Israel and Syria - Several news items that look towards Isaiah 17

[nChrist]

Insatiable extremism

Roni Yihye, 47, a father of four, was murdered on Wednesday in the latest rocket assault from the Gaza Strip.

His death came a day after the 80th birthday of Ariel Sharon, the general and politician who ended a long career of outmaneuvering hostile Arab forces by withdrawing completely from the Gaza Strip. And it followed the latest anti-Israel broadside from the UN's Human Rights Council, whose rapporteur John Dugard wrote earlier this week that "a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation... As long as there is occupation, there will be terrorism."

The combination of Yihye's murder, Sharon's birthday and Dugard's misguided report brings the current untenable reality apropos Gaza into sharp focus.

Led by Sharon, more than two years ago, Israel wrenched its settlers and withdrew its soldiers from the Gaza Strip. It left behind an unprecedented opportunity for Palestinian state-building and an international commitment to create a Singapore in the impoverished Strip, not to mention millions of dollars in farming equipment, including a world-famous complex of greenhouses. All these were wasted.

No other national liberation movement has ever garnered so much support and so much hard cash, nor been offered the opportunity to take major steps toward full independence by the unilateral withdrawal of the loathed "occupier" from a sizable proportion of its claimed territory. No other national liberation movement has ever spurned such opportunity with so determined an insistence on the terrorizing of neighboring civilians.

Israel is gone from Gaza. Yet Hamas has intensified its attacks on Israel. Palestinian refugees remain in their blighted camps. The notion of progress toward viable institutions of democratic governance is a bad joke.

The ruthless rocket attacks from civilian areas in Israel-free Gaza that have traumatized southern Israel and that claimed the life yesterday of Roni Yihye cannot be honestly construed as "acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation." It is long past time for the learned diplomats of the UN, and all too many other international statespeople, to stop excusing the Islamist supremacists and ignoring their avowed and insatiable ambitions.

This newspaper recognizes that for Israel to remain at once Jewish in character and democratic, it must relinquish territory to which it claims a biblical and historic right and separate from the Palestinians. It looks forward to the day when the Palestinians will live peacefully, and independently, alongside Israel.

But Sharon's "disengagement" did not advance that day. And the failure is that of the Palestinians. A mindset that loathes Israel more than it seeks its own freedom will not be remade by Israeli withdrawal or endless international funding and sympathy. A leadership inciting against Israel in its media, mosques and school system will not be rejected by the Palestinian public so long as much of that population is mired in a bigotry that inculcates permanent victimhood, refuses to recognize any shred of justice to Israel's sovereign claims and extols the virtues of violence and death.

Perceived legitimization for such violence, furthermore, can only exacerbate the tendency. What the international community must do is show its abhorrence of the rocket attacks and other violence and incitement, eschew the Palestinian leadership that encourages them, and energetically support the faint voices of moderation and educational programs that offer the prospect of a changed Palestinian mindset.

The Islamists' strategy, updating enemy efforts to destroy this state, has been to so dishearten and bleed us that we dismantle the country and the instruments of our self-reliance, and go quietly into a Hamas or Hizbullah caliphate, or (as the Iranian version has it) get on a boat for Poland.

But Israelis are not packing their bags. Under Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and now Ehud Olmert, we have sought somehow to separate from the Palestinians. What the Hamas-inspired murderous rocket fire across the Gaza border should long since have made plain to all, however, is that even territory cleared of every last vestige of Israeli presence does not sate the appetite of the Islamists - who, terribly, happen to constitute the parliamentary leadership freely elected by the Palestinian public, and the murderous sole rulers of Gaza.

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[nChrist]

Here's why

"I've read countless books on the subject, and no one has been able to explain the persistence of anti-Semitism," Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said this week, at the Foreign Ministry-hosted Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism.

It is, indeed, difficult to explain the phenomenon, which seems to persist among vastly different ideologies and political movements. The racist Nazis had a mystical vision of the Jews as poisoners of Western purity and civilization while the egalitarian communists saw them as "ideological immigrants."

The Jews don't have a monopoly in suffering others' bigotry, but they may be the most experienced at it. Why?

The Jewish people is uniquely strange. They are defined at once through biology - one is Jewish merely by being born of a Jewish mother, regardless of belief - and ideology - one joins the people by adopting a specific faith. They call themselves a slew of disconnected words, from "culture" and "faith" to "tribe" and "nation."

