Israel & Palestinian

[Shammu]

Majority of Israelis are against cease-fire with Hamas
, THE JERUSALEM POST    Mar. 18, 2008

Although Jewish Israelis are divided on how to react to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, most prefer military means over a cease-fire based on dialogue with Hamas, according to Tel Aviv University's February 2008 Peace Index poll.

An police officer removes a rocket from a sidewalk in Sderot.

Seventy-one percent said Israel should not accept Hamas's offer to stop the fire in return for Israel ceasing its operations in Gaza and the West Bank and its pursuit of Hamas leaders.

Although the public did not overwhelmingly favor any one approach, the clear winner was a military operation. Whereas only 4% supported the present policy of restraint and 17% favored negotiating a cease-fire with Hamas, 26% called for reoccupying Gaza and staying there for an unlimited time, while one-third wanted a limited military operation in Gaza after which the IDF would withdraw.

Asked whether they favored establishing a national unity government or relying on the current government, 51% responded that a national unity government was preferable while 30% were prepared to stick with the current one. The rate of support for a national unity government is among the lowest in years.

A persistent question has been whether Israel's response to the rocket attacks is related to the fact that those on the receiving end are peripheral communities.

It turns out that 56% indeed think the government fails to assign high priority to tending to these communities' security problems because of their remoteness from the Central region, and would not practice restraint to the same extent if the center of the country was under attack. Only 37% disagreed.

However, the public also showed self-criticism on this issue: 51% agreed that Israelis as a whole were less interested in the southern residents' security problems because of their remoteness, while 42% dissented.

At the same time, only 38% thought that the residents of "the state of Tel Aviv" - a term some in the media use to describe those in the center of the country - do not identify with the southern residents' suffering, and 64% rejected the claim that people in central Israel were less patriotic than those in other areas.

Finally, it appears that the ongoing rocket fire has not affected the "national fortitude."

A majority of 55% said the attacks had not affected their desire to remain in Israel, one-quarter said they only strengthened that desire, while for 18% the attacks had increased their desire to live elsewhere.

The Peace Index Project was conducted at the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Evens Program in Mediation and Conflict Resolution of Tel Aviv University, headed by Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann.

The telephone interviews were conducted by the B.I. Cohen Institute of TAU on March 3-4 with 590 people who represent the adult Jewish and Arab population of Israel (including the Jewish population in the West Bank). The sampling error was 4.5%.

Majority of Israelis are against cease-fire with Hamas

[Shammu]

Seems the feelings are mutual, though in all fairness.......... There never has been a ceasefire from Hamas in the first place and there never will be in reality.

[Shammu]

PA urges Palestinians to 'return' to Israel on 60th anniversary
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST    Mar. 18, 2008

The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel's 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air.

The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees.

Article 11 of the resolution, which was passed in December 1948, says that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible."

The initiative is the first of its kind and is clearly aimed at embarrassing Israel during the anniversary celebrations by highlighting the issue of the "right of return" for the refugees.

Entitled "The Initiative of Return and Coexistence," the plan suggests that the PA has abandoned a two-state solution in favor of one state where all Arabs and Jews would live together.

"The Palestinians, backed by all those who believe in peace, coexistence, human rights and the UN resolutions, shall recruit all their energies and efforts to return to their homeland and live with the Jews in peace and security," the plan says.

"Fulfilling the right of return is a human, moral and legal will that can't be denied by the Jews or the international community. On the [60th] anniversary of the great suffering, the Palestinian people are determined to end this injustice."

Abu Ein's initiative, which has won the backing of many PA leaders in Ramallah, calls on all Israelis to welcome the Palestinians "who will be returning to live together with them in the land of peace."

The plan calls on the refugees to return to Israel on May 14, 2008 with their suitcases and tents so that they could settle in their former villages and towns. The refugees are also requested to carry UN flags upon their return and to be equipped with their UNRWA-issued ID cards.

The Arab countries hosting Palestinian refugees are requested to facilitate the return of the refugees by opening their borders and allowing them to march toward Israel. The plan specifically refers to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, whose governments are asked to provide logistic support to allow the refugees to carry out their mission.

