Sunday, 30 November 2008 http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/

Israel praises Indian rescue efforts

Foreign Ministry denies reports that it criticized Indian commando operation during Chabad center standoff in Mumbai. Prime Minister Olmert says government never considered sending forces to back 'trained, proficient' Indian army  

As internal criticism of what was viewed as the poor intelligence and security handling of the Mumbai terror attacks continued to rise, Israel decided to send a forensics team along with Defense Ministry and Shin Bet representatives to assist the Indian authorities.  A Foreign Ministry announcement published Sunday said, "The Foreign Ministry denies any and all publications stating that Israel has criticized Indian commando activity in the freeing of the Chabad house."  Yossi Levy, the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson for domestic media, stressed that "from the very beginning, the Indians cooperated with Israel on the most senior levels, including intelligence information and any aid that Israel requested".  Levy went on to say that Israel was "convinced that the Indian forces did everything in their power to avoid harming the captives and civilians during the storming of the Chabad house.  "The relations between Israel and India are based on deep and joint understandings that have passed the test in these moments of crisis," he said.  Indian army 'trained and skilled' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also praised his counterparts in New Delhi and Mumbai, and at the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting thanked the Indian authorities for their cooperation and care for the Jewish and Israeli hostages.  Olmert also stressed that at no point was sending Israeli forces to assist the "trained and skilled" Indian army considered.   "The images of the Jewish victims and the horrific sight of the Chabad house managers wrapped in prayer shawls are shocking and take us back to images from history that we hoped wouldn't repeat themselves," Olmert said. "But it seems that the hatred of Jews and Israelis is what spurs these horrible deeds.   "Last week marked one of the worse acts of terror ever to take place in India. These acts are the fruit of unrestrained extreme Islam, that is trying to sew death and destruction wherever it can."    Regarding the investigation to take place over the next few days, Olmert said Israel has offered full cooperation and aid to the Indian government, and added that the Israeli government was "doing and will continue to do" whatever it takes to defense Jewish institutes around the world.   Before the cabinet meeting, several ministers suggested providing further security to Chabad houses around the world.   Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai said, "We must examine ways to defend and secure Chabad houses, were tens of thousands of sons of Israel enter and leave."  Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim said, "Chabad has a responsibility towards Israelis that show up at its institutes around the world. The professional bodies in Israel should instruct the organization on what to do to protect them."   Meanwhile, tensions were on the rise in the Indian sub-continent as some of the intelligence and security officials have reached their own conclusions and announced their resignation.   Roni Sofer contributed to this report

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Captured terrorist says Israelis were specifically targeted in Mumbai

DEBKAfile Special Report

November 30, 2008, 2:20 PM (GMT+02:00)

Islamist terrorist Azzam Amir Kassab, 21: A brutal killing machine captured alive

The captured terrorist, Azam Amir Kasab told police his group was sent with a specific mission to target Israelis to avenge the Palestinians. That is why they targeted Nariman House (Chabad Center), the Times of India reports. Kasab said his comrades stayed there posing as Malaysian students.

The nine Jewish victims, including 7 Israelis, represent the largest group of foreign hostages murdered by the Islamist terrorists who held Mumbai under siege from Wednesday, Nov. 29 to Saturday.

The name of Ms Yocheved Harpaz, 59, mother of four from Givitayim joined the four victims from Chabad Center so far identified: Rabbi Gavriel, 29, and Rivka, 28, Holzman, taken hostage in the Chabad Center during their assault on Mumbai Wednesday, Nov. 26.

Their 2-year old son, Moshe, was brought to safety by his Indian nanny.

Two more victims identified were Betzion Chroman, 28, father of three, who held dual US-Israeli citizenship, and Leibisch Teitelbaum, an American from Brooklyn. Forensic pathologists from Israel were flown to India Sunday by an Israeli Air Force plane to help identify the others. With them were defense experts and officials to arrange the return of the remains to Israel and their burial.

