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1. PA Demands: Give Us Land for Highway
by Hillel Fendel
“We’re building a highway, so give us some Israeli-controlled land.” This is the latest demand made by the PA of Israel, following the start of construction on a new PA city in the heart of southern Shomron (Samaria).
The new city - the first planned city in PA-controlled areas - is to be located between the Jewish communities of Shilo and Ateret, just west of the major Highway 60 leading from Nazareth to Be’er Sheva. The name of the new town is Rawabi, meaning Hills, and is designed to house between 25,000 and 40,000 Arab residents in its first stage – and 200,000 when it is completed. It is a private enterprise, with funding from Qater and businessman Bashar Massar of Shechem (Nablus).
The new city is to be located some nine kilometers north of Ramallah, between the Arab villages of Atara and Jiljilya. The closest Jewish community is Ateret, and residents there are duly concerned.
“As of now, there is Arab contiguity from Ramallah to Birzeit,” a leading resident of Ateret told Israel National News, “and this essentially breaks up the Binyamin Regional Council into eastern and western halves. Building an Arab city, of course, deepens this split.”
“The four-lane highway that the PA wishes to build in the direction of Ramallah will have to cross our main artery, Road 465, which is the main highway used by residents of Beit El, Ofrah, and other parts of eastern Binyamin to reach central Israel.”
Ateret is a growing Jewish town, despite the difficulties. It has grown in the past six years from 55 families to 100, and more are scheduled to be moving in this coming summer. The “construction freeze” caught the town as it was about to build a new neighborhood. One of its main attractions is the musical yeshiva high school Kinor David.
Israel Had No Say
In effect, Israel had no say in the construction of the city, as it is being built in what the Olso Accords denote as Areas A (full PA control) and B (PA administrative control, Israeli security control). The planned highway between Rawabi and Ramallah, too, passes almost exclusively in these areas – except for a short stretch around Highway 465.
Israel Not Agreeing to Give Land for Highway - So Far
The PA has asked Israel to grant Area A status to that stretch, but Israel’s defense establishment is not in favor, in order not to detach western Binyamin from eastern Binyamin. However, the paving of the road will apparently receive Israeli permission - though as of now the PA is refusing to pave the highway, or even to request permission to do so, until Israel agrees to place the planned route in Area A.
Whose Land?
Another issue is that of land ownership and use. With the permission of the Civil Administration, and the active cooperation of the Jewish National Fund, forestland has been planted practically up to the borders of Ateret. “And we know that where there is legal building, there is also illegal building,” an Ateret source said, “and we see that this is beginning already. In addition to taking land that could be used for Jewish growth, this is a security danger as well.”
A highly-placed source in Ateret said he has heard that the PA highway will pass under Road 465, and not over, “but this is not official… What is needed, though, is at least that our important highway be improved; it needs better lighting, a new paving, and proper signs. We know that the Road Works Department has put us on its schedule, but work has not yet started.”
“It’s important to know that there are some who view our highway as dangerous, and that was true before Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. But since then, there has been only one shooting incident throughout this time. If people are hesitant to drive on this highway, it’s only a psychological bloc.”
2. Arab Rioting Expands to Hevron
by Hillel Fendel
Some 100 Arabs threw rocks and rolled burning tires near the Jewish Community in Hevron on Monday. One soldier's hand was wounded lightly during the Arab attack.
The IDF declared the incident an “illegal and violent disturbance,” and soldiers used tear gas to disperse the attackers.
The Arabs were protesting the Israeli Government declaration on Sunday that the Jewish State recognizes the Jewish sites of the Machpelah Cave in Hevron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as national heritage sites.
Palestinian Authority sources said that the decision was a violation of the accords, is dangerous, and “will add to the religious complexities of the conflict in that it could lead to dangerous results.”
The Judea Residents Council responded: “It’s no surprise that the Arabs are not happy with the decision about the Machpelah Cave; as far as they’re concerned, we have no right to be in Tel Aviv either. We congratulate the government on its decision, and call upon it not to cave in to Arab terrorism and violence.”
The original list of national heritage sites did not include either the Machpelah Cave or Rachel’s Tomb; these were added only after heavy pressure from the nationalist end of the spectrum.
This past Friday, the traditional weekly Arab riots in Bil’in - held every Friday for five years against the placement of the anti-terror fence - were buttressed by two additional riot flashpoints: Near N’vei Tzuf in western Binyamin and at the Arab village of Umm Salmona, near Bethlehem, where rioters threw stones at Jewish civilians and soldiers. Arabs have rioted before near N’vei Tzuf, lightly injuring two Border Guard policemen with rocks a month ago.
