A bomb has killed 5 UN peacekeepers near the Israeli border.

3 of the victims were Colombian, 2 were Spanish.

Fateh Al Islam have been threatening to target UN troops, and the Lebanese government says members who have been arrested have confessed to a plan to kill peacekeepers.

It happened in the south, in a clear attempt to frame Hizbollah - arch enemies of Fateh Al Islam. It comes just days after rockets were fired from south Lebanon into Israel - a Hizbollah tactic in last summer's war. But Israel and Hizbollah both say a Palestinian group was behind this attack.

Fateh Al Islam was created last year, after breaking away from a pro-Syrian group. It was funded by Hariri to act as a counterbalance to Hizbollah.

Labels: Fateh Al Islam, Hariri Militia, Hizbollah, Israel, UN

Israel has rejected peace talks with Syria.

Syria has been offering talks on full recognition for the past seven years - and hasn't even got a response.

That was until recently. Israel announced it would 'test' Bashar, and call his bluff by offering peace talks.

But Olmert set the bar so high that it knew Syria would say no - and that would paint Syria as the obstruction to peace in the region. Israel demanded that if the Occupied Golan Heights were returned to Syria, Syria would have to 'rent' the Golan Heights back to Israel.

So when Syria didn't immediately say no, some in Israel - and Washington - started to get a bit jittery. Olmert has now retracted his offer, saying simply that the time "isn't right".

Interesting to see where Ehud Olmert made the announcement. During talks with President Bush at the White House.

Labels: Israel, Israeli Occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Peace talks, US

Syria is rejecting rumours of behind-the-scenes peace talks with Israel. Syria's Ambassador to the UN says there are no secret talks, and Syria isn't ashamed of negotiating with Israel.

It has called for Israel to return to the negotiating table and talk publicly. Syria clearly fears more broken promises from Olmert.

Syria has been calling for peace talks for the past seven years - they were ignored. Now Israel suddenly comes up with the idea of peace talks and it is portrayed as a 'test' of Syria's commitment to peace.

Well, here's the real test. Come out and talk publicly, oh Olmert the peacemaker, instead of living in the shadows that you have inhabited for so long.

Labels: Israel, Israeli Occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Peace talks

Two rockets have been fired from Lebanon into Israel.

But both Hizbollah and Israel say it wasn't Hizbollah which did it.

Israel is blaming Palestinian groups inside Lebanon: "It seems that it was Palestinians, not Hezbollah," and Israel thinks it was aimed at getting Israel to attack Hizbollah in retailiation. Israel insists it will "not be drawn in".

Could it be allies of Fateh Al Islam trying to get Israel to attack their arch-enemies* Hizbollah, and force the Lebanese Army to halt their assault on the Nahr Al Bared camp?

(*Fateh Al Islam claim they are defending the Sunnis, and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi - who was close to Fateh Al Islam's leaders - accused Hizbollah of 'protecting' Israel because they didn't allow Al Qaeda-linked groups to attack Israel from South Lebanon.)

Labels: Fateh Al Islam, Hizbollah, Israel

The man who wrote "Why I Admire Israel" has been visiting Israel. And he spoke in the Israeli Parliament.

He received a warm welcome from the Israeli Parliament's Palestinian MPs (photo via Wassim).

Palestinian MK Ahmad Tibi: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You come here as a cheap tool in the hands of Netanyahu and ask the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee not to cede the Golan, your homeland, when more than half the Israelis want to withdraw. This is despicable." (via George - well worth reading)

Labels: Israel, Reform Party of Syria

Hizbollah is tacitly backing the Lebanese army's attempts to destroy Al Qaeda inspired Fateh Al Islam.

They have many reasons for this stance: Fateh Al Islam's stated goal is to defend the Sunnis, against what they perceive as the heretical Shias represented by Hizbollah. Fateh Al Islam is also dangerously anti-Syrian - they have carried out a number of bombings across Syria in recent years.

Hizbollah and the Lebanese army have found their own specialisms: Hizbollah targets external threats, while promising never to target a fellow Lebanese. The Lebanese army, meanwhile, targets internal threats, while remaining neutral in the face of external threats (the army was ordered not to shoot during Israel's attacks last summer).

Labels: Fateh Al Islam, Hizbollah, Israel, Lebanon

Fifty-nine years in exile.

And wherever they flee, they face persecution by the same people who denounce Israel for its crimes. In Lebanon, Palestinians are sub-human and barely allowed to work, or build new houses. In Syria, they live in better conditions than any other refugees in the region, but still suffer racism at the hands of their neighbours.

They are resented too, in Jordan. And in Iraq they have been kicked out of their homes - refugees for a second time - and trapped on the border because their neighbours won't let them in.

The catastrophy continues.

59 by Roba, Jordan

The Exodus by Nas, Jordan

15 May 1948 by Serene, Lebanon

59th. Memory of Al Nakba, by Golaniya, Syria

For Palestinians, memory matters by George, United States

Al Nakba, 59 years on, by BuJ, United Arab Emirates

Nakba Day, by Anglo-Libyan, UK

Labels: Israel, Palestine, Refugees

A raft of reassuring statements are coming out of Israel.

