israel map, 1948 map, map palestine, borders isr
jerusalem history, israel history, israel, gop israel, second temple, israell
New Vatican-Israel Section - Click Here
INFORMATION on MIDDLE EAST, CLICK HERE FOR MIDDLE EAST SECTION
VATICAN STATEMENT on HOLY SITES
COVERAGE NOTE: We did cover the recent ANNAPOLIS CONFERENCE on the
US-Sponsored surrender of Judea, Samaria & Galilee for the Creation of a Second Palestinian State
(the first one actually being Trans-Jordan)
The Time of the Gentiles - Soon Up ??
http://www.israelnn.com/tv.php
Map of Israel showing who wants What for Land
(We will leave This Page posted)
For the New Israel & Middle East Current Events Page, Click Here
YOU ARE AT THE ISRAEL NEWS ARCHIVE PAGE
This is the Old Page but most of the News is still relevant and UNREPORTED by Regular Media
Wake UP
ISRAEL/PALESTINE Wake UP
2008 Acceleration 2008
******************************************************************************
AMERICAN BORDERS Still on track TO BE DISMANTLED
Hablo Espanol ?
******************************************************************************
Reestablished
Sanhedrin Convenes to Discuss Temple -Story Below
Sanhedrin condemns Disengatement - Sanhedrin´s Declaration Concerning the Disengagement
Knesset to pass bill expanding rabbinical courts' authority
******************************************************************************
Note: We are Adding a Page on Egypt and the Mideast Peace Process as it appears to be exercising a Growing Role on events in the Middle East - EGYPT Page Here
(Evangelical Leaders Delude followers)
*<A HREF="http://www.baptisttop1000.com/cgi-bin/1000/show.cgi?id=xofc" target="_blank"> <IMG SRC="http://www.baptisttop1000.com/cgi-bin/1000/counter.cgi?id=xofc" BORDER=0></A>
IRAQ's Growing Government-Hostility to Christianity
A.D.L Foxman: Fear of the name of JESUS
By Hillel Halkin
The Jerusalem Post | November 14, 2005 Foxman's
Hypocrisy
FrontPageMagazine - Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League - the one major American Jewish organization whose primary goal is fighting anti-Semitism - is worried. American Jews, he believes, are threatened, not by anti-Semites, but by the non-anti-Semitic Christian Right. In an address to the League's national commission in New York last weekend, Foxman said:
"Today we face a better financed, more sophisticated, coordinated, unified, energized and organized coalition of groups in opposition to our policy positions on church-state separation than ever before. Their goal is to implement their Christian worldview.
To Christianize
America. To save us!"
That the Christian Right's vision of America is different from Abraham Foxman's, and from that of most and perhaps all American Jews, is indisputable. What is not so obvious, however, is, firstly, whether the Christian Right is doing anything that the American Jewish community and the
Anti Defamation League have not been doing for decades; secondly, whether it is not therefore absurd to attack Christians for such things; and thirdly, whether there is any wisdom, from the American Jewish perspective, in declaring war on a Christian public that in recent years has been Israel's strongest supporter in the United States.
Help for PA to assert Sovereignty in the AIR: Putin to Help With Palestinian Security
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to provide the new Palestinian leaders with helicopters and other equipment and training to help maintain order after Israel's promised withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank this summer.
In the first visit to the Palestinian territories by a Kremlin leader, Putin also pledged to help the Palestinians rebuild their infrastructure with an eye toward a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
And in a nod to Israel, Putin promised any assistance to the Palestinians would be coordinated with both sides, saying "we want this cooperation to be absolutely open."
The Palestinians and Moscow have a long history of political and cultural cooperation dating to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union backed Arab states and the Palestinians in their fight against the U.S.-backed Israelis. About 15,000 Palestinians, including their leader Mahmoud Abbas, studied in Russia. In recent years, however, Russian ties with Israel have warmed — and Putin said Friday his visit had "turned over a new page" with Israel.
His three-day Mideast trip is seen as an attempt to bolster Russia's international standing and
raise its profile in Mideast peacemaking.
"We will provide the Palestinian leadership with technical
help, supplies of equipment and training of
personnel," Putin said after a two-hour meeting with Abbas, who greeted him warmly at the Palestinian headquarters, known as the muqata.
Israel has reacted coldly to a Russian proposal to give the Palestinians 50 armored vehicles, fearing they could fall into the hands of militants. But Putin said the Palestinians will need resources to bring order to their territories and heed Israeli and international calls to rein in militants.
Full
Story Here
Palestinians/PA Leaders Seek to Assert International
Sovereignty over Gaza, Judea,
Samaria & Galilee
as Sovereign
Palestinian Land. Demand includes Control of Airspace and ability to Invite
Foreign Troops as International Peacekeepers
Ap 24/05 - Gaza - Palestinian negotiators said Sunday that Israel must allow free movement in and out of
Gaza, relinquish control of the Rafah crossing and establish a "safe passage" between Gaza and the West Bank.
The demands were also contained in a four-page paper on Palestinian preparations for the pullout, presented to senior U.S. envoys
several days ago and obtained by The Associated Press. In the document, the Palestinian Authority writes it seeks
"full ... sovereignty
over the land
borders, regional waters
and air space of these areas, including securing an
international
presence."
Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian Cabinet minister in charge of coordinating the withdrawal with Israel, said that "there will be
no separation between the West Bank and
Gaza, and we will not allow the Gaza Strip to be turned into a prison," Dahlan told reporters.
The Palestinian National Security Adviser, Jibril Rajoub, suggested the Palestinians
might refuse to coordinate the withdrawal if the demands were rejected. In an interview with the Palestinian daily Al Quds, Rajoub raised the possibility that international monitors supervise the Rafah crossing.
Israeli troops currently patrol the Gaza-Egypt border, controlling a narrow, heavily fortified strip at the southern end of Gaza. Israel is negotiating security arrangements along the border with Egypt, and has not yet decided whether to leave the patrol road, a flashpoint of fighting in the past four years.
