Tuesday, December 11

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THE PEACE PROCESS

PA officials: IDF Gaza raids endanger peace talks
Palestinian officials warned Tuesday that Israel Defense Forces raids in the Gaza Strip endangered the newly revived peace process, coming a day before the first Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in seven years

U.K. pledges $500M in aid to PA if peace process successful
Britain on Monday said it will give the Palestinian Authority $500 million in aid, if peace moves prove successful.

Palestinian negotiators to urge settlement freeze during talks
Palestinians will attend peace talks this week despite a plan by Israel to build new homes in East Jerusalem, but will focus on demanding a settlement freeze, senior Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

Lieberman: Gov`t can't discuss outposts, ignore Negev building
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday that Israel cannot discuss the issue of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank, while ignoring illegal construction in the Negev and Galilee.

Mashaal: Hamas ready to cede control
Damascus-based Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal confirmed that the Islamic group would return control of security and government institutions in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority.

Syria Slams FM Livni as Kassams Fly
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was roundly criticized Monday by Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister for her choice of issues on which to focus during the Annapolis conference.

Quartet ministers to meet at Palestine donor conference
A ministerial meeting of the Middle East mediating Quartet nations will be held during the Palestinian donor conference due in Paris on December 17-18. ‘The meeting aims at the financial assistance in the formation of Palestinian state institutions and the development of various international projects,’ the Russian high-ranking diplomat said.

IRAN

PM: Iran still dangerous, we must continue int'l pressure
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday delivered a fierce rebuttal to a U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran resumed nuke program in 2004. An exiled Iranian opposition group on Tuesday contested a Iran has halted its nuclear weapons program, saying that Teheran still poses a major threat to the West, and the world must not let its guard down.

Iran resumed nuke program in 2004
An exiled Iranian opposition group on Tuesday contested a US intelligence report that said Teheran halted a nuclear weapons development program in 2003, insisting the bomb-making program resumed the following year.

Bush demands Iran explain nuke program
President Bush on Tuesday called on Iran to explain why it had a secretive nuclear weapons program, and warned that any such efforts must not be allowed to flourish ‘for the sake of world peace.’

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Re: Tuesday, December 11

OTHER NEWS IN ISRAEL

Emergency Water Rations in Ramle: A Drill
Preparing a ‘just in case’ scenario, the City of Ramle is carrying out an exercise in supplying citizens with emergency water rations. The drill will begin with a simulated multi-rocket attack on the city that knocks out the electricity, sewage and water infrastructures.

The Effect on the Real Estate Market of a Divided Jerusalem
When taking into account the causes that influence the real estate market, one usually considers factors such as current trends in real estate purchases, the economy, stock market, mortgage rates, employment resources, the area’s crime rate, transportation services, and a slew of other causes - including the threat of war. National suicide has yet to be considered. I have been asked by a number of citizens, what will happen to real estate prices if the government divides the city?

Pioneers Establish Six New Points of Light
The nuclei for six Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria were either established or strengthened Sunday by Jewish pioneers, in a special Chanukah settlement project. Despite scuffles with police and the IDF, which declared the points of settlement closed military zones, Chanukah menorahs were lit in at least three of the sites.

Support Sought for Temple Mount Synagogue
Haifa's long-time Chief Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, who has taken part in many interfaith conferences and gatherings with Moslem religious leaders, says he's trying to gather support for a synagogue on the Temple Mount. [Note: A few paragraphs into the article, there is a link where you can see the $3-million, one-half ton Menorah, that is being moved closer to its final destination!]

T.A. Reform rabbi fears for Israel ties within American community
(This description gave me a lot of formatting trouble; the article is about trying to get Jews to visit Israel, but a prominent rabbi fears that relationships between US communities and the Jewish state are eroding.)

UN passes resolution proposed by Israel
In an unprecedented move Tuesday, the UN passed a resolution proposed by Israel which was unrelated to the Israeli-Arab conflict or the Holocaust

The new post-Zionists
We used to think that post-Zionists were out there on the fringe of Israeli society. They were Israelis who had concluded that so many injustices had been committed in the name of Herzl's dream, that the time had come to turn their backs on the State of Israel. Or, more extreme yet, they believed that Zionism had been one big mistake that now needed to be rectified, and the Palestinian population compensated for the wrongs that had been committed in the name of Zionism - by replacing the Jewish state with a Palestinian one. They insisted that they had seized the moral high ground, but in their sensitivity to the suffering of the Palestinians, they showed zero tolerance for any measures taken in Israel's defense.

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Re: Tuesday, December 11

RUSSIA

Russia alarmed by Israel's plans to build homes in East Jerusalem
The plans to go ahead with settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territories, among them East Jerusalem, cause deep regret in Moscow. Their implementation is fraught with putting an end to positive trends that are taking shape in the region,’ it said.

TERRORISM

Car bombs in Algeria kill at least 22
Car bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday in central Algiers, heavily damaging U.N. offices and partly ripping the facade off a government building. At least 22 people were killed, including U.N. workers, and scores were wounded, officials said.

THE ECONOMY

Fed expected to cut key interest rate
Faced with a spreading mortgage crisis, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for a third time and hint that even more rate cuts could be forthcoming.

THE WEATHER

Storm threatens flooding, mudslides in Caribbean
Subtropical Storm Olga threatened the northern Caribbean islands with heavy rain, flash flooding and mudslides on Tuesday.

Midwest plastered by more deadly ice
A thick glaze of ice brought down power lines and cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of people, closed schools and canceled flights Tuesday as a major ice storm coated the nation's midsection. At least 22 deaths had been blamed on the storm system since the waves of sleet and freezing rain started during the weekend.

Brazil's SE city declares state of emergency after earthquake

The municipal government of a southeastern city in Brazil declared a state of emergency following the death of a five-year-old girl in southeastern Brazil.

California's earthquake warning system lags those in Europe, Japan
When earthquakes send their destructive seismic waves coursing through the ground, an early warning system could save countless lives, and California scientists are testing a promising one right now. But even if the system works, the state would need far more seismic monitoring stations than it now has, and the statewide network of 250 to 300 instruments would need a major upgrade, a UC Berkeley geophysicist reported Monday.