[An Nahar] The al-Qaeda terror network is among the suspects in connection with a kaboom that killed 16 in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, the government said Friday.
Communications Minister Khalid Naciri said that Sherlocks would pursue all leads including possible links to al-Qaeda which operates a North African offshoot which is active in the region, Agence La Belle France Presse reported.
"All leads will be investigated, including al-Qaeda," he said.
"The investigation continues to find the perpetrators, but for the moment I am not prepared to point the finger."
Fourteen people, most of them foreigners, died Thursday when a suspected suicide bomb went kaboom! at a crowded tourist cafe in Djemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakesh.
A total of 23 others were badly injured, two of whom died overnight, bring the toll to 16 Friday.
The blast was condemned as a terrorist attack by the Moroccan government, the United States and La Belle France and a Moroccan official said it may have been the work of a jacket wallah.
Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said the 14 who died Thursday included 11 foreigners. No nationalities were given for the two fatalities Friday.
Authorities in La Belle France said at lest six of the dead were French.
Rabat, Washington and Gay Paree condemned what they said was a "terrorist" attack on the cafe, a favorite haunt for foreign visitors to the touristic city about 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the capital.
Al-Qaeda's regional offshoot, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is active in countries in the region, notably carrying out a serious of kidnappings for ransom in recent years.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... , who spoke to Morocco's King Mohammed IV on the telephone Thursday, said the bombing was "heinous, cruel and cowardly."
Witnesses said the kaboom happened on the terrace of the popular Argana cafe, whose facade and first floor were severely damaged, with tables and chairs strewn around the terrace.
The latest attack was the deadliest in the North African monarchy since 33 people were killed by 12 suicide bombers in Casablanca in 2003. An attempted attack in 2007 was thwarted and one of three would-be bombers killed.
Morocco, a country of 32 million people whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has largely been spared the pro-change revolts that have swept the Arab world since the end of last year.
But there have been three protests since February to demand reform, prompting King Mohammed to announce major political changes, including greater judicial independence.
In mid-April, he pardoned political prisoners, including Islamists, in a gesture of appeasement.
Moroccan security forces have been deployed in the country in the wake of the blast.
A senior police official said cordons have been erected at the entrances to Morocco's main cities, "to ensure the internal security of the country".
French intelligence and anti-terrorism experts will travel to Marrakesh on Friday to help in the probe, a source said.
The United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... , Perfidious Albion, Germany, Spain and the Council of Europe human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... watchdog also condemned the attack.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague described it as "utterly reprehensible and said alleged links to terrorism were worrying.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Moroccan authorities have stepped up security following Thursday's kaboom at a cafe in Marrakesh in which at least 16 people were killed, including 11 foreigners.
A senior police official said cordons have been erected at the entrances to Morocco's main cities and security forces deployed across the country, "to ensure the internal security of the country".
"Preliminary investigation ... suggests that this was a terrorist act caused by an bomb," the official MAP news agency quoted Taieb Cherkaoui, the interior minister, as saying on Friday.
Khalid Naciri, a government front man, told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency it was too soon to say who had carried out what he called a terrorist attack.
Interpol, the international police agency, condemned the attack and said it would ensure "the Moroccan authorities investigating this terrible attack have the full support of the global law enforcement community."
French intelligence and anti-terrorism experts will travel to Marrakesh on Friday to help in the probe, a source said.
Police sought to restore calm in the iconic Jamaa el-Fna square, a cultural heritage site frequented by tourists, while Sherlocks worked to determine how it was carried out and who was responsible.
Police were at the site searching for clues on Friday morning, keeping back onlookers who showed up to see the dramatic sight. The kaboom ripped off the facade of the Argana cafe, leaving awnings dangling.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Egypt is to permanently open the Rafah border crossing to ease the Israeli blockade on Gazoo, Nabil al-Arabi, the country's foreign minister, has said.
Golly, that's a surprise. How soon until Gaza is the tip of the Egyptian spear again, d'you suppose?
Arabi said Egypt would take "important steps to help ease the blockade on Gazoo in the few days to come".
Then the Gaza flotilla really is unnecessary.
Speaking to Al Jizz on Friday, the minister said Egypt would no longer accept that the Rafah border, Gazoo's only crossing that bypasses Israel, remain blocked, describing the decision to seal it off as "shameful".
The announcement came days after Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which controls Gazoo, and their secular West Bank rivals Fatah, which controls the Paleostinian Authority (PA), agreed to end their rift and form an interim government to prepare for elections.
In talks before the deal, the two sides had discussed reopening the crossing after positioning PA representatives at the border, a condition in a US-brokered 2005 border crossing agreement between Israel and the PA.
Mahmud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, told the AFP news agency that it was understood that the crossing, which under the 2005 agreement was to be monitored by European Union delegates, would be opened after a unity deal.
Still monitored by the fair-minded EU, is it?
