Yemeni Party Officials Meet Largely Criticized Syria’s Assad

Source :  Yemen Post

Muhammad Al-Zubairy, the current rotating president of the Joint Meeting Parties JMP, Yemen’s main opposition bloc which is one of the two partners in the West-backed political transition, met on Thursday with Syrian president Bashar Assad, Syrian media outlets reported. The Syrian reports said Assad met with Al-Zubairy in his capacity as the secretary general of the Baath Party in Yemen, not as the reporting president of the JMP in Yemen. The official website of the Yemeni Baath Party covered the meeting as well saying it dealt with the situations in the Arab region, especially the latest developments in Syria and Yemen. At the talks, that came amid continuous popular uprising against the Assad regime in Syria, there was a focus on the importance to develop the role of the Baath Party in line with the latest developments in the region, the website said. “The talks stressed the importance to stick to Arabism and its thought to face external projects targeting the Arab nation and its forces,” according to the website. The Syrian-led Baath Party has branches in several Arab countries since it is seen as one of the most important groups serving Arabism and the Arab and Muslim issues. The Assad regime has been widely criticized by regional and world countries for the deadly crackdown against the civilians who have been struggling for more than two years to demand change and the departure of the regime. The popular uprising, which started as part of the peaceful protests sweeping the region or what has been knows as the Arab Spring, has become an armed struggle against the Syrian regime, which international reports said has killed more than 90.000 civilians and displaced millions since the unrest started. Al-Zubairy was elected the rotating president of the six-party opposition bloc JMP in Yemen early this month. The JMP was the second partner to sign the GCC-brokered power-transfer deal which forced Yemen’s former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh to relinquish power after the mass protests in 2011. It six-party bloc holds half of the power-sharing government under the deal. The meeting between Yemeni party officials with Assad has drawn public criticism, with some saying political forces especially those which were part of the popular uprising against the former regime in Yemen should not meet Syrian officials or show support to the Syr

News Analysis: Syria gov't shows more leniency toward dialogue than opposition

Source :   Xinhua

DAMASCUS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Syria has made it clear that it is ready for dialogue, even with the armed parties, throwing thus the ball into the court of the opposition groups that have not so far shown any leniency in its stances and made the dialogue conditional on the departure of the current administration.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem has recently announced that Syria was ready to open dialogue with the opposition, even the armed groups, a step which was seen by observers as aiming to placate the Syrian people who are eager to reach a political solution to the country's nearly two-year crisis.

However, Salim Edris, the so-called chief of staff at the rebels Syrian Free Army, turned down al- Moallem's offer for dialogue, stipulating that President Bashar al-Assad should step down ahead of any dialogue and called for the cessation for all kinds of killing and the withdrawal of the Syrian army from cities.

Edris' conditions mirrored the ones by the political opposition abroad that also said Assad's departure should be the result of any dialogue.

Yet, the two parties of the conflict have apparently come under international pressure to embark on direct dialogue ahead of a Rome meeting of the Friends of Syria group slated for Thursday in the hope of narrowing the schism between both conflicting parties.

Syrian observers, meanwhile, believe that the Syrian crisis could not be solved but through dialogue especially as military operations and attacks have reached the capital, prompting thousands of Syrians to flee the country and many others to lock themselves inside their houses.

"I can see that the political solution is now more clear ... it 's very important factor in the Syrian crisis ... many of the countries in the world support it," Bassam Abu Abdullah, an expert in international relations, told Xinhua in an interview Wednesday.

Abdullah, who is also a university professor in international law, said that al-Moallem's call for dialogue was "very important . .. and we considered it as some kind of an opening from the Syrian government toward dialogue," adding that "We are going toward the political solution."

Abdullah's optimism has come as the world countries have grown more frustrated with the prolonged crisis and have accelerated moves and calls to draw the crisis to an end especially after the growing fear of the radical Islamists who have joined the fight against the Damascus government in the hope of establishing an Islamic state.

On Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, following a meeting with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry in Berlin, that both Russia and the United States would spare no effort to create the suitable climates to step up the process of dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the opposition.

Lavrov stressed that it is necessary for the two sides to sit around the negotiations table, indicating that no one could solve the Syrian problem other than the Syrians themselves.

He called on the opposition to "declare itself in favor of dialogue" when it meets various Western leaders, including Kerry, at Thursday's crunch talks in Rome.

The Russian minister stressed that the Syrian government officials had "assured" Moscow that they "have a negotiating team and are ready to start dialogue as soon as possible."

He also called on the opposition to name a negotiating team.

Moreover, Lavrov accused "extremists" of hindering a political solution and said they are betting on a political solution.

Abdullah, the Syrian expert, concurred and said that "the extremists in the opposition continue their attempts to destroy this way (the political process) ... every day they are bombing and killing people."

He also accused extremists, mainly the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra group of attempting to rupture the dialogue, saying "They are not looking for democracy or for making life better ... this is a terrorist organization."

He distinguished between different kinds of armed rebels and said there were some rational groups that would accept dialogue.

"We should isolate the extremists. We should isolate the terrorists. We cannot put all armed people in one basket," he said, stressing that the "Syrian government is seriously speaking abou the political solution."

Meanwhile, Abdullah confessed that the negotiations are not easy, but noted that the oppositio should start negotiations.

"Let's talk about everything and then go to the people to know what they want," he stressed, affirming that the Syrian people also would determine the country's future and its political system.

Expert: Iran can block up to one third of world oil exports in case of war

Source :   Trend.Az

In  case of an attempt to solve the Iranian problem by military force, the country can block up to a third of the world's oil exports, largely through striking tankers that come from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, professor at Kazakh National University of Defense Georgiy Dubovtsev believes.

He said it cannot be said that a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities will not bring costly ramifications. Everything that could be destroyed would be rebuilt within a few years.

"And no one is capable of occupying Iran, as the population of this country is unwaveringly patriotic. Everyone will resist foreign invasion. But the results of such military attacks can be disastrous not only for the Gulf region, but for the whole world. Attacking Iran would not only result in a large-scale military conflict, but would also destabilize the situation in the entire Middle East, "Dubovtsev told journalists.

He said in case of war, Iran will have more arguments in favor of possessing nuclear weapons and abolition of the IAEA control system.

"Secondly, the Iranian government has sufficient methods to influence the U.S. and Israel, such the termination of oil supplies, supporting anti-Israeli and anti-American forces in the region and organizing direct rebel attacks via Lebanon," he said.

Via its ballistic missiles, Iran could also strike a blow at the U.S. military bases in the southern Persian Gulf. Enforcement actions can provoke active measures for organization of the world oil crisis, and not only by suspension of oil exports from Iran, which will push up prices for "black gold." In addition, Tehran, speaking as a victim, can find allies amongst Muslim nations.

"It is still important to pursue the same goal for the P5+1 group: the Iranian nuclear program should be resolved only through peaceful means. And if the Iranian side presents a clear report in Almaty, the U.S. is ready for a diplomatic solution of the problem by discussing it at the multilateral level," the expert said.

For a Peaceful solution in Syria-prt.II

Editor : Branichild (FB)

Trend.Az: The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

In an interview recently broadcast on German television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that the government did not start the conflict and the militant groups were the ones killing Syrian citizens and destroying the country's infrastructure.

*... New arms supplies from Turkey and Saudi Arabia for terrorists in Syria, are opposed the political agitation by the Obama administration, which Islamist FSA [al-nusra] terrorists, - logistical and support even with material equipment, when John Kerry said:

"We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the political transition that the Syrian people want and deserve," Kerry said. "We need to help them to deliver basic services and to protect the legitimate institutions of the state."

TheDailyStar Lebanon: Officials in the United States and Europe have said the Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to provide non-lethal assistance to carefully vetted fighters opposed to Syrian President Basher Assad, and Kerry's comments indicated that the Americans are working to make sure that its aid doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Syria's rebels get most of their arsenal from capturing government bases, but they also are believed to receive help from Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

ALMONITOR: While the United States and Russia continue, on the surface, to disagree over Syria, the recent flurry of diplomatic activity spearheaded by the two leading members of the Security Council suggests that there is more coordination between them than might appear at first glance. Given Turkey's current position, which appears to be rowing against the tide, it is not clear where Ankara will fit in as far as diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian crisis are concerned. All indications are that it still refuses to see the situation in Syria as a civil war, fed by sectarian and ethnic divisions, which in the end will require a negotiated settlement.

AntiWar: The Kerry administration is expanding to provide Syrian rebels with direct military aid, toward providing body armor, direct combat training and even armed personal carries to rebel factions.

Strategic-Culure.org: Several rebel commanders and fighters told Reuters that a shipment which reached Syria via Turkey last month comprised shoulder-held and other mobile equipment including anti-aircraft and armor-piercing weapons, mortars and rocket launchers.