A typical American Jew may believe his Jewish identity is a religious one while supporting passionately the Israeli project of a Jewish ethnic nation-state. An important Jewish leader could (though not without criticism) be a Buddhist, and one cannot stop being Jewish (according to Jewish law, at least) merely by choosing to become something else.

To say they can be described but not defined is to ignore the fact that most Jews - those not engaged in modernity's "Who is a Jew?" controversies - do not feel Judaism is incoherent. They know what they are, but do not have the word - perhaps because it does not exist - for their idea-based (but not wholly ideological) ethnic identity. They are "Am Yisrael," the people of Israel, whatever that may be. Their identity, with all its confusions, is a product of ancient experience. The inner life, the Jewish bookshelf, which defines this people is vast and profound. Their strangeness is part and parcel of their inheritance.

And so, in every generation, in almost every society in which they are a minority, the Jews are quintessentially and permanently different.

Perhaps this is the reason that anti-Semitism has become what the Canadian jurist and MP Irwin Cotler has called "the canary in the coal mine of evil," always heralding a more pluralistic hatred. A nation's treatment of the Jews - a group that is not slightly different, but almost always deeply so - is the barometer of its capacity for accepting real difference.

The Global Forum ended on Monday after two days of discussions and meetings that produced dramatic announcements for worldwide efforts to combat "the longest hatred."

These included the establishment of an international coalition of activists, parliamentarians and NGOs to combat anti-Semitism worldwide - a coordinating force that has been markedly missing - and an association for scholars of anti-Semitism to be based at Yale University.

These efforts are important and welcome, particularly when the world experiences a rise of street violence against Jews from Paris to Vladivostok which forces them to trade their kippot for baseball caps when walking down the street, and when government-sponsored anti-Semitic media and even official Holocaust denial are heard all too often in Teheran, Kiev, Caracas and in many Arab countries.

But these initiatives are not likely to dramatically increase activism against or awareness of anti-Semitism in the near future. Announced in Israel at an event put on by the Jewish state's Foreign Ministry, they will generally be regarded, like most efforts to eradicate anti-Semitism, as Jewish efforts to deal with a Jewish problem.

In that context, a "tentative" invitation issued at the summit of activists, scholars and parliamentarians is highly appropriate. British MP John Mann offered to have next year's Forum hosted in London. Such a move, received with approval by Israeli officials, could mark the beginning of a more international campaign.

From London, a demand to the Kremlin to take Iran to task over its nuclear plans and Holocaust denial may resonate more widely. In London, the bitter experiences of one minority may be seen more readily as an international symbol for the oppression experienced by all minorities, and acted against with more alacrity.

A world stage, in short, is the place to fight bigotry in all forms, starting with the oldest and most destructive of prejudices.

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[nChrist]

Israel makes another bid for F-22 jets
By YAAKOV KATZ

In the face of Iran's race to obtain nuclear weapons, defense officials who will visit the US next week plan to ask the Pentagon to reconsider its decision not to sell Israel the F-22 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Defense Ministry Director-General Pinhas Buhris will visit the US for several days next week to discuss a wide range of security and defense issues, including the continued funding of the Arrow missile defense system as well as the possibility that Israel will receive the F-22.

Israel had asked for the stealth jet - manufactured by Lockheed Martin - last year in an effort to retain its qualitative edge in the region in the face of American plans to sell Saudi Arabia advanced JDAM smart bombs. The Israeli request was turned down.

The IAF did not give up hopes of acquiring the aircraft, particularly since Israel is only expected to begin receiving the stealth Joint Strike Fighter - also known as the F-35 - in 2013 at the earliest. This could be too late to be used if Israel decides to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.

The F-22 formally entered operational service in the US Air Force in December 2005, but has not been sold outside America due to a federal law barring export sale of the aircraft.

In recent talks with the US, Israel again expressed interest in the jets, and defense officials told the Post this week that "things were looking positive."

"This would be a major boost for Israel and its image of deterrence," an official said.

Israel is particularly encouraged by remarks made last month by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a visit to Australia. Gates said he would look into lifting the congressional ban on the sale of the F-22 to foreign nations. Australia and Japan have also expressed interest in buying the stealth aircraft.

Buhris will also use his US trip to try to secure funding for the continued development of the Arrow missile defense system.

