MIDEAST NEWS DIGEST
President Mubarak, Arab League Leaders Hold Mini-Summit to Warn Israelis Against Further Attacks
The Egyptian State Information Service reported on May 11 that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, and Arab League General Secretary Amr Moussa have all issued dramatic warnings to Israel, not to move militarily against the Palestinians in Gaza during what has been dubbed a "mini-Arab League Summit" held in Cairo. Mubarak warned anew that the situation in the Middle East region may further deteriorate if it is not tackled rationally.
"I have told them we regret the tragic incidents that take place occasionally, but the situation must be taken wisely, otherwise we would be trapped in a vicious circle of murder and destruction," said Mubarak in statements upon arrival in Sharm El-Sheikh, where the Egyptian-Syrian-Saudi summit was held May 11. Mubarak pointed out that the situation in Gaza in particular would be tougher than that in Jenin. "That is why I found it incumbent upon me to phone the Israeli Prime Minister; I phoned him at 11:00 p.m....
"If Gaza was struck, the matter would reflect on the Israeli people and might be more terrible for the whole region," added the Egyptian President. On his vision of the future of peace within the Arab consultations, with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and later with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, Mubarak said he would be briefed on Abdullah's visit to the United States, which he termed successful. He welcomed the Syrian President.
During the same meetings, Arab Foreign Ministers met to discuss what to do about Israel's attacks on the Palestinians. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faysal, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed Bin Mubarak, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Al Maashar held a consultative meeting attended by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al Qarbi. They discussed the situation in the occupied lands and the Arab moves for protecting the Palestinian people against Israeli attacks.
On the issues raised during the meeting, Maher said that the ministers discussed future efforts to realize Arab objectives vis-à-vis developments in the international arena, the proposed international conference, and the Israeli threats.
The meeting also addressed the Arab peace initiative. Asked whether they discussed what Arab countries would do if the Israeli forces stormed Gaza, Maher said "we have discussed everything you think of."
Asked whether he sensed, during his phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, any enthusiasm to seriously intervene, Maher said Powell realizes the gravity of an Israeli storming of Gaza. "Should the Israelis stop for a minute to mull the repercussions of any such action, they would heed the content of Mubarak's message," Maher added. "We ask the U.S. to shoulder its responsibility, as the world's only superpower, with regard to the peacemaking drive."
On whether he was given guarantees or reassurances by Powell, Maher asserted that the Americans were aware of the grave repercussions and that they would contact the Israeli government. "But, there were no guarantees."
Arafat Calls for New Elections, Peace Between Two Sovereign States
Speaking to the Palestinian Legislative Council, which was called into special session May 15, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said that "I propose ... the immediate preparation for elections ... that would lead to fulfill[ing] the principle of separation of powers." He praised the Palestinian people's endurance amid recent "sieges, massacres, and aggression."
"We are now badly in need of re-evaluating our policies and our plans in order to repair the errors, and to connect our march and our struggle ... for national independence," Arafat added. "We have announced in the past, and we reiterate in our announcement today, our rejection of all kinds of operations that target Israeli civilians."
Then, noting "what our Palestinian civilians are subjected to, like what happened in Jenin," Arafat also said, "Palestinian and Arab public opinion have now become convinced that these operations will not serve our interests and goals, and they antagonize large segments of the international community." He urged the Council to take up this issue of violence.
Arafat declared that "our idea is real freedom and complete independence in the state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.... Whoever doesn't like it can go ... drink the water of the Dead Sea." "Peace is our strategic option, and we will never abandon that option. Peace gives common interest to both peoples, Palestinian and Israelis," Arafat said. "They [the Sharon government] tried to abolish this peace deal, they took the military option ... to demolish, kill and destroy our infrastructure.... [But,] This will not change anything at all of our determination to achieve peace and autonomy and independence."
Within a couple of days, however, Sharon and the IDF began a new round of attacks on the West Bank, and the Israeli propaganda machine began rolling out lies that Arafat had "reneged" on the plan for new elections.
What Arafat did stress was that it is impossible to have elections under the conditions of Israeli tank, artillery, and helicopter attacks, and occupation, and that Israel must withdraw from the Occupied Territories.
Sources Warn Israel Will Attack Gaza
Officials inside the Bush Administration and other areas of the U.S. government are well aware that Israel Defense Force is planning a Jenin-style invasion of the Gaza Strip, as soon as international pressure can be circumvented, a highly placed diplomat in Washington told EIW.
Meanwhile, the IDF continued operations throughout the West Bank, beginning on May 15, calling the rampant destruction "pinpoint" operations. On May 17, Israeli tanks entered the Jenin refugee camp, as well as Jenin city. After an exchange of fire, the Israelis made several arrests. Israeli tanks also entered Nablus and then withdrew, but not before a seven-year-old boy was killed by Israeli fire, when tanks entered the Osker refugee camp adjacent to Nablus. Tanks also entered the West Bank city of Tul Karm.
