Middle East Update

In a speech to thousands of cheering supporters, the leader of Hezbollah vowed Friday September 22, the militants never will give up their arms, as called for in the U.N. resolution that ended its 34-day war with Israel last month.

A top militant has been arrested in Iraq, a government spokesman said Saturday September 23 , even as police said a car bomb killed 28 people in Baghdad’s Sadr City district.

FM chides UN for simplistic image of conflict
In an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday September 21, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged world leaders to take action against the “dark and growing danger” posed by Tehran.

Hamas rejects Abbas promise to recognize Israel
Hamas will not join a Palestinian unity government if recognition of Israel is a condition, a close aide to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Friday September 22. The comment appeared to contradict Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ statement to the United Nations from the day before.

Gunbattle forces border terminal to closeTwo Palestinian policemen were wounded on Friday September 22 when unidentified gunmen exploded a small bomb near Palestinian police guarding European Union monitors at the Egypt-Gaza border crossing of Rafah, Palestinian officials told the Associated Press. The incident came just moments after the crossing opened for the first time in [...]

Jerusalem Post Editorial
The UN’s silence in the face of Iran’s open calls for Israel’s destruction is an abdication not only of its responsibility to enforce its own calls for peace with Israel, but a mockery of its own charter and the Genocide Convention.

Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, proposed Tuesday September 19 that his country pursue nuclear energy. Political analysts suggest that raising the topic of Egypt’s nuclear ambitions at a time of heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear activity is a calculated effort to raise the younger Mubarak’s profile and to build public [...]

The UK Telegraph reports that while Israeli soldiers may be pulling out of Lebanon, they aren’t going quietly. On Wednesday September 20, IDF sappers blew up a network of Hizb’Allah tunnels on the Lebanese side of The border.

IDF forces killed 4 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning September 21, who were retrieving a rocket launcher that had used earlier in the day to fire 2 Kassam rockets at Sderot.

Violence killed nearly 6,600 Iraqi civilians during July and August, while more than 8,000 were wounded, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq.