Saturday, July 7, 2007

The Middle East in Focus

This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:

"Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 3:8-9)

1. Israel is our main enemy, Haniyeh tells Iranian foreign minister - Ynet News

"Our main conflict is with the Zionist enemy," Dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a telephone conversation.

2. Hamas has rockets than can hit IDF planes - Ynet News

Senior defense officials are extremely concerned by the fact that Hamas has recently seized large quantities of anti-aircraft missiles, antitank rockets and Katyusha rockets.

3. Ross: Risk of war - Ynet News

Dennis Ross, the former senior American Middle East peace negotiator, says he thinks "there is a risk of war" between Israel and Syria this summer.

4. Solana: Israel, PA to Meet with Quartet in July- Arutz Sheva

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said this week that Israeli and Palestinian Authority government officials will likely meet in Egypt with representatives from the Quartet of peacekeeping nations sometime in mid-July. The Quartet includes the United States, Russia, United Nations and European Union.

The meeting, originally planned for June, was postponed after the bloody takeover of PA-controlled Gaza by the Hamas terrorist organization. Solana also said he believes an international peacekeeping force will be needed to maintain calm in the PA territories.

5. Mideast peace treaty possible this month, says expert - Daily Star Egypt

A meeting between the Quartet, the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli leaders will take place in Egypt mid-July, announced EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. "Toward the middle of the month, we will recuperate this initiative," he said.

Political analyst from the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Emad Gad told The Daily Star Egypt that he believed the countries were very close to negotiating a peace treaty delineating a two-state solution "very close" to what former PM Arafat was said to have been offered at the 2000 Camp David meeting. He believes that " 'moderate' Palestinians are ready to sign a peace treaty with Israel."