World Bank Estimates IDF Caused $350 Million in Damage to Palestinians
On May 15, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that a World Bank-drafted report, put together with a team from the donor nations (mostly European and U.S.), concluded that the Israel Defense Force caused $350 million in damage to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions in the West Bank during the 30-plus days of Operation Defensive Shield (aka Protective Wall). These figures are already staggering, but humanitarian organizations have placed the figure at $800 million.
The largest physical damage was done in Nablus, at approximately $115 million, with the destruction of historic buildings being $43 million alone. Damage to civilian housing was $66 million, which includes Jenin, the hardest hit.
This figure comes in addition to the figure of $305 million in damages contained in an earlier report isused by the World Bank in March. Since the beginning of the intifada, the Palestinian Authority has lost $2.4 billion in income.
Israeli Exposé: Settlements Have Illegally Taken Over 42% of Palestinian Territories
Israeli settlements in the West Bank actually control 42% of the territory, according to a report by the B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Territories. The report, entitled "Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank," compiled by Israeli researcher Yehezkel Lein, shows that although the settlements are built on 1.7% of the territory, they acually control 41.9% of the land. The way this works, is that 6.8% of the territory is designated for settlement in the Israeli national plan for Jewish settlement, but a further 35.1% is land that falls under the jurisdiction of the Jewish local and regional councils. Thus, when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon offers the Palestinians a state on 40% of the West Bank, he wants even more than this already outrageous amount of land that is now controlled by the Israeli settlements. It should be noted that a considerable number of Palestinians also live within this 35%.
According to the report, these large chunks of territories can be divided into four lengthwise strips of territory. The first is an eastern strip, which includes the Jordan Valley, the shores of the Dead Sea, and the eastern slopes of the West Bank ridge. Although the 5,400 Jewish settlers live within municipal boundaries covering 76,000 dunams of land, the regional councils control another 1.2 million. At present, Palestinians living in this area are denied access to water resources.
The second is the mountain strip, where some 34,000 settlers live within municipal boundaries of 62,000 dunams, but the area's four regional councils control another 409,000.
The third is the Western Hills strip, which stretches from the north to the south across an area 10-20 kilometers wide, between the Western Border and the mountain strip and the green line. Here, 85,000 Jewish settlers live within municipal boundaries of 110,000 dunams, and a further 264,000 come under the jurisdiction of three regional councils.
The fourth are the settlements around Jerusalem, where 247,000 Jewish settlers live on 130,000 dunams and another 90,000 is controlled by three regional councils.
The report also revealed that the settlements receive much more government money than communities within Israel. In 2000, the West Bank municipalities received grants from the government that were 65% more than those received by other communities. Regional councils, which control these huge tracts of land where thousands of Palestinians live, received 165% more than their counterparts within Israel.
B'Tselem called for the removal of all the settlements by giving settlers incentives to move.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Interviewed on Visit with Bush
The British newspaper The Guardian on May 15 published excerpts of an interview given by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to the Saudi paper Ozak, in which he discussed his meeting with President George W. Bush. The paper characterized his impression of Bush as "nice but dim."
The Guardian noted that, following the five-hour meeting at Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch, White House spinmeisters had pointed to the length of the meeting as evidence that the two men had personally bonded. According to the Guardian, "Prince Abdullah presents a different interpretation: The time was spent coaching the President in political realities." Abdullah was directly quoted, from Ozak, on his observations about Bush: "He is the type of person who sleeps at 9:30 pm, after watching the domestic news. In the morning, he only reads a few lines about what is written on the Middle East and the world due to his huge responsibilities."
The Prince did observe that Bush "listens and debates politely, but was not fully informed about the real conditions in the region, especially the conditions suffered by the Palestinian people. I felt it was my duty to spend as long a time as possible to brief him on the facts directly and without an intermediary." He described Bush as "deeply moved" when the Prince showed him photos and videos of "the tragedies in the Palestinian territories."
"I found a man totally different from what I had expected. He has noble qualities. He is honest, courageous, and highly compassionate. These are all good news for the Palestinians." Crown Prince Abdullah concluded by telling Ozak, "I told him, 'You are the President of the world's most powerful country, you have principles and deep-rooted political values that stress human rights, justice, and equality. You also have the ability to move towards justice and peace.' I came out fully convinced that the man will act in the right direction."
