Prophecy and End Time Series. - Israel

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 07:23 13/03/2006            
Iran urging Jihad to hit Israel ahead of election
By Amos Harel , Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

Iran continues to urge Islamic Jihad to carry out terror attacks against Israel ahead of the Knesset elections, Israeli intelligence sources say. According to the sources, the Iranian pressure on Islamic Jihad comes despite Tehran's declared support for Hamas and the fact that senior Hamas officials were invited to Tehran to celebrate the organization's victory in the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council.

The Islamic Jihad tactic would be designed, inter alia, "to pose a challenge to Hamas," a senior source in the General Staff said to Haaretz. According to the source, the Jihad terror group seeks to confront Hamas with a dilemma - "whether to uphold the policy of calm toward Israel, as it has done until now."

Troops along the northern border were on unusually high alert status Monday, amid fears that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah organization might attempt to kidnap a soldier.

IDF officials believe that Iran and the terror groups identified with it are trying "to turn a tactical terror attack into a strategic one" - in other words, to initiate a series of relatively harsh attacks whose effect would be compounded due to the sensitive political timing of the action. The officials say that Israel must be very cautious when it comes to responding with force, and must avoid being caught up by provocations designed to spark off an inferno in the region.

An escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict serves Iranian interests in a number of ways: It redirects some of the international attention currently focused on the fight against Tehran's nuclear program, and it stokes terror and violence against Israel in a manner that gives the Iranians more sway over Palestinian elements.

While Islamic Jihad terror is an ongoing phenomenon, General Staff officials have identified a worrying trend among the independent Fatah groups - primarily in the West Bank - that have openly returned to terror since the movement's defeat in the elections. The fact that the Palestinian Authority is finding it hard to support these cells financially is pushing them into the arms of Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. This trend is likely to intensify following the formation of the Hamas government: At present, the PA has some 75,000 individuals on its payroll. Hamas is likely to want to get rid of some of them, both in order to save money and to be able to pay its people.

IDF troops on the northern border, meanwhile, are on high alert in fear of another Hezbollah attempt to abduct a soldier or civilian. An attempt in November in the village of Ghajar was foiled, and four Hezbollah activists were killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers. Last week, Hezbollah's secretary general, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, again hinted at such a possibility. He promised "to use all ways and means" to secure the release of Lebanese citizens imprisoned in Israel.

The Iranian interest, coupled with the developments in the internal Lebanese arena (the renewed U.S. pressure on Syria vis-a-vis the assassination of Rafik Hariri), could prompt Hezbollah to carry out a serious operation.

The IDF published its announcement on the heightened state of alert, apparently, as a deterrent against Hezbollah. Israel has adopted a similar tactic in the past on a number of occasions, but the effectiveness of such a move is doubtful: On November 20, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz issued a warning regarding plans by Hezbollah; the next day, however, the organization took action in Ghajar, despite knowing about the heightened state of alert.

Iran urging Jihad to hit Israel ahead of election

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Hamas Platform: Terrorism is Legitimate
10:44 Mar 12, '06 / 12 Adar 5766
By Hillel Fendel


The Hamas movement, about to assume control over much of Judea/Samaria, presented its platform over the weekend - defining Israel as "the Zionist enemy" and approving continued terrorism.


Ismail Haniye, designated to be the prime minister in the new Hamas Authority, presented the document to Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, in the framework of the efforts to form a new government. Known as Abu Mazen, Abbas is seeking to lead his Fatah organization into a coalition with Hamas, but the two terrorist groups have not yet succeeded in finding sufficient common ground.

The Hamas platform, as outlined in the document, states that the dispute with the "Zionist enemy" continues, Israel is a conquering state, and that the path of resistance - a codeword for terrorism - is a "legitimate means of attaining the Palestinian nation's goals." The platform further states that hudna - a ceasefire that can be suspended the moment one side feels confident of victory - is also a legitimate tool.

"The conditions for a continued ceasefire," Hamas states, "are an end to all the attacks against the Palestinian nation, and the release of the all the Palestinian prisoners [terrorists].

"The Zionist government did not allow the negotiations to succeed," according to Hamas. "Hamas will be happy to learn of a more efficient way of achieving the Palestinian goals... We will relate to previously-signed agreements according to the interests of the Palestinian nation... Negotiations are merely a means, and not a goal; past talks have not provided us with our minimum demands. However, negotiations in the future will be considered, if they serve our interests."

More excerpts: "The Palestinians have the right to return to every centimeter of their lands, and this right cannot be ceded. Every Palestinian has the right to return to his home and land from which he was banished, and not to give up any morsel of his land."

It was first reported that Abbas had rejected the Hamas document as being too vague and bellicose, but this was later denied. Saed Seyam, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said, "Abbas has not rejected a Hamas letter he received on Friday [nor] the program of the new cabinet."

Hamas spokesman Assad Farhat said late last week that Hamas absolutely does not accept the Road Map plan, which he called an "American Zionist program."