Chabad Center was seized together with two big hotels and attacks on other high-profile targets across the city.

The Indian government estimates that some 610 hostages were rescued at the ravaged Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace hotels and 174 were killed by the terrorists, most of them Indians

Indian fingers are pointing at Pakistan as investigators begin probing for the hand behind the uniquely pre-planned, orderly, commando-style assault by an estimated 30 terrorists. The singling out of foreign sites and US, British and Jewish victims is seen by many experts as a hallmark of an al Qaeda-led operation possibly in association with other groups.

Indian TV claims the gunmen traveled to Mumbai by sea from Karachi. A recurring name is that of Maulana Abdul Bari, an Indian based in Saudi Arabia who is the suspected bankroller of the assault. The Foreign Office in London denies the "British connection" highlighted by UK media, some of which say seven of the terrorists were Pakistan British citizens.

All counter-terror agencies stress the importance of long and exhaustive reconnaissance by the attackers. Some suggest "advance control rooms" may have been set up at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels for prior reconnaissance and even to cache arms and ammunition.

Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak also estimated the assault was carried out by 30 gunmen working in groups of seven who were in touch with additional elements in the city and linked to a command base, possibly of al Qaeda, in neighboring countries. The FBI has sent a team to join the Indian probe. The US and Israeli governments stress the need for more global cooperation and intelligence-sharing to help predict where the Islamist terrorists will strike next.

Atrocities from the 60-hour ordeal began coming to light Friday night, when Israeli defense minister said in a Channel 1 TV interview that some of the bodies bore signs that they had been bound hand and foot and two Israeli women had been killed hours before the men. The dramatic Indian helicopter-borne commando raid of Chabad Center, which caters to Israeli and Jewish visitors to the city, failed to save anyone in the building.

The outrage may not be over. Mumbai, India's financial capital, was shut down Saturday - schools, shops, traffic - against a second wave of terror as police armed with machine guns patrolled the streets. Friday, Islamist gunmen returned to their first target, the city's main rail station for a second attack. DEBKAfile reported earlier that some of the terrorists had remained on the loose away their first targets to continue their "mission."

In New York, Friday night, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky voiced the outrage of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and conveyed condolences to the families of everyone murdered in Mumbai. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said the atrocity reminds us of how connected the world is in the face of terror.

Indian investigators are examining a satellite phone and GPS map recovered from a trawler, the Kubar, floating in the Arabian Sea. The crew was missing from the vessel except for its master whose body was found beheaded with bound limbs.

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Cabinet approves release of 250 prisoners

Despite protests move tantamount to abandoning Gilad Shalit, government votes in favor of prime minister's proposal Israel free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority ahead of upcoming Muslim holiday  

The government on Sunday approved the request of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to free 250 Palestinian prisoners ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.  This in keeping with the promise he made to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in their meeting two weeks ago.  The proposal did not pass without the vocal objection of several ministers. "This wholesale market of prisoners just delays the release of Gilad Shalit, and damages the social fabric," said Shas Chairman and Minster of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai.   Minister Jacob Edery also slammed the move prior to the cabinet meeting, saying Israel "has made enough gestures to the Palestinians without having received anything in return. You don't have to free terrorists so long as there is no progress in the effort to free Gilad Shalit or the peace talks."   Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, like Yishai and Edery, also voted against releasing the prisoners. The actual release is expected to take place on December 8th.   The Prime Minister's Office notes this is a routine gesture, made every year at Eid el-Adha. They were confident cabinet would approve the proposal, despite the fact that Israel made a similar gesture two months ago with the release of 198 Palestinian prisoners, two of whom were involved in the murder of Israeli citizens.