Israel currently operates the Arrow 2, and in a recent meeting at the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved plans to begin developing the Arrow 3, an upgraded version that is slated to have a longer range and be capable of reaching higher altitudes.

Israel is also holding high-level talks with the Pentagon concerning a future Israeli acquisition in a time of war of the Lockheed Martin-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system.

A delegation of officials from Israel's Homa Missile Defense Agency were in Hawaii recently to view a successful test of the system. The US Congress recently allocated $200 million subsidy for Israel's use if it decides to purchase the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

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[nChrist]

March sees rise in motivation to serve in combat units
By YAAKOV KATZ

Amid growing efforts to curb the rising number of draft dodgers, the IDF noted on Wednesday a slight increase in motivation among youth who will be drafted into service next week to serve in combat units.

A total of 70.1 percent of the youths requested to serve in a combat unit ahead of the March draft that will begin on Sunday and continue until the end of the month in comparison to 66% who asked for combat units in the last draft in November.

A senior officer from the IDF's Human Resources Department noted that public pressure, including an unprecedented ad campaign throughout the country, was responsible for the shift in sentiments among youth enlisting this month into the IDF.

"This is the first draft of people who began the enlistment process after the Second Lebanon War," the officer said. "The increase in motivation is a demonstration of the public's support for the IDF."

Despite the rise in motivation, the IDF is still concerned with last year's sharp increase in the number of youth evading military service, which today stands at 27%, including 11% who are haredi.

The officer said that the IDF was working to increase the number of haredi youth who serve in the army and had been holding talks with a number of key haredi officials for this purpose. The officer expressed hope that the 11% would drop to 5% over the next decade.

In the upcoming draft, the IDF is also noting the enlistment of 800 hesder yeshiva students, 270 of whom will be drafted into seven mixed secular-religious units.

The IDF started drafting hesder students, who serve for 16 months, into mixed units three years ago with the ultimate goal that all of the units will be mixed. Due to resistance from certain yeshivot, in the upcoming draft only seven out of the 16 platoons will be mixed. The rest will consist of strictly religious soldiers.

The Golani Brigade continues to lead with 3.5 draftees competing for every spot in comparison to the Nahal Brigade which had 2.5 per spot. There was also a slight increase in the number of draftees who requested to serve in the Artillery and Armored Corps.

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[Shammu]

Israel threatened to target Syria if Hizbullah attacks
03.14.08

Israel reportedly warned Syria in February that it would hold it accountable for Hizbullah attacks
Reuters

Israel recently conveyed a warning to Syria through a third party that it would hold Damascus accountable if Hizbullah launched attacks on the Jewish state, Israeli and European sources said on Friday.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the warning stemmed largely from Israeli concerns that Hizbullah would launch salvoes of cross-border rockets to coincide with any major Israeli offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The sources said the message was conveyed in February through at least one European intermediary following the assassination of a top Hizbullah commander and before this month's five-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

After the group's senior commander, Imad Mugniyah, was killed in a bombing in Damascus, Hizbullah leader Nasrallah threatened Israel with "open war."

'This is sound strategy'

A European source familiar with the matter noted that the message conveyed to Damascus said Syria could be targeted by Israel even if Hizbullah's attack emanated from Lebanese soil.

An Israeli source with knowledge of government affairs said: "The message was passed around late February, before the last round of fighting in Gaza."

"It has become clear to us Syria has to understand there is a price for its use of proxy terrorism, especially as Damascus is itself a proxy - the long-arm of Iran," the source said.

Another senior Israeli government official with knowledge of defence affairs declined comment on whether a message was sent to Damascus, but told Reuters: "This is sound strategy. Syria has significantly deepened its involvement with Hizbullah in southern Lebanon since the war."

Asked about the risk of an Israeli attack on Syria in response to a Hizbullah attack, a British official said: "There is always a danger that a turn of events here could prompt something on the northern border, which would be a disaster."

Israel threatened to target Syria if Hizbullah attacks

[Shammu]

Syrian FM: War with Israel possible
JPost.com Staff
THE JERUSALEM POST
Mar. 16, 2008

A war between Syria and Israel is certainly a possibility, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was quoted as saying Sunday.

In an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba, Moallem was asked if he believed that Israel was preparing for war against Lebanon or Syria in order to avoid addressing internal issues. "Everything is possible", he answered, adding that "every rational person should prepare for every eventuality in the wake of the crazy policies advocated by the US, whose goals are certainly not achieving stability and security in the region."