Anglo-Americans' Iraqi Opposition Is a Farce
The Bush Administration policy of a "regime change" in Iraq stands exposed as a farce, pushed by the utopian faction inside the U.S. government that intends to keep the war going as a perpetual point of instability. As leading American statesmen Lyndon LaRouche remarked in his President's Day dialogue with supporters, the targetting of Iraq is done simply in order to have a target for the Roman imperial destruction of a state, and the drive will continue, even if Iraq agrees to weapons inspections.
The Iraq war is also causing a civil war inside the Bush Administration. In fact, the factions go back to the 1991 ground battle in the Gulf war, in which a hopelessly inept "march on Baghdad," pushed under the rubric of "Operation Scorpion," was rightly overruled by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the elder President Bush, Gen. Colin Powell. "Scorpion" was the brainchild of Paul Wolfowitz, then serving in the State Department, and had won the admiration of Dick Cheney, who was then Defense Secretary.
Now, 11 years later, Wolfowitz, the leading warmonger in the Department of Defense, intends to ram through his "Scorpion" operation, with a number of well-place fanatics ensconced in various positions. However, some of the ramming has hit a wall.
Describing this faction fight, on May 10, the usually un-humorous New York Times carried a hilarious tale of a war between the State Department/CIA vs. the Wolfowitz/Perle gang in the Defense Department, using factions of anti-Saddam Iraqis as their proxies.
After holding back portions of the Congressional-approved $97 million for Ahmed Chaloabi's Iraqi National Congress (INC) for months, because Chalabi could never account for what he spent, the State Department offered the INC a short-term $1.1 million per month, with the condition that a State Department official oversee the disbursal of the funds. On advice of Wolfowitz, Perle, et al., the INC replied "no way"you can keep your money. On May 1, the INC, which is based in London and controlled by the British Foreign Office, posted a notice on its website (www.inc.org.uk) that, due to lack of State Departmen funding, their "Radio Free Iraq" transmission project had been cancelled.
Meanwhile, says the Times, the Wolfowitz cabal moved to scotch a State Department-planned meeting of Iraqi opposition leaders slated Germany this summer, to try to pull together an alternative to Chalabi's INC. Chalabi's sponsors boiled over when they learned that the INC was told they could have only one representative at a planning session. State had contracted Washington's Middle East Institute, a think tank that is known to include a number of foreign-service "Arabists" and that is headed by Ambassador Edward Walker, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. Then, someone pointed out to the Bush Administration that this planned conferencefor which $5 million had been allocatedhad a "glaring political vulnerability." Some Sherlock Holmes had discovered that Ed Walker had expressed doubts about the "axis of evil." Rather than allow such sanity to be part of a conference on Iraq, the Christian Zionists on Capitol Hill pulled the funding from the State Department, leaving the INC without fundsfor now.
Israeli-Linked Neo-Cons Desperate for Iraq War
While the United Nations Security Council was voting up Resolution 1409 unanimously, with a full vote of 15-0, to change sanctions on Iraq, replacing "oil for food," with a "goods review" list, the utopian warriors of the Defense Policy Board were going into high gear in Germany, demanding war on Iraqnow.
James Woolsey, the former CIA Director, who is a paid consultant for the Iraqi National Congress, held several days of briefings with European journalists, and was widely reported in the German news dailies Tagesspiegel and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as saying that the operation against Iraq should be launched "sooner rather than later," and that the "war on terrorism" would not be over with an Iraq warbut will continue as the fourth international, or world, war, after two World Wars and the Cold War (which was on Woolsey's list as the third world war).
Woolsey was backed up by the "Prince of Darkness," Richard Perle, who gave an interview to Germany's widely read magazine Der Spiegel, in which he said that weapons inspections in Iraq would never solve the problem, and that if President Bush were to promote a new inspection regime, it would be a backward-oriented policy.
Perle endorses the use of an armed Iraqi opposition in a way comparable to the role of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, "and the potential of the Iraqi opposition is bigger." U.S. ground forces are not needed in Iraq, he claimed; everything could be done through air support for the ground forces of the opposition. A true utopian to the end, Perle said that while the U.S. has enough conventional weapons to be able to avoid using nuclear ones in dealing with Iraq, "naturally, no reasonable strategist can rule out their use, in principle."
Conservative Columnist Novak Trashes al-Qaeda/Iraq Story
In his May 13 syndicated column, Robert Novak lampoons the "attack-Iraq advocates outside the government"William Safire, Kenneth Adelman, James Woolseyfor clinging to the Atta-met-Iraqi-agent-in-Prague story. As for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Novak says that when he asked him, Rumsfeld couldn't confirm the story, but fell back on the argument that Iraq and other "terrorist" nations are developing weapons of mass destruction, which could kill "hundreds of thousands of people." But, Novak notes, no one in Washington takes seriously former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement about Iraqi suitcase nukes, and Novak also cites former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter as saying that Iraq does not currently have a biowarfare capability.
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