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Israeli relations with Europe strained

Relations between Israel and some of its European allies are under immense pressure this week following a statement on Monday by UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg condemning Israeli settlements as "deliberate vandalism" and a remark by a French legislator that Israel’s water policies in the West Bank amounted to “apartheid.” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon issued a statement on Tuesday during a visit to the UK that Clegg’s irresponsible and ill-informed, adding that they would encourage the Palestinian Authority to set pre-conditions for entering negotiations with Israel. "The settlement issue is but one of many core elements of the conflict. I don't think it is the major one...All those elements are inter-related and you cannot cherry-pick one and try to solve it irrespective of the others. All these issues should be on the table without pre-conditions," he told Reuters.

Elsewhere, Israel’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at a report publish recently by the French National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee and compiled by French MP Jean Glavany (Socialist Party) and a team of other legislators. Israeli officials said that the report entitled “The Jordan Basin: Water as an Integrated Hinge of the Territorial Conflict and Security Question,” which was a 20-page section in a more-than-300-page publication on “The Geopolitics of Water,” projected a grossly distorted image of the situation in the West Bank. Especially egregious was an insert at the end of the section, which contained the words; “Water, revealer of a new apartheid in the Middle East” emphasizing the reports main point that the region has become “the theater of a new apartheid.”

“The systematic evading of simple facts that are available for verification within the field indicate the blatant bias of the author,” a ministry spokesman said. “Instead of contributing to the understanding and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, the report fuels the tensions by piling up false data and distorted statements, and this destructive approach must be dismissed from the beginning.”

Finally, a group of scientists in the UK issued a public statement on Tuesday declaring that they would boycott a European-funded study because one of the partners in the project is the Israeli skin care product manufacturer Ahava, which the group declares "extracts, processes and exports Palestinian resources to generate profits that fund an illegal settlement."

"We work within the legal and policy boundaries established by politicians and policymakers, and would not participate in any academic or educational boycotts that could restrict academic freedom," replied Natural History Museum's Director of Science Professor Ian Owens in a statement.

The project, called NanoReTox, aims to identify potential risks to the environment and human health posed by the tiny man-made materials. Ahava and nine other research bodies are also taking part, including the United States Geological Survey, Kings College London and Imperial College London.

Oren; ‘Drill postponement routine, not political’

Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren issued a statement Wednesday morning on the recent postponement of the ‘Austere Challenge 12’ air defense drill, saying "such postponements are routine and do not reflect political or strategic concerns. The United States and Israel remain committed to holding the exercise - code-named Austere Challenge 12 - the largest and most robust in their historic alliance." The statement is slightly at odds with statements issued by other Israeli as well as US officials who cited a desire to cool tensions with Iran and speculation that the drill was a cover for preparations for a military strike on the Islamic Republic’s renegade nuclear program.

Meanwhile, a different kind of war has broken out between Iran and one of its neighbors to the north. On 16 January Iranian hackers launched cyberstrikes on dozens of Azerbaijani government and commercial sites, in response to escalating tensions, and Azerbaijani hackers have responded in kind. Some of the Iranian hackers said they were acting out of anger at Azerbaijan, a predominantly Moslem country, for its robust diplomatic, military and economic relationship with Israel. The exchange is taking place at the same time as a similar cyber-battle between hackers based in Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting some observers to note that the long simmering conflicts in the region could be slipping out of the control of governments and armies and into the private sphere.

Elsewhere, US Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman told journalists in Johannesburg on Tuesday that the world oil supply would not be catastrophically affected by sanctions on Iran.

“It's a global market, and oil is fungible and easily moved around," Poneman said. "We think that if we handle this responsibly and well, that the world will be able to satisfy its current demands without disruptions even as we try to make sure that we ramp up the pressure on Iran to comply with their non-proliferation obligations."

EU diplomats recently announced that they will implement an embargo on Iranian oil starting in July, giving companies time to phase out existing contracts.

"A deal should be finalized in the coming days" by European Union ambassadors, said one diplomat on Monday.