Israeli concerns
A bigwig in Jerusalem said Israel was "very concerned" about the implications of the Rafah crossing being open.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Hamas had already built up a "dangerous military machine" in northern Sinai which could be further strengthened by opening Rafah.
"What power could they amass if Egypt was no longer acting to prevent that build-up?" the official said.
Earlier this week, unknown assailants in northern Sinai blew up a gas pipeline supplying Israel and Jordan, the second time it has been sabotaged in 10 weeks.
"We are troubled by the developments in Egypt, by the voices calling to annul the peace treaty, by the rapprochement between Egypt and Iran, and by the upgrading of relations between Egypt and Hamas," the Israeli source said.
"These developments potentially have strategic implications for Israel's national security."
Paleostinian officials welcomed the Egyptian move, with Saeb Erakat, the PA's chief negotiator, saying it was one step towards loosening the siege on the Gazoo Strip.
"We welcome this step by Egypt. We have been pressing them all the time to end the suffering of the people in Gazoo, but the real siege is caused by Israel because there are many border crossing with Israel but only one with Egypt," he said.
"We ask Israel to open all the borders to end this crime against the Paleostinian people in the Gazoo Strip," he said.
Hatem Ewidah, the Hamas official in charge of border crossings in Gazoo, also welcomed the move, but stressed it was "important to open the commercial crossing with Egypt" to reduce the impact of the blockade.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter ... the worst president ever. Maybe the second worst. The votes aren't all in yet... on Thursday urged the West not to interfere over human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... in North Korea and immediately resume food aid to the renegade nation. Carter was in Seoul as part of a group of ex- leaders calling themselves the "Elders" that included former Irish President Mary Robinson and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari who were winding up a three-day visit to North Korea.
Carter, 86, who was not travelling on behalf of the U.S. government, had been invited to North Korea for discussions with senior political and military officials as a way to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which he said were ''at rock bottom."
He travelled with two other former presidents, Mary Robinson of Ireland and Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, and former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway. All four are members of the Elders, an independent group of world leaders established by Nelson Mandela.
Ms Robinson echoed Carter's concerns about what she called the "very serious crisis" over food supplies in North Korea because of a harsh winter, severe flooding and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. She said the withdrawal of U.S. and South Korean food shipments had aggravated a dire situation, which had become "a matter of life-and-death urgency."
Ms Brundtland cited a lack of running water in hospitals, even in maternity and pediatric wards, and a deep shortage of what she called "essential medicines." A third of all North Korean children were stunted because of malnourishment, she said.
Carter said North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho came to the guest house, where he took a sheet of paper from an envelope and read to them what he said was a written message from Kim.
"He specifically told us that he is prepared for a summit meeting directly with President Lee Myung-bak at any time to discuss any subject directly between the two heads of state," Carter said.
Kim Jong-il "sent word that he and the people of North Korea are willing to negotiate with South Korea or the United States or (the other powers involved in six-party nuclear disarmament talks) on any subject, at any time and without any preconditions," he added.
Asked if he mentioned human rights to North Korean officials, Carter said he believes there are some human rights concerns about the North Korean regime's policies but that they cannot be changed by outsiders.
He said that one of the most important human rights is "to have food to eat and for South Korea and Americans, and others to deliberately withhold food aid for North Korean people... is indeed a human rights violation." Critics in South Korea were stunned that Carter appeared to ignore the Kim Jong-il regime's responsibility for egregious violation of human rights including the operation of concentration camps, public executions and torture but accused Seoul of violating North Korean rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
But the Norks can afford to develop nuclear weapons and keep a HUGE standing army.
What a bunch of sick disgusting excuses for human beings.
#2
On the surface it would appear that ex-POTUS Jimbo is going against the very same, original Human Rights-centric rationale he began his international sojourns long ago after he left office.
OTOH, METHINKS JIMBO RECOGNIZES THAT NORTH KOREA'S DOMESTIC SITUATION [Food] IS STEADILY EVOL BEYOND DIRE, + THAT NEW FULL-SCALE WAR ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA IS MUCH CLOSER THAN ANYONE WILL ADMIT. IMO Jimbo likely is seeing that the US-West + ROK + UNO may have no choice in the end but to prioritize INTER-KOREAN, REGIONAL PEACE OVER HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN NORTH KOREA.
FOOD AID = STOPPING KIMMIE FROM ATTACKING VARIOUS MAJOR MIL TARGETS IN SOUTH KOREA + JAPAN, THUS ACHIEVING DPRK-DESIRED "MUTUAL DESTRUCTION" + INTENTIONAL US-CHINA, ETC. REGIONAL CONFLICT INCLUD NUCWAR???
Kimmie + Regime have no qualms about fighting the MAD "final battle" that Reagan, Bush 1 + Gorby did not after the collapse of the Berlin Wall + implosion of the USSR.