 

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Lebanon recognizes 'state of Palestine' The Lebanese government has approved forming full diplomatic relations with what it calls the "state of Palestine," and is elevating the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Beirut to the status of an embassy. No date has been set to carry out the decision, which was announced by Lebanese Information Minister Tariq Mitri. The PLO is regarded by the Arab League as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. The organization is currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who is also president of the Palestinian Authority. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he thought the move showed the government in Beirut was trying to show support for 'Abbas' administration. "He is facing tough times. There is a split in the Fatah movement and there's a running battle between Fatah and the Hamas in Gaza," Khashan told The Media Line. In addition, the Lebanese army is posted outside the 'Ein Al-Hilweh refugee camp and is contemplating military action if Palestinians in the camp do not surrender six members of the Islamist Fatah Al-Islam organization seeking refuge there. "I believe the Lebanese government wants to give the impression that it is not anti-Palestinian and it is welcoming diplomatic relations with the state of Palestine, which has not been declared yet," Khashan said. He added that the implementation of the decision requires a validating cabinet decision, so at the moment it "amounts to nothing." Lebanon accommodates nearly 400,000 Palestinian refugees who say they are discriminated against by the government. Khashan said the decision to upgrade relations with the PLO will not affect this situation, explaining that anti-Palestinian sentiments are deeply rooted in Lebanon. "What is needed is a change in a series of Lebanese laws that bar Palestinians from employment in Lebanon. They are not allowed to work in significant professions beyond manual labor. This is what lies at the heart of the problem," he said. "The Palestinians are treated as non entities in Lebanon and have no rights whatsoever. I believe there is a deliberate effort by the Lebanese government to keep their situation sub-human so they will never contemplate seeking permanent residency in the country." The Media Line website    

Roni Sofer

Published:

11.30.08, 12:23 / Israel News

Ronen Medzini

Published:

11.30.08, 13:33 / Israel News

Indian commandos storm besieged Jewish center

(Video) Indian commandos storm Chabad center in effort to release hostages. Israeli embassy's security officer says forces take over two upper floors, hostages' condition still unclear. Meanwhile 15 bodies found in Taj Mahal Hotel, 100 hostages freed from Oberoi Hotel  

VIDEO - Masked Indian commandos dropped from helicopters Friday onto the roof of a Jewish center in Mumbai where suspected Muslim terrorists were holed up, possibly with hostages, as sharpshooters kept up a steady stream of fire at the five-story building.  The assault came as commandos freed nearly 100 captives from the nearby Oberoi hotel as they searched the building for attackers still holed up more than a day after a chain of attacks across India's financial center by the militants left at least 130 people dead.

  Security officials insisted their operations, which had been going on for nearly two days, were almost over.   "It's just a matter of a few hours that we'll be able to wrap up things," Lt. Gen. N. Thamburaj told reporters. He added that said at least one militant may still be holding two hostages in the Taj Mahal hotel, where 15 bodies were found.    The commando attack on the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch was punctuated by gunshots and explosions from within the building as forces cleared it floor by floor, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.   One camouflaged commando came out with a bandage on his forehead, while soldiers fired smoke grenades into the building and a steady stream of gunshots reverberated across the narrow alleys.   The security officer of the Israeli embassy in Mumbai Ehud Raz, who is staying close to the Cahabd center, told Ynet: "The officers in the area are preventing people from getting any closer. There were gunshots and explosions up until a few minutes ago, and now there's a short break in the gunfights.The commandos have taken over the two upper floors and are moving downstairs. "   According to Raz, this was the commandos' third attempt to break into the house, and there was still no new information regarding the hostages' condition or of their location. "At the time of the attack most of them were in the second floor where the dining room is and this is where they were hurt."   At the Oberoi hotel, at least 100 captives were rushed out and loaded into waiting cars, buses and ambulances.  

