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Friday December 1, 2006

Shorts: Mideast

Israeli officials talk with Barghouti

jerusalem (jta) | Israel’s government has been holding indirect talks with a Palestinian politician jailed for orchestrating terrorist attacks.

Channel 2 television reported that Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah lawmaker sentenced to five life-prison terms in 2003, helped broker the recent Gaza Strip cease-fire at the behest of the Olmert government, which contacted him through Chaim Oron, a Knesset member from the Meretz Party.

According to Channel 10 television, the previous Israeli government of Ariel Sharon also communicated indirectly with Barghouti.

Katsav ready to step down?

jerusalem (jta) | Israel’s president plans to step down if he is indicted in a sex scandal. Moshe Katsav’s lawyer revealed in a High Court of Justice discussion that his client had decided to suspend himself from duties if prosecutors pressed charges connected with allegations that he harassed and raped several female employees.

Katsav, whose term is due to end next year, has denied wrongdoing in the case. An indictment is expected in the coming weeks.

Israel reopens shooting probe

jerusalem (jta) | The Israeli military is reopening an investigation into the shooting of a pro-Palestinian activist. The Military Police announced that it would see whether there is enough evidence to press criminal charges against Israeli soldiers alleged to have wounded Brian Avery, an American, in the West Bank city of Jenin in April 2003.

The army initially had dismissed Avery’s charges that he was deliberately targeted by troops, but was prompted to review its position after he turned to Israel’s High Court of Justice. Even if no criminal charges are filed, the new decision could help Avery win damages from the state.

Doll bombs found

nablus (jta) | A Palestinian plot to smuggle bombs into Israel in children’s dolls has been uncovered. Israeli troops operating in the West Bank city of Nablus uncovered a bomb lab where teddy bears had been stuffed with explosives and wired with detonators. Military officials said the bears were probably intended to be smuggled through Israeli checkpoints by children. The lab was demolished.

Report: Hezbollah at full strength

jerusalem (jta) | Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal has reportedly been built up to around its prewar size. Citing Saudi, Israeli and Western sources, Time magazine reported that the Lebanese militia now has more than 20,000 short-range rockets, approximately the same number it had before the summer conflict with Israel.

According to the magazine, the rockets have been supplied through Syria by Iran, which has also posted members of its elite Revolutionary Guard in Damascus and Beirut to help oversee Hezbollah. Following the Aug. 14 cease-fire, Lebanon stationed troops along its border with Syria to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah. But according to Time, smugglers have been managing to get through using mountain passes.

Claims Conference is challenged

jerusalem (jta) | A campaign is being launched to challenge the Claims Conference to give Israel a larger share of Holocaust restitution funds and more control over distribution.

At a press conference Sunday, Nov. 26, representatives from the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency, Holocaust survivor organizations and Yad Vashem presented a joint covenant calling on the Claims Conference to change the way it allocates its funds, asking that it transfer 60 percent of its activities to Israel and increase Israeli representation within the organization.

Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski said the effort was inspired by the conference’s disappointing response to emergency aid requests from the Jewish state during Israel’s summer war with Hezbollah.

The New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany oversees the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars per year in Holocaust restitution payments.

Hamas chief warns of third intifada

cairo (jta) | The Hamas chief threatened a new round of Palestinian violence by mid-2007. Khaled Meshaal, who was in Cairo recently for talks on the fate of an Israeli soldier held hostage in the Gaza Strip, urged the West to engage Palestinians in statehood talks.

“If the international community does not work to create a Palestinian state within six months, the Palestinian Authority will collapse, we will throw away the diplomatic folderol and we will declare a third intifada,” he told reporters. Western nations have blamed Meshaal and his radical Islamist group for the stalled efforts to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Peres plans Negev boom

jerusalem (jta) | Shimon Peres has drafted a multimillion-dollar development project for the Negev desert.

The Israeli vice premier’s plan, which awaits Cabinet approval, entails investing more than $80 million in various Negev ventures in 2007. These include the creation of holiday villages and other tourist attractions, boosting the student facilities available at Ben-Gurion University, and lowering the income gaps between Jewish and Bedouin residents of the Negev.

Developing the Negev and Galilee regions are among Peres’ portfolios in the Olmert government.

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