Palestinian militants have repeatedly dug tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border to smuggle weapons.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians heckled the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land, as he led the Palm Sunday procession, demanding his resignation and holding up signs reading "Shame on you." Police said protesters also threw empty water bottles.
Full Story Here
Note: Its interesting that while some Political forces work hard to make sure that the USA has No sovereignty over its own Borders as the U.S. is carved into a new Mexamerica designed to Force Americans to compete with Latin American Slave-Wages directly (Aztlan) - That Internationally, Some of those same forces are working very hard to make sure that the Palestinian State can control its borders.
Sharon
PM Sharon meets with Russian President Putin
IFM - Jerusalem - April 28/05 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met this afternoon (Thursday), 28 April 2005, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and made the following remarks at the start of the meeting:
"We are pleased to host Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is my fourth meeting with President Putin and I am happy that the meeting is being held in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. I am certain that this meeting will deepen bilateral relations. I know that, last night, you visited several sites in Jerusalem and I am certain that on your next visit you will succeed in seeing many more. I am glad that you chose this date, so close to May 9, when the world marks the victory over Nazi Germany. The State of Israel and the Jewish people will never forget the sacrifices and deeds of the Russian people, who liberated the Jews from the extermination camps.
Today, we will discuss various issues and I am certain that the warm relations between Russia and Israel, and between myself and President Putin, will remain as such and will become even warmer. I want you to know that you are among friends here."
Russian President Vladimir Putin replied: "Thank you very much for your kind words regarding both myself and my country. You referred to the period in which this meeting is being held, days that are very important to us because our peoples suffered more victims than any others.
All of our previous meetings were fruitful and made our current meeting possible. My visit is taking place during Passover and the Eastern Orthodox Pascha. I would like to wish the Jewish people well with all my heart; I wish joy for the entire Jewish family."
Prime Minister Sharon welcomed Russian President Putin on his visit to Israel and said that Israel is greatly interested in advancing bilateral relations and enhancing them in all areas.
Russian President Putin told the Prime Minister that he was very much enjoying his visit to Israel, which he has been looking forward to for some time. The Russian President said that his previous meetings with the Prime Minister and the personal ties between them encouraged him to visit Israel at the present time and added that he was grateful to the Prime Minister for the opportunity to make the visit.
On the Palestinian issue, Prime Minister Sharon said that Israel was committed to the Roadmap and expressed the hope that the Palestinians would honor their commitments in order to pave the way to beginning diplomatic negotiations on the Roadmap. He added that an international conference would be held at the beginning of the second stage of the Roadmap and not before.
Russian President Putin said that Russia's intention was to propose a professional meeting at the level of experts in order to advance the diplomatic process in the region; in any case, no kind of forum would be convened without Israel's assent.
The two leaders discussed the continued implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings and the need to take such steps as would strengthen Palestinian Authority
Chairman Abu Mazen.
Russian President Putin said that it would only be in coordination and agreement with Israel that Russia would assist the Palestinian security forces so that the latter might fight terrorism more efficiently.
Prime Minister Sharon reiterated Israel's desire to coordinate various elements of the Disengagement Plan with the Palestinian Authority and said that he had charged Vice Premier Shimon Peres with the responsibility of raising funds in order to assist Palestinian economic recovery after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Prime Minister Sharon said that the Palestinians must fight against terrorist infrastructures and disband the terrorist organizations, which they have refrained from doing up until now. He added that Abu Mazen is trying to reach understandings with the terrorist organizations
and integrate them into the political system without disbanding
them, which contravenes the Roadmap.
Prime Minister Sharon emphasized that without the full implementation of the Palestinians' commitments, there will be no diplomatic progress on the issue of supplying missiles to Syria. He said that Israel was concerned that new and sophisticated weapons were liable to come into the possession of terrorist organizations. He stressed the Syrian involvement in terrorism and said that the problem was not the sale of the weapons per se but to whom the weapons are sold.
Russian President Putin said that as long as he is President, Russia would do nothing to harm Israel. Regarding the sale of SA-18's, he said that Russia was acting as responsibly as possible so as not to disturb the military balance in the region and so as not to create a threat against Israel. The Russian President said that the sale of these missiles does not threaten Israel and emphasized that they could not reach terrorist organizations, adding that Russia has taken all necessary steps to assure this.
On the Iranian issue, Prime Minister Sharon said that an
Iranian military nuclear capability constitutes a tangible and existential danger not only to Israel but also to the Middle East, Europe and the rest of the world. He added that nuclear weapons in the hands of extremist elements constitutes a danger that must be prevented in any way possible.
Russian President Putin emphasized that a nuclear Iran frightens Russia as much as it frightens Israel and said that Russia would not help Iran achieve a nuclear bomb. He added that on the Iranian issue, Russia was Israel's ally and called for cooperation in order to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
The two leaders agreed to continue the enhancement of bilateral ties between the two countries in the security, diplomatic and economic areas in order to increase the level of cooperation and understanding. They decided to establish a direct link between their respective bureaus in order to increase cooperation between the two leaders. They also discussed the Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah issues, as well as Russia's voting patterns at
the UN and the advancement of various bilateral issues.
At the end of the meeting, Russian President Putin told Prime Minister Sharon that he very much appreciated his determined stand in the struggle against terrorism and his commitment to the security issue and said that the terrorist organizations must receive no concessions and must be shown no weakness. He stressed that
Russia was Israel's strategic ally and said that bilateral relations must be exhausted to their fullest and best potential.