The group, many clutching passports, included at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians.   Some carried luggage with Canadian flags, and two women were dressed in black abayas, traditional Muslim women's garments. The group included one man dressed in chef's uniform who was holding a small baby.   "I didn't see anything. I just heard loud blasts," said a man who smiled and waved to reporters. He said he was British, but declined to identify himself. "I was in my room. I didn't get out till an hour ago."   The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked, but the sporadic gunfire and explosions at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels dwindled overnight.   Ronen Medzini contributed to the report    

First Published:

11.28.08, 07:18

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  'Gunmen aim to halt India's int'l ties' The multiple terror attacks that have rocked India's financial capital Mumbai were aimed at halting India's increasingly close relationship with the US, Britain and Israel, a senior Indian defense source told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, noting that nationals of each country had been targeted. The attacks were also aimed at fomenting strife between India's well-integrated, sizable Muslim minority (third only in size to the Muslim population of Indonesia and Pakistan) and the Hindu majority, according to Colonel Behram A. Sahukar, who has extensive practical experience in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism in the Indian subcontinent. "There have been growing strategic ties between India and the US... and growing ties between India and Israel," Sahukar said. Indian-Israeli relations have "been getting stronger by the day," Sahukar noted, though he stressed that this did "not come at the expense of India's relations with Arab countries." Americans, British nationals and Israelis had been singled out in Mumbai as a result "of the closeness of their governments to us," Sahukar explained. The attackers perceive India's close ties with these countries and its partnership in the global war on terror "as a war against true Islam," he added. Sahukar, a former Fellow in Terrorism and Security Studies at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and a researcher at the United Service Institution of India in Delhi, said the raid and hostage-taking attack on the Nariman Chabad House in Mumbai was an opportunistic act by a jihadi group with ties to radical elements in Pakistan. At the same time, however, Israelis were not the main focus of the terror onslaught, he added. "This particular attack was expanded to include the Chabad House, but the targets were Americans, and British nationals, because the UK is seen by the radicals as a poodle of the US," he said. "If they wanted to hit Israelis they would hit Goa or Manali ," Sahukar said, naming hugely popular destinations among Israeli backpackers, where signs in Hebrew are commonplace, and where Sahukar said locals have even begun speaking some Hebrew because of the large numbers of Israelis passing through. Sahukar said the attacks may have been launched by a coalition of home-grown Indian jihadi sleeper cells and Pakistan-based radical elements. "The involvement of Pakistan is evident from the rubber dinghy boats found near the Mumbai waterfront, and past history shows that a sophisticated operation to coordinate and plan these simultaneous Fedayeen attacks is necessary for sustainability and staying power," he added. The attacks could also be linked to a group associated with Omar Sheikh, the man who beheaded the Jewish American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Sheikh, together with Maulana Mazood Azhar, were released by India in exchange for the release of 180 passengers on a flight hijacked by Muslim radicals in 1999. "Omar Sheikh was later implicated in the murder of Daniel Pearl, and Mazood Azhar formed the Jaish e Muhammad group, which in conjunction with the Laskar e Taiyyaba launched several Fedayeen attacks against India's Parliament in December 2001, and in Kashmir since 1999," Sahukar said. "This is not the first time that Westerners have been targeted, but it is the first time that they have been targeted on this scale and in such a violent manner," he added. Sahukar recalled how in June 1991, seven Israelis and one Dutch tourist were kidnapped from a houseboat in Srinagar, Kashmir. In the subsequent scuffle, one Israeli was killed and the others escaped. Other attacks on Westerners followed. Sahukar said terrorism was now engulfing large cities in India due to crackdowns on trouble spots like Kashmir in recent years. "This is shown by recent attacks in Gauhati and two other towns in Assam, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Htderabad, Mumbai and also Delhi," he said. "Terrorists will also use India's vast and vulnerable coastline to introduce radical Islamists and explosives, in conjunction with home-grown terrorists and the activation of home-grown Indian Muslim militants," Sahukar stated. The name of the group which has claimed responsibility for the attack, Deccan Mujahideen, "does not really mean very much," according to Sahukar, who said the name appeared to be a front for members of the Indian Mujahideen and the banned terrorist organization Students' Islamic Movement of India. The extremists are seeking to play off Hindu-Muslim tensions, which came to the fore in 1992, when Hindu radicals destroyed the renowned Babri Masjid mosque built on top of a Hindu holy place. Ten years later, 58 Hindus were burned alive byMuslim rioters in a train car in Ghodra. That incident was followed by dozens of attacks on Muslims by Hindus in the state of Gujarat. Sahukar expressed hope that Hindu militants would not fall into the trap set by jihadis by alienating India's moderate Muslims. Sahukar regularly visits Israel to participate in conferences held by the Interdisciplinary Center's Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya. "If anything, these attacks will bring India even closer to the US, UK, Israel and even Pakistan in its fight against terrorism in general and Islamist terrorism in particular," Sahukar predicted.