* WAFF > NORTH KOREA CONTINUING TO BUILD NUCLEAR REACTOR [Yongybon] | {StrategyPage] NORTH KOREA: THE ARABIAN NIGHTMARE.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > REAL POVERTY IN CHINA [PRC versus UNO WB Poverty Standards].
ARTIC = China continues to claim "neglible" poverty rates + 10% annual growth rates despite having Asia's, World's biggest population of poor.
#4
I wonder how long a starving cripple would be able to attack anyone.It might be unpleasant, perhaps even "disturbing" to be attacked by a starving cripple....but, ask yourself, just how long would the attack last...and who would ultimately win?
That is the bottom line...who is going to win. Club him when he comes and then get him in the bag. You can always wash up afterwards. Have a special unit ready for Kimmie, say he was killed in the fighting and look sorry about it.
Load the cripple on the truck, move in your own Army and keep out the reporters. You can triage to your advantage, make sure the Chinese frontier is secured. Explore the potentialities of benign neglect and salvage the useful. There are a myriad of ways to control and isolate NGOs.
Give it three weeks for the whole world to forget, they always do.
Get on with it.
Posted by: de Medici3489 ||
04/30/2011 7:53 Comments ||
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#5
I wonder how long a starving cripple would be able to attack anyone.
I think the scenario has been covered in a couple hundred zombie movies and games. Just don't let them get too close to mob you.
#8
would someone do me a favour and shoot Jimmah in the head ?
so much stuipidity in one man is unbelievable.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
04/30/2011 10:22 Comments ||
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#9
He's Invited to Nork?
We'll be paying ransom to get him back.
So why go? Or is that the whole idea, Go and let them ransom him back?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/30/2011 10:27 Comments ||
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#10
"Carter, 86, who was not travelling on behalf of the U.S. government, had been invited to North Korea for discussions with senior political and military officials as a way to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which he said were ''at rock bottom." "
Well no problem. If tensions were high that would be bad, but tensions at rock bottom sounds like the peninsula is happy for a change. No wonder the North wants Carter there.
I suspect the oddly worded bit is more the fault of the writer than Carter but I think its funny.
#11
If James Earl Carter looked me dead in the eye and said the grass was green and the sky is blue, I'd take a trusted team of people outside to confirm it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/30/2011 13:27 Comments ||
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#12
Kim Jong-il "sent word that he and the people of North Korea are willing to negotiate with South Korea or the United States or (the other powers involved in six-party nuclear disarmament talks) on any subject, at any time and without any preconditions," he added.
What's to negotiate? Drop your guns and come out with your hands up or stay in there and starve.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/30/2011 13:41 Comments ||
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#13
The Kimmie regime in NORK has remained while others fell because of governments giving so-called humanitarian aid that propped up said regime. Including the US. Jimmy and Co are enablers of despots, not humanitarians.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/30/2011 14:41 Comments ||
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#14
enablers generally have a sick sense of love and support, so...
I would say "spot on", Al-Aska Paul
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/30/2011 15:34 Comments ||
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#15
I think that's it RJ, a volunteer human-shield and/or hostage. Someone quipped (I wish I could give proper credit) the other day that NORK holds its people hostage so the west either lets millions starve or feeds/arms their declared mortal enemy.
A DOJ list of terrorism-related investigations conducted from Sept. 11, 2001 through Mar. 18, 2010 has been unsealed. There are 403 defendants on that list of which, according to the GAO, at least 43 percent were aliens--both legal (26 percent) and illegal (17 percent)--at the time they were charged with crimes.
“Prosecuting terror-related targets using Category II offenses and others is often an effective method--and sometimes the only available method--of deterring and disrupting potential terrorist planning and support activities,” explained the DOJ in the document that listed the defendants.
A March 2011 audit (released on April 21, 2011) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitled Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs, shows that three individuals were among “defendants where the investigation involved an identified link to international terrorism but they were charged with violating other statutes [not directly related to terrorism], including fraud, immigration, drugs, false statements, and general conspiracy charges,” referred by DOJ as Category II terrorism-related cases.
DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A leader in north IraqÂ’s Kurdistan Alliance has demanded that a portion of the U.S. forces remain in the areas of dispute of eastern IraqÂ’s Diala Province, due to what he described as non-readiness of the Iraqi forces to take over the security dossier in the province.
“Our Alliance in Diala Province’s Council demands to keep part of the U.S. forces in the Province, for several reasons, most important of which is the deterioration of the security conditions in the province,” Assistant Chairman of the Province’s Security Committee, Dilair Hassan told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Thursday.
A little worried about their position with the Shi'a around Kirkuk?
“The decision on the complete withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Iraqi territories, including Diala Province, will be reflected passively on the security conditions, especially if all evidences point to the non-readiness of the Iraqi forces to receive the security dossier in full,” Hassan said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Northern Diala province is effectively part of Iraqi Kurdistan.
