Jerusalem – Contrary to a common assumption that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its administrative arm, the Palestinian Authority (PA), demand “East Jerusalem” as a future capital for a nation state of Palestine, they actually want all of Jerusalem.

This year, what some are seeing as a symbolic step toward this aim was decidedly taken.

In tandem with United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the PA and PLO have decided to recognize Jerusalem as “the capital of Arab culture” for 2009.

UNESCO is working with Palestinian Authority officials and key Israeli Arab figures in Israel to organize celebrations and turn them into a huge event against what they describe as the Israeli occupation of “Holy Jerusalem.”

As with everything in the Holy Land, their reasons have history behind them.

The Palestinians demand stems from the fact that 16 neighborhoods in West Jerusalem are constructed in place of pre-1948 Arab neighborhoods from which the Arabs fled during the 1948 war.

The consistent term used today in the Arabic language for the Jerusalem aspirations of the Palestinians is “al-Quds A Sharif” – holy Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem – not only East Jerusalem

Since 1996, the title “capital of Arab culture” has been accorded by the Arab bloc in UNESCO to one of the capitals in the Arab world. This year, for example, Damascus, capital of Syria, was given the coveted title, and last year Algiers, capital of Algeria, received it. Other cities that received the title over the years were Cairo, Tunis, Amman, Beirut and Khartoum.

Jerusalem is the latest chosen to bear the prestigious title and now PA officials and prominent leaders the Arab population in Israel are preparing to turn the title into a symbol of the battle against Israeli control of Jerusalem.

The basis for cooperation between the PA and members of the Arab population in Israel was laid over the weekend in Shfaram, where a meeting took place between PA representatives and the Arab population, to discussion preparations for the events associated with the title to be granted to Jerusalem.

One of the participants at the meeting with the PA representatives was Amir Mahoul, the chairman of Ittijah-the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations, the umbrella organization of the Arab NPOs in Israel and the chairman of a “committee for the defense of freedoms.”

Mr. Mahoul, said that he believed that Israel would try to create difficulties for the events that will take place in the framework of the declaration that “the capital of Arab culture” is Jerusalem.

“We expect Israel will make things difficult for us and this is a fact that we will take into account, and over which we will battle the Israeli occupation authorities,” said Mr. Mahoul.

Mr. Mahoul stressed that he and the PA plan to turn the events associated with the title into a campaign against the occupation of Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem. “This will be an event symbolizing the battle against the occupation, beyond the historical and cultural value of Jerusalem,” he explained. “We will stress that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestinian-Arab culture, which is under occupation, and Israel should realize that every time there is a battle over Jerusalem, it loses.”

In contrast to Mr. Mahoul, the secretary general of Mada, the Arab Democratic Party Mahmoud Mawasi, said that the purpose of the events was to raise awareness of the Arabic and Islamic past of Jerusalem and not necessarily to create friction with the Israeli establishment. “We don’t want to clash with the establishment,” he said, “rather our intention is to celebrate the fact that Jerusalem was for many years the center of Arab and Islamic culture.”

Although it is widely assumed that the Western nations recognize Israel’s sovereignty in Western Jerusalem, that assumption is not correct. No member state of the United Nations maintains an embassy in Jerusalem. Every nation in the world, except for Israel, list birth certificates of their nationals who were born in Jerusalem as having been born in Jerusalem, with no listing of the country of birth. That includes the United States.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

The Middle East Newsline has confirmed that Israel’s military has been preparing for a radiation strike by Hezbollah or Palestinian groups. The Israeli military has determined that Iran and Syria were helping insurgency groups assemble radiation bombs in an attempt to conduct a mass-casualty attack. They said the radioactive material could be inserted into a rocket, missile or placed aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle.

“Both Iran and Syria have accumulated arsenals of radiation material that could be used in dirty bombs,” an Israeli military official confirmed.

Yesterday, the Israeli Defense Ministry launched an exercise meant to respond to a radiation strike in Tel Aviv. Officials said this was the first such Israeli exercise and envisioned thousands of casualties.

“This is the first time that all of the country’s relevant authorities will be tested in real time on how to respond to a dirty bomb and not a missile attack,” a defense official told the Israeli media. “There are a number of scenarios that are all extreme. They include the contamination of our water system as well as the detonation of a suitcase carrying radioactive material.”

