A bomber blew himself up near a crowded shopping mall in the seaside city of Netanya on Tuesday, killing himself and two others. Police said about 30 people were wounded, two seriously.

Initial reports said the bomb went off just before 7 p.m. at the entrance to the mall. However, Israel radio stations said the bomber struck at a nearby intersection.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. It was the second such bombing since a truce declaration on Feb. 8. Two weeks into the truce between Israel and the Palestinians, a bomber killed five Israelis in Tel Aviv.

Read more..

Death toll is now three.

Finding Palestinians (particularly the Jordanian variety) among al-Qaeda is nothing new, but over the last two days it seems that the network’s infrastructure in Gaza has finally organized into a distinct group according to media reports. Called Jundallah, the majority of its members consist of former Hamas and Islamic Jihad members who decided that the other groups were “too moderate” for their liking.

Jundallah, not surprisingly, denies any connections to al-Qaeda but does adopt a far more strident line with respect to carrying out attacks on US targets (Hamas usually tries to skirt this issue with a “Maybe we will, maybe we won’t” kind of approach) and refuses to accept any kind of truce or cease-fire with Israel.

To be fair, accusations about al-Qaeda activity in the Gaza Strip are nothing new - Sharon mentioned them in 2002 following the failed attack on the El Al airliner in Mombasa, Kenya, but the general consensus at the time had been that whatever infrastructure the network had in the area was pretty spread out, in large part because most Palestinian Islamists who would normally be attracted al-Qaeda tend to join Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades instead for a variety of reasons. Now that all of the major terrorist groups seem more interested in establishing and securing their own power base post-Arafat rather than attacking Israelis, al-Qaeda appears to have been able to exploit the situation by recruiting any disaffected members who happen to cross their path.

Read the Rest…

Former Soviet prisoner of conscience Natan Sharansky is currently one of the world’s most influential politicians. His book, The Case for Democracy, has had a major impact on global Mideast policy. Which makes his resignation from Ariel Sharon’s government a key event. Here, in his own words, is why he’s leaving (Hat Tip: our Cairo correspondent Tarek Heggy):

bq.. “Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign as Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Jerusalem.

As you know, I have opposed the disengagement plan from the beginning on the grounds that I believe any concessions in the peace process must be linked to democratic reforms within Palestinian society. Not only does the disengagement plan ignore such reforms, it will in fact weaken the prospects for building a free Palestinian society and at the same time strengthen the forces of terror.

Will our departure from Gaza encourage building a society where freedom of speech is protected, where independent courts protect individual rights, and where free markets enable Palestinians to build an independent economic life beyond government control? Will our departure from Gaza end incitement in the Palestinian media or hate- filled indoctrination in Palestinian schools? Will our departure from Gaza result in the dismantling of terror groups or the dismantling of the refugee camps in which four generations of Palestinians have lived in miserable conditions?

Read the Rest (plus our analysis)…

“Who are you?” my daughter Ruthie Blum demands as she greets me in the lobby of the King David hotel, “and what have you done with my father?”

Norman Podhoretz, who was one of the leading critics of the Oslo Accords that led to the the 1991-2005 Oslo War, lays out some of the current debates inside Israel about The Road Map and Sharon’s proposed withdrawal from Gaza et. al. As you can see, the writing captures the flavour of some of the conflicts and controversies very well.

The various briefings were part of a recent Hudson Institute tour, and while the piece itself is opinion, his reporting on the various currents of opinion inside Israel as given to him in direct briefings qualifies as news in my view.

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

NB: Monday’s Winds of War has done a fabulous job of covering some of the big scaries in the region, so this briefing will concentrate on regional events of less immediately violent global import.

TOP TOPIC

• It’s been 60 years since the survivors of Auschwitz were liberated from hell on earth. Every year we are further away from that painfully bittersweet event is a celebration of mankind’s possibilities. There’s plenty of documentation and literature available to those who remain ignorant, or to those who think that Bosnia in our generation’s lifetime was an original idea; a good place to start is Yad Vashem.

Other Topics Today Include:
Falashas Coming Home, Social Justice Aborning, Beautiful Irony, Palestinian Welfare, Pups For Peace, Contrarian Fundamentalists, Ancient Dialogues, Hezbollah’s Got No Excuse, Syrian-Flavored Peace, We Are The Lebanese World, Egypt Busy On The Peace Front, and Free Speech In Jordan.

Palestinian security forces intend to disarm militant factions as part of a plan to prevent attacks on Israelis. Reuters reports that Bashir Nafe, commander of Special Forces and tipped as a possible security chief for the West Bank and Gaza, said:

“The instructions are clear … Weapons that don’t belong to the Palestinian police are illegal. So wherever illegal weapons are found, we will collect them,” Nafe told Reuters.

“There is no leadership in the world that gets elected on a peaceful program and leaves arms in the hands of militias and other groups,” he said.

From California Yankee.

Palestinian militants set off a large truck bomb as gunmen stormed an Israeli base at a vital Gaza crossing Thursday, killing five Israelis and wounding five others in an attack that defied peace efforts by new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The assault, in which three Palestinians attackers were also killed, was by far the biggest since Abbas won an election Sunday to succeed Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas has been trying to persuade militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad to agree to a cease-fire, but so far with no success.

Read more..

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• Opportunities for peace are always present despite ongoing conflict in the region. Since Colt’s wonderfully done Winds of War has scooped many of the key news events in and around Israel of late, this Roundup will focus more on possibility, conjecture, and acts of hope than on cold, hard body counts.

Topics Today Include: Good News In Spite Of It All, One Religious Challenge To Another, Music Soothes Not Only The Savage Breast, The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend, Israeli-Egyptian Relations Warming Up, and Conspiracy Theory Much?

Read the Rest…

HAARETZ: Member of Jewish terrorist organization jailed for 8 years

Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Monday sentenced far-right activist Shahar Dvir-Zeliger, a member of the “new Jewish underground,” to eight years in jail for membership in a terrorist organization that aimed to carry out terror attacks against Arab civilians and unlawful possession of weapons stolen from the Israel Defense Forces.

Zeliger was tried in September of this year for belonging to a terrorist organization under an counter-terrorism order - the first time that this has been used since indictments were brought against members of the “Jewish underground” in the 1980s.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Yoram Noam said Monday that there was no way of making it more severe, due to the cooperation shown by Zeliger during the police investigation.

JERUSALEM POST: Survey: 500,000 Israelis suffer ‘terror trauma’

Nearly half a million Israelis carry with them elements of severe emotional and psychological trauma due to incidents of terrorism, and are in need of medical treatment, a survey released Thursday shows.

Despite the fact that most Israelis were never present on the scene of terrorist attacks, the survey, which questioned nearly 500 Israelis in the last months, reveals that one in every ten Israelis is exposed directly to terror attacks.

The survey appears as part of a general study performed by the Tel Aviv University Medical School for Natal, a non-profit organization that deals with victims of terror and war in Israel.

JERUSALEM POST: Sharon: If PA keeps the peace, so will Israel

Israel will not launch attacks or raids against Palestinians if the situation remains calm and it is not provoked, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said at a meeting of Israeli newspaper editors on Thursday afternoon.

However, Israel would act if it had information that ‘ticking bombs’ were planning imminent attacks on Israel and would respond if Palestinians fired rockets at Israel, he said.

“If there is quiet, we of course will not act. We too have an interest in keeping the quiet. But we reserve the right to intercept ticking bombs and cells launching Kassam rockets,” Sharon said.

“I see in the latest developments in the Palestinian Authority, the possibility for a historic opportunity within which it will be possible to advance in the peace process,” Sharon said.

“When the Palestinian Authority chooses the leadership it will choose- which will, I hope, be a leadership that does not support terrorism, fights terrorism, and shatters its infrastructure-our reaction will be positive.

“We are ready to go towards the Palestinians, to support them and to coordinate with them security issues, and varying elements related to the disengagement [from the Gaza Strip],” he continued.

Could refusing to halt the progress of a locust swarm be considered a biological weapon meant to commit the war crime of destroying civilian agricultural fields?

HAARETZ: Officials: Egypt responsible for locust attack on Israel

Egypt does not take proper action against locusts in its territories and as a result they continue to invade Israel, the head of the Plant Protection and Inspection Services, Dr. Eldad Landes said on Wednesday.

Landes cannot predict when the locusts will stop coming to Israel but he says the rain and cold weather which are expected in the next few days will stop the pests, at least temporarily.

A large swarm of locusts landed in the Ein Gedi reservation near the Dead Sea and began to feed on the vegetation in the fields of nearby kibbutz Ein Gedi, but no significant damage was caused.

The swarm had advanced north from the Sinai peninsula, through the Arava desert and Be’er Sheva. Two new swarms of locusts also arrived in Eilat and the western Negev near kibbutz Urim.

Plant Protection and Inspection Services officials are working to find the locusts, because they intend to dust nearby fields with insecticides in the early morning.