Rebels told Reuters the weapons, along with money for cash payments for fighters, were being distributed through a new command structure, part of a plan by foreign backers to centralize control over rebel units and check Islamists linked to al-Qaeda. However, in a sign of the difficulty in uniting disparate fighting groups, some rebels said they had turned down the arms and refused to submit to the new command.

A Reuters photographer in Damascus over the last month saw several Western-built rebel firearms- including U.S. pattern M4 and Austrian Steyr assault rifles - that almost certainly came from outside the country.

Trend.Az: Although the Obama administration continues to refuse to directly arm the rebels, the administration has provided intelligence assistance to those who are involved in the supplies, and it also helps vet opposition forces. U.S. officials declined to comment on the new armaments.

*...Barack Obama must make an effort to promote a political resolution in Syria. This can be only without the support of FSA Islamists - it is for Israel in the context of Obama friend no other solution to search for a dialogue between Syria and seek the opposition.

FSA Islamists return after clashes from Israel to Syria

Editor : Branichild (FB)

Al Manar TV reported that Israel has plans to construct a field hospital to treat injured members of opposition fighters. Media had it that 7 opposition fighters had been treated in an Israeli hospital, that will accept and treat Syrian opposition fighters injured members and refugees, to be built either in Golan or AlQunaytiraharea.

The Jewish newspaper israelNation reported  "..Syria and Israel are technically still at war, and there are also jihadists in the opposition forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad as well. Either side could have targeted the group for having gone to Israel. The group was rushed to the medical center 10 days ago after first receiving life-saving treatment at the border from an IDF medic, who treated them once they were brought across the border by the IDF. All had been wounded in clashes taking place near the Syrian border with Israel in the Golan Heights."

Israel is constructing a center for its security forces in Golan borders to monitor Syrian events more closely than before. The report also added that Israel has provided recommendation to its settlers in Golan on proper reactions in the time of crisis.

Zionist IDF Brigadier- General (ret.) Kobi Marom told the Jewish newspaper Arutz Sheva. "The IDF has prepared for the new reality that will be in the Golan," he said.

Also quoted by israelNation.com  newspaper: The case does not mark a change in policy, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya"alon stressed in an interview Saturday with Israel"s Channel 2 television, but rather an exception to the rule. "This was a unique event," Ya"alon said, and any others that might follow would "likewise be considered each on its own merits, on an individual basis."

Israel secretly expelled 1,000 Sudanese: report

Source : Al Akhbar English

Israel has secretly repatriated more than 1,000 Sudanese immigrants over the past several months in violation of a UN charter on refugees, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

The refugees were likely to face persecution upon their return to Sudan, which has issued stern warning to its citizens against visiting Israel, the newspaper said, citing official sources.

Israeli officials said the immigrants, who were in detention prior to their expulsion, had voluntarily agreed to be deported. But the UN High Commissioner on Refugees rejected that claim, saying that there is no “free will from inside a prison,” according to the Haaretz report.

The report also cited Michael Bavli, the UNHCR’s top representative in Israel, as warning immigration authorities that “deporting Sudanese to Sudan would be the gravest violation possible of the convention that Israel has signed – a crime never before committed.”

He was referring to the 1951 Refugee Convention which prohibits the repatriation of refugees to a country where they could face persecution.

The convention states:

Sudanese officials have repeatedly warned its citizens against travelling to Israel. The Haaretz report said that Sudan’s interior minister in 2007 said any Sudanese who took up residence in Israel “would be punished.”

Tensions between the two countries escalated last October after Israeli jets bombed a factory near Sudan’s capital Khartoum, killing two.

Israel’s interior minister had previously threatened to deport undocumented Sudanese following a wave of arrests of African immigrants last June.

"Infiltrators from Sudan have until October 15 to leave Israel, after which … they will be placed in detention," Minister Eli Yishai said in a statement last August. He added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approved the expulsions.

(Al-Akhbar)

Palestine’s Al-Aqsa Brigades Fire Rocket on Occupied Territories

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

A  rocket fired from the Gaza strip landed early Tuesday near Ashkelon in the south of the Palestinian occupied territories, as al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah Movement, claimed responsibility for the rocket launch.

“The rocket fell early in the morning near Ashkelon and did some damage to a road, without hurting anyone,” an Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

In a statement, al-Aqsa Brigades, Groups of Martyr Luai Kane’, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for firing a Grad rocket on Ashkelon city. The statement said that the rocket was “in response for assassinating the prisoner Arafat Jradat” who was martyred on Sunday after being tortured in an Israeli prison.

“The Freedom won’t be achieved but through sacrifice… We have to resist our enemy in all available means,” al-Aqsa Martyrs added in the statement.

Jradat martyrdom sparked protests across Palestine, with thousands of Palestinians thronged the West Bank village of Sair on Monday for the funeral of Jaradat, a 30- year-old father of two and member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Both the Palestinians and the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, have called for an independent inquiry into Jradat death.

Tuesday’s rocket fire was the first such event since the end of an Israeli offensive against Gaza late November. The two sides finally agreed a truce on November 21 following the eight-day Israeli attack which cost the lives of dozens of Palestinian civilians. 177 Palestinians were martyred and six Zionist were killed, according to figures issued by the two side

Russia wants U.S. to help foster dialogue in Syria

News via Yahoo!

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will urge the United States on Tuesday to press the Syrian opposition to hold direct talks with Damascus, but fears "extremists" now have the upper hand among President Bashar al- Assad's opponents.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said before leaving for Berlin to meet Secretary of State John Kerry that the new U.S. top diplomat seemed to grasp the gravity of the crisis in Syria.

He said Washington should lean on the Syrian opposition to drop demands that Assad must leave power before talks can start.

"In our contacts with other countries that can influence the parties in Syria, we have noticed a growing understanding of the need to influence both the government and, first of all, the opposition so that they do not come up with unrealistic requests as preconditions for the start of dialogue," Lavrov said after talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans.

"This is what we will discuss with John Kerry today. During our latest phone conversation I had the impression that he has an understanding of the acuteness of the situation in Syria."

Moscow and Washington have been at loggerheads over Syria, where 70,000 people have been killed in a nearly two- year-old conflict that began with a crackdown on street protests against Assad's rule.

Russia has been Assad's staunchest ally and, with China, blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at mounting pressure on him to end the violence.

Washington has sided with the Syrian opposition in seeking Assad's removal from power.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in Moscow on Monday that the government was ready for talks, but opposition leaders and rebel commanders insist Assad must go first.

Kerry responded dismissively to Moualem's offer, saying it was hard to understand how people having Scud missiles fired at them would take an offer of dialogue seriously. Syria denies using ballistic missiles in the fighting.

He also appeared to promise more concrete support to Assad's opponents, without saying whether the United States might rethink its earlier aversion to arming or training them.

"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind," Kerry said in London on Monday.

Lavrov signaled that the prospects for direct talks in Syria had receded in the past few days.

"A few days ago it seemed that conditions for the sides to sit down for talks ... were getting clearer. There were calls in support of a quick start to dialogue," he said.

"But then came denials of such an approach. It seems extremists, who bet on a military solution to Syria's problems and block initiatives to start dialogue, have for now come to dominate in the ranks of the Syrian opposition, including in the so-called (Syrian) National Coalition," he added.

Western countries and some Arab states have accused Russia, a long-standing arms supplier to Damascus, of shielding Assad, whose Syrian opponents have bitterly denounced Russian policy.

Moscow has hit back by saying it has worked hard to try to persuade the two sides in Syria to start talks and accusing its Western allies of failing to do enough to support those efforts.

It also says support for the rebels plays into the hands of militant Islamists, a theme Assad himself often evokes.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Alistair Lyon)

Moscow Concerned about Syria, Not Assad - Minister

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow’s position on Syria stems from its concern for the Syrian people, and not the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

“Russia’s position is not predetermined by support of personalities; it is dictated by concern about the fate of the Syrian people, our long-standing friend and partner, and the fate of a country which has a very long history,” he said at a news conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid Mouallem.

The United States has called for Assad to step down, but Russia says it is concerned that the Syrian president’s forced departure would make the conflict worse.

Russia would like to see Syria as an independent and united country with all sections of society living in peace and stability, regardless of their political sympathies and resolving their domestic problems without outside interference, Lavrov said.

The number of political forces favoring a political settlement in Syria is growing, Lavrov claimed, adding there is no acceptable alternative to a settlement through a political dialog between the Syrian government and the opposition.

“There are sensible forces that are becoming increasingly aware of the need for an early start of negotiations and a political settlement. The number of those supporting this realistic line is growing,” he said.

The situation in Syria is at a critical point, with the escalation of the conflict threatening the disintegration of the Syrian state and society, he said.

Mouallem repeated the Syrian government's claim that the conflict in Syria is “a war against terrorism” spearheaded by al-Qaeda.

