http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=18390
Israeli journalist reveals the secrets of the assassination of Arafat by Ariel Sharon
Date: 29 / 12 / 2006 Time: 13:49

Bethlehem - Ma'an – The recently deceased Israeli writer, Uri Dan, who was close to Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli Prime Minister, published a book in France in which he accused Sharon of assassinating the former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat by poisoning him. Dan confirmed in his book that Arafat's health began to deteriorate at in April 2004 after Sharon ended a phone call with American President George Bush who gave him the green light to deal with Arafat.

Another writer, Amnon Kabilok, wrote a revision of the book which is entitled 'Sharon,' in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He inquired how Uri Dan knew about the sickness of Arafat and its causes and symptoms months in advance of the deceased's symptoms appearing.

Amnon said that while scanning a book by Uri Dan, he received the news that the author of that book has passed away. He also said that he struggled to get a copy of the book, which he finally obtained with the help of a French friend.

Earlier, Amnon Kabilok had spoken with his French friend about the death of Yasser Arafat and the attempt to murder Khalid Mash'al, the head of the Hamas political department. He said that his French friend could not believe his expectations that Arafat may have been assassinated. Then he told him that he found a book by a man who was very close to Ariel Sharon, (Uri Dan) revealing the secrets of the assassination of Arafat and the famous phone call between Sharon and Bush in which Sharon told the American president that he is no longer committed to not liquidating Arafat.

http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23440/1/
Special Report: “2006, a year of elections, invasions, chaos and “Shalit”
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC - Saturday, 30 December 2006, 20:59

2006 is one of the most dramatic years that greatly affected the Palestinian arena and left its permanent marks and effects in the minds of the Palestinian people since it witnessed significant political and economical shifts that left their direct impacts on the people.

One of the main events in 2006 was the “rise and fall”, the rise of Hamas to power and the fall of Fateh that dominated the power in Palestine since 1996.

Yet, after Hamas was elected and brought to power, the international community, headed by Israel and the United States imposed strict economic and political siege on the Palestinians and their elected leadership.

In 2006, and after the abducted of the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit, by resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, and the abduction of two soldiers by Hezbollah fighters, Israeli launched its two sided war, against the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, yet it was unable to retrieve any of its captured soldiers.

The abduction brought back the issue of Palestinian and Arab detainees imprisoned by Israel.

The following main events are the main events that took place in Palestine, the report is a translation of a report published by Palestine News Network;

- January:

This month witnessed the rise and fall, the rise of Hamas to power after it achieved an overwhelming majority in the Palestinian legislate elections. The rise of Hamas was a great fall to Fateh movement that dominated power for ten years after winning the first elections in 1996. Although elections should take place every four yeas, in 2000 the second Intifada erupted and the elections were postponed until further notice.

And in January 2006, the elections were finally held and brought Hamas to power.

January also witnesses an increase of chaos and insecurity in the Palestinian territories.

- February:

After the victory of Hamas, Ismail Haniyya was officially asked by president Mahmoud Abbas to form the new government.

The movement started talks with other factions but insisted in maintaining its political agenda.

Hamas said that it wants to create a national unity government, but still it appointed its ministers and declared that it will open all corruption files in order to expose the figures behind corruption in the previous Palestinian governments. Several officials were arrested in the course of investigation.

- March:

In this month Hamas presented its agenda to the Palestinian factions, while president Mahmoud Abbas and the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization were hesitant to approve the agenda of the new government.

The first legislative council session was described as “stormy” as Hamas and Fateh legislators quarreled after Hamas insisted on cancelling decisions and laws approved by the previous legislative council during its most recent sessions before the new council took office.

The internal conflicts were accompanied by an Israeli attack against the Jericho central prison when Israeli troops raided the compound and abducted the jailed secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmad Sa’adat.

Sa’adat and his fellow comrades were imprisoned at the Palestinian central prison in Jericho; the compound was guarded by American and British troops who left the compound just before the army invaded the area and surrounded the prison.

- April

April was a month that was filled with Israeli military escalations as the army intensified its attacks against the Palestinian people and stepped-up its extrajudicial assassinations.

One of the main assassinations carried by the army in April was the assassination of Yousef Al Qouqa, the general leaders of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad.