"We are urging all of our partners to help us, to work with us in putting pressure on the government of Iran to get it to negotiate seriously," said Robert Einhorn, US State Department special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, during a visit to Seoul South Korea on Monday. "We are urging them to reduce their purchases of crude oil from Iran and to unwind their financial dealings with the central bank of Iran. Iran continues to defy the international community. Recently it began increasing enrichment at the Qom enrichment facility to close to 20 percent, which brings them closer to the ability to break out and acquire nuclear weapons. The situation in Iran and North Korea are related. I think progress on one helps achieve progress on another."

South Korea has blacklisted 231 Iranian firms or individuals as part of its own sanctions but has not banned the import of Iranian petrochemicals or crude oil.

Elsewhere, industrial giant India said Tuesday that for now it will continue to buy Iranian crude.

“We have accepted sanctions which were made by the United Nations. Other sanctions do not apply to individual countries," Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told a news conference. "We continue to buy oil from Iran."

ICEJ’s Jurgen Buehler to be honored by Knesset

The annual “Night to Honor Our Christian Allies” will be held at the Inbal hotel in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, organized by the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress. Dr. Jurgen Buehler, the Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, will be a guest of honor and will receive special recognition for his contributions to Israeli Tourism. Also receiving recognition will be Bishop Daniel Williams of the Christian Communion International. The meeting will be attended by several senior Israeli officials as well as leaders from the Jewish communities in several countries around the world.

Another Iranian fishing boat rescued by NATO
In yet another episode on the high seas to embarrass Iran, the Italian warship ITS Grecale, operating in the waters near the Persian Gulf under the auspices of NATO’s anti-piracy mission, rescued an Iranian fishing vessel whose engine had broken down. The Iranian boat had previously been rescued from Somali pirates by a Danish warship on 7 January. Iran’s inability to protect its own civilian shipping in waters so close to its own shores has raised serious doubts about its threats to project naval power further afield. In related news, senior officials from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Monday that they are firmly against Iran’s threats to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to international sanctions. "There is a major confidence crisis with Iran and we also see ourselves as a country that overlooks the Gulf and is definitely affected by tension and escalation," said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Tourism to Israel down since ‘Arab Spring’
Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov lamented on Sunday that the “Arab Spring which became the Muslim Winter” has caused a sharp drop in tourism to the entire region, including Israel. “Those who come from the US or Asia, they don’t know where Egypt ends and where Israel begins. On the map the border is very small,” Meseznikov added. The worldwide economic crisis is also affecting tourism, along with the stong shekel which makes things more expensive in Israel.

Gantz in Brussels for NATO summit
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz was in Brussles to attend the annual meeting of NATO military chiefs on Tuesday. During the conference Gantz will give an address to discuss Israel's security challenges, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian threat. He is also scheduled to meet with theUS military's European Command (EUCOM) Adm. James G. Stavridis, British Chief of Staff General Sir David Richards, Russia military chief Nikolai Makarov, as well as the chiefs of staff of France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Greece and Poland. Back in Israel, the IDF is forming contingency plans for a possible incursion into the Gaza Strip, possibly in the next few months. “Gaza is possibly Israel’s most volatile front today,” a member of the General Staff said this week. “It is a front that can explode at any given moment.”

Israeli doctors perform humanitarian work around the world
A team of Israeli ophthalmologists recently completed a tour of Nepal, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, the Maldives and Ethiopia where they performed eyesight restoring surgery on over 2,000 people. The operations were made possible by MASHAV (Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, which is subject to the Foreign Ministry) in cooperation with NGOs. While they were there, the Israeli doctors also taught local doctors how to continue the work.

Palestinian terrorist sentenced for Fogel murders
The Samaria District Military Court on Monday sentenced Amjad Awad, one of two cousins convicted of murdering five members of the Fogel family in the Itamar settlement last March, to five life terms and seven years in prison. His accomplice, 18 year old Hakim Awad had previously been sentenced to five life sentences and five years in prison for his part in the crime. “I don’t regret what I did, and would do it again,” Amjad Awad said in May. “I’m proud of what I did and I’ll accept any punishment I get, even death, because I did it all for Palestine.” In related news, Israeli police caught two Palestinians with a satchel full of 11 pipe bombs on their way to the court where the sentencing was being held on Monday. The suspects, both in their 20s, were trying to cross the Salim checkpoint near Jenin, the same site where a terror squad was picked up under similar circumstances by the same police officer last week.

