Middle East Update

PRC demands 1,000 security prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier
One of the Palestinian terror groups behind the capture of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June last year said on Tuesday January 2, that he is in “good health.” Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, said Shalit would be held “for [...]

According to A Shin Bet report, 38 of the 272 suicide bombings in Israel (almost 15%) were carried out by terrorists with Israeli citizenship received in the context of family reunification. The Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee met on Monday January 8 in order to discuss the extension of a temporary [...]

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called on Palestinians to lay aside their differences in the interests of achieving statehood, on Monday January 8, even as violent clashes between the Hamas and Fatah factions continued to rock Gaza and the West Bank.
Mubarak stressed that peace negotiations with Israel are critical for the establishment of a Palestinian [...]

Local and international news reported Friday January 5, that the current US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, will soon be the first Muslim US ambassador to the UN. Khalilzad, a Sunni Muslim stationed as the Iraqi ambassador since 2005, is expected to replacing outgoing UN ambassador John Bolton - in the [...]

According to new documents, the Bush administration is going to provide more that $86 million USD to strengthen those Fatah party security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in their power struggle with the Iranian-backed Hamas group. Palestinian sources said that with the added US support, Abbas’ current manpower of 3,700 fighters could [...]

THE NEW YORK TIMES hosted an analysis by Greg Myre on the state of the Israeli and Palestinian economy at the end of 2006.
With regard to Israel, he mentioned that despite the political turmoil and spasms of violence, Israel, it seems, has figured out how to keep its economy charging forward. Israel’s central bank [...]

According to the reports, Israel MAY release 450 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier, Gilad Shalit, who would be handed over to Egyptian officials and transferred to Israel. Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, was laid to rest in the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, on January 4 2007. He has been described as a giant amongst the founding fathers of Israel.
His building and restoration projects were said to have been Jerusalem’s most ambitious since the 16th-century Turkish [...]

Starting his first day of work, new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vowed Tuesday January 2, to end mistrust of the United Nations and called for action to tackle “daunting” problems from crises in the Middle East and Darfur to reducing extreme poverty by half by 2015.

Iraq has launched an investigation into who recorded and distributed images of the execution of Saddam Hussein, as well as the taunting of the former leader just prior to his death, according to a government spokesman.