During this month, the Islamic Jihad managed to carry a suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv killing nine Israelis.

Also in April, the United States stepped-up its threats to isolate the Palestinian government and people after the newly elected government was approved by the new legislative council.

- May

This month witnesses violent and unfortunate clashes between Fateh and Hamas members, dozens of innocent civilians were killed and injured during their clashes, and several facilities were attacked and sabotaged by gunmen from both factions.

After these clashes took place, the Ministry of Interior decided to form a new security forces, called the “executive force”.

But the creation of this force by the Hamas-dominated ministry of interior created further clashes between Fateh and Hamas.

- June

The internal conflicts and clashes increased in June, and Fateh movement started its protestz against the government and demanded a national poll to replace the government.

Also in June, three Palestinian armed grouped carried a cross border raid against an Israeli military camp adjacent to the Gaza Strip and abducted one soldier, identified as Gilad Shalit.

Two soldiers and two fighters were killed in the attack, and Shalit remained in the hands of his captures who demand the release of Palestinian detainees imprisoned by Israel, especially children, women, elderly and sick detainees.

After the abduction of the soldiers, Israel carried it war against Hamas, and carried its “Summer Rains” military offensive which started by abducting dozens of newly elected Hamas minister and legislators.

- July

This month witnessed the major military escalation that Israeli carried in the Gaza Strip and shelled dozens of civilian houses.

In one of the attacks, the whole family of Abu Salmiyya, one of the leaders of Hamas, was killed after the army shelled their house.

Also in July, Hezbollah fighters managed to abduct two Israeli soldiers, and Israel declared its war against Lebanon.

This war was parallel with the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip.

- August

The war against Lebanon ended, and approximately 1400 Lebanese, the vast majority of them civilians, were killed by Israeli shells and cluster bombs.

During this month, Israeli troops killed nineteen Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the army carried its “Summer Rains” military offensive.

Yet, as Israel continued its attacks more incidents of insecurity and chaos started to emerge and take place in the Gaza Strip.

This month also witnessed the abduction of reported in the Gaza Strip, but all abductees were later on release unharmed.

- September

Three Palestinian armed groups managed to infiltrate into an Israeli fortified military camp, killed a senior military officer and took his gun.

While in the Gaza Strip, more dangerous signed of civil war started to emerge as more violent internal armed clashes took place, and started to spread to the West Bank.

- October

This month witnessed several Arab and International initiatives to resolve the conflict and end the crises.

One of the initiatives was the Qatar Initiative the ended with failure in spite of the tour carried out by Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, the foreign minister of Qatar.

On the ground, the Israeli army intensified its attacks in the Gaza Strip and carried the “Beit Hanoun massacre” that claimed the lives of seventy residents in “Operation Autumn clouds” that came after “Operation summer Rains”.

More civilian houses were shelled by the Israeli force, and more civilians were killed and injured, but later on the residents started forming human shields to protect the houses the army intends to shell and managed to stop several Israeli air strikes.

The army used to shell the houses several minutes after phoning the residents requesting them to leave their homes immediately since their air force is on its way to shell them, several residents were killed and injured after they were unable to leave their homes in time.

This month also brought a sort of hope to the Palestinians after a new truce among the clashing factions was reached and the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, carried an Arab tour that succeeded in bringing some financial support for the government.

Haniyya also visited Iran and collected more financial support from the Iranian leadership.

- December

The main incidents in December are the rising of chaos and insecurity in the Gaza Strip, more political assassinations were carried out by armed groups, and more institutions were attacked and sabotaged by gunmen and vandals.

On December 11, unknown gunmen shot at the car of Major Baha' Balousha, a senior Palestinian security officer and instead of him, his three children were killed as they were on their way to school.

The three children are Osama, 10, Ahmad, 6, and Salam, 3 years old.

Also in December, president Mahmoud Abbas declared the end of internal talks after the repeated failures of internal negotiations on the formation of a national unity government.

Abbas announced early legislative and presidential elections but kept the chance open for a national unity government if the factions manage to wrap their differences and declare the new government.

The call for early elections created further violent armed clashes between armed members of Fateh and Hamas. And once again, dozens of residents were killed and injured during these clashes.

