September 25, 2012

GAZA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The fuel smuggled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through tunnels with Egypt have declined within the last five days to 70 percent, leading the fuel crisis in the coastal enclave to deteriorate, officials said Monday.

Mohamed al-Abadela, spokesman of the Gas Stations Association in the Gaza Strip, told Xinhua that the amount of fuel used for cars and electric generators dropped from 600,000 liters to 200, 000 liters per day.

Syria denies shelling Palestinian camp in Aleppo

DAMASCUS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Information Ministry denied news that the government troops shelled the Nairab camp for Palestinian refugees in Aleppo city.

In a statement aired by the state TV on Monday, the ministry held " the "bloody media outlets" responsible for disseminating such news.

Also in Aleppo, the state TV said the army has carried a " qualitative" operation at al-Arkoub roundabout in Aleppo, killing large numbers of armed militias.

Syrian conflict makes Palestinians into both refugees and combatants

Omar Hassan was just three years old when he and his family were forced to leave their home in northern Palestine during the creation of Israel, making a home as stateless refugees in a camp in Syria. Now, six decades on, Mr.

Report: Jewish leaders cancel meeting with Abbas

TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- A group of Jewish leaders in the US cancelled a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas under pressure from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported Monday.

The meeting, organized by billionaire businessman Mort Zuckerman, was due to take place Monday in New York, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations, and Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman were also due to attend.

Who’s creating ‘daylight’ now? Jewish Dems ask Netanyahu

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- In the U.S.-Israel relationship, "daylight" is back, but this time it’s Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is being called on to draw down the shades.

Netanyahu’s recent sharp rebuke of the Obama administration’s Iran policies has drawn equally pointed pushback from Jewish Democrats.

In New York, defiant Ahmadinejad says Israel will be 'eliminated'

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a UN warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."

In remarks to reporters in New York, Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, denied sending arms into Syria, and alluded to Iran's threats against the life of British author Salman Rushdie.

Americans for Peace Now Launch Campus Group

Americans for Peace Now is establishing a presence on college campuses aimed at reaching students and faculty.

The left-leaning group is working “in full coordination” with J Street U to provide information and speakers that can be used on campuses across the country, said APN spokesman Ori Nir. Campuses in the Washington area have been sent information kits, and other universities will be receiving them as well, he said.

What if Israel bombed Iran? The view from Washington.

For months, Israel has threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear sites. The United States has urged restraint. If such an operation were launched, how might Washington react?

President Obama is enjoying a quiet dinner with Michelle, Sasha and Malia at the White House residence on a Thursday evening in October when he gets the call.

Defusing Israel's 'detonator' strategy

Moshe Dayan, the one-eyed general who led Israel to military victories in the 1956 Suez war and the Six-Day War of 1967, believed in what he called a "detonator" strategy for the Jewish state.

"When someone wishes to force on us things which are detrimental to our existence, there will be an explosion which will shake up wide areas, and realizing this, such elements in the international system will do their utmost to prevent damage to us."

A time for war, a time for peace

It is with regret that I recently read about the closing of the Bitterlemons website dedicated to bringing Israeli and Palestinian voices together. Run for over a decade by Yossi Alpher and Ghasan Khatib, the site was produced on a weekly basis. Each issue focused on a single topic relevant to the Israel-Palestine conflict, around which there were four short essays – two from Israelis (including Alpher) and two from Palestinians (including Khatib).

There is a way out

I am sitting in a workshop at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non- Proliferation. The meeting is taking place a few days after the after the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In the room are some of the people who negotiated arms control and disarmament treaties between the United States and the Soviet Union. There are several Arab ambassadors who represent their governments to the IAEA and were present at the annual meeting in which Shaul Horev, the Israeli head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Authority, spoke.

Who are You? ID Cards and East Jerusalem’s Identity Crisis

In the United States, you need a passport to travel abroad, and a drivers’ license to cash a check. In Israel, you need an ID card just to cross the street.

Real Friends Are Honest — Even With Israel

During his July experiment with international diplomacy, Mitt Romney’s encomium about the Israeli health care system provided a delicious illustration of one of our few remaining bipartisan sports: pandering to all things Israel.

“Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of GDP in Israel? Eight percent,” Romney intoned. “You spend 8% of GDP on health care. And you’re a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18% of our GDP on health care. Ten percentage points more.”

Abbas Has One Last Chance At The UN General Assembly

Up until now, the Muslim Brotherhood presidency in Egypt has been pursuing the worst possible policy when it comes to the Palestinians. Cairo has made no effort in the peace process, nor have they assigned their intelligence agency — or any other agency — to work on this issue.

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