Middle East Update

GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . SEPT 29 NO … 136

U.S.: IDF CAN’T MAN NEGEV RADAR SYSTEM:
An IDF request to permit Israeli soldiers to control the new high-powered radar that the US has deployed in the Negev has been declined, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday September 28. The high-powered radar, known as FBX-T, will be hooked up to the US military’s Joint Tactical Ground Station and, assisted by satellites, will be capable of picking up a ballistic missile shortly after launch at which point it can estimate the time and location of its impact. According to the current plan, American soldiers will control the radar, which will be connected to the Israeli Air Force’s Arrow control room in Palmahim. The Arrow’s current radar, known as Green Pine, can pick up incoming missiles at a range of 800 to 960 km. The new system has a range of around 1,900 km., giving Israel vital minutes to respond by launching interceptors.

OLMERT OFFERED PRE-67 LAND : by Ze’ev Ben-Yechiel
Olmert nearly signed a final agreement in which whole blocks of Jewish settlements inside the pre-1967 borders would be surrendered to the Arabs in exchange for Jewish areas in Judea and Samaria, IDF Army Radio reported. The report said that the deal foundered over disagreements over the status of Jerusalem and the so-called “right of return” of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 and 1967..

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GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . SEPT 23 NO … 135

PROBE INTO9 KADIMA PRIMARY : by Ze’ev Ben-Yechiel
Responding to complaints of “irregularities” in Wednesday’s Kadima party primary, workers from the office of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss will meet with several Kadima members and activists to decide whether to launch an official probe into the election. Kadima MKs Ze’ev Elkin and Ronit Tirosh are among the supporters of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz’s bid for the leadership of the ruling party, and they represent a growing faction within Kadima that believes that Tzipi Livni’s victory at the polls was fraudulent. “At this point, we have not found a reason to disqualify any voting station except for Rahat,” said Dan Arbel, Electoral Committee, admitting to the disqualification of that station, which, along with the 430 ballots cast in Rahat, narrows Livni’s victory margin from 431 votes to a single vote.

OLMERT QUITS BUT REMAINS PRIME MINISTER :
Prme Minister Ehud Olmert now is officially a lame duck head of government after he resigned Sunday night September 21. He remains in power until newly-elected Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni forms a coalition or is forced to go to the polls. His legal position has changed in that he cannot be suspended from office, but he still can fire Cabinet ministers.

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GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . SEPT 18 NO … 134

TERRORIST STABS IDF SOLDIER NEAR THE DEAD SEA :
A Palestinian terrorist stabbed an IDF soldier on Monday afternoon September 15, at a junction near Jericho, just north of the Dead Sea. The soldier was light-to-moderately wounded in the back. The terrorist managed to steal the soldier’s firearm and escaped into the bathroom of a nearby gas station. A security team then located the terrorist, overpowered him, and retrieved the weapon.

OLMERT OFFERS ABBAS 98.1 % OF WEST BANK :
Details of negotiation leak before summit
Israel TV Channel 2 reported on Sunday September 14, that outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered Palestinain Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas some 98.1% of the West Bank for a future Palestinian state in their secret negotiating track. That of course would have to be ratified by the Knesset!

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GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . SEPT 9 NO … 133

RUSSIA PREPARING TO LAUNCH IRAN’S BUSHEHR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT :
The Russian state-run company building Iran’s first nuclear plant at Bushehr said on Monday September 1, that preparations for the reactor’s launch had entered their final stage. Atomic export chief Leonid Reznikov said that by year’s end the company will take steps that will make the launch of the Bushehr plant “irreversible,” likely meaning that fuel rods will be inserted in the reactor core. Iran is paying Russia more than $1 billion to build the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor.

NASRALLAH NO LONGER TOP COMMANDER OF HIZBULLAH :
Iran asserts greater control over proxy militia
Senior Israeli defense officials have assessed that Iran is tightening its control over Hizbullah, wresting control over the terror militia’s ranks from top Hizbullah cleric, sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

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GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . SEPT 3 NO 132

DUTCH SUSPEND INTEL OPERATION IN IRAN FEARING IMMINENT US ATTACK :
According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Monday August 1, Holland has suspended a covert military operation to sabotage Iran’s weapons industry after assessing that Washington intends to strike Iran in upcoming weeks. The Netherlands recalled its agent secretly working in an area it now suspects the US will target in air strikes soon using unmanned aircraft.

OLMERT PUSHING TO SIGN SUMMARY DOCUMENT WITH PA :
Cabinet ministers lash out at strategy; Abbas also rejects it
The Israeli media is buzzing with reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has accelerated his efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians before leaving office after the Kadima primary later this month, even trying to come to terms with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the thorny issue of Jerusalem.

