GPL… MITTLERE OSTEN-UPDATES VON. 21. MAI…. NR. 113

REGIERUNG MINISTER: ISRAEL VERMITTELT MIT HAMAS: durch Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Israel hält direkte Vermittlungen mit Hamas, trotz einer Regierung Politik, die solche Gespräche, Vizepremierminister Chaim Ramon besagtes Montag, den 19. Mai verbietet. Ramon ausgedrückte Frustration an den Kontakten der Regierung mit Hamas und gesagt hoffte er, daß die Entscheidung, zum des Terroristwesens zu beseitigen bald getroffen würde. Opposition Likud Führer, den Netanyahu fünf zitierte, folgerte, daß Herr Olmert step-down, einschließlich Ausfälle im zweiten der Libanon Krieg, fortwährende Rakete Angriffe auf Israel, Ausfälle in der Wirtschaft und in der Ausbildung und einen Mangel an Glauben durch die öffentlichkeit in den Regierung Anstalten sollte. Er addierte, daß einige fortwährende kriminelle Prüfspitzen gegen den Premierminister zusätzliche Gründe sind, damit Olmert abfindet. Netanyahu ersuchte auch um die Shas Partei, die Regierung zu lassen.

SOLDAT-TÖTUNG-SELBSTMORD-BOMBER AM SAMARIA PRÜFPUNKT: durch Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Alarm-IDF Soldaten an einem Samaria Prüfpunkt auf Montag Nacht 19. Mai schossen und töteten einen 20 Einjahresarabischen Mann, der Explosivstoffe zu seinem Körper gurten ließ. Neunzehn-Jahr-altes physisches Michal Ya' wird akov das Anheben der Ausgangswarnung gutgeschrieben. Um ungefähr 8:00 P.M., bestellte sie den palästinensischen Berechtigung Bewohner, durch den Metalldetektor am Prüfpunkt zu überschreiten, das einen Signalton klang, der signalisiert, daß eine weitere Suche notwendig war. Sie bat ihn, sein Hemd anzuheben und setzte einige explosive Vorrichtungen aus, die seinem Körper in einer Bombe Weste gegurtet wurden. Der Mann lehnte Aufträge ab, um unten zu liegen und fing an, seine Arme, anscheinend zum Satz weg von den Bomben zu senken. Ein Kommandant am Prüfpunkt dann schoß und tötete den Terroristen, bevor er alle weiteren Maßnahmen ergreifen könnte.

TERROR-ZELLEN TOD UND ÄLTERER ISLAMISCHER JIHAD TERRORIST GEFANGENGENOMMEN:
In anderen counterterrorist Fällen führten Luftwaffe Flächen einen Luftschlag auf einer Gaza Terrorzelle durch, die für das Schießen der Raketen bei Sderot, der IDF berichtete Dienstag Morgen 20. Mai verantwortlich ist. Der Schlag fand in Beit Lahiya Nordgazas fast statt, sofort nachdem zwei Raketen durch die Zelle in das WestNegev abgefeuert wurden. bestätigten die IDF und PA Quellen, daß ein Terrorist getötet wurde und zwei verletzt waren. Es wurde für Publikation Montag Nacht 19. Mai, die diese Sicherheit Kräfte freigegeben, die mit einen, älteren islamischen Jihad Terroristen in Jenin zu begreifen gefolgt wurden. Der gemeinsame Betrieb der allgemeinen Sicherheit Dienstleistungen (Shabak) und eine Auslese IDF Maßeinheit fingen Omar Saleh Abu-Alon, der in viele Schießen miteinbezogen worden ist und das Bombardieren auf Israelis in Angriff nimmt.

JERUSALEM-AREA ARABS ACCUSED OF SELLING WEAPONS TO THE PA: by Hana Levi Julian
The Jerusalem District Police have cleared for publication the news that a group of Jerusalem-area Arabs have been arrested on charges of trading and selling weapons to Palestinian Authority residents of Judea and Samaria. The 13 suspects, who are residents of Shuafat, were arrested in a joint sting operation by the Israel Police and Border Police over the past several weeks. Each confessed to the charges against him.

SYRIAN MILITARY DELEGATION ARRIVES IN MOSCOW:
Syrian military officials arrived in Moscow on Monday May 19 to discuss bilateral military and technical cooperation, said Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, a Russian Air Force spokesman. Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that Moscow and Damascus had agreed on deliveries of the latest Russian MiG-29SMT fighter. Syria also bought 36 Pantsir S1E air-defense systems from Russia, and hopes to receive Strelets short-range air defense systems, Iskander tactical missile systems, Yak-130 aircraft, and two Amur-1650 submarines.

US SILENCE ON LEBANON SHOWS ISRAELIS CAN ONLY COUNT OF THEMNSELVES:- Nahum Barnea
Should Israel need to defend itself, President Bush told the Knesset last week, 300 million Americans will stand by the seven million Israelis. Yet when, with almost no resistance, Lebanon fell into Hizbullah’s hands, great, powerful America, which attached huge importance to Lebanon’s independence and boasted of Syria’s removal from there as its only Mideastern achievement, stood silent on the sidelines. In a different era, the Americans would send the Sixth Fleet to Beirut or bomb Hizbullah strongholds from the sea. But not now. America is tired and torn on the inside. It can only provide its protectorates in the Middle East with words. The lesson is simple, and dates back to the establishment of the state: We cannot count on anyone but ourselves. The 300 million Americans will only stand by us if we do the job ourselves. (Ynet News)

ISRAEL, SYRIA BOTH CONFIRM ‘INDIRECT TALKS’ OVER GOLAN:
But Olmert denies Syrian claim full withdrawal already promised
Even with Palestinian peace talks sputtering and the distraction of serious new bribery charges against him, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed on Wednesday May 21 he is pursuing “indirect talks” with Syria about a return of the Golan. 75 % of Israelis oppose withdrawal from the Golan.

WHITE HOUSE DENIES REPORT THAT BUSH PLANS TO ATTACK IRAN:
Army Radio claims Bush Administration split on whether to strike
The White House on Tuesday May 20, flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term in office.

BUSH PLEDGED FUNDING FOR ARROW 3:
US ‘committed’ to helping Israel maintain military edge
US President George W. Bush promised Israeli officials during his 3-day visit in May, that he would provide funding for Israel’s Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense program as part of America’s commitment to help the nation maintain its qualitative military edge against any array of foes in the region.

IAF TARGETS KASSAM CELLS IN GAZA, 5 DEAD:
Three Israeli air strikes and a raid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday May 20 killed three Hamas militants and two Palestinian civilians who apparently were assisting in rocket launching.

PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBER SHOT DEAD AT HAWARRA CHECKPOINT:
The IDF killed a 20-year-old Palestinian terrorist south of Nablus at the Hawara checkpoint on Monday night May 19. The terrorist acted suspicious as he approached the checkpoint and metal detectors went off several times while he was being searched. The IDF said the soldiers repeatedly ordered the Palestinian to be still, but the terrorist slowly moved his hands to grab an explosive belt. IDF soldiers immediately responded with gun fire, killing the would-be bomber.

50,000 ARABS LEFT GAZA: MANY MORE ON THE WAY: by Hillel Fendel
PA prime minister Salam Fayyad has confirmed that 50,000 Arabs have left Gaza since Hamas took over. He said many times that amount would like to go if they could. Speaking on Tuesday May 20 at a conference in Bethlehem designed to attract investors to the PA-controlled areas, Fayyad said that “hundreds of thousands” of Arabs are seeking ways to follow the 50,000 who have already left.

TOURISM TO ISRAL CONTINUES TO CLIMB: by Hillel Fendel
The Ministry of Tourism reports that 290,000 tourists visited Israel in April 2008, an amount similar to that recorded in Israel’s record-breaking tourism year, 2000. The totals for this past April were 26% over April 2006, as well as 41% more than April 2007, when tourism was still negatively affected by the Second Lebanon War eight months earlier. During the first four months of 2008, 936,000 tourists arrived in Israel - an increase of 43% from the same period in 2007, and 34% more than the same period in 2006.

US-TRAINED FATAH FORCE PROVING IMPOTENT: by Gil Ronen
The Palestinian Authority / Fatah special police force that was trained by the US to fight terrorists has turned out to be a failure. The US-backed police force has been running scared from the terrorists it was supposed to bring under control. The Jenin unit’s first mission was to clear out a section of Kabatiya, a neighborhood south of Jenin which is considered the main base for the Islamic Jihad terrorist group. About 200 policemen attempted to engage 12 members of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah’s own “Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.” Within less than 30 minutes of the start of the clashes, the elite PA police force retreated from the scene. “The security men ran away scared. They didn’t arrest anyone,” said one witness.