I think most of terrorism in the central area where Kurds and Arabs overlap comes from Sunnis against those 'uppity' Kurds.
#2
I imagine the Kurds are still pushing out the Shiite immigrants that Saddam brought into the North to settle on Kurdish land. That creates tension since the immigrants probably don't have anything to back to after 20-30 years (if they had anything in the first place).
BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi army conducted maneuvers in Basra on Thursday within preparations to received security duties from U.S. forces, according to the commander of operations in the southern Iraq province.
“We conducted mobilization drills in which ground, naval and air forces as well as special troops participated in the area of Khour al-Zubeir,” Lt. General Muhammad Jawwad Howeidi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“The drills were carried out with live munitions and helicopters took part in the drills. The objective is to enhance the Iraqi forces’ readiness to completely receive security responsibilities from the U.S. forces,” added Howeidi.
For his part, Lt. General Riad Jalal, the commanding official of the drills, said the maneuver is one of the most successful to date, adding coordination among the participating corps was high.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Tip o' the hat to Richard Fernandez at the Belmont Club.
Israel's military is reported to have built a underground complex to train troops how to be Vietnam-style "tunnel rats" and go after Hezbollah in its elaborate bunker system across southern Lebanon should the shooting starts again.
The Hebrew-language Maariv daily reported this week that two of its reporters and a camera crew were allowed to inspect the "subterranean city" built in northern Israel "to train for an imminent war" against Hezbollah. The newspaper quoted an unidentified "military commander" as saying the complex was fashioned on the labyrinth of tunnels constructed by the Viet Cong at Cu Chi, northeast of Saigon, during the Vietnam War.
That complex of tunnels stretched for more than 100 miles 40 feet below the ground, on as many as three or four levels. They contained hospitals, arsenals, meeting rooms, sleeping quarters and kitchens.
The objective of the Israeli training program is to fight Hezbollah in its hidden bunkers, where it deploys rocket launchers aimed at Israel and stores its weapons.
The Israelis learned in the 34-day war it fought with Hezbollah in July and August 2006 that these concealed underground missile sites were impervious to airstrikes. After success in hitting missile sites in northeastern Lebanon during the opening hours of that conflict, Israeli forces were unable to stop Hezbollah from firing nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, including the port city of Haifa.
Since that war, in which Hezbollah's guerrillas fought the Israeli military to an embarrassing standstill, the Iranian-backed Shiite movement has constructed even more elaborate defense lines of bunker and tunnel complexes. This includes a countrywide fiber-optic communications system that supposedly cannot be electronically penetrated.
In the 2006 fighting, highly agile teams of Hezbollah fighters were able to repeatedly ambush Israeli infantry and armored units in the south Lebanon panhandle, popping up from hidden bunkers and causing heavy casualties.
"The Israeli military was only able to inflict a limited number of injuries to Hezbollah fighters when they emerged from their underground defenses," the commander told Maariv.
Israel's military intelligence estimates that these days Hezbollah possesses more than 42,000 rockets and missiles supplied by Iran and Syria. These include hundreds of long-range missiles capable to hitting anywhere in Israel.
Israel has developed the Iron Dome anti-rocket system. It made its combat debut in March against short-range Grad rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip south of Israel. It shot down a dozen or so but only two batteries are operational and could easily be overwhelmed in large-scale missile attacks.
The Israeli air force has been equipped with U.S.-made "bunker buster" precision bombs but the military believes that sending ground troops into Hezbollah's bunker network will be more effective in knocking out launch sites and depots.
Hezbollah's arsenal of missiles and rockets is its most potent weapon because it exposes Israel's cities, industry and military bases to long-distance attack that to a large degree marginalizes Israel's vaunted ground forces.
U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in recent months indicate that Israeli planners believe the next war with Hezbollah will last up to two months. During that time 24,000-36,000 rockets and missiles are expected to be unleashed against Israel -- an unprecedented assault. Some 6,000 of these will be aimed at the urban area around Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city, where at least 1 million people live.
The casualty toll is expected to reach 3,500, with at last 100 civilian fatalities.
The cables filed by the U.S. Embassy in November 2009 noted that Israeli military chiefs estimated Hezbollah would fire 400-600 rockets a day during the conflict, 100 of them aimed at Tel Aviv.
In late March, the Israeli military released maps and satellite images of what is said were some 950 Hezbollah bunkers, missile sites and arms depots in south Lebanon, most of them hidden in or near 270 villages.
A senior commander warned Hezbollah that if it fired into Israel, launch sites would be destroyed, even if they were in populated areas. Many of these sites are believed to have been identified by Israeli agents since the 2006 war.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2011 10:09 ||
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The mainstream media got caught lying with the truth again. Christians for Fair Witness did the legwork and deserve our thanks.