Hamas Platform: Terrorism is Legitimate

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Mar. 18, 2006 12:07
Hamas announce completion of cabinet appointments
By JPOST.COM STAFF

Hamas officials announced Saturday that they have finished assembling the new Palestinian Authority government, two weeks ahead of schedule, and will present the new government to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas later in the day.

"The new government will soon be presented to PA Authority Chairman Abbas in the meeting between the sides," said a Hamas spokesman.

Earlier, the group announced that Omar Abd el-Razek, a professor of economics, and a member of Hamas, will be appointed as the Palestinian Authority's new Finance Minister in the new government Hamas was scheduled to form.

In a possible setback, the Hamas government program is not expected to win the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who is to meet with the group's leaders in Gaza later Saturday. Abbas aides said the Palestinian leader considers the Hamas platform too vague and wants it rewritten.

Hamas cannot present its Cabinet to parliament for approval without backing from Abbas, who was elected separately and wields considerable authority. However, Abbas cannot impose his own Cabinet lineup on Hamas, which swept January parliament elections and controls an absolute majority in the legislature.

It appears that for now, having failed to reach a coalition agreement with other parties, Hamas will sit alone in the government.

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mashaal said in Damascus on Friday that Hamas' primary objective was to "continue the struggle against Israel." According to Mashaal, assuming power in the PA was of secondary importance for the party and would not "distract Hamas from its main goal."

Mashaal also attacked Abbas's Fatah party for working to establish a Palestinian state on only part of what he called "the occupied territories."

Mashaal promised the Palestinian people that the right of return in entirety would be theirs.

Meanwhile, incoming Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said in an interview on CBS on Friday that he never instructed anyone to carry out terror attacks against Israel. He also called on Israel to recognize the Palestinian state.

Haniyeh said that he hoped the time would come when a peace agreement would be signed with Israel. He added that he had no "blood on his hands."

Israel Radio reported that Haniyeh was asked what he would do if one of his children decided to become a martyr. "I would not even consider giving him my blessing", the future Palestinian PM exclaimed.

Haniyeh stressed that in order to bring an end to the cycle of violence, Israel needed to recognize the Palestinian state.

Last Friday, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that whoever was involved personally and directly in terror is a target for the IDF. "We haven't forgotten that Haniyeh was an aide to Sheikh [Ahmed] Yassin, and that Yassin was targeted because he was involved in terror. So if Haniyeh commits acts of terror, he is opening himself up to the possibility of being targeted. I hope he doesn't."

Hamas announce completion of cabinet appointments

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Mar. 17, 2006 22:37
Syrian opposition unites against Assad
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS, Belgium

Exiled Syrian opposition figures formed a united front Friday calling for a transitional government to prepare for the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's regime.

Calling Assad's regime "despotic and corrupt," they underlined the need for opposition groups in and outside Syria to close ranks to plan for "the desired change and build a democratic system."

The meeting was called by Syria's former Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam and Ali Sadr el-Din Bayanouni, head of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Khaddam broke with Assad last year and fled to Paris. The meeting included diverse groups including former members of the ruling Baath party along with representatives of the outlawed the Brotherhood together with liberal and democratic groups and a delegate from the Kurdish minority.

They formed a "front of national salvation" and urged the formation of a six-month transitional government to "take up the reins of power at the appropriate moment," protect the country from chaos and prepare for elections.

The proposed transitional government would abolish the 1963 state of emergency and release all political prisoners, they said in a statement.

"The front calls upon all opposition forces to cooperate with it to bring about the desire of the Syrian people for change," they said in a statement after a two-day meeting in the Belgian capital.

They pledged to work together to spread their message both within Syria and among other Arab countries. They issued no call for revolt or protests within the country.

Khaddam was for many years Syria's top official in Lebanon and was a member of the Baath Party's regional command, its most influential body, for almost 30 years.

He represents an old guard long seen as wary of Assad, who became president after the death of his father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, in 2000.

Khaddam has accused Assad of responsibility for last year's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Khaddam was a close friend of Hariri who was killed along with 20 other people in a massive truck bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. A UN probe has implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the assassination.

Syrian opposition unites against Assad

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Hamas leader puts resisting Israel before politics
Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:52 AM ET12

 By Rasha Elass

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Running the Palestinian Authority will not deflect Hamas from its overriding goal of pursuing a long-term struggle with Israel, the leader-in-exile of the militant Islamist movement said in Damascus.

"Being in power is only a means to an end for Hamas," Khaled Meshaal told a memorial gathering for a deceased Palestinian politician on Thursday night. "Power is not our ultimate goal.

"If it becomes one, let power go to hell. It will not hold us back from our targets which we hold dear," he said.

Hamas, which trounced the long-dominant Fatah movement in a January 25 election, plans to complete its cabinet list on Saturday before submitting it to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian officials said Hamas had failed to persuade Fatah or other factions to join a coalition because it rebuffed their demands to respect interim peace deals with Israel and recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Abbas, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

"We and the Zionists have a date with destiny. If they want a fight, we are ready for it. If they want a war, we are the sons of war. If they want a struggle, we are for it to the end," the Damascus-based leader Meshaal declared.

"We have more stamina than Israel and we will defeat it, God willing," he said.

