbas said, "We don't need them. They must stop so we can reach a mutual truce with Israel in Gaza as well as in West Bank." Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he is working with the Palestinian factions to stop their "absurd" rocket attacks on Israel, working for a truce in the Gaza Strip that could be extended to the West Bank.

Israel, the Palestinians and the United Nations should consider stationing an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip

The U.N.'s newly appointed special envoy to the Middle East, Michael Williams..Israel, the Palestinians and the United Nations should consider stationing an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip, Williams said on Thursday.

And while you are consider that, you should stationing some at the Syria/Iraq border..When it´s getting closer for U.S. to leave!

Targeting all Iraqis - This is not resistance

Al-Qaeda is targeting all Iraqis without discrimination. “We saw car bombs attacking everyone, from students to religious clerics, hospitals and children playgrounds. This is not resistance,” he said.

No..It´s not..It´s a genocide and crimes against humanity that´s still continuing..

Fatah Islam people were in Syria jails

Syria has said Fatah Islam people were in its jails, then released — but that it tried to rearrest them once it realized they were still engaged in militancy.Also on Wednesday, Syria's vice president said that Fatah Islam was able to take hold in Lebanon because the country is weak and divided.In a lecture he gave at Damascus University, Farouk al-Sharaa said Fatah Islam had been allowed to emerge because of the power vacuum in Lebanon."Groups like Fatah Islam ... cannot have a place for themselves except in a weak and divided country," said al-Sharaa.

Well...I´m sure Lebanon and the Palestinians in their refugee camps will do very well without any "assistance" from Syria to restore calm this time! I´m sure they will handle it without any help

Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., of Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment is seen in Quarghuli village near Youssifiyah, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq. Spc. Alex Jimenez, 25, from Lawrence, Mass. and Pvt. Fouty are still missing twelve days after a May 12, 2007

A bomb exploded in one of Lebanon's most important mountain resorts

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A bomb exploded in one of Lebanon's most important mountain resorts late Wednesday, wounding at least five people, police said. The blast rocked the Druse town of Aley around 9 p.m. and was heard as far as Beirut's Mediterranean coastline about 12 miles to the west. Police said the bomb was hidden in a bag and placed at the entrance of a building in a narrow street about 200 yards from the main government building in town. Ambulances and police rushed to the area minutes after the blast, which had also caused considerable material damage.

Lebanon

We had a problem with the civilians who were present here. They were an obstacle. We were worried about them. Now we have no problem," he said. Seven armed fighters guarded the building where Abu Hureira spoke. The seven used a different dialect than the Arabic commonly spoken by Lebanese and Palestinians. Their accent seemed North African. Abu Hureira, on the other hand, spoke with a Lebanese accent and appeared to be in his 30s.

Seventy percent of insurgents fighting in Iraq come from Gulf countries via Syria

KUWAIT CITY - Seventy percent of insurgents fighting in Iraq come from Gulf countries via Syria where they are provided with forged passports, an Iraqi intelligence officer alleged in a published report Wednesday. "They, according to their own confessions, gather in mosques in the said (Gulf) states to travel to Syria using their passports, taking with them phone numbers of individuals waiting for them there," Brig. Gen. Rashid Fleih, the assistant undersecretary for intelligence of Iraq's Interior Ministry, told Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily in an interview.

"Destruction is all over"

We have no link to the attacks in Ashrafiyeh and (Verdun)," Abu Salim, Fatah al-Islam's spokesman, told Reuters referring to the Christian and Sunni Muslim districts.

"The shelling is heavy, not only on our positions, but also on children and women. Destruction is all over," Fatah Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha told The Associated Press by telephone from inside the camp.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told students at Damascus University that Syria had no involvement with Fatah al-Islam, and had itself been pursuing its members. "Our forces have been after them, even through Interpol," al-Moallem said. "We reject this organization. It does not serve the Palestinian cause and it is not after liberating Palestine." Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, said Monday that Fatah Islam leaders were jailed in Syria for several years. He said that after they were released, Syria discovered they were still involved in terror activities and tried to re-arrest them, but they escaped.

Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, has denied his country has any link to the group, and said some of them had been in jail in Syria for their support for al-Qaeda.

The Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah has so far backed Lebanon's army in its confrontation. "We feel that there is someone out there who wants to drag the army to this confrontation and bloody struggle ... to serve well-known projects and aims. We are hearing calls for more escalation and fighting, which will ultimately lead to more chaos and confrontation in Lebanon," the Hezbollah statement said. It called for a political solution to the crisis.

Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - The world must remain engaged in Afghanistan until the country manages to stand on its own feet or "terrorists" will strike again, President Hamid Karzai warned on Tuesday.

Fatah al-Islam man blows himself up in northern Lebanon city of Tripoli

...

Give them truce...

The Islamic terror group beseiged by Lebanese troops in a northern refugee camp said Tuesday it would cease firing in the latest attempt to bring a truce in three days of heavy fighting. At least two such attempts at a cease-fire have quickly fallen apart in the battle between the Lebanese military and the Fatah Islam terror group, whose fighters are holed up in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp outside the northern port city of Tripoli. Fatah Islam will observe a cease-fire beginning at 2:30 p.m. (11:30 GMT) and expected it to hold "if the Lebanese army abides by it," spokesman Abu Salim Taha told The Associated Press from inside the camp.

Yes.. we see what this political interests cost! And which are paying the price! As if they give a damn! As if Nasrallah, Assad/Syria or the psychopath in Qatar that thinks he is God would think about any one else than their own interests.."Serve the Palestinians cause"..As they have done for 40 years..yes..we see the results! The entire world are not idiots! And Ahmadinejad? Poke on him for while and he would fell down and cry like a baby! He is hurt and need to heal..Yes..he should think more about the Iranian people than his "enemies"..

