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Friday August 10, 2007

shorts: mideast

Olmert raps survivors’ protests

Ehud Olmert denounced recent protests by some Holocaust survivors unhappy with the level of their Israeli state subsidies. Since the Olmert government announced last week that Holocaust survivors would be granted a monthly allowance of about $20, Israeli media have been full of often emotional criticism against the prime minister. Some survivors likened their treatment in Israel to that of the Nazis and threatened to march on Jerusalem dressed in prison uniforms.

“Those who submit a newspaper photograph of a woman wearing pajamas and a yellow patch drag the discussion down to an unacceptable level, and such images will not dictate the government’s actions on the issue,” Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday, August 5. With talks between the government and survivors’ representatives under way, Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said the monthly stipend could be increased. — jta

Abbas to Hamas: Give up Gaza

Mahmoud Abbas ruled out reconciliation talks with Hamas as long as it continues to control the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority president said Wednesday, Aug. 8 he would stand firm in his decision to shun Hamas after the radical Islamist group routed forces from his Fatah faction in Gaza in June.

“If Hamas wants dialogue, it must undo everything it did in the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told reporters after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria. “Hamas has helped all the enemies of the Palestinian people and anyone who is not interested in seeing a Palestinian state arise.”

Hamas, which described its Gaza takeover as a pre-emption of a Fatah-led coup, says it still recognizes Abbas as P.A. president and wants to govern jointly with him. — jta

Egypt seizes

explosives Egypt said it intercepted a large shipment of explosives bound for the Gaza Strip.

More than 1,000 pounds of high explosives headed for Palestinians in Gaza were seized en route in the Sinai, Egyptian security officials said. Egypt recently stepped up operations against Gazan gunrunners who operate on Egyptian turf. Israel and the United States have pressured Cairo for more effective crackdowns, with the U.S. Congress threatening to cut $200 million from annual military aid to Egypt unless it helps starve the Hamas-led enclave of arms. — jta

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