As the tension between the US and Syria continues to lessen - Condoleeza Rice and Walid Mouallem met in Egypt last week - it seems Israel is realising that it also needs to be less hostile.

The head of Israel's National Security Council Ilan Mizrahi (does he have Iranian roots?) told the parliament that "Syria's call for a renewal of the peace process is genuine".

Unpopular, embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - who can surely only survive a matter of weeks in the job - said he is committed to studying the Syrian option. Last year, when his defence minister and foreign minister openly called for talks with Syria, after the attacks on Lebanon, Olmert flatly rejected it.

Syria has been offering peace talks for 7 years - it seems now that Israel is under pressure, it is finally willing to listen.

Israel also reassured Syria it is not planning to attack: their ambassador to Washington Sallai Meridor said they have no "offensive intentions".

Labels: Israel, Peace talks

Farid Ghadry is an interesting character. He doesn't mind being referred to as the Syrian(*) Ahmed Chalabi. He claims that if Syria held free and fair elections, he would win.

He has just written a piece called 'Why I admire Israel'. With the repugnant views aired in this blind article, I would tend to disagree that he would win any election in Syria.

Anyway, here are some select quotes from Ghadry's piece:

"As a Syrian and a Muslim, I have always had this affinity for the State of Israel. As a businessman and an advocate of the free economic system of governance, Israel to me represents an astounding economic success in the midst of so many Arab failures."

"Israel has, in less than 60 years, built an economy ten times that of Syria with one-fifth the population. How does one explain this fact? It is very simple: Israel is a vibrant democracy." (Not because of the basic arithmetic of colonisation: occupy, steal and use slave labour).

"To me, any dispute over shared lands is secondary to bringing prosperity to my people."

(* Note: I say 'the Syrian Chalabi' and not 'Syria's Chalabi' because - by his own admission, his only connection to the country is that he was last there when he was 10 years old)

Labels: Israel, Reform Party of Syria

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Opposition leader Hasan Nasrallah have displayed an interesting difference over an Israeli report into last summer's attacks on Lebanon.

It is one of those rare occassions that I find myself siding with Siniora against Nasrallah.

The report criticised the Israeli government's handling of the attacks on Lebanon, accusing Olmert of "serious failure in exercising judgement, responsibility and prudence."

Nasrallah responded by saying he gave: "every respect to a commission appointed by Olmert that condemns Olmert."

Israel, he said, is "committed and faithful to its own existence". And that Israelis "study their defeat in order to learn from it". That is better than Arab states which "do not probe, do not ask, do not form inquiry commissions ... as if nothing has happened

By contast, Siniora is angry that the report fails to mention the destruction of Lebanon, and murder of 1200 innocent Lebanese civilians. He warned that the report is a precursor to more Israeli terror. There is "talk in Israel of the need to launch new military operations against Lebanon," he said.

Labels: Hizbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Siniora

The Daily Star is now faithfully republishing (via AFP) unsourced Israeli fantasies.

Syria appparently has an underground missile city with chemical weapons. I think there is a bunker hiding Saddam Hussein in there too, along with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The Daily Star relies on Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot which quotes "foreign experts". That is the same newspaper which has been publishing weekly Israeli government-leaked predictions that Syria "will" launch a war on Israel this summer.

Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Media

Well done to the BBC for this sentence:

"About 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed in the conflict."

It avoids the usual fog of "the conflict which killed more than 1,000 people". It highlights the asymmetry of the conflict in two ways: many, many more Lebanese died than Israelis. And most Israelis who died were militants, and most Lebanese who died were innocents.

Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Media

An Israeli Minister says his country is ready to start negotiating with Syria.

Syria has repeatedly offered talks with Israel over the past seven years, but Israel has ignored every call.

When US Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Damascus and announced that Israel and Syria were ready to start peace talks, she was rebuked by Israel. Now, it seems, things have changed.

Israel's Minister for Immigration and Absorption Ze’ev Boim said that Israel is ready to start talks, and it seems he has dropped Israel's preconditions that Syria end support for what it calls terrorism (Hamas and Hizbollah). Instead, Boim only says that it would be useful if Syria didn't support Hizbollah: "In order to ensure a positive outcome of the talks with Israel, President Bashar al-Assad should stop arming Hezbollah, close HAMAS and Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus".

It is not clear whether his statement was a slip of the tongue, or whether he actually represents Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's views. Last year, Israel's Defence Minister and Foreign Minister publicly called for talks with Syria - Olmert said no.

Labels: Israel, Israeli Occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Peace talks

Nancy Pelosi, the third most powerful US politician is in Damascus.

"We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from
the (Syrian) president that he was ready to resume the peace
process. He was ready to engage in negotiations (for) peace with
Israel," she said.

But she's already been rebuked by Israel for telling Syria Israel was ready for talks.

"(Our) meeting with the (Syrian) president enabled us to communicate a message from prime minister Olmert that Israel was ready to engage in peace talks as well," she said.

The Israel government is angry that she said that whole sentence without mentioning the compulsory words "terror" and "support". These words are issued on cards to every US politician who has to speak to the media.

