Report: PA would give Israel Kotel
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
07/03/2010 19:42

Arab newspaper says Abbas willing to give Israel Jewish Quarter.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed that the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem remain under Israeli sovereignty in the context of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

According to the report, Abbas made the offer in "written ideas" that he presented to US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, at the beginning of the "proximity talks" with Israel.

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Abbas's ideas, the newspaper report said, called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on land equal to 100% of the entire West Bank, while carrying out a 2.3% land swap between the two sides.
Palestinian officials in Ramallah said that Abbas's proposals were largely based on the peace negotiations that were conducted in 2000 first at Camp David and later at the Egyptian resort of Taba in Sharm a-Sheikh.

The proposed land swap would enable Israel to annex large settlement blocs in the West Bank such as Gush Etzion, Givat Ze'ev and Modiin Elite, as well as a strip of land opposite Ben Gurion Airport, the officials told the newspaper.

In return, the Palestinians would be given a strip of land adjacent to Hebron that would be the same size as the territory annexed by Israel, they added.

With regards to Jerusalem, Abbas's ideas envisage an Israeli withdrawal from east Jerusalem, including the Old City, with the exception of the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter. The city would also remain open to followers of all religions. In addition, the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reopened, the report said.

A PA official played down reports about progress in the proximity talks. Pointing out that Mitchell has visited the region 20 times since he was appointed special envoy to the Middle East, the official said: "He has heard only a few words from Netanyahu, such as 'I want to discuss this issue with Abbas' and 'We can't talk about such important issues unless we sit together at the negotiation table.'"

The official added: "Each time he comes to the Mukata, Mitchell begins his talks with President Abbas by stating that there's nothing new with Netanyahu, who is insisting on discussing everything during direct talks."

Meanwhile, Chief PA Negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday that he was unaware of reports suggesting that the proximity talks had narrowed the gap between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Today I requested clarifications from the US Administration about these reports," Erekat said. He said that during the last meeting between Abbas and Mitchell last week, the Palestinians did not hear about any progress.

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Ahmadinejad: New sanctions 'pathetic'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
07/03/2010 17:54

Iranian president says new US measures won't stop nuclear program.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the latest US sanctions passed against the Islamic Republic "pathetic" on Saturday in his first speech since the new measures were signed into law by US President Barack Obama on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The US legislation affects the gasoline, financial, insurance and shipping sectors, among others, as it seeks to impose a heavy economic cost on Iran for continuing with its nuclear program.

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"They know that there is a sleeping lion in Iran which is waking up and if she wakes up all the relationships in the world will change," said Ahmadinejad. "Their pathetic acts show they know what a great human power is hidden in Iran."

Ahmadinejad added that the sanctions would not prevent Iran from continuing its nuclear program.

"They thought that by having meetings and talking to each other and signing papers they could stop a great nation's progress," Ahmadinejad said. "Iran is much greater than what they can perceive it in their small minds," he added. "We know that if this Iranian civilization awakes then there would be no more room for arrogant, corrupt and bullying powers."

The US bill attempts to bar foreign countries from exporting refined petroleum to Iran, as well as restrict access to American financial institutions for any entities that help Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. It also seeks to choke off investment, technology and development of Iran's energy sector, and makes it easier for states and localities to divest from companies that do business with Iran.

The measure was passed overwhelmingly by the Senate and House last week ahead of the July 4 recess. Sponsors described it as the toughest ever to target Iran.

Though the Obama administration had expressed some reservations about the details of the bill, its main concern was that the move would disrupt its own efforts to get a new sanctions resolution through the UN Security Council. Once that passed last month, lawmakers seized on the opportunity to build on the framework by putting through the unilateral US measure.

Hilary Leila Krieger and Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.

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UN: New Lebanon-Israel conflict possible
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
07/03/2010 05:11

Ban speaks of increased tensions, mutual cease-fire violations

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that an increase in tensions between Lebanon and Israel could lead to a new conflict with potentially devastating consequences.

In a report to the UN Security Council, Ban accused both countries of violating the 2006 cease-fire resolution that ended the 34-day Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hizbullah.