This article is sourced from IsraliNationalNews.com It tries to diferentiate between those made homeless by Israeli destruction of homes and others as refugees but aren't the homeless a priority? IT is written as if those made homeless are not also refugees. It is obviously written from a twisted mindset but the news is good that construction is going forward and homes will be forthcoming for those suffering without homes of theirown.

Cornerstone Laid on Gush Katif Ruins for New Arab City

By Hillel Fendel


The Palestinian Authority has broken ground for a new city on the ruins of the Israeli community of Morag in southern Gush Katif/Gaza. It is not planned to house long-suffering Arab refugees.


The new town will be named Sheikh Khalifa City, in honor of the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who is donating the $100 million its construction will cost. Khalifa's brother, UAE Information Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, attended Saturday's groundbreaking ceremony.

The new town will not be used to ease the housing crisis in the PA's refugee camps, but will rather house relatives of those killed in the years of violence against Israel, other casualties such as the wounded and arrested, and families whose homes were razed during the war.

The Arabs have claimed for close to 60 years that the establishment of the State of Israel is that which prevents the permanent settling of Arabs displaced by the 1948 War of [Israel's] Independence.

Despite this, writes analyst and former IDF Intelligence officer Yonatan D. HaLevy, the PA's pointed refusal to use the newly-recovered areas for the refugees indicates its desire to "perpetuate the Palestinian refugee problem. The Palestinian Authority zealously refrains from settling the refugees, who are the large majority of the population of the Gaza Strip, in new communities that are to be built in the areas of the demolished [Jewish] towns. Even though settling these refugees would not detract from the PA's negotiating demands, it appears that the PA prefers to leave the refugees to be used as a central lever in the crucial stage of the conflict."

PA chief Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) said at the groundbreaking ceremony, "The Palestinian nation will continue its campaign towards the liberation of the West Bank and Jerusalem, and towards the construction of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

The new town is to have 25,000 residents, living on an area of only one square kilometer (less than 40% of a square mile). Despite this, PA officials say that schools, mosques, medical facilities, a community center and green spaces will also be included in the planning.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=118271
IDF Officials: Pinpoint Operations Don't Work With Restraint
14:07 Dec 28, '06 / 7 Tevet 5767
by Hillel Fendel and Hana Levi Julian


IDF officials are not happy with Prime Minister Olmert’s new exclusive policy of “pinpoint operations" against Kassam launching cells. Some 27 security checkpoints in Yesha are set to be removed.

A senior officer slammed the new anti-Kassam policy, which Olmert decided upon after two boys were seriously wounded in a Tuesday night rocket attack. The government resolved to continue the ceasefire with the terrorists, despite the increasing violations by terrorist rocket crews, but to take action against specific Kassam cells when they are detected.

Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yiftah Ron-Tal told Voice of Israel Radio Thursday morning, “Pinpoint operations are a step in the right direction, but really just partially so. Security forces must be allowed to control the area in a more effective manner."

He said the new policy would not even help reduce the number of rockets fired at western Negev communities, let alone end them.

Ron-Tal warned that it is extremely difficult to spot terrorists in the act of launching rockets, and almost impossible to attack them once they are identified.

The senior officer was discharged from the IDF in October, shortly before his official retirement, after criticizing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz.

Removing Checkpoints, Despite Past Negative Experience
Another of Olmert's gestures towards Abu Mazen is also about to get underway. After a delay of a few days, a program to remove 27 military checkpoints in Judea and Samaria has been approved by the IDF. The amount of entry permits for PA Arabs into mainland Israel has also been increased.

"The proposed plan is likely to contribute to an improved atmosphere, to the strengthening of moderate forces and the distancing of the civilian population from the circle of terrorism," Prime Minister Olmert said. "This does not mean that we are backing off from our war with terrorism, which we will continue to fight with the same determination."

Terrorists have taken advantage of previous gestures in the past to travel freely and perpetrate attacks. Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports that just two weeks ago, after the removal of the east-of-Shechem Eyn Bidan checkpoint, a terrorist cell was caught after having passed through that very area with a large amount of explosives. Furthermore, nine months ago, after the same checkpoint was removed - only to be replaced later - a terrorist passed through the area, and later murdered four Jews when he dressed up as a religious Jew and got into a car as a hitchhiker.

