03 juillet 2009
Jordanian king names 15-year-old son as heir
Jordan's King Abdullah II named his eldest son as heir to the throne Thursday, ending five years of speculation over his successor. Abdullah's move is aimed at avoiding the uncertainty over succession that dogged his father, King Hussein. In 1999, Jordanians were baffled to see Hussein - on his death bed struggling with cancer - strip his brother, Prince Hassan, of the crown and give it to Abdullah. Hassan had been groomed for the Hashemite throne for more than three decades. By naming Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah crown prince, Abdullah can groom the 15-year-old for the throne from a young age. Hussein's appointment came in a royal decree released by the palace. It said the crown prince will hold the title and "enjoy the rights and privileges of his post" effective immediately. Under the constitution, the crown prince has a largely ceremonial role, representing the monarch in ribbon-cutting ceremonies and carrying out other symbolic functions. He has no official political post. Thursday's move was widely expected once the position became vacant in November 2004, when Abdullah removed the title from his half brother, Prince Hamzah, in a sudden palace shake-up. Hamzah, 29, had held the post when Abdullah first ascended to the throne in February 1999 following the death of their father. At the time, Abdullah said Hamzah's position as crown prince was in line with his father's wishes, but later stripped him of the title because it "restrained his freedom" to study, travel and live a normal life. Under the constitution, the crown is automatically ordained to the king's eldest son, unless the monarch decrees otherwise. Prince Hussein - a high school student in Jordan - is the eldest of King Abdullah and Queen Rania's four children. Like his father and other members of Jordan's ruling Hashemite dynasty, Hussein claims ancestry to Islam's Prophet Muhammad. (21,40)
Arabs shouldn't live with Jews, Shas minister says
Jews and Israeli-Arabs should not live next to one another, Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Attias said on Thursday. He warned of the "expansion of a population that doesn't love the State of Israel, to say the least." Speaking at the Israel Bar Association headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Shas legislator said Israel was in danger of "losing the Galilee" if the Israeli-Arab population continued to "spread" in the North, and mentioned in particular the Wadi Ara area, where he asserted that Harish, a haredi community planned to be built there, was a "mission of national importance" that could help "stop the expansion." "Arabs don't have where to live, so they buy apartments in places with a Jewish nature, which causes unwanted friction," Attias said. "We can all be bleeding-hearts," said the minister, "but I think it is unsuitable [for Jews and Arabs] to live together." Attias used the Jewish-Arab clashes last year in Acre to explain his argument. "The mayor of Acre [Shimon Lankry] met with me yesterday for three hours, and asked how to save the city. He told me to bring a whole lot of haredim to save it," Attias said. The minister quoted Lankry as saying, "I will even lose my political power." "He told me that Arabs living in Jews' buildings chase them away," Attias added. Mayors in the North "are asking me to salvage the Galilee, because this mixture is not feasible for coexistence over time," Attias said. He said that he would push forward the long-planned Harish project in order to "save" the Wadi Ara area - which has seen "illegal Arab expansion" - by populating the region with haredim, "who are the only ones willing to live there." MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) lashed out at Attias, saying that "relating to Israel's Arab citizens as something threatening and foreign, coming from a minister in a government that should be distributing resources [equally], borders on violating the law against incitement to racism." (21,38)
EU nations summon Iranian envoys
The European Union decided Friday to summon Iranian ambassadors across the 27-nation bloc in a joint protest against the detentions of staff at the British Embassy in Teheran. The EU called Iran's decision to put detained British Embassy staff on trial "not acceptable." Britain had proposed recalling all EU ambassadors from Teheran as a powerful signal of unity, but the 27-nation bloc settled for a gradual escalation of pressure, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. In a statement, Bildt said the EU's "escalatory approach to Iran was working" and noted that seven of nine embassy employees had been released. The Europeans would review the situation next week unless the remaining staffers are released, said Bildt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated he supported the British request to turn up the heat on the Iranian regime. "France has always wanted to strengthen the sanctions, so that Iranian leaders will really understand that the path that they have chosen will be a dead end," he said in a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. "Now it's up to the British to tell us what they need, what help they need." Sarkozy added that "our solidarity with our English friends is total." The issue poses a difficult challenge for the EU. Recalling diplomats from Teheran would be an extraordinary move and a powerful signal of unity in the wake of Teheran's post-election crackdown. But punishing the regime too harshly also risks spoiling chances of making headway on the critical issue of Iran's disputed nuclear program. "It's not acceptable to file charges against the ones released or to the ones still in custody," Bildt said. On Friday, the head of Iran's powerful Guardians Council said that the British embassy staff, accused of inciting violence in post-election protests, would face trial. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who is close to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the announcement during Friday prayers in Teheran. "Naturally they will be put on trial, they have made confessions," Jannati said. "In these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested." Jannati told the thousands of worshippers Friday that the British "had designed a velvet revolution ... In March, they said [in their Foreign Ministry] that street riots were possible during June elections. These are signs ... revealed by themselves." He also said those involved in protests "need to repent and ask God to forgive them." The British foreign office said it was very concerned and urgently seeking an explanation from Iran on the matter. "We are very concerned at these reports and are investigating them," a foreign office spokesperson said. "The allegations that embassy staff were involved in instigating the recent demonstrations are wholly without foundation." Protests were widespread across Iran following last month's presidential election amid claims the vote had been rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At least 20 people were killed in the disturbances and many more arrested by the authorities. On June 27, nine embassy staff were arrested in Teheran accused of playing a role in post-election protests. All except two were eventually released. Teheran has repeatedly accused foreign powers - especially Britain and the US - of meddling and stoking the unrest after the June 12 election. Last month Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described Britain as the "most evil" of its enemies. (21,35)
Report: Israel mulling easing Gaza siege
The Defense Ministry has recommended a partial lifting of the embargo on the Gaza Strip as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinians to spur talks to free a long-held captive soldier, Israeli media reported Friday. Israel has been linking the opening of Gaza's borders to the release of captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas militants for over three years. Hamas has been pushing for a deal to trade him for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails. Israel imposed a near-total embargo of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after Hamas militants violently took control of the territory. Ynet reported that the proposal had been drafted by defense officials and awaits the approval of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The Defense Ministry would not officially comment on the report. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Friday that if there was any truth to the report, it would represent a righting of a previous wrong. "The Palestinian people have one single, clear demand - the siege must be lifted and all the crossings have to be open and life to get back to normal in the Gaza Strip," he told reporters outside a Gaza mosque after Friday prayers. The idea behind the plan, according to Ynet, was to lift the embargo gradually and link it to progress on Egyptian-mediated talks aimed at releasing Shalit from captivity. The plan does not include transferring products such as steel and concrete, which are needed to rebuild the battered territory but could also help Hamas improve its military capabilities. Hamas and other militants have fired thousands of missiles at Israeli border towns and communities in recent years. Israel has come under heavy pressure from the international community - including the Obama administration - to lift its embargo, which has crippled the Gaza economy. Gaza has survived largely thanks to a booming underground smuggling trade between Gaza and Egypt. (16,57)
Israeli sub sails Suez sending message to Iran
An Israeli submarine sailed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea as part of a naval drill last month, defense sources said on Friday, describing the unusual maneuver as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran. Israel long kept its three Dolphin-class submarines, which are widely assumed to carry nuclear missiles, away from Suez so as not to expose them to the gaze of Egyptian harbormasters. It was unclear when last month the vessel left the Mediterranean. One source said the voyage was planned for months and so was not related to unrest after the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom the Israelis see as promoting the pursuit of nuclear weapons to threaten them. Sailing to the Gulf without using Suez would force the diesel-fueled Israeli submarines, normally based in the Mediterranean, to circumnavigate Africa - a weeks-long voyage. That would have limited use in signaling Israel's readiness to retaliate should it ever come under an Iranian nuclear attack. Shorter-term, the submarines' conventional missiles could also be deployed in any Israeli strikes on Iran's atomic sites, which Tehran insists have only civilian energy purposes. A defense source said the Israeli navy held an exercise off Eilat last month and that a Dolphin took part, having traveled to the Red Sea port though Suez. Israel has a naval base at Eilat, a 10-km (6-mile) strip of coast between Egypt and Jordan, but officials say it has no submarine dock there. "This was definitely a departure from policy," said the source, who declined to give further details on the drill or say whether the Dolphin had undergone Egyptian inspections in the canal, through which the submarine sailed unsubmerged. A military spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the voyage, first reported on Friday by the Jerusalem Post. Egyptian officials at Suez said they would neither confirm nor deny reports regarding military movements. One official said that if there was such a passage by Israelis in the canal, it would not be problematic as Egypt and