Moallem went on to call Hizbullah a friend of Syria. "Hizbullah is not a proxy of Syria but a friend. Hizbullah is a part of Lebanon and the difficulties Lebanon faces."

Regarding Israel's possible involvement in the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, the Syrian foreign minister stated, "The investigation is ongoing. I do not wish to jump to the concluding part of the investigation." However, he said that every time a great crime is committed, the question of who stands to benefit from it must be asked, adding that "Israel holds a top spot on that list."

Moallem denied reports that Syria was itself involved in the assassination. "Whoever makes this assertion is not familiar with the details of the investigation."

He also rejected the claim that the assassination constituted a security breach. "Crimes such as this take place in many capital cities around the world and I cannot classify it as a security breach. Furthermore, Mughniyeh habitually entered Damascus under aliases and he lived in a community in which the neighbors believed he worked as a driver. He did not have bodyguards and did not take security precautions," said Moallem.

The Syrian foreign minister noted that the country's security services were entrusted with the investigation into Mughniyeh's assassination. "We are undertaking significant efforts in order to complete the investigation. We will announce the results at its conclusion," he added.

Syrian FM: War with Israel possible

[Shammu]

Syria views Gaza violence as miracle that would revive upcoming Damascus summit

Smadar Peri
Published: 03.13.08, 18:35

Let’s try to get into the head of Syrian President Bashar Assad: In two weeks, he will put on his finest suit and travel to Damascus’ international airport in order to welcome the participants of the Arab League summit.

One cannot but be impressed with the preparations: Just like the president’s suit, Damascus is preparing around the clock while nervously looking at the mirror, like a girl before a fateful date. Fresh posters of the presidential couple are being hung at every corner. Syria spent tens of millions of dollars it doesn’t have in order to renovate hotels, set up a media center, inaugurate restaurants, recruit battalions of spokespersons and PR people, flatter the media, and pamper journalists.

New signs, in Arabic only, announce that Damascus is the mother of all Muslim culture. Those who attempted to argue with this puzzling claim were sent to prison. Democracy? Not around here. Assad won’t let anyone ruin his party.

Yet the way it looks at this time, until the last moment nobody will know who will come out of the landing planes: Rulers and heads of state, or lowly officials who were “punished” with the duty of showing their presence.

Foreign Minister Muallem, who handed out personal invitations at the 22 palaces of Arab world rulers, has counted a meager number of positive responses: Only Algerian President Bouteflika (I have nothing to lose,) Jordan’s King Abdullah (I have no choice,) Qatar’s Sheikh Hamed (al-Jazeera will have a wild time) and Mahmoud Abbas (annoying the Syrians is dangerous.)

For those who will be coming nonetheless, Assad is preparing a bagful of surprises: The summit’s observation gallery includes seats reserved for the Hizbullah delegation, for Hamas’ Khaled Mashaal and for Islamic Jihad representatives, and of course, we must have Iranian ally Ahmadinejad.

For two days they will sit at the luxurious banquet hall, engage in talks at the corridors, and smile to the cameras. What will they really be talking about? This is not a simple problem for those who are currently occupied with, as is customary with Arab summits, drafting the concluding statements.

Will Saudi peace plan be recycled?

On the one hand, it is worthwhile for Assad to see the Damascus summit recycle (for the third time) the Saudi peace plan, which offers Israel “full Arab peace” in exchange for “Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.” What’s wrong with that? Syria will be portrayed as a tireless peace lover, and Israel may finally be convinced to address the Syrian channel seriously. In any case, the Saudi initiative was aimed at bestowing great rewards upon Syria: Removal from the axis of evil, the return of the Golan Heights, and the reinforcement of Syria’s hold (“Only we can control Nasrallah”) on Lebanon’s neck.

On the other hand, the Damascus summit will be convened at a time of tense restraint. The USS Cole, which unexpectedly appeared near the shores of Lebanon, bothers the Syrians. Assad and his intelligence chiefs already know who really killed Imad Mugniyah, but they decided to postpone the publication of the list of accused (a partial list only) to the post-summit period. It would be interesting to see who the Syrians will decide to charge with infiltrating the sealed intelligence-controlled area and killing the Hizbullah military commander.

