Jerusalem – The Middle East Newsline has confirmed that Hamas has used the six-month, cease-fire period, which began June 19, to operate at least 400 smuggling tunnels from Egypt into Gaza, with Israeli constrained from taking any action, due to the constraints of the cease-fire.

Palestinian sources told the Middle East Newsline that the Hamas regime controls and operates at least 90 percent of the estimated 450 tunnels that link the Gaza Strip with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The Hamas Interior Ministry has assumed control over the tunnels, establishing a Tunnel Administration, which is responsible for policing the tunnels as well as ensuring that fees are paid for every shipment.

In most cases, Hamas has allowed Palestinian clans in the Rafah area to continue smuggling activity. The sources said Hamas provides the families with permitted items for smuggling as well as goods sought by the regime, particularly weapons, explosives, medicine and cattle.

Estimates on the number of tunnels have ranged from 400 to 800, which cost between $60,000 and $150,000 each, depending on their length.

Tunnel operators said about 25,000 people have been employed in the tunnel smuggling industry.

“The government films tunnel activity and posts monitors, who work eight-hour shifts,” a Palestinian source told the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “Should smugglers cheat, they have to pay a penalty or get shot in the legs. Alternatively, Hamas might inform Egypt about the tunnel, which then would likely be destroyed.”

In a recent report, ICG said Palestinians who own land near the Egyptian border have become wealthy. The independent think tank said those Palestinian landowners have been taking over the distribution network of smuggled goods in cooperation with Hamas.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is at www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia gave the green light, and Israel has been invited to attend an interfaith peace conference to be held on Nov. 12 in the U.N. building in New York.


Israeli officials ascribe great importance to the invitation and regard it as historic, because it marks the first time that the Saudis have invited Israel to a conference that they initiated.

No official Israeli figures were invited to the previous interfaith conference, which was held in Spain, and only Jewish rabbis were invited.

This time, the Saudis intend to have the conference attended by either heads of state or foreign ministers. Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are considering attending.

One of the questions quietly raised by the Israeli government is whether this means that Saudi Arabia will cancel its active state of war with Israel, which has continued unabated since 1948.

Unlike Jordan and Egypt, which have signed peace treaties with Israel, and unlike Lebanon and Syria, which have signed armistice agreements with Israel, Saudi Arabia has never abrogated its state of war with the Jewish state.

In that context, Saudi Arabia continues to fund Palestinian organizations that call for Israel’s destruction.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Daily allegations of corruption of Israeli Prime Minister Olmert continue, while the daily newspaper Ha’aretz reports that multiple indictments of the Israeli prime minister are only a few days away.

Dramatic testimony given by David Cohen, who has been charged with stealing $2 million from an Israeli pension fund to cover gambling debts, sent shockwaves through the Tel Aviv District Courthouse.

Mr. Cohen, who served in the past as a courier for the “Leumit Labor Federation,” said he delivered envelopes stuffed with cash for former Finance Minister Avraham Herschson, who is also facing trial for mass embezzlement of public funds.

He testified that he brought Mr. Herschson the envelopes that were filled with cash.

Mr. Cohen stunned the courtroom when he said “Herschson asked me to take an envelope, a big fat envelope to Mr. Olmert, who stuck it in his pocket. I don’t know what was in the envelope.”

He said after Mr. Olmert allegedly stuffed the big fat envelope into his suit pocket, he thanked him. 


Mr. Amir Dan, the Israeli prime minister’s media adviser, responded swiftly to the incriminating testimony that was aired in court, saying, “this is a completely delusional story that is based on nothing …”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice intends to arrive in Israel immediately after next Tuesday’s elections.

U.S. State Department officials have held talks with Israeli representatives in an attempt to set a date for her visit.

Ms. Rice’s visit comes as the Bush administration’s international status remains low and despite the fact that both President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have assumed that status of “lame ducks.”

Sources in both the American and Israeli governments confirm that the purpose of such a high-level visit will be to produce a document that will record all of the issues on which the two parties are agreed upon and to establish the principles for an independent Palestinian Arab state in the near future.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – The Israeli Arab residents of Ghajar, located on the northern Israeli border with Lebanon, are trying to put an end to a plan to transfer the northern part of their village to U.N. control within Lebanon’s borders.


The local council of Ghajar sent an urgent letter on Tuesday to the commander of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL), in Lebanon, and to the U.N.’s deputy secretary-general, demanding that all plans to transfer the jurisdiction of their village be dropped.