Jerusalem : Homosexual activists face growing
opposition for Gay Zeal Parade (WorldPride 2005)
AgapePress - Ap 14-17/05 - Homosexual activists are running into lots of opposition as they
plan WorldPride 2005, a "homosexual pride" festival scheduled for this
summer in Jerusalem, Israel. Bob Knight of the Culture and Family
Institute notes that the ten-day festival, dubbed "Love Without Borders," is
not being greeted with open arms. "Resistance is growing in Jerusalem
and, really, around the world to this idea of celebrating homosexuality in
the holiest city in the world," Knight says. And in the city itself, he
adds, "a remarkable coalition of the top Muslim, Christian, and Jewish
leaders has come together. They recently held a press conference
denouncing the WorldPride celebration, [saying] it would desecrate the
holiest city in the world and that they would do anything in their power to
stop it." That coalition is doing what it can to pressure the mayor of
Jerusalem to withdraw the welcome mat from WorldPride 2005. The event is
scheduled for mid-August and will feature
parties, a "lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender" movie festival, and workshops on homosexual
social and political issues.
Former Israel President Ezer Weizman Dies
TEL AVIV, Israel - Ap 24/05 - Former Israeli President Ezer Weizman, a flying ace and crack military commander who built up the nation's air force and helped bring about the Jewish state's first peace treaty with an Arab country, has died, Israeli officials said Sunday. He was 80.
The Maariv daily newspaper said Weizman died Sunday evening with his family at his bedside.
Weizman was president in 1993-2000. In three decades in political life, he made a highly public transition from hawk to dove, saying the Jews had to learn to "share this part of the world" with the Arabs.
As defense minister in 1979, he was instrumental in negotiating Israel's peace treaty with Egypt.
Weizman, a political moderate who pioneered contacts with Palestinian leaders, later resigned from then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Cabinet, complaining about his strict interpretation of interim peace accords with Egypt about the Palestinians.
Ariel Sharon, now Israel's premier, replaced Weizman.
Weizman's casual style breathed life into the presidency, a largely ceremonial office, and endeared him to the Israeli public. His vacillation on issues of peace reflected the uncertainty of ordinary Israelis — he cooed dovish when they favored territorial concessions and called for a slow-down when they feared things were moving too fast.
His bluntness and sharp-tongued barbs often got him into trouble with other politicians who accused him of overstepping his authority.
His last year as president was marred by scandal when he became the target of a police investigation into fraud and breach of public trust.
Weizman was born in the northern port city of Haifa on June 15, 1924. His uncle,
Chaim Weizmann, was Israel's first president.
Full Story Here
Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon to be completed - at least
"Officially" - by Monday
Haaretz - Ap 24/05 - The Syrian army will complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by Monday, and its head of military intelligence will hold an official ceremony to mark Syria's pullout on Tuesday, Israel Radio reported Sunday.
Syrian soldiers evacuated Sunday a checkpoint in the Bekaa held by their army since it entered Lebanon 29 years ago.
Maj. Gen. Rustom Ghazale, Syria's chief of military intelligence in Lebanon, will hold an official ceremony on Tuesday to mark the completion of his country's evacuation of military forces from Lebanon.
Upon his departure, the military road connecting the two countries will be sealed off, and the Lebanese army will take over the Syrian intelligence headquarters in the city of Anjar in the Bekaa.
The largest number of Syrian troops to leave Lebanon in one batch vacated at least 10 positions in the northern part of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon Saturday night.
3 Weeks
Reprieve From
Disengagement
Plan
: Sharon
aide: Pullout to be postponed by three weeks until after fast of Tisha B'Av
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn
The withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank will be postponed by three weeks and begin
on August 15, a source in the Prime Minister's Bureau said yesterday. The announcement came after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz declared that he favored beginning the pullout after the Tisha B'Av fast.
The [Forced] withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank will be postponed by three weeks and begin on August 15, a source in the Prime Minister's Bureau said yesterday. The announcement came after Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz declared that he favored beginning the pullout after the Tisha B'Av fast.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had made his inclinations known early this week, following a request from chief Sephardic rabbi Shlomo Amar, who pointed out that religious Jews do not move house during the three-week mourning period between the 17th of Tamuz and 9th of Av.
Sharon told Haaretz Wednesday that he wanted to make things easier for the settlers and that his final decision would depend on the opinion the defense minister expressed. Sharon and Mofaz will meet after Pesach and make an official announcement.
Sharon's bureau explained that the disengagement is not being postponed. "The evacuation order signed by Sharon and Mofaz, in accordance with the government's decision, stipulates that from July 20, Israeli citizens cannot remain in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. Whoever remains there after that date will be breaking the law, and there's no change in that, but the enforcement will be postponed. Previously, police were to come on July 25 to ascertain whether the law was being implemented, and now they will come on August 15," a source said.
Mofaz discussed the postponement at yesterday's weekly meeting of senior defense establishment officials on progress in disengagement preparations. The head of the General Staff's operations directorate, Major General Yisrael Ziv explained that a delay would mean altering the Israel Defense Forces plan for calling up reserves and changing the schedule for training courses, a large share of whose cadets are to take part in the disengagement.
Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter supported the postponement, but the National Security Council representatives were opposed. In the end, Mofaz decided to recommend the delay until after Tisha B'Av, saying that postponing the target date may ease the settlers' feelings and did not entail significant damage.
US MARINES STORM ASHORE IN NITZANIM
ICEJ and other sources - Ap 22/05 - Exercise
concludes several weeks of joint maneuvers with IDF The American and Israeli
armies have just completed several weeks of joint military maneuvers in the
Negev, culminating Wednesday when hundreds of US Marines in hovercrafts stormed
the Nitzanim beaches south of Ashdod to rendezvous with IDF ground forces.
The extensive exercises, kept low-key as usual to allay Arab sensitivities,
included Patriot missile battery tests and live-fire air defense sorties, plus
the delivery of the first three of 18 new Cobra attack helicopters to the IAF.
Such discreet US-IDF exercises are common but were largely suspended during the last four-and-a-half years of the Palestinian intifada, when US warships were ordered not to dock at Haifa and American forces were not allowed shore leave in Israel.