It´s just disgusting to treat people like this! Criminals!
Caged birds between Syria and Iran..Yes we should count them..And with that psychopath in Qatar, the Baath party exiles, Hamas exiled in Damascus and others interests the whole f***** Middle East is a cage! "Serve the Palestinians cause"..yes in their cages! Throwing one in jail for 12 years just because he opens his mouth and releasing another just to let him serve your interests while the Palestinians suffers in Lebanon´s camps! "The Palestinians cause"! And your made up "Jihad-religion" you have promoted in your own political interests! Yes you should have some "jihad" yourselves!

"I feel like a caged bird that is going to be slaughtered and knows it," he says in hushed tones in a noisy cafe. "I beg the world to protect this bird."

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twenty-five people were killed and 60 more wounded when a car bomb tore through a busy market area in southwestern Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.

"We have no link to the attacks in Ashrafiyeh and (Verdun)"

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Fatah al-Islam spokesman said on Tuesday his militant group had nothing to do with two Beirut bombings for which a statement in the group's name had earlier claimed responsibility.

"We have no link to the attacks in Ashrafiyeh and (Verdun)" Abu Salim, Fatah al-Islam's spokesman, told Reuters referring to the Christian and Sunni Muslim districts in Beirut where the attacks took place on Sunday and Monday, killing one. A Fatah al-Islam statement faxed to Reuters said the group had carried out the bombings. "A group of your heroic jihadist brothers undertook in the last two days ... the planting and detonating of two explosive devices in the heart of Beirut," it said. "We have warned the government and we have been true to our pledge ... and we have set ablaze and will set ablaze again the heart of Beirut," said the statement.

Residents of Nahr al-Bared appealed for fighting to stop, saying there were dead and wounded lying on the streets. "We have seen many wars but never seen bombardment in this way. Entire areas have been destroyed," Jamal Laila, 40, told Reuters by telephone. "Children have no milk, water or bread. "For the sake of 10, 20 or 30 individuals an entire camp is being massacred," he said, weeping over the phone. Speaking from the same number, Aisha Laila, 40, said her five-month-old child had no milk and her three other children were crouched in a corner while bombs hit nearby houses.

That can really come handy. Specially with so many schools bombed and laid in ruins and so many academic people getting killed..

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan - The ruler of Dubai launched a $10 billion foundation Saturday to provide scholarships and promote research in the Middle East, saying the region has neglected education despite its oil wealth.

Sheik Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is hailed as the architect of Dubai's transformation into a booming tourist hub of ultra-luxurious resorts and skyscrapers, said the foundation would create research centers, support university research and provide scholarships. "It is not enough to look over the development indicators each year and to exclaim in surprise at the region's situation and the fact that it ranks among the lowest positions at the international level," Sheik Mohammed said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Jordan.

"There is an agreement for a ceasefire"

"There is an agreement for a ceasefire which has already gone into effect and we hope that this is a permanent ceasefire," Abu Emad al-Refaie, Islamic Jihad's representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

Walid Moualem reiterated that his country opposed Fatah al-Islam

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem reiterated that his country opposed Fatah al-Islam and wanted to arrest its leaders. "Our forces have been after them, even through Interpol," he said in a lecture at Damascus University. "We reject this organization. It does not serve the Palestinian cause and it is not after liberating Palestine."

How come you send one person to prison with a sentence of 12 years in jail for just open his mouth about your policy towards Lebanon and released the very same leader you say you want to arrest? Why did you released him in the first place then?

"No one would accept to fight one another while the Israelis are shelling Gaza"

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said he expected Saturday's truce to stick because of Israel's ongoing military strikes, aimed at halting the wave of Qassam fire on its Negev communities. "No one would accept to fight one another while the Israelis are shelling Gaza," he said.

12 years v.s releasing..

Around the time of the diplomat's death in Jordan, al-Absi was jailed in Syria on charges of planning terrorist attacks inside that country, according to Lebanese officials. He was released in the fall and reportedly headed to Lebanon where he set up base in the camp, Nahr el-Bared. Lebanese security officials said Fatah Islam has up to 100 members who come from Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and Syria as well as local sympathizers who belong to the conservative Salafi branch of Islam.

One that open his mouth about Syria's policy towards Lebanon gets 12 years in prison and one that planning terrorist attacks gets released..

Lebanese troops tightened a siege of a Palestinian refugee camp

Lebanese troops tightened a siege of a Palestinian refugee camp Monday where a shadowy group suspected of ties to al-Qaida was holed up, pounding the camp with artillery a day after the worst eruption of violence since the end of the country's 1975-90 civil war. Some camps have become havens for Islamic militants accused of carrying out attacks in the country and of sending recruits to fight U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. The group's leader, a Palestinian named Shaker al-Absi wanted in three countries, said in a March interview with The New York Times that he was trying to spread al-Qaida's ideology and was training fighters inside the camp for attacks on other countries. Al-Absi had been in custody in Syria until last fall but was released and set up in the camp, where he apparently found some recruits, Lebanese officials said.

Syria has denied involvement in any of the bombings, but Lebanon's national police commander Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said Sunday that Damascus was using the Fatah Islam group as a covert way to wreak havoc in the country.

If that would be the case..That Syria uses this group to destabilizing Lebanon and the fact that Syria released Al-Absi which training fighters for attacks on other countries and in Iraq, means that Syria uses this group even in Iraq..Yes..As I said: Lebanon to the west, Iraq to the east and Palestine at south and "Syria in the heart of it" with their Baath party, Hamas exile calling for violence while the Palestinians getting shot trying to restore calm, road to Qatar with the Sunni-psychopath telling Palestinians to blow up themselves and urged Iran to "Fight the enemies"..

"The streets are full of masked, armed men"

"The government of Olmert, planned a further unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank but the war with Hezbollah in 2006 put that on hold."

