Middle East Inside Line: Row over Dubai Assassination, Palestine Authority to Re-Start Talks?

Pressing Israel on Dubai Assassination: Following the use of French, British, German and Irish passports by the suspected assassins of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, European states demanded further clarifications from Israel. Israeli diplomatic opinion is split, with some worrying about the image of Israel whilst others think the crisis will vanish soon. "At this stage, there is no evidence linking Israel to the incident, and if that continues, the affair will subside quickly," one senior Israeli official predicted.

Interpol published wanted notices and images on Thursday of the 11 people in the suspected hit squad. Dubai Police Chief Lt.-Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim called on Interpol to seek the arrest of Meir Dagan, urging it to issue a “red notice against the head of Mossad.”

Hamas said the two Palestinians arrested in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh are former members of the rival Fatah movement's security forces, with links to Fatah's senior security official Mohammed Dahlan. Haaretz also says that the two Palestinians were at one time members of the Palestinian Authority's security forces in Gaza, but only after Hamas took over the Strip in June 2007. Dahlan and Fatah deny the charges.



Palestinian Authority to Restart Talks? Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, after a visit to Ramallah, told Israeli officials that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would start indirect talks with Israel next week, according to a senior government source in West Jerusalem.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, speaking to a delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jenin, complained about Israeli incursions. He said:

While there is interest on both sides in promoting Palestinian development and progressing toward statehood, Israel’s military operations in PA-controlled areas not only run operational risks, but they undermine our credibility and standing. We need actions taken by the Israelis to be consistent with the notion of a state in evolution.

Middle East Inside Line: Dubai Assassination, Ayalon Appeal to US, Washington's Man in Syria, and More

Uproar over Dubai Assassination: Discussions and accusations are running at full speed over the assassination of senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room. Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said that "it is 99 percent, if not 100 percent, that Mossad is standing behind the murder," and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Thursday demanded Israel's full cooperation in investigating of the fraudulent use of UK passports by the killers. On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised that his government would launch an inquiry into the matter.

Speaking to a memorial rally for Mabhouh in Gaza, Hamas political director Khaled Meshal said from Damascus, "We call on European countries to punish Israel's leaders for violating laws. Israel deserves to be placed on the terror list."

Iraq Snapshot: The Dispute over “Democracy” and Elections (Alaaldin)

Official "wanted" notices, with the faces of 11 suspected Israeli secret agents, were released Thursday by the Interpol website.



Ayalon's Play for US Support on Palestine: Speaking at the Jerusalem Conference on US-Israel relations, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon criticized the Palestinian Authority and then praised the "unique" relationship with Washington:

The Palestinians have signed agreements that have called on them to dismantle terrorist groups and collect illegal weapons while they focus on the issue of the settlements, this is wrong and the settlements should not be singled out.

We also call on Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas to cease the incitement against Israel. They should stop not only the incitement in the schools, mosques and websites but should also refrain from traveling to various capitals around the world and vilifying Israel and calling for Israel's relations with a third state or international organizations to be held hostage to the conflict.

We have excellent relations with the US and its uniqueness is that regardless of minor disputes, the overall relationship is never affected. Every facet of our relationship bodes well and is the cornerstone for stability in our region. We welcome the important work of Senator [George] Mitchell who came recently to the region and placed an offer on the table. Israel accepted and we are still waiting to hear from the Palestinians.

US Tops Up Relations with Damascus: Washington has formally named Robert Ford, a career diplomat, as its new ambassador to Syria. After meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, William Burns, the US Undersecretary of State, said: "I have no illusions about the challenges. But my meeting with President Assad made me hopeful that we can make progress together in the interest of both of our countries."

Bomb in Iraq: Outside an Iraqi government compound in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, a bomb exploded killing at least 13 people and wounding at least 20 people.

Middle East Inside Line: US, Russia, & Israel on Iran; Lieberman v. Palestinian Authority; US Congressman "Break Gaza Blockade"

US-Israel Defense Meeting on Iran: The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, said in Israel on Sunday, "Iran must not acquire nuclear capability". He added: "It [a regional confrontation following a strike on Iran] will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike... We haven't taken off any option from the table."

Meanwhile, Haaretz says that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will be arriving in Israel within weeks on an official visit.