Labels: Israel, Peace talks, US

John Bolton, America's former ambassador to the UN has admitted he did obstruct a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and that he was "damned proud" of it.

During the war, he, and other Bush regime officials said they were waiting for the right time, because an immediate ceasefire wouldn't be "lasting".

Now the truth has come out - they wanted Israel to damage Lebanon as much as possible, before calling for an end to the war. They didn't care about Lebanon one bit, despite Fouad Siniora's tears.

Bolton says he only agreed to the ceasefire once it became clear that Israel wasn't achieving its military aims - and probably, once Israel gave its backing.

It comes just weeks after Israel revealed it had been preparing for a war against Lebanon for months, even though it claimed its atttacks were "in response" to the kidnapping of two soldiers.

Yesterday evening, John Bolton displayed more of his famous arrogant belligerance.

He sat on a live TV link from Washington to London and condemned the audience of a British television programme discussion on the Iraq war. He said it was "depressing" that people could sit with a "straight face" and question the success of the war in Iraq. In Bolton's world, no one would raise an eyebrow.

Labels: Israel, Lebanon, Media, UN, US

Israeli Army Radio is reporting that France urged Israel to invade Syria and topple Bashar As-Assad's government at the start of the war on Lebanon last summer.

They say it was because of Syria's backing for Hizbollah (which threatened the stability of Fouad Siniora's French-backed Lebanese government) and because France blamed Syria for killing Rafiq Al-Hariri, a close friend of French president Jacques Chirac.

This came at the start of the war, in a secret conversation between Chirac and Olmert.

I find this highly dubious, though. It is a well timed move to embarrass France, just days after France gave its blessing to a high-level EU mission to Damascus. Israel was fuming when EU Foreign Minister Javier Solana said he backed Syria's attempts to liberate the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Don't forget, it was France which appeared most angered by the war - at least in public. And it was French soldiers (working for the UN) in Lebanon which threatened to shoot Israeli jets if they flew over Lebanese territory again.

Labels: France, Israel, Lebanon

Interesting analysis of the pressure on Syria by Wassim (reposted from the comments section):

Well I don't pretend to be an expert in politics, but I treat it like when I play chess, I look at all the possible reasons why somebody has made their move. Once his series of moves is done, his bluffs work or fail, then you can evaluate what he did and see why he made a particular move.

It's just too much of a coincidence that a steadily closing vice around Syria, Iran and Hezbullah was kicked off by the assassination of Hariri; a full scale, "Unexpected" war takes place a year later, and Iran's nuclear ambitions all provoke outcry while the situation in Iraq worsens. Now we see the American's sitting down with the Syrians and Iranians after going through yes, no, yes no thinking they can play a final card. Israel might be tempted to do something stupid, but right now it is too busy licking it's wounds.

Incidentally, how come things in Lebanon would quieten down only once Iran and Saudi Arabia meet calmly and "discuss" things over. Lebanon was and remains somebody else's battlefield unfortunately. However, this was one hell of a chess player who planned all this, and though it was a damn big gamble, it seems other people in the Middle East play chess too.

Labels: Hariri inquiry, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi, US

"We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967," said EU Foreign Police chief Javier Solana in a joint press conference in Damascus, after meeting the President.

Incredible words from a man who was until last week boycotting Syria. The EU has ended its ban on contacts with Syria in remarkable style.

It will soon be 25 years since Israel annexed the territory, amid criticism from the UN, EU and even the United States.

Labels: Israel, Israeli Occupied Syrian Golan Heights, UN, US

The mysterious ten.

Serge Brammertz, who is investigating the assasination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, said there are ten countries not co-operating. He also said Syria is "fully co-operating".

Russia threatened to take the issue to the Security Council, demanding to know which ten countries were obstructing the investigation. But Brammertz kept it a secret. Now, he is set to reveal the names in his next report.

They are said to include: France, Israel, the US, Jordan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Germany.

Ironic, considering France and the US threatened Syria with "further action" if IT did not co-operate.

Labels: France, Hariri inquiry, Israel, Lebanon, UN, US

Just two weeks before a crucial meeting between Syria and the US in Baghdad, Iraq's Ambassador to the UN says Syria is doing everything it can to protect the border with Iraq.

It has been a frequent American accusation that Syria isn't doing enough.

But Hamid Al Bayati praised Syria for stopping attackers crossing the border. He says other countries now need to do their bit to help: "[Syria] expected at the beginning for the Americans to give such [surveillance equipment including night vision cameras]. They said that the Americans didn't give them such equipment, so they can't guard the borders," he said.

America accuses Syria, while Iraq praises Syria but says America needs to pull its weight. Sound familiar?

Refugees in Syria - UN praises Syria for taking one million Iraqi refugees...but asks America to pull its weight.

Hariri inquiry - UN praises Syria's "full co-operation"...but says 10 countries have blocked the inquiry (thought to include America).

Peace with Israel - Israel says it wants to talk to Syria, Syria says it wants to talk to Israel...but America blocks peace talks.

Labels: Hariri inquiry, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Peace talks, UN, US