“One of al-Qaeda’s branches is conducting the main combat actions in Syria and it has brought into Syria militants from 28 countries, including from Chechnya,” he said.

He reiterated the Syrian government’s readiness for dialog with the opposition, “even those with weapons in their arms.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said last Tuesday foreign military supplies to Syria’s armed opposition have been growing. He reiterated Russia’s official position that Moscow will not carry out fresh arms deliveries to the Syrian government, but is only supplying arms and military equipment under contracts signed before the civil war, which has claimed some 70,000 lives according to the latest UN estimates.

Last Monday, Lavrov denied Moscow had tried to smuggle arms components into Syria via Finland, and said there are no Russian troops in Syria apart from several dozen technical staff at the Tartus naval support facility.

Russia’s state-run arms dealer Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday it is supplying air-defense missile systems and maintenance and servicing equipment to Syria, but not combat aircraft.

Russia has repeatedly denied media reports that it was sending warships to Syria and delivering new weapons to Damascus.

13 Syrian immigrants rescued in boat accident off Turkish coast

Source : Xinhua

ANKARA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 13 illegal Syrian immigrants were rescued Monday after their boat hit rocks off Turkey's coast of the Aegean Sea, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported.

Acting on a tip-off that a boat carrying illegal Syrian immigrants was heading for the Greek island of Rhodes, a team of the Turkey's Coast Guard began to follow the vessel.

The boat speeded up after the Syrians onboard found they were pursued, but it hit rocks and started to sink, according to the report, and the coast guards rescued the immigrants, including three children.

The Syrians were taken to local police station, waiting for being deported, said the report.

Prisoners Of Hamas Movement in Remon Prison On Mass Hunger Strike

Source : Islamic  Invitation Turkey

Prisoners of Hamas movement held in Remon jail have staged a one-day hunger strike in protest after the isolation of prisoner Ahmad Alqedrah.

“Prisoners in section 1, 4 and 5 announced that they would refuse meals for one day sending a message to the prison authorities that if they didn’t return the isolated prisoner to his section they will do more steps”, told Fuad Alkhuffash the director of Ahrar center

The prison authorities said that Alqedrah who is from Khan Younes in Gaza strip and was arrested on 23/12/2002 and sentenced to 30 years threatened a prison officer, which was denied by the prisoners.

The human rights center called the international and human rights organizations for a quick intervention to stop the Israeli violations against prisoners.

Iran brings down foreign unmanned aircraft

Source : APA

Baku-APA. Iran's elite Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran, APA reports quoting the official IRNA news agency.

The electronic warfare unit of the IRGC spotted signals that "foreign and enemy drones" were attempting to enter Iranian airspace, General Hamid Sarkheili, a spokesman for the drill, was quoted by IRNA as saying.

After controlling its navigation system, IRGC experts brought a drone down near the city of Sirjan, where the military exercise began on Saturday, Sarkheili said.

"We have managed to bring down an enemy drone. This has happened before in our country," he said.

Sarkheilim, however, did not specify whether the drone belonged to the United States.

Tehran has claimed several times that it had captured U.S. drones, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three ScanEagle aircraft.

In early January, an Iranian navy commander claimed the capture of two small U.S. drones in past missions in addition to at least four others reported earlier.

Egypt ordered $2.55m in US-made teargas: memo

Source :   Al Akhbar English

The refused to take part in "an act of deception".... Syrian coalition to boycott international meetings Syria's opposition National Coalition said it was pulling out of several international meetings to protest at the "international silence" despite the slaughter of civilians in the conflict. The... Young Bahraini protester dies after clash with police A young protester died of wounds after he was shot during clashes with Bahraini police on the second anniversary of the February 14, 2011 uprising, the opposition said on Friday. Mahmud al-Jaziri, 20... Egypt ordered 140,000 unlabeled teargas canisters worth $2.55 million from the United States this January, Egypt's al-Masry al-Youm revealed Friday.

A 30 January letter from the Interior Ministry to the Defense Ministry, leaked by the newspaper, said a US company had been contracted to import 70,000 gas bombs and 70,000 long range gas projectiles.

The order came at the start of a week of mass protests against President Mohammed Murisi and police brutality.

It cited a “growing need for gas bombs to deal with rioters,” and urged the Defense Ministry to facilitate the shipment by taking the goods on board a military jet from the US to Egypt.

The US has seemingly tried to escape scrutiny by having Egypt remove the company's name and country of origin from the canisters, another memo showed.

The Al-Qindy Company for Imports and Exports, a representative of the US Combined System Company in Egypt, was tasked with the job.

Combined Systems Inc. is a Pennsylvania based defense contractor that specializes in non-lethal law enforcement-related products such as flashbangs, breaching munitions, and grenade launchers in addition to training for military and law enforcement personnel that “certify officers as less-lethal instructors”.

The company’s website has six product catalogs from 2010 and 2011, and Arabic is the only language other than English in which the catalogs appear in, suggesting the importance of their Middle Eastern clientele.

“The US government was stringent in issuing export permits for Egypt items that have been contracted since July, due to …. what was circulated by the media and rights groups about the US company's effect on protesters while using [the gas canisters] against rioters in Egypt,” a 28 January memo by Major General Magdy al-Gohary said.

Gohary is the head of the department for police supply.

“The permit from the US government was obtained after removing the company's name and country of origin written on the items,” the memo added.

News of the multimillion tear gas payment comes amid a rapidly swelling budget deficit, when Egypt's foreign reserves have halved and the government stopped paying for fuel subsidies.

Since November 2012, 48 protesters have been killed, hundreds injured and 30 have disappeared. Fourteen police officers are reported to have died in those clashes.

According to activists, at least 70 protesters have been tortured since the start of mass protests that led to the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

(Al-Akhbar)

RedditTweet16 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Category: Top News Related Articles Egypt's Baradei calls for election boycott Egyptian liberal opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei called on Saturday for a boycott of parliamentary elections which start in April, saying he refused to take part in "an act of deception".... Advertisement Published Saturday, February 23, 2013

France Confirms “Substantial” New Offer to Iran over Nuclear Program

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

France on Thursday confirmed that world powers will make a "substantial" new offer to Iran over its nuclear program at talks next week in Kazakhstan.

"We will make a new offer that will contain significant new elements," the French foreign ministry's deputy spokesman, Vincent Floreani, said.

The next round of talks with Iran under the "P5+1" format -- UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany -- will be held on February 26 in Almaty after a long gap.

"We hope that Iran will attend this meeting with a constructive spirit and will be ready to discuss, in detail and with a renewed perspective, aspects of its nuclear program that remain to be clarified," he said. "We want a true exchange, leading to concrete results," Floreani said.

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters in London on Wednesday of the plan to make the "serious and substantial" new offer to Iran.

These latest talks follow three rounds of negotiations in 2012, the last in Moscow in June. Iran walked away because the P5+1 stopped short of offering Tehran relief from UN Security Council and unilateral Western sanctions.

Israel pressures UN over Palestinian status report: diplomat

Source : Xinhua

RAMALLAH, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel puts pressure on the United Nations to prevent any criticism of Israeli policies by the UN chief's upcoming report on upgrading the Palestinian status, a Palestinian diplomat said Thursday.

The report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon aims at putting into effect the UN General Assembly's November resolution which recognized the Palestinian state as a non-member state despite Israeli and U.S. opposition.

"The Israeli pressures on Mr. Ban and the UN did not stop," said Ibrahim Khraishe, the Palestinian representative to the UN in Geneva. "These pressures are derived from unlimited American support to Israel," he said.

He pointed out that Israel's pressures "will not lead to peace and stability in the region," stressing that the recognition of the Palestinian state will make peace and security in the area.

Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) await the report, which should be issued around the end of February.

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Thursday that Israel was extremely worried about the report, especially about its wording and terminology.

It said Israel is worried that the report may attack the settlement activities in the West Bank and the development projects in E1, which would effectively separate Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israel is also concerned that the Palestinians will join other UN organizations, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in 2010 due to Israel's continued settlement building in territories it occupied in 1967.

Israel to drill for oil in Syria's Golan

Source :  Al Akhbar English

Israel has awarded its first license to drill for oil on the occupied Golan Heights to a US energy company, industry sources said on Thursday.

Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The strategic plateau has been extensively settled by Israelis and is the site of a major wind turbine project.

Energy sector sources said that after Israel decided last year to allow oil and gas exploration on the Golan, Genie Energy was awarded a license to drill. The New Jersey-based company still needs further work permits for drilling to commence, a process that could take years.

Genie did not immediately return calls for comment.

The company's Strategic Advisory Board includes a number of high- profile pro-Israel political and business leaders: US Vice President Dick Cheney, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and British banking tycoon Lord Jacob Rothschild.

The strategic advisory board "advises management on strategic, financial, operational and public policy matters."