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The UN chief said Hizbullah continues to maintain "a substantial military capacity" in violation of UN resolutions and an arms embargo, and he again called for Hizbullah and other militias to be disarmed "through a Lebanese-led political process."

Ban said Israel continues to violate the cease-fire by conducting daily overflights of Lebanon and refuses to withdraw from the disputed northern border village of Ghajar.

The secretary-general said that both sides have violated the UN-drawn Blue Line separating them.

Ban said Israeli accusations in April that neighboring Syria had provided Scud missiles to Hizbullah - an allegation later raised by US officials - "greatly increased tensions" between Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Lebanese and Syrian authorities categorically denied any missile transfers.

Hizbullah's secretary-general would neither confirm nor deny that the militia had acquired such weapons and stated that the militia was prepared to respond to attacks from Israel, Ban said.

"Rhetoric escalated rapidly, creating a perception in the public that a resumption of conflict was imminent," the secretary-general said.

For the moment, he said, tensions appear to have subsided, due mainly to messages from Syrian and Israeli officials that "a confrontation was not desired," as well as diplomatic actions by Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, several Arab and European governments, the US and the UN.

Nonetheless, Ban said, the increase in tensions "raised the specter of a miscalculation by either party leading to a resumption of hostilities, with potentially devastating consequences for Lebanon and the region."

The summer 2006 war, which left some 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead, ended in a stalemate.

The secretary-general expressed concern at several attacks aimed at UNIFIL forces. UN diplomats said at least one troop contributing country has asked the Lebanese government to deploy more troops to the south.

Ban said both sides have a responsibility to address all outstanding issues "in order to reach a permanent cease-fire and a long-term solution" as called for in the 2006 resolution.

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PM prepares for US visit
By JPOST.COM STAFF
07/02/2010 14:46

Advisers to leave for Egypt; Netanyahu calls for direct talks.
National Security Advisers Uzi Arad and Yitzhak Molko will leave for Egypt on Sunday to meet with head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Suleiman, Israel Radio reported on Friday. The meeting is meant to help Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prepare for his trip to Washington on Monday.

Netanyahu plans to meet US President Barack Obama next week to discuss the peace process.

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Israel Radio reported that the State Department asked that Defense Minister Ehud Barak join the prime minister on his trip, so that all of the relevant issues may be discussed. Barak has not decided whether to fly to the US or not.

According to the report, Netanyahu said: "We can do a lot of things, but first of all, we have to sit at a long table - me in front of Abbas - and negotiate face-to-face. The only way we can finish negotiations is to begin, and I call upon President Abbas to come to the negotiation table."

Netanyahu is also expected to visit New York for meetings and interviews with the media.

Arad and Molko's trip comes a week after Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, complained to the foreign ministry about Egyptian attitude towards Israeli officials.

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Syria posts Iranian radar atop tall Lebanese peak
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 3, 2010, 6:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Iranian mobile radar, installed in Lebanon

Syria has posted the advanced early warning radar it received from Iran - not on its own soil but on the highest peak of neighboring Lebanon, according to debkafile's military and intelligence sources. From Mount Sannine in central Lebanon, the new facility provides early warning against a possible surprise Israeli missile or aerial attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and extends the span of Iranian and Syrian electronic surveillance to include Israeli air space the south and the eastern-central Mediterranean to the west.
Friday, July 2, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley confirmed the Wall Street Journal's disclosure that Iran had transfer of the high-tech radar to Syria. He said this move was of concern "due to Syria's relationship with Hizballah," adding "We don't believe that Iran's designs for the region are in Syria's best interest."
According to our sources, there is nothing new in this disclosure. The new radar was deployed on Mt. Sannine ten months ago, complete with Iranian and Syrian radar operators. Hizballah was made responsible for guarding the facility and keeping approach roads clear, as well as bringing supplies to the Iranian-Syrian crews on the mountain. Syria trained the Lebanese Shiite extremists in the use of the anti-air missile batteries for securing the site.

