Israel destroyed Syrian nuclear reactor: WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks disclosed that Israel destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor in an air raid on September 6, 2007. According to WikiLeaks Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor built by Syria secretly, apparently with North Koreas help, then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice wrote in the cable published in Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

Our intelligence experts are convinced that the attack targeted by the Israelis is in fact an atomic reactor of the same type built by North Korea in Yongbyon, she wrote in the message dated April 2008. We have good reason to believe that the reactor was not built for peaceful purposes, she said, adding the attack came only weeks before the reactor was to become operational.Rice also noted the secrecy surrounding the construction of the nuclear facility, with the Syrian authorities refusing to invite the International Atomic Energy Agency or any media to inspect the site.

Israel has for its part never denied that its air force attacked a target in Syria, without ever officially claiming responsibility for the action.

Palestinians question US ability to forge peace

JERUSALEM: A top Palestinian official on Wednesday questioned Washington’s ability to forge Middle East peace after a new breakdown in American attempts to revive negotiations.

The U.S. failure to persuade Israel to renew a limited freeze on construction in West Bank Jewish settlements, announced late Tuesday, was the latest setback for the Obama administration in its quest to broker a peace deal by next September. That goal, a top priority of the president, appears increasingly in doubt.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians were assessing their options before responding to the American announcement. While accusing the Israelis of being intransigent, he also voiced disappointment with the Americans.

“We will assess if the U.S. would be able … to achieve success in its upcoming efforts,” Abed Rabbo told

Israel attack several targets in Gaza

Israeli jetfighters conducted number of air raids targeting different parts of the Gaza Strip.
In Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, jetfighters targeted a factory, due to the bombardment the main building of the factory was destroyed. No injuries were reported. The other raid targeted open areas in the city of Rafah, also southern Gaza. Local sources reported damage but no injuries.
On the other hand US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has said the legitimate national aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians can both be met through the newly relaunched peace negotiations.

Palestinian prime minister condemns killing of Israelis

RAMALLAH: Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad condemned Tuesday”s killing of four Israelis in the West Bank on the eve of renewed peace talks between the sides, saying that the shooting was against Palestinian interests.

In a statement he said that the attack came just as the Palestinian leadership was seeking to mobilise international support for its positions in the renewed negotiations, aimed at ending Israeli occupation and “achieving freedom and independence for our people.”

The Islamist Hamas movement which opposes negotiations and is the bitter rival of the Western-backed West Bank leadership, claimed responsibility for the shooting near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba.

The militant Hamas has ruled the impoverised and overcrowded Gaza Strip since 2007.

Lebanon in shock after ex-general”s arrest on spy charges

BEIRUT: This week”s arrest of a well-respected retired general and politician allied with Hezbollah on suspicion of spying for Israel has sent shock waves through Lebanon and left many wondering how deep the Jewish state has infiltrated the country.

Fayez Karam, a member of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), is the first political figure to be arrested in Lebanon as part of a wide-ranging probe launched in 2009 into Israeli spy networks.

A well-informed source close to the investigation told media that after his detention last Monday on the orders of the prosecutor general, Karam confessed to spying for Israel.

“You don”t arrest someone like him without rock-solid proof and there was enough evidence against him,” the source, who requested anonymity, said.

“He may not have given the Israelis much technical information, but his arrest has a huge political impact because of his position and rank,” he added.

AL backs Palestinians on restarting talks

CAIRO: Qatar’s prime minister says the Arab nations have endorsed direct Palestinian talks with the Israelis but left the timing to the Palestinians themselves.

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AL backs Palestinians on restarting talks

Obama pledges $483 million for Palestinian aid

WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama has unveiled a $483 million aid package for Palestinians after meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Their meeting comes nearly two weeks after the deadly Isaeli raid on ships heading to the Gaza Strip.

The US president says he believes significant progress can be made in the Middle East peace process.

“The status quo that we have is one that is inherently unstable and the I think the Israelis have come to recognise that,” Mr Obama said.

Mr Abbas says the “siege” of the Palestinian people has to be lifted.

The US aid package will include money for houses, schools and access to drinking water.

NZ issues terrorism warning for India

WELLINGTON: New Zealand has joined the list of countries warning travellers of an “extreme risk” of terrorism in India, highlighting New Delhi as a target.

The Indian capital is the venue for October”s Commonwealth Games. The travel warning follows similar advice from the US, British and Australian embassies in India.

The New Zealand government says it has heightened concerns that terrorists are planning attacks in New Delhi.

It”s advised its citizens to avoid markets in the capital, and to refrain from travelling to Jammu, Kashmir, Assam and the border with Pakistan.