If it wasn’t for events in Gaza, the Damascus summit would have been thrown to the garbage bin of conflicts among Arab leaders. Assad is not only despised in Jerusalem and in Washington – Mubarak and the Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah, who Assad referred to as “half men” (as punishment for their deafening silence during the Lebanon war) are allergic to him. Yet Assad had a miracle: Because of Hamas and Gaza and the mediation efforts there, there is finally an issue that can be dealt with in Damascus.

And so, in the best tradition of Arab summits, Israel will again play a starring role. Propaganda outlets will produce impassioned declarations and threats, and demand that Abbas join forces with Mashaal. Syria will make a great effort to inflame passions just to make sure that there is no lull in the Gaza violence. Otherwise, what will they be talking about during the summit?

Syria views Gaza violence as miracle that would revive upcoming Damascus summit

[Shammu]

Israeli warship enters Lebanon's territorial waters
Associated Press
THE JERUSALEM POST
Mar. 18, 2008

The Lebanese army says that an Israeli navy warship has entered Lebanese territorial waters.

The army says Monday's incident was discovered when an Italian ship working with the United Nations peace-keepers in Lebanon spotted the vessel.

It isn't common for Israeli warships to enter Lebanese waters although IAF planes frequently penetrate Lebanese airspace in the country's south.

The IAF overflights have drawn ground fire from Lebanese troops on at least two occasions since the end of the Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hizbullah.

Israeli warship enters Lebanon's territorial waters

[Shammu]

Slain Jihad operative's son: My entire family has turned Hezbollah
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
18/03/2008

Instead of a Britney Spears ring tone, Shehadeh Shehadeh's cell phone emits a recording of a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "Our entire family has turned Shi'ite," he boasts.

Last week, Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank town of Bethlehem killed his father, Mohammed Shehadeh, who was a senior commander in Islamic Jihad.

"My father decided to become a Shi'ite after he was deported to Marj Al-Juhur in Lebanon in 1992," the son recounted. "He met there with all sorts of Shi'ite people and he saw that the oppression the Shi'ites have had to endure is very much like the oppression that the Palestinians have suffered."
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According to the 19-year-old Shehadeh, his father eventually came to "respect the Shi'ite commentary on the Koran." He equates his father's actions with those of Imam Hussein, whom Shi'ites believe to be Prophet Mohammed's true follower.

"My father decided not to surrender and chose a martyr's death, just like Imam Hussein, who fought at Karbala," he said, referring to the 680 C.E. clash in what is now Iraq, which proved to be one of the most significant battles in Muslim history. In it, Hussein ibn Ali, Mohammed's grandson and one of the founding fathers of the Shi'ite sect, was slain by Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph.

Sitting in his house in Bethlehem's Wadi Maali neighborhood, the young man entertained a group of friends, all devout Muslims filled with extremist zeal. They were there to mourn his father's loss with him.

The son is outspoken about his disdain for Israelis. "The Jews killed the prophets," he reiterated several times in his conversation with Haaretz.

"Some Jews are all right and my father valued them, like Neturei Karta," he conceded, referring to a fringe ultra-Orthodox sect that is rabidly anti-Zionist. "But most Jews are the enemy."

"Even in your soccer matches, you scream that you want war," he added, prompting knowing nods from his friends.

They are all dressed like Israeli youths their age. Yet throughout the eight years of the intifada, they have not seen a single Jewish Israeli. The Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa in East Jerusalem, just a few kilometers away across the separation fence, might as well be on another planet.

The son said that his father was not a member of Hezbollah, but did identify with the organization. He did not deny that his family received a telephone call from Nasrallah's office in which Hezbollah offered it financial assistance.

One of Shehadeh's friends said that many Palestinian opinion leaders are now joining the ranks of the Shi'a. He named Issa Batat, one of the Islamic Jihad's senior commanders in the Bethlehem area, who is serving a sentence inside an Israeli prison, and Mohammed Kawamleh, a Jihad member who is still wanted by Israel's security services.

Turning to the political implications of his father's assassination, Shehadeh Shehadeh said: "What have you achieved by killing my father? You made a mockery, as always, of the Palestinian Authority."

Mohammed Shehadeh, 45, was a former member of Fatah who later became a senior officer in the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad. He was killed last Wednesday night along with Imad al-Kamel, Issa Marzouk and Ahmad al-Balboul, also from Bethlehem. They were ambushed in one of the town's suburbs by Israeli troops dressed in civilian clothes and driving a civilian car.