The locusts originated in Libya and migrated through Egypt. They can now be found along the entire Egyptian coastline.

Israel Police prepared to hit the highest level of alert– essentially signifying a state of war - Thursday night, as preparations for Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s funeral continued in Cairo and Ramallah.

Police said that at 6 a.m. Friday the force will go on Operation Alert Level D – the last time used two years ago prior to America’s invasion of Iraq and following threats made by Saddam Hussein that he will launch missiles against Israel.

Under the new alert level, all members of the Israel Police will be called up for active duty, including cadets and policemen currently on vacation.

Read more…

HAARETZ: Israel plans posthumous anti-Arafat campaign

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that after the funeral of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israel will launch a propaganda campaign against him. The political-security cabinet yesterday approved the proposed plans to bury Arafat in Ramallah.

“It is feared that after his funeral Arafat will become a national hero and freedom-fighter,” Sharon said. “We will launch a tough struggle to portray his murderous character and the fact that he is a strategist of world terror who hurt innocent people, both Israelis and American diplomats,” he said.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Yasser Arafat is dead. His rotting corpse will be put in a crate, shoved in the back of a cargo plane and sent to be buried in the most famous rubble heap in the Middle East: the al-Muqata compound in Ramallah. Before then, there will be a memorial in Cairo. Europe will not send heads of state, but foreign ministers, to attend. The reactions have varied. Kofi says he was ‘deeply moved’ upon learning that the career terrorist had died in his bed. Tony Blair sent his condolences to Arafat’s family. Jacques Chirac called him a “man of courage”. Hamas, the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades and Islamic Jihad all hold Israel responsible for Arafat dying of something Zionist like being old and unhealthy.

• In the Netherlands, the Dutch are moving against known terrorist cells. Politically, they’ve called for Hezbollah to be listed as a terrorist organisation in the European Union. Several suspects have been arrested in raids across the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, two police officers were wounded by grenades. Dan Darling has an analysis of the likely perpetrators.

• It’s on in Fallujah. So far, so good. Joe Katzman has a continuously updated page of news from the city. Another good resource is The Adventures of Chester, the blog of a former Marine who served in Iraq.

Other Topics Today Include: Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade is back!; Russians nail assassin; U.S. warns of Uzbekistan attacks; Singapore guards facilities; PFLP wanted to hit French; al-Qaeda may disintegrate; GSPC murders innocents; caucasian suicide bomber in Iraq; IAEA: nucelar terrorism a threat (you read it here first); Bahrain Ansar al-Islam threatens U.S. and U.K.

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: Three terrorists killed near Netzarim

Security forces shot two terrorist cells Thursday afternoon south of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.

Three terrorists were killed and it appears that four more were wounded.

The IDF said that soldiers spotted armed Palestinians approaching the security fence and opened fire, and confirmed hitting several.

JERUSALEM POST: Far-right hand out candy marking Arafat’s ‘death’

About a dozen Israeli far-right activists affiliated with the outlawed Kahane movement distributed candy flowers and wine to Jerusalem motorists at the entrance to the capital late Tuesday night in celebration over the impending death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

“Such should be the fate of all the enemies of Israel,” said self-declared Kahane spokesman Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Welcome! This briefing will be looking hard at the dark places most mainstream media seem determined to look away from, to better understand our declared enemies on their own terms and without illusions. Our goal is to bring you some of the top jihadi rants, idiotarian seething, and old-school Jew-hatred from around the world, leaving you more informed, more aware, and pretty disgusted every month. This Winds of Change.NET HateWatch briefing is brought to you by Lewy14. (Email me at my handle “hatewatch” here at windsofchange.net). Past briefings and posts on related topics can be found here. Entil’zha veni!

HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS

• Religious Hate: Al Qaida organ advises fighting during Ramadan; Dutch filmmaker butchered for his art; Official curriculum of Jihad in Pakistan; Muslim Students Association pays tribute to Yassin; Cleric reprises tired rant in Vancouver; Jihad in Thailand; Darfur: sharia as a root cause; Tajik boy kidnapped to fight jihad.

• Idiotarian Seethings: Iranian parliament tells us how they really feel; Duke University plays host to hatefest; Anti-Semitism on the Left in Australia; Canadian Muslim leader denies Israel has civilians; Bin Laden hates red states.

• Race and Culture: Palestinian Authority’s version of Big Bird; Hamas glorifies a shaheed; swastikas painted in a Jewish cemetery in France; Ethnic riots in China kill 148; Paleocon == hater?