ICEJ Characterized comments on the exercise as follows:
An alarmist Internet rumor over recent days had linked the sighting of a "long green US army convoy" in southern Israel to a Washington plot to enforce disengagement and the road map, but a more credible appraisal would suggest the joint exercises might have included serious preparations for the aftermath of a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
(Evangelical Leaders Delude followers)
However, The Conclusion that ICEJ reaches - that the USA is working With ISRAEL - seems to indicate a short-sighted analysis of the Politics of the Middle East. Some Christians know a great deal about Israel & Prophecy, but just about nothing when it comes to the dealings of the USA with the Current State of Israel. It is the USA which is forcing Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and it is the USA which is forcing Israel to withdraw settlements from Galilee, Judea & Samaria. It is the USA which is Largely funding the Palestinian Authority, and it is the USA which is providing the monthly paychecks to the Palestinian Authority - through the World Bank.
In other words, it is the
USA which is forcing ISRAEL to Retreat from the land which it had been
allowed to keep - of the Old British Mandate plan, where the Arabs already
received 80% of Palestine.
While some American Church Denominations wrongly condemn Israel, It is President Bush - who despite his official diplomatic pronouncements - is doing All He Can to carve the Historic Nation-State of Israel into Two States, in order to give one half to Islamic Arabs, who have already imposed Sharia Law in much of the Area under their control in Judea, Galilee and Samaria (which they call the "west bank" to confuse Americans).
It is the CIA which has been giving training to the current PA forces, and this is in addition to the 40,000 troups of Arafat and the P.A. that the CIA already trained in the 1990s. (And it was THAT training, that began the Intifada). All this of course, continues to have the blessing of the British, who are in a hurry to embrace Islam as much as possible. The Sanhedrin condemned the Disengagement plan.
Any Christian can take a look in the back of their Bible and look at a map of Israel. That land still belongs to the Jews, in the eyes of God. God seems to prescribe his hostile response to those who deprive Jews of their Divine Land Grant. That is not popular these days, obviously. But Evangelicals should realize that - contrary to his OFFICIAL pronouncements - the ACTIONS of President Bush (II) demonstrate that no American Leader has ever taken More steps AGAINST Israel than President Bush has. The fact that Bush describes his action of Involuntary Partition of Israel as "Saving Israel" or "Safeguarding Israel" does not change the reality on the ground.
The fact is that even from a prophetic point of view, it is the USA which has taken immense steps - with 1) Military Equipment, 2) Military Arms sales, and 3) American Funds to arm most of the Arab World. In other words, if ever the Arab world took action against the State of Israel, this would be possible because of American Weaponry, American Training, and American financing of those Arms deals.
While many Evangelical Leaders have been tripping over themselves to support Bush because of always his most minimal support, Bush himself has been working against many of the historic causes that Evangelicals have supported. But they are too busy in their ecstasy to realize the degree to which their own fortunes are precariously based. Bush's position are also Contrary to those of Reagan. Never mind the rise of China.
Christian Author: U.S. Answerable to God for Pushing Israel's Withdrawal from Gaza
Disengagement
Plan:
EXPELLING THE JEWS
Disengagement
Plan
KATSAV: STATE SHOULD ASK SETTLERS' FORGIVENESS
ICEJ - Ap 22/05 - Sharon confirms pullout delay; cites Biblical precedent for giving up land
A formal apology in the name of successive governments should be issued to Gush Katif settlers who moved there at the state's behest and are now facing evacuation, President Moshe Katsav told The Jerusalem Post, as the community's residents prepared to celebrate what appears to be their last Pesach in Gaza.
"I think successive governments of Israel have to ask forgiveness from the settlers for sending them there," he said. "They didn't go there on their own, but in accordance with government decisions. Now that the government is asking for their evacuation, I think the government should go ask their forgiveness."
Katsav's call for a show of contrition from the State coincides with repeated attempts by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to use a flurry of Passover interviews to defuse the mounting tensions over disengagement as some 150,000 opponents of the plan prepare to flock to Gush Katif for the holidays.
In the Ha'aretz Pesach Supplement, Sharon kicks off his interview by insisting that he reads the Bible almost every day, always has it on his desk and tries to look at it between meetings, before citing the precedent of King Solomon giving up cities in the Galilee in exchange for cedars for the Temple.
Speaking to The Post, Katsav demonstrates Sharon's dichotomy, defending disengagement by citing Solomon's gift of land to Hiram of Tyre and invoking the religious concepts of repentance and forgiveness before calling on Rabbis "not to make withdrawal a religious issue."
"No one among us knows - on this issue - what God wants. I can turn it around, and say maybe it is God's will to evacuate Gush Katif," Katsav said admitting fatalistically that the failure so far to prevent the pullout despite over a year of concerted opposition could indicate that God intends to allow it to go ahead.
"We have no prophet, or voice from heaven, or anyone connecting us directly to God and mediating between us," he continued. "It is preferable, therefore, that the argument take place in the realm of security and diplomatic issues."
Katsav's comments come as the Prime Minister's office confirmed that it would accept a recommendation by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to postpone this summer's settlement evacuations by three weeks to August 15, thus avoiding removing residents during the three-week religious mourning period between 17th of the Hebrew month of Tamuz and Tisha Be'av (July 24 -August 14). It is the latest in a growing list of recent announcements by Sharon to "ease the pain" of withdrawal on the largely observant Jewish communities affected.
But while Katsav worries about the possibility of violence during the implementation of the government's disengagement plan, he is at pains to take issue with the Prime Minister's recent assessment that the atmosphere in the country feels like "the eve of civil war".
"I don't think there is a danger of civil war," Katsav said, despite admitting the very real need to protect police and settlers from the possibility of Palestinian attack during the pullout.