"We can go out and go shopping but it's not safe and it's frightening. I live with my wife and one-year-old child very close to the presidential area. I was afraid for my family, so I took them to my father-in-law's house in a safer area. Everyone is being terrorised - women, children and old people included. People are under tremendous psychological stress. Students are extremely worried that their courses will be suspended, like they were two months ago. This would affect our academic future and students are an integral part of society. I am confined to my home. The streets are full of masked, armed men - some are positioned on roof tops, it's too dangerous to go out."

TRIPOLI, Lebanon- Lebanese troops tightened a siege of a Palestinian refugee camp Monday where a shadowy group suspected of ties to al Qaida was holed up, pounding the camp with artillery a day after the worst eruption of violence since the end of the country's 1975-90 civil war. Lebanese officials said one of the men killed in Sunday's fighting was a suspect in a failed German train bombing — a new sign that the camp had become a refuge for militants planning attacks outside of Lebanon. In the past, others in the camp have said they were aiming to send trained fighters into Iraq.

A new commitee

A new subcommittee of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has been tasked with confronting the civilian issues facing the West Bank. The committee, which is being headed by MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima), was formed in the wake of a number of incidents in the West Bank - particularly the occupation of a house in Hebron by a group of Jewish settlers - that resulted in complaints from the civilian Jewish and Palestinian communities.

"We found that there was a need for a committee to deal directly with these issues," said Schneller, who formerly served as the Yesha Council secretary-general. He said the committee would meet to create and discuss laws surrounding the security fence, illegal outposts, checkpoints and settlement blocks. Schneller said the committee was already discussing two bills relating to military protection around the Jewish settlement blocks. The committee is also scheduled to discuss several new reports on illegal settlement activity and the security fence near Modi'in. "We are dealing with sensitive political, diplomatic and military issues of which there are many, many opinions. We have members of every party, from Meretz to National Union, on the subcommittee," said Schneller.

Source: Jerusalem post

Fighting with Fatah al-Islam

A cabinet minister said the fighting with Fatah al-Islam, which the government says is backed by Syria, seemed timed to try to derail U.N. moves to set up an international court to try thosesuspected of carrying out political killings in Lebanon.

"Intervene to "stop this dangerous aggression which is heightening tension."

The dead and injured in Sunday night's strike were mostly members of Haya's family and his neighbours but he was away from his home in eastern Al-Shujaya neighbourhood of Gaza City at the time of the attack, the medics said. Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, leader of Hamas, denounced the "terrible crime carried out by the Zionists against a member of parliament," and called on the international community to intervene to "stop this dangerous aggression which is heightening tension."

"Resolve the conflicts"

Dr. Barghouthi, Minister of information and spokesperson of the National Unity government called tonight for the international community to immediately intervene to stop the Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip.

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan - Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Sunday his government would offer a counterproposal to an Arab peace initiative to resolve the conflict with Palestinians. He urged Arab leaders to meet with Israel to hash out the issue. Peres adviser Yoram Dori also would not give details on the counterproposal or a timetable for its submission to the Arab League and Saudi Arabia. "Our government, our Cabinet will discuss it, and we will submit our proposal to the Arab League and to the Saudis," he said. Erekat urged Israel to "solve the thorny issues" including the future status of Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories. If Israel doesn't cooperate, he warned the region would be doomed. "If we leave things to conflicts and wars and settling differences by bombardments and wars we will go into the 21st century in the vehicles of darkness and extremism," he said.

Lebanese forces engaged in heavy gunbattles

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Lebanese forces engaged in heavy gunbattles with al-Qaida-styled Islamic militants in Tripoli and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp on Sunday, officials said, in the worst violence to hit the northern city in two decades. Some Lebanese security officials consider that Fatah Islam is now a radical Sunni Muslim group with ties to al-Qaida, or at least al-Qaida style militancy and doctrine. But some anti-Syrian government officials say they are a front for Syrian military intelligence aimed at destabilizing Lebanon.

Syria has been fighting its own Sunni militancy, and has frequently battled with radicals striking in Damascus neighborhoods. On Sunday, Syria temporarily closed two border crossings with northern Lebanon on Sunday because of security concerns over the clashes, Syria's Interior Ministry said. The closing of all border outlets at al-Arydha and al-Daboussyah in northern Syria were meant "to preserve the security of Syrian and Lebanese inhabitants," the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by Syria's official news agency, Sana.

Lebanese troops battled militants

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese troops battled militants linked to al Qaeda in northern Lebanon on Sunday and at least seven soldiers were killed, security sources said. Three soldiers were killed and four more wounded in clashes with militant group Fatah al-Islam at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near the northern port city of Tripoli, security sources said. Four more soldiers were killed when militants from the same group attacked an army patrol in the Koura region of northern Lebanon, the sources said Fatah al-Islam statements have appeared on Islamist Web sites known to publish al Qaeda statements.

The Lebanese army cannot enter Palestinian refugee camps in line with a 38-year-old agreement but it had tightened its grip around the camp since authorities charged members of the group with carrying out a twin bus bombings in a Christian area near Beirut that killed three civilians in February.

The militant group is an offshoot of the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising. Fatah Uprising broke from the mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement in the early 1980s and has headquarters in Syria. Some Lebanese security officials consider Fatah Islam to be a radical Sunni Muslim group with links to al-Qaida.

Protection for Sderot

Olmert, Peretz agree to speed up protection for Sderot By Haim Bior, Mijal Grinberg and Ayanawo Farada Sanbatu, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz agreed Saturday night to speed up the protection of homes in Sderot and communities around the Gaza Strip, in the wake of days of Qassam rocket attacks fired by Gaza militants.

End a week of Palestinian factional bloodshed in Gaza.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen armed with rifles, grenades and explosives climbed down from rooftop positions Saturday and residents began venturing out of bullet-scarred homes after their leaders agreed to end a week of Palestinian factional bloodshed in Gaza.

Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms killing 15

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms entered a village west of Baghdad early Saturday, rousted families from their homes and opened fire on the men, killing 15 of them, an Iraqi general and a Kurdish political party said. The victims were Kurdish Shiites, according to a statement posted on the Web site of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

"If they want to get rid completely of rocket attacks they know the way, it is very simple, we have offered them a complete, comprehensive case fire"

"[The Executive Force] are not completely, exclusively Hamas and also they have not been responsible, as far as we know, for launching any Qassam rockets, that has been in the hands of the military wing of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "So we don't yet know the reasons why the Israelis decided to hit the Executive Force compound." Mustafa al-Barghouti, the Palestinian information minister, said that the air strikes showed that Israel is "no peace partner". "The Israeli reaction is a recipe for disaster," he said. "If they want to get rid completely of rocket attacks they know the way, it is very simple, we have offered them a complete, comprehensive and reciprocal ceasefire. They are the ones that rejected that."

Hamas TV named three Fatah security chiefs who it said were in secret contact with "foreign" security personnel. "They are deep into treason, and we will deal with them accordingly," the broadcast said. Hamas accused Israel of launching the strikes to help its rival.

"There is no political logic to what's happening."

Some blamed the Palestinian factions for a futile fight over power. Zeinab Mohammed, a 21-year-old Egyptian student, said the factions were "serving no one but their own personal interests."

"America, Israel and the whole West want to see us divided," said 47-year-old Kamal Abu-Zeid, wearing thick eyeglasses, and selling newspapers in front of Cairo University. Sateh Nourredine, managing editor of Lebanon's As-Safir daily, said Gaza "is out of control."

"No one knows where it will lead. They've tried mediation by Egypt, the Arab League and the Mecca agreement. They've had direct talks and a national unity government. Then the situation explodes in this catastrophic way," he told The Associated Press. "There is no political logic to what's happening."

Be involved..

SHUNEH, Jordan (AFP) - Iran's national security chief Ali Larijani on Friday denied Tehran was promoting the policy of wiping Israel "off the map," blaming a deliberate distortion by the Western media. "Let me tell you one thing about taking Israel off the map. It was a by-product of the Western media," Larijani told participants at the World Economic Forum on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan. "Our president never talked about this issue," he said of comments attributed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a WEF session on steps to avoid fresh conflict in the Middle East.

Larijani's remarks were in response to an appeal from Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat for the Islamic republic to abandon calls for Israel to be erased from the map. "Talk about adding Palestine to the map and not cancelling Israel," Erakat proposed as he addressed Larijani, prompting applause from the other participants. "All the nations on earth today talk about a two-state solution. Be involved," Erakat said.

Word by word translation:
Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from).

Well...It have been translated wrong in the media. And we shall not let media rule the world. But it seems like media affects way to much in politics and diplomacy. And according to the media both Ahmadinejad, Assad, Hamas exile in Damascus and some more talks a lot of bullshit. As much as half of it would be more than enough! Yes it´s going very well for humanity to let the media rule and be the source from were politicians make important decisions and actions...*not* Be involved instead of this bullshit talking! Or that maybe is unfair.., when Iran is going to participate in meetings to get Iraq stabilized..We´ll see..If I take it away or make more noise of it..Yes I maybe should clean up some in here.How come I haven´t done that yet..? Well..It could be several reasons why I have not done that yet. 1. I have not had much time for it lately. 2. I have not had the energy. 3. I do not trust this politicians..4. I think it´s much talking and little workshop. 5. Many politicians says one thing and do another. 6. Many politicians plays their game despite they have no more left to play with on the board. Yes..Like shadow boxing..

Sleep at night and Talk at sunrise..Structure!

In forming their coalition, Hamas and Fatah put off dealing with the explosive problem of security control. At the time, the two sides agreed on Kawasmeh as the interior minister, ostensibly in charge of all security forces, but there was little expectation he would actually be given authority to integrate the rival forces under a joint command. Two weeks ago, a frustrated Kawasmeh threatened to resign, complaining his security plan had been ignored by both sides. On Monday, he resubmitted his resignation, and this time the prime minister accepted it. Haniyeh said he would serve as interior minister until a replacement was named. At a news conference, Kawasmeh accused both Abbas and Haniyeh of failing to support him. "From the beginning, I faced obstacles that robbed the ministry of its powers and made my position empty, without authority," he said. "I told all the concerned parties, including the president and the prime minister, that I must have full authority to be able to carry out my full duties."

The 2-month-old Hamas- Fatah unity government struggled to prevent Gaza from again descending into chaos. Government spokesman Ghazi Hamad announced that a truce had been reached at a late-night meeting of rival factions summoned by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. But a similar cease-fire the previous night collapsed in hours. Universities were closed because of the violence, and many worried parents kept their children home from school. "It's a curfew out there, masked men everywhere and kidnappings," said Shereen Abu Hassira, 36, who made her five school-age children stay inside Monday. Abu Hassira said her brother was snatched by Hamas gunmen Sunday night because he had been riding in a car with a Fatah-allied policeman. "No one cares for anyone anymore," she said. "If they thought of our children, they wouldn't have done this."

In forming their coalition, Hamas and Fatah put off dealing with the explosive problem of security control. At the time, the two sides agreed on Kawasmeh as the interior minister, ostensibly in charge of all security forces, but there was little expectation he would actually be given authority to integrate the rival forces under a joint command.

Yes such a problem with who is going to have the charge of security control. And with that problem for so long you have a problem with security. We know it would be a hard work to get Gaza stabilized, but you have not made it any easier for you with your problems to integrate the rival forces under a joint command.

"Talk during the night is like butter -- it melts at sunrise," a man on a bicycle, referring to the truce negotiations, shouted as he passed near masked gunmen closing a main street in Gaza City.

They maybe should talk at sunrise instead..Someone put them in their beds and say goodnight at them when it´s bedtime..Maybe you should play a lullaby on the radio..You know..it disturbers our Lord mighty when people refuse to sleep at night and doing wrongs instead, and are still up when the birds start to sing! yes..Of course you will have problem with that kind o living. They need Structure and daily routines!