He also took a swipe at Fatah for its interim peace deals with Israel in the 1990s that led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"Those who talked about setting up a state before liberation lost both country and land," Meshaal said. "A country can only exist on liberated land."

Hamas rejected the 1993 Oslo accord and later Israel-PLO agreements which were never fully implemented and which have unraveled further since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000.

Meshaal upheld the right of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to the homes they lost in the 1948 war -- a red-button issue that has bedeviled past peace negotiations.

"I tell all the Palestinians: you will return to your homeland and nobody will stop you," he said.

"Our fate is to combine resistance and politics, but resistance remains the basis and politics only a branch."

Hamas has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since 2000 but has largely adhered to a year-old truce. It has said talks with Israel would be a waste of time.

Hamas leader puts resisting Israel before politics

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Mar. 18, 2006 19:22
Report: Abbas may disperse PA, return territories to Israel
By JPOST STAFF AND AP

Palestinian Authority sources said Saturday afternoon that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was considering resigning from his post, dispersing the PA, and returning control of the territories to Israel.

The statement was an apparent last-ditch effort to convince Hamas to adopt a more moderate stance regarding Israel. Abbas was still expected to approve the makeup of the Cabinet, even though he warned Hamas that their failure to adopt a more moderate platform could hurt Palestinian interests, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, Abbas' spokesman.

Abbas' office related that he would not veto the Cabinet list, however, once the government is formed, he would strongly urge Hamas to soften their platform, particularly regarding what the terrorist group calls "resistance to the occupation," Israel Radio reported. Abbas aides said Friday the Palestinian leader considers the Hamas platform too vague and wants it rewritten.

The comments came shortly after Hamas officials announced Saturday that they had finished assembling the new Palestinian Authority government, two weeks ahead of schedule, and was to present the new government to Abbas on Sunday. Initially, the list was scheduled to be presented to the PA chairman on Saturday, but the Hamas-Abbas meeting was postponed.

Hamas was expected to retain the key portfolios. According to a preliminary list of Cabinet ministers given to The Associated Press by anonymous officials in Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Mahmoud Zahar would most likely be assigned foreign minister. Said Siyam was expected to head the Interior and Civil Affairs Ministries.

Earlier, the group announced that Omar Abd el-Razek, a professor of economics, and a member of Hamas, would be appointed as the Palestinian Authority's new Finance Minister in the new government. Lower-level postings may be assigned to technocrats, officials said

Although other factions have all turned down Hamas' offer to join the new government, Prime Minister Elect Ismail Haniyeh said his movement had "left the door open" for the PFLP to join the Cabinet.

Hamas cannot present its Cabinet to parliament for approval without backing from Abbas, who was elected separately and wields considerable authority. However, Abbas cannot impose his own Cabinet lineup on Hamas, which swept January parliament elections and controls an absolute majority in the legislature.

It appears that for now, having failed to reach a coalition agreement with other parties, Hamas will sit alone in the government.

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mashaal said in Damascus on Friday that Hamas' primary objective was to "continue the struggle against Israel." According to Mashaal, assuming power in the PA was of secondary importance for the party and would not "distract Hamas from its main goal."

Mashaal also attacked Abbas's Fatah party for working to establish a Palestinian state on only part of what he called "the occupied territories."

Mashaal promised the Palestinian people that the right of return in entirety would be theirs.

Meanwhile, incoming Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said in an interview on CBS on Friday that he never instructed anyone to carry out terror attacks against Israel. He also called on Israel to recognize the Palestinian state.

Haniyeh said that he hoped the time would come when a peace agreement would be signed with Israel. He added that he had no "blood on his hands."

Israel Radio reported that Haniyeh was asked what he would do if one of his children decided to become a martyr. "I would not even consider giving him my blessing", the future Palestinian PM exclaimed.

Haniyeh stressed that in order to bring an end to the cycle of violence, Israel needed to recognize the Palestinian state.

Last Friday, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that whoever was involved personally and directly in terror is a target for the IDF. "We haven't forgotten that Haniyeh was an aide to Sheikh [Ahmed] Yassin, and that Yassin was targeted because he was involved in terror. So if Haniyeh commits acts of terror, he is opening himself up to the possibility of being targeted. I hope he doesn't."

Abbas may disperse PA, return territories to Israel

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NOTE!! I have edited out words, in this post. DW

Muslim leader: Israel bird flu punishment from Allah

Gaza preacher says during weekend mosque services bird-flu virus found in Israel last week was sent by Allah to punish the Jews for being the ‘worst of humanity’ and is the beginning of the outbreak of other diseases meant to destroy the Jewish state within the next 20 years; 'pray for Allah to dry out the organs of the Jews,' he adds
Aaron Klein, WND

The bird-flu virus found in Israel last week was sent by Allah to punish the Jews for being "the worst of humanity" and is the beginning of the outbreak of other diseases meant to destroy the Jewish state within the next 20 years, a Gaza preacher said at mosque services this weekend.

Sheikh Abu Muhammed, an imam at the popular Al-Tadwa mosque in Beit Lahia north of Gaza City, went on to ask Muslims at his Friday night sermon to pray for the organs of Jews to "dry out", a Palestinian in attendance at the mosque services told WorldNetDaily.