PA MEDIA:1948 REFUGEES DESPATCHED BY ARABS: by Ezra HaLevi
A recent report by a senior P A journalist in the PA daily Al-Ayyam documented the decision by masses of Arabs in 1948 to leave their homes in the hopes that they would return once Israel was defeated. “The Arabs who became refugees in 1948 were not expelled by Israel but left on their own to facilitate the destruction of Israel,” the senior PA journalist wrote, according to Palestinian Media Watch, which monitors the Arabic language PA media. “This plan to leave Israel was initiated by the Arab states fighting Israel, who promised the people they would be able to return to their homes in a few days once Israel was defeated.” PMW points out that the Al-Ayyam article’s conclusion that Arab states are responsible for the Arab refugee problem undercuts a backbone of Arab propaganda claiming that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Arabs in 1948

TALANSKY CONTRADICTS OLMERT’S ACCOUNT: by Ezra HaLevi and Maayana Miskin
American Jewish businessman Moshe (Morris) Talansky told investigators from the police’s anti fraud unit that he gave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert money that was not used for elections, according to Maariv. “I gave Olmert money that was not used to cover elections debts or to fund the election campaign,” Talansky reportedly said.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF HAMAS ROCKET CAPABILITIES: (Strategy Page)
Israeli intelligence officials believe Hamas currently has, in Gaza, several hundred factory-made BM-21 rockets, each with a range of 20 km. They also have 6-km.-range B-12 rockets. The locally-made Kassam II has about the same range, but the B-12 is more reliable. In 2002, Hamas began firing Kassam I rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza and into southern Israel. By 2003, there was the Kassam II, with a range of 8 km. The Kassam III has a range of 10 km. By June 2004, about 200 Kassams had been fired into southern Israel. By the end of 2005, over 400 Kassams had been fired at Israeli targets. In the next six months, another 600 rockets were fired. About a thousand Kassams were fired into Israel during 2006. This doubled, to two thousand in 2007, and during the first four months of 2008, another 2,000 were fired. For every 30-40 Kassams fired, an Israeli is killed or wounded. Hamas has hopes that someday soon they will attack in conjunction with Hizbullah firing rockets into northern Israel, and Iran firing rockets into Tel Aviv.

GAZA BORDER CROSSINGS UNDER ASSAULT:
Two main border crossings between Israel and Gaza came under Palestinian assault on Thursday May 22 as a truck bomb exploded at the Erez checkpoint while hundreds of Palestinians, some carrying arms, tried to rush the Karni crossing further south. The Gaza side of the civilian crossing received most of the impact from the truck bomb. The IDF said that hundreds of people had gathered at the Karni crossing, some carrying light weapons and anti-tank missiles. Militants opened fire and hurled rocks at IDF troops stationed nearby. The soldiers returned the fire, leading to the Palestinian casualties.

FRENCH COURT BACKS CLAIM THAT AL-DURA KILLING WAS STAGED! - Brian Rohan
A French appeals court on Wednesday May 21, ruled in favor of media critic Philippe Karsenty, who called into question the veracity of a report by France 2 television about the killing of a Palestinian boy in 2000. Karsenty, head of an online media commentary site, had appealed a 2006 decision which found libelous his statement that the station’s Israel correspondent had orchestrated images which later became a symbol for Palestinian militants. Karsenty presented judges with evidence which he said proved 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura’s death had been staged. (Reuters)

DEMAND FOR HOMES INGAZA-VICINITY COMMUNIT IES AT ALL TIME HIGH: Oded Felot,
122 families have chose to move to the “Kassam communities” over the past 12 months, while only a handful of families have decided to leave the region. Felot explained: “Deep in their hearts, people believe that one day this (rocket attacks) will end.” (Ynet News)

SYRIA: ‘ISRAEL MUST FULLY WITHDRAW FROM THE GOLAN’:
Olmert aides returning to Turkey for more talks
In an interview published on Thursday May 22 by London’s Al Hayat, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem made clear that yesterday’s dramatic joint announcement of the revival of the Israeli-Syrian peace track under Turkish mediation is predicated on Israel first committing to a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
This is not a precondition, it’s Syria’s right,” insisted Moallem. A large majority of 70 percent of the Israeli public answered “no” when asked if Israel should give Syria the Golan Heights in return for promises of peace, a poll carried out for Channel 2 TV

LEBANESE FACTIONS REACH ‘IMPERFECT’ ACCORD RESOLVING THE CRISIS:
Hizbullah wins 18-month bid to secure veto power over government
In a surprise breakthrough in Qatar on Wednesday May 21, feuding Lebanese factions reached an agreement that could resolve the nation’s 18-month political crisis, but at the cost of giving Hizbullah its long sought-after veto power over any future government decisions.