3. Arabs Begin to Blame Their Own Leaders for ’Refugee' Status
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Arabs who left Israel in the 1948 are are beginning to blame Arab countries for leaving them stateless after promising a quick return to “Palestine.” "They [Arab leaders] said, 'A week, two weeks, approximately, and you'll return to Palestine,'" Sadek Mufid, formerly of Akko (Acre) and now living in Lebanon, recently told Palestinian Authority television.
His comments were translated by Palestinian Media Watch.
Saudi Arabia has led an Arab world demand that normalization of ties with Israel and the establishment of the PA as a state be conditioned on Israel's allowing the immigration of approximately five million Arabs. Most of them are descendants of Arabs who claim they used to live in Israel.
The United Nations has classified them as “refugees” and placed them in villages, known as “camps,” in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and Arab countries. The Arab designation of “refugees” is maintained today by the refusal of Arab countries to allow them citizenship, voting rights, or the ability to move into better housing, in order to preserve their “unique status.”
Mufid’s testimony represents a new trend of Arab leaders, writers and former Israeli Arab residents who have begun to speak out and openly blame the Arab leadership for the creation of their situation.
Mufid describes a mass departure to Lebanon from Israel, which led to the creation of "11 or 15 refugee camps." He does not place the blame on Israel. As Palestinian Media Watch has previously reported, other recent accounts also describe a deliberate exit from Israel under orders from Arab leaders, as the Israeli government has always claimed, which contradicts the Palestinian leadership's charge that the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who left in 1948 were expelled by Israel.
Mufid, who left the village of Dir Al-Qasi near Akko in 1948, told the PA TV's weekly program Returning, "We headed first from Dir al-Qasi to Rmaich [Lebanon], considering what they [Arab leaders] said at the time: 'By Allah, in a week or two, you will return to Palestine.'
“The Arab armies entered Palestine, along with the Arab Liberation Army. We left - we and those who fled with us - and we all headed for Lebanon. Some people came to Rmaich and others came to the villages on the border, such as Ein Ibl and also to Bnit Jibil. People scattered. And we have about 11 or 15 [refugee] camps in Lebanon."
In another PA television interview, an elderly Arab recalled how his family left Ein Kerem, in eastern Jerusalem. “The radio stations of the Arab regimes kept repeating to us. ‘Get away from the battle lines. It's a matter of 10 days or two weeks at the most, and we'll bring you back to Ein Kerem.’
“And we said to ourselves, 'That's a very long time. What is this? Two weeks? That's a lot!' That's what we thought [then]. And now 50 years have gone by."
Two years ago, Jordanian-based Aryan journalist Jawad Al Bashiti wrote in Al-Ayyam, “The reasons for the Palestinian Catastrophe [establishment of Israel and the refugee problem] are the same reasons that have produced and are still producing our catastrophes today... The first war between Arabs and Israel had started and the ‘Arab Salvation Army’ told the Palestinians, ‘We have come to you in order to liquidate the Zionists and their state. Leave your houses and villages, you will return to them in a few days safely. Leave them so we can fulfill our mission in the best way and so you won't be hurt.' It became clear already then, when it was too late, that the support of the Arab states [against Israel] was a big illusion.”
4. Iran’s Fight for ‘Persian' Gulf Escalates to the Skies
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Iran has expelled a Greek airline steward who refused to remove the name “Arabian Gulf” from on-line computer screens that show the body of water that the Islamic Republic insists is the “Persian Gulf.”
Iranian authorities said that the steward for Iran’s Kish Air used a “forged title” on a domestic flight while displaying the flight map for passengers, some of whom had demanded the description be changed to “Persian Gulf.”
"The Greek steward is also facing a restriction for entering the country because of his improper behavior and irresponsible act," Gholam Reza Rezaeian, head of Iran's Law Enforcement Police Office for Migration and Foreign Nationals, told the Fars News Agency.
The dispute over the name of the body of water dates back five decades and involves Arab and Iranian pride that previously has been considered grounds for war.
Historical maps used the term “Persian Gulf," reflecting the use by ancient Greek map-makers. However, several attempts were made to use the term “Straits of Hormuz” and “Strait of Basra,” which is the description used by Turkey. Britain unsuccessfully tried naming the body of water the “Britain Sea” when it tried to control the waterway in the 1830s.
Rising nationalist pride in the Arab world in the 1960s prompted the United Arab Emirates to erase the term, and many Arab nations used began using the term “Arabian Gulf.” Iran at the time had relatively little political or economic influence in the English-speaking world.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the country’s rising influence has made the term “Persian Gulf” a cause for national pride.
“The false use of ‘Arabian Gulf’ instead of ‘Persian Gulf’ has developed the sensitivity of all Iranians across the world," the Iranian Press TV agency said this week. “Since Persian Gulf occupies a pivotal place in the Iranian history and culture, the false use of the name of the area has always provoked the Iranian government and people's anger.”