"Praise Allah the bird flu has hit the Jews. It came because of their sins against the Palestinians; because they are the most cruel enemy of humanity; because they are themselves the enemy of humanity; because they don't believe in Allah; because they falsify the book of Allah; because they cheated the prophet Muhammed; and because they cheated Allah and even their own prophet, Moses," Sheikh Muhammed was quoted as saying.

"This bird flu will be the beginning of diseases which will hit the nonbelievers. Please Allah keep hitting the enemy with more diseases. This is no doubt the beginning of the end of the Israelis. Like (late Hamas spiritual leader) Sheikh Yassin said, 2025 will be the end of Jews. This (bird flu) is the sign," said Sheikh Muhammed, according to congregants.

'Pray for Allah to dry out organs of Jews'

Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel in March, 2004, told followers he used Quranic verse to divine Israel would be destroyed by the year 2025.

In his mosque speech, Sheikh Muhammed reportedly went on to explain Allah decided to "hit the Israelis with birds," since birds are mentioned in the Quran as a tool used to defeat infidels.

He asked for congregants to "pray for Allah to dry out the organs of the Jews with a disease so they won't be able to reproduce anymore."

Muhammed made his comments in spite of predictions the virus found in Israel may surface through migrating fowl in the nearby Palestinian territories.

Bird flu was immediately suspected here last week after more than 1,000 birds were found dead in southern Israel. The Agriculture Ministry said yesterday it was almost certain H5N1, the deadly strain of the virus, was responsible.

Veterinary and state health officials proceeded with the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of turkeys and chickens in quarantined farms in attempts to halt the spread of the suspected virus. Israel is set to receive from Holland four million units of vaccine to treat birds in the event officials are not able to contain the virus.

In neighboring Egypt, officials yesterday confirmed a woman who died Friday had bird flu, making her likely the first human death from the disease in that country. Egyptian officials also reported last night a second possible case of a human contracting the virus, but have not released further details.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed or forced the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003, and recently spread to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Some experts fear H5N1 could evolve into a virus that can be transmitted between people and become a global pandemic, but others caution there is little evidence that can happen.

At least 98 people have died from the bird flu throughout the world, two-thirds of them in Indonesia and Vietnam, according to figures released by the World Health Organization.

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Hamas reiterates refusal to recognise Israel
Mar 21 12:40 PM US/Eastern
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Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal, on a tour of the Gulf, said he stood by the Palestinian Islamist militant movement's refusal to recognise Israel despite international calls to seek peace.

"It is so easy to be complacent ... We are asked to recognise Israel. We can do so but we will not, because that would lead to a double loss and would achieve nothing," Meshaal said after his arrival in Manama late Monday.

"Those who believe that negotiations and accepting the proposed conditions would lead us to get our rights are deluded," he told an Islamist gathering in the Gulf kingdom.

Meshaal called on Arab governments instead to utilise the stunning Hamas win in the January Palestinian elections to strengthen their position "for Arab and Islamic benefits".

"Do you need anyone to exert pressure? Hamas is ready ... Let Hamas be your pressuring arm," he said.

Later, Meshaal told a press conference none of the Arab leaders he had met with so far on his regional tour have asked the movement to recognise Israel, and he called on them to translate their support into concrete financial aide when they meet at the Arab Summit in Khartoum in one week.

"We hope figures will be made more precise in Khartoum," he said.

He left Bahrain Tuesday heading to oil-rich Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for talks with officials there. He is also expected to visit Kuwait and Libya.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which Meshaal visited last week, has vowed to continue its financial support of the Palestinian authority without being more specific.

Yemen meanwhile, which Meshaal visited Monday, said Tuesday it had opened three bank accounts to collect donations for Palestinians.

Prime minister-designate Ismail Haniya of Hamas presented Sunday a proposed cabinet list dominated by members of the movement to Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.

Abbas and the international community has called on Hamas to recognise Israel, renounce its armed struggle and respect agreements with the Jewish state.

The European Union -- by far the biggest donor to the Palestinians with annual contributions of some 600 million dollars -- has made future aid conditional on the new Hamas-led cabinet accepting these demands.

The United States is also leading moves to cut financial aid to a government led by what it regards as a terrorist organisation.

Israel has already vowed not to have dealings with a Hamas-led government, and to continue to withhold customs and value-added tax receipts collected on behalf of the Palestinians, until the movement changes its platform.

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Israel Police Foil Palestinian Bomb Plot

By ARIEL SCHALIT, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago

LATRUN JUNCTION, Israel - With sirens wailing and blue lights flashing, Israeli police chased a van with explosives on a main highway Tuesday and captured a group of Palestinians who defense officials say planned a major bombing ahead of national elections.

Israel's parliamentary election is set for March 28; Palestinian attacks have altered the outcome of past balloting.

After chasing down the group halfway from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, jittery security forces extended a closure on the
West Bank and Gaza through election day.

AP Television News video showed the 10 Palestinians removed from the van at gunpoint, stripped to their underwear, and forced to lie face down in a field next to the highway, arms extended. Sappers took away a 15-pound bomb, concealed in a bag.

Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco said the suspected bomber in the group had ties to the militant group Islamic Jihad. Authorities said he planned to blow himself up in central Israel, without pinpointing the location.

On Wednesday, a suspected Islamic Jihad militant was killed during an Israeli army operation in a refugee camp near the West Bank town of Jericho, the army said. Two other suspected militants were arrested, the army said.

Islamic Jihad has been responsible for all seven such attacks during a yearlong cease-fire largely observed by others, including Hamas, the larger Islamic group. Hamas is forming a new government after sweeping Palestinian elections in January and has indicated it will continue the truce.

At midday Tuesday, a police helicopter flew in ever-tightening circles above the four-lane Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, looking for the blue van with the bomb.

Based on directions from the sky, police set up roadblocks on the heavily traveled highway, snarling traffic for miles.

The van was first seen in the hills near the suburb of Mevasseret Zion, and police joined the pursuit.

Elite police commandos with automatic weapons took part. Oz Eliasi, a police officer involved in the chase, said the van ran two roadblocks before it was stopped by police six miles past the Latrun junction, a main interchange.

Eliasi told Channel 2 TV that police initially forced the driver out of the van. Police then saw a Palestinian peeking out the rear window and realized there were passengers, he added.

"With guns drawn, we went to the back of the van and began removing everyone, laying them down on the ground," he said.

Bomb experts searched the car and found a bag containing the explosives, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Police removed the bomb from the car, setting off a panic among nearby motorists.

"We were traveling along the highway, on a beautiful spring day ... and suddenly we saw a helicopter swoop down and anti-terror forces speed by," witness Yonatan Danino told Israel Radio. "Suddenly we saw a car with security forces surrounding it. They even came out of the bushes."

"People started to run away from the cars," Danino said. "Police were shouting into megaphones, 'live bomb, live bomb,' and people were running in every direction." Sappers detonated the explosives harmlessly.

A successful attack could have had serious repercussions. The centrist Kadima Party, which holds a wide lead in opinion polls, has been accused by its hawkish rivals of being too soft on the Palestinians.

A deadly bombing just before the 1984 election upset all predictions and handed victory to the hard-liners.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, a Kadima candidate, told the Israeli Ynet Web site that Iran is pushing Islamic Jihad to carry out an attack before the balloting. "We know that Iran transferred in the last month $1.8 million to the Islamic Jihad organization in order to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel," he said.

Coverage of the story topped radio and TV newscasts through the day, although the traffic jam kept reporters away from the scene for half an hour. There was no live coverage of the chase, because Israeli broadcasters do not have their own helicopters. Israel Radio relied on witnesses calling in with their descriptions, and Channel 10 TV bought a shaky amateur video from an Israeli motorist showing the drama unfolding.

Reflecting pre-election jitters, Israel has banned Palestinians from entering the country until after the vote and greatly restricted movement through the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing at Karni. With the closure causing shortages of bread and other essential items in Gaza, Israel allowed the crossing to temporarily reopen Monday. Militants have attacked Karni in the past.

On Wednesday, Israel opened an additional crossing at Kerem Shalom to allow emergency food from Egypt to enter the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Egypt is sending the Palestinians 7,000 tons of food, said Salim Abu Safiah, director-general of the Palestinian Border Authority.

The main crossings of the Gaza Strip have been closed for much of this year. Palestinians have accused Israel of imposing the closures as punishment following the recent victory by Hamas.

After previously denying such allegations, an Israeli official on Tuesday confirmed that the Karni closure was in part to send a message to Hamas, although he also said the security threats were real. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Israel Police Foil Palestinian Bomb Plot

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Hamas leader says won't renounce "armed resistance"
Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:27 AM ET165

 By Inal Ersan

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group will continue to fight Israel and told the United States that its Middle East policy would fuel terrorism.

"Israel cannot have stability with occupation. It has to choose. This is the message Israel should understand," he told Reuters in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

"Armed resistance is legitimate. All resistance options are open to the Palestinian people and Palestinian factions including Hamas," said Meshaal, who is touring Arab and Muslim countries to solicit financial and political support.

He said that he informed Arab leaders that the government his group will head needs $1.75 billion per year to make ends meet and that he was confident that they would help.

Israel says it will not negotiate with a government led by Hamas, which is sworn to destroy the Jewish state and has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since a Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000.

Since its victory in Palestinian elections in January, Hamas has been under pressure from the United States, the European Union and Israel to give up violence and recognize Israel or lose crucial financial aid to the Palestinian Authority.

"So long as there is an Israeli occupation in Palestine and so long as U.S. policy is biased, the so-called terrorism that the United States fears will escalate because the mistakes of U.S. foreign policy are pouring oil on fire," Meshaal said.

He said his message to U.S. President George W. Bush was "that he should not worsen his mistakes".

Meshaal said Middle East peace required Washington to adopt an "even-handed policy that maintains the same distance from all sides" involved in the conflict.

He said Hamas would reject international pressure to recognize Israel until Israel was compelled to change its position on Palestinian rights.

