BULLETIN No.141

BBC Hezbollah seizes Israel soldiers
Hezbollah militants capture two Israeli soldiers as heavy clashes break out over the Israel-Lebanon border.
Capture marks new escalation
In pictures: Cross-border clashes
What is Hezbollah?
Washington Post Hezbollah Captures 2 Israeli Soldiers
The militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Lebanon border Wednesday morning, and Israeli officials said seven more soldiers were killed during military operations in response to the attack.
Asia Times Syria's one true friend - Iran For example, Syria's military involvement in the Lebanese Civil War in 1976 concerned many Syrians, especially since Damascus was siding with the country's
Washington Times Brotherhood intensifies anti-Assad efforts Syria's largest and most influential op- position group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has begun an am-bitious program to unite Syrian pro
Reuters Syria: Civil Society Activists Barred From Traveling Those most recently denied the right to leave Syria include: Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, director of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies; Suheir Atassi
New Anatolian Bryza praises Davutoglu for Syria contacts US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matt Bryza stated yesterday that Washington is grateful for the contacts in Syria of Ahmet ...

Time Viewpoint Tony Karon Israel Is Bogged Down in Gaza. Where is the U.S.? The Bush Administration appears unable to play Washington's traditional crisis-management role in the Middle East. That may be because it doesn't talk to Israel's enemies
Jerusalem Post Report: Abbas threatens to resign Says he might dismantle Palestinian Authority and leave Territories.
Jerusalem Post Turkish envoy reportedly meets Mashaal
Jerusalem Post Mubarak: Israel was close to releasing prisoners In an interview with the state-run newspaper El-Messa, Mubarak spoke of a missed opportunity to resolve the confrontation that developed between Israel and the
Israel Expands Offensive, Moving Into Central Gaza
Once Again, Gazans Are Displaced by Israeli Occupiers
Ha’aretz – IDF: Hamas' Mohammed Deif wounded in IAF strike Six killed, including mother and three children
U.S. rejects revised draft of UN resolution on Israeli offensive
Better hypocrisy than Hamas If Hamas demonstrates that it is possible to hitch a ride on the back of the democratic process ... its accomplishment will undermine the United States? chances of succeeding in its moves to found democracy in the region.
Tikkun Was the Invasion of Iraq a Jewish Conspiracy? By Greg Palast
Jerusalem Post Report: Abbas threatens to resign Says he might dismantle Palestinian Authority and leave Territories.
OpenDemocracy Palestine: clan or nation? Palestinians' tribal politics render Israeli strategy null, says Jim Lederman
Washington Times A ninth Arab-Israeli war? It looks increasingly doubtful that the events in Gaza will somehow be contained and that it will end up being little more than the latest skirmish in the longrunning dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
H.D.S. Greenway: Missed opportunities in Gaza, again The cycle of violence between Israel and the Palestinians has not been broken, and the two peoples seem helpless to end it.
IHT Gaza: A Never-Never battle By JERROLD KESSEL AND PIERRE KLOCHENDLER Events on the Gaza-Israel front are not deterring Olmert from his commitment to the principle of disengagement.
Gaza: Living with fear and resolve By MONA EL-FARRA Until the world pressures Israel to recognize the rights of Gazans in their land, and to pursue a peace that brings freedom and security to Israelis and Palestinians, we both will continue to pay the price.

International Crisis Group - Iraq’s Muqtada Al-Sadr: Spoiler or Stabiliser? full report
Sectarian Fights Pose Risk to Iraq America's top envoy in Baghdad warns that a "precipitous" U.S. withdrawal may ensure a war drawing in neighboring states.
Christian Science Monitor Baghdad fragmented by cycle of revenge Sectarian murders this week are testing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promise to stabilize the Iraqi capital.

Iran's Waiting Game By David Ignatius

Fundamentalists at Heart Of Four Middle East Conflicts New York Sun By Youssef Ibrahim