The Israeli raid came at a delicate time for the PA and its president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. Egyptian mediators were trying to broker a truce that would calm the hostilities between Israel and Hamas in and around Gaza, a truce that Abbas had called for after violence spiraled there earlier this month.

"Our prime minister, Salam Fayyad, went to meet your Defense Minister Ehud Barak. And whom did they send? Amos Gilad [a lower-level official]. Barak won't even see Fayyad," the younger Shehadeh said, referring to last week's meeting of a trilateral monitoring committee on the peace process. "So you killed one Mohammed Shehadeh. But as former Hezbollah leader Abbas Mussawi said, each time a drop of blood falls to the ground from the body of a ubgone19 [martyr], Allah knows how to use that drop. Now all of Bethlehem will become Mohammed Shehadeh."

Outside the Shehadeh household, pessimism, frustration and desperation are everywhere. It seems that the people of this relatively peaceful West Bank city have given up all hope of seeing results from the attempt to revive the peace process that the United States, Israel and the PA began at last year's Annapolis Summit. They view the process as dying rapidly, making way for another round of violence with Israel.

Shehadeh's funeral, which he shared with the other three assassinated militants, was one of the largest the city has seen in recent years. Palestinian security forces estimate that it was attended by no less of 250,000 people.

"Me and my friends, we led this current intifada," said Abu Dib, who is serving in one of the PA security forces and says he is wanted by Israel for his role in the violence. "We are tired already. But these boys, they were 10 years old when the clashes began. Now they're 18, and they know nothing but war and violence with Israel."

Abu Dib speaks of "a whole new generation that grew up in the territories" and is more violent and radical. "They will be the ones who will lead the next confrontation," he predicted.

Slain Jihad operative's son: My entire family has turned Hezbollah

[Shammu]

Syria is ready to face any Israeli attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon
Tuesday, 18 March, 2008 @ 7:35 PM

Beirut- Lebanese sources have revealed that the Syrian army is reinforcing its military presence along the Lebanese-Syrian borders point from the western Bekaa valley area to Deir Al Ashaer.

The sources linked the military reinforcement to increased speculation inside and outside Lebanon about the possibility that Lebanon will be lured into a war with Israel, which could be triggered by Hezbollah in retaliation for the assassination of its commander Imad Mughniyeh.

The sources said Damascus action is aimed at preventing Israel from attacking the Syrian territory .

According to war analysts, any action by Israel will be in response to Hezbollah's attack on it or any place in the world. Israeli response the analysts say will have specific objectives in quality and quantity ... stressing that such operations will target all Hezbollah bases in the Western Bekaa, which have been strengthened after the war of July 2006.

The analysts said that the western Bekaa contains the main operations of the party, which were established with Iranian funds and include educational and medical institutions and service facilities , all of which will be the targeted by Israeli .

According to Lebanese sources, Hezbollah chief sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is reviewing carefully all the security an military organs of the party after the assassination of Mughniyeh , in preparation for the next battle with Israel . All of this is preparation is being done in coordination with Iran communication with Iran.

Lebanese experts believe that the options of war and peace are equal. Tipped one over another depends on the type of retaliation by Hezbollah for the assassination of Mughniyeh . The experts noted that the citizens of the south of Lebanon are now living in a state of panic and many have renewed their passports to flee if a new war breaks out.


According to Israeli intelligence sources Hezbollah has completed its military preparations in order to execute its retaliatory action against Israel and the countdown for such an operation has already started .


This is why the Israeli sources have pointed out is the reason why Tel Aviv has issued a warning to Damascus in which it holds the Syrian leadership responsible if Hezbollah launched any attacks on its territory or its interests around the world. The sources stresses this warning is a direct threat that Syria will be attacked if Israel is attacked from the Lebanese territory.

A British government source responded to a question about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Syria if Hezbollah attacked Israel, saying: "There is always a big danger of such a development if Israeli northern borders are attacked noting that this will be a catastrophe," . The source added " Hezbollah retaliation for the assassination of Mugniyeh could lead to a much wider regional conflict.

Syria's role in Assassinating Mughniyeh

Mughniyeh's widow, an Iranian national, who was in Damascus at the time her husband was assassinated accused the Syrian regime of involvement in the murder.

"The Syrian traitors assisted in my husband's murder," said Mughniyeh's widow.

She added "This is why the Syrian regime has refused the help of Iran and Hezbollah in the investigation of the murder."