UK’s Klegg calls settlements ‘vandalism
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg addressed a joint press conference in London on Monday with visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during which he declared that “the continued existence of illegal settlements risks making facts on the ground such that a two-state solution becomes unviable. It’s an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise upon which negotiations have taken place for years and years. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor issued a statement saying “it is precisely statements like these that vandalize the fragile chances of renewing peace talks and finding solutions to the core problems of the conflict. A better contribution to peace making would be to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer and not inflaming spirits by unwarranted hard talk.”

ICEJ’s Jurgen Buehler to be honored by Knesset

The annual “Night to Honor Our Christian Allies” will be held at the Inbal hotel in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, organized by the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress. Dr. Jurgen Buehler, the Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, will be a guest of honor and will receive special recognition for his contributions to Israeli Tourism. Also receiving recognition will be Bishop Daniel Williams of the Christian Communion International. The meeting will be attended by several senior Israeli officials as well as leaders from the Jewish communities in several countries around the world.

Another Iranian fishing boat rescued by NATO
In yet another episode on the high seas to embarrass Iran, the Italian warship ITS Grecale, operating in the waters near the Persian Gulf under the auspices of NATO’s anti-piracy mission, rescued an Iranian fishing vessel whose engine had broken down. The Iranian boat had previously been rescued from Somali pirates by a Danish warship on 7 January. Iran’s inability to protect its own civilian shipping in waters so close to its own shores has raised serious doubts about its threats to project naval power further afield. In related news, senior officials from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Monday that they are firmly against Iran’s threats to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to international sanctions. "There is a major confidence crisis with Iran and we also see ourselves as a country that overlooks the Gulf and is definitely affected by tension and escalation," said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

Tourism to Israel down since ‘Arab Spring’
Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov lamented on Sunday that the “Arab Spring which became the Muslim Winter” has caused a sharp drop in tourism to the entire region, including Israel. “Those who come from the US or Asia, they don’t know where Egypt ends and where Israel begins. On the map the border is very small,” Meseznikov added. The worldwide economic crisis is also affecting tourism, along with the stong shekel which makes things more expensive in Israel.

Gantz in Brussels for NATO summit
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz was in Brussles to attend the annual meeting of NATO military chiefs on Tuesday. During the conference Gantz will give an address to discuss Israel's security challenges, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian threat. He is also scheduled to meet with theUS military's European Command (EUCOM) Adm. James G. Stavridis, British Chief of Staff General Sir David Richards, Russia military chief Nikolai Makarov, as well as the chiefs of staff of France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Greece and Poland. Back in Israel, the IDF is forming contingency plans for a possible incursion into the Gaza Strip, possibly in the next few months. “Gaza is possibly Israel’s most volatile front today,” a member of the General Staff said this week. “It is a front that can explode at any given moment.”

Israeli doctors perform humanitarian work around the world
A team of Israeli ophthalmologists recently completed a tour of Nepal, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, the Maldives and Ethiopia where they performed eyesight restoring surgery on over 2,000 people. The operations were made possible by MASHAV (Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, which is subject to the Foreign Ministry) in cooperation with NGOs. While they were there, the Israeli doctors also taught local doctors how to continue the work.

Palestinian terrorist sentenced for Fogel murders
The Samaria District Military Court on Monday sentenced Amjad Awad, one of two cousins convicted of murdering five members of the Fogel family in the Itamar settlement last March, to five life terms and seven years in prison. His accomplice, 18 year old Hakim Awad had previously been sentenced to five life sentences and five years in prison for his part in the crime. “I don’t regret what I did, and would do it again,” Amjad Awad said in May. “I’m proud of what I did and I’ll accept any punishment I get, even death, because I did it all for Palestine.” In related news, Israeli police caught two Palestinians with a satchel full of 11 pipe bombs on their way to the court where the sentencing was being held on Monday. The suspects, both in their 20s, were trying to cross the Salim checkpoint near Jenin, the same site where a terror squad was picked up under similar circumstances by the same police officer last week.