The Golan's status has been at the heart of past Israeli-Syrian peace talks, with Damascus demanding its full return. With a two-year-old Syrian revolt now threatening President Bashar al-Assad's rule, Israel has dug in on the Golan.

Last Thursday, financial news site TheMarker reported that US-Israeli consortium developing the Tamar natural gas field off Palestine's Mediterranean coast is in talks to sell gas to Jordanian companies.

The Tamar prospect, whose estimated reserves of 274 bcm made it one of the largest discoveries of the past decades, is expected to begin production in the next few months.

Jordan, like Israel, was dealt a wave of attacks on pipelines from Egypt. But Egypt still supplies Jordan with gas while it halted supply to Israel last year.

Egypt's pipeline with Israel was attacked over 13 times since a popular revolt toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.

(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

Official: Settlers torch 6 cars in Nablus village

Source : Maan News Agency

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Armed settlers attacked a village south of Nablus overnight Wednesday and torched six cars, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said dozens of residents of the Esh Kodesh settlement outpost entered Qusra village firing heavily.

They torched six cars, belonging to Raed Musbah, Abed Taher, Yousef Odeh, Yasser Abu Rida, and Nashat Fawzi, Daghlas told Ma'an.

Villagers confronted the settlers, Daghlas said. A large force of Israeli soldiers entered the village and also clashed with locals, he added.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told Ma'an that soldiers were in the village on Thursday morning but had no further details.

Brahimi to extend his mission in Syria

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

A UN diplomat says UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has agreed to extend hi mission in the country.

According to AFP, the diplomat, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remarks on Wednesday. The diplomat stated “Brahimi has agreed a six month extension… He clearly feels that there is some life in his mission.” The envoy’s six-month contract with the United Nations and the Arab League is due to end on Friday. The 78-year-old veteran Algerian diplomat was appointed as a replacement for Kofi Annan in Augus 2012. On Sunday, Brahimi invited the Syrian government and the opposition to hold talks at the UN. He said “We believe that if a dialogue begins at the offices of the United Nations, at least at the start between the opposition and an acceptable delegation from the Syrian government, we think this will be a start to get out of the dark tunnel.”

Hamas says not to accept any deal banning arms smuggling

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip cannot accept any agreement that bans arms smuggling to the coastal enclave, a Hamas official said Wednesday.

"Preventing people under occupation from getting the mechanism of fighting the occupier is meaningless," said Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas official.

His remarks came after Israeli media reported a possible agreement between Israel and Hamas to lift the blockade on Gaza in exchange for a Hamas commitment to stop arms smuggling. The reports said that Egypt was mediating between the two sides to achieve the deal which would complement an earlier agreement that ended days of cross-border clashes between Hamas and Israel in last November.

On Tuesday, Israeli army radio reported that the aim of the agreement was to prevent any new round of fighting between Hamas and Israel in the future.

Hamas routed forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and ousted his Fatah party in street fighting in 2007. Since then, Israel imposed a tight closure on Gaza, but started a gradual easing of the siege since 2010.

The latest Israeli facilities were announced Tuesday, involving an increase in fuel and cooking gas supplies to Gaza.

Al-Bardaweel stressed that Egypt talked separately to his movement and Israel, denying the reports that Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, was holding indirect negotiations with the Jewish state.

Iraq approves plan to pipe Iranian gas to Syria: Report

Source : http://www.globalpost.com

Iraq's oil minister will approve a plan for a new pipeline channeling Iranian gas to Syria and possibly on into Europe by way of Iraqi territory, according to Middle East Online.

Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi has been ordered by cabinet to sign the agreement for the project, which Iranian sources say may cost some $10 billion and would extend several thousands miles, said the report.

Iran's deputy oil minister Javad Ouji said in July that construction will begin "once funding has been secured," reported Middle East Online. It was not immediately clear how much financing had been secured so far.

The project envisions a pipeline stretching from Iran's southern Assalouyeh port into Iraq and then on into Syria and would reportedly be capable of pumping 110 million cubic meters of gas a day.

Iran is home to one of the world's largest-known gas reserves.

Obama's visit to Israel gets an official logo

Source :   GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to brand US President Barack Obama's visit "Operation Unbreakable Alliance."

"Obama’s trip to Israel will be run like a military operation in most every way. It even has a code name: Unbreakable Alliance in English, and Brit Amim (A Covenant of Peoples) in Hebrew," commented Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

"The Prime Minister’s Office came up with a large number of creative ideas for the American president’s visit, but diplomatic protocol combined with ceremonies, speeches and a heavy schedule of meetings have made such initiatives largely irrelevant."

GlobalPost's Senior Correspondent in Israel Noga Tarnopolsky said the unveiling of Operation Unbreakable Alliance signals Netanyahu's nervousness about the way Obama's upcoming trip to Israel may be perceived by the media.

"I think by now its safe to say that everyone knows the Obama-Netanyahu relationship has not been a happy one," Tarnopolsky said. "Netanyahu was weakend by the last elections and it is very likely that he will receive Obama on March 20 without a new government in hand. He needs this trip to go well very, very badly."

If it goes well, she said, it could burnish Netanyahu's claim as the only legitimate candidate for prime minister.

"But Netanyahu and his team are gaffe-prone and uneasy right now — and I'd say "Operation Unbreakable Alliance" is one sign that they are concerned things may not follow their desired narrative," Tarnopolsky added.

Netanyahu won a smaller than expected victory in elections in January. In the run up to the American elections last November, Netanyahu was perceived as favoring Republican nominee Mitt Romney for president and Obama and Netanyahu have had a tense relationship from the beginning of Obama's presidency.

The office of Israeli President Shimon Peres announced Monday that Obama would be presented with the Presidential Medal of Distinction in March, according to the Guardian.

It would recognize Obama's "unique and significant contribution to strengthening the State of Israel and the security of its citizens."

The prime minister's official Facebook page offers these three choices for logos to represent Obama's visit

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Around 800 Palestinian prisoners started on Tuesday a hunger strike in the Israeli prisons of Eshel, Nafha, and Raymon in solidarity with the hunger strikers in Israeli jails.

The Palestinian prisoners society said in a statement that the strike is meant to pressure the Israeli prison service for its procrastination in meeting their demands.

The prisoners, who went on hunger strike, are affiliated with four Palestinian factions: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front, and Democratic Front.

Hezbollah on Iraq, Pakistan Attacks: Int’l Stance Urged to Condemn Takfiris

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

Hezbollah denounced as terrorist attacks the explosions that targeted civilians in Pakistan and Iraq, urging an international stance to condemn the Takfiris who are committing such crimes.

“Terrorist gangs go on with committing tragic massacres in Iraq and Pakistan”, Hezollah’s Media Relation said in a statement released on Monday.

“The repetition of such massacres and genocides against hundreds of innocent civilians should prompt the international community and human rights groups to condemn the acts of these killers, the Takfiris, and to disclose who are behind them.”

These attacks “also urge the specialized authorities and honorable powers in both countries to unite and stand together in face of these criminals,” the statement noted, adding that “efforts should be exerted to go after these perpetrators and punish them.”

“As Hezbollah condemns these crimes from Iraq to Pakistan, it calls on their people to be patient and to stand together in order to prevent the enemy from spreading sedition and destruction across our Islamis and Arab countries.”

The party also asked god to have mercy upon the martyrs, as it offered condolences to their kin and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Report: Australian may have leaked Mossad secrets

Source :  Maan News Agency

CANBERRA (Reuters) -- A suspected Mossad agent who died in an Israeli jail in 2010 was arrested by his spymasters who believed he may have told Australian intelligence about his work with the Israeli spy agency, Australian media reported on Monday.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp said dual Australian-Israeli citizen Ben Zygier, 34, had met officers from Australia's domestic spy agency ASIO and had given details of a number of Mossad operations.

Quoting undefined sources, the ABC, which broke the initial story about Zygier's secret arrest and death in prison, said on one of his four trips to Australia, Zygier had also applied for a work visa to Italy.

But Mossad became concerned when it discovered Zygier had contact with the Australian spy agency, the ABC reported, adding it was worried he might pass on information about a major operation planned for Italy.

It said Zygier was one of three Australians who changed their names several times and took out new Australian passports for travel in the Middle East and Europe for their work with Mossad.

The closely guarded case has raised questions in Australia and Israel about the suspected use by Mossad of dual Australian-Israeli nationals.

Israeli lawmakers on Sunday announced plans to investigate Zygier's death, which a judge has ruled was suicide. Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, has initiated an inquiry into his department's handling of the case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday sought to reduce media attention on the case and said he "absolutely trusts" Israel's security services and what he described as the independent legal monitoring system under which they operated.

Australia's Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, who is in charge of ASIO, on Monday said he would not comment on intelligence matters or suggestions ASIO had exposed Zygier's identity.

He also said he saw no need for a review of how the intelligence agencies handled the case.

