24 mars 2011

         Amid the worst violence Israel has faced since he came to power two years ago, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in Moscow Thursday that it was not clear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas genuinely wanted to end the conflict with Israel. "Abu Mazen [Abbas] speaks pace to the world, but domestically there is incitement and education toward hate," Netanyahu said. "And who do they blame? The settlers. That is not the problem; The first thing that needs to be... [Lire la suite]

             Egypt's foreign minister told an Israeli official on Thursday that Cairo was committed to its international treaties, Egypt's foreign ministry said, reiterating that the countries' peace accord is secure. It was the first publicly announced meeting between an Egyptian and an Israeli official since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power on Feb. 11 and handed power to the military. A day after it took power, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed... [Lire la suite]

          As missile fire from the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday, the IDF is preparing for the possible deployment of the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system along Israel’s border with Gaza. In late February, the Israeli Air Force held a test of the counter-rocket defense system, Iron Dome, which was supposed to serve as the final stage before declaring the system operational. While a month has passed since then, the system is nowhere to be found despite the recent escalation and... [Lire la suite]

            PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in Moscow on Thursday that Russia and Israel will face a common threat if "radical Islamist" states acquire nuclear weapons, Russian news agencies reported. Netanyahu, whose government has urged Russia to increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, spoke to Russian media bosses before talks with President Dmitry Medvedev. "There is a now a big risk that radicalization of Islamist regimes will begin in the Middle East," state-run... [Lire la suite]

          The Israel Air Force bombed an arms depot in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, which according to Palestinian sources, belonged to the military wing of Hamas. The attack was carried out around 8:30 P.M. local time, after two rockets and several mortars were fired from Gaza at southern Israel earlier Thursday. According to Palestinian reports, IDF forces also attacked a military facility which was formerly used as the Palestinian Authority's intelligence headquarters. Channel 10... [Lire la suite]

           Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that Israel holds Hamas responsible for the recent rocket and mortar strikes from the Gaza Strip. In a joint press conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Barak said that because Hamas is in power in Gaza, they are responsible for the actions of Islamic Jihad and other factions in the Strip, saying Hamas must control these groups. Barak stressed that Hamas must be held responsible since Israel cannot tell between the... [Lire la suite]

           The Syrian government said it will consider lifting a state of emergency in place since 1963 and is moving to allow greater political freedoms in response to days of unrest in a southern city. Presidential adviser Buthaina Shaaban, speaking in a press conference Thursday, said the government is drafting a law that would allow political parties besides the ruling Baath party. She told reporters that President Bashar Assad's government will begin studying a possible ending to... [Lire la suite]

            Senior Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip Khaled al-Tash said that his terrorist group is ready to make moves to calm the situation in the Strip but that things could evolve if "Zionist aggression" continues, Israel Radio reported Thursday. The statement came as rockets exploded deeper and deeper into Israel, striking north of Ashdod near Yavne on Thursday, for the first time since Operation Cast Lead in 2009.Earlier in the week, the Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic... [Lire la suite]

             U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Israel on Thursday in the wake of a deadly bombing that could complicate his planned efforts to press Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks. A bomb exploded near a bus stop in a Jewish district of Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing a woman and wounding at least 30 people, in an attack police blamed on Palestinian militants. Gates, who called the bombing "a horrific terrorist attack", was expected to use... [Lire la suite]