Que?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Iran's president led a raucous anti-American rally on Sunday in this tightly controlled U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, a day after a low-key visit by Vice President Dick Cheney aimed at countering Tehran's influence in the region. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a cheering crowd that America was to blame for creating instability and robbing the region of its wealth. "We are telling you to leave the region. This is for your benefit and the benefit of your nation," Ahmadinejad shouted to the crowd of thousands at a soccer stadium. "The nations of the region can no longer take you forcing yourself on them. The nations of the region know better how to create peace and security."

Is this the way you will help stabilize Iraq? "riding on the waves of the enemies"..

"With the aim of easing the pain of the Iraqi people, supporting the Iraqi government and strengthening security in Iraq ... Iran will talk with the American side in Baghdad,"

"This is a positive sign"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Iran said on Sunday they would meet in Baghdad in the next few weeks to discuss security in Iraq, one of the few face-to-face meetings for the two governments in more than two decades. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said later the meeting in Baghdad in the next few weeks would be to discuss Tehran taking a "productive role" in Iraq's security. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will represent the United States.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari welcomed the talks by saying: "This is a positive sign. ... The U.S. is a major player and so is Iran, and there will be a room for some substantial discussions for the stability of Iraq." Many experts say Tehran could play a key role in stabilizing Iraq and that should be a major area of U.S.-Iranian convergence. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney focused on Sunday in talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on ways to stem chaos in Iraq and Iran's impact on security in the Gulf. Washington this month, at a conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, had high-level contact with Syria and signaled a willingness to do the same with Iran.

Free Michel Kilo !

A Syrian court sentenced Kilo to three years in jail on May 13, 2007 on charges of "weakening national feelings" levelled after he criticised government policy toward Lebanon.

It´s absolutely ridiculous! There are people from the whole world that criticises your policy towards Lebanon! I guess you don´t have enough with prisons to throw all of us in..

Iran and the United States will hold talks in Baghdad

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran and the United States will hold talks in Baghdad aimed at establishing security in Iraq, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. The timing of the talks was unclear, with the official IRNA news agency at first saying they would be next week but later reporting the date would become clear by Friday. "With the aim of easing the pain of the Iraqi people, supporting the Iraqi government and strengthening security in Iraq ... Iran will talk with the American side in Baghdad," IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying. Hosseini's office, contacted by Reuters, confirmed his comments, but IRNA also quoted Hosseini as saying: "The place of talks is definitely Iraq.

Iran denies backing the insurgency in Iraq and accuses Washington of igniting tensions between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. Analysts say Washington and Tehran are both concerned about worsening violence, pushing them to agree to meet. The conference brought together Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, as well as officials from G8 nations and the European Union. It was a follow-up to a meeting of senior officials in Baghdad in March, where Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged neighbors to do more to end bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. Hosseini said Iran's decision to hold talks with its arch enemy followed weeks of intense lobbying by Baghdad, which had sought to persuade Iran to engage in such talks. Many experts say Tehran could play a big role in stabilizing Iraq and this should be a major area of U.S.-Iranian convergence. "Tehran and Washington's cooperation over Iraq could be a turning point in stabilizing Iraq," said political analyst Saeed Mesri.

Gunmen drove into a crowded Iraqi downtown

BAGHDAD - Gunmen drove into a crowded Iraqi downtown Sunday morning, pulled two handcuffed men out of the trunk, and shot and killed them in a grisly display meant to send a message to residents not to cooperate with U.S.-led forces, police and witnesses said.

"We are convinced that to establish a Palestinian state, we have to withdraw from other areas"

JERUSALEM - Israel's foreign minister pledged further withdrawals from the West Bank to facilitate creation of a Palestinian state but said in an interview published Saturday that the process was being hindered by Palestinian inability to rein in militants. Tzipi Livni, told Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram that Israel's 2005 pullback from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements will not be the last withdrawals from Palestinian areas. "I can assure you that Gaza is not the last step. We are convinced that to establish a Palestinian state, we have to withdraw from other areas," she said. "We do not want to control the Palestinians."

Factional tensions flared Thursday after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the deployment of about 3,000 police in Gaza City

AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan's King Abdullah II will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Sunday on a rare visit to the Palestinian territories aimed at relaunching Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Jordanian government said. The statement, carried by the official Petra news agency on Friday, said Abdullah will discuss international efforts to jump-start the peace process based on an Arab peace initiative first launched in Saudi Arabia in 2002 and revived at a summit in Riyadh in March. Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh told The Associated Press that Abdullah's visit "reflects the king's continuous and well known position and efforts to push all the sides to the negotiation table and his full support for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Nabil Abu Redneih, Abbas' spokesman, was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying the king's visit "comes as part of the consultation and coordination between the Palestinian Authority and the kingdom to push forward the peace process and revive it according to the Arab peace initiative."

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen opened fire Friday on forces of the rival Fatah and injured at least six people throughout the Gaza Strip. With 10 Palestinians wounded over a two-day period, it was the worst factional fighting since the formation of the Hamas-Fatah unity government nearly two months ago.

The factional tensions flared Thursday after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the deployment of about 3,000 police in Gaza City. The troops took up positions at main intersections and government buildings. The plan includes a joint operations room to be staffed by members of various security forces as well a joint security unit, said Ghazi Hamad, Haniyeh's spokesman. Hamad also said security commanders would hold meetings with leaders of Gaza's political parties and militant groups to maintain calm. "Lawlessness and chaos have become very dangerous in Gaza, and all the participants are determined to end the chaos and restore security," he said.

Working groups on border security

Last week, Iraq's neighbors went beyond the usual communiqué and verbal support by agreeing to set up working groups on border security, refugees, and energy supply. The Arab League also agreed to organize a meeting to help bridge Iraq's sectarian divides, though no date was set.

A "security agreement"

BAGHDAD - The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite political party on Saturday called for a "security agreement" to be negotiated between Iraq and U.S.-led forces to outline the authorities of both sides.

