Semaine 39 / 2008

          "Accepting Iran to the UN Security Council is akin to letting a criminal be his own judge," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Wednesday following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address to the General Assembly.Livni called Tehran's bid to become a member of the Security Council 'absurd', saying "a country that threatens the security of its neighbors and calls for the destruction of another country wants to be a member of an organization whose goal is to contribute... [Lire la suite]

      "Iran has already started down the road to genocide," said human rights lawyer and Canadian MP Irwin Cotler, at a conference here Tuesday ahead of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at the UN later in the day. Pointing to the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide's article criminalizing "public incitement to commit genocide," Cotler argued that Ahmadinejad's threats toward Israel and insults about the Jewish people violated the... [Lire la suite]

        "If the world doesn't wake up and stop Iran's nuclear weapons project on time, the future of the world is in danger," he said. Referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's planned speech to the UN, Peres told reporters that while he was encouraged by speeches made thus far by other leaders, he was "distressed" about what he was going to hear. "The earlier messages were of hope, but I have read the speech that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going to deliver. He... [Lire la suite]

        An Arab resident of east Jerusalem rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers at a central Jerusalem thoroughfare late Monday night, wounding fifteen people, before being shot dead by an off-duty IDF officer, police and rescue officials said. It was the third such attack in the city in as many months. The attack took place at the city's Kikar Tzahal near Jaffa Gate. Two of the casualties were in moderate condition, the rest were lightly hurt. The assailant, who was driving a BMW, crashed into a group... [Lire la suite]

      The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Monday that he cannot guarantee that Iran is not running a secret nuclear program, comments that appeared to reflect a high level of frustration with stonewalling of his investigators. A senior Iranian envoy accused the United States of trying to use the IAEA as a tool in Washington's confrontation with Teheran. Iran, he said, has demonstrated full cooperation with the agency. Allegations of nuclear weapons work by Teheran is based on forged documents... [Lire la suite]

      The UN atomic watchdog began its traditional September board meeting in Vienna on Monday to discuss the current stalemate in its long-running investigation into Iran's controversial atomic drive. The meeting, which is slated to run all week but could be wrapped up as early as Wednesday, according to some diplomats, is also expected to hear an update on state of the International Atomic Energy Agency's probe into Syria. Syria - which the US alleges had been building a secret nuclear facility until it was... [Lire la suite]

       A group of 10 to 15 foreign tourists were kidnapped in the Aswan region in southern Egypt, Egyptian security sources said on Monday. The Egyptian Tourism Ministry reported that the group was comprised of five German nationals, five Italians, one Romanian and four Egyptians. According to the Foreign Ministry, the incident took place two days ago during a jeep tour. Israeli officials said the group did not include Israeli nationals, but a report on two kidnapped Israelis is being looked into. The sources said... [Lire la suite]

       Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran and Israel were on a "collision course," a statement that could further increase tensions in a Middle East already fearful of a conflict between the two countries, Los Angeles Times reported.  "Who are Israelis?" Khamenei told thousands of worshipers gathered for Friday prayers in downtown Tehran. "They are responsible for usurping houses, territory, farmlands and businesses. They are combatants at the disposal of Zionist... [Lire la suite]

        A group of Iranian organizations working in the U.S. is preparing to stage a rally against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ahead of the Iranian President's visit to New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly. The Iranian activists, some of them known as human rights activists, are organizing a mass demonstration on Tuesday, titled "Ahmadinejad, why are you executing children?" Within the framework of the rally, to be held in the plaza adjacent to the United Nations building in New York,... [Lire la suite]

          Former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon on Sunday said Israel will not be able to avoid a military confrontation with Iran and called on the international community to stand up to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad like they did against Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. "Today, we in the West are facing the same situation, the lack of decisiveness towards a threat that is no less severe than that which Hitler posed in 1939." Ya'alon's statements... [Lire la suite]