Israel are not at war. Egypt is one of only two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, but relations remain cool. However, Arab states that are allies of the United States appear to share some of Israel's concerns about non-Arab Iran's nuclear program. Israel is assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, but does not discuss this under an "ambiguity" policy billed as deterring its enemies while avoiding provocations. Another Israeli defense source with extensive naval experience said the drill "showed that we can far more easily access the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf, than before". But the source added: "If indeed our subs are capable of doing to Iran what they are believed to be capable of doing, then surely this is a capability that can be put into action from the Mediterranean?" Each German-made Dolphin has 10 torpedo tubes, four of them widened at Israel's request - to accommodate, some independent analysts believe, nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. But there have been questions about whether these would have the 1,500-km (1,000-mile) range needed to hit Iran from the Mediterranean. Israel plans to acquire two more Dolphins early next decade. Naval analysts say this could allow it to set up a rotation whereby some of the submarines patrol distant shores while others secure the Israeli coast or dock to undergo maintenance. (16,26)
PA: Arrested Hamas activists planned to assassinate Abbas
Hamas activists arrested by the Palestinian Authority have admitted to tracking the movements of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to gathering intelligence on his security, PA sources told Haaretz. Their motive clearly was to assassinate Abbas, the sources said. "Hamas' intention was to scuttle the reconciliation talks [between Hamas and Fatah] in Cairo and to create chaos in the West Bank, in contrast to the sense of security that has characterized the territory for the past two years," Fatah spokesman Fahmi Zarir told Haaretz. Palestinian Authority Secretary Taib Abd-Arahim had said Monday amid the Cairo talks that Palestinian security forces had arrested 10 Hamas members planning to attack PA institutions. The detainees admitted they were planning to assassinate several senior Palestinian Authority officials on July 1, in order to halt the conciliation talks, he said. Now, new details have now emerged about the plot: The Hamas activists were caught with weapons, maps and photos of senior Palestinian officers. The photos and maps indicated the cell was conducting surveillance on Abbas himself. Sources say Palestinian security forces have detailed confessions in which the suspects acknowledged planning to assassinate several PA officials and stated they were observing Abbas' movements. PA sources say their motive was clear: to assassinate Abbas. The cell had three to five members, between the ages of 25 and 30. A spokesman for Hamas' military wing has denied the allegations. However, if they are true, this is evidence not only of Hamas' intention to scuttle reconciliation with Fatah, but also to stage a coup of sorts against the Palestinian Authority. Reports suggest Hamas' military wing has an extremist agenda, but Hamas' political leadership in the west bank is thought not to have been aware of the plot. (11,26)
Dov Weissglas: 'PM mistaken not to endorse road map'
PM Binyamin Netanyahu is making a mistake in not explicitly endorsing the road map, with its monitored sequence of phases toward Palestinian statehood, and risks placing Israel in a situation where the Obama administration instead seeks to impose a permanent accord that would be immensely problematic for Israel, Dov Weissglas, former prime minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief, has warned The Jerusalem Post. Amid continued speculation that President Barack Obama is about to unveil a comprehensive Middle East peace plan, Weissglas asked: "If the Americans say there's no road map, and let's say instead they convene a peace conference in Washington in the presence of the Saudis and the Kuwaitis and the Qataris, all singing Israel's praises, to discuss final-status issues, what will Netanyahu say then?" Had Netanyahu accepted the road map from the moment he formed his coalition, "the international community would have been reassured," Weissglas said. "The Americans would not be prodding us on the issue of the settlement freeze. The Palestinians would have resumed the negotiating process." Unfortunately, however, Weissglas went on, Netanyahu came into office "with very negative baggage" and "had to be dragged" toward accepting the inevitable two-state vision. "If Netanyahu has a patent for preventing Palestinian statehood," said Weissglas, "he should put the road map aside." But since the prime minister had now said he had "a vision" for Palestinian statehood, he would best serve Israel's interests by insisting that the performance-based road map path be followed. Weissglas emphasized that the two caveats raised by Netanyahu in his landmark policy speech at Bar-Ilan University last month - that Palestine be demilitarized, and that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state - are already included in the road map's provisions, along with innumerable essential caveats to Palestinian independence that the prime minister did not mention. Benjamin Netanyahu's second cabinet will complete its 100th day in power next week, ending what is known as its 'period of grace.' In a private discussions with his associates, the prime minister said that not only was he being denied a grace period, but that he had to deal with a 'media onslaught' that began hours into his term. This onslaught relented only after his address at Bar-Ilan University last month, when he said he accepted the prospect of a future Palestinian state, he said.