“We only receive information from the media,” said Ghajar village Secretary Najib Khatib. “We are not willing for the families to be separated, and we are not willing to be uprooted from our lands. It is unthinkable for two sides to discuss our fate without including us and without considering our opinion and listening to our hardships.”


Mr. Khatib said that since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000, the village’s residents have been living in an intolerable situation.

At the time, Israel turned over the decision on determining the border line to the U.N., and the latter imposed what they felt was a new and intolerable reality.

It was decided that the border between Lebanon and Israel would pass in the center of Ghajar, and that the Israeli army and police forces were not permitted to enter the northern part of the village.

Since then, the residents have been suffering from severe problems in receiving basic municipal and humanitarian services.


 However, it was decided not to build a fence in the center of the village, but rather north of it – so its residents would not be separated from their families and their agricultural lands.

Now, the residents fear that this reality, though harsh, will change for the worse.

“We will not agree to be separated from our families and distanced from our lands,” wrote Mr. Khatib. “We have already felt like we were imprisoned for the past eight years. There is a slogan, ‘let the animals live,’ and we say, ‘let the residents of Ghajar live.’ Our situation is much worse than the poor animals.”

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Relations between Israel and Egypt are tense. Both sides famously concluded a peace treaty in 1978 under the Camp David Accords, which led to Israel’s return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982, but diplomacy between the two nations shows a strained relationship.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of the political-security staff in the Israel Defense Ministry, recently submitted a formal letter of complaint to the Egyptian authorities about military maneuvers the Egyptian army recently held that were “directed against Israel.”

Maj. Gen. Gilad was recently in Cairo, where he met with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman and Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi.

In the course of those meetings, Maj. Gen. Gilad said Israel was concerned by “the absence of any relations between the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Egyptian Army.” 


“[T]here are no visits by Egyptian officers to Israel, no delegation exchanges and meetings between collegial counterparts,” Maj. Gen. Gilad said.

The director of the Egyptian Army’s Intelligence Branch has not visited Israel despite the IDF Intelligence Branch director’s visit to Cairo.

Maj. Gen. Gilad also noted that Israel was concerned by “Egyptian Army exercises that are directed to meet an Israeli threat and, yes, by the fact that Israel is treated it as if it were an enemy and by the central focus by the Egyptian officers on building military strength.”

In conclusion, Maj. Gen. Gilad protested the “absence of a culture of peace between the two armies, which could have salient negative ramifications.”


Mr. Tantawi replied that improving relations between the armies would become possible in the future, in tandem with progress in the regional peace process.

He said Egypt’s military buildup had been spurred by the security challenges it faces, which has obliged it to build an effective deterrence force. 


Ever since the Yom Kippur War, the Egyptian Army has been upgrading the quality and quantity of weapons and equipment in its arsenal and seeking out Western military equipment, particularly American weaponry.

The Egyptian Army placed special emphasis on remedying its weaknesses, and purchased Apache helicopter gunships, F-16s, mobile anti-aircraft systems and advanced munitions. The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Air Force also operate many of these same weapon systems.

The Egyptian army did not discard its old Soviet equipment; rather, it simply bought newer equipment in addition. They bolstered their maneuvering ranks and their mobile artillery troops, as well as increasing the number of M-113 armored personnel carriers in use.

The Egyptians also expanded their navy, purchasing missile boats, frigates and submarines. Egypt now has the largest army in the Arab world. 


The Egyptian Army has maintained training to give its troops offensive capabilities. It is safe to assume that those efforts are being made not solely in anticipation of a conflict with Sudan or Libya but, rather, from fear of another round of warfare in the Middle East, in which the the Israeli-Arab conflict takes center stage.

The strength of the Egyptian regime, first and foremost of President Hosni Mubarak, relies mainly on the strength of the military. It fears efforts by the Egyptian opposition to attack and to damage the regime.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Not all the details of last week’s American attack on an isolated building on the Syrian-Iraqi border are sufficiently clear. It was evidently a raid by a small force that arrived in two helicopter gunships with two attack helicopters providing close cover.

Senior Israel defense analyst Yaakov Amidror, wrote notes in the Israeli media indicating the key significance of the operation was that the “American army disregarded Syrian sovereignty, crossed the border and acted within the borders of a sovereign country without having received its permission.”