Juridical system, ethics and peace

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas's television station defied the Hamas-led Palestinian government on Friday by airing another weekly episode of a show featuring a Mickey Mouse lookalike who urges children to support armed resistance against Israel. Fathi Hammad, chairman of Al-Aqsa Television, defended the show: "It does not violate any moral or professional standard," he told a Hamas Web site, adding it would not be withdrawn or its content changed.

Well..When you government will have a functioning juridical system, that sorts of propaganda and child abuse should be as in every countries cut off and forbidden under ethical laws and against the convention of children's rights. It violates both the Geneva convention, morality, ethic, peace process, your government and in every possible way. Obvious the chairman of al-Aqsa television should be fired and replaced under those laws. The Palestinians government will have better conditions to work for peace and the Palestinians people. And with a independent state you have all responsibility and obligations as the rest of us. I´m sure the Palestinian government will have some ethical laws for media..In the rest of the world..Such behavior would even violate the terms of use in this blog. I mean..How about if I should write something similar about the Palestinians or any one else? No..you cant even use a blog like this in that way! Read: Terms of use..Free speech does not mean totally free from responsibility..I give some harsh criticism in this blog every now and then, but I do not use it for propaganda telling some country should be destroyed or publish hatred and urges to violence and death..Yes..Thats a big different between being disagreeable and unpleasant and to urge for destruction and killing!

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Review of access within the West Bank

The world Bank called for a "fundamental" review of access within the West Bank and Gaza to boost livelihoods and spur investment. While acknowledging legitimate Israeli security worries, it said these were not incompatible with improving access.

The World Bank said the prevailing conditions were preventing Palestinians from finding jobs and setting up businesses, effectively strangling the economy. "In economic terms, the restrictions create such a high level of uncertainty and inefficiency that the normal conduct of business becomes exceedingly difficult and stymies the growth and investment necessary to fuel economic revival," its report states.

Gradual measures to increase freedom of movement, such as Israel's provision of permits to some Palestinian businessmen, were not sufficient to tackle the inherent problems. "Sustainable economic recovery will remain elusive if large areas of the West Bank remain inaccessible for economic purposes," it said.

But the Israeli government said the restrictions were solely driven by the need to protect its borders. "We have no interest whatsoever in seeing a failed Palestinian economy," said government spokesman Mark Regev. "Many of the current problems are a direct result of terrorism, violence and political instability within the Palestinian Territories." A 2005 plan to increase internal and external access to the West Bank foundered amid renewed violence.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the World Bank report, arguing that it drew attention to the level of economic deprivation in the region. "It helps convince the relevant governments and public opinion of the actual reality that the Palestinians have been trying to explain without much success," said Ghassan Khatib, a former planning minister.

Olmert is scheduled to visit Jordan

Olmert is scheduled to visit Jordan on Tuesday to meet with King Abdullah II in the ancient city of Petra on the sidelines of an annual Jordanian conference for Nobel laureates. Livni met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for 90 minutes and also had talks with Foreign Ministers Ahmed Aboul Gheit of Egypt and Abul-Ilah al-Khatib of Jordan. After the meeting with Mubarak, Livni said the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers would come to Israel as representatives of the Arab League for further talks on the peace offer.

GAZA (Reuters) - Rival Palestinian factions clashed in the Gaza Strip on Friday, causing at least six injuries, in some of the heaviest fighting in weeks, security officials and witnesses said. Palestinian security forces deploy on a street in Gaza City May 10, 2007. Palestinian police began deploying in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday under a security plan that political factions hoped would bolster a coalition government by curbing internal violence.

There will probably be some clashes before it gets calmer. But I do believe you will manage just fine and will see the different in the streets of Gaza rather soon.

Photo courtesy of Reuters/By Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070511/wl_nm/palestinians_violence_dc;_ylt=Ag.GEkFzryR7CjSs62SyG01m.3QA

The heart of it!

An Iraqi girl stands behind a soldier guarding a street in the Shiite slum of Sadr City 7 May.

Photo courtesy of AFP/ByWissam Al-Okaili

Hamas have suspended a TV program that featured a Mickey Mouse lookalike

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hamas have suspended a TV program that featured a Mickey Mouse lookalike urging Palestinian children to fight Israel and work for global Islamic domination, the Palestinian information minister said Wednesday. Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti said the character, a giant black-and-white rodent with a high-pitched voice, represented a "mistaken approach" to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation. He said that the program was pulled from Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV at his ministry's request and "placed under review."

Clashes between Hamas and Fatah' forces erupted

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Clashes between the Hamas and Fatah' forces erupted Thursday in the central Gaza Strip, marring the launch of a new security plan aimed at halting the wave of violence plaguing the crowded coastal area. The plan includes a joint operations room to be staffed by members of various security forces as well a joint security unit, said Haniyeh's spokesman, Ghazi Hamad. He also said security commanders would hold meetings with leaders of Gaza's political parties and militant groups to maintain calm.

"Lawlessness and chaos have become very dangerous in Gaza, and all the participants are determined to end the chaos and restore security," he said. Palestinian medical officials said one person was wounded — and four people were kidnapped and then released — in the fighting in the Nusseirat refugee camp. The fighting came as Palestinian officials moved forward with the start of the security plan aimed at restoring law and order in the chaotic Gaza Strip. In the first phase of the plan, an estimated 3,000 police fanned out in Gaza City, taking up positions at main intersections and government buildings. The police were not stationed in the area of the gunbattle.

organize a meeting to help bridge Iraq's sectarian divides

Last week, Iraq's neighbors went beyond the usual communiqué and verbal support by agreeing to set up working groups on border security, refugees, and energy supply. The Arab League also agreed to organize a meeting to help bridge Iraq's sectarian divides, though no date was set.

In a Web statement Monday, an al Qaida front organization, the Islamic State of Iraq', warned Sunnis against joining the government security forces — a move supported by the Salvation Council. "We tell every father, mother, wife or brother who does not want to lose a relative to advise them not to approach the apostates and we swear to God that we will use every possible means to strike at the infidels and the renegades," the group said.