"I haven't seen any need either, for any such review to take place within the Attorney General's Department," he told reporters.

Israeli settlers pump sewage into ancient Palestinian village

Source : www.uruknet.info

The Israeli settlement of Shafi Shamron, in the northern part of the West Bank, has routed its sewage pipes to dump directly into the historic village of Sabastiya, home to several thousand Palestinian families.

The villages have filed a legal action in Israeli court against the settlement's sewage dumping, but say that they do not expect the court action to succeed, since Israeli courts are weighted in favor of Israelis.

Sabastiya is an ancient city located just 10 km north of Nablus, West Bank. Palestinians have continuously lived in this village for nearly 2,000 years. But just over ten years ago, Israeli settlers decided to establish a settlement colony on village land and claim the land for the state of Israel.

According to the International Solidarity Movement, "Sabastiya contains Canaanite, Israelite, Hellenistic, Herodian, Roman and Byzantine ruins as well as the tomb of John the Baptiste. The winding city streets along with its history make Sabastiya an ideal place to visit. Yet, as charming and beautiful as the old city is, the nearby Israeli settlement of Shafi Shamrom is making lives of Sabastiya’s residents very difficult: settlers uprooted olive trees, introduced wild boars into the environment to damage the land, and most recently, sewage has started leaking from the settlement flooding Palestinian fields."

In 2001 settlers uprooted and destroyed around 1000 olive trees, substantially damaging the land of several families. In 2006 the army put up a fence in an attempt to confiscate the land where the trees had originally been. Sabastiya’s farmers pulled the fence down in a defiant act of resistance and since that time there have been no further attempts to install it again.

The most recent action on the part of illegal settlers of Shafi Shamron is pumping their raw, untreated sewage directly onto Palestinian fields. As the sewage is absorbed into the land, olive and apricot trees are rendered diseased and, according to the residents, "poisoned". The flow of human waste begins from a pipe on the perimeter of the settlement, creating a sort of reservoir which then runs through the adjacent Palestinian fields, compelling each subsequent land owner to create a canal in order to drain the sewage water on to his neighbors land and further away.

All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, and are a direct violation of past signed agreements between the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations to an area occupied by a nation's military.

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the number of settlers increased by 4.7% over the last year, in January 2013 the total number reached 360,000, compared to 343,000 at the same time last year.

Foreign Ministry: European Commissioner to arrive in Georgia -

Source : Trend.Az

In late February, European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will arrive in Georgia, bringing a visa liberalisation plan, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze told Trend.

According to Panjikidze, cooperation with the European Union is "rapid".

In this regard, Georgian Foreign Minister said the implementation of such a plan and association agreement with the EU will be carried out successfully.

"The text of the association agreement with the EU will be ready in March. Prior to the Vilnius summit, there will be enough time for the EU countries to see it," Panjikidze stressed.

Hamas confirms indirect, Egyptian-sponsored talks with Israel over Gaza

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hamas, Egypt and Israel held indirect discussions to further implement the November ceasefire that ended clashes between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a Hamas official said Saturday.

The talks involve taking more steps by Israel to ease its blockade on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and stop attacking Palestinians in areas Israel has recently given to the Palestinians -- the extra 3 nautical miles for fishermen and what had been a buffer zone along Gaza's northern and eastern borders with Israel, according to Khalil al-Hayya, a senior official of the Islamic movement.

Al-Hayya told reporters that Hamas envoys do not meet the Israelis, but Egypt communicates between the two sides.

Hamas envoys have recently met Egyptian officials and urged them to assess Israel's conduct in Gaza, al-Hayya said, noting that Israel "violates" the ceasefire by targeting fishermen and farmers and not completely lifting restrictions on the transport of goods through the Israeli-controlled commercial crossings.

In November, more than 160 Palestinians and three Israelis were killed in a cross-border fight between Hamas and Israel. Israel later arrested dozens of fishermen and shot dozens of Palestinians who approached its borders.

Al-Hayya said his movement can respond "fiercely" to the Israeli violations, but prefers to giving time for the Egyptian mediatory efforts.

Meanwhile, al-Hayya said the Palestinian reconciliation cannot happen without an end to what he called crackdown against Hamas supporters in the West Bank.

He said Khaled Mashaal, chief of Hamas politburo, briefed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah party, last week about the arrests against Hamas members in the West Bank.

The reconciliation aims at restoring political unity to the Palestinian territories, which were split when Hamas routed pro- Abbas forces and ousted his Fatah movement from Gaza in 2007. Fatah still holds sway in the West Bank.

EU calls on Israel to respect Palestinian prisoners' rights

Source :   Al Akhbar English

European Union on Saturday called on Israel to respect its human rights obligations towards Palestinian prisoners, saying it was concerned about the condition of four detainees on a long-term hunger strike.

The European Union is "following with concern" the worsening health conditions of Samer Issawi, Jafar Ezzedine, Ayman Sharawneh and Tareq Qaadan, who are all staging long-term hunger strikes, the bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

"The EU calls on the government of Israel to allow for the immediate restoration of their family visiting rights and calls for the full respect of international human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners," she said.

Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqe said in a statement on Saturday that Israel was responsible for the prisoners' well-being.

Qaraqe said that president Mahmud Abbas was holding intense talks with world leaders to prevent a possible "disaster."

"The Palestinian people will not stand by in face of what is happening in the prisons," Qaraqe warned.

The comments came a day after clashes erupted in the occupied West Bank as thousands of Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in support of the four.

Thousands of Palestinians prisoners went on hunger strikes in the past year to denounce Israel’s policy of administrative detention and poor life conditions in prisons. Issawi has been on a hunger strike for more than 205 days, sparking grave concerns about his health.

According to prisoners rights group Addameer, 4,743 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of January, including 178 in administrative detention.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

Israel launches new round of West Bank raids

Source :   Al Akhbar English

Israeli forces arrested a young Palestinian at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Jenin at dawn on Friday, before raiding several homes in a nearby village to deliver summons for questioning, local media reported.

WAFA news agency said that soldiers arrested 22-year-old Oweis Mazen Noahida from the town of Yamoun at an army checkpoint near the illegal Mabo Dothan settlement, without providing further details.

Meanwhile, soldiers raided homes in the village of Sanur early Friday to deliver summons to residents Mohammed Issa (25 years), Murad Gharbiyya (23 years), Suleiman Jarrar (23 years), and Abdullah Issa (24 years), the report added.

The arrest comes just hours after Israeli forces raided homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Bir Ayyub, in the town of Silwan, Thursday evening and arrested seven men.

Witnesses told WAFA that soldiers assaulted three women from the Roweidi family as their young children watched in fear during one raid.

Israeli forces also summoned three others for questioning, the report added.

Earlier on Thursday Israeli forces kicked in the doors of a home in the southern West Bank town of Beit Ummar and arrested 25-year-old Raed Ikhlayel, a Palestian official cited by Ma’an news agency said.

He said a 15-member force raided the home at 6am and rushed the youth away in a white, unmarked van.

A number of other Palestinians were detained Thursday during a Nablus demonstration in solidarity with jailed Palestinian hunger striker Samer Issawi.

(Al-Akhbar)

Israeli Soldiers Clash with Palestinians in West Bank, Dozens Injured

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian protesters who pledged solidarity with hunger-striking prisoners outside a military facility in the West Bank on Friday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed.

About 300 Palestinian protesters gathered at checkpoint Beitunia, which is near Ramallah and not far from the Ofer Israeli military jail where Palestinian prisoners are held, Xinhua reported.

Israeli media reported that as the protest heated, 19 Palestinians were injured by Israeli military's protest-dispersing measures, 15 of whom were hit by rubber bullets and another four suffered from tear gas inhalation.

However, the Palestinians claimed that over 100 were injured, mainly light injuries but one of them was seriously wounded by live ammunition.

IDF later confirmed that live ammunition was used during the dispersal of the demonstration.

Israel and Jordan in secret talks over gas deal

Source : Al Akhbar English

The US-Israeli consortium developing the Tamar natural gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast is in talks to sell gas to Jordanian companies, financial news site TheMarker reported on Thursday.

The Tamar prospect, whose estimated reserves of 274 bcm made it one of the largest discoveries of the past decades, is expected to begin production in the next few months.

TheMarker said the Tamar group has been holding secret talks to supply gas to Arab Potash and other plants on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea through an extension of a gas pipeline. It noted that Jordan imports 97 percent of the fuel it needs, while the Jordanian energy sector relies 88 percent on natural gas.

Jordan, like Israel, was dealt a wave of attacks on pipelines from Egypt. But Egypt still supplies Jordan with gas while it halted supply to Israel last year.

Egypt's pipeline with Israel was attacked over 13 times since a popular revolt toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.