From this perspective, the operation calls to mind the reports of an attack on a Syrian nuclear installation by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in Sept. 2007. As then, this week both the U.S. and Israel decided that the damage they would suffer by respecting Syrian sovereignty would be greater than the possible damage from a Syrian response.

Mr. Amidror added that, “for the Israelis, it was fear of nuclear arms in Syrian possession, while for the Americans, it was the realization that the Syria-Iraqi border had become a corridor for terrorists working against the U.S. military” and “both countries realized that in order to stop the process, they must act forcefully and violate Syria’s sovereignty”


According to the reports provided by U.S. intelligence officials, the information in Israel’s possession was much more exact. On the other hand, there is still doubt regarding the quality of the intelligence that the small American attack force possessed.

“It is conceivable that the Americans are starting to realize more strongly the need to invest in isolating Iraq. As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) learned from experience, it is not enough to fight against terrorism on its bases,” Mr. Amidror said. “One must also keep it from connecting with the outside – the connection that enables it to bring in fresh troops, arms and funds and to go and rest and be free from pressure.”

Another Israeli intelligence expert, journalist Ronen Bergman, offered another assessment, saying “The American commando attack in Syrian territory on the Iraqi border was coordinated in advance with Syrian military intelligence.”

Syrian intelligence, Mr. Bergman said, has been cooperating for a long time with the United States in its war against al-Qaida and its aligned groups, and “Syrian approval for an American attack on Syrian soil was another link in the chain of that cooperation.

“In keeping with the advanced coordination between the CIA and [President Bashar] al-Assad’s intelligence, the American commando unit was flown into Syria on helicopters, executed its mission, which took 10 minutes, and returned the same way.” 


According to other information that was provided yesterday to Mr. Bergman by a European source, the American helicopters were identified by the local Syrian air defense troops. When the anti-aircraft forces asked Damascus for approval to open fire, they were firmly told not to do so.

Official Syrian media continues to accuse the U.S. of committing “a war crime against innocent civilians” However, it seems that that attack will not prevent the Syrian foreign minister from conducting previously scheduled meetings in London with senior American officials.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Israel’s opposition leader is vowing that Jerusalem will not be part of any negotiations with the Palestinians, just as the campaign for Prime Minister of Israel has just gotten underway.

“We will not conduct negotiations on Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years,” said Israeli Knesset opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu yesterday in a speech to the Knesset. “I did not do so in the past, and we have no intention of doing so in the future.”

The speech coincided with the inaugural meeting of the Knesset’s winter session and with his opening speech in the Israeli election campaign.

Mr. Netanyahu emphasized his desire to maintain “defensible borders for the State of Israel” in any political arrangement, and returning to Israel’s pre-1967 borders would be a non-starter.

“The Jordan Valley, the Judean Desert and the Golan Heights will continue to serve as the State of Israel’s eastern security belt,” Mr. Netanyahu said. 


Judging by statements that were made by the head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Ahmed Qurei, on Monday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not hiding its partisan support for Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as the Palestinian choice for prime minister of Israel.

Mr. Qurei described it as “a demonstration of leadership by Livni when she refused to remove Jerusalem from the negotiations.”

He made his statement referring to Ms. Livni’s refusal to make a commitment to her potential coalition partners that she would not negotiate the future of Jerusalem with PA representatives.

“She held tough negotiations with us,” Mr. Qurei said, “But she was fair the whole length of the way and placed all of the core issues on the table.”


Foreign Minister Livni was dealt a particularly painful blow when resigning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced in his speech to the Knesset that he had no intention of declaring temporary incapacitation, although the daily Ha’aretz newspaper confirmed that the Israel State’s Attorney intends to issue a formal indictment of Mr. Olmert.

By reneging on his often-stated promise to resign, Mr. Olmert rejected the request that was put forward by people in Ms. Livni’s camp to declare his own incapacitation, which would have allowed Ms. Livni to take his place.

“I will continue to serve in my post until the establishment of a new government,” said Mr. Olmert. Ms. Livni’s glum reception of Mr. Olmert’s statement was plainly visible and she, as opposed to the other cabinet ministers, did not bother to shake Mr. Olmert’s hand when he finished his speech. 


Mr. Olmert once again announced that he would not hesitate during the transition period to make decisions on political and security issues.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Israeli intelligence sources say Gaza’s ruling Hamas faction is preparing to carry out a large-scale strategic terror attack inside Israel.