IRANIAN CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON “ISRAEL’S END” by Ezra HaLevi
An Iranian university is holding an international conference on the liquidation of the Jewish state, according to Iran’s state run news service, on May 26th, 2008,” the government-run IRNA News Agency reported. “The timing of the conference is adjusted to coincide with the sad 60th anniversary of Palestine’s occupation by the Zionists,” organizers told IRNA. The organizers said guests of the conference will include “intellectuals and university professors from Egypt, Venezuela, Morocco, Lebanon, Indonesia, the United States, Pakistan, Argentina, India, Iraq, Syria, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, France, Tunisia, and a number of other countries.” The conference literature states that the conference will deal with supporting the various PA Arab terrorist organizations and issues surrounding the “upcoming downfall” of Israel. !!!!

ABBAS INSISTS ‘EAST JERUSALEM MUST BE RETURNED’ :
During the opening of a three-day Palestine investment conference in Bethlehem on Wednesday May 21, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas insisted that east Jerusalem is Palestinian territory and must be returned by Israel. “East Jerusalem is ours and it’s an occupied territory… It must be returned,” said Abbas. Over 1000 politicians and businessmen are attending, including from the US, the EU and Israel.

US AID TO PALESTINIANS TO TOTAL $550 MILLION: (Reuters)
The U.S. government will provide $550 million in direct financial support to the Palestinian territories in 2008, Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said Wednesday May 21 in Bethlehem.

SIX PALESTINIANS DEAD IN GAZA CLASHES:
IDF forces operating inside the Gaza Strip on Friday May 23 engaged in heavy battles with several Palestinian terror cells, leaving at least five Arab militiamen dead. Israeli troops killed three Hamas gunmen in an early morning raid east of Rafah in southern Gaza. Two Islamic Jihad terrorists were also killed by Israeli soldiers in a separate clash in central Gaza. An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers fired at the gunmen as they tried to plant a bomb near the border fence with Israel. Meanwhile on Thursday, IDF armored troops carrying out an operation in northern Gaza discovered an anti-tank missile with a launcher in the courtyard of a school near Gaza City. The troops also killed a Palestinian militant in the operation. Also yesterday, the IDF targeted gunmen planting a bomb near the Gaza border.

ISRAEL ASKS PENTAGON TO APPROVE F-35 PURCHASE:
The Pentagon has received an official request from Israel’s Defense Ministry to buy 25 F-35 fighter jets at a cost of $70-80 million each. Lockheed Martin produces the advanced fighter and the Defense Ministry is interested in at least 50 additional planes

KILLER OF IDO ZOLDAN APPREHENDED: by Ezra HaLevi and Hana Levi Julian
The final member of the terror cell that murdered 29-year-old Ido Zoldan near the Palestinian Authority village of al-Punduk, near Kedumim last November, was caught in a joint undercover operation by IDF and Shabak (General Security Service) forces Wednesday night May 21. Zoldan was shot four times as he drove by the village on his way home at night

HAMAS & HIZBULLAH RECRUITING IN ICREASINGLY ISLAMIST TURKEY: by Ezra HaLevi
Turkey, a vacation destination for many Israelis and the home of newly launched talks with Syria, is experiencing an upsurge in Islamist programs targeting Israel for destruction. According to Turkish web site Velfecr.com, radical Turkish Islamists have been organizing nightly programs in cities across Turkey under the slogan, “A free Al-Quds [the Muslim term for Jerusalem], A world without Israel.” The halls are decked out with photos of Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah and former Hamas Chief Ahmed Yassin. PLO flags are draped over the speaker’s podium.

MORE MORTARS ON ISRAEL:
At least 18 mortar shells were fired by Gaza terrorists on Friday and Saturday, including two aimed at the security barrier and 16 others fired at IDF troops. No soldiers were injured, and they returned fire.