UK’s Klegg calls settlements ‘vandalism
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg addressed a joint press conference in London on Monday with visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during which he declared that “the continued existence of illegal settlements risks making facts on the ground such that a two-state solution becomes unviable. It’s an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise upon which negotiations have taken place for years and years. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor issued a statement saying “it is precisely statements like these that vandalize the fragile chances of renewing peace talks and finding solutions to the core problems of the conflict. A better contribution to peace making would be to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer and not inflaming spirits by unwarranted hard talk.”

Netanyahu: ‘more serious sanctions on Iran needed’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that current efforts to curtail Iran’s renegade nuclear program, support for terrorism and pursuit of regional hegemony will not succeed unless there is a serious international effort to support real and effective sanctions against Iran’s petroleum industry and central bank, including China and Russia. He also said that in his judgment, Iran is moving quickly to fill the void left after the US withdrawal from Iraq and this was having a detrimental effect on Israel’s security situation. He went on to explain that because of the political and social changes in the region, Israel’s position is becoming more precarious, as Islamic movements come to power in several countries, most worryingly in Egypt, endangering the quiet on the southern border Israel has enjoyed for a generation.

“The State of Israel must greatly strengthen its defense capabilities and its ability to attack immediately,” Netanyahu said. “This costs a lot of money. We cannot increase the IDF’s power without a strong economy.”

In related news, Defense Minister Ehud Barak confirmed on Monday that the  joint US-Israeli “Austere Challenge 12” air defense drill recently postponed will be held in the second half of 2012.

“In recent days, we reached the conclusion that it would be right to postpone it, this will enable us to better prepare for it," he said in comments relayed by his office.

"The entire world understands that we had to postpone this exercise because of political and regional uncertainties, as well as the tensions and instability prevailing in the region," agreed Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in an interview on public radio from Warsaw, where he is on an official state visit. "It's only a delay, the exercise will take place by the end of the year."

Senior members of Assad regime in Syria switch sides

The regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad took a big hit late Sunday when Imad Ghalioun, a parliamentarian who represents the central city of Homs, scene of much of the violence in Syria over the last ten months, told Al Arabiya that he was abandoning Assad and adding his weight to the growing rebellion against the regime. “The Syrian people are living their worst period,” Ghalioun said. “The people of Homs are under siege and the city is disaster-stricken. There is no electricity, piles of garbage fill the streets... The sounds of shelling all night terrify children.” He added that many of his colleagues in the parliament feel the same way but are fearful of speaking out. Elsewhere, several more soldiers from Assad’s security forces defected to the opposition on Monday, including a general. Another general was reportedly assassinated on Monday.

Meanwhile, a proposal by Qatar to send Arab troops to Syria to bring the situation under control and end the violence was quietly quashed by Arab League diplomats on Monday, who pointed out that Egypt is the only Arab country which has sufficient numbers of soldiers and the capacity to get them to Syria, but that country has its hands full at home. Elsewhere, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated a call for Assad to “stop killing, and listen to his people.”

On Israel’s southern border, the presidential election in Egypt picked up pace on Monday, with leading contender Amr Mousa telling reporters he would keep the peace with Israel but would make “adjustments” to the 1979 peace agreement.

“With regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian cause, Egypt must and will continue to be part of the Arab Initiative [for peace]. Egypt’s policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and its resolution, must be based on the Arab Initiative,” he said. “As for Egyptian-Israeli relations, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty is in place, and I do not think there are any circumstances that will lead to its cancellation. I do not think this will happen, and I do not think it would be wise for this treaty to be canceled. The treaty will continue so long as each party respects it. As for the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula and the presence of Egyptian forces there, I believe that the security articles of the treaty should be reviewed.”