In the assessment of security sources, the terror attack would mainly aim to kidnap a soldier or soldiers in order to heighten the pressure on Israel to carry out a prisoner exchange deal, in light of the deadlock in the negotiations to free Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Cpl. Gilad Shalit. He has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since 2006.

Israel likewise is preparing to counteract a terrorist infiltration into a community and kidnapping civilians into the Gaza Strip, dead or alive.

Within the monitoring of Hamas’ actions, it has been determined that has smuggled motorcycles into Gaza from Egypt, using tunnels. The IDF has observed intensive training being conducted by a group of motorcycle riders in the southern Gaza Strip.

Using motorcycles in terror attacks is taken directly from Hezbollah’s military doctrine. In the past, it has carried out a series of terror attacks and assassinations using motorcycle riders and bombs.

At the same time, Israeli intelligence sources say Hamas has prepared several dozen car bombs that are supposed to serve for breaching fences or exploding against IDF outposts along the Gaza border.

In recent months, Israeli security sources report, 100s of tons of standard-issue explosives and fertilizer for manufacturing explosives have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip, all in order to arm the car bombs.

As part of the preparations in the central Gaza Strip, Hamas’ Nusseirat battalion carried out a simulation of kidnapping an Israeli soldier, in which about 400 soldiers of the battalion participated.

One scenario exercise included the kidnapping of a soldier, carrying out the activity inside the Gaza Strip, near the fence separating it from Israel. Another scenario included breaching the border fence and kidnapping soldiers from a vehicle moving on the road on the Israeli side of the border.

Apparently, in recent weeks Hamas has built huts near the border and placed lookouts in them. Some of the huts are believed to be intended to conceal the digging of tunnels from Gaza into Israeli territory for the purpose of transferring terrorists or bringing in explosives to blow up the tunnels.

IDF lookouts report intensive intelligence gathering being carried out by Hamas about the IDF activity along the border with Gaza by day and night. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militiamen are believed to be studying the IDF’s observation equipment and examining its weaknesses.

It is believed they are examining, for example, how to circumvent the observation equipment by making quick dashes toward the fence in daylight hours, placing a bomb next to the fence without the lookouts having a chance to observe them.

They are also examining the IDF’s response time and its ability to identify these bombs.

The IDF has also identified visits by senior members of the Hamas’ military wing in the border area, including people who would not dare approach the border prior to the tahdia (quieting in Arabic).

Hamas’ preparations for carrying out a strategic terror attack correspond with the report that the Israel’s General Security Services arrested Jamal Abu Dawaba, a member of the organization’s military wing from Rafah.

He was arrested about a month ago with the bedouin who accompanied him. It appears that he was sent by senior figures in the Hamas military wing through the tunnels from Gaza to Sinai, and from there into Israeli territory, with the aim of kidnapping a soldier under the guise of carrying out a drug deal. He planned to drug the kidnapped soldier and bring him into the Gaza Strip through a tunnel in Rafah.

The IDF’s Southern Command plans to cope with the threat by raising the level of alert, changing the patterns of activity and changing the rules of engagement.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, Israel’s director of military intelligence, briefed Israeli government ministers at the weekly Israel government cabinet meeting about Hezbollah’s current operations in Syria.

“Syria is becoming Hezbollah’s weapons silo,” he warned.

“[Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad relies on Hezbollah today more than on his own army. Top Hezbollah leaders do whatever they want in Syria. The Syrians have given them free rein, and their behavior is irresponsible. They put at Hezbollah’s disposal almost all the strategic capability they have.”

Maj. Gen. Yadlin described the situation in Iran as one of taking advantage of the changing American and Israeli governments in an effort to improve its strategic position and fight off efforts to suppress its nuclear program.

“True, the world economic crisis is hard on Iran – and this is the point to note a drop of $15 billion in oil revenue – but at the same time, it even further lessens the willingness of the international community to take economic sanctions and to enforce them,” he said.

The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) intelligence director also discussed the Sept. 27 terror attack in Syria in which 17 people were killed.

“Those who lie down with dogs should not be surprised when they wake up with fleas,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Yadlin said described it as a global jihad terror attack, which he said violated the unwritten agreement between the Islamic extremists and the Syrian regime, which mainly referred to giving global jihad free movement into Iraq and Lebanon as long as it didn’t act against the Syrian regime.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008