In a closed-door meeting of senior cabinet ministers Tuesday, Sharon said he expects Palestinians to loot the Jewish settlements immediately after Israeli forces leave Gaza this summer. "Immediately after the Israeli army leaves there, everything will be looted," Sharon was quoted in the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot
Sharon
TO POST: I'M TRYING TO SAVE AS MUCH AS I CAN
Disengagement
Plan
Gaza pullout is the only way
to save the 'settlement dream'
ICEJ - Ap 21/05 - Relinquishing Gaza is the only
way in which Israel can expect to salvage the core of the settlement enterprise
in the historic hills of Judea and Samaria Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told The
Jerusalem Post ahead of the Passover holiday.
He also said that there were no circumstances whatsoever in which he could
envisage Israel sending ground forces back into Gaza after the scheduled summer
pullout, even if, as he acknowledged was certainly possible, there was a
resurgence of terrorism in the Strip. Israel would fight terror in Gaza,
"without limits," he said, "but I do not see a situation in which
we would be required to go back in on the ground."
Had more Diaspora Jews chosen to make their homes here, Sharon said, it is possible that his overall strategy might have been different, "but we have to look at the facts as they are." And in the reality that he inherited as prime minister, he said, the unfortunate truth was that only "part of the settlement dream" could realistically be achieved.
"I don't see, looking at the long-term picture, any possibility of a community of a few thousand Jews, for all its achievements and its special heroism, remaining in Gaza." In the West Bank, by contrast, he said, "I am doing everything I can to save as much as I can."
Israel Navy Scrambled to Save
Sinking Syrian Ship
ICEJ - Ap 21/05 - Israel scrambled naval vessels backed by helicopters in
efforts to rescue Egyptian and Syrian sailors who were stranded at sea after a Syrian
ship sank in international waters off the coast of Nahariya on Wednesday
afternoon. According to the IDF three crewmen were rescued from the ship before
it capsized, but four others were still missing. An Israeli naval ship escorted
them to a Syrian vessel in the vicinity while nearby US and French naval ships
joined in the search for the remaining crewmembers. The ship was loaded with as
much as 4,000 tons of cement and apparently sank due to excess cargo weight.
Sharon , US Agree that PA Must Act Against Terror for Road Map to Begin
ICEJ - Ap 21/05 - For the US-backed
'road map' peace process to begin, the Palestinian Authority would have to
dismantle terrorist organizations, stop incitement, and begin educating its
people about peace, insists Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Speaking to The
Jerusalem Post in his annual Passover holiday interview, Sharon said that
because none of those things were happening the road map era had not yet
arrived. The US administration fully shared this assessment, he added.
IMRA: Abbas lied on Weapons
Seizures
ICEJ - Ap 21/05 - After Palestinian
Leader Mahmoud Abbas claimed in interviews with the Israeli press earlier this
week that PA forces have already collected terrorists' weapons in Jericho and
Tulkarm, towns already
under PA security control, Israel Radio Arab affairs correspondent Avi
Yissakharov checked with Palestinian sources who all denied that this was the
case, IMRA reports. The Palestinians told Yissakharow that while the PA has made
announcements regarding the collection of weapons, no weapons have yet been
seized.
Jordanian (Palestinian) Prisoners Freed in a Bid to Improve Ties
ICEJ - Ap 21/05 - Israel on
Thursday freed seven of the 18 Jordanians in its jails in keeping with a recent
pledge to improve ties between the two countries, Israeli officials said. Jordan
had demanded the prisoners' release after returning its ambassador to Tel Aviv
in February following a four-year absence during the intifada. The decision was
approved by the cabinet on Sunday and didn't include any prisoners with
"blood on their hands." The release follows a deliberately low-profile
visit by IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon to Amman on Tuesday, during which he
met with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Army Chief, Khalid Jameel al-Saraiyrah.
Ya'alon has often praised the close ties between the neighboring nations'
respective militaries.
NYT: SHARON IS DRAWING
UNILATERAL BORDERS
Disengagement seeks to
strengthen hold on larger settlement blocs
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - Israeli
leader Ariel Sharon is unilaterally moving to
define his nation's future borders with a Palestinian state, The
New York Times reports, by disengaging from Gaza and four smaller
settlements in northern Samaria, "thickening" more established
communities near Jerusalem and the 1967 'Green Line,' while bringing the
remaining larger settlement blocs within the compass of the separation barrier.
According to the Times, "the likely impact of the
provisional new border on Palestinian life is, perhaps surprisingly, smaller
than generally assumed," and it would leave about a quarter of Israeli
settlers on the Palestinian side. Some 99.5% of Palestinians would live outside
the barrier, in 92% of the West Bank land mass.
Within the new route of the
barrier but outside the Green Line are some 177,000 Israelis living mostly in
large settlement blocs - about 74% of Israeli settlers. While the majority of
the settlers in the larger communities enjoy the ongoing support of the Israeli
consensus, the future of the other 26%, about 63,000, who live beyond the
barrier deeper into Judea and Samaria, is far less certain.
Qatar looks to Israel for UN Support
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - The Arab Gulf state of Qatar is asking for Israel's help to secure a temporary seat on the UN Security Council, The Jerusalem Post reports, despite the lack of any formal diplomatic ties between the two nations. Refusing to elaborate on a recent meeting between Israel's UN envoy Dan Gillerman and his Qatari counterpart, Gillerman's spokesperson simply noted "warming ties" with the Gulf state and indicated that Israel is considering the request. Qatar is one of two candidates to take over the rotating Asia seat in the UN's prime decision-making forum, currently occupied by Pakistan. Israel hopes that supporting Qatar could weaken the solid opposition it routinely faces from the world body's Arab bloc.
Russia offers
Palestian Authority helicopters, Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs)
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - Russia has reportedly offered to donate to the Palestinian Authority two Mi-17 transport helicopters for the use of Ministers and VIPs as a "tangible show of support for Abbas and the PA from Moscow." The helicopters will replace those used by former PA leader Yasser Arafat during the Oslo era but destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2001 at the start of the intifada. According to Jane's Defense the Russians have also offered the Palestinians 50 armored troop vehicles. The offer comes a week before Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to be the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit the Jewish State during a two-day visit to Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian territories.