Texas-based Noble Energy leads the Tamar drilling group with a 36 percent stake. Isramco Negev owns 28.75 percent, Avner Oil Exploration and Delek Drilling hold 15.625 percent each and Dor Gas Exploration has a 4 percent stake.

Tamar declined to comment but an Israeli energy industry source said selling gas to Jordan has always been an option.

(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

2 injured by Israeli fire in north Gaza

Source : Maan News Agency

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Two young Palestinian men were injured by Israeli fire in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said.

A 20-year-old man was hit in the chest by gunfire east of Beit Hanoun, and is a moderate to serious condition, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.

Another man, aged 22, was shot in the hand in the same incident and has moderate injuries, al-Qidra said. The pair are being treated in Beit Hanoun hospital.

An Israeli army spokesman said several Palestinians approached the border fence and tried to damage the barrier. He said one person was wounded by soldiers attempts to distance the group.

Earlier Thursday, Israeli military vehicles crossed into northern Gaza near Beit Lahiya to level lands, witnesses told Ma'an.

Israeli forces opened fire in the direction of Palestinian farmers, to force them leave their lands during the operation, they said.

Israel had barred Palestinians from coming within hundreds of meters of the Gaza border area, but in a ceasefire deal last November agreed to ease curbs on Gaza.

Bahrain deploys further forces in coming days to confront protests

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

MANAMA, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Bahraini authorities announced Thursday that it would deploy additional forces in the coming days to counter any threats following a series of violent protests that left several policemen injured.

Public Security Chief, Maj. Gen. Tariq Al Hassan said that the security forces recorded several incidents of attacking police officers and citizens along with destroying property and blocking roads during protests that were held on the eve of the second anniversary of anti-government protests in Bahrain.

"Most incidents involved small groups of rioters who were quickly dispersed before they could gather into larger groups, but several police officers were injured, including those who ... required hospital cares," said Hassan.

He pointed out that "the most violent group gathered at around 8 a.m. in Daih village as 300 rioters assembled to attack police with rocks, steel rods and Molotov cocktails."

"Warning shots were fired but failed to disperse the advancing crowd who continued their attack. Officers fired birdshot to defend themselves. At least one rioter was injured and a short time later, a young man was pronounced dead at Salmaniya Medical Complex," Hassan said, adding that an immediate investigation was launched into the death of the teenager, who was identified as Hussain Ali Al Jazeeri from Daih village.

Hassan warned the people of exploiting the death of the teenager for political purposes or in order to spark riots in the country.

Meanwhile, masked men stormed into a number of schools in the country in recent days, the Education Ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

They threatened the schools' administrative staff and obliged them to leave their schools and then closed the gates with locks and chains in order to prevent teachers and students from entering them.

The Education Ministry condemned in the strongest words such illegal actions and described them as "blatant terrorist" attacks on the schools in order to terrorize children, spread panic among them and deprive them from enjoying their educational rights, the statement said.

Iranian official killed by gunmen on way from Syria to Lebanon

Source :   Xinhua | English.news.cn

BEIRUT, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian embassy in Beirut said Thursday that an Iranian official was killed overnight on his way back from Damascus to the Lebanese capital.

The embassy said in a statement that "engineer Houssam Khosh Newes, an Iranian development official working in Lebanon, was killed by "armed terrorist groups while he was returning to Beirut from the Syrian capital."

Media outlets reported that Khosh Newes was in the Syrian province of Aleppo evaluating development projects to reconstruct the northern city that is witnessing deadly clashes between the government forces and rebels.

Khosh Newes was appointed to help rebuild southern Lebanon by Iranian President Mahmound Ahmadinejad after the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.

Editon

Catherine Ashton hoped Iran would show some "flexibility" at upcoming talks in Kazakhstan

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb/

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday said she hoped Iran would show some "flexibility" at upcoming talks with world powers on its nuclear program in Kazakhstan.

Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- are due to resume discussions in Almaty on February 26, after a months-long break and failed meetings in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow.

"We remain determined to work towards a solution to the Iran nuclea issue based on the dual-track approach," combining sanctions and dialogue, Ashton, who is leading the negotiations for the P5+1 group, told the Security Council.

"There is no doubt that the pressure of sanctions has been instrumental i bringing Iran back to the negotiating table but sanctions cannot be an end in themselves," she claimed.

"The key is for Iran to comply fully with its international obligations."

Britain said last week that world powers would make an "updated and credible" offer to Iran at the Almaty talks.

Qatar hands Syrian embassy to opposition, death toll nears 70,000

Source : Al Akhbar English

statement Wednesday said that Qatar has handed the Syrian embassy building in Doha to the National Coalition, Syria's main opposition group.

"Qatar has acted faster than the Friends of Syria coalition," the opposition statement said, in reference to a string of Western and Arab states, along with Turkey, which support the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The flag of the revolution will be raised above the building," the Syrian National Coalition added.

Speaking to AFP by phone, Haraki said the Qatari authorities had accepted his appointment.

"A formal decision has been made to accept my appointment as ambassador," he said.

"I will start work along with two other diplomats," said Haraki.

"Depending on whether they support the revolution, we will decide which former embassy staff members we will keep, and who we will lay off."

The National Coalition was formed in the Qatari capital on November 11.

A day later, Qatar and other Gulf countries recognized the group as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

And a week after that, the European Union followed suit and recognized the coalition.

The Coalition in November named ambassadors to Paris and London but neither France nor Britain have yet handed over embassy buildings to the opposition.

70,000 dead

The move came as Navi Pillay, human rights chief said 9,000 have died since the beginning of the year, bringing Syria's death toll to nearly 70,000.

Pillay said one immediate action the council can take is to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, which could investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"This would send a clear message to both the government and the opposition that there will be consequences for their actions, and could have a very significant preventive effect," she said.

Russia to keep sending arms

Russia will continue deliveries of arms to Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and his armed forces, the head of the state weapons exporter said on Wednesday, despite the Middle Eastern country's civil war.

Russia supplied nearly $1 billion's worth of arms to Syria in 2011 and has long been an ally of Assad.

"We are continuing to carry out our obligations on contracts for the delivery of military hardware," Rosoboronexport director Anatoly Isaikin told a news conference.

(AFP, AP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

Iran installs new generation uranium centrifuges

Follow : MIDEAST

Iran has announced that it started installing a new generation of uranium enrichment machines as experts from the U.N. atomic watchdog were holding talks in Tehran.

Iran started installing a new generation of uranium enrichment machines at its Natanz nuclear site last month, Iran’s atomic energy organization chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said yesterday. The U.N. nuclear watchdog had told its member states that Iran had announced plans to install and operate advanced uranium enrichment machines, in what would be a technological leap allowing it to significantly speed up activity that the West fears could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and an Iranian nuclear team led by Tehran’s IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh began talks in Tehran aimed at reaching accord on inspections that would allow investigations into a possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear drive. The discussions are taking place two weeks ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers in parallel diplomatic efforts, which are due to resume in Kazakhstan on Feb. 26 after an eight-month hiatus.

Iran, IAEA meeting ends, talks to be continued: envoy

  Xinhua | English.news.cn

TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was concluded here on Wednesday, with Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA saying that Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog will discuss new proposals in the next meeting, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Some differences were settled and agreement was reached on some points of modality to resolve the alleged subjects over Iran's nuclear program, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said, adding that both sides will consider new proposals made in the meeting and will put forward their opinions in the next meeting session.

The Iranian nuclear official did not elaborate on the details of agreements, proposals, the date or venue for the next round of the meeting.

Experts of the IAEA arrived in Tehran Wednesday morning with hopes to resolve the differences between the UN nuclear watchdog and Iran over the latter's disputed nuclear program.

Editor: Mu Xue

Russia confims it is still supplying Syria with arms

Source : Alarabiya.net Mobile

head of Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, said Russia have been delivering arms to the Syrian Army. (Reuters)

Russia said Wednesday it was delivering military hardware and light weapons to the governments of Syria as it expands sales and maintains its footing in some of the world’s deadliest conflicts.

The head of Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, said Russian deliveries to the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad included air defense systems but not the advanced Iskander missiles sought by Damascus.

“We are continuing to fulfill our obligations on contracts for the delivery of military hardware,” Isaikin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

He also gave a statement on his military aid to Mali.

He also rejected reports that Russia was planning to supply advanced MiG29-M fighters to Damascus while confirming that it had a deal outstanding for Yak-130 trainer jets.

Isaikin said Syria currently ranked “13th or 14th in terms of volume” on the list of nations receiving Russian arms supplies.

Russia has been repeatedly condemned by Western and Arab nations for maintaining links to the Syrian government despite violence that UN estimates show has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

Its shipment this year of repaired attack helicopters to the regime was disclosed by the media and drew a furious response from former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Isaikin also revealed that Moscow had recent military contacts with the government of Mali as it wages a French- led campaign to expel armed groups of Islamic militants from its land.