Iran and Syria are believed to be preparing squads to smuggle radiation, chemical or biological weapons for attacks against Israel. They said such an attack could serve as retaliation for any Israeli or U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“A dirty bomb would have no fingerprints and would be just as damaging as a missile strike by either Iran or Syria,” another official said. “You could smuggle such a bomb anywhere.”

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

©The Bulletin 2008

Israel recently prevented five to seven Hezbollah attempts to kidnap Israeli businesspeople and harm Israeli emissaries abroad.

A high-ranking Israeli security official told the Israeli media that: “There was a Hezbollah effort, with Iranian support, to perpetrate kidnap attacks as soon as possible in retaliation for the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh. Hezbollah goes from country to country looking for Israeli prey.”

It has been learned that kidnappings were prevented on at least three continents: West Africa, North and South America and Asia, where Hezbollah received assistance from Lebanese Shiite communities. The attacks were prevented in cooperation with foreign intelligence agents, who are aware of Hezbollah’s and Iran’s intent to retaliate.

The Israeli security establishment warned several other Israeli businesspeople that fly abroad frequently. A high-ranking security source said this week, “We assume that they are planning to kidnap them, but it is definitely likely that there are also intentions to assassinate Israelis, and we are on top of this situation as well.”

The Israeli security official added, “Quite a few Israeli businesspeople owe their lives and their freedom to this operation, which was intended to prevent the retaliation. This preventive effort depends on the cooperation we receive from the foreign intelligence agencies. We can certainly say that there is such cooperation.”

Recently, Hezbollah sleeper cells tried to strike at Jewish and Israeli institutions in Canada and even had the Israeli embassy in Ottawa under surveillance. Canadian intelligence thwarted these attacks at the last minute.

In addition, in recent months, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Israeli intelligence ordered the evacuation of official Israeli emissaries and their families from several sensitive countries for security reasons. The emissaries were permitted to return to the countries shortly thereafter.

Israeli security officials said last night that Israel was just as concerned over Hamas’ intentions to kidnap soldiers in order to increase its bargaining power and get its prisoners released. Hamas assumes that if it succeeds in kidnapping another soldier, it will be able to demand double or triple the price that they are demanding for Gilad Shalit, the one Israeli soldier in Hamas captivity.

Only weeks ago the Israel Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a severe worldwide warning of Hezbollah’s intentions to harm Israelis and to kidnap Israelis abroad, particularly businesspeople. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau called on Israelis to be more alert to any unusual occurrences and to reject any unsolicited approaches. Tourists are being asked to refrain from staying in remote places, particularly at night.

The regions considered to be particularly dangerous are the border triangle between Venezuela, Paraguay, Brazil and Western Africa. It is believed that Hezbollah’s section in charge of terror attacks abroad, which Mr. Mughniyeh himself directed until his death, were behind the planned attacks.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

The Jerusalem District Court handed down a precedent-setting ruling yesterday when it enjoined the Palestinian Authority to pay more than $116 million in damages to the surviving family of Yaron and Efrat Unger, who were murdered in a terror attack about 12 years ago.

The Ungers were attacked and killed by a terror cell while they were driving in their car near Beit Shemesh. They are survived by two orphans, Dvir, who was 2 at the time, and Yishai, who was 9 months old at the time. Yishai just celebrated his bar mitzvah just this past Thursday.

The grandparents of the two children, who were named their legal guardians, sued the Palestinian Authority and the PLO in the U.S., since the late Yaron was an American citizen. Four years ago, a federal court first ruled that the Palestinian Authority had to the aforementioned $116 million-plus in damages to the family. However, after that sum was not paid as instructed, the plaintiffs brought the matter before an Israeli court and sought to have the court rule that the American ruling was enforceable in Israel.

The Palestinian Authority and the PLO vehemently opposed the motion and argued, inter alia, against the dangerous precedent that would be set and which was liable to bring about the Palestinian Authority’s financial collapse and damage the possibility of achieving a comprehensive international arrangement. The plaintiffs, conversely, argued that Israel was currently withholding some $500 million of PA funds, and the PA had not collapsed as a result thereof.

After the arguments were presented, Judge Aharon Farkash ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and declared the U.S. federal court ruling to be enforceable in Israel. The court also ruled that the temporary liens that were placed on NIS 100 million of PA funds by Israel would remain valid pending the execution of the court ruling. Judge Farkash also enjoined the PA to pay court costs.

Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, the head of Shurat HaDin, which represents dozens of terror victims in court cases, welcomed the ruling. “What this means is that justice is borderless,” said Ms. Darshan-Leitner, “and the ruling can be enacted anywhere in the world as long as it is just.”

There are currently some 150 damages suits against the Palestinian Authority that are still pending in Israeli courts. The sum being demanded in damages in all those cases together comes to billions of shekels. Even though some of those suits were filed almost a decade ago, to date not a single ruling has been handed down that has obliged damages to be paid, and the cases have dragged out due to legal arguments about the PA’s immunity. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in principle that the question of the PA’s immunity needed to be examined in each case individually.

Grandmother: Why Did It Take Three Years?

“I’m pleased with the district court’s ruling but am stunned that it was necessary to drag out this issue in court for three years,” said yesterday Yehudit Dasberg, Dvir and Yishai Unger’s grandmother.

“The other side pulled every trick possible in order to drag this thing out, and I am really glad that its efforts failed,” Ms. Dasberg added. “I still don’t understand why when there is such a reasonable and clear ruling by a court in the United States it was necessary to debate [the issue] for three years in an Israeli court.”

The Ungers were murdered on June 9, 1996 while they were driving on the road between Kiryat Malachi and Beit Shemesh. Their infant son, Yishai, was sleeping in the back seat and wasn’t hurt. Subsequently, he and his older brother Dvir were sent to live with their grandparents, Yehudit and Uri Dasberg, in Alon Shvut, a Jerusalem suburb.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – A new report released last week alleges that Hezbollah is operating in several Iraqi provinces, and in cooperation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been training Iranian-financed Shiite militias to attack British and U.S. forces.

Authored by Israeli analyst Jonathan Dahoah Halevi for the Institute for Contemporary Affairs, the report said Hezbollah is now a major force to contend with in Iraq.

“Hezbollah’s deep involvement in terror throughout Iraq demonstrates that the organization does not view itself purely as a Lebanese factor with national and local objectives, but as an arm of Iran in spreading the Shiite Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East and in the long term throughout the entire world,”said the report.

Entitled “Hezbollah’s Role in Attacks Against U.S. and British Forces in Iraq,” the report continued, “Hezbollah’s strategic ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards for the purpose of operations in Iraq once again illustrate how Iran, in general, and its Revolutionary Guards, in particular, directly promote international terrorism globally.”

The report said Britain and the United States have deemed Hezbollah one of the greatest threats in Iraq. The two countries have determined that Hezbollah was involved in attacks on British and U.S. troops in at least four Iraqi provinces. In April, Hezbollah, amid intensified Iraqi security operations, moved militia training to Iran.

“The U.S. and Britain have increasingly singled out Hezbollah as one of the most serious threats to coalition forces in Iraq,” said the report.

Citing Hezbollah’s Web site, the report said the Lebanese-based militia has been operating several brigades in Baghdad and Basra. Hezbollah was also said to maintain a presence in such Gulf Cooperation Council states as Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

“Lebanese Hezbollah members are particularly useful to Iran for training Iraqis because both groups speak Arabic while the Iranians speak Farsi,” the report said. “Lebanese Hezbollah may also have additional credibility with Iraqi Shiites because of what is viewed as their success.”

Hezbollah was said to have trained Iraqi Shiite operatives in the Iranian cities of Ahwaz, Mashad, Qom and Tehran. Citing the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat, the study said the courses included intelligence gathering, light weapons, combat skills, sabotage and anti-tank missiles, including the RPG-29 launcher.

“Hezbollah training was intended to ready Iraqi Shiite operatives for assassination and terror attacks in Iraq,” the report said.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

After approximately a year of talks, in teams and one-on-one, at lunches and even at the seemingly seminal conference in Annapolis, the negotiations with the Palestinians are once again sliding into a stalemate.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did everything in his power at his meeting on Sunday with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to persuade him to present an agreement in principle. “We have to complete the Annapolis process,” Mr. Olmert urged Mr. Abbas.

On the issue of Jerusalem, Mr. Olmert proposed that a joint Israeli-Palestinian apparatus be established, with international backing, to find a solution for the holy places – the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives.

Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Eli Yishai attacked Mr. Olmert sharply, prior to his meeting with Mr. Abbas, following reports of his intention to accelerate the diplomatic negotiations, including examining a solution to the problem of Jerusalem within five years, with the help of international agencies and clerics.