• A Hopeful Note: The future (of Islam) and it’s (Islamist) enemies; Israeli Arab advocates for empowering women; Sistani: vote or be d*mned.

HAARETZ: Egypt announces arrest of five plotters of Sinai attacks

Five Egyptians have been arrested on suspicion of plotting three near simultaneous car bombings of a hotel and resort in the Sinai that killed at least 34 people, including 12 Israelis, earlier this month.

In a statement Monday, the Egyptian Interior Ministry also said the mastermind of the attacks, identified as Palestinian Ayad Said Salah, died in the October 7 explosion at the Taba Hilton hotel along with a fellow plotter, Egyptian Suleiman Ahmed Saleh Flayfil.

The statement said the two, identified through DNA testing, had been trying to leave the scene but their timed explosives went off prematurely.

According to the statement, two other suspects are said to be at large: Mohamed Ahmed Saleh Flayfil, brother of Suleiman Flayfil, and Hammad Gaman Gomah. Mohamed Flayfil was accused of carrying out the attack on one of the campgrounds and Gomah was accused of carrying out the third bombing.

The statement said the Egyptian suspects were residents of the Sinai, and that Salah, lived in the Sinai town of al-Arish.

JERUSALEM POST: PC game simulates anti-Israel terror

A new video game for home computers is being developed in Syria which allows users to assume the role of Palestinians carrying out terrorist attacks on Israeli soldiers, including at least one suicide bombing.

Entitled “Under Siege”, the game is slated for release by the end of the year by Damascus-based Afkar Media, according to a report in the Beirut Daily Star.

Users will be able to simulate various types of attacks on Israelis, ranging from a teenage Palestinian armed with a slingshot to a 25-year old toting a machine gun.

In addition, one scene is said to depict a Palestinian female suicide bomber in Jenin who hands her child over to relatives before detonating a hand grenade in a crowd of Israeli soldiers.

Nonetheless, the game’s developers insist that it is intended to promote non-violence.

“This is not a game about killing. We are telling a story,” said Radwan Kasmiya, Afkar Media’s executive manager, adding, “It’s not about desperation, it’s about sacrificing your life to let others live,” he said.

The company’s primary target audience is said to be young Arab computer users across the Middle East.

HAARETZ: Hundreds of South African Muslims protest Olmert’s upcoming visit

Another of the demonstration’s organizers, Ebrahim Gabriels of the Muslim Judicial Council, said members of Hamas and other violent Palestinian groups behind suicide bombings and other attacks in Israel were not terrorists. Like South Africa’s anti-apartheid movements, they are fighting for freedom, he said.

“Hamas is not a terrorist group. The apartheid government once called the African National Congress terrorists, but we said no … they are liberators,” he said.

Gabriels said his movement supported Hamas “100 percent,” drawing cheers and raised fists from the crowd.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Egyptian holiday resorts on the Sinai, frequented by Israelis, were attacked by what are now thought to be car-bombs. The Hilton hotel was partially destroyed by a car bomb. The number of dead stands somewhere between 31-34, with over 100 wounded. More below…

• After CNS News reported Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda and possession of WMD, based on alleged Iraqi intelligence documents, there was widespread scepticism. However, they have released some of the documents for public verification. Our own Robi Sen is leading a charge to try to evaluate the documents.

• Zarqawi: Is He al-Qaeda? Meanwhile, today’s Iraq Report has a lot to say about developments in Fallujah, where Zarqawi is based.

• The Washington Times reports that 25 Chechen terrorists entered the United States across the Mexican border in July. The paranoid won’t be reassured by news that photographs, evacuation information and other details about several San Diego schools have been found on a CD in Iraq.

Other Topics Today Include: Sinai bombs; Iran Reports; Domestic Security; Chinese hostages; terrorists and CBW; missing nuclear materials; Delhi nuclear alert; Bigley murdered; French hostages in Syria?; Jordan’s secret prison; Bali anniversary; 3/11 bombers had local training; al-Qaeda in Libya?; Chinese foe; al-Qaeda vs. Israel; US military & nation-building…

Read the Rest…

JTA: Anti-rocket radar works

An Israeli town’s early-warning radar scored a first victory against Palestinian rockets.

The Ma’anim system installed in Sderot sounded a 20-second alert before two Kassam rockets fired by Palestinians in the nearby Gaza Strip struck Wednesday. The Kassams landed harmlessly in an open field, but security chiefs hailed the incident as a successful test for the Ma’anim, which was unveiled Tuesday.