The Palestinian Authority's decision to seek a deal with Hamas is being seen in Jerusalem as a gamble intended to attract support from the international community for a declaration of statehood from the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The PA is wagering that it is more important to present the world with an image of Palestinian unity in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the vote than to distance itself from the terrorism of Hamas. By building a government of technocrats that would limit terrorism -- at least for a few months -- the Palestinians are trying to eliminate excuses that could be raised to prevent a state from arising.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intended to tell European leaders in his visit to London and Paris next week that supporting the UN resolution in September would be giving the Palestinians theatrics but no state, while a state -- and a peace agreement -- could only be born via negotiations.
However, the Palestinian unity announcement, which took Israeli intelligence agencies by surprise, could make it harder for Netanyahu to make that argument, because there is no chance for negotiations with a Palestinian government built with a Hamas that refuses to renounce terrorism. Or the Palestinians might have played into Netanyahu's hands by making it easier for him to warn the international community against creating a state that could serve as a base for terrorism against Israel's heartland.
Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas will travel the world between now and September to try to sell their respective sides of the story. One element that could be crucial in getting world leaders to accept their narratives ahead of September 2011 is to make sure they understand why substantive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended in September 2008.
This is especially important now because the Palestinians justified seeking a state from the UN and an agreement with Hamas by saying that reaching a deal with Israel was not an option. One of the central arguments that Abbas is making to world leaders is that he tried to reach an agreement with Netanyahu's dovish predecessor Ehud Olmert, and he came close, but the criminal investigations that brought down Olmert's government also ended chances of reaching peace.
Olmert has argued that the reason peace was not achieved is that he offered Abbas a sweetheart deal and the Palestinian leader never responded. He says that on August 31, 2008, three weeks before he resigned, he offered 100 percent of West Bank land (minus 6.8% in land swaps), 10,000 Palestinian refugees returning to Israel's final borders, and the holy basin of Jerusalem's Old City coming under joint Israeli-Palestinian-American- Jordanian-Saudi control. He last met with Abbas on September 16 of that year -- five days before he resigned, and more than six months before he left office -- and Abbas did not respond or make a counteroffer.
The 1,700 documents revealed by Al Jazeera and the Guardian in January, called "the Palestine Papers" or "Palileaks," were seen by much of the world as proof that the Palestinians were willing to make unprecedented concessions on Jerusalem and refugees in Abbas's talks with Olmert. That impression was fed by the analysis of the two media outlets that released the documents selectively in a way that made Abbas seem overly generous and Israel overly hard-line.
But a new reading of the documents by a Christian organization in the United States found that unlike the way they were reported, the Palestine Papers actually proved the Israeli point of view correct on all the key issues.
Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East -- which bills itself as a liberal, non-Evangelical Christian (mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic) organization focused on bringing facts about the Arab-Israeli conflict to American churches -- had a team of researchers read through all of the 1,700 Palestine Papers.
The organization has been trying to get the world to look more deeply into the papers as well, rather than accept the misreporting of them as fact.
THE KEY concession that the Palestinians were reported to have made was control over Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Al Jazeera broadcast that the Palestinians had offered to "let Israel keep all but one of the Jewish enclaves it built in East Jerusalem," referring to Har Homa, and settlements over the Green Line amounting to some 2 percent of the land controlled by Jordan between 1948 and 1967.
But Christians for Fair Witness found that the Palestine Papers did not indicate that Abbas made a counter-offer to Olmert's August 31 proposal. They revealed documents indicating that the Palestinians had decided ahead of the final Olmert-Abbas meeting on September 16 not to issue a counter-offer at that meeting and that Abbas had been advised by his team to wait to respond until George W. Bush was out of the White House.
A December 2, 2008, memo indicated that in response to Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch's question about Olmert's offer, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Welch that "We offered a 2% swap that would allow 70% of the settlers to remain."
But the 2% figure is not mentioned at all in either a September 16, 2008, memo of "talking points" for Abbas at his final meeting with Olmert, or a September 22, 2008, memo of "Palestinian Talking Points Regarding Israeli Proposal." Therefore, it appears that the 2% figure did not play a part in the Palestinian thinking about possible responses to Olmert's package offer. Moreover, there is no indication whatsoever of this figure having been presented to Olmert post-September 16, 2008.
"Nowhere in the Palestine Papers is there any indication that Abbas ever communicated this 'counter-offer' of a '2% swap' -- or any other -- to Olmert," the organization wrote.
"And while the Palestinians had memos and maps outlining the Israeli offer in detail, there is no documentation in the Palestine Papers of the parameters of a counter-offer designed to respond to this offer."
THE SECOND concession the Palestinians reportedly made in the talks with Olmert involved the fate of the Temple Mount and the Holy Basin.
"The [PA] proposed international control of the key Jerusalem holy site," the reports said.
