The Prime Minister of Lebanon in conflict with Hezbollah

Lebanese PM, Fouad Siniora, addressed the Lebanese people today on national television. Siniora spoke against the Hezbollah led Lebanese opposition who is planning to hold mass demonstrations tomorrow in Beirut. Hezbollah demands the immediate establishment of a national unity government and threatens to topple Siniora's duly elected one. Siniora expressed concern for Lebanon and its democracy and called on the public to support the goverment. Siniora went on to state that the government will only be brought down by political means and not by threats or ultimatums.

Egyptian court sentences the Taba bombers to death

A specially appointed Egyptian court sentenced today three terrorist to death. The three took part in three simultaneous bombings in Ras Al-Shitan and the Hilton hotel in Taba, both in the Siani desert.
In the attack, an entire wing of the Hilton hotel collapsed. 34 people were killed, 13 of them Israeli citizens.
Egypt make great effort to keep the security in the Siani peninsula as it is a major tourist location and a source of great revenue. Many Israelis frequent the Siani in what best examplifies the peace which exists between Israel and Egypt.
After the Taba bombing, Egypt, in an unprecedented step, allowed IDF soldiers to cross into the Siani and assist in resuce operations.
Al-Qaeda is assumed to be responsible for the bombing.

Nassrallah calls for demonstration in Beirut tomorrow

The leader of the lebanese terrorist organization, Hezbollah, called today in a television interview for people to go out in a non-violent demonstration tomorrow in Beirut. Nasrallah calls for the replacement of the current government of Lebanon, headed by Fouad Siniora, by a national unity government. Nasrallah claims that the incumbent goverment has failed to protect the interests of Lebanon. This demonstartion comes in the wake of the resignations of 3 Hezbollah appointed ministers from the government of Siniora a few weeks ago after their demands for additonal offices were denied. The tension between Hezbollah and Siniora arose during the war with Israel last summer. The war which began as Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, brought great destruction to Lebanon. Ever since, the tensions have been high and there are fears of impending civil war.
Hezbollah is supported by Syria and Iran and it is feared that its goal is to topple Siniora's government and to form an Islamic republic on the northern border of Israel. Hezbollah is an active organization and is responsible for the killing of French, American and Israeli soldiers and for the bombing of jewish institutions in Argentina.

Bush meets with Iraq's Prime Minister

President Bush met today with Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki. This is part of the American President's visit to the kingdom of Jordan. Jordan is considered a moderate Arab state, has a peace accord with Israel and a border with Iraq. Bush's visit is part of an American campaign to secure local assistance in an effort to stablilize the situation in Iraq.
Pres. Bush refused to give a date for the withdrawl of American troops from Iraq. Bush claims that setting a deadline for a withdrawl would cause unrealistic expectations. He also expressed the view that leaving Iraq while the country is full of terrorists would jeopardize the well-being of Iraqi citizens and provide a boost for the terrorists.
Political analysts believe that part of Bush's visit is dedicated to gain support for his position regarding the issue of Iran's nuclear program. Moderate and secular Arab states have no interest to see the fundamental state of Iran holding such a weapon, as one of its goals is to spread the Islamist revolution which ocurred there in the late 1970's.

The General Strike is suspended

Chief justice of the Israeli court of labor realtions, Steve Adler, ordered today that the general strike which began yesterday by the Histadrut, Israel's largest workers union, shall end and will not resume this week. He also ordered that the treasury ministry shall pay the majoirity of withheld funds to the employees of nearly all local authorities. The Histadrut began the strike in protest over the witholding of salaries to 6,000 employees throughout Israel.
Further negotiations between the treasury and the Histadrut will be helf under the observing eyes of of Justice Adler. The Histadrut is threatening to resume the strike should the treasury ministry fail to transmit the owed funds.
The strike received 70% approval rates in the general public and overall support in the media.

General Strike in Israel

The Histadrut, Israel's leading workers union, began a nationwide strike this morning in protest over the withholding of salaries of 6,000 civil service employees. Several local authorities in Israel are in deep deificits and have been unable to pay the salaries of their employees for months and in some cases even years. The Histadrut is demanding the immediate payment of all past funds.
Among the national services which did not operate today is Ben-Gurion international airport, the train system, the mail service, certain sections within the university and the prominent phone company, Bezeq.
Ministers of the treasury and the interior are currently meeting with chairman of the Histadrut in the hopes of coming to a solution that will prevent another day of general strike.
The strike is widely supported by the Israeli public who is furious with the fact that workers did not receive their salaries.
Financial sources estimate the daily damage of the strike to be 350 million shekels, somewhere in the area of 81 million $

Olmert to meet with secretary Rice tomorrow

Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert, is scheduled to meet with American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, tomorrow in Jerusalem. Rice is scheduled to meet with Palestinian president Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abas) earlier that same day.
Olmert and Rice are to discuss the way in which the Israeli-Palestinians negotiation may be restarted. Olmert's speech of two days ago in which he expressed that Israel would be willing to withdraw from large parts of the West Bank in return for a full and lasting peace is hoped to become the catalyst of a return to the table between the two sides.
The meeting between Olmert and Rice was not planned in advance as Olmert met with Rice during his visit to the United States two weeks ago.
A meeting between Olmert and Abu Mazen has yet to be scheduled while the ceasefire which was declared in the beginning of the week has already been broken a few times by Palestinian militants

Tzipi Livni appointed as Israel's minister of justice

Local News:
Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert, has decided to appoint Tzipi Livni as Israel's new minister of justice. Former minister of justice, Haim Ramon, resigned from his office due to accusations of sexual misconduct. His trial has reached the summation stage and will be decided during the following weeks. Livni already serves as Israel's foreign minister and will hold both offices. Livni has a perfectly clean public service record and many view her as a potential candidate for the prime ministerhood of Israel. Livni, formerly of the Likud party, followed Ariel Sharon when he left the Likud to establish the Kadima party in late 2005.

