BULLETIN No.120

Ha’aretz – Top Hamas leaders vow to boycott referendum
Analysis: Fatah and Hamas still have 40 days to reach a deal Even though Abbas' deadline on the prisoner plan has passed, there is still time before the referendum
Jerusalem Post Analysis: Hamas down but not out By YAAKOV KATZ Senior officer: Hamas made almost every possible mistake trying to solidify its power base.
Washington Times Backward reels the news By Arnaud de Borchgrave Israel's unspoken ulterior motive is to make Jordan the Palestinian state.
Al Hayat Ayoon wa Azan (The Israeli Apartheid Policy) Jihad el-Khazen - Israel was once stronger than the Arab countries, separately and combined. However, I believe that we have entered the countdown phase to its end as an apartheid state.
BBC Abbas pushes for statehood poll Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is to call a referendum on a two-state plan after Hamas talks fail.
Daily Star Hamas leaders are proving to be no better than their predecessors
Israeli unilateralism is healthy, not a 'land grab' By Yossi Alpher
Abbas Will Call for Palestinian Vote on Two-State Plan
Abbas to go ahead with poll on two-state deal with Israel
Palestinian stand-off over Abbas ultimatum
Hamas' Tight Spot
Daily Telegraph Hamas defies soft stance The Hamas-led Palestinian government looks certain to defy the moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas and reject his demand to soften its stance towards Israel.
Washington Times Backward reels the news By Arnaud de Borchgrave Israel's unspoken ulterior motive is to make Jordan the Palestinian state.
National Interest Unrealists by Dimitri K. Simes: The Israel lobby controversy shows how some substitute character assasination for serious debate. American national interests suffer.

Financial Times Exiled Syrian opposition pledges to protect Alawite minority Syria’s largely Sunni-based exile opposition sought to reassure the Alawite minority that it would be protected in any struggle to oust a regime dominated by members of the community
Growing Shi'ite Presence a Dilemma for Syrians
Washington Post Syrian Opposition Urges Regime's Ouster Describing Assay's regime as oppressive and corrupt, the leaders pledged to bring democracy to Syria, which has been ruled by Assay since the death of his ...
Russian Military Denies Seeking Mediterranean Naval Base in Syria
Christian Science Monitor Flouting Syria's martial law, bold students advocate democracy Unofficial political actions land some activists in jail, but many are undeterred.
Syria Comment
"Meeting the National Salvation Front" by Sophia Hoffmann
Day One of National Salvation Front Meeting

New York Times U.S. Is Offering Deals on Trade to Entice Iran The incentives include a proposal to allow Iran to upgrade its aging civilian air fleet by purchasing parts from Boeing.
Washington Post A Legal Case Against Iran By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey
Debka Gulf sources suspect US_Iran sparring masks quite dialogue - Khamenei Spoke of Jeopardizing Oil Shipments - Not a Blockade Full article
Washington Post A Legal Case Against Iran By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey,
Asia Times – Spengler - Military destiny and madness in IranBoth US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki sincerely believe that a compromise is in their mutual interest. Nonetheless, they will fail - for Iran is driven by strategic mysticism, and when there is no retreat, nothing to which to return, the army leaves its trenches and flies forward into the cannons.
RCP Are There Limits to Iranian Leadership's Resolve? - Ian Bremmer
Cengiz Çandar The New Anatolian-Turkey's constructive role in the US-Iran situation and its domestic impact
Stratfor Geopolitical Diary: Awaiting Next Moves by Iraq and Iran
Iraq: The face of the enemy Robert Fisk penetrates the world of the Palestinian 'martyrs' flooding into Iraq to fuel the insurgency
Newsweek Nation Building: Not for the Fainthearted Michael E. O'Hanlon
Putin and Russia's Middle East Policy Middle East Review of International Affairs
Guardian False prophets The US loves listening to its Arab/Muslim 'reformers'. And they love telling the US just what it wants to hear. By Brian Whitaker
Is political Islam on the march?
Moderate Western Muslims, speak up!