5. PA: We Foiled Rocket Attack on Tel Aviv
by Maayana Miskin
The IDF revealed Monday that Palestinian Authority troops two weeks ago found a rocket ready for launch in an Arab village near Modiin, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and only a short distance from Ben Gurion airport.
Hamas was behind the attempted attack, according to sources in the Fatah-led PA.
PA troops told Israeli forces of the rocket's location and Arab officials said the foiled attack was the culmination of an intelligence-gathering effort.
Terrorists from both the Fatah and Hamas factions continue to attack Israelis despite a PA campaign to prove that its troops can successfully fight terrorism in Judea and Samaria.
The IDF said that in the past two days, there were two attempts by PA Arab drivers to run down army soldiers. On Saturday night, IDF forces were called to the area west of Bethlehem following a report that Arabs were hurling rocks at Israeli vehicles. Arab terrorists in a vehicle opened fire at the soldiers, and the Arab driver then tried to run over them. The soldiers returned fire, and there were no damage or injuries.
A similar incident occurred in the area of Hevron on Saturday afternoon when the driver of an Arab vehicle tried to run over soldiers. IDF forces returned fire towards the vehicle, and two Arabs were injured. The soldiers had arrived to the area after receiving information that a number of Arabs had arrived there to steal vehicles.
On Monday, two Jewish teenagers were attacked on Monday by a gang of Arabs and leftist demonstrators at the Maon Farm south of Hevron. The teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were hit by rocks hurled by the mob. One sustained head injuries, while the other suffered light wounds on his arm. MDA paramedics provided first aid to the two youths.
6. Europe Puts Israel Under the Gun in Dubai Passport ‘Scandal’
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel is facing intense heat from Britain and other European Union countries following Dubai police claims that last month’s assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was carried out with the use of forged diplomatic passports. Israel has been blamed for the operation.
United Arab Emirates UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan was quoted by a state news agency as saying that the “abuse of passports poses a global threat.”
Al-Mabhouh, who is suspected of having been in Dubai on a mission to buy weapons, was killed in a luxury hotel by a team of assassins who went around the premises dressed as tennis players before they killed the terrorist using an explosive electronic device.
Dubai police previously revealed that the assassins held foreign passports from Britain, France, Ireland and Germany but added new information on Sunday, alleging that the passports were diplomatic. Among the assassins’ passports were fakes of documents belonging to six British Israelis.
One of them was issued in Cologne in 2009 for Modi'in Illit Rabbi Michael Bodenheimer, according to Der Spiegel. He had contacted the immigration authorities in Cologne and showed evidence that his grandparents lived in Germany before World War II. Based on this information, he was given German citizenship but never took out a German passport.
When Der Spiegel's reporters checked out the address which appears on Bodenheimer's passport, they found nobody by that name residing there.
The UAE foreign minister summoned European Union ambassadors to brief them after Britain and Ireland summoned Israeli ambassadors last week, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman probably will face a tough grilling on Monday during a visit to Brussels.
"I intend to meet the Israeli foreign minister in Brussels to underline our deep concern about the fake use of passports in Dubai and to seek reassurance and clarification on this very serious issue," said Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also is expected to raise the issue with Lieberman.
The assassination also weighs heavily on trade relations between Israel and the UAE, which has no formal diplomatic ties with the Jewish State.
Austria is also concerned because of reports that pre-paid chips made in its country were used in seven mobile phones used in the elimination of al-Mabhouh.
In Gaza, Hamas rejected Dubai police statements that Hamas was to blame for faulty security that allowed information about al-Mabhouh’s arrival to be leaked to Israeli intelligence agents.
7. Taliban on the Defense in Pakistan, Afghanistan
by Maayana Miskin
Pakistani forces announced Sunday that counterterror operations had killed 30 Taliban fighters near the Afghanistan border. Many terrorists have sought cover near the border from an operation lead by by coalition troops in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military has reported a number of recent successes in operations targeting the Taliban. The organization's second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was recently arrested in Karachi, and senior terrorist Mullah Abdul Salam was nabbed just days later.
The Pakistani military has been backed by the United States, which has carried out strikes of its own in Pakistani territory.
International troops began a major offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan last week. British and American officers expressed optimism this week, telling media that soldiers had achieved more than half of the goals set for the operation.
Counter-Terror in Philippines
As NATO troops continued their counterterrorist offensive, Philippine troops launched an assault on terrorists in their own country. Six terrorists affiliated with the Abu Sayaf group were killed in an offensive on Sunday, in an operation lauded as "a big accomplishment" by military leaders.