Poll: 46% of Israels think government should continue West Bank building even if it sparks clash with U.S.A public-opinion survey commissioned by Haaretz to gauge Netanyahu's popularity as he approaches 100 days shows favorable results, despite the criticism since April for his gauche handling of the national budget and the diplomatic crisis with the U.S. His two key appointments, Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister and Yuval Steinitz as finance minister, also drew fire. The survey by Dialog, conducted Thursday under the auspices of Prof. Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, found Netanyahu's approval ratings were 18 percent higher than Tzipi Livni's - a much larger margin than when they were competing for prime minister. Asked who was better suited to be prime minister, 52 percent said Netanyahu, while only 34 said Livni. (11,22)
'Gaza tunnels now 60 meters deep'
American engineers who serve as consultants for the Egyptian military have recently informed Israel that Hamas has succeeded in digging 60-meter deep smuggling tunnels to avoid detection and destruction by the IDF, defense officials said on Thursday. The American engineers, deployed as consultants along the Philadelphi Corridor in Egyptian Rafah, have been using technology that can detect seismic movements to uncover tunnels. But it is more difficult to detect them once they have reached the 60-meter depth, the engineers told their Israeli counterparts. According to IDF assessments, Hamas now has several hundred active tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor, even though close to 300 were reportedly bombed by the Israel Air Force during Operation Cast Lead in December and January. Digging to the new depths required special techniques, one official said. "The Palestinians are experts at digging tunnels," the official said. "They reach 60 meters, pump out the groundwater, and pump in air so they can continue digging." Defense officials said that since Cast Lead, Cairo had increased its efforts to uncover and destroy smuggling tunnels. The Egyptian efforts have also focused on stopping weapons before they reach the Philadelphi Corridor and as they make their way to the border with Sinai. A senior IDF officer said the army was reassessing the effectiveness of bombing tunnels from the air. "We found that it takes the Palestinians just a few days to rebuild the tunnels after we bomb them," the officer said. According to a recent report on Al-Arabiya TV, the tunnel-smuggling industry in Gaza is valued at $200 million annually, yielding huge profits for the Palestinian and Egyptian owners of the tunnels. There are 800 tunnels along the Gaza-Egyptian border, Al-Arabiya said. "These tunnels are the lifeline of the Gaza Strip. This is the only place where you don't feel you are in a besieged city. All products are available - electronic appliances, flour, sugar and all other food products - and even diapers and Viagra pills," according to a transcript of the TV report provided by MEMRI: The Middle East Media Research Institute.(11,09)
02 juillet 2009
Assad invites Obama to Damascus
Syrian President Bashar Assad has invited his American counterpart Barack Obama to a summit in Damascus. Assad told Sky News late Thursday, "We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this." When asked whether this could happen soon, the Syrian leader replied: "That depends on him…I will ask you to convey the invitation to him." According to Assad, "Any summit between any two presidents is something positive... That doesn't mean you have to agree about everything. But when you discuss, this is how we can close the gap. It's normal to have differences between different cultures, between different nations and states." (22,42)
Merkel/ Israeli settlement
German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Thursday that Israeli settlement building in the West Bank stop, saying it endangered efforts to achieve a two-state solution with the Palestinians, Reuters reportd. "I think it is now important to get commitments from all sides and that includes the issue of settlement building," Merkel said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. "I am convinced that there must be a stop to this. Otherwise we will not come to the two-state solution that is urgently needed." Merkel's remarks are in line with the positions of the European Union and the United States, but were unusually clear-cut for the German leader, who regularly cites her country's special obligation to Israel because of the Nazi Holocaust, in which six million Jews perished. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said U.S.-backed peace talks with Israel cannot resume until all settlement activity has ceased on occupied land the Palestinians want for a state. Washington has also called for a total halt to settlement building in the occupied West Bank, a demand that has opened the most serious rift in U.S.-Israeli relations in a decade. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday that Israel would consider a limited moratorium on new settlement construction, but said it should be part of a broader deal bringing Arab states into the peace process. (12,48)