He said small amounts of light weapons were already being delivered to Mali and that new sales were under discussion.

“We have delivered firearms. Literally two weeks ago another consignment was sent. These are completely legal deliveries,” said Isaikin said.

“We are in talks about sending more, in small quantities.”

Hamas to demolish 40 Gaza homes

Source : Al Akhbar English

Gaza's Hamas government is set to demolish 40 houses in central Gaza city, nearly one year after a court ruled the neighborhood to be public property.

Bulldozers were stationed Wednesday outside the homes of nearly 75 families in al-Rimal neighborhood. Many of whom are Palestinian refugees displaced by Israel in 1948.

Demolitions are expected to take place later in the day.

Meanwhile, scores of residents staged a demonstration against the decision outside Palestinian Legislative Council offices.

“This is a great injustice, an act of persecution and a forceful imposition of Hamas's own version of laws on refugees,” resident Hazem Abu Hmeid told Al-Akhbar.

Families will be given $1,000 each in compensation, and have been allotted pieces of land near Gaza's borders. Abu Hmeid says the government's remuneration “falls very short” of the money invested in their houses.

He says that he has invested over $50,000 in his house.

The government, however, claims that the families had agreed to the package over negotiations Tuesday night.

“We will no longer accept violations against public property, no matter how long they have been going on for … we want to assure people that we respect human rights for decent living and finding suitable living situations for the families,” read a statement from the Gaza government.

“We emphasize the extreme importance we place on not abandoning the families whose houses will be removed to the streets,” it added.

Al-Rimal neighborhood lies in a busy commercial area where property values are among the highest in the coastal strip. Many residents expect the government to open the area up to lucrative investments.

(Al-Akhbar)

Large Israeli Force Raids Jerusalem Village, 10 Arrested

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Dozens of Israeli soldiers raided a Jerusalem-area village overnight Tuesday and arrested 10 people, locals said.

Witnesses told Ma'an that around 100 Israeli soldiers raided the village of Beit Duqqu, Northwest of Jerusalem, and searched dozens of homes.

Musa Mohammad Hassan, 20, Shadi Suleiman Abdul Munem, 28, Basheer Murar, 22, Abdul Fattah Darwish, 25, Hashan Khalil Ali Hussain, 25, Jalal Khalil Ali Hussain, 19, Ahmad Issa Ali Hussain, 22, Ali Issa Ali Hussain, 22, Naseem Ahmad Ali Hussain, 19, and Mohammad Abdul Nasser Ali Hussain, 19, were identified by locals as those arrested.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said 18 people were detained overnight, 10 in Beit Duqqu, three in Ramallah, three in Hebron, one in Bethlehem and one in Qalqiliya.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are routinely arrested by Israel's army, usually under the pretext of security.

Slaughterer Israeli Forces Arrest Man at Gaza Border Crossing

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Israeli forces arrested a man at a border crossing in North Gaza, security sources said.

Muhammad Abu Daka, 31, had traveled with his mother from South Gaza to an Israeli hospital, where she was receiving treatment, Ma’an reported Tuesday.

On their way back to Khan Younis, Abu Daka was arrested at the Beit Hanoun, or Erez, crossing in North Gaza and taken for investigation, Palestinian security officials said.

His mother was allowed to enter Gaza and return home.

An Israeli army spokesman said a Palestinian man was detained after coming close to the border.

Assad’s resignation no precondition for Syria peace talks

Source : Russia  Voice of Russia

Russia will never agree to setting President Bashar Assad’s resignation as a precondition for peace talks between the Syrian warring parties.

This came Tuesday in a statement by the head of Russian Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov.

Mr. Pushkov said the Kremlin would never accept a “first Assad’s resignation, then talks” formula. “I don’t think the Syrian leadership would agree to it either,” he added.

Russia, France see more eye to eye on Syria

Russia and France see more eye to eye on Syria, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Committee chief Alexei Pushkov told reporters on Wednesday.

Addressing the 17th meeting of the Russian-French inter- parliamentary committee, Mr. Pushkov said Russia’s Western partners were beginning to see that President Assad’s resignation wasn’t a silver bullet for the Syrian crisis.

“French MPs seem to be more aware of the fact that anti-West radical Islamists are trying to capitalize on the Syrian turmoil,” the Russian foreign official said. “During parliamentary debates, they were very frank about sharing Russia’s stance,” he added.

France’s Elisabeth Guigou, who heads the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee, said it was inadmissible to allow the existing chaos in Syria to be replaced by a bigger chaos. “Political discrepancies shouldn’t stand in the way of a goal common for Russia and France, which is the end of bloodshed,” Ms. Guigou stressed.

UN vows to continue efforts to establish dialog in Syria

The UN will continue to support efforts to establish a dialogue between the government and the opposition in Syria, confrontation between which has continued since March 2011.

This was reported by an official representative of the organization, Martin Nesirky. "We need to continue to support these efforts at all levels, and do everything to stop the violence and start a dialogue," - he said, referring to the agreement of Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib to negotiate with the Syrian government.

According to Nesirky, no one suggests that it will be easy, just as “it was not easy to achieve what has already been achieved".

Earlier, the opposition rejected any possibility of negotiations, unless it involved resignation of President Assad.

Minor bomb explodes in Bahrain's shopping mall

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

MANAMA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A home-made device exploded in one of Bahrain's busy malls on Tuesday, leaving only material damage.

There were no casualties, but sources said glasses of shops were damaged and people were evacuated as a safety measure.

"A domestic terror act of remotely detonated explosion targeted lives at a shopping center in Isa Town that led to limited damages, " the Interior Ministry confirmed.

The bomb exploded moments after the coalition of opposition groups announced a one-day financial boycott on Thursday to mark the second anniversary of anti- government protests in Bahrain.

During a rally in Sanabis on Tuesday, opposition groups urged their supporters to boycott shopping malls and banks in an attempt to cripple the economy.

Israel arrests 16 in overnight West Bank raids

Source : Al Akhbar English

Israeli soldiers arrested at least 16 Palestinians, including a high ranking Hamas official, in overnight raids across the West Bank Tuesday, local media reported.

Ma’an news agency, citing unnamed Hamas sources, said soldiers arrested Islamist Rafat Jamil Nassif after breaking into his home in the village of Tulkarm.

Four others from the village were arrested, including three university students, and the son of a local Imam.

In Nablus, Israeli forces detained four students from an-Najah University, locals said. Soldiers also detained two others from nearby villages.

Four people were arrested in Qalandiya refugee camp in Ramallah, including two ex-prisoners.

Soldiers arrested two others in Hebron.

But an Israeli army spokeswoman said just 13 people were detained overnight, including four in Nablus, five in Tulkarm, three in Bethlehem and one in Hebron.

The latest arrests follow a sweep of West Bank raids targeting Hamas- affiliated officials in the West Bank over the past week.

Last Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested 12 people including at least three Hamas-affiliates.

One day earlier, Israeli soldiers arrested 23 members of Hamas, including three lawmakers.

Hamas condemned the arrests as a “criminal act” aimed at thwarting Palestinian reconciliation talks.

(Ma’an, Al-AKhbar)

Gaza ministry denies Egypt closed tunnels

Source : Maan News Agency

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza's Ministry of Interior on Tuesday denied reports that Egypt had closed several smuggling tunnels a day earlier, a spokesman said.

Islam Shahwan said in a statement that a network of tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border are operating as normal, with the Interior Ministry briefly closing tunnels last week due to adverse weather conditions.

Egyptian security officials said Monday that they had arrested 10 suspected smugglers in Rafah and shut two tunnels used to smuggle goods to the Gaza Strip.

Last November, Egyptian security services said they were planning a "extraordinary" crackdown on smuggling tunnels under the Gaza border.

An official said that the campaign to end smuggling was part of a truc agreement brokered by Cairo to end cross-border violence, which bega when Israel assassinated Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari.

Egyptian court sentences 2 Israelis in prison over illegal entrance

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

CAIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's South Sinai Court has on Monday sentenced two Israelis to two years in jail on the charge of entering the Egyptian territories illegally, an intelligence source told Xinhua Tuesday.

Both were also fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds (about 446 U.S. dollars) respectively, said the source, who requested anonymity.

"The two Israeli persons were caught in Taba city after they infiltrated to Egypt ... without crossing the Taba crossing," the source told Xinhua, adding that they were prisoned for two months pending investigations.

The source added that the Israeli citizens appealed the verdict, and the court decided to rule on the appeal on March 13.

US military forces have killed hundreds of children in Afghanistan

Source : The Muslim News

US military forces have killed hundreds of children in Afghanistan since 2008, according to a new report conducted by a United Nations monitoring body.

The Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said the killings, often caused by air strikes, were "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."

The report, received by AFP on Friday, also expressed concern that troops responsible for the killing of children had not always been held accountable and that family grievances had not been redressed.