Full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Alleged arms smuggling into Lebanon and the possible arming of various groups there may deepen the country's political crisis, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report released here Monday

"I am deeply worried that the political crisis in Lebanon may be deepened and exacerbated by allegations" from various sources regarding "illegal arms trafficking and the possible arming" of various Lebanese and non-Lebanese groups, he said. He said the allegations of illegal arms smuggling across the Syrian-Lebanese border needed to be addressed and urged "all relevant parties, in particular the governments of Syria and Iran, to ensure full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701."

Last month, the 15-member Security Council asked Ban to send an independent mission to investigate reports of illegal arms movements across the Lebanese-Syrian border. Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 29 years of military and political domination of its smaller neighbor, in line with that resolution.

Ban's report, the fifth such semi-annual study since resolution 1559 was adopted, also stated that Hezbollah's arms "continue to pose a key challenge to the (Lebanese) government's monopoly on the legitimate use of force and all efforts to reassert Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence." He stressed that the electoral process should be "conducted according to Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or influence, in accordance to resolution 1559."

Lahoud's mandate was controversially extended by three years in September 2004 after parliament, under pressure from Lebanon's then political master Syria, adopted a constitutional amendment to that effect. Lebanon has been mired in a political crisis over the planned creation of a UN-backed international tribunal set to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, which was widely blamed on Syria and which Damascus has strongly denied. The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon has accused Syria of blocking the creation of the tribunal, including by putting pressure on pro-Syrian cabinet ministers who resigned last November.

First cabinet-level talks between Syria and the United States

On the heels of the first cabinet-level talks between Syria and the United States, Moustapha said that he believes the United States is not focusing enough on the political process in Iraq. "There is no accompanying political process," Moustapha said, when asked about an interview Syrian President Bashar Assad gave earlier in the day about the situation in Iraq.

Do not make a mockery of history

Russia prepares to celebrate Wednesday's anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. The costly triumph is one of the proudest moments in Russian history, and Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that their view of the past is indisputable.

"Attempts to make a mockery of history are becoming an element and an instrument of the foreign policy of certain countries," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in televised comments at a ceremony honoring Russian diplomats who died during the war.

"The memory of the victors does not fade, this memory is sacred to us, and attempts to relate to this memory blasphemously, to commit outrages against it, to rewrite history, cannot fail to anger us," Lavrov said, according to a Foreign Ministry transcript.

Protecting the mosque of Imam Kadhim

BAGHDAD - The mosque of Imam Kadhim, the most revered Shiite shrine in Baghdad, is a tempting target for Sunni insurgents. To protect it, Iraqi and U.S. troops rely on the Mahdi Army. With tacit American approval, plainclothes militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr set up impromptu checkpoints and patrol alleys day and night near the mosque.

During the two-hour fight, some Iraqi soldiers fought alongside Mahdi Army gunmen, according to the Iraqi officer in charge of security in the area. U.S. officials, who said some Iraqi soldiers took off their uniforms and tossed weapons to militiamen.

An Israeli aircraft attacked a car carrying an Islamic Jihad rocket-firing squad in the Gaza Strip

Palestinians look at a destroyed car after an Israeli aircraft attack in the northern Gaza May 7, 2007. An Israeli aircraft attacked a car carrying an Islamic Jihad rocket-firing squad in the Gaza Strip on Monday, wounding one militant, the group said.

Soldiers found a load of explosives planted under an oil pipeline in northern Iraq

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it was maintaining a stepped-up military presence in the Persian Gulf by keeping two aircraft carriers in the area amid tensions with Iran.

BAGHDAD - Four Iraqis were arrested early Monday after soldiers found a load of explosives planted under an oil pipeline in northern Iraq About 330 pounds of TNT were discovered under a stretch of the pipeline in the al-Kisk area, about 50 miles west of Mosul, said Col. Mohammed Ahmed, a spokesman for the 3rd Iraqi Army division. The explosives were removed and safely destroyed without injuries, he said. Four suspects — all Iraqis — were arrested nearby, Ahmed said. About 10 suspected insurgents were arrested and assorted weapons and bomb-making materials were confiscated from them during a raid in a village near Baquba, an Iraqi army officer said.

Livni is scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Egypt

Livni is scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan in Cairo on Thursday for what a senior Israeli official described as "the first formal session" of talks on the revived land-for-peace proposal. The Arab League named Egypt and Jordan to a working group which would contact Israel over the initiative, but the political turmoil that threatens Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government delayed the process.

A shadowy group attacked a U.N.-run school

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Security was beefed up at the main U.N. compound in Gaza City Monday, with workers reinforcing the entrance gate and personnel inspecting the roof after a shadowy group of Muslim extremists attacked a U.N.-run school. Sunday's incident, which killed one and wounded seven, is part of Gaza's out-of-control lawlessness that is increasingly aimed at foreigners. Most foreigners have left Gaza, and the latest attack on the U.N. was seen as a major escalation.

Use the visit to voice strong protests against restrictions on free speech in Iran.

The visit angered some exiled Iranians who accused Teheran of human rights violations and called Sweden to break off all diplomatic relations. Press freedom groups in the Scandinavian country urged the Swedish government to use the visit to voice strong protests against restrictions on free speech in Iran.

5.000 years and one of the worlds biggest disaster!

They have lived there for over 5.000 years!
And you manage to commit genocide and one of the worlds greatest environmental disaster! And it´s still going on!

And you wonder what the U.S. do in Iraq!