Palestinian refugees living in the US, EU, Canada and Latin America are requested to use their foreign passports to fly to Ben-Gurion Airport from May 14-16. The plan calls for the Palestinians to hire dozens of boats flying UN flags that will converge on Israeli ports simultaneously.

To ensure international backing, the plan calls to invite world leaders, the UN secretary-general, journalists and legal experts from around the world to declare their support for the Palestinians' "right of return." The Palestinians, in return, would promise to practice their right peacefully and to denounce terror and violence.

Arab governments are requested to provide both financial and political backing for the initiative. The plan stresses that the Palestinians can no longer expect to achieve the "right of return" at the negotiating table with Israel. "We must take matters into our own hands," it states. "Negotiations, slogans and UN resolutions are not going to bring us our rights."

PA urges Palestinians to 'return'

[nChrist]

Palestinians can no longer make the excuse that they elected their leadership, because they didn't fully understand what it would lead to. They're still blood thirsty for Jewish blood, at any cost apparently. Need I say more??

Brother, I think they've always known exactly what they were doing. The difference now is that they're finally being more honest about it. The times of the double-talk "Arafat-style", games is over.

[Shammu]

Abbas: Protect Palestinians from IDF
JPost.com staff and AP
THE JERUSALEM POST
Mar. 29, 2008

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday called on Arab and international forces in the Palestinian territories to protect his people against Israeli attacks.

Abbas has called in the past for international peacekeepers in the Gaza Strip, but his call Saturday at the Arab Summit in Damascus marked the first time he has urged Arab countries to send forces.

In his speech at the summit, Abbas accused Israel of undermining the basis for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of attacking Gaza "brutally," killing innocent Palestinians.

He asked Arab countries to "think seriously of Arab and international protection for our people."

Abbas took a sharply pessimistic tone over Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations launched in December.

"The coming couple of months are decisive. If we don't reach a solution by the end of this year, it means the whole region will be on the verge of a new era of tension and loss of confidence in peace," Abbas said.

He blasted in particular Israeli settlement expansion and recent Israeli military assaults in the Gaza Strip aimed at stopping Hamas rocket fire on towns.

"The last few months have witnessed unprecedented Israeli escalation in settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank. It has become clear that the Israeli government is imposing on the ground the political solution that it wants," Abbas said.

"Negotiations cannot continue under the Israeli bulldozers swallowing our land and building settlements and under the daily Israeli military operations," he said.

Earlier, in his opening speech at the gathering, Syrian President Bashar Assad accused Israel of rejecting every peace initiative offered over the last three decades.

Assad singled out the Madrid conference and the 2002 Arab peace initiative, saying that Israel had responded to those proposals by massacring Palestinians, continuing settlement activity and building the security barrier.

The Syrian president said Israel had used every possible chance to prove how uncooperative it is and questioned how long Arab nations can keep offering Israel a land-for-peace proposal.

Assad said peace was the only way for Israel to gain security in the region, and "peace will not come except through withdrawal from occupied Arab land and giving back (Arab) rights."

He added that Israel was "exploiting the internal Palestinian divisions for its own benefit."

Assad warned that Arab countries may have to seek alternatives to the Arab peace initiative if Israel continues to refuse to accept it. The proposal offers Israel full peace with Arab nations if it withdraws from "occupied lands" and allows for the creation of a Palestinian state.

"The question is: Do we leave the peace process and initiatives hostage to the whims of successive Israeli governments, or do we search for choices and substitutes that can achieve a just and comprehensive peace?" Assad said.

Assad went on to accuse Israel of stalling on peace negotiations with Syria.

"The foot-dragging Israel is displaying on the issue of peace with Syria for the return of Golan Heights is not working in its favor and the passing time won't help it achieve better conditions in the future," he said.

Also during the summit's opening session, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa proposed that Arab foreign ministers meet in mid-2008 to evaluate the Israeli-Arab peace process.

"We must know in which direction we are moving," Moussa said. "If there is progress, we will welcome it. If there is not, then Arabs may have to take painful positions.

"No one will blame us for a decisive position we will take," he said. "What have we achieved? So far, nothing ... Things are not reassuring."