But the documents revealed by Christians for Fair Witness found that Al Jazeera had wrongly portrayed the international control over the Holy Basin as an official PA proposal. In the document, Erekat told American diplomats -- and not Olmert -- that he was speaking in his private capacity "That was not an offer, it was just talk," the organization said.
Finally, on the refugee issue, Al Jazeera reported that the Palestinians had agreed that Israel would only take in 10,000 refugees a year for 10 years for a total of 100,000, giving up their demand that all refugees from 1948 and their descendants -- amounting to several million people -- enter Israel.
But the documents highlighted by Christians for Fair Witness report a conversation between Abbas and Olmert that Erekat recounted, in which Abbas said, "Are you joking?" to Olmert's figure of 10,000 over 10 years. In a September 22, 2008, internal memo drafted in response to Olmert's offer, it states that "while we agree to negotiate the number of returnees in consideration of Israel's capacity of absorption, this particular offer cannot be taken seriously."
The Palestinians estimated Israel's absorption capacity at slightly more than a million people over a 10-year period. That's the only concession the Palestinians were willing to make on the issue. And even that would be only temporary.
They expected additional "returns" later on.
"While there have been claims in the media that the Palestinian Authority was willing to offer great compromises on refugees, the Palestine Papers reveal that this was not the case," the organization wrote. "While Palestinian negotiators spoke publicly about compromise on refugees, privately they spoke of the 'Right of Return' as a matter of individual choice that would have to be extended to each of over seven million 'refugees.' They anticipated the potential 'return' of millions of Palestinians to the State of Israel, with Palestinians retaining the open-ended right to try to negotiate additional 'returns' beyond any number initially agreed upon in a peace treaty."
The organization expressed hope that just like the understanding that former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat turned down a generous Israeli offer at Camp David in 2000 improved Israel's image internationally, the same could happen if the world realized that Abbas repeated Arafat's mistake in September 2008.
It said it was praying that this could help Israel avoid a major crisis this coming September.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2011 10:07 ||
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ISMAIL Haniya, the prime minister of the Islamist Hamas movement in power in the Gaza Strip, said today he was ``ready to resign''.
``I am prepared to tender my resignation as part of the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah (the secular party of Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas),'' Haniya said.
``This agreement is very important and should boost efforts to end the divisions and encourage unity among Palestinians.''
On Wednesday, the rival Palestinian groups reached an ``understanding'' in Cairo to set up a transitional unity government and hold elections.
Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, has tried to bring the two sides together since Hamas defeated Fatah loyalists in week-long street battles four years ago, reducing their power base to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad expressed the hope on Wednesday that the agreement could lead to "the reunification of the nation, needed to enable our people to decide their destiny and to establish an independent state on all territories occupied since 1967, with east Jerusalem as its capital".
The Palestinian factions were on the verge of agreeing to a deal in 2009 that would have led to a transitional government ahead of elections when Hamas pulled out.
[Arab News] [Arab News] A senior Islamic Jihad member on Friday said that his movement will not join the Paleostinian national unity government the rival Fatah and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movements will form to end their internal split.
Mohammed Al-Hindi, a member of Islamic Jihad politburo, said in a press statement that the movement "will not participate in the unity government in accordance with the Cairo announcement" since the Islamic Jihad "does not join any of Paleostinian Authority's institutions that were established in accordance with Oslo Accords."
"Ending the differences between Fatah and Hamas on the government, elections and security is an important move. But the deal does not form a national reference that the Islam Jihad calls for," Al-Hindi said.
Fatah and Hamas representatives on Wednesday signed a preliminary agreement on all controversial issues including the elections, reformation of Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the formation of the interim government in Cairo.
For its part, the Israeli government decided to hold off any contact with the incoming national unity government.
Israeli government sources said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak took the decision following a series of consultations on late Thursday.
Mark Regev, front man of Netanyahu's office, said will not hold any contacts with the Paleostinian Authority (PA) if the latter is "related in any way with Hamas."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
#1
More strategic, proliferation worries for Tel Aviv as per Iran, except not ala Iran...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > SAUDIS BUY ADVANCED NUCLEAR-CAPABLE MISSLES FROM CHINA [new CSS-3's = DF-3's to "replace" early but still reliable DF-21 variants purchased by Prince Bahar for the KSA in the 1980's.
The KSA also repor purchased short-range DF-15 B's, C''s.
and
* WINNIPEG FREE PRESS > PAKISTAN SAYS IT HAS [test]FIRED ANOTHER NUCLEAR-CAPABLE CRUISE MISSLE. The "Hatif-8" ALCM wid a range of 220 miles = 350-kms.
[Iran Press TV] Renewed hope for Paleostinians after Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Fatah reached an initial agreement to set up a unity government.
The breakthrough came on Wednesday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo following intensive dialogue.
The initial understanding paves the way for the formation of a transitional unity government. The move also means fresh elections will be held within months. An exact date for the polls has yet to be set.