The CRC's comments came after a five-yearly review of US compliance with an international treaty on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

It said it was "alarmed at reports of the death of hundreds of children as a result of attacks and air strikes by the US military forces in Afghanistan over the reporting period."

"The committee expresses grave concern that in fact the number of casualties of children doubled from 2010 to 2011."

There was no immediate reaction from the United States. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday that she had not seen the report, but would look into it.

A UN report in April last year said 110 children were killed and 68 wounded in air strikes conducted by US-led NATO and Afghan National Security Forces in 2011.

The CRC report gave no precise statistics.

UN figures show that the vast majority of civilian casualties in the Afghan war are caused by Taliban insurgents, mainly through roadside bombs and suicide attacks.

But those caused by NATO forces have long been a cause of friction with the government of President Hamid Karzai.

(AFP, AP, Al-Akhbar)

Egyptian forces close 2 Gaza tunnels, arrest 10

Source :   Maan News Agency

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt's military closed two smuggling tunnels leading to Gaza on Monday, security officials said.

Egyptian soldiers arrested 10 suspected smugglers in Rafah and shut two tunnels used to smuggle goods to the Gaza Strip, Egyptian officials told Ma'an.

Families of the arrested smugglers staged a small demonstration against the arrests.

The tunnel network developed as a vital source of goods under Israel's blockade of the coastal strip and Egyptia restrictions on the official Rafah crossing point.

Work conditions in the network of underground tunnels are notorious dangerous, with rights groups saying that at least 230 people have bee killed in tunnel collapses.

Almaty Nuke Talks to Reconcile Russian, EU Plans – Iran's FM

Source :   RIA Novosti

TEHRAN, February 11 (RIA Novosti) – This month’s upcoming talks on Iran’s nuclear program will be dedicated to reconciling Russian and European proposals on the issue, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told RIA Novosti on Monday, just before leaving for Moscow.

Last year, Iran announced that it had put forward a five-point plan based on proposals outlined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in 2011, Salehi said in an exclusive interview inside Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov's plan had suggested a gradual easing of economic sanctions against Tehran in exchange for its increased collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based global nuclear watchdog.

But the European Union has pitched a separate three-step plan, announced last month, for the nuclear program, Salehi said.

“Now the negotiating parties will try to find common ground between the two plans,” he added through an interpreter.

Salehi refused to elaborate on either plan’s details, but said that reconciling them would be the main focus of the meeting set for February 26 between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries involved in negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

The P5+1, comprising the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – as well as Germany, is set to hold the meeting in Kazakhstan's former capital, Almaty. The group last met in June 2012, but made no breakthroughs.

Salehi also confirmed that Iran would not, for the time being, take up the US offer of direct bilateral talks, floated earlier this month by US Vice President Joe Biden and rebuffed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But he added that such talks are possible in the unspecified future, if the United States gives up its “policies of threats and pressure.”

“You may say that their rhetoric has changed, becoming more positive. But it is still not enough yet,” Salehi said.

A number of Western countries have expressed fears that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at creating weapons, while Tehran insists it is purely peaceful and in line with international treaties.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry had said earlier that Salehi was set to hold talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, but Salehi himself denied this in the interview, saying he is only going to Russia to participate in a meeting of a joint commission on bilateral economic cooperation.

A number of agreements, including ones on trade, oil and agriculture, will be on the table during the meetings, set to be held in Moscow on Monday evening and Tuesday, Salehi said. He declined to give details prior to the talks.

Bilateral trade between Russia and Iran stood at $3.4 billion, or 0.3 percent of Russia's total foreign trade turnover, between January and November 2012, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service.

Israel Said To Be Willing To Conduct Limited Settlement Freeze - International Middle East Media

Source : International Middle East Media Center

The alleged “acts of goodwill” include a freeze on settlement activities in certain non-vital parts of the occupied West Bank, and the release of some Palestinian political prisoners.

Israeli Maariv reported that the Netanyahu government is trying to avoid a tension with the U.S. Administration, and wants to avoid being pressured into “making concessions”.

The New York Times reported that Israel will be releasing some Palestinian detainees, and also intends to grant the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank “full control” over certain cities and towns, in addition to the claimed limited freeze on settlement activities.

The paper also said that political analysts and officials do not really expect Obama’s visit to achieve a real breakthrough in the stalled peace talks.

It added that American and Israeli officials are trying to reach an agreement where Israel freezes its settlement activities, and in return, the Palestinians do not sue Israel at the International Criminal Court for its settlement activities.

American Middle East Envoy, Dennis Ross, stated that Ramallah and Tel Aviv should be serious in trying to resume the peace process, and should stop blaming each other.

The White House said that Obama does not intend to present a new initiative, and that his two-day visit will also include separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, in addition to visiting the Holocaust Memorial, the Hebrew University, and will likely speak at the Israeli Knesset.

Obama will also be heading to the central West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.

In related news, head of the Negotiations Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Saeb Erekat, told the Palestine News Network (PNN) that no date was set for a trilateral summit between Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas

Israel greenlights construction of hundreds of settlement homes

Source :  Al Akhbar English

Israel has given final approval for 90 new homes in Beit El settlement near Ramallah and greenlighted the construction of 346 settlement homes in the southern West Bank, officials and an NGO said Monday.

Hagit Ofran of the Peace Now settlement watchdog said the plans had been published for validation in an Israeli newspaper in what was the "final stage of approval", meaning construction of the new homes could begin "within a few days."

The plans were signed off by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in August but received the final rubber stamp on Sunday by the Civil Administration's planning committee, she said.

The Beit El construction plans were hurriedly put together as a compensatory measure for settlers who were evicted last year from Ulpana, an unauthorized settlement outpost on the outskirts of Beit El which was evacuated following a High Court ruling.

A civil administration spokesman confirmed the approval for the 90 units, saying they had been signed off by the political establishment.

Ofran said it meant the bulldozers could now get to work immediately.

"They can start building within a few days," she said.

The Yesha Council – an umbrella organization of settlement councils – said that they welcomed any development in the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported. The group led the 2005 movement against Israel’s disengagement plan.

On Sunday, the defense ministry confirmed it had given the green light for the construction of 346 new settler homes in two settlements in the southern West Bank: 200 housing units in Tekoa and 146 in Nokdim.

The approval was pushed through despite the fact that Israel is currently between governments following last month's general elections, with coalition talks likely to continue for several more weeks.

"Even though there is not yet a new government in place they are still allowing settlement procedures to continue instead of putting them on hold which is a telling sign about this new government," Ofran said.

The move comes just days after the White House announced that Obama would make his first-ever visit to Israel as president on a trip expected to take place in late March.

According to Peace Now data for 2012, at least 1,747 new settlement housing units were built in the past year, and plans were approved for the construction of 6,676 more homes.

The international community views all Israeli construction on occupied Palestinian land as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the Palestinians have refused to return to peace talks while Israel builds on land they want for a future state.

Tunisian president's party quits gov't

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

TUNIS, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian Congress for the Republic (CPR) party decided to withdraw from the Islamist Ennahdha-led coalition in response to its handling of the country' s recent crisis trigged by the assassination of an opposition leader, state-run TAP news agency reported Sunday.

Leader of the CPR, Chokri Yacoub, was quoted by TAP as saying that his party, which Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki hails from, will hold a press conference on Monday to officially announce the decision.

The five CPR members within the government, including three ministers and two secretaries of state, will continue to shoulder their responsibilities to avoid any administrative vacuum, Yacoub noted.

The CPR, one of Tunisia's leading coalition parties in the government, has previously threatened to leave the current government, if an agreement among the three parties composing the governmental coalition, including Ennahdha and Ettakatol, is not reached.

Tunisian Prime minister Hamadi Jebali on Wednesday announced his plan to form a new government of technocrats until elections take place after the assassination of Belaid, which sparked widespread protests in the North African country.

On Saturday, Jebali said that he would appoint a new cabinet composed of independent technocrats, sometime "in the middle of next week."

The move threatens to plunge the country into a deepening political crisis after the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a leading secular opposition figure, on Wednesday.

The assassination of Belaid, leader of the Popular Front and an outspoken critic, sparked angry protests in Tunis and the southern town of Sidi Bouzid.

Hours after news about Belaid's death, thousands of Tunisians flocked to the capital's main avenue to denounce the politically- motivated assassination and demand the departure of the current government. Police used tear gas to disperse them.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the killing.

The interior ministry on Wednesday said a Tunisian policeman was killed in the clashes in the capital Tunis, adding that the protesters also ransacked some stores.

The killing of Belaid, whose burial on Friday was attended by hundreds of thousands of people, led to a division in Ennahdha's party between moderate politicians led by Jebali and a more radical figure led by the party's leader, Rached Ghannouchi.

It also prompted Tunisia's opposition parties to ask for a long- awaited government reshuffle by the Ennahdha government.