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Friday, March 03, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Israeli: Pollard gave good info
An Israeli intelligence official said Jonathan Pollard gave Israel high-quality information that was important to the country’s security.
Rafi Eitan, Pollard’s Israeli intelligence handler, told Yediot Achronot that Pollard’s information was so important that Israeli officials did not consider ending the operation, even though the target was the United States. Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in a North Carolina prison for spying for Israel, recently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to have his lawyers receive access to classified information he believes can help make his case for clemency.
Eitan said Pollard did not expose American agents in the Soviet Union, and that he believed Pollard would have received a lighter sentence if he were tried today.
Resolution calls for Israel in NATO
A senior Republican and a senior Democrat introduced a resolution calling on NATO to begin the process of making Israel a member.
The non-binding resolution, which aims for Israel’s full inclusion in NATO, was introduced this week by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Middle East subcommittee, and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), a senior member of the House’s International Relations Committee. Israel has not requested membership, but some supporters say its accession to NATO would signal Western support for Israel in the face of Iran’s nuclear program.
Livni, Blair meet
Israel’s foreign minister asked Britain’s prime minister to deny Hamas international recognition.
Tzipi Livni met with Tony Blair on Thursday in London, part of her campaign to get Western states to end assistance to a new Palestinian Authority government led by the terrorist group Hamas. The European Union agreed earlier this week to provide $143 million in urgent aid to the Palestinian Authority before a Hamas-led government takes office.
Official: No Hamas-UAE connection
The United Arab Emirates has no relations with Hamas, the top U.S. envoy to the Middle East said.
Critics of a deal that would allow a UAE-based company to manage six major U.S. ports note that some funding for the terrorist group comes from the UAE. David Welch, an assistant secretary of state, said that while individuals in the UAE might contribute to Hamas, the government itself has no relations.
“To the best of my knowledge, the United Arab Emirates government has no relationship with Hamas,” Welch said Thursday in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on the recent Hamas win in Palestinian Authority legislative elections.
Mofaz: Countries working to destroy Israel
Israel’s defense minister said a Middle Eastern “Axis of Evil” is trying to destroy the Jewish state.
Shaul Mofaz told a Kadima Party conference that Israel faces challenges from the Palestinian Authority, Iran and the north, a reference to Lebanon and Syria. Israel must work with moderate Arab states and the United States to contain the threat, Mofaz said, according to Ha’aretz.
Christian group blasts Sabeel conference
Pro-Israel Christian leaders condemned a Palestinian Christian group for promoting a Washington conference with a “dishonest narrative of the Middle East.”
The conference Friday and Saturday, titled “Pursue Justice, Seek Peace” is sponsored by Sabeel. “Sabeel has a long and perfect record of pointing to Israel repeatedly as the sole source of conflict in the region, while either distorting or ignoring the context of the history,” said Ruth Lautt, national director of Fair Witness, a Christian group that advocates for Israel among mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics. The Fair Witness leaders were speaking at a press conference taking place an hour before the Sabeel conference was to begin.
John Salzberg, a member of the conference’s planning committee, said it “plans to show that peace with justice requires an end to the occupation and the wall,” a reference to Israel’s West Bank security barrier, “and a viable Palestinian state.” Sabeel has led efforts to persuade Christian groups to divest from Israel.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 11:31 PM Permanent Link
 
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