Rice:Two Sides To Meet Twice A Month

Jerusalem – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen will meet from now on every two weeks, and will discuss daily and humanitarian issues and also the political horizon.

This was announced yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a press conference which she held in Jerusalem. Rice called on the Arab countries to improve their attitude to Israel, so that it can feel that its survival in the Middle East is more secure.

“The United States has a unique relationship with each party,” she said. “And we will do our part to support their engagement.”

Netanyahu:?Arab Initiative

Only Good For Arabs

Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu harshly attacked the Arab peace initiative last night.

“This is an initiative whose name describes itself – it is good for the Arabs and not for Israel,” said Netanyahu in the course of his meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Netanyahu met Ban Ki-moon in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

He asked the U.N. secretary general, among other things, to accelerate his efforts, especially on the eve of the Passover holiday, to bring about the release of the three kidnapped IDF soldiers.

The conversation focused on the Saudi initiative.

“This is an initiative that contains a reference to the claim of return, when that right, as far as Israel is concerned, is totally unacceptable,” Netanyahu said. “It undermines the very existence of Israel.”

Netanyahu added, “as long as that clause exists, the initiative is irrelevant and unacceptable. Moreover, the initiative refers to the 1967 borders, when even President George Bush has already given Israel a letter explicitly saying that Israel’s borders will no longer revert to what they were on June 4, 1967.”

Opposition Chairman Netanyahu said, “those two components of the Saudi initiative are unacceptable to Israel. Israel has interests of its own and needs to protect them. This initiative is irrelevant.”

Netanyahu also spoke about the Iranian issue. “The central threat axis is the Iranian threat,” he said. “Without a solution to this issue, none of the rest will matter. That is the real danger to the world.”

Al-Quds, the official Palestinian Authority newspaper, reports that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington does not demand any changes to the Saudi initiative, but wants to find a mechanism to implement it.

That would mean that the U.S. secretary of state has not asked the Saudis to cancel the clause in the initiative which mandates the endorsement of U.N. Resolution #194, which assures that Palestinian Arab refugees who were displaced during the 1948 war can choose to return to their villages, even if they have been replaced by Israeli cities, or to accept compensation.

Israel Deploys Rocket-Locating System

The Middle East Newsline reports that Israel’s military has deployed a missile-warning system designed to report impending attacks from Lebanon and Syria.

Officials said the military’s Home Front Command has deployed the system by Rafael, Israel Armament Development Authority. They said the system was used during the 2006 war against Hezbollah, when the Iranian-sponsored militia fired about 4,500 rockets into Israel.

“The system was deployed in the first days of the war upon request from the Home Front Command,” an Israeli military statement said.

The unidentified system was said to merge sensors with command and control to warn authorities of impending rocket and missile strikes against Israel. Officials said the system, similar to Red Dawn in the Israeli southern town of Sderot, provided between 20 and 90 seconds of advanced warning.

Officials said the system was in the advanced trial stage when the Lebanon war erupted in July 2006. At that point, the Rafael system became operational, but failed to warn of numerous rocket strikes, officials said.

The system has been embroiled in controversy in wake of a military request to Rafael operators not to inform police of impending rocket attacks. The military said police personnel had been included in a joint C2 headquarters established during the war.

An Israeli military spokesman said Rafael exceeded its authority by independently informing police of rocket attacks and landings. The spokesman said the military and police sought to draw lessons from the operations of the C2 center during the Lebanon war in a major exercise in central Israel last week.

Military sources said the air force has also employed a missile warning system for surface-to-air missiles in an attempt to detect surface-to-surface missile launches. They said the missile warning systems of F-15 and F-16 combat aircraft could locate virtually any rocket or missile launch.

“From there, the way to close the circle is short,” Lt. Col. Amit, head of the electronic warfare branch of the air force, said.

David Bedein can be reached at Media@actcom.co.il. His Web site www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com.

©The Bulletin 2007