JERUSALEM POST: Egypt: al-Qaida sleeper cell was activated to hit Sinai

Egyptian officials investigating the Sinai suicide bomb attacks believe that al-Qaida activated sleeper cells in Egypt received the full cooperation from Beduin living in the Sinai who, according to Egyptian media reports, assisted the terrorists in evading roadblocks manned by Egyptian security forces and provided them with explosives.

Egyptian investigators think the cell, whose members carried passports from a number of different countries, received cooperation from a number of Egyptians too.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom reiterated Monday Israel believes responsibility lies with the al-Qaida terror network led by Osama bin Laden, although it was not “100 percent” sure.

HAARETZ: Egypt: Bedouin says may have sold explosives for Sinai bombs

Egyptian security officials said some of dozens of Bedouins detained for questioning have been cooperating with authorities and have provided valuable information about the explosives.

At least one Bedouin told investigators he might have sold explosives to strangers not realizing they were destined for attacks in Sinai, according to an Egyptian security official.

“The explosives were sold on the assumption that they were going to the Palestinians,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

HAARETZ: Israeli rescue workers told to cease complaints

Government officials ordered rescue workers to cease complaints that Egypt is impeding rescue efforts at the scene of the deadly terror attacks in Sinai as the first bodies were returned to Israel.

Authorities are concerned that accusations of inefficiency and bureaucracy by Israeli rescue workers against their Egyptian counterparts may anger the Egyptians, further impeding joint relief efforts.

Magen David Adom and Israeli firefighter units on their way to help in rescue efforts following the devastating blast at the Hilton Hotel in Taba, Sinai, have accused Egyptian authorities of preventing them from entering Egypt.

“The Egyptians brought a unit of Egyptian firefighters who did not have the proper equipment. They are working with their hands and shovels, and the Egyptian government is not allowing us to bring in our heavy equipment. It is frustrating to stand in front of the destruction, unable to help the situation,” fire chief Shimon Romach said on Friday morning.

HAARETZ: Blast at Hilton Hotel in Taba, close to Egypt-Israel border

An explosion occurred at the Hilton Hotel in the Egyptian town of Taba on Thursday evening, close to the border with Israel.

There were reports of casualties in the blast.

Ambulances and emergency personnel were on their way to the site of explosion.

It is unclear whether the explosion was caused by an attack.

Army Radio reported that the blast could be heard in the Israeli resort town of Eilat.

Many Israelis have visited Egypt over the past month, during the period of Jewish holidays. Last month, the defense establishment cautioned Israelis against traveling to Sinai, following warnings of a potential terrorist attack.

JERUSALEM POST: Dozens of Israelis wounded in gas explosion at Hilton in Taba

A large number of Israelis were wounded in an apparent gas explosion at the Hilton Hotel in Taba, near the Israel-Egypt border.

Dozens of injured have been rushed to the Taba crossing where Magen David Adom ambulances are waiting to evacuate them to the Josephthal Hospital in Eilat.

Initial reports indicated that a section of the hotel collapsed in the explosion and a number of people were killed.

Tens of Israelis suffering light-to-moderate wounds have already crossed from Egypt into Israel and are receiving medical treatment from Magen David Adom personnel.

This contradicts initial reports that had said that Egypt was actively blocking MDA ambulances from crossing.

UPDATE:
CNN reports two more blasts at hotels in Egyptian resort towns… now it’s campgrounds…

Two smaller blasts occurred about two hours later in the area of Ras al Shitan, a camping area full of Israeli tourists south of Taba, witnesses said.

State-run Egyptian television is the Hilton explosion a gas leak, other sources say it may have been a car bomb.
23 killed at Taba, 10 floors collapsed.
Egypt is allowing Israeli helicopters to ferry out dead and wounded.

Now 29 killed, 114 wounded.

Via LGF, They are dancing in the streets of Gaza and Cairo. (Egypt receives $2 billion in US foreign aid per year and is seeking a seat on the UNSC, by the way)

HAARETZ: Israel to tell UN it is ‘unacceptable’ to employ Hamas members

Israel will demand that United Nations investigators who arrived in Israel on Wednesday hold a thorough investigation into whether the world body employs people who “aid and abet” Palestinian militant groups, a senior Israeli official said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent the team this week after Israel claimed a Palestinian rocket had been transported in a UN ambulance.

The UN Relief and Works Agency has denied allegations that IDF footage released last Friday showed personnel loading a Qassam into an ambulance, saying the object was actually a stretcher.