Intifada Accelerates Christian Exodus
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - The start of the armed Palestinian intifada more than four years ago has accelerated emigration by
Palestinian Christians that began years earlier, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times. Researchers and officials say 3,000 Christians have left the Bethlehem area since 2000, heading mainly for the US, Australia, and Latin America. The recent
violence re-accelerated the decades-long Christian exodus from Palestinian areas as well as the
progressive Islamization of the Bethlehem area under Palestinian Authority rule. According to Prof. Bernard Sabella from Bethlehem University, only some 45,000 Arab Christians remain in east Jerusalem and the territories combined, out of a total population of well over 3 million.
Did
Prince Charles convert to Islam ?
CHARLES'S PUBLIC STATEMENTS ABOUT ISLAM
The future Charles III has made several strong public statements endorsing Islam as the solution to the spiritual and
cultural ills of Britain and the
West. His public advocacy of Islam appears to go back to 1989, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued an edict (fatwa) against Salman Rushdie, a British citizen, for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad in his novel The Satanic Verses.6 Rather than defend Rushdie's freedom of speech, Charles reacted to the death decree by reflecting on the positive features that Islam has to offer the spiritually empty lives of his countrymen.
Court Rules to Extradite Israeli 'Mafia Boss' to US
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday ruled that Israel may extradite alleged crime boss Ze'ev Rosenstein to the United States to stand trial on charges of smuggling hundreds of thousands of Ecstasy pills. The United States requested extradition following a joint investigation by Israeli police and the US Drug Enforcement Agency. Rosenstein is believed by police to be the kingpin of the Israeli underworld, and has survived numerous attempts on his life, including a downtown Tel Aviv bombing at a money changer's shop in December 2003 that killed three bystanders and injured over 30, but which Rosenstein himself escaped unscathed.
GERMAN
PONTIFF SEEN AS
'FRIEND' OF JEWS
ICEJ - Ap 20/05 - Israelis upbeat on election of Cardinal
Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI
The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, to succeed
Pope John Paul II on Tuesday is being received warmly in Israel, based
on expectations he will
continue the late pontiff's historic reconciliation efforts between the Catholic
and Jewish worlds. Ratzinger, who adopted the name Benedict XVI, was a close
confidant of John Paul II and helped articulate his conservative theological
views as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
|
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, newly elected as Pope Benedict XVI on the balcony of St. Peter's Basillica in Rome on Tuesday shortly after being chosen as Pontiff by the conclave of Cardinals. (Photo: The Vatican) |
Both witnessed the Holocaust
as young men (Ratzinger in Germany and John Paul II in Poland) and shared a
desire to steer the Catholic Church away from its anti-Semitic past.
Though once forced to join the Hitler Youth, Ratzinger has since distinguished
himself in interfaith dialogue with Jewish leaders and in Vatican documents that
acknowledge Christian failings towards the Jews. During a visit to Jerusalem in
1994, he expressed support for Israel and Zionism, saying it was "very
important that Jews, even if they live all over the world, have a homeland... to
live in the land of their fathers as a people in continuity with their own
history and the promise given to their forefathers."
Peres cautious on Paris 'Peace' Conference
ICEJ - Ap 19/05 - Vice Premier Shimon Peres met Monday evening in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, in a wide ranging meeting that explored the French proposal for an international conference on assisting the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Gaza pullout and Iran. But Peres, a key backer of the 1991 Madrid Conference that kick-started the Oslo deal, warned his hosts that the introduction of a political component into the Conference, as in Madrid, would stop the process before it had even begun. "The correct way is first to present an economic horizon, which leads to economic democracy, and only afterward to discuss political matters." Peres said.
Directors-general disengagement forum discusses
ministries' preparations
Disengagement
Plan:
EXPELLING THE JEWS
MFA - Jerusalem, 18 April 2005 - Prime
Minister's Office Director-General Ilan Cohen, last night (Sunday), 17 April
2005, convened a meeting of the directors-general forum to discuss the various
ministries' preparations ahead of the implementation of the Disengagement Plan. (http://tinyurl.com/43l87)
Ministry of Social Affairs Director-General Dov Goldberg said that his ministry,
in cooperation with the Gaza Coast Regional Council and the Samaria Regional
Council, is operating special centers in order to assist the local populations
in light of the security and diplomatic situations. A professional team from the
Ministry of Social Affairs has mapped special populations for whom the change is
expected to require special emotional, social and economic preparations.
According ministry data, approximately 100 special needs persons live in the
Gaza Strip and northern Samaria; they will receive pinpoint care during the
evacuation period. "Representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs are
in contact with these people; apparently, this group will move separately,"
Director-General Goldberg said. At the same time, preparatory work is being
carried out among the local and regional authorities that are expected to absorb
new residents. These authorities will receive extra social workers, and budgets
for financing both activities designed to assist in establishing new communities
and special services for children and the elderly.
Interior Ministry Deputy Director-General Yitzhak Black explained that
disbanding the Gaza Coast Regional Council requires considerable preparations,
in the context of arrangements will be made for Council employees, the Council's
accounts and debts will be audited and a survey will be made of its assets.
Moreover, Interior Ministry representatives will be dispatched to the various
communities in order to assist their residents in changing their addresses. In
this context, Prime Minister's Office Director-General Cohen said that, "We
don't want the people who have to move to be shunted back and forth between the
various ministries. We must do our utmost to provide the best possible services
to the residents."
Agriculture Ministry Director-General Yossi Yishai explained that his ministry
was concentrating on moving agricultural operations from the Gaza Strip and
northern Samaria to other areas around the country. An Agriculture Ministry team
is currently holding contacts with farmers in order to devise both temporary and
permanent solutions that are acceptable to both sides. He added that the
Agriculture Ministry Veterinary Service is currently formulating possible
alternatives regarding moving the animals currently located in the Gaza Strip
and northern Samaria. He said that these were mainly cows, chickens and pets,
adding that the manner in which they are moved will be in line with the medical
recommendations.
