Semaine 52 / 2009

Meet Mr. Ibrahim (a pseudonym to protect him from reprisals), a 23-year old Palestinian refugee living in the West Bank. Unlike those descendents of refugees born in United Nations camps, Mr. Ibrahim fled his birthplace just two years ago. And he wasn't running away from Israelis, but from his Palestinian brethren in Gaza. Mr. Ibrahim's crime in that Hamas-ruled territory was to be a Christian, a transgression he compounded in the Islamists' eyes by writing love poems. "Muslims tied to Hamas tried to take me twice,"... [Lire la suite]

The government's counterterrorism unit warned Israelis on Wednesday against traveling to a swathe of African countries in which it said Al-Qaida planned to abduct Israeli nationals. "Information has been received that the organization intends to perpetrate attacks, especially abduction attacks, including against Israelis, in the various Sahel countries in Africa," said the Counter Terrorism Bureau in a travel advisory. The bureau, which is part of the Prime Minister's Office, said the warning was relevant to the following... [Lire la suite]

The U.S. president had been a disappointment to the world, Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Britain's Channel 4 News, a full transcript of which was later posted on its website. He once again dismissed a year-end deadline on a U.N.-drafted fuel deal, saying it was "meaningless." The deal requires Iran to ship most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad in exchange for fuel for a Tehran research reactor. The United States has made it clear it intends to pursue harsher sanctions against Iran in the... [Lire la suite]

Clashes erupted Wednesday in the central Iranian city of Isfahan between security forces and protesters who were trying to gather at a central mosque for the third day of mourning for the death of a senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri.The police used tear gas and pepper gas to disperse the crowd and arrested dozens of people, an opposition Web site, Jaras, reported. The account could not be independently verified, and a senior provincial official denied there had been any clashes, the official news service IRNA... [Lire la suite]

The White House on Tuesday warned Iran's leader to take seriously a year-end deadline over its nuclear program, responding sternly to defiant language by the Iranian president. US President Barack Obama wants Iran to respond to an offer of dialogue and show it will allay fears of weapons development. Otherwise, Washington and its allies are warning of new, tougher sanctions on Iran. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may not recognize the deadline but "it is a very real... [Lire la suite]

      At the center of Israel's demands regarding the deal to free abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is an insistence that between 100 and 130 of the Palestinian prisoners who are to be released in exchange - individuals convicted of direct responsibility for the deaths of Israelis - will be expelled to the Gaza Strip or abroad and barred from returning to the West Bank. The forum of seven senior cabinet ministers met until late on Monday night discussing the exchange deal. After the meeting... [Lire la suite]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that he would not allow a third Intifada to take place on his watch, the Wall Street Journal reported. "As long as I'm in office, I will not allow anybody to start a new Intifada. Never, never," said Abbas in an interview with the newspaper. Abbas, who has extended his tenure until June 2010, however warned that "if I leave, it's no longer my responsibility and I can't make any guarantees." The Palestinian president rebutted Israeli charges that he was... [Lire la suite]

GOC Homefront Command Major General Yair Golan issued an order Monday banning the head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, Sheikh Raed Salah, from entering Jerusalem for three weeks. The IDF Spokesperson's Office stated that the restraining order is aimed at keeping peace in the city, and that the army plans to have it extended to six months if Salah does not successfully appeal the order within seven days. Salah is currently facing four indictments due to his participation in the Jerusalem riots of... [Lire la suite]

           Former US President Jimmy Carter on Monday asked for the Jewish community's forgiveness for any negative stigma he may have caused Israel over the years. Carter, who is not a popular character in Israel, enraged the American Jewish community's in the past with various statements made in his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." In the book, carter blamed Israel for impeding the Middle East peace process via settlement construction, further claiming such policy will lead to... [Lire la suite]

Military force would have only limited effect in stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons but must remain an option, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. Teheran shows no signs of backing down in the standoff over what the United States and other countries say is its drive for a nuclear bomb, Adm. Mike Mullen, the top US military officer, told his staff in an annual assessment of the nation's risks and priorities. "My belief remains that political means are the best tools to attain regional security and... [Lire la suite]