D’Alema: Thank you Tzipi, for a very useful and substantial meeting, in a very busy day; a very busy and difficult day. First of all, allow me to express my solidarity with the Israeli people with the Israeli communities – first of all with the citizens of Sderot, affected by the long chain of rockets from Gaza. I care to express the full appreciation; the first point was that, from the support of the Italian government for the strengthening of the dialogue between the Israeli government, Prime Minister Olmert and the Palestinian Authority President, Abu Mahmoud Abbas.  (Jump to continuation)

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IDF raids Da'wa offices in Nablus: describes them as Hamas fronts

Britain's Prince Edward schedules 4 days in Israel

JERUSALEM (Press Release)--HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, will arrive in Israel today (Wednesday, 5 September 2007) for a four-day visit. This is the first visit to Israel of a member of the British royal family in over a decade.

The Prince is scheduled to distribute prizes to Israeli youths who participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme - an international program that was started by Edward's father, Prince Philip, half a century ago, aimed at encouraging positive developments among youths.

The Earl of Wessex, will visit Yad Vashem on Friday, September 7, 2007.  He will tour the Holocaust History Museum, visit the tree planted in honor of his grandmother Princess Alice, place a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance and visit the Children’s Memorial.

Princess Alice was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1993, for rescuing the Cohen family in Greece during the Holocaust.  In 1994, her son, HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh planted a tree in her honor at Yad Vashem. 

The preceding story was provided by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs


 

Unidentified Israeli sailors
Gallantry of Israeli sailors extolled during Navy awards ceremony

HAIFA, Israel (Press Release)--Even before the citation ceremony, Captain Dr. Tamir was held in great esteem by the Navy. He had the honor of receiving the distinguished service medal from the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi. Captain Tamir serves as a doctor in a team of the Elite Shayetet 13 unit. During an operation in the city of Tyre in Lebanon, ten of the Navy commandos were wounded, and Tamir operated on them in the field. Upon leaving the area, they discovered that one of the wounded soldiers was in need of surgery, and Tamir operated on him in the field, saving his life.

Later, Major General Ben Ba’ashat gave citations to five combat soldiers. At the beginning, Lieutenant Colonel R. a commander of a team of Shayetet 13 soldiers received a citation. During the war, R. commanded in many battles, showed leadership, initiative, and responsibility in his actions. This is the second citation Lieutenant Colonel R. has received in his service in the military, receiving the first from the commander of the Northern Command

Major A. - a commander of a unit within a team of Shayetet 13 soldiers - also received a citation for the unit’s operations in Tyre. Major A commanded the force operating on the ground, and continued to command it despite the fact that he was critically wounded. Major A. was responsible for the force’s safe return to Israeli territory.

Captain Adam Lahav, the commander of the assisting helicopter forces on the INS Hanit, Lieutenant Amir Yavni’eli, the officer of the helipad on the INS Hanit, and Staff Sergeant Rami Zitoni, the bridge commander of the INS Hanit, all had the honor of receiving citations. They received them for volunteering to repeatedly enter burning sections of the ship after it was hit by a Hezbullah missile, in order to locate survivors and rescue them.

The commander of the Haifa Base, Brigadier General Ram Rodberg, awarded citations to three members of the Navy. The first person to receive a citation was Captain Shmuel Cooperman, a mechanical officer in the INS Lahav. Following the attack on the INS Hanit, he volunteered to replace the other vessel’s wounded mechanical officer. When Captain Cooperman was aboard the damaged missile boat, he played an essential role in preventing the conflagration from spreading, putting himself at great risk.

Captain Amir Meiri, the commander of a Dvora vessel, and Captain Ori Mendelbaum, the commander of another Dvora, also received citations for performing a search and rescue operation. Despite no prior knowledge of the extent of damage inflicted, or nature of the attack, they put out the flames after the Hanit was hit. The seamen manning Captain Meiri’s Dvora also received certificates of recognition from the commander of the Navy.

“We, the Navy, salute and thank you for giving of yourselves, and for your sacrifice for its legacy,” said Major General Ben Ba’ashat after the citations were given. “Many combat soldiers will be brought up being taught about your battle lore, and will learn from your courage.”