Construction and Housing Ministry Director-General Shmuel Abuav said that his
ministry is currently formulating a comprehensive solution to the issue of
housing for the residents, both in the long and immediate terms, including the
construction of permanent housing, temporary structures and rent subsidies. He
referred to the possibility of adding 400 housing units to the community of
Nitzan, and to other possibilities. He stressed that advancing each alternative
depends on cooperation from Gaza Strip and northern Samaria residents.
Prime Minister's Office Director-General Cohen said that the directors-general
would be required to submit details of their respective ministries' progress
ahead of the implementation of the Disengagement Plan to the ministerial
committee chaired by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the coming days.
Putin
due in April for historic visit to Israel
Haaretz - Mar 23/05 - Russian President Vladimir Putin is to make a historic visit to Israel at the end of April as a guest of President Moshe Katsav, Israeli officials said yesterday, marking the first ever visit by a Russian or Soviet leader to Israel.
Putin is slated to
arrive in Israel on April 27 for a two-day visit, said Ron Ben-Yishai, an aide
to Katsav, who will formally be Putin's host as head of state.
During the trip, Putin will meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other
senior Israeli officials for talks on advancing Middle East peace talks, said
Ben-Yishai. Katsav will host a state banquet for Putin.
Government sources in Jerusalem said that Putin's visit is meant to show that
Russian-Israeli relations have not been harmed by a contretemps over a planned
Russian sale of advanced arms to Syria, including anti-aircraft missiles that
Israel is worried could be used against Israel planes or could end up in the
hands of Hezbollah.
The details of the Putin visit were worked out over the weekend by Russian
National Security Adviser Ivan Ivanov, who had been in Jerusalem for last week's
ceremonies dedicating the new museum at Yad Vashem.
Sharon gave interviews to Russian papers yesterday saying Israel is still
worried by the sale of the shoulder-launched missiles. Sharon sent senior
officials from the intelligence community to Moscow, Berlin and New Delhi to
make presentations to top defense officials about Israeli assessments of
terrorist activity in the region.
Sharon has not ruled out that he may visit Russia in the near future.
Cabinet approves special work procedures to advance implementation of
Disengagement
Plan:
EXPELLING THE JEWS
MFA -
Jerusalem, 17 April 2005 - The Cabinet
today (Sunday), 17 April 2005, by a majority vote, approved Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's proposal that sets special work procedures for all matters regarding
advancing the implementation of the Disengagement Plan (http://tinyurl.com/43l87).
The goal of the decision is to achieve maximum efficiency and to hasten the work
procedures regarding both the evacuation of communities in the Gaza Strip and
northern Samaria and the provision of various alternative residence solutions.
The decision determines that a special ministerial committee chaired by Prime
Minister Sharon, and with the participation of Industry, Trade and Employment
Minister Ehud Olmert, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni,
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz,
Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Herzog, Agriculture Minister Yisrael
Katz and Environment Minister Shalom Simhon will be authorized to make decisions
in all matters regarding Government preparations ahead of the implementation of
the Disengagement Plan in the civil sphere, when the committee's decisions are
approved by the Cabinet.
The decision defines the ministries' directors-general forum (http://tinyurl.com/7vpmb),
chaired by Prime Minister's Office director-General Ilan Cohen, as the body that
will coordinate and promote the implementation of the Disengagement Plan in the
civil sphere. The directors-general forum will consider the feasibility of the
establishment of sites designated for community or urban settlement for Gaza
Strip and northern Samaria evacuees, and will make recommendations to the
aforementioned ministerial committee regarding the implementation of the
Disengagement Plan.
According to the decision, all ministries participating in the implementation of
the Disengagement Plan will appoint a senior employee to be responsible for the
ministry's preparations ahead of the implementation of the Disengagement Plan,
with the representatives of the various ministries working in full coordination.
The decision also defined that, in keeping with the opinion of Attorney-General
Meni Mazuz, those instances in which it would be necessary and desirable to make
use of the clauses regarding exemption from public tender in the public tender
rules regarding contacts requiring special urgency in implementing the
Disengagement Plan. Thus, the time needed for contacts between the Government
and various suppliers will be significantly shortened.
The Israel Lands Administration Council will define those cases in which
exemptions from public tender will be awarded regarding land transactions with
Gaza Strip and northern Samaria residents. These rules will enable the immediate
allocation of lands for the residents' benefit.
In Ireland, they're laying odds on a pope of Jewish descent
By Eliahu Salpeter
Haaretz - Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church are convening at the Vatican today to choose
the successor to John Paul
II, who has been called "the best pope ever for the Jews."
After nearly 2,000 years of relations between popes and Judaism, which many times have seen the flow of Jewish blood, there can be no doubt that it is extremely important to the Jews who heads the Church.
The attitude of the new pope toward the Jews will be expressed in three
areas: the theological - contacts between the Church and the Jewish faith; the diplomatic - relations of the Church with Israel; and the ideological-political - relations between Christianity and Islam and the Muslim world.
Since more than 100 of the 115 cardinals with the right to vote were appointed by John Paul II, many observers believe that the opinions of his successor on theological issues, including his attitude toward Judaism, will approximate those of the late pope.
The list of pro-Jewish acts taken by the late pope was widely publicized even before his death: He expressed remorse for the role of Christians in the Holocaust, visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, prayed by the Western Wall, established diplomatic relations with Israel, described the Jews as "our elder brothers" - in other words, a legitimate religion alongside Christianity, and not an "other" that must be triumphed over - and visited the Great Synagogue in Rome, the first visit of its type in Vatican history.
No less significant were his numerous meetings with rabbis and Jewish leaders, and his encouragement for the establishment of departments of Jewish studies (as a culture, not as departments for the study of the Hebrew language or the Bible) at numerous Catholic universities.
