Palestinians Reject Israel Settlement Compromise - Adrian Blomfield
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, offered Monday to extend a partial freeze on Jewish building in the West Bank in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Within minutes of the proposal being made public, Palestinian officials had rejected it out of hand. (Telegraph-UK)
Diplomacy by Timetable - Jackson Diehl
In the Middle East negotiations, counterproductive timetables are multiplying. The one-year deadline for completing talks seems to have derived from a two-year deadline established last year by Obama's envoy, George Mitchell. Meanwhile, Israel's 10-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank has expired, prompting the administration to press for a new 60- to 90-day deadline. Once again the timetables are disconnected from a strategy.
Is it possible that Netanyahu and Abbas can agree on the borders of a Palestinian state in less than 60 days and end the settlement debate? No. But then, what will happen when the next deadline arrives? Discussion will be forced on yet another timetable. (Washington Post)
Ahmadinejad Trip Highlights Iranian Sway in Lebanon - Dominic Evans
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Lebanon Wednesday on a trip which underlines the growing power of Iran's Shi'ite ally Hizbullah. The U.S. says Iran's support for Hizbullah militants undermines Lebanese sovereignty.
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday that Lebanon should thank Iran for helping to rebuild Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon after the 2006 war, both Hizbullah strongholds. "Where did this money come from? From donations? No, frankly from Iran." Officials close to Hizbullah say it spent about $1 billion of Iranian money since 2006 on aid and rebuilding. (Reuters)
Chavez's Secret Nuclear Program - Roger F. Noriega
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been developing a nuclear program for two years with the collaboration of Iran, a nuclear rogue state. Venezuela is also helping Iran obtain uranium and evade international sanctions. Chavez's decision to rely on one of the world's worst proliferators to help develop his country's capabilities in this sensitive technology sets alarm bells ringing.
A November 2008 contract between the Venezuelan state-run firm CVG Minerven and the Iranian government firm Impasco grants the Iranians a "gold mine" concession in the heart of the Roraima basin in the southeastern state of Bolivar, home to one of the world's largest deposits of uranium. A "cement plant" processes ore from the Impasco mine, but has yet to produce a bag of cement. Instead, it serves as a conduit for moving ore to a port on the Orinoco River where it is transferred onto Iranian-flagged vessels on the Atlantic Ocean.
Security Council Resolution 1929, passed this June, ordered all governments to prohibit any Iranian involvement in "uranium mining, production or use of nuclear materials and technology." The writer is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere. (Foreign Policy)
On Sept. 24, in an interview with Israel Channel 1 TV, Turkish journalist Azefik Dinc, who was on theMavi Marmara flotilla ship and wrote a book about it, said that no shots were fired from the Israeli helicopters and that IDF soldiers did not open fire until their lives were in danger. According to Dinc, it wasn't until the soldiers realized that some of their friends' lives were in danger that they began using live ammunition.
Dinc's descriptions completely contradict the biased testimonies of IHH activists which were the basis for a report compiled by the UN Human Rights Council. (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center )
Tilt-rotor aircraft combine the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is bringing these benefits to unmanned aerial vehicles with its new Panther and Mini Panther UAVs that were unveiled last week.
With an automatic flight control system that transitions between the hovering takeoff phase to forward flight and vice versa before landing, the system allows the craft to take off and land automatically with the click of a button on the operator console.
The Panther is powered by three ultra-quiet electrical motors that allow the craft to loiter for approximately six hours, at an altitude of up to 10,000 feet, with an operational radius of over 60 km (37 miles).
Who Are Israel's Friends? - Jennifer Rubin (Commentary)
In the poll, almost all the support for Israel statistically comes from non-Jews. This is simply a mathematical reality. The poll sampled 1,000 voters, only 1.6% of whom were Jewish.
Jews by themselves are a tiny percentage of the population who, on their own, could not sustain national support for Israel. It is the support from the majority of Christians that nurtures the U.S.-Israel relationship.
There is a large segment of Americans who, for reasons entirely distinct from religion and with no personal or ethnic tie to the Jewish state, nevertheless are strongly committed to its security and survival.
That is remarkable, a tribute to the innate decency and common sense of the American people. They have, despite a barrage of propaganda from Israel's foes, figured out who are the "good guys" in the Middle East and which country shares our values and concerns.
This data is helpful in rebutting the Israel-haters' rhetoric railing against the "influence of the Israel lobby."
Mike Sachs |
Northeast Regional Director |
212-750-4110 • Fax 212-750-4125 |
AIPAC • The American Israel Public Affairs Committee |
Join us at the AIPAC National Summit, October 24-25 Visit www.aipac.org/Summit2010 for more information. |
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