The reconciliation ends more than four years of division within the Paleostinian political landscape. Negotiations between Israel and the Paleostinian Authority have been another source of friction.
On Friday, Hamas called on the Paleostine Liberation Organization to rescind its recognition of Israel.
The division between the factions emerged in June 2007, some18 months after Hamas was democratically elected and beat Fatah in parliamentary elections in 2006.
Following some differences, Hamas took control of the Gazoo Strip.
Paleostinians here say unity is indispensable, no matter how serious the division between the factions may seem.
Analysts believe that the road to reconciliation and true unity has been laden with obstacles, while Israel and the United States haven't made things any easier.
Paleostinians have seen enough division and disagreement. In the end, it's up to the Paleostinian people to determine their destiny, and now they are sure what they want, and that is unity.
Many here believe that Paleostinian national unity and the strategic changes in the region are the best opportunities for the ultimate liberation of Paleostine.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
[Ma'an] Gazoo Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... on Friday called on the Paleostinian Liberation Organization to withdraw its recognition of Israel.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the announcement of a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah by saying the Paleostinian Authority must "choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas."
Presidential front man Nabil Abu Rudeina said Netanyahu "must choose between peace and settlements."
Speaking after the Friday prayer in Gazoo City, Haniyeh said that the PLO should not only demand that Israel chose between settlements and peace, but should also withdraw its recognition of the state.
In a surprise unity deal announced Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a transitional government ahead of elections to take place within the next year.
President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... said the interim government would not dictate policy when it came to negotiations with Israel, which would remain the mandate of the Paleostine Liberation Organization that he heads.
On Thursday, Netanyahu met with government ministers who decided to reject negotiations with a united Paleostinian government, Israeli media reported.
The Paleostinian unity deal crossed "a red line," Israel's settler Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday, warning that an array of measures could be taken against the Paleostinian Authority.
Haniyeh said the unity deal would meet Paleostinian peoples' aspirations, and reflected the will of the people. He said obstacles to unity placed by Israeli "would be overcome."
The reconciliation deal followed youth protests across the West Bank and in the Gazoo Strip demanding an end to the national division. Since March 15, protesters demanding Paleostinian unity have taken to the streets, camped out in public squares, and held hunger strikes.
Tensions between Fatah and Hamas date back to the start of limited Paleostinian self-rule in the early 1990s. They worsened dramatically in 2007 when Hamas forces ousted Fatah from the Gazoo Strip after a week of deadly festivities, cleaving the Paleostinian territories into hostile rival camps.
The disunity of the Paleostinians has prevented them from taking a common stance in peace talks with Israel, which are now off the table.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
For many years we (in Israel) have been remindedby the Israeli left wingers how valuable the peace agreement with Egypt was. It has now fully collapsed in two weeks. I expect severe problems with the Egyptians in the near future as the peace treaty disintegrates.
This should be a very vasluable lesson to anyone who believes a "peace agreement" with the Paleostinians will be worth the paper it's written upon.
Making any concessions to the Treacherous Paleos will only weaken Israel and is an act of sheer stupidity and wishful thinking.
The entrenched paleostinian habbit is to bite the hand that feeds them.
"New middle east" is indeed looming in our future, only it is not the utopia-like kind envisioned by the self-deluded Shimon Peres.
Personally, I hope we have enough nukes stashed away for the coming rainy days. I also hope we have the guts to use them in the critical moment.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
04/30/2011 10:46 Comments ||
Top||
I wonder if they have seen the writing on the wall?
Hamas' Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal and other senior Hamas officials are planning to relocate from Syria to the Arab emirate city of Qatar, Army Radio reported on Saturday. Quoting London-based Arab daily Al-Hayat, Army Radio reported that Qatar had agreed to host the leaders after Egypt and Jordan denied the request, but refused to host the party's military leaders.
Could there actually be a neutral personality in Lebanon?
[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Najib Miqati have reportedly reached a tacit agreement for the head of state to drop his demand for the interior ministry portfolio as part of his share in the new cabinet.
An Nahar daily said Friday that Miqati visited Baabda palace the day before to discuss with Suleiman the government deadlock that mainly rose because of the bickering between the president and Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... over the portfolio.
Agreement has been reached for Suleiman to give up his demand for the portfolio, which was part of his share in caretaker Premier Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. 's cabinet, the newspaper reported.
However, The over-used However... it said it was not clear whether the ministry would be headed by a politician or a neutral personality.
But former minister Mario Aoun, who is an FPM official, told Voice of Leb radio station (93.3) on Friday that giving the interior ministry portfolio to any neutral personality won't solve the cabinet deadlock, hinting that an FPM politician should lead the ministry.
He said that if An Nahar's report about Suleiman's decision was true, only minor obstacles would remain.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily... consultations among involved officials continued to end the government impasse. The aides of the speaker and the Hizbullah leader respectively MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hussein Khalil visited Suleiman on Friday to discuss the cabinet crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[Iran Press TV] Senior Iranian holy man Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami warns of enemy plots to disturb the country's calm by spreading rumors about discord in the country.