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi slammed Arab countries for calling on Israel to only pull back to the 1967 borders. "The occupation did not start in 1967 and Palestine is not only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," he said.

Gadhafi reiterated his proposal to establish one state for Israelis and Palestinians between Jordan and the Mediterranean. He said the state should be a haven for all Palestinian refugees, it should disarm its nuclear weapons and hold democratic elections.

Saturday's session comes amid anger among pro-US Arab countries over what they say is Syria's obstruction of the election of a new president in Lebanon. They are also worried about Damascus's close alliance with Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah.

Ten of the Arab League's 22 heads of state are absent from the summit. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are represented by low-level officials in a snub to Syria.

In his speech, Assad denied that Syria was interfering in Lebanon. "The key to a solution is in the hands of the Lebanese. They have their country, constitution and institutions," he said. "Any other (outside) role is to give assistance, not be a substitute."

Abbas: Protect Palestinians from IDF

[Shammu]

Hamas gets Iranian plans for improved Qassams
By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
28/03/2008

Hamas militants who recently returned to the Gaza Strip after training in Iran have a detailed plan for upgrading the capabilities of the rockets being developed in the Strip, according to senior Palestinian Authority sources.

A senior Palestinian source told Haaretz this week that members of Hamas' military wing smuggled blueprints and other detailed technical instructions into the Strip that will enable the group to develop rockets capable of striking at longer distances.

The PA source was unable to estimate the actual distance that these upgrades will allow the Qassam rockets to cover, but said that the aim is to strike at communities north of Ashkelon, which is approximately 15 kilometers north of the northern border of the Strip.

Israeli security sources said recently that Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip have developed their own upgraded version of the Qassam rocket, with an estimated range of 18 kilometers.

Iran is investing significant efforts in trying to increase the striking distance of the rockets manufactured by Palestinians in Gaza. The militants there have only a limited supply of Grad-type Katyusha rockets, capable of striking targets 20 kilometers away.

And the stockpiles of Katyusha rockets in Gaza, according to the PA source, have dwindled since the fighting three weeks ago, although Iran has smuggled more Katyushas, made by its own military industries, into the Strip by sea, and has also stepped up its efforts to develop more effective rockets locally in the Strip.

The senior Palestinian source said that the technical information for improving the rockets was smuggled into the Strip following January's breach in the Philadelphi Route wall, which separates the Gaza Strip from Sinai and Egypt.

The source added that some 200 Hamas militants who received training in Iran, the Beqa'a Valley in Lebanon, and Syria, returned to the Strip through this breach in the wall.

Hamas and Hezbollah militants are being trained in Iran together, and are learning the same fighting doctrines.

In addition to the experts in rocket development, militants with specialized training in guerrila warfare also snuck back into the Strip. These men received specialized training in the use of anti-tank missiles, laying road-side bombs, and tactics for carrying out defensive
operations against a possible IDF invasion of the Strip.

The PA sources said that it is possible that among those who returned after the breach in the wall to the Strip are members of PFLP-GC.

Hamas gets Iranian plans for improved Qassams

[Shammu]

35 pages of Israeli security concessions
March 30, 2008

Ynet cites an Israeli source as saying that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was 'amazed' by Israeli concessions offered to Palestinians during a three-way meeting with defense minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad.

During the meeting, the US secretary of state received a 35-page booklet in English, prepared by Barak's assistants in three days. Barak had demanded that the booklet include a series of real gestures, which would "manifest Israel's seriousness" but "without harming the security of Israel's citizens." Ynet reported that the Israeli "gestures" include establishment of a city near the West Bank city of Ramallah, to be financed by a Jordanian businessman.

Rice told Barak during the three-way meeting that she welcomed the booklet containing the 35 pages of "gestures."

It seems, however, that the Palestinians were less amazed. The Palestinian leader refused to allow publication of a joint Palestinian-Israeli-American statement, which Barak has supported.

Earlier, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni met with US secretary of state in Jerusalem and said that the government must assist residents of Judea and Samaria who choose to leave their homes, but that it would be premature to put forward such a program until borders were defined.

The defense minister said during the meeting that Israel planned to remove the Mevo Horon outpost, in addition to two other outposts already removed.