Arab League backs Mideast talks: official

CAIRO: The Arab League on Saturday said it backed indirect peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis, despite what it called a lack of Israeli conviction in the process, a statement said.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told a Cairo news conference that a final decision to resume indirect talks with Israel will be taken by the Palestine Liberation Organisation”s executive committee.

He also said that building in the disputed east Jerusalem neighbourhood that first torpedoed earlier planned proximity talks will stop the Palestinians from indirectly negotiating.

“If they build one unit out of the 1,600, we will not go to the talks,” Erakat said of Israeli plans to build more settler homes in the holy city.

In March the Palestinians, with Arab backing, reluctantly agreed to indirect US-brokered talks for a period of four months, but those plans collapsed days later when Israel said during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden that it would build 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem.

The Arab League decision to endorse so-called proximity talks was taken by a committee of foreign ministers after “guarantees” by US President Barack Obama in a letter to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

“Despite the lack of conviction of the Israeli side in achieving peace, the committee affirms what was agreed on the 2nd of March 2010 in regards to the time period for the indirect negotiations,” the statement said.

It was referring to a decision by Arab foreign ministers in March to back one last round of indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians within a four-month deadline.

But the committee insisted that the indirect talks should “not be immediately succeeded by direct talks,” Saturday”s statement said.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told a news conference that the time period for indirect talks was two months, adding: “If these negotiations go well, we will extend the period.”

The League statement said it reaffirmed that the negotiations must “demand a complete end to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday she expected the Israelis and Palestinians to begin indirect talks next week.

Israel”s March announcement of new settlements for annexed east Jerusalem angered the Arabs and infuriated the United States and the international community.

Clinton urges Arab states to do more for Mideast peace

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged Arab states to do more to back Israeli-Palestinian peace moves while warning Syria against arming Lebanon”s anti-Israeli Hezbollah.

But Clinton, speaking to a pro-Israel group, said she also expected Israel to halt settlements in occupied land, meet the humanitarian needs of Gazans, and help the Palestinian Authority build institutions needed for statehood.

“We do not expect the Arab states to move forward in a vacuum,” the chief US diplomat said in remarks to the American Jewish Committee.

President Barack Obama”s administration is trying hard to relaunch indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that were aborted last month when the right-wing Israeli government announced new settlements in east Jerusalem.

Clinton also urged the US-backed Palestinian Authority — which controls only the West Bank and not the extremist Hamas-run Gaza Strip — to continue its work to improve security and stop anti-Israeli militancy in the West Bank.

Although she hit familiar themes, Clinton was more explicit than in the past about what steps the Arabs should take for peace after they ignored previous pleas because of what they consider Israel”s intransigence.

“They should take specific steps that show Israelis, Palestinians and their own people that peace is possible and that there will be tangible benefits if it is achieved,” Clinton said in a speech to a pro-Israel group.

The chief US diplomat urged Arab states to offer more financial support to the Palestinian Authority and its two-year development plan as well as move toward ending Israel”s isolation by opening or re-opening trade offices.

“The United States has done our part, becoming the PA”s largest bilateral donor, and Europe also has stepped up,” she said. “Arab states need to share a greater portion of these responsibilities.”

Gulf Arab states like Qatar and Oman closed Israeli trade offices in 2000 when the Oslo the peace process collapsed in violence. Qatar closed the Israeli trade office when Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in December 2008.

Clinton also suggested that Arab states grant Israel the right to fly over their territories as well as allow cultural or educational exchanges between Israelis and Arabs.

The moves involving Israel, the Palestinians and Arab state amounted to a complex choreography.

“As negotiations proceed between the Israelis and Palestinians, and mutual confidence increases, Arab states should reach out to the Israeli public,” she said.

They should do so by “demonstrating that Israel”s isolation in the region is ending, and all sides should resume multilateral discussions on critical regional issues,” she said.

Under the 1993-2000 peace process launched in Oslo, Arab and Israeli delegations had discussed regional issues like sharing water and trade.

She also addressed Israeli allegations that Syria is arming Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles.

“Transferring weapons to these terrorists — especially longer-range missiles — would pose a serious threat to the security of Israel,” Clinton said.

“We do not accept such provocative and destabilizing behavior — and nor should the international community.

“President Assad is making decisions that could mean war or peace for the region. We know he”s hearing from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas,” the chief US diplomat said.

“It is crucial that he also hear directly from us, so that the potential consequences of his actions are clear.”

She also urged states in the region to stop supplying rockets and other weapons to Hamas.

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