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US Jews urge Obama to move embassy to Jerusalem

Members of US Jewish Orthodox Union gather in Jerusalem near site earmarked by US to serve as its embassy in capital, call on president-elect to 'show support for Israel by moving the embassy here'  

A group of American Jews urged president-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which the international community does not recognize as the capital of the Jewish state.  The move would make the United States the only country to have its main diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital.   The Jerusalem Embassy Act requires the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem by 1999, but both President George W. Bush and his predecessor Bill Clinton have deferred its implementation every six months.   Some 100 members of the US Jewish Orthodox Union gathered on Thursday near the site which Congress earmarked in a 1995 bill as the location of the future US embassy in west Jerusalem.   They sang American national anthem and held banners reading "President Obama: The US embassy belongs in Israel's capital," as well as a petition addressed to Obama, who takes office on January 20.   "President Obama likes using the word change. It is time for change. Now is the time to show support for Israel by moving the embassy here," Orthodox Union President Stephen Savitsky told AFP.   Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon said that if the US embassy were moved to Jerusalem, other countries would follow suit.   "When it moves its embassy to Jerusalem, other civilized states will move their embassies here," Ayalon said.   There are no embassies in Jerusalem. They are in the commercial capital Tel Aviv.

 

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NYC's Penn Station under armed guard after FBI warns of Al Qaeda Thanksgiving attack

DEBKAfile Special Report

November 27, 2008, 5:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

New York subway

Penn Station was crowded with NYPD Counter Terrorism Squad and Amtrak cops armed with M16s after the FBI received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that in late September, al Qaeda discussed attacking the subway systems in an around New York City in the holiday season. "Suicide bombers or explosives," were mentioned in the document dated Tuesday, Nov. 25. "We have no specific details to confirm that this plot has developed beyond aspirational planning," it said. But the location of the attack and its method make it plausible.

On Nov. 16, DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources reported that president-elect Barack Obama and his transition team had received an intelligence briefing warning them that al Qaeda may be plotting a major attack against a US target in America, Europe, North Africa or the Middle East in the early days of his presidency. On Nov. 14, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 372 disclosed a Directive to All Fighters in Arabia issued by al Qaeda's Yemen headquarters on Nov. 9 presaging a major operation in the United States that will ?change the political and economic world? and be ?far bigger than 9/11.?

The notice said ?the operation is very near? and ?precise instructions" were in the hands of ?the fighters, who are already on their way to America.?

The warning comes as hundreds of thousands of tourists arrive in New York for the long holiday weekend, marked by the huge Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday, Nov. 27. If the explosion went off in Penn Station, it would affect transportation of Amtrak's northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, LIRR service and New York City subway service.

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Kassam hits house in Eshkol region Gaza terrorists continued their attacks on southern Israel Thursday evening, firing a Kassam rocket that hit a house in the Eshkol region. The house was damaged in the attack, but no one was wounded. Earlier Thursday, two rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev. The exact impact sites of the other two rockets could not initially be ascertained due to heavy fog in the area, however there were no reports of wounded or further damage. Following the attack, Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed that humanitarian aid not be allowed into the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, Barak decided to allow some 60 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies to pass into Gaza, even though the crossings were still officially closed due to continued Kassam attacks. Barak's decision came following international pressure on the security establishment to allow the aid through. Palestinian fuel official Mahmoud Khazundar said that shipments of cooking gas were also renewed on Wednesday morning and that 70 tons were expected to enter the Strip. Also Wednesday, several high-ranking defense officials said that Israel should resume military operations against Hamas in Gaza when the cease-fire expires in three weeks, in order to increase pressure on the terrorist group that could lead to a renewal of talks for the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit. On December 19, the cease-fire that went into effect at 6 a.m. on June 19 will officially end. Israeli assessments vary as to whether Hamas will want to extend the truce or allow it to collapse and return to full-scale terror operations against Israel. "It is difficult to tell what they will do," one senior defense official told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday. "What is certain is that December 19 is turning into a very important date." Yaakov Katz and Elie Leshem contributed to this report.