“The prime minister has no legal or public legitimacy to make decision on a shelf agreement or any agreement, certainly not on the topic of Jerusalem,” said Mr. Yishai, adding, “the PA (Palestinian Authority) leadership is virtual and any agreement with them will serve as a basis for terrorist violations on their part and an attempt to upgrade their situation. Above all, it is clear that no dialogue should be held, certainly not with international agencies, on Jerusalem, as if it were negotiable currency.”

Another person who tried to curb the enthusiasm demonstrated by the prime minister’s associates at the idea of reaching a quick agreement, was chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat. He said that the PA was not optimistic regarding the possibility of finalizing all the conditions within two or three weeks. “At the start of talks, we already made it clear to Israel that we did not intend to accept a partial agreement, which would not finalize all the issues, including, of course, the issue of Jerusalem and a resolution of the refugee problem. All the talk about an agreement within a week, two weeks or three weeks are not true and not accurate. These are rumors,” said Mr. Erekat. He noted that the talks were mainly intended for summing up the progress in the negotiations to date, and refused to confirm or deny that there had been understandings in writing.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

On the eve of the meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asserted that the two had already discussed the entry of Palestinian refugees into Israel.

“We are discussing the entry of refugees into the territory of the State of Israel,” said Mr. Abbas in an interview to Al-Arabiya. “I have been trying to agree with Israel about the number of Palestinian refugees who will be permitted to return to the area of the State of Israel.”

The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday did not deny that talks were being held on the issue of the return of refugees, but stressed that it was Israel’s position that if a Palestinian state were established, refugees would be permitted to go only there. “That issue was made clear to the PA chairman in meetings with senior U.S. administration officials as well,” said Prime Minister’s Office officials, and underscored that “the gaps are large and no agreement have been reached on any issue yet.”

In the interview, Mr. Abbas shed light on the state of the political negotiations with respect to other issues as well, including the future borders of the Palestinian state. He said that the Israelis – to wit, Prime Minister Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads the Israeli negotiating team – have accepted his demands with respect to borders on the basis of the 1967 lines, with minor revisions. He said that certain land swaps might be considered in which areas of the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley would be turned over to Palestinian control in exchange for Palestinian concessions around Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

The question remains, however, whether the Israeli prime minister and Israeli foreign minister will be able to “sell” such a proposition to the Israeli Knesset Parliament, let alone the Israeli government itself.

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

©The Bulletin 2008

Jerusalem – Israeli Intelligence Director Yuval Diskin presented information at Sunday’s Israel government cabinet meeting that he described as reliable, showing that terror organizations plan to kidnap Israeli tourists.

The alleged plotters, he said, intend to perpetrate their intentions on the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashanah or one of the following holidays, or they may try to stage a mass terror attack in the Sinai Peninsula.

Mr. Diskin’s statements follow a series of previous warnings by the Israel Counter-Terrorism Bureau, which has been warning of Islamic terrorist threats in Sinai since the Gaza Strip fell to Hamas.

Israeli intelligence, however, is afraid that its call for caution is becoming routine, and could lead the Israeli on the street to the familiar reaction such as “it will be okay,” and “it’s dangerous everywhere.”

The Israeli intelligence director added that the truce in the south and the cease-fire with Hamas were being upheld, but that “Hamas is taking advantage of the quiet for upgrading its operational capabilities, arms smuggling and building combat support systems, such as an advanced communication system.”

Mr. Diskin told the ministers and added that when weapons are smuggled, the focus is on explosives for rockets, in order to manufacture advanced Qassam rockets. Another smuggling route works to import light arms to the Gaza Strip. “These weapons are intended, to the best of our understanding, to set up armed militias,” clarified Mr. Diskin.

Yesterday morning, The “Voice of Israel” radio newsreel added that “there was a sharp increase in the scale of training of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip during August, and that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees each held at least 10 exercises. Among the actions they practiced were abducting soldiers, assaults on IDF fortified positions, firing mortars, rockets and heavy machine guns.

The head of the Islamic Jihad military wing in the Gaza Strip, Mr. Khaled Mansour, took part in one of the exercises held last Saturday, in the ruins of the Neveh Dekalim, the former Israeli city in Katif that was bulldozed by Israel three years ago.

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

©The Bulletin 2008