Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Michel Suleiman
Saudi King, Syrian President Stress Unity in Visit to Beirut
Saudi Arabian King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad flew in to Beirut for a joint visit over the weekend, their apparent mission being to head-off any possible violence when indictments in the five-year-old case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri are handed down by the United Nations-appointed tribunal. Hizbullah members are expected to be indicted and Hizbullah chief Na’srallah has warned that his organization might react violently if that happens. In a statement issued after the two visitors met with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, Abdullah and Al-Asad stressed the need for stability in Lebanon and the need to “place the country’s interests above all sectarian interests.”
Tue, August 3rd, 2010 - 11:19amRead more »
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Palestinians: We Offered Israel Best Offer Yet
Israel has been offered a framework for the most expansive peace agreement ever offered, the chief Palestinian negotiator has claimed. Saeb Ariqat, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority [PA], says he gave the Obama administration an outline for a peace agreement that goes far beyond any previous Palestinian offer. “During the proximity talks we submitted to Senator Mitchell all our positions vis-a-vis the permanent core issues i.e borders, Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, security, end of conflict, end of claims, with maps,” Ariqat told The Media Line, referring to Obama’s Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the two sides.
Mon, August 2nd, 2010 - 1:17pmRead more »
Israel to UN: Rocket Firing Hurting Peace Efforts
Israel's UN envoy in Geneva Aharon Leshno Yaar sent a letter to the Human Rights Council over the weekend following the recent rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. State officials claim the council has a "peculiar obsession" against Israel. In an official complaint letter sent at the Foreign Ministry's request it was noted that "the indiscriminate launching of rockets at civilians and civilian objects amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity." The letter also stated that the attacks hurt the peace process and the resumption of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mon, August 2nd, 2010 - 1:11pmRead more »
Sniffing Grants Communication and Mobility to the Paralyzed
A stroke patient locked into her body for seven months unable to move or communicate was able to write an email to her family using a new device developed in Israel that allows severely disabled people to communicate and steer a wheelchair by sniffing. The revolutionary new device identifies changes in air pressure inside the nostrils and translates these into electrical signals which can then be used either to write messages or to move a wheelchair. "The most stirring tests were those we did with locked-in syndrome patients. These are people with unimpaired cognitive function who are completely paralyzed— 'locked into' their bodies," says Prof. Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute, who developed the device.
Mon, August 2nd, 2010 - 1:05pmRead more »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Jan'09 Ashkelon Attack
Rocket Explodes in Heart of Ashkelon
A rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun exploded in the heart of a populated area in the southern city of Ashkelon on Friday morning [July 30]. Two people suffered shock. Two empty floors of an apartment building, several cars and a nearby pavement sustained damage. Many windows were shattered. Police dispatched to the rocket's landing site urged the residents to stay in their homes for fear of additional rockets. "We heard the siren and ran into the fortified room," says Dudi Ben-Shlush, who lives on the fourth floor of the building hit by the rocket.
Fri, July 30th, 2010 - 11:07amRead more »
Arab League Conditions Direct Talks on US Guarantees
The Arab League agreed to the principle of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians on Thursday [July 29], but refused to call for their beginning immediately, according to Al Jazeera. The report from the Jerusalem Post was more positive, saying that the Arab League gave approval to the Palestinian Authority to begin direct talks, but left it up to the Palestinian Authority to decide when and if to begin them. Either way, based on the Palestinian response before and after the meeting, it appears they are not prepared to enter direct talks as of now. The American response to a letter sent from the Arab League will apparently be important in determining if the talks begin soon.
Fri, July 30th, 2010 - 9:47amRead more »
Israel Pushing for More Solar Power
Israel’s Public Utilities Authority has announced a new initiative aimed at boosting the volume of solar power produced in the country. The authority announced on Wednesday [July 28] that it would boost the volume of solar power the government is willing to buy, while reducing by 25 percent the rate it would pay solar power producers from 2.04 shekel [53 cents] to 1.55 shekels [40 cents] per kilowatt hour. Israel incentivizes the production of renewable energy by paying an enhanced rate to producers who pump energy from renewable sources into Israel’s electrical grid, thereby forcing the authority to limit the volume of renewable energy it can afford to buy.
Fri, July 30th, 2010 - 9:45amRead more »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Boboc•Romania.
IDF: All Bodies Recovered from Crash Site
An Israel Defense Forces [IDF] official announced Wednesday evening [July 28] that the army's search team had finished evacuating the bodies of six Air Force men killed in Monday's [July 26] helicopter crash. Earlier Wednesday, Israeli Consul General in Romania Lily Ben Harush arrived at the forensics lab in Brasov, where some of the bodies are already located, in order to begin the process of returning them to Israel. On Thursday two IDF choppers will leave from Israel to help pack up the equipment brought to Romania and to transport the bodies to Israel. The search party will hold a ceremony in honor of the six men, and fly back Thursday evening.
Thu, July 29th, 2010 - 1:27pmRead more »
In Turkey, British PM Likens Gaza to “Prison Camp”
Britain’s Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has indirectly attacked Israel by saying that Gaza was currently like a “prison camp.” During a visit to Turkey, he also harshly criticized Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in which nine Turkish activists were killed at the end of May. Addressing reporters in Ankara, he said: “The Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla was completely unacceptable.” In a reference to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, he said: “The situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp."
Thu, July 29th, 2010 - 1:22pmRead more »
PLO Mission to US Allowed to Fly Palestinian Flag
The United States has agreed to allow several symbolic measures by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) representative mission to Washington, including permission to fly the Palestinian flag, according to the US State Department Web site. The mission is still not considered an embassy, nor do they enjoy diplomatic immunity. Though the changes are symbolic, they came amidst ongoing American diplomatic efforts to upgrade Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to direct negotiations.
Thu, July 29th, 2010 - 1:21pmRead more »
