http://www.imemc.org/article/46524
Lieberman calls on Peretz to resign for appointing an Arab minister
Friday January 12, 2007 08:58 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies saed at imemc dot org

The Israeli Minister of so-called 'Strategic Affairs', Avigdor Lieberman, called on the Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz to resign after the later appointed an Arab minister, and said that Peretz is unfit to remain in his post.

The statements of Lieberman came after Peretz appointed Raghib Majalda as a minister of Science and Technology.

Majalda is the first Arab in the Israeli history to be appointed as a minister.Lieberman said that Peretz “had abused his position as a minister of defense therefore he is “not worthy of holding his position”.

The statements of Lieberman came after his faction “Yisrael Betenu” (Israel our Home” condemned the appointment.Yisrael Betenu member of Knesset Esterina Tartman harshly slammed the appointment and described it as “a lethal blow to Zionism."

Tartman stated that the appointment of Arab Labor member of Knesset, Majalda, as minister of science and technology damages "Israel's character as a Jewish state", Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

She added that Peretz appointmente Majalda to strengthen his power within the Labor party."Peretz is making a sacrifice of Zionism," Haaretz quoted Tartman saying, "He has crossed all the red lines. Israel is a Jewish state and should be run according to Jewish principles."She also called on the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, not to approve the appointment of Majalda “in order to protect the state of Israel as a Jewish and a Zionist state”.

Likud member of Knesset, Michael Eitan, said that the Knesset must hold a debate session on “the racist remarks of Tartman”.Several Labor members of Knesset called on Peretz to convene a party institutions session to consider the participation of the part in the government coalition after the remarks of Tartman.

Haaretz also said Yoram Marciano, head of the Labor faction in the Knesset, called on the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to oust Yisrael Beiteinu from the coalition, and called on the Labor party to reconsider whether it can remain in the government coalition with the “racist party”.

Meretz member of Knesset, Yossi Beilin, called on the Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, to check whether there is a justification for a criminal investigation in the remarks of Tartman.

Also, an Arab member of Knesset from the Likud party, Mjally Wahbe, said that it is too sad that there are people who are still talking in racist tones instead of talking about cooperation.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=18581
Al-Qassam Brigades capture an Israeli drone in the Gaza Strip
Date: 11 / 01 / 2007 Time: 17:09



Gaza - Ma'an - The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, has claimed on Thursday that they captured an Israeli drone after it had crashed in the Gaza Strip.

The Brigades' spokesman, Abu Obeida, said that "the Israeli occupation should have known that their jets are not going for a picnic in Gaza since there are fighters who blockade these jets". He added that the drone will be photographed and published in the media.

The Israeli army announced earlier that a pilot-less drone had crashed near the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip due to a technical fault.

Meanwhile, the Brigades' spokesman refused to reveal any details regarding the incident.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070112/ts_nm/greece_explosion_dc
Hamas: Dahlan foiled the Prisoners’ Swap Deal
Friday January 12, 2007 00:18 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies george at imemc dot org

PM & Fatah Leader Mohammad Dahlan (Photo: AP)

Hamas accused on Thursday, MP and fatah Leader Mohammad Dahlan of foiling the prisoners’ swap deal between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel which was about to be reached, said the Palestine Information Center.

A Hamas political leader in the Gaza Strip said that Dahlan promised Israeli leaders that he will find the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who has been captured and held since June 25, 2006.

In a televised speech, Osama Al-Muzaini, charged that Dahalan said he will intensify his “intelligence efforts” in the strip and find the whereabouts of Shalit, which, according to Hamas’ claims urged Israeli officials to rescind their approval of the initiative mediated by Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman.

The deal was about to be reached as it was very close to the demands of the three groups holding the captured soldier.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Nazzal, Hamas’ politburo member said that prisoner swap deal should not be harmed because of factional disputes.

He said that all Palestinian factions should be keen on the release of all prisoners from occupation jails regardless of their affiliations.

The PIC, said that Nazzal described as a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"shame\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" the reports that Dahlan and even the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had contacted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to foil the deal or to lessen the number of released prisoners so as not be recorded as an achievement for Hamas.

This is not the first time that Hamas accuses Dahlan of conspiring against Hamas. Earlier in December 2006, Hamas accused Dahlan of being behind an alleged assassination attempt which targeted the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, upon his return from a visit to some Arab and Islamic countries in bid to collect funds to support the damaged Palestinian economy.

http://www.imemc.org/article/46522

Hamas: Dahlan foiled the Prisoners’ Swap Deal
Friday January 12, 2007 00:18 by George Rishmawi - IMEMC & Agencies george at imemc dot org

PM & Fatah Leader Mohammad Dahlan (Photo: AP)

Hamas accused on Thursday, MP and fatah Leader Mohammad Dahlan of foiling the prisoners’ swap deal between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel which was about to be reached, said the Palestine Information Center.

A Hamas political leader in the Gaza Strip said that Dahlan promised Israeli leaders that he will find the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who has been captured and held since June 25, 2006.

In a televised speech, Osama Al-Muzaini, charged that Dahalan said he will intensify his “intelligence efforts” in the strip and find the whereabouts of Shalit, which, according to Hamas’ claims urged Israeli officials to rescind their approval of the initiative mediated by Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman.

The deal was about to be reached as it was very close to the demands of the three groups holding the captured soldier.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Nazzal, Hamas’ politburo member said that prisoner swap deal should not be harmed because of factional disputes.

He said that all Palestinian factions should be keen on the release of all prisoners from occupation jails regardless of their affiliations.

The PIC, said that Nazzal described as a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"shame\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" the reports that Dahlan and even the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had contacted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to foil the deal or to lessen the number of released prisoners so as not be recorded as an achievement for Hamas.

This is not the first time that Hamas accuses Dahlan of conspiring against Hamas. Earlier in December 2006, Hamas accused Dahlan of being behind an alleged assassination attempt which targeted the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, upon his return from a visit to some Arab and Islamic countries in bid to collect funds to support the damaged Palestinian economy.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119235
Jewish World
Iranian Jews Reject Urgent Warnings to Leave
16:22 Jan 11, '07 / 21 Tevet 5767
by Hana Levi Julian and Gil Zohar

Iranian Jews are ignoring urgent warnings by American Jewish community leaders and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) to quit the Islamic Republic.

The campaign to convince Iran’s 25,000 Jews to flee for their lives has stalled. According to statistics compiled by HIAS, only 152 Jews left Iran in the year between October 2005 and September 2006, down 40 percent from the same period in 2004-5. The year before that only 183 Jews left Iran.

Sources said those Jews who left Iran in the past several years cited economic and family concerns as their primary reasons for leaving – not political considerations.

It would appear that the repeated threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to “wipe Israel off the map” have not raised an alarm among the 25,000 Jews who still live in his country.

Nor has a recent Holocaust denial conference hosted by the Iranian president seemed to have made much of a dent in the Jewish community’s unwillingness to move.

Last year’s contest by a leading Iranian newspaper soliciting Holocaust cartoons as a response to the uproar caused by a Danish caricature contest of the founder of Islam, Mohammed, has also had no noticeable effect.

Other minority groups in Iran are not wasting time, however. HIAS workers in Vienna have noted a substantial increase in the number of refugees from Iran of other faiths, including the Bahai.