GPL M/ EAST UPDATES FROM . NOV 1.. NO …141

OLDEST HEBREW TEXT DISCOVERED : by Gil Ronen
Archaeologists have discovered what they say is the oldest Hebrew text ever found, at a site they believe was King David’s front line fortress in the war against the people of Pleshet, also known as the Philistines. The site overlooks the Elah Valley, where the young David slew Goliath, the Philistine giant, with a well-aimed shot from a sling. The text is written in ink on a pottery shard. It is made up of five lines of text in Proto-Canaanite characters separated by lines. The discovery, by archaeologists Prof. Yossi Garfinkel and Sa’ar Ganor of Hebrew

EGYPT : EIGHT MISSILES FOUND IN SINAI by Maayana Miskin
Egyptian officials quoted in daily newspaper Maariv said Thursday that Egyptian security forces had found eight ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The missiles were intended to be smuggled into Gaza, they said. Egyptian security forces uncovered a similar weapons cache last month, the officials said. That cache was found in central Sinai and included anti-tank missiles and grenades. Forces have found a total of 171 mortar shells, 212 anti-tank missiles and 29 explosives in special operations targeting Gaza-bound weapons and drugs in recent weeks

TERRORISTS FIRE MISSILES FROM THE GAZA STRIP : by Maayana Miskin
Terrorists in Gaza fired two anti-tank missiles at IDF soldiers on Friday morning October 31. The attack took place near the Kissufim crossing in southern Gaza. The soldiers were unhurt in the strike, the first of its kind since Israel agreed to a ceasefire June 19. The attack took place shortly after soldiers spotted a group of terrorists attempting to plant explosives along the Gaza security barrier. Terrorists have often used missile attacks at the separation fence as a cover for planting bombs, sniper fire and other forms of attack.

OLMERT PLANS GOLAN GIVEAWAY : by Hana Levi Julian
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is willing to sweeten the deal with Syria in exchange for direct talks with Damascus. According to a diplomatic source in Jerusalem quoted late Saturday night November 1, by the Hebrew-language Ha’aretz, Olmert is considering negotiations over the borders of the Golan Heights in exchange for face-to-face talks with Syrian officials. The news comes along with information that Olmert is planning to set a date for a fifth round of indirect talks with Damascus, to be brokered by Turkey, as were the prior four sets of negotiations.

LIKUD WELCOMES BENNY BEGIN : by Hillel Fendel
Dr. Benny Begin, son of well known one time PM of Israel Menachem Bacon, announced on Sunday November 2, that he will leave his job as head of the Geological Institute and will vie for a spot in the Likud’s list of Knesset candidates for the upcoming elections. Begin is known for three blatant characteristics: a political outlook promoting Jewish sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, a liberal social outlook, and impeccable character.

RAFAIAH TUNNELS ENRICH HAMAS : by YIshai Fleisher
The Rafiah tunnel system between Gaza and Egypt are known to facilitate the weapons influx into Gaza. But that is not the only thing they are used for: two recent articles in the British papers ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Independent’ detail the economic upswing that has come about through import of other goods through these tunnels, as well as the consequent stabilization of Hamas’ regime. Gas and oil contraband has skyrocketed and has reached an influx of 15,000 liters of diesel a day. Some of the tunnels have had pipes installed which transfer Egyptian fuel for cars and for cooking, with prices for these products dropping significantly. Cash continues to flow in as well as large amounts of food. As a result of the tunnel work, and in contradiction to Hamas propaganda, not only is there no lack of food in Gaza, there is actually a surplus of some food products.

ABBAS AND LIVNI CONCEDE ‘NO PEACE ACCORD BY YEAR’S END’ :
For the first time, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas publicly announced that US President George W. Bush’s goal of a Middle East peace agreement by the end of his term will not be achieveable.