Head of Egypt's intelligence service visits Israel

Gen. Omar Suliman, head of Egypt's intelligence service, met today with Israel's security minister, Amir Peretz. The talks dealt primarily with the situation in the Gaza strip and continuing efforts to secure the release of abducted israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by palestinian militants of the Hamas organization a few months ago. Haled Mashal, one of the leaders of Hamas, visited Egypt earlier this week. At the moment Hamas is demanding the release of many prisoners in exchange for Shalit, a price Israel is reluctant to pay. Suliman and Peretz also discussed the ongoing smuggling operations taking place between the Siani desert and the Gaza strip. Egyptian forces guarding the border have not been able to seal it and great quantites of weapons and explosives have been smuggled by palestinian militants since Israel's withdrawl from Gaza in the summer of 2005. Suliman is also scheduled to meet with Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert, and the head of Mossad, Meir Dagan. In Israel, many politicians have expressed outrage at Egypt's ineffective control of the border with Gaza and believe that Egypt can do a lot more.

Syrian backed assassination group uncovered

Early today a Lebanese newspaper reported that a 200 member assassination organization was uncovered this week in Lebanon. The organization (still nameless) was established by Syria and its reported goal was to carry out assassinations of 36 prominent Lebanese officials and persons of influence who oppose Syria's habit of meddling in Lebanese affairs. Syria has been an active force in Lebanon for decades and had to withdraw its forces out of Lebanon only last year as a result of pressure by the United States. But Syria's fingerprints can easily be read in great areas of internal affairs in Lebanon, such as its active support for Hezbollah and its relentless interference in Lebanese politics. Syria has also been blamed for the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, last year. This killing provoked great protests in Lebanon against Syria. The recent shooting of Lebanese minister, Pierre Gemayel, is likewise perceived as an action taken by Syria to silence another of its antagonists inside Lebanon. The son of Rafik Hariri, a politician himself, called the Syrian regime: an administration of murder. Many in Lebanon fear that Syria is trying to reassert its control over Lebanon and that the killing of Gemayel will not be the last political assassination in the near future.

29th of November - The Holy Land

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) will increase the level and intensity of training during 2007. This was stated by various military sources and is a direct (and expected) result of the war with Lebanese terrorist group, Hezbollah, which waged during July and August. Many faults were discovered during the war, in which Israel lost over 130 soldiers and had many of its northern towns and cities bombed repeatedly with rockets launched out of Lebanon. Many of these faults were attributed to the decrease in combat training in the IDF over the last few years. Many of the reserve soldiers who took part in the war found themselves to be rusty if not altogether unfamiliar with part of the equipment and weaponery and with coordinated combat procedures. This the IDF aims to change in preparation for another conflict with Hezbollah or even Syria and Iran. The IDF has been promised a massive increase in the budget of 2007 in order to finance this increase as well as the necessary replenishment of its munitions. Several intelligence assessments predict a military conflict as early as 2007 in the northern border of Israel coupled with increased terrorist activities in the Gaza strip.

November 28th, 2006 - no.3 - The Holy Land

The Palestinian PM, Ismail Haniyeh, of the Hamas organization, embarked today on an international tour of several Islamic states, including Lebanon and Iran. Haniyeh is expected to ask for financial aid of Iran as the economic situation within the PA is very poor. Haniyeh is also expected to request assistance in lifting the international isolation imposed on his government. The isolation results of Hamas' positions. The organization which today controls the government of the PA, does not recognize Israel and rejects its right to exist. The organization's goal is to establish an Islamic state over all the territory of the State of Israel. Many in Israel believe that due to Hamas' extreme views negotiations between it and Israel are doomed to fail from the onset.
In local news, former PM, Binyamin Netanyahu, was today question by the police regarding an alleged involvement in a corruption scheme which allegedly occurred during his administration in the late 1990's.

November 28th, 2006 - no.2 - The Holy Land

Three Israeli soldiers remain imprisoned by terrorists. Gilad Shalit was abducted from an outpost in the Negev by Palestinian militants who took him into the Gaza strip. two other Israeli soldiers were attacked during a border patrol by members of the Hezbollah organization and taken into Lebanon in what proved to be the Casus Beli of the was which waged between the Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group. The condition and whereabouts of the three soldiers is unknown, though news of an impending deal regarding the release of Gilad Shalit is common.
Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert, expressed in a speech yesterday his willingness to release many Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange for Gilad Shalit. He also called upon the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table and declared the for a true and lasting peace Israel will be willing to withdraw from many territories in the West Bank. This aroused great opposition within Israel as the Israeli army (IDF) has already withdrawn from the Gaza strip a little over a year ago and rockets are still being launched against Israeli population centers to this day.

November 28th, 2006 - The Holy Land

The ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militants again proved fragile today as a Kassam missile was launched from the Gaza strip and landed in the west of the Negev (Israel's southern area). The ceasefire had already been broken within minutes of its proclamation two days ago as missiles landed in the city of Sderot in the south of Israel. The city's population, which suffered numerous casualties in the last few weeks due to increasing missile launches out of Gaza, was unprepared for this breach. The sirens caught many of the residents out of their homes and away from shelter. Though no casualties were reported today, the ceasefire is viewed by many Israeli's as a shaky deal at best.
The ceasefire was negotiated between Israel's Prime Minister (PM), Ehud Olmert, and the president of the Palestinian Authority(PA), Mahmud Abas. Abas, of the Fatah part, has reiterated his call for resumed negotiations with Israel, but the frequent breaches of the ceasefire cause many in Israel and the international community to doubt the level of control Abas has over his own people.