Iraq's foreign minister said Sunday that he expects to soon see "substantive discussions"

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Iraq's foreign minister said Sunday that he expects to soon see "substantive discussions" among U.S., Iranian and Iraqi diplomats on improving security and stability in his country. But it was unclear if the United States and Iran had agreed to a meeting.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hoshyar Zebari said a ministerial conference in this Red Sea resort last week was "very successful" because Iraq's neighbors and key international players condemned terrorism, reaffirmed their obligation to combat it and supported his government's efforts to strengthen national unity and end violence. Senior Iranian, Iraqi and U.S. diplomats met, but there was disappointment that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki only exchanged pleasantries and passed up the chance at what would have been the first public, high-level, face-to-face talks since the U.S. broke off relations following the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

Talks in CAIRO, prisoner swap with Hezbollah

CAIRO (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will visit Egypt this week for talks on an Arab peace plan revived at a summit in Saudi Arabia in March, her Egyptian counterpart said in remarks reported Sunday. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying by the official Mena news agency that Livni would visit Cairo on Thursday.The talks would also be attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib, the report said. A senior Israeli diplomatic source told AFP earlier that "Livni is planning to go on an official Cairo visit on Thursday for talks on several bilateral issues, including the Saudi peace initiative." The peace plan revived at an Arab summit in Riyadh offers Israel normal relations if it withdraws from all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war, and allows for the creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees. Israel, which rejected the plan when it was first launched at a Beirut summit in 2002, has recently said it could provide a basis for talks, provided there are amendments to the refugee issue. The Arab League has tasked Jordan and Egypt to persuade Israel to accept the Arab peace initiative.

REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic (ISRAEL) DUBAI (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in remarks aired on Sunday, said talks to free two abducted Israeli soldiers were making progress and it was a "matter of time" before a solution would be found. "We have no problem on the matter of the captives. We have two captives and we are negotiating about them," Nasrallah told Iran's al-Alam television. "The matter is on its way towards a solution ... it is a matter of time," he said, without elaborating. The capture of the two soldiers by Hezbollah after a raid into northern Israel in July triggered a 34-day war. The United Nations is mediating talks to secure a prisoner swap between the guerrilla group and Israel. Hezbollah want to exchange them for Lebanese and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in remarks aired on Sunday, rejected Israeli charges that a former Israeli-Arab lawmaker helped the Lebanese group aim rockets at targets in Israel during last year's war. "All that is said about his ties to Hezbollah and providing information to Hezbollah is absolutely not true," Nasrallah said, referring to Azmi Bishara, who has been accused of treason by Israeli police.

The reason..

http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/marsharabs1.htm

The authorities destroyed and desecrated holy sites and shrines, and demolished libraries, mosques, and centers of religious instruction, hussainiyas. The closure of Shi'a centers of learning obliged students to transfer their studies to universities and institutions elsewhere in Iraq where Sunni rather than Shi'a theology was taught. Shi'a religious rites and practices were restricted, printed material was strictly censored, and religious broadcasts were banned. These measures were accompanied by the promulgation of discriminatory legislation against Shi'a Muslims, the introduction of retroactive death penalty legislation for membership in a Shi'a Muslim opposition group Islamic Call (al-Da'wa al-Islamiyya), and the execution in prison and targeted assassination of prominent religious leaders and scholars.

The satellite images, taken in 1992 and 2000 by the U.S.'s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), confirmed the destruction of around 90 percent of the marshlands, qualifying it as "one of the world's greatest environmental disasters."

“Only an evil water goddess"....

“Only an evil water goddess could have come up with such a solution.”
The problems increased with the 1946 United Nations decision specifying the borders of the new state of Israel. “Only an evil water goddess could have come up with such a solution,” write the authors of this book. In other words, disputes were built into the geostrategic results of that UN decision — a fact that has made many Israelis become obsessed with the issue of “water security.”

Wonder how much artifacts they have destroyed in those tunnels.

Yes you should dig them up some time in the future and do your own excavations. The Gaza strip and it´s surroundings is one of the worlds most treasury places..There was a meeting point there for the whole Middle East ones..

One thousand post..

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert opted on Sunday against firing his deputy, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, saying they would continue to work together despite her call for his resignation.

I stood in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Thursday evening. Around me stood people wearing yarmulkas, settlers and Likudniks, their eyes shining, chanting "Olmert go home." They hadn't come to throw out the prime minister who failed in Lebanon. They came to take revenge on the man who was behind the Gaza disengagement plan, who supported former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who masterminded the convergence plan that has since died yet still talks about a Palestinian state. They are still fighting for Pithat Rafiah and Homesh. They want to teach him and us a lesson: that the hand of anyone who dares raise a hand against the settlers will be lopped off.

The rightists came to the demonstration not because they opposed the war. They came because they were enthusiastic about it. We have not forgotten Benjamin Netanyahu's cries of encouragement to Olmert in the Knesset, urging him to annihilate, destroy and exterminate Hezbollah and not to stop until complete victory was achieved. The right wing came to the square only because it was disappointed with the way the war was carried out. It wanted a more successful, destructive war, that would wipe out the other side. It came to the square because it wants to crown Netanyahu already, alongside the National Union and the National Religious Party. The word "peace" was not mentioned by most of the speakers.

Source: Nehemia Shtrasler Haaretz.com

Mixed responses..

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian leaders are divided over a new U.S. plan that aims to bolster prospects for renewed peace talks with Israel by setting dates for both sides to take confidence-building steps. The Israeli response to the U.S. plan has been mixed. An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the government could not commit itself to meeting some of the so-called "benchmarks" for security reasons. "It is a proposal. It's a positive initiative. We'll study it in depth," the aide said. Top Israeli security officials will discuss the plan in greater detail this week with Olmert. Erekat said Abbas would discuss the U.S. timeline with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, during talks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City

U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City early Sunday, uncovering a weapons cache, a torture room and killing at least eight insurgents in a gunbattle, the military said.

The troops had targeted four buildings in the area based on intelligence indicating the presence of an insurgent cell that smuggled weapons — including powerful roadside bombs known as "explosively formed penetrators" — from Iran, sent fighters to the neighboring country for training and was involved in a kidnapping network, the military said.