On July 12, 2008, debkafile first revealed that Hizballah had just commandeered the 7,880- foot Mt. Sannine northeast of Beirut at the behest of Tehran and Damascus, followed by Mount Barukh, which is half the height and situated in the Chouf Mountains much closer to South Lebanon (and the Israeli border).
In late 2009, the radar position was put in there and Iranian mobile systems installed on Mt. Barukh - in line with the strategy agreed by Iran and Syria to extend their watch on Israel and the US Sixth Fleet.
Israel's leaders held back from interfering with the Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah seizure of these strategic positions across its northern border and the installation of an advanced Iranian radar facility, just as they have since avoided blocking Hizballah's massive armament with smuggled Iranian and Syrian ballistic missiles.

Washingtontoo turned a blind eye to this Iranian strategic outpost - until now. It was allowed to leak in the wake of the difficult conversation President Barack Obama had with Saudi King Abdullah at the White House Tuesday, June 29.
He taxed the king with recent reports about Riyadh's willingness to provide an air corridor for Israeli bombers bound for attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. But Abdullah declined to confirm or deny them and waved the subject aside.
The belated disclosure of the Mt. Sannine facility was directed at the Saudi king, intended to warn him that Iran's early warning electronic station in Lebanon had pre-empted the Israeli option of a surprise attack on its nuclear facilities. Riyadh would therefore be well advised to drop its plan to back an Israeli operation for disposing of their shared Iranian nuclear threat.

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Iran threatens oil routes as Obama signs tough new energy sanctions
DEBKAfile Special Report July 2, 2010, 10:24 AM (GMT+02:00)

Obama signs first sanctions with bite

A US-Iran showdown loomed closer early Friday, July 2, when president Barack Obama signed into law a series of energy sanctions, the toughest yet, for arresting Iran's nuclear weapons program. Iran's defense minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi warned that searches of its ships or planes would have "dire consequences" for world security and the Middle East in particular.

The law drafted by Congress shuts US markets to firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products, such as gasoline and jet fuel, invest in its energy sector, or provide financing, insurance or shipping services. Non-US banks doing business with blacklisted Iranian entities, primarily Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps organizations, will be banned from US markets.
These measures complement and strengthen the new UN Security Council sanctions and European measures and will hit every Iranian. The oil-rich country Islamic Republic imports 40 percent of its refined oil needs because of its own inadequate refining capacity. Any investors in projects for developing this sector would be punishable under the new US law.
Earlier, Gen. Vahidi warned world powers against implementing certain UN sanctions: "As regards inspection of (Iranian) ships, there are one or two countries which pursue the issue and have made some comments about it and this indicates that these people don't pay any attention to security issues in the region and the world," said.
Tuesday, June 26, debkafile's military sources reported the arrival of the USS Nassau-LHA-4 at the head of a strike group of amphibian craft to the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea sector with 4,000 Marines aboard, including special units trained in operations behind enemy lines. Our sources disclosed that their presence caused Tehran to hold back the ships destined for breaking Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip for fear they would be intercepted and searched as UN sanctions permits. To read article click here.
The Speaker of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) Ali Larijani and the Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Ali Fadavi have both threatened harsh reprisals against all vessels, including American warships and oil tankers sailing through the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz, for any attempts to search ships or planes carrying cargoes to Iran.

The new US law will make shipping and insurance costs for Iran's gasoline imports prohibitive. They are the first sanctions to bite really deep into Iran's economy and hit the Guards' commercial empire. Their control of refined oil imports is a major source of revenue and those profits provide funding for their operations, the foremost of which is the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons.
debkafile's Iranian sources have no doubt that Iran will not take the new penalties lying down and will strike back - possibly, in the first instance, by impeding Persian Gulf shipping carrying Saudi and Gulf oil out to the United States, Europe and the Far East, with immediate effect on world oil prices.
Interception of an Iranian ship suspected of carrying contraband energy products could well spin into a showdown.
President Obama indicated that this time the United States is determined to follow through on its punitive measures against Iran. As he signed the new sanctions, he said: "There should be no doubt, the US and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The new sanctions would strike at its capacity to finance its nuclear program." He went on to say, "If Tehran persists in its course, the pressure will continue to mount and its isolation continue to deepen."