"It is illogical for the victim to be pressed to recognize its murderer and occupier," Meshaal said. "What is required is a fundamental change in the Israeli position."

FINANCIAL PLEDGES

Meshaal said he had secured pledges for financial support during his tour and that Arab countries would agree to beef up allocations to Palestinians in a summit in Sudan next week.

"I believe that the Arab countries will agree in the Khartoum summit the level of (financial) aid they will offer the Palestinian people," he said.

"So far there has been good commitment that needs to be translated into figures... I am sure that Arab and Islamic support will cover a large part of the Palestinians' needs. No matter what Israel does and how much pressure the United States applies, I do not think Arabs and Muslims will cave."

Iran has said it will meet any gap in official funding for a new government once it is formed by Hamas in coming weeks.

But Meshaal said the Palestinian people could face a "catastrophe" if fellow Arabs did not also chip in.

Israel has already cut off monthly payments of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Meshaal said Hamas would not be bowed by the pressure.

"We are not isolated. We are a movement that enjoys the confidence of its people and has the capability to meet all its obligations," he said. "We have succeeded in the past and we will succeed in the present and the future, God willing. Those who bet that we will lose are deluded."

Hamas leader says won't renounce "armed resistance"

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Olmert: Israel Won't Wait Years for Hamas

Wed Mar 22, 12:49 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday he will not wait years for Hamas to recognize
Israel, a precondition for peace talks, and he is prepared to take unilateral steps in the meantime.


"We waited a reasonable time. If we see there is no reasonable chance (for a resumption of talks) we will take our fate in our own hands," Olmert told Israel TV's Channel 10.

Olmert has said he wants to draw Israel's borders by 2010 by completing the construction of Israel's
West Bank barrier, withdrawing from large parts of the West Bank and dismantling Jewish settlements.

Israel Won't Wait Years for Hamas

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Hamas Defies Abbas, Calls Special Session

By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 22, 1:51 PM ET

JERUSALEM - The militant Islamic group Hamas moved closer to controlling the Palestinian government Wednesday, calling a special session of parliament to approve its new Cabinet despite objections from President Mahmoud Abbas over its refusal to recognize Israel.

Abbas plans to state his complaints but in the end will give his blessing to the new Hamas governing team, an official said.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert kept up the pressure on Hamas, telling a TV station six days before Israel's election that if there are no talks with the Palestinians, Israel will draw its own borders, annexing main settlement blocs. Hamas and Israel rule out talks with each other.

"We have to solve the problem ourselves, not to become a hostage to the Palestinians to decide when things will happen and what will happen," Olmert told Channel 10.

Incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that lawmakers would convene Saturday to approve the new Cabinet. The outcome is inevitable since Hamas won 72 of the 132 seats in the Jan. 25 parliamentary election, trouncing Abbas' Fatah.

Haniyeh is forming a Cabinet with 24 Hamas activists and experts after no other party agreed to join.

Hamas wanted Fatah in the government, partly to deflect world criticism of Hamas. Israel, the United States and
European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group and have threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of vitally needed aid if Hamas does not renounce violence and recognize Israel.

However, Fatah declined to participate, apparently hoping the Hamas government will fail and the people will restore Fatah to power.

Abbas inserted an extra stage in the approval process — putting the Hamas Cabinet and platform before the Fatah-dominated PLO Executive Committee. Predictably, the body refused to endorse them in a meeting Wednesday.

"We decided that we can't deal with the platform of this government or accept it, because the platform neglects the main achievement of the Palestinian people, which is the PLO," said PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo.

However, Abbas does not have the authority to veto the Cabinet or its platform. Abbas was elected president in January 2005 and has three more years to serve, regardless of the makeup of the parliament.

Fatah legislator Saeb Erekat said Abbas planned to send Haniyeh a letter Thursday expressing the PLO's reservations but authorizing the Hamas leader to present his Cabinet to the legislature this weekend.

"He will tell them that he will not obstruct their ability to go to the council with the Cabinet," he said.

Incoming Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official, said the debate over Hamas' governing program was over.

"Nobody can make demands on us at this moment," he said.

The main points of contention between the two are the status of the PLO and endorsement of interim peace accords.

Hamas' program also refuses to recognize a 1988 unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence that included a recognition of Israel.

For decades, the PLO, dominated by Abbas' Fatah, has been recognized by the international community as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. In that capacity, it negotiated agreements with Israel in the early 1990s that led to creation of the
Palestinian Authority.

But Hamas opposes the PLO and rejects the agreements since it does not accept the idea of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East. Its platform says only that Hamas would examine the agreements and adopt the parts it believes are beneficial to the Palestinian people.

In violence early Wednesday morning, Israeli troops entered the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near the
West Bank town of Jericho to arrest three Islamic Jihad militants, the army said. The soldiers surrounded three houses and called on the suspects to come out and two of the men surrendered, the army said.

The army fired at one of the houses to get the remaining suspect to emerge, the army said. Troops then entered, saw a "suspicious figure" under mattresses and, believing he was armed, shot and killed the man, the army said. No weapon was found, the army said.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian legislator for Jericho, condemned the killing, saying Israeli raids and closures were making life intolerable for the people of Jericho.