Middle East Analysis: The Iran-Russia-Israel Triangle

Moscow's Snub to Israel on Iran Missiles: An hour before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane took off on Sunday, Russian officials said that Moscow sees no reason to delay the sale of the S-300, a powerful air-defense system, to Iran. Vladimir Nazarov, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council secretary, told Interfax news agency in an interview:

There is a signed contract [for the S-300 missiles] which we must follow through on, but deliveries have not started yet. This deal is not restricted by any international sanctions, because we are talking about deliveries of an exclusively defensive weapon.

On the other hand, according to Haaretz, Russian intelligence officials leaked comments expressing their displeasure with plans by an Israeli firm to close a major arms deal with Georgia.

Lieberman Accuses Palestinian Authority: Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that "much of the global effort to de-legitimize Israel is supported and sponsored by the Palestinian Authority". He added that the bid to smear Israel in the international community was "partially sponsored by funds Israel is transferring to the Palestinians".

US Congressman "Break Gaza Blockade"US: On Sunday, Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, spoke to a group of Gaza students regarding the situation in Gaza and said that the United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver badly needed supplies by sea. He resembled such an operation to the situation in the post-Second World War and said: "We ought to bring roll-on, roll-off ships and roll them right to the beach and bring the relief supplies in, in our version of the Berlin airlift."

Middle East Inside Line: Netanyahu To Moscow, "Organ Harvesting" Furour, Clinton in Gulf, and More

British MP Disciplined over Israel "Organ Harvest" Story: Baroness Jenny Tonge, a Liberal Democrat lawmaker in Britain, has been fired from her position by leader Nick Clegg after she called for an enquiry into claims that Israel Defense Forces soldiers harvested organs in Haiti following last month's earthquake.

Clinton Talking Iran Sanctions in Gulf: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Saudi Arabia and the Qatar this week. U.S. officials hinted Saturday that one way Saudi Arabia could help diplomatically over the Iran issu ewould be to offer guarantees that it would meet China's oil requirements.

NEW Middle East Analysis: The Iran-Russia-Israel Triangle
Palestine Video: The Avatar Protest (12 February)

Senator Kerry Warns Arabs: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said at a U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday that "peace may never come if it is now realized now":

Building trust must be a step-by-step process, and the region must recognize Israel's desire for acceptance and its fundamental need for security. And perhaps most importantly, the leading voices in the Arab world have a vital role to play with their people in creating the atmosphere for lasting peace with Israel.

In southern Israel, I also saw the toll that Hamas rockets had inflicted in a barrage that no country would endure interminably.

At this crucial juncture, Israel should refrain from taking steps, which have the potential to prejudge negotiations and create tensions

5th Anniversary of Hariri's Death: Tens of thousands of people from across the country gathered in Beirut's main square Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

"We will show that we want to continue in the path of Rafik Hariri," declared his son, Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The ‘Fatah-Gate’ sex scandal: Rafik Husseini, the director of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s bureau, is under immense pressure to resign after he was caught on tape naked in the bedroom of an Arab woman from Jerusalem.

Middle East Inside Line: Ahmadinejad to Syria "Destroy Israel", Blackwater to Leave Iraq, Israel's Arabs, and More

Ahmadinejad to Assad: "Destroy Israel": Reuters carries the report of RIB, Iran's state broadcaster, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called his Syrian counterpart on Wednesday evening and said: "If the Zionist regime should repeat its mistakes and initiate a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all."

Washington's Leaves Behind Its Military Equipment: Americans plan to leave a significant amount of equipment in Iraq to assist local security forces following the official withdrawal at the end of 2011. The rest will be stocked in Afghanistan, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.


After the Pentagon doubled the value of emergency military stockpiles in Israel to the value of $800 million last month, Brigadier General Ofer Wolf, head of the IDF’s Logistics and Technology Branch, said: “Officially, all of this equipment belongs to the US military. If however, there is a conflict, the IDF can ask for permission to use some of the equipment.”

Israel's New "Arab Initiative": Israel's Minorities Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman told Israel Radio Tuesday that a $50 million fund is being launched for the country's Arab development. He said that most of the fund will be underwritten by private Arab and Jewish businessmen and the rest will be contributed by the government. One-fifth of Israel's citizens are Arab.

Palestinian Arrest Warrant for Shabaneh: After the former top anti-corruption official of the Palestinian Authority, Fahmi Shabaneh, made accusations against PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, the Authority issued an arrest warrant against Shabaneh on charges of --- ironically --- corruption and undermining the PA.

Countdown for Blackwater in Iraq: Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told The Associated Press Wednesday that he ordered hundreds of private security guards linked to Blackwater Worldwide to leave the country within seven days or face possible arrest on visa violations.