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GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . AUG 28 NO 131
IRANIAN GENERAL CLAIMS ISRAEL TOO AFRAID TO ATTACK:
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on Wednesday August 27, that Israel would not dare launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear program for fear of the Islamic Republic’s missile arsenal and its proxy militias in the region. “In the event of an attack against Iran, the Israelis know that with the capabilities that the Islamic world and the Shiite world have in the region, they will suffer deadly strikes.”

IAF PURCHASES QUICK FIX FOR BOMBED-OUT RUNWAYS :
According to Israeli defense officials on Tuesday August 26, the Israeli Air Force has bought a special material that can be placed on bombed runaways so fighter jets can quickly depart without delay. The IAF has relied on asphalt companies to repair runways until now, but the new material will help air bases continue takeoffs within minutes. The F-15I fighter jets have also been equipped with a superior avionics program that allows pilots to launch many smart bombs at the same time.

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The West Talks to Syria - Graham Bacon

During most of 2008 attempts have been made to establish better relationships with Syria, firstly by Israel using Turkey as intermediary, and then by France through a state visit to France by Syria’s president and his wife. Israel is interested in preventing a Syrian takeover of Lebanon and restricting Hizb’Allah activities in southwest Syria which threaten Israel. Syria hopes to regain the Golan Heights.

France is interested in bringing some influence to bear on Iran and its nuclear developments through Syria’s close connections with Iran. Syria is a popular diplomatic destination that the west is hoping to make a halfway house.

Syria’s orientation has always been Islamic by religion, pro-Russian militarily, anti-Israel and anti-western in world affairs. The Bible shows that this will only change, as it will, by catastrophic events after the return of Jesus Christ. The present diplomatic niceties are only in pursuit of short term self-interested aims by the west, by Syria and by Israel.

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GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM . AUG 22 NO 130

PERES CELEBRATES 85 TH BIRTHDAY WITH VISIT TO THE NEGEV :
Israeli President Shimon Peres celebrated his 85th birthday on Thursday August 21, with a solidarity visit to the Negev town of Dimona, in keeping with his lifelong efforts to spur development in the sparsely-populated desert region. Peres was warmly greeted by well-wishers and serenaded by several musical groups during his 10-hour tour of the development town, which also houses Israel’s main nuclear reactor.

MEDVEDEV ASSURES OLMERT OF CLOSE TIES WHILE HOSTING ASSAD :
Syria confident Moscow will provide new weapons
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev phoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday August 20, to assure that his nation’s ties with Israel remained steady despite recent tensions created by the IDF’s training and equipping of the Georgian army. Yet Medvedev also welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad to his Black Sea dachau on Thursday August 21, to discuss advanced arms sales to Damascus and even an appeal to place Russian missile batteries on Syrian soil.

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GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM . AUG 17 NO 129
EIGHT STRANDED GAZA TERRORISTS USE IDF CHECKPOINT AS SAFE HAVEN : by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas has left eight Fatah-aligned Hilles clan terrorists stranded in Gaza, where they fear death at the hands of Hamas. They are remaining close to the IDF’s Erez Crossing checkpoint, at the northern edge of Gaza, where Hamas is more reluctant to fire at them and incur the danger of encountering return fire from the IDF.

THE KING OF BAHRAIN WANTS THE JEWS BACK : by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
The king of Bahrain, King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, called this week for the Jews who emigrated from the Gulf nation to return. “This king loves Jews; therefore, he asked the Jews living in Bahrain to request Jews living in Israel to return. There are two reasons for it, one is lip service or to emphasize his love to the Jews there,” Israeli immigration activist Natan Aloof commented in response to King Al-Khalifa’s invitation.

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GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM . AUG 12 NO 128

RUSSIAN INVASION OF GEORGIA HAS CAUGHT ISRAEL IN THE MIDDLE :
Jerusalem pulling our Jews, cutting off arms sales
The outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia in recent days has placed Israel in a difficult position of sympathizing with a fellow small democracy against a much larger power, but Jerusalem has decided to stay on the sidelines for now and end all arms sales to Tblisi.

PRC DEMANDS GAZA CROSSINGS BE REOPENED OR TRUCE OVER :
The Gazan branch of the Popular Resistance Committee terror alliance threatened Israel last Thursday August 7 that the ceasefire launched on June 19 between Israel and Hamas could end within three weeks if no advancements are made on the issues of opening the Gaza border crossings and the release of Palestinian prisoners. “The Zionist occupation (Israel) has not yet agreed to the demand to release our prisoners so our fighters are preparing for the next round in which we will try to abduct more Israeli soldiers to swap them for our hero prisoners,”

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