One of his first acts as pope was to visit and pray at the Auschwitz concentration camp. He published the "We Remember" letter in which he asked forgiveness for the suffering caused by Catholics to Jews throughout history and during the Holocaust in particular. The great ideological upheaval toward the Jews was generated by the Vatican II Conference in the 1960s, and the
"Nostra Aetate" document that was issued at the end of the conference. This document recognized Judaism as a legitimate religion alongside Christianity, as opposed to a religion supplanted by Christianity. But it was John Paul II who acted to implement fully its conclusions.
Full
Story Here
TEMPLE MT TREASURES FOUND IN CITY DUMP
ICEJ - Ap 15/05 - Israeli archaeologists sifting
through piles of rubble discarded by the Islamic Temple Mount authorities have
recently uncovered a series of unique history-rich
artifacts dating back to the First and Second
Temple periods. The 10,000 tons of rubble were put in a city garbage dump in
1999 when the Islamic Wakf unilaterally built an underground Mosque in the heart
of the disputed Holy site.
The construction was dubbed at the time "an unprecedented archaeological
crime" by the head of Israel's Antiquities Authority and prompted the
controversial visit of then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the site some
months later. Palestinians used Sharon's visit as a pretext to launch the second
intifada.
|
Ottoman porch on the Temple
Mount Plaza. Though under Israeli sovereignty, |
UN pressures Israel, condemns Israeli settlements
The resolution at the annual Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva was passed easily with only the United States and Australia voting against.
Two other resolutions were also passed, calling for Israel to withdraw from the Golan and condemning its use of force.
Correspondents say the censure brings no penalties but it highlights the Israeli government's record.
US
SEEKS UNITED FRONT ON IRAN
Sharon rules out IAF strike on Tehran's nukes
ICEJ - Ap 14/05 - The United States is gearing up to adopt a tougher position on Iran's nuclear program this summer, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday, while insisting that America is seeking "a unity of purpose" with key European allies members of the United Nations Security Council.
Rice's comments come following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Wednesday statement that Israel has no plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities amid reports that a rift with the US has emerged on how to respond to Teheran's nuclear program.
In an interview with Fox News
aired in the US on Wednesday evening, Sharon said that a nuclear Iran is a world
problem, not only Israel's, and that Israel is not leading the campaign against
it. Asked whether Israel has the ability to neutralize Iran's nuclear program,
Sharon simply said that Israel "knows how to defend itself."
Sharon warns Bush to step up pressure on Iran
ICEJ - Ap
13/05 - Spreading photographs of Iranian nuclear sites over a lunch table at the Bush ranch in Texas on Monday, Prime Minister Sharon urged President Bush to step up pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear program, senior American and Israeli officials told The New York Times. Sharon said Israeli intelligence showed Iran was near "a point of no return" in learning how to develop a weapon. American and Israeli officials insisted Tuesday that they were in total agreement about the nature of the Iranian threat, though at least one Israeli source said in Washington on Tuesday, "it is not Israel's job to lead this effort."
Qurei Denounces Bush on Settlements
Disengagement
Plan:
EXPELLING THE JEWS
ICEJ - Ap
13/05 - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Tuesday denounced comments by US President Bush on Monday that offered tacit recognition of major Jewish population centers in the West Bank. "President Bush's remarks about Israel's right to maintain Jewish settlements do not serve the peace process or lead to a just settlement," he said.
ICEJ - Ap 13/05 - IDF intercept
15-year old suicide pipe-bomber
The IDF on Tuesday arrested a 15-year-old Palestinian boy carrying five pipe bombs at the Hawara checkpoint outside Nablus when he appeared in a heavy winter coat on a day that temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Israel Radio reported the boy attempted to ignite the bombs with a match before soldiers stopped him.
Abbas' Fatah topple Hamas at Bir Zeit
ICEJ - Ap
13/05 - In a surprise win, Mahmoud Abbas' governing Fatah movement beat Hamas in student council elections at Bir Zeit University in Ramallah on Tuesday, wresting control of the body back from the extremist Islamic group. Fatah won the council by 23 seats to Hamas' 22. Palestinian student ballots are bitterly contested and the win offers the flagging Fatah movement a welcome boost against Hamas ahead of this summer's Legislative Council elections.
West Bank demand 'must be heeded'
Disengagement
Plan:
EXPELLING THE JEWS
BBC - Ap 12/05 - Palestinian officials have urged Israel to heed US President George W Bush's call for a halt
to the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Mr Bush met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at his Texas ranch to show US support for his plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip.
The president praised what he described as a "courageous initiative".
But he also raised concerns over Israel's recent decision to expand settlements around Jerusalem.
Saeb Erekat, a key Palestinian negotiator, said: "I believe this is the key to everything.
"Failure to adhere to the president's call to stop all settlement activity literally means we will not be able to talk about the two-state solution."
Despite strong opposition from religious groups, Mr Sharon is pressing ahead with the plan to pull all Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in July.
But his government has also unveiled plans for 3,500 extra homes on occupied land near Maale Adumim - the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank - forming a corridor to Jerusalem.
Full Story Here
Doublespeak ?: Israelis to disarm "some" settlers
Disengagement Plan
BBC- Ap 14/05 - The Israeli army says it will disarm Jewish settlers in four West Bank settlements ahead of a planned withdrawal in July.
Military officials said weapons would be confiscated from about two weeks before they are to be evicted.
Correspondents say there is growing concern that resistance to withdrawal will be more intense in the West Bank than in the Gaza Strip.
The West Bank also holds special significance for many religious Jews.
This raises the possibility that Jewish ultranationalists might occupy the settlements to resist the evacuations.
Israeli troops are also expected to disarm settlers in Gaza ahead of the disengagement, though the timing of this is unclear.
Full Story Here
Global Bankers
THANKS
TO GEORGE BUSH, ex-World Bank head 'gets Gaza role' -