BRITISH PM EXPECTS SAUDI FINANCIAL HELP FOR IMF : - Jane Wardell (AP)
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday November 2, he is confident that Saudi Arabia will contribute to the International Monetary Fund’s bailout reserves, after he promised business leaders in the Gulf that they would have a say in any future new world economic order.

PENTAGON : IRAN WILL SOON BE ABLE TO ATTACK EUROPE : - Michael van der Galien
Speaking in the Czech Republic, Pentagon official Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III told the country’s Parliament that it would not take long before Iran will be able to strike against every single European country. The U.S. too would be within reach of Iranian missiles in five to six years, Obering said. French intelligence officials believe that Iran will be able to build its first nuclear bomb in the summer of 2009. That means that one year from now, Iran will be able to destroy an entire European city by just one strike. Not only would this put Europe and later the U.S. at risk, it would also dramatically alter the balance in the region. (PoliGazette-Netherlands)

PALESTINIANS DENOUNCE BALFOUR DECLARATION : DEMAND BRITISH APOLOGY :
Several Palestinian resistance factions issued statements on Sunday Nov. 2, denouncing the 1917 Balfour Declaration in which the British official promised Palestine as a homeland for individuals of Jewish descent. Palestinians consider the declaration a major factor in the creation of the State of Israel. (Maan News-PA)

ARAB ARSONISTS ARRESTED IN AKKO : by Hana Levi Julian
Three Arab youths were arrested over the weekend and charged with torching the hesder yeshiva, Ruach Tzfonit (Spirit of the North) in Akko last week. Security sources said Sunday November 2, that the three suspects were nabbed in a joint operation by Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) forces. They added that their motives appeared nationalistic.

MAZUZ OKAYS SYRIAN TALKS : by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ruled Sunday November 2, that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert can hold a fifth round of Turkish-mediated talks with Syria even though he is head of a transitional government.

UK TAKES ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS WITH IMPORT TARIFFS :
Tells EU to place higher levy on Jewish imports from West Bank
Britain is asking the European Union to enforce stricter rules on Jewish-made imports from the West Bank in an effort to exert economic pressure on Israel to halt settlement building in the territories.

HAMAS BOMBMAKER DEIF RESURFACES TO THREATEN ISRAEL :
In a fresh sign of possible renewed violence along the Israel-Gaza border, the secretive head of Hamas’s military wing Mohammad Deif made a rare public statement on Tuesday November 4, in vowing to “continue to strike at the Zionist enemy.”

HAMAS INVITED TO E.U . HEADQUARTERS :
A European parliamentary delegation on Monday November 3 invited Hamas lawmakers to visit the European Union headquarters. The invitation would seem to violate an EU boycott of Hamas and is seen as largely symbolic.

ISRAEL WARNS UN OF A SECOND HOLOCAUST :
Speaking to the UN on Monday November 3, Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev demanded that the world governing body bring an end to Iran’s genocidal threats against the Jewish state. She went on to point out that the Nazi Holocaust was started by the Nazi leadership’s inflammatory rhetoric, the same type of rhetoric that is emanating from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders today.

SHARIA LAW COULD CREEP INTO U.S. VIA FINANCIAL CRISIS :
$700 billion bailout may open America to Islamic banking laws
During the recent US market meltdown, the US Department of Treasury was allowed by Congress to increase the national debt limit by $700 billion in order to borrow funds to bail out American financial institutions, but the majority of these loans are coming from sovereign wealth funds in oil-rich Arab countries which may want to require US financial institutions to comply with Islamic sharia banking laws.

ISRAEL AND HAMAS COMMITTED TO TRUCE DESPITE KASSAM BARRAGE :
Palestinian terror militias launched 35 Kassam rockets into Israel early Wednesday morning November 5, after IDF troops engaged Hamas gunmen inside the Gaza Strip. Two of the rockets fell in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The attacks followed Tuesday’s incursion into Gaza by Israeli troops seeking to destroy a Hamas-built tunnel that was meant to aid in future kidnappings of IDF soldiers similar to the Schalit abduction, but was collapsed by IDF troops using explosives. A large building blew up when hit indicating is had been full of explosives! The Israeli Air Force also launched air strikes against mortar shell launchers during the operation. In total, three IDF soldiers were wounded and six Hamas militants were killed in the clashes.