On gas sales to Israel, Moussa rhetorically asked “Firstly, whether we will sell natural gas to Israel or not, and secondly, how such sales will take place. There is a lot of corruption in the gas deals that occurred in the past. This corruption must be immediately addressed. As for the issue of whether we will continue such sales, the political apparatus must look into this and consider how it will manage Egypt’s gas and oil policies, environmental policies, etc.”

 “We, as Egyptians, know that our feelings can be influenced by religion,” Moussa said. “Therefore, I am not afraid of this, because I myself am one of the people whose feelings can be influenced by religion and with the principles and tolerance of religion. “As an Egyptian Muslim, I respect the Islamic religion, and so it would not be right for me to go beyond this, and if I did go beyond this, I should return to it. However I also have another duty, namely to read and learn and work with modern science; to express my opinions; to enjoy literature and the arts. If we wanted it to be without writers, artists, intellectuals and scientists…then this is not Egypt.”

“My basis is Egyptian nationalism,” he continued. “This may require me to take a left-wing position, or a right-wing position, or a moderate position. The main thing is to take a nationalist position.”

Cyber-terrorism strikes Israel, Hamas urges more

An anonymous Saudi computer hacker identifying himself as 0xOmar who has been leading a large scale hacker campaign of harassment against Israeli websites sent an email to the Jerusalem Post on Sunday declaring that he’d been joined by a previously unknown group called “Nightmare” who planned on helping him take down the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al, the national airline of Israel. Both sites were indeed down for several hours on Monday. In response, a Jewish pro-Israel hacker named “Hannibal” has posted information which will allow other hackers to break into the Facebook accounts of thousands of citizens of Arab countries. Hannibal has threatened to release other information about bank accounts in Iran and Saudi Arabia if attacks on Israel continue. Meanwhile, the Islamist terror militia Hamas applauded the attacks and urged hackers to carry out more. “Penetrating Israeli websites means opening a new field of resistance and the beginning of an electronic war against Israeli occupation,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement e-mailed to reporters in the Gaza Strip.

Iran promises to aid Syria in crackdown
A senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told pan-Arab Al Arabiya news channel Monday that his organization would send soldiers and other help to embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad if his regime appeared to be losing its grip on power due to an “attack by external forces.” The officer, who spoke anonymously, also denied reports that Iran has already deployed troops in Syria, along with  gunman from its Lebanese proxy terror militia Hezbollah. The remarks were probably in response to Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who announced on Saturday that his government was considering a military intervention to stop the violence in Syria. The idea was endorsed by some Arab leaders but others worried that it would lead to a wider conflict. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that an additional 32 civilians were slaughtered by Assad’s security forces on Sunday, the latest casualties in a conflict which has claimed close to 8,000 lives over the last ten months, according to various reports.

Bulgaria and Israel sign defense cooperation accords
In the latest setback to international efforts to isolate Israel, Bulgarian defense officials signed accords for close cooperation and training with their Israeli counterparts on Sunday. The accords cover a wide array of issues from joint military training exercises to cooperation in the industrial production of defense products.

Chaotic Iranian leadership row continues
In another sign of the deepening rift within Iran’s senior leadership, a court in Teheran has reportedly sentenced President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's press adviser to one year in prison for insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ali Akbar Javanfekr was also “stripped of membership of political parties, groups, associations, and media activities for five years" according to press reports. Javanfekr, whose duties included editing the official IRNA news agency, previously received a one-year sentence and was banned from journalism activities for three years on charges of "publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms."

Nasrallah rejects UN demand to disarm
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denounced UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Saturday for a statement Ban made at a conference in Beirut on Friday that Hezbollah should give up its weapons . “Our concern is that our people are comforted that there is a resistance in Lebanon and we will not allow a new occupation or another violation,” Nasrallah thundered in a video message to a Shi'ite religious event. “The resistance is here to stay. Its power and its readiness will continue to grow."

ElBaradei quits presidential race in Egypt
Former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei announced on Saturday that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election in Egypt, citing the lack of progress towards democracy in the country as exemplified by the former regime’s continued hold on power. “My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a real democratic system,” ElBaradei said. Despite his often harsh criticism of Israel, the 69 year old ElBaradei was widely viewed in Israel and the West as the least bad option, with ultra-nationalist but secular former Arab League General Secretary Amr Mousa, who was leading in recent polls and is widely popular for his fierce denunciations of the Jewish State, still slightly better than candidates from Islamist parties.