AFP

Published:

11.28.08, 08:39 / Israel Jewish Scene

Associated Press

Latest Update:

11.28.08, 10:21 / Israel News

Foreign Ministry: 10-15 Israelis held hostage in Mumbai

(Video) State officials tell Ynet 20-25 Israeli nationals have yet to contact families following terror attacks in Indian city. Drama near Chabad center continues, as militant phones TV channel to offer talks with government for release of hostages. Defense Minister Barak offers India help in war on terror  

VIDEO - The Foreign Ministry told Ynet on Thursday afternoon that 10 to 15 Israelis are being held hostage in various locations throughout the Indian city of Mumbai following Wednesday's combined terror attacks.  Twenty to 25 Israelis staying in Mumbai have yet to contact their families in Israel.

 

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Islamist terrorists hold two Mumbai locations on Day 2 of attack

November 27, 2008, 10:48 AM (GMT+02:00)

Taj Palace, Mumbai, under terrorist attack

The Israeli foreign ministry situation room has been unable to reach 5 Israeli families who were staying at the Chabad center in Mubai when al Qaeda gunmen staged coordinated attacks on 11 mostly tourist locations across the city Wednesday, Nov. 26. They left more than 100 dead and another 300 injured. CNN reported the bodies of two adults and a boy were found outside the Chabad center which has been seized by the terrorists who may be holding Israeli hostages. It is now surrounded by police and gunfire is heard from the building. Chabad's Web site reports contact has been lost with the center's manager Gavriel Holzberg.

Scores or hundreds of Western hostages, including Israelis, were herded in the Taj Palace and Oberoi hotels, parts of which are still on fire as police battle the gunmen reinforced by commando forces from India's ground, sea and rapid deployment units. Some hostages may also be held in a hospital. A group of Israeli diamond merchants was staying at the Taj. The unknown Islamist group Deccan Mujahideen, believed to be al Qaeda, has taken responsibility for the attacks carried out with automatic Kalashnikov rifles, grenades and explosives. They reached the city in commando boats.

Among the 11 Indian police officers killed were three top officials, including Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare. Terrorists have also died in the assault. The terrorists singled out British and American passport holders in attacking the hotels opposite the Gateway to India monument, a crowded railway terminus, the famous Leopold restaurant, a cinema and the St. George hospital which treats the city's foreigners. One group shot up the hospital as injured victims were brought in. New Delhi has been placed on terror alert.

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Livni calls on Olmert to take leave of absence

(Video) Kadima chairwoman says prime minister 'has no other option' but to leave office in light of Mazuz's decision to seek an indictment against him over double-billing affair. 'Olmert must conduct the battle to clear his name from home and not from his Knesset seat,' she adds  

VIDEO - Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni has called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take a leave of absence in light of Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision to seek an indictment against him over the Rishon Tours double-billing affair.  "There is no other option," Livni told an urgent Kadima faction meeting in Petah Tikva on Thursday.

  To substantiate her case Livni mentioned Olmert's past response to the sexual harassment allegations against former President Moshe Katsav and the de facto resignation of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1977 following the exposure of an illegal joint dollar account he and his wife Leah had held in a Washington D.C. bank.   "In 1977 Rabin did not hesitate and immediately announced he was taking a leave of absence. The PM, just as any other citizen, is innocent until proven guilty, but the citizen Ehud Olmert must conduct the battle (to clear his name) from home and not from his Knesset seat," said Livni, who replaced Olmert as Kadima chief following the September 17 primary elections.  "Israel cannot accept one more day in which he is acting as prime minister. It is a moral and practical trial (for the country). It is important that Kadima make its position known on a day like today."