ISRAELI NEXT WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF :
President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly offered the plum job of White House chief-of-staff to Israeli-born US congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). Emanuel, a 48 year old Chicago resident, has strong connections to Israel, as his father is an Israeli citizen, and he speaks some Hebrew. Emanuel previously worked as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton, before a stint as a managing director at a large global investment bank.

HIZBULLAH : LARGE SWATHS OF NORTHERN ISRAEL BELONG TO LEBANON:- Yoav Stern (Ha’aretz)
A senior Hizbullah official on Monday November 3 said large swaths of northern Israel belong to Lebanon. “The Zionist terror organizations moved the border from that of 1920 to that of 1923, and Lebanon lost seven villages and twenty farms,” said Nawaf Musawi, head of international relations for Hizbullah.

NOBEL LAUREATE : NO FINANCIAL CRISIS IN ISRAEL : - Adrian Filut (Globes)
Prof. Robert Aumann, 78, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for his work on game theory economics, said: “In Israel there is no financial crisis. There are no banks collapsing here. What we have here is a psychological crisis and not an economic one. If they were to intervene here without any need to, they would only endorse the feeling of crisis, while creating a real crisis. It is good that they haven’t done so.” Aumann was critical of U.S. policies. “The intervention…to save financial institutions wasn’t smart. They are just giving incentives to the institutions to again take uncalculated risks and collapse again.”

THE SCIENTIST MAGAZINE: ISRAEL’S WEIZMANN INSTITUTE, HEBREW UNIVERSITY NAMED BEST PLACES TO WORK IN ACADEMIA : (Market Watch)
Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have been ranked number 1 and 2 by The Scientist magazine’s readers as the Best Place to Work in Academia internationally. Overall, analysis showed Australia as the best country in which to do research, with Israel as the next runner-up.

IRANIAN VOLUNTEERS RECRUITED FOR ANTI-U.S. SUICIDE OPERATIONS BY HIZBULLAH :
On Nov. 1, 2008, the Iranian website Tabnak, which is identified with Expediency Council Secretary and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai, reported that flyers have recently been circulated in Iran calling on the public, especially young people, to sign up for suicide operations to be carried out by the Lebanese Hizbullah.

EGYPT MODERNISING ypt Modernizing Army - Yaakov Lappin
Egypt’s military is gradually replacing dated Soviet equipment with superior American F-16 fighter jets, Apache combat helicopters and Abrams tanks, according to arms control expert Prof. Yiftah Shapir of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Securities Studies. Egypt has an estimated 470,000 men in its ground forces, 150,000 of them reserves, as well as 3,100 tanks, including more than 1,000 modern M1A1 Abram tanks that were assembled in Egypt. The country’s air force includes 211 advanced F-16D jets, and 35 Apaches. Egypt has advanced air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and has been supplied by the U.S. with 16 HAWK missile batteries. Egypt has 27 guided-missile frigates, 12 mine warfare vessels, and 19 gunboats. It is thought to possess 190 Scud-type missiles.

JERUSALEM: ISRAEL NOT OBAMA’S FIRST PRIORITY : - Herb Keinon (Jerusalem Post)
According to diplomatic assessments in Jerusalem, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli-Syrian talks are not expected to be on the top of the new U.S. president’s agenda. “We are not the first priority,” one senior diplomatic official said, reflecting the consensus thinking in the Foreign Ministry.

