Semaine 37 / 2008

      Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Friday to keep supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas until the "collapse of Israel." The Iranian news agency Khabar quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that Iran views the support of the Palestinian people as part of its religious and national duty and that Iran will stand behind the Palestinian nation "until the big victory feast which is the collapse of the Zionist regime." In a phone conversation between the two... [Lire la suite]

        Nuclear experts responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear program have discovered that enough enriched uranium, which if processed to weapons grade level could be used to make up to six atom bombs, has disappeared from the main production facility at Isfahan. American spy satellites have identified a number of suspicious sites, which the Iranians have not declared to nuclear inspectors, that intelligence officials believe are being used for covert research. The Isfahan complex, which enriches raw... [Lire la suite]

      Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin on Thursday said the United States shouldn't "second guess" steps taken by Israel to secure itself, adding that a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran is dangerous and the United States must "put the pressure" on the Islamic Republic. Palin statements came during an interview Thursday with Charlie Gibson of ABC, her first major interview given since she accepted the vice presidential nomination in late August. Palin did stumble when asked if... [Lire la suite]

      Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas doubts that any peace agreement can be reached by the end of 2008, as not one of the six key issues in a final-status arrangement has yet been resolved. Speaking to Haaretz on the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords, Abbas said that Washington plays a central role in the peace process. Senior American officials are anxious to reach an agreement by the end of the year and are convinced this is possible. However, the gaps between the parties remain wide.... [Lire la suite]

        Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem negated a statement made by the capital's US Consul General Jake Walles asserting that Israel had agreed to cede control over east Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority as part of the current peace talks. The sources expressed their astonishment at Walles' public discussion of the negotiations, as the three sides involved have agreed to refrain from making the matter public.Diplomatic turmoil ensued after Walles told Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam that during US Secretary... [Lire la suite]

               "Substantial progress has been made in the peace process with the Palestinians," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at a Kadima pre-New Year toast at the Maccabi Village in Ramat Gan on Thursday night. Olmert expressed optimism about the possibility that negotiations with the Palestinians would yield results by the end of 2008. However, the prime minister stressed that "we have not yet started discussing Jerusalem." Regarding the indirect peace talks... [Lire la suite]

       The security aid package the United States has refused to give Israel for the past few months out of concern that Israel would use it to attack nuclear facilities in Iran included a large number of "bunker-buster" bombs, permission to use an air corridor to Iran, an advanced technological system and refueling planes. Officials from both countries have been discussing the Israeli requests over the past few months. Their rejection would make it very difficult for Israel to attack Iran, if such a... [Lire la suite]

          Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to negotiate on the issue of Jerusalem, as well as parts of the Dead Sea, US Consul-General Jacob Walles said in an interview published by the Palestinian daily, Al-Ayyam on Thursday. According to the interview, which was cited by Israel Radio, the consul-general said that negotiations would be based on the 1967 borders, with changes to those borders being possible should both sides agree. Walles told the paper that the other core issues, including that of... [Lire la suite]

      Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was expected to travel to Russia this month to discuss the crisis in the Caucasus and lobby against Russian arms sales to Syria, has cancelled his trip, diplomatic officials said Monday. While the Prime Minister's Office never officially confirmed that the trip would take place, it had been tentatively scheduled for September 14. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said the trip was postponed for "logistical reasons," because no agreeable date was available to... [Lire la suite]

        Pensioners Minister and former Mossad agent Rafi Eitan hinted that the intelligence agency could capture Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and haul him before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In an interview published Tuesday with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Eitan was asked whether the Mossad still hunted down Nazis. "That era is over. But that's not to say that such operations are completely a thing of the past," he answered. "It could very well be that a leader... [Lire la suite]