Syria's Foreign Minister stated after the assassination that "only Syria will investigate the murder and it will be a very simple and straight forward investigation and we will find the perpetrators within days."

The General Secretariat of the Damascus Declaration also accused Monday the Syrian regime of involvement in the assassination of Mughniyeh

A statement issued by the Damascus Declaration headed by former MP Maamun al-Homsi stated: "It is our duty to expose the crimes of the Syrian regime and specifically the killing of Imad Mughniyeh and the deception that accompanied this crime."

The statement added the "Syrian intelligence removed the car in which Mughniyeh was assassinated and cleaned completely the scene of the murder to remove all the evidence."

According to intelligence reports Assef Shawkat, Syria's top intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian president Bashar al Assad is behind the assassination. Shawkat is married to Basha's sister Bushra. Bushra has left Syria and is now living in Paris.

The intelligence reports claim that Hezbollah has not retaliated earlier for Mughniyeh 's assassination , because it is currently investigating Syria 's role in the murder .

Hezbollah according to these reports has been questioning many Syrians in Lebanon who knew the whereabouts of Mughnieh before he left for Damascus where he was assassinated on February 12.

Syria is ready to face any Israeli attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon

[Shammu]

Syria Deploys Three Military Divisions on the Border with Lebanon
March 23 2008

Syria has deployed three military divisions along the borders with Lebanon amidst mounting tension in the region, press reports said Sunday.

The leading daily an-Nahar attributed the report to well informed sources, noting that the deployment backs a similar massing of fighters by pro-Syrian Palestinian factions in the Bekaa valley, especially Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in the Qoussayah area.

The development followed Hizbullah's open war declaration against Israel after the Feb. 12 assassination in Damascus of the party's Imad Mughniyeh by a bomb explosion.

Hizbullah is sponsoring a major rally in south Beirut's suburb of Rweis on Monday to commemorate Mughniyeh, labeled commander of the "two victories" in reference to the Liberation of south Lebanon from Israeli occupation in May 2000 and the 34-day war against Israel in the summer of 2006.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has pledged that "thousands of Imad Mughniyehs would confront the Zionist enemy if it invades Lebanon."

Israel has ordered its troops on alert to confront a possible attack by Hizbullah operatives when the party marks Mughniyeh's memorial rally on Monday, 40 days after his assassination.

Syria Deploys Three Military Divisions on the Border with Lebanon

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Nasrallah Reassures Followers that Israel Would Cease to Exist
24 Mar 08, 17:56

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday pledged that Israel is heading towards "more defeats", reiterating that the Jewish state would be "punished" and would cease to exist.

He also stressed that it is the right of Imad Mughniyeh's followers to avenge the death of their leader, who was killed by a Feb. 12 bomb blast in Damascus that Nasrallah has blamed on Israel.

"whoever killed "our martyr (Mughniyeh) should be punished, and would be punished. We would set the time, method and place for the punishment," Nasrallah said addressing a rally in south Beirut's Rweiss district.

He predicted that the Israeli Army "wouldn't dare launch an overland attack" against Hizbullah in Lebanon, noting that "they did not even dare launch a major incursion into Gaza."

"The Israelis would discover during any confrontation what a stupid act they committed by killing Mughniyeh," Nasrallah vowed.

A war by Israel, according to Nasrallah, "would not be a picnic because 85% of the Lebanese support efforts to topple the Zionist Entity."

He said it is "not a simple option for the United States to attack Iran or for Israel to attack Syria."

He addressed concerns among his supporters following a declaration of "open War" against Israel during Mughniyeh's funeral on Feb. 14.

"It is normal for the people to worry … but the Israelis are worried too," Nasrallah said.

The Israeli People, he said, "couldn't stand living in shelters for 33 day." Nasrallah was referring to the Hizbullah-Israel war in the summer of 2006.

Nasrallah said the Hizbullah-led opposition that groups supporters of Syria and Iran "wants the best for Lebanon … We want partnership."

Despite the Mughniyeh assassination, Hizbullah "did not interrupt negotiations" to swap prisoners with Israel "it is the Martyr's wish to see his brethren free," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah told his followers: "you are the generation that would witness the final victory of our nation."

Nasrallah Reassures Followers that Israel Would Cease to Exist

[nChrist]

Egypt to snub Syria's Arab summit

Egypt has said President Hosni Mubarak will not attend a summit of Arab leaders to be held in Syria Saturday.