The preceding story was provided by the Israel Defense Force



 

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is calling upon France-2 Television network to release the full, never before publicly broadcast, 27 minutes of footage surrounding the alleged killing of a Palestinian Arab boy, Muhammad al-Durah, on September 30, 2000 at Netzarim junction in order to clarify whether the boy's alleged killing was a staged Palestinian propaganda incident. Al-Durah's alleged death was filmed by a local Palestinian cameraman, Tala Abu Rahma, and a mere 55 seconds of selected footage from his 27 minutes of filming became the basis for a story by France-2's correspondent, Charles Enderlin, who had not been present on the scene at the time. (Jump to continuation)

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Rafsanjani, contemplator of nuclear
exchange with Israel, given post in Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)--A former Iranian president who expressed the possibility that Israel could be destroyed by a nuclear weapon was picked on Tuesday to head the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body in the Islamic Republic, the Associated Press reported.

“[E]ven one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything,” Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in 2001. “However, it will only harm the Islamic world. It is not irrational to contemplate such an eventuality.”

Rafsanjani is wanted by Argentina for his role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, in which 87 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. The State Department consistently lists Iran as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism.

Coleman recommends troop reduction to
send a message to Iraqi politicians

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) - To assess firsthand the situation on the ground and determine why more political progress has not been made toward reconciliation, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (Republican, Minnesota) traveled to Iraq this weekend where he met with military and government officials including: General David Petraeus, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, and Vice President Adel Abdul-Mehdi.

Coleman traveled to the cities of Baghdad, Fallujah, and Ramadi where U.S. military officials indicated that al-Qaeda is losing its stronghold in Anbar Province as a result of the surge in U.S. military forces in the area. According to officials, earlier this year the city of Ramadi was averaging over 100 incidents per day between indirect fire, mortar, and IED attacks. Today, that number has drastically decreased to an average of less than one per day. While in Ramadi, Coleman met with the Mayor, Latif Obaid Ayadah, who noted that eight months ago the city was a ghost town with people prisoners in their own homes. Today, two of the largest factories in the town that employ nearly 5,000 people have come back on line.

“During my fourth visit to Iraq, I was able to meet with top military and political officials to get a firsthand account of the results of the surge strategy. When the surge was first announced by the Administration in January, we were told that its purpose was to provide the conditions necessary for the Iraqi government to further the political reconciliation process. Our military has succeeded in providing the security needed by Iraqi politicians to advance the national reconciliation agenda. General Petraeus shared data that showed that since January the number of roadside bombings and sectarian killings has dramatically decreased throughout Iraq. Moreover, al-Qaeda has lost its stronghold and influence with the local Sunni population in Anbar Province, something I saw firsthand on the streets of Ramadi,” said Coleman.

Despite the military successes of the U.S.’s current strategy, the political strategy for stabilizing Iraq has not moved forward due to the deficiencies of Iraqi leadership. The Iraqi government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has failed to meet all but three of eighteen congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and security progress, which includes passage of a national oil revenue-sharing law. Yet it is a widely held consensus that U.S. military successes in Iraq can only be sustained over the long term through political reconciliation among Iraq’s competing groups, a process that can only be led by the Iraqis themselves.

“The Iraqi government's inability to meet specific benchmarks for success is inexcusable as more Americans continue to make the ultimate sacrifice in this far away land. I made it clear to Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh and Vice President Adel Abdul-Mehdi that this situation must drastically and definitively change, as the support of the American people is not open ended. I will continue to push Prime Minister Maliki’s government to achieve these necessary objectives in a timely manner.

As a result of my consultations in Iraq, I believe we should take the step of making an initial troop reduction by Christmas, as proposed by Senator Warner, in order to send an unmistakable message to Iraqi leadership that they must immediately accelerate the process of national reconciliation. Importantly, I support these troop reductions as they would only be from areas where the Iraqi Security Forces are prepared to take control, and according to our Generals on the ground would not undermine our overall military strategy in Iraq.” Coleman added. “The reality is that our national security interests demand that we have a long term presence in the region - a fact both sides of the aisle recognize. However, going forward, we must implement a surge of diplomacy and obtain a commitment from Iraq’s neighbors and the United Nations to ensure a constructive future for this fledgling government and its people.”

The preceding story was provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman

Schumer says Sunni warlords in Iraq
are unreliable allies for war on terror