Last week, Israeli forces raided the jail in Jericho and captured six top militants after destroying large parts of the compound in a daylong siege.

Hamas Defies Abbas, Calls Special Session

[Shammu]

Israel May Be Next al-Qaida Battleground

By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 22, 2:29 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Signs are mounting that al-Qaida terrorists are setting their sights on Israel and the Palestinian territories as their next jihad battleground.

Israel has indicted two West Bank militants for al-Qaida membership, Egypt arrested operatives trying to cross into Israel and a Palestinian security official has acknowledged al-Qaida is "organizing cells and gathering supporters."

Al-Qaida's inroads are still preliminary, but officials fear a doomsday scenario if it takes root.

Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon have established contacts with al-Qaida followers linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, according to two Israeli officials.

Al-Zarqawi has established footholds in the countries neighboring Israel — Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan — and is interested in bringing his fight to Israel, too, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Israel does not want to identify those involved in the issue.

Tuesday's indictment of two militants on charges of belonging to al-Qaida and receiving funds from the group for a planned double-bombing in Jerusalem was Israel's most concrete allegation to date linking al-Qaida to West Bank Palestinians.

The indictment described in detail how the two, Azzam Abu Aladas and Balal Hafnai, met with al-Qaida operatives in Jordan, arranged for secret e-mail exchanges and received thousands of dollars from al-Qaida to carry out the attack. The indictment came just three weeks after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the London-based Al Hayat newspaper that al-Qaida had infiltrated the West Bank and Gaza.

Still, Mideast watchers warned against overstating the al-Qaida presence because the issue is easily manipulated for political ends.

Israel has a lot to gain by portraying its local conflict with the Palestinians as part of the global war on terror, and Abbas, badly damaged by the recent political rise of Hamas militants, wants "to show that he is needed by the West," said Israeli security analyst Dan Schueftan.

Both Israeli and Palestinian security officials described al-Qaida's activities here as incipient, involving a handful of local militants who reached out to al-Qaida — often via the Internet — rather than the other way around. A senior Israeli military intelligence official said he believed there were no more than 20 al-Qaida-linked activists in the Palestinian territories.

Most of them are unhappy with a year-old decision by mainstream Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, to enforce a cease-fire with Israel, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

Hamas, struggling to avert an international aid boycott in the wake of its Jan. 25 victory in parliamentary elections, is particularly sensitive about being associated with al-Qaida, despite sharing core beliefs such as the rejection of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

When Ayman-al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, appeared in a video earlier this month urging Hamas not to renounce its violent struggle, a Hamas official in Gaza shrugged him off.

The Hamas official said the group had no links to any outside group. He spoke on condition of anonymity, saying the movement did not want to respond formally to al-Zawahri.

By all accounts, Hamas, set to form the next Palestinian government, is not likely to further harm its international standing by joining forces with al-Qaida.

But al-Qaida itself is making an effort "to operate both in the Palestinian territories and inside Israel proper," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. A Palestinian security official in Gaza agreed that al-Qaida "is in the process of organizing cells and gathering supporters."

If the group succeeds in establishing a full-blown presence, predicted the Israeli military intelligence official, Israel can expect far larger terror attacks than it has seen in the past.

Another Israeli official said a major concern is al-Qaida's activities in Israel's neighbors, especially Jordan, where al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the November 2005 bombings of three hotels that killed 60 people.

Al-Zarqawi also claimed responsibility for a Dec. 27 barrage of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, provoking Israeli airstrikes on a Palestinian base in central Lebanon.

The Israeli official praised Egyptian security forces for their performance following two bombing sprees in Egypt's Sinai peninsula — one in October 2004 and another in July 2005 — that some have blamed on al-Qaida.

He said Egyptian forces arrested two sets of suspected al-Qaida operatives — one a month ago and another three months ago — who were trying to enter Israel through Sinai "most probably carrying explosives."

An Egyptian police official at the Egypt-Gaza border would not confirm or deny the Israeli's account, saying, "It's our job to halt any security violations, that's what we've been always doing, nothing less or more."

Some Israeli officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida operatives from Egypt may have entered Gaza after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip last summer.

But Assem Rashed, a former teacher at a Gaza university, said he doubts al-Qaida could find many backers in Gaza.

"People here are against the attacks in Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. I don't think they will survive, or find much support from the public," he said.

Israel May Be Next al-Qaida Battleground

[Shammu]

Imams and rabbis form summit on issues surrounding Temple Mount
By Shlomo Shamir

SEVILLE, Spain - The first attempt of its kind to prevent crises over the Temple Mount took center stage yesterday at the Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, which ends today. A panel discussion on holy sites discussed a proposal to establish a permanent committee comprising an equal number of Jewish and Muslim clerics to discuss issues affecting the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The initiative, which is aimed at calming Muslim fear about Israel's plans for the site, was framed by Rabbi Ratzon Aroussi, the rabbi of Kiryat Ono and a member of the Chief Rabbinate's Council. Together with Rabbi Naftali Rothenberg of Jerusalem's Van Leer Institute, Aroussi presented his proposal to the Muslim members of the panel, which was headed by the imam Imad Faluji, an influential figure among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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Aroussi, a jurist with an academic degree, explained that many Muslims suspect Israel of planning to take control of the Temple Mount. He stressed that their fear is baseless because Jewish law forbids Jews from entering the site. Rothenberg, who has published research on the issue, said the halakhic prohibition could prevent a religious war between Jews and Muslims.

