juin 2011

               Former Lebanese prime minister on Thursday welcomed indictments issued in his father's 2005 assassination, calling the move a "historic moment." The comments came after Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza announced that he had received indictments over former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination, and four arrest warrants. The four suspects are Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Aineysseh and Asad Sabra, The Daily Star... [Lire la suite]

            Most experts interpreted former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's warnings against an Israeli attack on Iran as being aimed first and foremost at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. But there are those who see things a bit differently. One is the former commander of the Israel Navy, Read Admiral (ret. ) Avraham Botzer. In his view, if Netanyahu and Barak intend to attack in Iran (something this writer doubts ), and if they have a prepared plan... [Lire la suite]

             As September draws nearer, the Israel Defense Forces has been conducting drills in order to contend with the possibility of a mass civilian uprising in the West Bank in the wake of the Palestinian bid to seek unilateral recognition in the United Nations. "A non-violent protest of 4,000 people or more, even if they only march to a checkpoint or a settlement, and especially if the Palestinian police does not deter them, will be unstoppable," one IDF officer claims.... [Lire la suite]

The United States Senate has passed a resolution threatening to suspend financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority if its leaders "persist in efforts to circumvent direct negotiations by turning to the United Nations or other international bodies,” and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to veto a UN vote on unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. “Palestinian efforts to gain recognition of a state outside direct negotiations demonstrates absence of a good faith commitment to peace negotiations, and will have... [Lire la suite]

            A senior Jordanian official says the Hashemite kingdom will vote against a Palestinian statehood bid scheduled to be put before the UN General Assembly in September. "Jordan's top national interests will be in danger if the Palestinian Authority declares statehood unilaterally – especially in everything related to the issue of refugees, water, Jerusalem, and the borders," the UAE-based al-Bayan quoted a Jordanian state official as saying. The high-ranking official... [Lire la suite]

          IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned Tuesday that the upcoming Gaza-bound flotilla is merely a provocation, but assured that the Israel Defense Forces is prepared for such a challenge. "The hate flotilla is just another example of an attempt to delegitimize Israel through provocation," Gantz said during an IDF ceremony for reserve soldiers. "The IDF is prepared for such a challenge as well." Defense Minister Ehud Barak, also speaking during the event, warned that the Gaza... [Lire la suite]

           The Palestinians' bid to seek UN recognition of a state will just be a symbolic victory and will not change the reality of Israeli occupation, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday. Fayyad's skepticism, voiced in an interview with The Associated Press, set him apart from the rest of the Palestinian leadership. Earlier this week, President Mahmoud Abbas and top Palestinian officials in his Fatah movement formally adopted the UN plan. Passage of a non-binding... [Lire la suite]

           In a last-minute effort to stop the Palestinians from seeking unilateral recognition at the United Nations in September, the Mideast Quartet is planning to present a new international peace plan at a summit in Washington on July 11, senior Israeli and European officials said Tuesday. The Quartet's envoys - representing the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia – will be mapping out a peace plan based on U.S. President Barack Obama's Mideast speech... [Lire la suite]

      Israel's Security Cabinet voted  to approve the prevention of an international flotilla from reaching Gaza. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said military units could use any means to prevent the planned flotilla from reaching Gaza, Barak asked for the organisers to cancel the convoy to prevent any confrontation with Israeli forces enforcing the blockade."The instruction that I gave to the Israeli Defence Forces, backed by the cabinet, is to stop the maritime vessels in case they try to reach... [Lire la suite]

         IDF sources claimed Monday night that new intelligence information obtained by Israel in recent days shows that participants of the flotilla planning to break Israel’s sea blockade over the Gaza Strip later this week plan to kill IDF soldiers who board their ships. According to the information obtained by the IDF, some of the participants have prepared a number of sacks with sulfur, which they plan to pour on the soldiers as they board the vessels. This is a chemical weapon and if... [Lire la suite]