Senior IDF officers have also criticized the government for turning down a proposal to allow forces to cross the Gaza border and create a security buffer zone.

“We have no other way but to control the northern Gaza Strip using [IDF] forces,” added Ron-Tal. “Not for a long time, but for a limited time… If our soldiers aren’t there, the terrorists will continue to fire from there.”

Two boys were severely injured on Tuesday night by a Kassam rocket attack on Sderot, one critically. Adir Moshe (ben Bruriah) Basad, who was listed in very critical condition, is no longer considered in immediate danger. He is still listed in serious condition in Barzilai Hospital in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, where Kassam rockets hit a strategic target this week as well. His friend, Matan (ben Koren) Cohen, suffered moderate wounds - including the loss of four toes - and is being transferred to Shneider Children's Hospital in Petach Tikvah.

Released for publication:
On April 22 of this year a suicide bombing was thwarted because the Bethlehem terrorist who was supposed to supply the explosives was wounded and arrested in a clash with undercover Border Guard forces. The would-be killer himself was arrested in Halhoul, near Hevron. The next day, three wanted terrorists tried to escape an undercover Border Guard force in the region by shooting at their car, but they themselves were hit, and two were killed.

It has also now been publicized that two months ago, another attack was thwarted when the suicide terrorist was arrested by Israeli forces near the Jenin refugee camp.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=118359

Arab Editor: Arming Abbas and Hamas is a Step Toward Civil War
11:06 Dec 29, '06 / 8 Tevet 5767
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu


Muslim and Western efforts to equip Fatah and Hamas militias "will be used to kill and slaughter Palestinians by Palestinians," a Bethlehem-based journalist wrote.

Nasser Laham, chief editor of the independent Ma'an news agency based in Bethlehem, stated his fears of the arming of Hamas by Hizbullah, Syria and Iran and the initiative by the United States, supported by Israel, to ensure that the Fatah militia receives more weapons and fighters. The militia forms Force 17, the Presidential Guard which forms the personal army under control of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Fatah faction.

"While I scan the websites of the Fatah and the Hamas movements, I feel a chill and cannot believe that there is such an amount of evil among us Palestinians." Laham wrote. "I ask myself, 'Has blood flowed from our flanks? Will the Sheikh of the mosque, whom I trusted, voted for and made my Imam in prayer, kill me? Or will I be killed by my Fatah companion in the prison's cell, who is married to my sister and whose kids I raised in my own home?'"

He rhetorically asked why Iran provides "Hamas with millions of bullets and rifles" and why Arab neighbors provide Fatah with troops, rifles and security technology."

The increasing exodus of Palestinian Authority Arab residents from Judea, Samaria and Gaza and the ensuing civil war will deplete the population, he warned. "Those who will stay alive will end up unable to provide even a loaf of bread. At the end, these weapons will be used to kill and slaughter Palestinians by Palestinians in the name of defending principles, religion and revolution. Wouldn't it be better if we bought computers and nutrition for our children?"

Israeli government sources revealed this week that hundreds of Gaza terrorists recently have traveled to Iran to receive combat training by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, considered one of the fiercest armies in the world. Terrorists from several rival organizations for years have been smuggling weapons into Gaza, but the phenomenon has increased sharply since last year, when Israel surrendered its patrol of the Philadelphia smuggling route and handed the responsibility over to Egypt.

However, Egyptian police and troops have done little to prevent the escalation of smuggling, which now includes long range rockets, advanced anti-tank rockets and propellants for surface-to-air missiles.

This week, Fatah received a shipment of 2,000 assault rifles and 2 million rounds of ammunition, although Abbas claimed that the shipment actually was office equipment. Abbas did not want the information disseminated, Voice of Israel government radio reported.

Along with fears that Fatah and Hamas will kill off a large number of citizens, senior military officers and many politicians as well as terrorists warn that the weapons will be used against Israelis. A senior Fatah terrorist recently told WorldNetDaily that American aid and weapons for the Presidential Guard will be used to "fight the Israeli occupation."

If so, it would be not be the first time it has happened. Former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin agreed to give the Palestinian Authority (PA) rifles and ammunition in the 1990s as part of the Oslo Accords. The government and military possess documented proof that the weapons in short time were used in terrorist attacks on Israelis.