However, UNRWA commissioner, Peter Hansen, subsequently said in a television interview that the agency’s 24,000 employees probably include members of Hamas and other militant groups. “I don’t see that as a crime,” he said.

(Hansen forgot The First Law Of Holes.)

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• Israelis continue major push into Gaza, and casualties are growing. Meanwhile, the US is sending mixed messages about the whole thing: on the one hand, Powell is calling for an end to the operation, and on the other, the US has vetoed a UN resolution against same.

Other Topics Today Include: Al-Quds Beheaded, Arafat Wants To Be Mandela, A Rare Voice Of Dissent Caught On Film, and Syria’s Cabinet In A Kerfuffle

Read The Rest…

Reuters reports that Arab nations want the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding Israel stop a major offensive in the Gaza Strip:

The draft resolution reaffirms support for the nearly dormant “road map” for Middle East peace and demands “the immediate cessation of all military operations in the area of northern Gaza” and the withdrawal of Israel from there.

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said that after two years of attacks, it was not unreasonable for Israel to respond.

“So now the issue is, all right, where do we go from here?” Danforth said. “It is the position of the U.S. delegation that we should not simply pass resolution after resolution, which are all one-sided, but that we should insist that the road map is the way to peace.”

From California Yankee.

AP: Sharon: Operation in Gaza Will Continue

Israel’s army will operate in the northern Gaza Strip until all Palestinian rocket fire against Israeli towns is halted, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said late Saturday in an interview on Israel Radio.

Sharon spoke as his forces ended the fourth day of an invasion in which 50 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed. Israeli forces control a five mile strip of northern Gaza, aimed at moving Israeli border towns out of range of the primitive Palestinian rockets.

HAARETZ: Four people suffer from shock when Qassams hit Sderot

Four people suffered from shock when Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired three Qassam rockets at the western Negev town of Sderot on Sunday morning.

One rocket scored a direct hit on a home, the second fell between houses in a residential area and the third rocket landed in an open area.

JERUSALEM POST: Report: Arab state helping Mossad track Hamas

An Arab state provided Israel with valuable intelligence on the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and its leadership overseas, the London-based Arabic daily al-Hayat reported Friday.

According to the newspaper, an intelligence agency belonging to an Arab state supplied Israel with intelligence on Hamas leaders living in Beirut, Damascus, Tehran and Khartoum at the request of Mossad head Meir Dagan.

Dagan approached the unnamed Arab state with a request for information on Hamas leaders, namely Khaled Mashal, head of the organization’s political bureau, following the double suicide bombing in Beersheba last month in which 16 Israelis were killed.

AP: Israel Issues Rocket Retaliation Warning

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Sunday that Israel will retaliate against Palestinan rockets even if they are fired from civilian areas, and an arms manufacturer said Israel had installed a radar system in a border town to give warning of rocket attacks.

Sharon’s remarks and the reported radar defense were apparently aimed at hardline critics who say Sharon’s planned withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 would expose Israel to intense rocket attacks. Numerous Israeli military forays into northern Gaza have failed to still the rocket fire.

In the four years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, Palestinian militants have fired dozens of inaccurate, low-explosive rockets at Israeli border towns and Jewish settlements in Gaza.

The missiles caused deaths for the first time in June, when two Israelis, including a 4-year-old boy, were killed. Many missiles have fallen into fields, while others have damaged homes and cars.

The town of Sderot, a mile from Gaza, has been hit hardest. An early-warning system was recently installed in Sderot to allow residents enough time to get into bomb shelters before the rockets land, said Giora Shalgi, the director of Rafael, an Israeli arms manufacturer.

“It can identify in a very short time where it (the rocket) was launched and assess where it will fall and operate a warning system while the rocket is in the air, which is for about 20 seconds, depending on the range,” Shalgi told Israel Radio.

The Haaretz newspaper said the system is attached to Sderot’s public address system and was used for the first time a week ago.

Rocket fire from Gaza is expected to increase as the planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza draws closer.

Sharon told the Cabinet Sunday that Israel would react more quickly to attacks, even if the rockets are fired from civilian areas. “We have to think about how to act against the sources of the fire, after warning the civilians,” he said.

JERUSALEM POST: Beduin Hamas cell smashed

Two men from the Beduin village of Tel Sheva near Omer in the South were charged Tuesday with assisting a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip with his plans to kidnap and murder IDF soldiers based in the south of the country. The Palestinian is reportedly a family member. The group planned to kidnap and kill soldiers, and use their bodies as bargaining chips in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Security officials revealed Tuesday that the terror cell was apprehended two months ago.