Barak also said that 700 Palestinian police officers would be allowed to enter Jenin. He added that a checkpoint and 50 dirt roadblocks would be removed, easing movement among the West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Ramallah.

Additional concessions presented in the meeting, according to ynet, include:

* The establishment of a Palestinian police station in the B areas.
* The transfer of 25 armored vehicles to the Palestinians.
* Ease of restriction on Palestinian public figures.
* Building two intersections for the Palestinians in the Hebron area.
* Advancing the establishment of industrial zones in Jericho and Hebron.
* Increasing the number of laborers allowed to work in Israel to 5,000.

In addition, Palestinian businesspeople passing through the crossing will undergo easier security checks, and the daily quota of people allowed to pass will be tripled.

Israeli sources said the Palestinians agreed to step up their efforts to "prevent terror" in the West Bank, but Fayyad or other Palestinian made no public statements on this point. Nor did they commit to any concrete measures to increase the effort against terrorism.

Rice, who has harshly criticized both sides for lack of "progress" in recent months, sounded upbeat, despite the lack of a joint statement.

"We all want to work hard for the improvements that can lead to a successful conclusion of the Annapolis process," said Rice at a press conference with Barak and Fayad following their meeting.

"We have just had a very good meeting. We are discussing the situation on the ground and the importance of improvement in that situation along the lines of one of the Annapolis tracks. I am pleased to say that the two gentlemen have met before I was here and they have said they will continue to meet as is necessary," she said.

35 pages of Israeli security concessions

[nChrist]

I'm also amazed at security concessions. This appears to be absolutely INSANE! Israel is the only party trying to do things in good faith with any effort. Israel will probably pay dearly IN BLOOD for every concession they've given. It doesn't make any sense, and the world is still condemning Israel, even though they are the only ones who want peace.

Things only make sense in the perspective of the possible End Days of this Age of Grace. If these days are near, the senseless condemnation and hatred for Israel will grow, and that appears to be happening NOW! As Christians, we can see things from a Biblical perspective, and that's exactly what we should be doing.

We are even seeing some self-professing Christian organizations jumping on the band-wagon to HATE AND CONDEMN Israel. If they are Christians, they must be ignorant of what's in the Holy Bible about Israel. OR, they aren't Christians at all. I suspect that many self-professing Christian organizations ARE NOT CHRISTIANS! These are confusing times that we live in, but the confusion can be limited with the Bible. WHAT WILL MOST DEFINITELY HAPPEN IS ALREADY RECORDED IN THE HOLY BIBLE! Every word will be fulfilled PERFECTLY at GOD'S Appointed Time, and that time might be drawing near.

[nChrist]

Monday, March 31, 2008

Christian, Jewish leaders to celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday at the United Nations
Participants in Jerusalem Prayer Banquet to declare support for Jewish State

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK (ANS) -- Christian and Jewish leaders will come together May 15 at the United Nations to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the creation of the modern state of Israel.

Participants in the Jerusalem Prayer Banquet will declare their continued support for the nation that was "born in a day" on May 14, 1948.

The evening will include addresses from Israeli Ambassador Asaf Shariv; Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel; and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat in Israel.

Organizers of the event call it a historic opportunity to gather leaders from both faiths in the Delegates’ Hall of the U.N. Sixty years ago, General Assembly Resolution 181 deeded the Jewish homeland to a tiny remnant of Jews that had escaped Hitler's Nazi Germany.

"I do not know of any other point in history where Jews and Christians have joined together at the United Nations in this way, to lift their voices in prayer and declaration for Zion," said Robert Stearns, Executive Director of Eagles’ Wings Ministries and one of the co-sponsors of the event.

Christian leaders scheduled to participate include Stephen Strang, Dr. Frederick K.C. Price, Michael Little, Paula White, Lou Engle, Jay Sekulow, Barbara Yoder, Larry Kreider, Bishop Carlton Brown, Billy Wilson, Dr. David Ireland and many others.

"Evangelical Christians and Jewish people will stand together, declaring a God of love, not hatred, and calling for peace, not violence," said Rabbi Riskin, who recently launched the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation in Israel.

