Middle East Update

Thousands of Turks demonstrated in this Black Sea port city on Sunday May 20, against the Islamic-rooted government, which they fear is undermining Turkey’s secular system.

The IDF targeted five Hamas gunmen who were moving through the Gaza neighborhood of Sajaiya. Troops identified killing all five gunmen in an airstrike. One was Sameh Parawana, 28, who was involved in Kassam rocket attacks on Israel. Since the government ordered the army to intensify its response to the rocket attacks, the IDF has [...]

Jim WolfThe U.S. House of Representatives has adopted a measure aimed at weaving closer U.S. and Israeli defenses against ballistic missiles of the type that could be fired by Iran. Part of a defense spending bill passed Thursday May 17, would redirect $205 million in Defense Department funds toward projects already underway in Israel. It [...]

A cease-fire was brokered Saturday May 19, between the rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah parties — the fifth such attempt at peace this week — as rockets were fired into Israel following Israeli airstrikes overnight.

Israel launched another round of airstrikes against a militant target in Gaza early Friday, May 18 — a day after the Israeli military began targeting Hamas in retaliation for dozens of Qassam rockets fired from Gaza into Israel over the last five days, the Israel Defense Forces said. At least 11 Pals have been [...]

On Tuesday, May 15, Palestinian terrorists fired 24 missiles from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev and wounded 30 civilians. (Not including those suffering from shock and trauma)

Yesterday, May 16, Palestinian terrorists fired 26 Qassam missiles into Israel and wounded 2 civilians.
Today, May 17 missiles slammed into the Israeli towns of Sderot and Ashkelon, [...]

Matthew Kalman
Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton has joined a growing line of American mediators who have come up with intelligent and far-reaching security plans for the Palestinians, only to see their blueprints mown down in a barrage of automatic weapons fire. Dayton’s benchmarks, circulated to Israeli and Palestinian leaders last month, called for a phased easing [...]

Hundreds of gunmen loyal to the Palestinian faction Fatah streamed into Gaza Tuesday May 16, from neighboring Egypt after a Hamas attack killed eight people at a Fatah-controlled base near a key Israeli border crossing. (CBC News)

Ha’aretz reports that donations to the Palestinian Authority almost tripled last year as a result of the international boycott of the Hamas government, according to a report published this month by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Aid in 2006 totaled $900 million, up from $349 million a year earlier. [...]

Resuming peace negotiations with Syria may lead to war, Mossad (Israeli Intelligence) chief Meir Dagan recently warned a closed government meeting. According to Ynet News, Dagan believes that the current diplomatic stalemate between Israel and Syria is maintaining stability. The Mossad chief also believes that the chances Syria will launch a war against Israel are [...]