HAARETZ: Six Egyptian students charged with planning terrorist attack

Six Egyptian students suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Israel were indicted on Sunday at the Be’er Sheva District Court.

The charge sheet indicates that the suspects had been planning the attack for three years as part of an independent local organization, and had not associated themselves with any of the leading terrorist groups.

The six were caught on August 25 when they tried to cross the Egyptian border near Nitzana in the south. They came from Cairo and managed to enter three kilometers into the country when they were spotted and apprehended by border policemen.

The suspects were carrying 14 knives, black camouflage attire, backpacks, binoculars, communications equipment, maps of Israel and various other items to help carry out their scheme.

The indictment also includes conspiring to seize a tank and rob a bank in Mitzpe Ramon. The suspects allegedly planned to use the money from the bank to fund additional attacks on Israel once they return to Egypt.

MAARIV: Families of soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah to sue UN

The families of the three IDF soldiers who were kidnapped by Hezbollah have announced their intention to file a suit against the United Nations and the Hezbollah organization. Iran, Syria and Lebanon will also be sued in view of their support of the Lebanese terror group.

The suit will be filed in a US court by relatives of Beni Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaed, eight months after their bodies were returned to Israel for burial as part of the prisoner swap deal with Hezbollah.

The three families confirmed their intentions in a conversation with NRG Maariv. “On Sunday, we will hold a press conference at Sokolov House in Tel Aviv, during which we will say all that we have to say”. Ya’akov Avitan, father of Adi, said.

Since the October 2000 abductions, Israel and the families have expressed outrage over the UN’s inability to prevent the kidnappings.

In July 2001, it was revealed that UNIFIL soldiers filmed Hezbollah operatives as they were transferring the three IDF troops, about 18 hours after they were kidnapped, from a distance of barely 20 km from point of abduction.

In addition, it became evident that several UN soldiers knew that the Lebanese terror group intends to kidnap IDF soldiers from the area of the Shaba Farms and had even been paid off by the Hezbollah in order to turn a blind eye.

Israeli officials were also infuriated over the fact that the UN had hidden a tape that was filmed during the abduction and demanded of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to use that tape in order to help determine the fate of the soldiers. Only after a long struggle, the UN allowed Israeli officials to view the tape, but only four times.

HAARETZ: Sharon to meet Russian FM over global anti-terror efforts

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is to meet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem on Monday for talks likely to center on the need for greater global anti-terror efforts following the deadly seizure by militants of a Russian school, officials said Sunday.

An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the visit was arranged long before the latest wave of violence in Russia.

But the school siege, in which at least 350 were killed, nearly half of them children - along with last week’s Moscow suicide bombing and the August 24 bombing of two Russian passenger planes - meant the terror issue would now move higher up the agenda.

“The terrorist activities in Russia against innocent civilians prove anew that terror has no borders and a single goal: to destroy and sow ruin,” Sharon said at the beginning of Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting.

“Terror has no justification, and it’s time for the free, decent, humanistic world to unite and fight this terrible plague, which has no borders or fences,” he said.

(What’s so different about two unrelenting violently fanatical Islamic separatist movements attacking women and children in semi-sovereign regions legimitmately conquered and annexed through war? The Russians annexed in an offensive war, the Israelis in a defensive war.)

HAARETZ: Israel begins construction of stretch of separation fence in south

Israel began construction Sunday of a section of the West Bank separation fence in the southern West Bank, days after Palestinian suicide bombers carried out an attack from the area.
Security officials confirmed that work started on a 30-kilometer stretch of barrier southwest of Hebron.

But the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the work wasn’t related to last week’s attack in Be’er Sheva, in which Hamas suicide bombers from Hebron killed 16 people. The bombing has put pressure on the government to speed up construction, which has been delayed by a series of legal challenges

Winds of Change.NET HREF="http://windsofchange.net/archives/cat_features_regional_briefings.html">Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• Nope, The Intifada Ain’t Over… Yet, and Israel hasn’t quite finished making her point in Hebron or Gaza in retaliation for the Be’erSheva bombing two days ago, but has also chosen to pick on someone her own size - Syria. Sharon believes that by harboring Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, Syria is directly at cause in the double suicide bombing that cost 16 lives. And he’s taking it all the way to the top.

Other Topics Today Include: Palestinians Discover Peaceful Protest… Sort of, Israeli Tunnel Rats Working Hard, Don’t Shadow Bashar Assad’s Bets, GI Jamila, and Election-Rigging Isn’t Just An American Pasttime

Read The Rest….

Update to this story.