Hezbollah terrorist arrested in Thailand
Israeli and Western embassies in Bangkok Thailand warned of a heightened danger from terrorism over the weekend as Thai police arrested a Lebanese man suspected of belonging to the Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah. The suspect led police to a warehouse where explosives were stored and admitted to a plot to attack Israeli targets in the city, the latest effort by Hezbollah to avenge the 2008 assasination of their military leader, Imad Mughniyeh.  Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said, "At first we were told the Palestinians were behind it, but it turned out to be Hezbollah."

Chinese leaders signs agreements with Saudi Arabia
In a development which could have broad reaching consequences on the developing Iranian crisis, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose country has long been one of the Islamic Republic’s foremost customers for oil and natural gas, signed a series of cultural and economic agreements over the weekend with the government of Saudi Arabia. According to the Xinhua Chinese news agency trade between China and Saudi Arabia reached $58.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, and the new agreements included cooperation on the "peaceful use of nuclear energy," raising eyebrows in some quarters since China has previously supplied Saudi Arabia with intermediate range missiles which could, theoretically, be armed with nuclear warheads. The deals could be a subtle signal to Iran by China that it has other options in the Gulf.

Iran acknowledges US letter describing ‘red lines’ over Hormuz

The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday acknowledging the receipt of a letter from Washington warning the Islamic Republic that following through on its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz would be a “red line” for the US which would result in devastating consequences. The letter was conveyed via the Swiss and Iraqi governments, due to the lack of direct diplomatic relations between the two governments. Elsewhere, Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of Iran's armed forces, sent a thundering warning to the US on Sunday that "Despite their propaganda, the US knows that it does not have the ability to halt the Islamic Republic's activities in certain areas, notably in closing the Strait of Hormuz…if the interests of Iran and the Islamic world are in danger, our armed forces have the ability to confront those wishing to create trouble in the region."

To read the latest intelligence report on Iran, click HERE (PDF)

Also on Sunday, Iran’s representative to OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi,  warned his Islamic neighbors against cooperating with economic sanctions against his country by raising their production of crude oil to compensate world supply for the Iranian oil several countries have decided to boycott. Khatabi menacingly declared in an interview with Qatar's Sharq newspaper that if they dare to do so these countries "will be held responsible for what happens."

In related news, state run media in Iran have announced that the government has what it claims to be “documents” which prove the CIA was behind the recent assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. No further details were given, and similar official statements in the past have later proven to be empirically false. Another account of the assassination was published in the London-based Sunday Times on Sunday, this time blaming Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

Elsewhere, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on Sunday that "any terrorist action or assassination of any people, whether scientist or civilian, is to be condemned. It is not acceptable. Human rights must be protected."

US urges Israel to coordinate action on Iran

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that US officials are worried that Israel might attack Iran’s renegade nuclear program in 2012 without coordinating their plans with Washington. The report added that the US has quietly beefed up security at embassies in the region to guard against possible reprisal attacks from Iranian terrorist proxies as well as other potential threats. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to arrive in Israel this week for consultations on regional developments, and is expected to reiterate American concerns and urgent requests for the Israelis to keep the US in the loop and not take action on its own. Meanwhile, an Israeli defense official announced on Sunday that “Austere Challenge 12” the planned upcoming missile defense exercise in Israel which was to bring over 5,000 US troops to the Jewish State along with equipment and weapons, has been postponed.

"Israel and the United States have agreed to postpone the maneuver planned for spring," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The exercises will take place between now and the end of 2012."

Israeli Army radio, citing a defense official, added that the postponement was to avoid "unnecessary headlines in such a tense period."

Reports in the Israeli press indicate the news came as a surprise to the IDF which just last month issued a statement that "the exercise scenario involves notional, simulated events as well as some field training and is not in response to any real-world event."