  The chairwoman continued to say that "the affair does not affect Olmert alone – it is about public norms and Kadima's moral stance. The existing norms are the foundation for the public's faith in the state's institutions. We are fighting for the State of Israel's path."  

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Iran, Lebanon sign 5-year security pact Iran and Lebanon have signed a security agreement, according to which Iran will supply the Lebanese army with weapons and equipment over the next five years, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported. The agreement between the two nations was signed during Lebanese President Michel Suleiman's two-day visit to Teheran, which ended on Tuesday. The visit focused on security and defense cooperation, as well as on regional and international matters of mutual concern, an Iranian source revealed to the paper. "Iran announced its readiness to supply Lebanon with defensive weapons, to be agreed upon in the framework of a defensive strategic system the Lebanese will formulate," a Lebanese source said. The two sides agreed to conduct ministerial visits to Teheran and Beirut in the near future. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also promised to visit Beirut soon, added the Lebanese source. During his visit, Suleiman was accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, interior, labor, economy and trade, industry, and expatriates. Each of the ministers met with his Iranian counterpart to discuss mutual interests. By supplying the Lebanese army with weapons, Iran will thus be responsible for arming Lebanon's two major armed forces: the national army, and Hizbullah, The Media Line's analysts indicate. Since the summer war of 2006 between Israel and Hizbullah, the Lebanese Islamic resistance movement has tripled its force, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said earlier this week. Hizbullah now holds 42,000 missiles and rockets, which it received from Iran, some of which can reach Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona, almost 300 kilometers south of the Israeli-Lebanese border, Barak said. www.themedialine.org

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Fayad seeks steps against settlements Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad asked Palestinian diplomats Thursday to campaign abroad for economic steps against Israeli West Bank settlements. Israel has ignored international appeals to halt settlement expansion and a new approach is required, Fayad told a gathering of Palestinian ambassadors. "We want you to make the whole world aware of the problem because condemnations and press conferences are not enough anymore," Fayad said. Almost half a million Israelis live in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War and sought by the Palestinians for their future state, along with Gaza. Fayad singled out Britain as a model. Britain has said it is pressing European countries for tighter controls of imports to the EU from West Bank settlements, some of which are admitted at European ports as the produce of Israel and therefore enjoy tariff benefits under an Israel-EU treaty. "We call on other countries in the EU to follow suit with Britain on this issue," Fayad said. Israel has criticized Fayad's campaign and said it would lead nowhere. Two European companies, Swedish lock maker Assa Abloy AB and Dutch brewer Heineken, already have said they are pulling business out of an industrial park in a West Bank settlement. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem. Abbas urged US President-elect Barack Obama to get involved quickly in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that were launched by US President George W. Bush a year ago. The talks have not produced tangible results. The PA president said Israel and the United States should take a closer look at an Arab peace initiative that was first proposed in 2002. The plan says Israel would win full Arab recognition if it withdraws from all the lands it captured in 1967 and accepts an influx of Palestinian refugees. "We hope that the new Israeli government and the new US administration will put the Arab peace initiative on the table and I think that the solution won't be hard at all," he said. "We could have a calm Middle East, a calm North Africa and Israel will live in an ocean of peace." "This is a rare opportunity, and the Israelis should seize it," he added. Napolitano, meanwhile, said it was unrealistic to expect a peace deal by the end of this year, as initially envisioned by Bush. "But it is important that while the negotiations are going on, the circumstances of the Palestinian people should improve," he said. "Better circumstances should be created."    