A junior cabinet minister will lead the Egyptian delegation instead.

Saudi Arabia had said it would only send its Arab League representative rather than King Abdullah, and Lebanon is boycotting the summit completely.

The political situation in Lebanon, which has prompted disputes between Arab countries, is being blamed for the upheaval, correspondents say.

Lebanon has been without a president since November because of disputes between the pro-Western government, supported by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the opposition, which is supported by Syria and Iran.

Each side blames the other for blocking a final deal.

And Syria's detractors have used that as an issue with which to embarrass it as it hosts the Arab summit, says BBC regional analyst Andrew Bolton.

Syria was a dominant player in Lebanon for decades before it was made to withdraw its troops in 2005 in the aftermath of the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - an act which Damascus says it had nothing to do with.

Syria does not want what it sees as its remaining influence in Lebanon diminished for the relatively short-term gain of a full house of heads of state at the Arab summit, our correspondent says.

Jordan has not yet said whether it will be sending a representative to the summit.

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[Shammu]

Jordan's Opposition Submits Bill to Scrap Treaty With Israel

By Massoud A. Derhally

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Ten opposition members of Jordan's Parliament, including six Islamists, introduced a bill calling for the dissolution of the 1994 peace treaty with Israel.

The treaty ``is unfair and hurts Jordanian, Palestinian and Arab interests,'' lawmaker Hamza Mansur said in an interview today in the capital, Amman. Mansur, among the Islamist legislators who presented the proposal yesterday in the lower house, heads the Islamic Action Front, a six-member bloc from the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed the treaty on Oct. 26, 1994. Jordan became the second Arab country to have a treaty with the Jewish state. Egypt and Israel signed a peace accord in 1979.

Israel ``proves every day that it is a source of evil in the region and it threatens the security of the Middle East and it commits crimes against the Palestinian people and, contrary to this, the United States continues to support it unconditionally and becomes a partner in the crimes of the Zionist entity,'' Mansur said.

There was no specific comment on the bill from Israel's government.

``Our relations with Jordan are conducted with the king and the government and we know they appreciate being at peace with us,'' Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem, when asked about the Jordanian opposition's proposal.

The Islamic Action Front, the largest opposition group in Jordan, won six of Parliament's 110 seats in elections in November, down from 17 in the 2003 vote. Most of the remaining seats went to supporters of King Abdullah, a close U.S. ally.

Jordan's Opposition Submits Bill to Scrap Treaty With Israel

[Shammu]

Abbas meets Jordan's king, opposes withdrawal of Arab peace plan

Mar 27, 2008, 13:55 GMT

Amman- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conferred Thursday with Jordan's King Abdullah II on the upcoming Arab summit conference in Damascus, and said he was opposed to the proposed withdrawal of the pan-Arab peace plan with Israel.

'There is no room for changing or amending the Arab initiative,' Abbas told reporters after the meeting.

'Our attitude has always been that this plan should remain as it is and that we should defend it and fight for it because it is an expensive initiative and the other side (Israel) should accept it,' he said.

The Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa recently raised the possibility of withdrawing the Arab peace blueprint at the Damascus summit if Israel continued to ignore it.

An Amman-based coalition of 130 Arab political parties earlier Thursday sent a memorandum to the Damascus summit urging Arab leaders to 'withdraw' the peace initiative which envisaged extending recognition to Israel by all Arab states if it pulled out from all Arab lands it occupied in 1967 Six-day war, including East Jerusalem.

Abbas said that his talks with King Abdullah focused on 'the Arab summit and what is going to be after the summit', a reference to the impact on inter-Arab ties as a result of declaration by some Arab states that they were going to be represented at low levels.

Abbas said earlier that he intended to lead the Palestinian delegation to the summit, but Jordan so far refrained from saying whether King Abdullah would head the Jordanian team.

Responding to a question about the outcome of negotiations so far between the Palestinians and Israel, Abbas said 'the talks are going on but there have been no agreements until now'.

During Thursday's talks, King Abdullah expressed support for the Palestinian Authority in its talks with Israel with the avowed aim of reaching a solution to all core issues in the run-up for the setting up of an independent Palestinian state, according to a royal court statement.

'The king at the same time underscored the necessity for halting all unilateral policies (by Israel) that seek to impose new realities on the ground, particularly the expansion in building settlements,' the statement added.

Abbas meets Jordan's king, opposes withdrawal of Arab peace plan