The location of the banquet is also noteworthy, say Christian and Jewish leaders, since recently Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction and has denied the truth of the Holocaust, spoke at the U.N.
__________________________________

[Soldier4Christ]

 Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany is now a Hero on Palestinian Radio

A Palestinian Authority radio contest featured a biography of Adolf Hitler, complete with his military victories and his heroism during WWI & WWII and the broadcast never mentioned the Holocaust and the death of six million Jews.

This Palestinian Authority radio contest is consistent with Palestinian education in general which erases the Holocaust from history, according to a recent report from the Palestinian Media Watch, which revealed that the new 12th grade Palestinian Authority history school books showed that many pages were dedicated to the history of World War II and even to Nazi racism, but neither the Jews nor the Holocaust is ever mentioned.

The fascination with Adolf Hitler among Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority radio broadcast that characterizes Hitler as a hero, and never mentions the Holocaust, is a precursor to a dreadful end time scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy.

During the days of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, the Palestinian leader, the Haj Amin al Husseini was used by Hitler to rally the Moslem world to join his final solution for the Jews, death in the ovens and gas chambers.

From the times of the Holocaust, during WWII, there has been an unholy fascination of Hitler by the Palestinian people, evidenced by the fact that they have named their children, Hitler.

These developments are preparing the world for a coming Holocaust of the Jews that will be more horrific than the Holocaust of Hitler. The ancient Jewish prophet, Zechariah, revealed that two out of every three Jews will be killed during the coming Holocaust in the seven year Tribulation Period, Zechariah 13:8.

Daniel, another Jewish prophet, wrote in chapter 12 verse 1 of his prophecy that this time would be the worst time the Jews have ever faced in all of their history. Revelation 12:13-17 says that Satan and his evil forces will endeavor to eliminate the Jews from the earth.

[Soldier4Christ]

 The UN has been accused of being one-sided and irrational in decisions designed to demonize the Jewish state of Israel

UN Watch and American NGO that monitors the UN activities has released a report that deals with UN in action on Antisemitism and has stated the UN is an infrastructure of manifestly one-sided and irrational measures designed to demonize the Jewish state of Israel.

Noting that both the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council with their influence on the global stage both parties, according to UN Watch, reported that neither agency has yet to pass any dedicated resolution or request any report on hatred of Jews and Christians. The report also notes that the UN Human Rights Council, in its first year 2006-2007, saw 100% of its resloutions devoted to condemning Israel alone.

An international political body like the UN that does not stand against Antisemitism and in the majority of its resolutions condemns the Jewish state of Israel is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

With the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council, many believed that the international, political body would become more than one-sided in its condemnation of Antisemitism. Instead, the UN agency saw 100% of its resolutions devoted to condemning the Jewish state of Israel. This has been the case with the entire operation of the UN over the years. Since its beginning, over one-third of all resolutions that the UN has passed have been condemning the state of Israel.

As I stated previously, these activities are setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. The ancient Jewish prophet Zechariah wrote 2,500 years ago that in the Last Days leading up to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, there would be a slaughter of two out of every three Jews on the Earth, Zechariah 13:8. John the Revelator wrote 2,000 years ago in Revelation 12:13-17 that satanic forces would move to wipe out all Jews on the Earth during the time of Jacob's Trouble ahead.

The UN in action against Antisemitism is indeed setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

[nChrist]

AND, Israel is reducing their security and making concessions at the same time that the Palestinians are calling for the elimination of Jews from the face of the earth.

From a human perspective, many things don't make any sense at all. From a Biblical perspective, everything makes sense for the coming fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.

[Soldier4Christ]

Insider leaks plans for Palestinian state
Secretive U.S.-backed discussion focuses on West Bank, Jerusalem

U.S.-backed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are expected to generate an agreement by the end of the year that would set up a Palestinian state in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, according to a source who has participated in the talks.

In one of the first media glimpses into the current negotiations, a source who takes part in the regular meetings outlined for WND the main objectives of the secretive negotiations.

Since last November's Israeli-Palestinian Annapolis summit, which set as a goal the creation of a Palestinian state before 2009, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly.