Relations between Washington and Jerusalem have been tense in recent days as an argument over the best response to Iran has continued both in private and in public. Although the Obama Administration has led an effort to impose tougher economic and diplomatic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, some Israeli officials think the response should be even stronger.

"France and Britain understand that the sanctions must be strengthened, in particular against the Iranian Central Bank," Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon recently said. "The U.S. Senate is also in favor, but the U.S. government is hesitating, fearing higher oil prices in an election year. It's disappointing."

“It is regrettable that the international community has not yet used all the means at its disposal to stop the Iranian nuclear program," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon agreed during an interview with Israel Public Radio on Sunday.

Ahmadinejad wraps up Latin American trip

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in Ecuador on Friday where he told reporters, among other things, that he would continue to defy the Western powers who are intent on thwarting the progress of the Iranian nation, adding that the very idea that Iran would be pursuing a nuclear weapons capability is absurd. "They insult our country and our citizens,” Ahmadinejad declared. "The nuclear question is a political excuse. They all know full well Iran isn't interested in producing nuclear bombs. We don't believe in making atom bombs. We believe it is immoral." Ecuador is the last stop on Ahmadinejad’s Latin American tour, which took him to Cuba yesterday for meetings with President Raul Castro. During his visit there, Ahmadinejad complained to his host that the West was “punishing” his country for no reason, adding that the failure of Western style capitalism was evident and it was time for non-Western countries to forge a new world order based on “justice.”

More Arab League monitors quit in Syria
The Arab League monitoring mission to Syria was showing signs of unraveling on Thursday as several more monitors quit in disgust over the futility of their efforts to end almost a year of violence in the country. “The mission does not serve the citizens,” said an unidentified monitor who said he would leave Syria on Friday. “It doesn’t serve anything.”Anwar Malek, an Algerian who quit the monitoring team this week and told Al Jazeera the mission was “a farce” told Reuters on Thursday that many more would like to quit but are there under orders from their governments.“Neither the violence has stopped, nor the killing. The level has dropped, but it has not stopped,” conceded Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al Arabi in an interview Thursday with Al Hayat television. Opposition groups claimed the regime of president Bashar Assad killed another 21 people on Thursday while several members of the security forces were also reportedly killed.

Hamas not satisfied with Jordanian clemency offer
Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk on Thursday angrily rejected a recent statement by Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Al-Khasawneh that the Hashemite Kingdom is planning to allow Hamas leaders to reside in the country but not practice politics, declaring that "one cannot prevent the Hamas leadership from practicing politics because its aim is to protect the rights of the Palestinian people. We hope Jordan will rethink its decision in this regard." Al-Khasawneh’s statement signaled a reversal in a long standing policy of outright banning the Palestinian Islamist terror militia from Jordan, but Marzouk’s statement indicates that that’s not good enough for Hamas leaders, who have recently had to evacuate Damascus due to the revolution there against the Assad regime, their long time patron.

Israel hit by hacker attacks
A group identifying itself as the Gaza Hacker Team launched a cyber attack on the website of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services Friday morning, the latest cyber-terror attack against Israeli interests following an attack last week on the website of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. The IDF has recently stood up a team of its own cyber-warriors, including a crop of 300 young Israelis recruited last month, some of whom are not even old enough to be drafted. “These are some of the top experts in their field,” a senior officer said. “We are not where we would like to be when it comes to the cyber world and we are working to improve our capabilities.”

Snow and rain usher in the weekend
Israelis living on the Golan Heights awoke up to a rare site on Friday morning as massive snowfall covered Mount Hermon and the surrounding area, leading to the closure of several roads and schools as children joyfully built snowmen and the police warned travelers to avoid the area until snow removal equipment could be brought to bear. Large areas in the rest of the country experienced heavy rains on Friday, with lower than average temperatures. Despite the heavy precipitation, the Water Authority issued a statement on Thursday that the country is still experiencing a water crisis, with the Sea of Galilee at 213.55 meters below sea level on Thursday morning, 55 centimeters under the -213- meter red line, and 4.75 meters below full capacity.

For a closer look at water issues in Israel, click HERE
 

 

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