"The foreign-based and isolated enemies of the nation, in their interviews constantly seek to suggest there is a rift in the country," Ayatollah Khatami told crowds of worshipers in Tehran on Friday, IRNA reported.
The holy man cautioned against an enemy plot to show the atmosphere in Iran as tensional, calling on Iranian officials "not to play in their court" and "not to fill their puzzle squares."
Ayatollah Khatami ruled out a "dual government" in Iran, and emphasized that the only rule in the country is that of the constitution which above all contains Islamic Jurisprudence.
The capital's interim Friday Prayers leader noted that the Medes and the Persians has learned to assess the righteousness of parties and politicians based on the enemy's response.
"I tell the foreigners that whatever figure or movement you support will be recognized as deviatory by the people [of Iran], and this will be to that [figure or movement's] disadvantage," he added.
Addressing the developments in the region, the holy man blamed the United States for the unrelenting violence in Arab countries where people are demanding the end of the rule of their dictators.
He accused NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... forces of engaging in "a war of attrition" in Libya in a bid to win control of the oil-rich country in the long run.
Ayatollah Khatami pointed to the US intervention in Yemen, and blamed the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council for siding with "dictators and executioners" and functioning as "the arm of the US" in the region.
He lashed out at the "deadly silence" from the international community.
"You the United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... , are you not an organization of nations? ... Why are you as silent as death? You the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , are these not Arabs? Why aren't you supporting them? You the Organization of Islamic Conference, why have you been hit by this plague of indifference? Why aren't Mohammedan scholars crying out [in protest]?" he questioned.
Ayatollah Khatami warned the ruling royal families in Soddy Arabia and Bahrain to stop their violent crackdowns on popular demonstrations and anti-regime protesters.
"I warn Al Khalifa and Al Saud that every crime you commit takes you a step closer to elimination," he said
"People in the future will remember the Al Khalifa [regime] as war criminals and the Al Saud regime as traitors standing by Israel in the 22- and 33-day wars," he added, referring to the wars Israel waged respectively on Leb in 2006 and the Gazoo Strip in Dcember2008-January 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"The foreign-based and isolated enemies of the nation"...seem to worry our esteemed friend. And he admits to some discussion about a "dual-government" as if that potentiality might exist. Well, he brought the subject up, I was just standing here watching him fiddling with his turban. I wonder what he could possibly be talking about, dont you?
And he speaks of "Islamic Jurisprudence" which, I think has something to do with if you shake it more than three times you might be playing with it. Which is an old Moslem custom and requires a law to govern any excessives (as it were).
I particularly like the use of the word "deviatory". Its in the text somewhere near the Iranian Constitution and the personality traits of the Medes and the Persians. It usually occurs in reference to foreigners like the evil (ONE) the United States, (TWO) NATO, and (THREE) any Moslem country which has a problem with Dictators.
The Holy Man also accused NATO and the violent United Statesforces of engaging in "a war of attrition" in Libya in a bid to win control of the oil-rich country in the long run. Personally, I have no problem with that myself, but we should be sensitive to the Iranian Moslem point of view which seems to think we might be doing what is in our own best interests in Libya.....to drag it all out as long as possible and wait for the next news brief on Syria strangling on its own breakfast. Neither Assad nor Khadaffy sure are going to get their developing abortions back in the closet anytime soon.I personally dont think they either one of them has a prayer.
Meanwhile the whole world munches donuts and watches the Telly with their feet up while our Holy Man lashes out at the "deadly silence" from the international community. It is apparent that the majority of humanity could care less what happens to Iran, especially when they are doing it largely to themselves. Its kind of interesting watching Moslems shove can openers up their nose.
And as a Closer, this Holy Man brings up how fast Israel is in waging a war and how the Moslems always seem to lose in Oopsy time.
As to what people of "the Future" will remember...that depends on WHO writes the History books.
BUT if you see the street signs in Hebrew you know Islam has had some big problems somewhere on THAT highway.
Posted by: de Medici3489 ||
04/30/2011 8:42 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Theholy man cautioned against an enemy plot to show the atmosphere in Iran as tensional, calling on Iranian officials "not to play in their court" and "not to fill their puzzle squares."
he also said: Don't get caught in a half-court defense or give up the fast-breaks and turnovers. Don't ice the puck. Play smallball with their heavy hitters, and finally 'give us 110% and play it one game at a time'", quoting Ayatollah Crash Davis
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/30/2011 15:18 Comments ||
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#3
And just 'cause it's fun: http://weaselzippers.us/2011/04/30/power-struggle-in-iran-has-ahmadinejad-playing-hooky-from-work/
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The al-Qaeda terror network is among the suspects in connection with a 
Jimmy Carter
Michel Aoun