Unlike previous Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in which both sides attended with about a dozen advisers each, the teams working with Livni and Qureia are small, usually consisting at most of five people each.

Also unlike previous talks, in which the contents of many meetings were leaked quickly to the media, the current negotiations have resulted in few press leaks.

According to the source who has been playing a role in the meetings, the two sides are drafting an agreement, to be signed by the end of the year, requiring Israel to evacuate most of the West Bank and certain eastern sections of Jerusalem.

The source said Israeli community blocks in the zones of Gush Etzion, Maale Adumin and Ariel would remain Israeli while most of the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem will be slated for a Palestinian state.

In contradiction to statements by Olmert, the status of sections of Jerusalem is being negotiated but the specifics of any agreed-upon Israeli withdrawal is as yet unclear, said the source.

"It is understood [Jerusalem] Arab neighborhoods would become part of a Palestinian state," the source said.

The source told WND both sides agreed Israel would retain Jerusalem's Pisgat Zeev neighborhood, which is located near large Arab communities. Many of those Arab towns were constructed illegally on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement.

The source said the U.S. pledged advanced training for thousands of PA security officers who would take over security in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem and operate in those territories instead of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police.

The U.S. previously has trained thousands of Palestinian security officers, including units in which known members of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group serve. Scores of those security forces have carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, including recent deadly shootings in the West Bank.

But the source claimed the planned U.S. training is different:

"This training is unlike anything before. The PA, Israel and the U.S. are working very closely to vet the forces. All sides are approving the training candidates. The training is more advanced than ever. It will create a very serious Palestinian army," said the source.

The source said as part of the negotiations, Abbas has agreed to hold early PA elections in the West Bank by 2009, including presidential elections that could replace the Palestinian leader.

PA elections previously have been held simultaneously in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The source's description of planned new elections only in the West Bank implied the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip would be treated as a separate entity

Leaders from the Hamas terrorist organization, which swept the last municipal elections, stated the past few days Hamas would agree to early elections. The Hamas leaders also said for the first time ever, their organization would propose a candidate to compete with Abbas' Fatah group in PA presidential elections.

The source speaking to WND about the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations said while a signed agreement and PA security force training can be expected before the end of the year, it has not yet been determined when any Israeli withdrawals would be implemented.

He said Olmert would be headed to new Israeli elections with an Israeli-PA agreement in tow.

The source said the U.S. is "very deeply involved" in all aspects of the negotiations.

To demonstrate the level of U.S. involvement, the source pointed to recent U.S. supervision of Israeli commitments to dismantle about 50 West Bank anti-terror roadblocks and to bulldoze what are called illegal outposts, or West Bank Jewish communities constructed without government permits.

"The U.S. oversaw the removal of each and every roadblock, making sure the roadblocks were actually removed," said the source.

"Also, even though Israel prepared a report of all illegal outposts and handed it to the Americans, U.S. officials have been doing their own very specific independent investigating to find each and every illegal outpost and then oversee their dismantlement," the source said.

U.S. training of the PA security forces already started last month at U.S.-controlled bases in the Jordanian village of Giftlik, according to Israeli security officials. Over 600 elite PA soldiers are enrolled in the current course, which includes training in the use of weapons, conducting ambushes, fighting street crime, fighting terrorism, and dealing with hostage situations, among other things.

After the unit is finished training in Jordan, they will continue with more advanced training courses at a U.S.-run base in the West Bank city of Jericho.

All training is being directly overseen by Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator to the Palestinian territories.

As a test of the PA's abilities, a battalion of about 600 PA officers recently trained by the U.S. is set to deploy in the West Bank city of Jenin, which is considered a sanctuary for Palestinian terrorist organizations.

The U.S. and Israel will monitor closely the officers' activities but it wasn't immediately clear how the success or failure of the Jenin force would impact the deployment of other such forces since the Jenin force was deployed despite recent negative U.S. reports of PA security forces.

A U.S. security report last month concluded the PA is failing to fight terrorism. The report was compiled by Gen. William Fraser, who was deployed to the region to monitor implementation of agreements pledged by Israel and the PA at Annapolis.