Aroussi urged the Muslim representative to take action against anti-Jewish incitement regarding the Temple Mount, which he said "feeds extremist elements within Israel."

Faluji did not reject the initiative but greeted it with reservation. The imam called on rabbis to ask the Israeli government to permit free access to Muslim holy places to all Muslims.

Another conference session took up the initiative to establish a permanent channel of communication between rabbis in southern Israel and imams in Gaza, in an effort to prevent Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza on Sderot.

Despite efforts to demonstrate an atmosphere of conciliation and understanding, there was a significant amount of tension behind the scenes at the conference, particularly on the Muslim side. A few of the conference organizers claimed yesterday that young imams from Gaza and the West Bank who were first-time participants tried to place political issues on the agenda. In one expression of the tension, organizers yesterday retreated from plans to release a serious of resolutions at the end of the conference today. Instead, they decided that the event will end with a joint declaration by the participating rabbis and imams.

Imams and rabbis form summit on issues surrounding Temple Mount

[Shammu]

Hamas Calls Special Session of Parliament

By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 53 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - The militant Islamic group Hamas moved closer to controlling the Palestinian government Wednesday, calling a special session of parliament to approve its new Cabinet despite objections from President Mahmoud Abbas over its refusal to recognize Israel.

Abbas plans to state his complaints but in the end will give his blessing to the new Hamas governing team, an official said.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert kept up the pressure on Hamas, telling a TV station six days before Israel's election that if there are no talks with the Palestinians, Israel will draw its own borders, annexing main settlement blocs. Hamas and Israel rule out talks with each other.

"We have to solve the problem ourselves, not to become a hostage to the Palestinians to decide when things will happen and what will happen," Olmert told Channel 10.

Initially, incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that lawmakers would convene Saturday to approve the new Cabinet. Later, several officials said it had been agreed to hold the parliament session on Monday. The outcome is inevitable since Hamas won 72 of the 132 seats in the Jan. 25 parliamentary election, trouncing Abbas'
Fatah.

Haniyeh is forming a Cabinet with 24 Hamas activists and experts after no other party agreed to join.

Hamas wanted Fatah in the government, partly to deflect world criticism of Hamas. Israel, the United States and
European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group and have threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of vitally needed aid if Hamas does not renounce violence and recognize Israel.

However, Fatah declined to participate, apparently hoping the Hamas government will fail and the people will restore Fatah to power.

Abbas inserted an extra stage in the approval process — putting the Hamas Cabinet and platform before the Fatah-dominated PLO Executive Committee. Predictably, the body refused to endorse them in a meeting Wednesday.

"We decided that we can't deal with the platform of this government or accept it, because the platform neglects the main achievement of the Palestinian people, which is the PLO," said PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo.

However, Abbas does not have the authority to veto the Cabinet or its platform. Abbas was elected president in January 2005 and has three more years to serve, regardless of the makeup of the parliament.

Fatah legislator Saeb Erekat said Abbas planned to send Haniyeh a letter Thursday expressing the PLO's reservations but authorizing the Hamas leader to present his Cabinet to the legislature this weekend.

"He will tell them that he will not obstruct their ability to go to the council with the Cabinet," he said.

Incoming Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official, said the debate over Hamas' governing program was over.

"Nobody can make demands on us at this moment," he said.

The main points of contention between the two are the status of the PLO and endorsement of interim peace accords.

Hamas' program also refuses to recognize a 1988 unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence that included a recognition of Israel.

For decades, the PLO, dominated by Abbas' Fatah, has been recognized by the international community as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. In that capacity, it negotiated agreements with Israel in the early 1990s that led to creation of the Palestinian Authority.

But Hamas opposes the PLO and rejects the agreements since it does not accept the idea of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East. Its platform says only that Hamas would examine the agreements and adopt the parts it believes are beneficial to the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army on Thursday killed two Palestinians militants who were planting a bomb along the Israel-Gaza border, Palestinian security officials and the army said.

In violence early Wednesday morning, Israeli troops entered the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near the West Bank town of Jericho to arrest three Islamic Jihad militants, the army said. The soldiers surrounded three houses and called on the suspects to come out and two of the men surrendered, the army said.

The army fired at one of the houses to get the remaining suspect to emerge, the army said. Troops then entered, saw a "suspicious figure" under mattresses and, believing he was armed, shot and killed the man, the army said. No weapon was found, the army said.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian legislator for Jericho, condemned the killing, saying Israeli raids and closures were making life intolerable for the people of Jericho.

Last week, Israeli forces raided the jail in Jericho and captured six top militants after destroying large parts of the compound in a daylong siege.

Hamas Calls Special Session of Parliament