Two buses exploded in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Tuesday, wounding at least 15 people, Israeli rescue officials said.

Israel Radio said Palestinian militants were suspected in the blasts, which would mark the first such attack since March. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

The nearly simultaneous blasts occurred in the city’s main street. Israel Radio said one bus was in flames, while windows were blown out of the second vehicle.

Read more…

UPDATE:

According to reports, at least 12 people have died in the explosions and 44 have been injured.

Israel’s Channel Two television said the blasts were carried out by Palestinian suicide bombers, but the report could not immediately be confirmed. TV reports said two mangled bodies were found — presumably those of the bombers.
The militant group Hamas quickly claimed responsibility for the bombings.

UPDATE:

Reports put the death toll at 15 now. Further updates available on the Magen David Adom site.

UPDATE:

From Al-Jazeera:

“These explosions show that all the security precautions and the barrier have been unable to stop the attacks,” Aljazeera correspondent al-Umari said.

(Ed- The barrier is not finished in that region.)

JERUSALEM POST: Bomb-sniffing dogs used for Jerusalem city buses

After months of bureaucratic delays, a new security plan for public buses across the country is currently underway, including the unprecedented use of bomb-sniffing dogs on Jerusalem City buses to snuff out Palestinian suicide bombers, a senior official in the Internal Security Ministry said Sunday.

As part of the bus security plan, sixteen specially trained dogs are being used to safeguard city buses in Jerusalem, with the number of dogs expected to triple in the coming months as the program expands nationwide, said the deputy director general of the internal security ministry, Eliezer Rosenbaum.

The dogs, which undergo a five-month training period by the ‘Pups for Peace’ Organization before being handed over to security officials for use on public buses, include German Shepherds, and Labradors.

The dogs are used by security guards to sniff out explosives at bus stops, bus stations, and bus queues.

HAARETZ: Deputy AG: End to terror could make fence illegal

Israel may have to dismantle the West Bank separation fence if the Palestinians “reach a real decision” to stop carrying out terror attacks, Deputy Attorney General Malchiel Balass told Haaretz on Tuesday.

According to Balass, a cessation of attacks is not sufficient grounds to consider dismantling the fence. A significant act would be required on the part of the Palestinians, similar to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s 1993 letter to Premier Yitzhak Rabin, since the separation fence was erected in the first place as a temporary security measure, which is also its legal justification.

“If the Palestinians reach a real decision to stop terrorism, a major legal question will arise surrounding the justification for the separation fence’s existence, and we may have to dismantle segments of it,” Balass said.

JERUSALEM POST: Police drill reveals security flaws in malls

Tel Aviv District Police infiltrated dummy bombs into two central shopping malls and a hotel in the Kiryat Ono area on Tuesday without being detected by security guards.

Police, from the Mesubim Station in conjunction with cadets from the Israel Police officer’s course, carried out the drill at the Kiryat Ono Mall, Yehud’s Savyonim Mall and the Avia Hotel in the city. In all three cases, an undercover police officer succeeded in infiltrating a large dummy explosives device inside a backpack into the establishments.

WaPo via Seattle Times: Hamas leader, 2 others accused of financing, backing terrorism

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department yesterday unsealed an indictment accusing a senior Hamas leader and two others of a 15-year racketeering conspiracy that raised millions of dollars for the militant group, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States for carrying out bombings, kidnappings and other attacks in Israel.

The indictment, handed up in Chicago, includes the deputy chief of Hamas' political wing, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, and a former Howard University professor, Abdelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar of Fairfax County, Va.

Ashqar, 46, and a third defendant, Muhammad Hamid Khalil Salah, 51, of suburban Chicago, were arrested Thursday night. Abu Marzook, expelled from the United States in 1997, is believed to be living in Syria, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

AP: Spy Balloon Said to Alert Israeli Troops

“The balloon is necessary for finding the Qassams,” an intelligence officer told the weekly. Giving his name only as Lt. Col. Yossi, he said, “it allows an improved watch over the area.”

The article did not say how the balloon would fit into Israeli army operations. It could be used to pinpoint the location of portable rocket launchers for an immediate strike.

During a recent operation in northern Gaza, from where most of the rockets are fired, Israeli forces said they prevented an attack by hitting a launcher and militants preparing it before they could fire a rocket.

The military said the strike was a rare success but did not say how soldiers spotted the launcher before the firing. Disclosure of the balloon could provide an explanation.

The weekly said the balloon flying over the command post is a prototype and the military hopes to have 10 such balloons in the air within a y