Friday, April 07, 2006

BULLETIN No.89

Israel’s Unlikely Transformer David Makovsky writes in the Washington Post that Ehud Olmert has travelled a long ideological road from his days as a young confidant of Israel’s conservative Likud leaders in the 1980s.
Der Spiegel DEALING WITH THE PALESTINIANS Europe Mulls Path Forward with Hamas Berlin has spent millions supporting development in the Palestinian Authority. But in the wake of the election victory of terrorist organization Hamas, that aid -- like all European Union funds -- has been frozen. Berlin and the EU must now determine how best to deal with Hamas, which is classified here as a terrorist organization. By Ralf Beste, Jan Fleischhauer and Christoph Schult
Gulf News Will Kadima impose a victor's peace?
Ehud Olmert's plan to expand Jewish housing estates now threatens to obliterate the dream of a continuous Arab state.
Haaretz Coalition talks to begin Sunday; Labor, Shas make demands Olmert tapped to form coalition; Labor: Open Gaza crossings; Shas: Keep Reichman away from education.
Jerusalem Post 'Let's ignore Hamas' By CAROLINE GLICK - Last Thursday the first jihadist government since the Taliban ascended to power.
Haaretz Hamas government offers Israel 'quiet for quiet' Israeli officials call Hamas cease-fire proposal a 'trick'; Zahar says ready to discuss two-state solution.
Yedioth Ahronoth Zahar: Hamas willing to discuss 2-state solution Hamas is prepared to discuss the concept of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict that would recognize Israel's right to exist, the Palestinian foreign minister said in comments published on Friday.
Jerusalem Post Haniyeh okays contacts with Israelis
Al Ahram Party lines More unilateral policies are in the offing by Israel, writes Erica Silverman
Haaretz Israel considers holding limited ties with Hamas government
Jerusalem Post Exclusive: EU ready for ties with Hamas-led PAEuropean leaders likely to approve basic contact with Hamas affiliates in the PA, but rule out political or diplomatic dialogue.
Haaretz A critical year Past experience has shown that what the government does in its first year is what counts. The year ahead is critical. Got that, Peretz?
Haaretz Olmert's first lie By Gideon Samet - The particpation of Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas in the coalition, without an explicit commitment to honor the convergence plan, will lead to one of two outcomes - withdrawal from the convergence, or giving up on Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas as coalition partners after they get all the spoils.
Alone and Broke, Hamas Struggles to Rule Ismail Haniya faces not only diplomatic isolation and a bankrupt treasury but an intense rivalry with Fatah.
The Times Hamas hints it may be ready to talk about a two-state solution The Islamic militant group has never accepted Israel’s right to exist but now that it is in government it faces huge pressure from the West to relent Transcript in full here
NYT Many Problems Face Chief of Palestinians' Hamas By JOHN KIFNER and GREG MYRE
Ismail Haniya faces not only diplomatic isolation and a bankrupt treasury but an intense rivalry with Fatah.
Hamas Offers Israel Cease-Fire Bid, Report Says The Islamic militant group Hamas has offered Israel a proposal for a broad, extended cease-fire in exchange for guarantees that the Israeli army won't attack militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
Gulf News Haniyeh rejects Abbas move
Palestinian Prime Minister and senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh yesterday rejected a decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to assume security control over the Gaza Strip's border posts.
BBC Palestinian political rift grows Hamas' PM criticises the Palestinian president's decision to assume control of Gaza's border crossings.
FT EU rejects plan to suspend Palestinian aid European Union diplomats have rejected a proposal to suspend direct aid to the Palestinian Authority because some EU countries consider the measure ‘too brutal’.
U.S. Plans to Redirect Aid for Palestinians Much of the annual aid package will go toward basic humanitarian needs, such as education, health and food, as well as increased assistance for democracy promotion, officials say.
West Bank reality by S. Aloni - Machsom Watch struggles to show what's happening on stolen land

Al Ahram Going it alone Can the Syrian national opposition bring about democratic change? Omayma Abdel-Latif seeks some answers in Damascus
JP Syria prevents terror on northern borderSenior IDF officer: Motive behind prevention is fear of an Israeli reprisal.
Champress
Syria rules out Lebanon links ... for now
Syrians' TV Preferences Change After Al-Hariri Killing
Syria seeks 37 billion dollars in investment over five years
Syria Arap News Agency
Headlines of the Syrian Dailies
The Syrian dailies on Thursday highlighted the following headlines:

Iran ready for high-level talks, US resists Iran has prepared a high-level delegation to hold wide-ranging talks with the US, but the Bush administration is resisting the agenda suggested by Tehran despite pressure from European allies to engage the Islamic republic.
Al Ahram Interview:Mohamed El-Baradei: Nuclear dynamics
Asia Times Skeptics torpedo Iran's weapons claims Iran has tested advanced torpedoes and missiles as part of week-long war games in the Persian Gulf. The new weapons are claimed to be so advanced, in fact, that they match or beat anything the rest of the world can produce. Western analysts, however, are skeptical, saying they don't have enough information to go on and suspecting that Tehran is simply producing defiant propaganda.
CFR UGLY OPTIONS ON IRAN
Daily Star Iran is divided over talking to the U.S. By Abbas William Samii
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Time for a US/Iran Patch Up James E. Doyle and Sara Kutchesfahani1
Daily Telegraph Iran has missiles to carry nuclear warheads Iran has successfully developed ballistic missiles with the capability to carry nuclear warheads. Analysis of test firings of the Shahab-3 missile by military experts has concluded that Iran has been able to modify it to carry a basic nuclear bomb.
Leader - Iran's lethal ambitions Recent revelations confirm that Teheran is working both to produce a nuclear device and to ensure its delivery. The resulting confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions is thus set to run for years.
Antiwar Iran: The Next Neocon Target: Rep. Ron Paul

Washington Institute Quelling Iraq’s Sectarian Violence: What the United States Can Do By Michael Eisenstadt There are seven steps the United States can take to reduce or contain intercommunal conflict in Iraq, but tensions between domestic and military imperatives might soon close the U.S. window of opportunity.
Rumsfeld Challenges Rice on 'Tactical Errors' in Iraq
Bush Defends Iraq Strategy but Admits Mistakes By JOHN O'NEIL
President Bush told a town-hall meeting today that there had been problems with the "tactics" used in Iraq.
Los Angeles Times Iraq's Ruling Shiite Bloc Could Rupture
Jerusalem Post When being 'right' is bad policy By BARRY RUBINThe US wants to see an inclusive regime in Iraq, but dictating its composition or policies is dangerous.
BBC US 'in talks with Iraq militants'
The US ambassador to Iraq tells the BBC that US officials have held talks with insurgency-linked groups.
Najaf car bomb kills at least 10
Iraq faces up to militia problems
Who are the insurgents in Iraq?
Newsweek Renegade Iraq Cleric: From Thug to Kingmaker Deadly Vision: U.S. forces once had the renegade cleric in their cross hairs. Now he's too strong—and too popular—to confront.
Al Ahram The Kurdish question Fifteen people were killed and hundreds injured last week as pro-Kurdish riots swept across Turkey, raising fears that rising communal tensions could trigger ethnic conflict, Gareth Jenkins reports

Gulf News The scope of clashes in the Middle East
There are a number of flash points in the region which would have not been there had the US proceeded differently after 9/11.
US Senate Hearing Islamist Extremism in Europe
RFE/RL Muslims In Europe, Or European Muslims?
CSIS Currents and Crosscurrents of Radical Islamism
Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World : Exploring Gray Zones... Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Interview: Islam's Image In Europe And Imams As Bridge Builders

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