Fraser's report slammed the PA for failing to arrest, interrogate and place terrorist suspects on trial. The report said the PA occasionally carries out arrests of suspected terrorists, but usually only following pressure from Israel or the U.S. The arrested terrorists, the report said, are rarely interrogated or tried but instead are briefly detained.

[Soldier4Christ]

O Jerusalem! America
drafts plan to cut in 2
Allows Palestinian security control,
asks Israel to forfeit Temple Mount

The United States, which has been mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority here, has proposed a plan to divide Jerusalem, WND has learned.

The plan, divided into separate phases, among other things calls for Israel eventually to forfeit parts of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

According to the first stage of the U.S. plan, which was obtained by WND, Israel would give the PA some municipal and security sovereignty over key Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.

The PA would be allowed to open some official institutions in Jerusalem, could elect a mayor for the Palestinian side of the city and would deploy police forces to maintain law and order.

The initial stage also calls for the PA to operate Jerusalem municipal institutions, such as offices to oversee trash collection and maintenance of roads.

After five years, if both sides keep their certain commitments called for in a larger principal agreement, according to the U.S. plan the PA would be given full sovereignty over the eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and also over sections of the Temple Mount. The plan doesn't specify which parts of the Temple Mount would be forfeited to the Palestinians.

After the five year period, the PA could deploy official security forces in Jerusalem separate from a police force and could also open major governmental institutions, such as a president's office, and offices for the finance and foreign ministries.

The U.S. plan leaves Israel and the PA to negotiate which Jerusalem neighborhoods would become Palestinian. According to diplomatic sources familiar with the plan, while specific neighborhoods were not officially listed, American officials recommended sections of Jerusalem's Old City as well as certain largely Arab Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Jabal mukabar, Beit Hanina, Shoafat, Abu Dis and Abu Tur become part of the Palestinian side.

As WND reported previously, many of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including all of Shoafat, a large Arab section, were constructed illegally on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement.

According to diplomatic sources, the plan is being discussed by Israel and the PA but has not yet been accepted.

The sources said the plan was delivered earlier this month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her trip to the region to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations started at last November's U.S.-backed Annapolis summit, which aimed to create a Palestinian state before the end of the year.

Since Annapolis, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly.

The U.S. is "very deeply involved" in all aspects of the negotiations, according to a top diplomatic source.

To demonstrate the level of U.S. involvement, the source pointed to recent U.S. supervision of Israeli commitments to dismantle about 50 West Bank anti-terror roadblocks and to bulldoze what are called illegal outposts, or West Bank Jewish communities constructed without government permits.

"The U.S. oversaw the removal of each and every roadblock, making sure the roadblocks were actually removed," said the source.

"Also, even though Israel prepared a report of all illegal outposts and handed it to the Americans, U.S. officials have been doing their own very specific independent investigating to find each and every illegal outpost and then oversee their dismantlement," the source said.

Olmert's government has hinted a number of times it will divide Jerusalem.

In December, Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the country "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want."

"We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Ramon during an interview.

Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.

Olmert himself recently questioned whether it was "really necessary" to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of Jerusalem.

Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000.

[Shammu]

Hamas official threatens Hamas will target Israeli ministers
By DPA
13/04/2008

GAZA - A senior Islamic Hamas leader threatened Saturday that if Israel targets any Hamas ministers, Israeli ministers would be targeted by Hamas.

In a response to Israeli threats to target the Islamic movement's leaders in Gaza, Mushir al-Masri issued a statement saying "at any Israeli stupidity of targeting Hamas leaders or ministers, Hamas will likewise take action."

Following an increase in armed attacks carried out by Gaza militants against Israel, Israeli officials have said that if attacks against Israel continue, Hamas' leaders would be targeted.

"Vis-a-vis the Israeli threats to target ministers, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh or any other leader, al-Qassam Brigades would treat the Israelis on the principle of head for head and minister for minister," al-Masri said.

The Hamas movement, classified by the European Union and the U.S. as a terrorist organization, seized control over the Gaza Strip in mid-June and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces.

Israel in return termed the Gaza Strip a hostile entity after imposing a strict blockade on the enclave and closed down border crossings into Gaza.

Hamas official threatens Hamas will target Israeli ministers