RICE HEADS TO MIDEAST FOR A FINAL PUSH: - Howard LaFranchi
Secretary of State Rice sets out Wednesday November 5, on what could be a final push for the sputtering Israeli-Palestinian peace process. This weekend, the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheik will host a summit of the foreign ministers of major powers along with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, perhaps setting markers from which a new U.S. administration could take up the peace process next year. (Christian Science Monitor)

PALESTINIAN POWER STRUGGLE SWALLOWS MILLION $$ IN AID CASH : - Donald Macintyre
Britain has warned the European Commission and the PA that it wants to prevent its humanitarian funding being swallowed by an increasingly damaging power struggle in Gaza. The Department for International Development is trying to work out how to disburse the funds earmarked in July by Gordon Brown for aid to the Palestinians without it being used merely to offset the impact of paying salaries of health and education employees on strike in Gaza.

EUROPEAN ANTI-SEMITISM RISING : by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
According to a 2008 survey released this past week by the Pew Research Center, as part of its Global Attitudes Project, hatred of Jews and general xenophobia are on the rise in Europe. Pew also noted a strong correlation between anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. Spain displayed both the highest level and the most pronounced increase in anti-Semitism, doubling since 2005 to 46 percent of adults surveyed.

BOMB TERRORIST CAPTURED :
23 year olf Mohammed Hadija, a Tanzim terrorist dedicated to planting bombs to kill Israelis, was arrested in an Arab town on November 6

RECORD NUMBER OF JEW ELECTED TO CONGRESS : - Allison Hoffman (Jerusalem Post-Ynet News)
The next Congress is expected to include 46 Jewish lawmakers - 13 Senators and 33 members of the House of Representatives.

MOSCOW INVESTS $100 (Mill) IN DEAD SEA RESORT : (Bloomberg-Jerusalem Post)
The city of Moscow will invest $100 million to build a luxury resort hotel in Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea, the Israel Tourism Ministry said Wednesday November 5. The Moscow municipality will subsidize flights and accommodation packages at the resort for city residents, the ministry said. Russia and Israel signed a visa-free travel agreement this year.

MOROCCO BANS FRENCH MAGAZINE FOR ‘INSULTING’ ISLAM : - Hassan Alaoui (AP/Washington Post)
The Moroccan government has banned an issue of the French magazine L’Express International, claiming it insults Islam in articles exploring the relationship between that religion and Christianity.

ISRAEL DENOUNCES UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL : - Edith M. Lederer
Israel accused the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday November 4, of targeting the Jewish state “in an obsessive and discriminatory fashion.” The performance of the council, which replaced the discredited UN Human Rights Commission, was the subject of debate in the General Assembly.

ISRAEL SLAMS “FLAGRANT VIOLATION” OF GAZA TRUCE : - Avi Issacharoff
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Wednesday that Israel could not put up with “flagrant violations” of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, after dozens of Kassam rockets hit Israel on Wednesday. (Ha’aretz)
An Israeli airstrike targeting a rocket launching cell in northern Gaza killed one Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant and injured four others, Palestinian sources said Wednesday. (Ynet News)

ARAB MEDIA SLAMS OBAMA : by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
English-language Arab newspapers have largely expressed hopes that President-elect Barack Obama will be supporting the Arab world, but many Arabic language newspapers mocked the victory. The English Saudi Gazette daily headline, “Gulf Arabs hail election of ‘Muslim-linked’ Obama,” and English newspaper in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also expressed optimism. However, the Beirut Daily Star took pains to note that President-elect Obama faces “an entire subculture that operates within the American political arena …widely known as the ‘Israel’ or ‘Jewish’ lobby. Arabic-language media expressed harsher views.

GAZA CROSSINGS CLOSED : by Hana Levi Julian
Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at the western Negev city of Sderot Thursday morning in a continuation of a spate of attacks on southern Israel. The missile exploded in the cemetery on the outskirts of the city. No one was injured and there were no reports of damage. The Color Red incoming missile alert system was activated in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a couple of hours later, but no explosion followed. Sources said a Kassam rocket may have landed in an open field near the city, but did not explode. At least 52 Kassam rockets and 16 mortar shells have been fired at southern Israeli civilian communities so far this week.