Roni Sofer

Published:

11.27.08, 13:37 / Israel News

Video courtesy of Infolive.tv  Among the hostages are at least six Israelis trapped in the local Chabad offices and additional Israelis held captive in the Oberoi Hotel, where exchanges of fire continue.   Local media reported that a militant holed up in the Chabad center phoned an Indian television channel on to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages, but also to complain about abuses in Indian Kashmir.   "Ask the government to talk to us and we will release the hostages," the man, identified by the India TV channel as Imran, said, speaking in Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent.   "Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir? Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims. Are you aware how many of them have been killed in Kashmir this week?"   Trouble receiving accurate details "This is a huge drama, there is great concern here. We are really extremely anxious," Amnon Kalmar, head of the Foreign Ministry's department for Israelis abroad, told Ynet.    According to Kalmar, the Ministry was experiencing trouble receiving accurate details and facts on the situation.  "The entire affair is extremely vague. It's hard to understand the current state of affairs and this is making our actions difficult.   "The embassy's security officer is near the Chabad center and is trying to deliver the details to us in order to make things clear. It's also difficult to understand the situation from the locals because they were surprised as well."   Kalmar is in touch with the families of Israelis who are known to be in Mumbai but have yet to contact their relatives, as well as families who know their loved ones are trapped inside the Chabad house.   He said that the parents of the Chabad house rabbis were expected to leave for Mumbai urgently. Chabad house in Mumbai (Photo: AP)   Some 25 people are taking part in the activity of the Foreign Ministry's situation room and have been dispatched to the special headquarters set up. The workers are receiving urgent calls from concerned parents and relatives and are attempting to provide them with answers and gather information in order to form a clear picture of the situation.   "There is a lot of uncertainty," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. "There are always many Israelis in that city, and the problem is that most of them haven't even registered in the local consulate.   "Because the number of those who registered is partial, there is no way for us to assess their overall number."   Senior Foreign Ministry official Yossi Regev spoke of the information gathering efforts. "We have been working since yesterday to collect all the available information. Gathering information is our main work, and the most problematic place in this essence is the Chabad house of course. However we still don't have clear details and everything must be restricted."   Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy added, "The Foreign Ministry has developed excellent work relations throughout the years, which are put to the test at times like these."      Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke with India's National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan and offered him Israel's assistance, particularly in the war on terror.   Barak expressed his concern for the Israelis in Mumbai, but said he trusts the Indian security forces. "The attacks are part of a global wave of terror, which Israel is quite familiar with," he said.   Meanwhile, terrorists are still seizing the Oberoi Hotel and Chabad center, but the captives' condition is unclear. Indian television network IBN reported that six Israelis are being held hostage in the Chabad building.   A commando unit representative told Ynet that his men had killed one terrorists and that four others remain in the house. Chabad officials said the organization's emissary and his wife are unconscious, and that the couple's toddler son was removed from the building.   'I grabbed the baby and ran out' Twelve hours after gunmen stormed the Jewish center, Sandra Samuel heard the cries of a small child outside the room in which she had barricaded herself.   She opened the door, grabbed a two-year-old old boy and ran outside with another center worker. They are the only ones to have emerged from the house run by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish group.   "I took the child, I just grabbed the baby and ran out," said Samuel, 44, who has worked as a cook for the center for the last five years. Child rescued from Chabad center (Photo: AP)   The boy, whom she identified as Moshe Holtzberg, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, was unharmed - but his blood-soaked pants spoke of the horrors inside. Holzberg is the main representative at Chabad house.   Samuel, who was looking after the boy at a nearby police station, said that as she ran out, she saw four people lying on the floor, apparently "unconscious."   Six Israelis, including two kashrut supervisors, are being held in the building. Yehuda, a relative of one of the two men, told Ynet that they likely visited the Chabad house for afternoon and evening prayers.   The two work for an American kashrut organization, and visit many places across the world as part of their job. They arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon.   Roni Sofer, Roni Gal and Reuters contributed to this report

Ronen Medzini

Latest Update:

11.27.08, 14:44 / Israel News