Looks like the news that was reported yesterday was purely fiction. Today's post is showing US still stick with his original stand.
EU apologizes for statements against settlements (Ynetnews)
Foreign Ministry says satisfied after EU apologizes for statement made by one of its officials in which he claimed European taxes were paying for damage caused by settlements. Meanwhile US State Department clarifies administration's position remains unchanged
Roni Sofer Published: 07.09.09, 01:27 / Israel News
US: No change in policy
But while the confrontation on the European front has abated – the US on Wednesday reiterated its demand to see a complete freeze on settlement construction.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly dismissed a report on Wednesday that it had agreed to let Israel build about 2,500 housing units already under construction in West Bank settlements.
"That report in that Israeli media outlet is inaccurate," said after the Maariv newspaper reported that Minister Barak and US envoy George Mitchell had struck such a deal.
Under the arrangement reached in London on Monday, Maariv reported, Israel would be allowed to continue work on about 700 buildings already under construction on the occupied West Bank, or about 2,500 units.
But Kelly said "the bottom line" for US President Barack Obama's administration has not changed, "that all parties in the region have to honor their obligations.
"And you know what our position is regarding settlements... This activity has to stop. This is laid out in the roadmap. So the reports are inaccurate," Kelly said.
He added that Mitchell plans to travel to Israel soon to continue his discussions, adding that his talks with Barak on Monday had been "good, productive." He gave no dates for the planned visit.
The European Union Commission apologized to Israel's Ambassador to the Union, Ron Kuriel, over statements it made earlier this week claiming that the settlement policy was stifling the Palestinian economy and increasing Palestinian dependence on foreign aid – and therefore was costing European citizens in taxes.
The apology was issued after EU Ambassador to Israel Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal was reprimanded by Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry Rafi Barak. A senior Commission official told Ambassador Kuriel that the statement released by the head of Operations at the European Commission's office in east Jerusalem
The Foreign Ministry said in response that it was satisfied was the apology.
Ambassador Kuriel stressed the severity with which Israel sees Dickinson's statement, saying that the issue was not only the lack of diplomatic manners but also the clear deviation from the Commission's stated role, "which is to coordinate aid with the Palestinians, not arrogantly criticize Israel."
Kuriel was assured that an official communiqué had been issued to clarify that the earlier statement did not reflect the Commission's position.
The original statement caused a storm in Israel and Europe after it was released last Monday. According to the statement, the Commission believes Israel's settlement policy is strangling the Palestinian economy and makes the Palestinian government more dependent on foreign aid – the burden of which falls on the European taxpayer. The European Union is one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority.
According to the EU, expropriation of fertile land for Israeli settlements, roads that serve only settlers, and West Bank checkpoints help constrain Palestinian economic growth and make the Palestinian government more dependent on aid.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the Commission out for ignoring a recent World Bank report indicating an improvement in the Palestinian economy. "The Mideast Quartet (US, Russia, EU and the UN) welcomed Israel's plans to improve the Palestinian economy, and recognizes Israel's right to security," the Defense Ministry said.
"Thanks to the cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 140 (West Bank) roadblocks have been removed over the past few months. These measures may double the growth rate of the Palestinian economy from 5 to 10%. Unfortunately, all of these details were omitted from the European Commission's statement."
Read more...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Israeli report: U.S. and Israel strike settlement deal (Reuters)
Will this decision gating the peace process? Will explore Palestinian side of the story in my next post tomorrow...
Israeli report: U.S. and Israel strike settlement deal (Reuters)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli newspaper said on Wednesday Israel had won agreement from the United States for the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite U.S. calls for a freeze.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the United States and Israel have been trying to find common ground on the sensitive settlement issue, but he had no comment on the unsourced front-page report of a deal in the Maariv daily.
A U.S. embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv also had no immediate comment.
The report followed a briefing by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his talks in London Monday with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ending a rift with Washington over its demand for a settlement freeze.
Western officials said the United States was moving in the direction of making allowances so Israel could finish off at least some existing projects which are close to completion or bound by private contracts that cannot be broken.
"This is a concession to avoid causing undue hardships on individuals" who have signed contracts and have already paid for work that cannot be refunded, one of the officials said, adding that discussions were still under way.
"We're talking about polishing off things that are basically done," the official said.
Israel estimates that 2,500 units are in the process of being built and cannot be stopped under Israeli law. Maariv reported the units are in 700 buildings in various settlements and that Washington had agreed to their completion.
A report in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Israel's most popular newspaper, was more cautious, saying Israel and the United States were "close to an agreement on settlements." It also cited the same housing figures.
NORMALISATION
Barak has been seeking a deal with the United States that would include initial steps by Arab states to normalize relations with Israel in return for limiting settlement activity.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted unidentified cabinet ministers, who attended Barak's briefing, as saying reports a U.S.-Israeli agreement on settlement had been sealed were wishful thinking on the part of the defense chief.
Palestinian leaders have said U.S.-backed peace negotiations with Israel could not resume unless there was a complete halt to settlement activity in the West Bank, Israeli-occupied territory where they hope to establish a state.
While in London, Barak told reporters that he presented to the Americans "the scope of current construction work, which from a practical point of view can't be stopped."
Netanyahu, under U.S. pressure, has pledged not to build new settlements in the West Bank or expropriate more land. Further discussions are planned between Mitchell and Netanyahu as early as next week.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Ori Lewis; Additional reporting by Adam Entous, Editing by Myra MacDonald)
Read more...
Israeli report: U.S. and Israel strike settlement deal (Reuters)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli newspaper said on Wednesday Israel had won agreement from the United States for the continued construction of 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite U.S. calls for a freeze.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the United States and Israel have been trying to find common ground on the sensitive settlement issue, but he had no comment on the unsourced front-page report of a deal in the Maariv daily.
A U.S. embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv also had no immediate comment.
The report followed a briefing by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his talks in London Monday with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ending a rift with Washington over its demand for a settlement freeze.
Western officials said the United States was moving in the direction of making allowances so Israel could finish off at least some existing projects which are close to completion or bound by private contracts that cannot be broken.
"This is a concession to avoid causing undue hardships on individuals" who have signed contracts and have already paid for work that cannot be refunded, one of the officials said, adding that discussions were still under way.
"We're talking about polishing off things that are basically done," the official said.
Israel estimates that 2,500 units are in the process of being built and cannot be stopped under Israeli law. Maariv reported the units are in 700 buildings in various settlements and that Washington had agreed to their completion.
A report in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Israel's most popular newspaper, was more cautious, saying Israel and the United States were "close to an agreement on settlements." It also cited the same housing figures.
NORMALISATION
Barak has been seeking a deal with the United States that would include initial steps by Arab states to normalize relations with Israel in return for limiting settlement activity.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted unidentified cabinet ministers, who attended Barak's briefing, as saying reports a U.S.-Israeli agreement on settlement had been sealed were wishful thinking on the part of the defense chief.
Palestinian leaders have said U.S.-backed peace negotiations with Israel could not resume unless there was a complete halt to settlement activity in the West Bank, Israeli-occupied territory where they hope to establish a state.
While in London, Barak told reporters that he presented to the Americans "the scope of current construction work, which from a practical point of view can't be stopped."
Netanyahu, under U.S. pressure, has pledged not to build new settlements in the West Bank or expropriate more land. Further discussions are planned between Mitchell and Netanyahu as early as next week.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Ori Lewis; Additional reporting by Adam Entous, Editing by Myra MacDonald)
Read more...
Monday, July 6, 2009
Iran ready for Israel attack on nuclear facilities (Ynetnews)
The situation is getting tense with both sides waiting to offend & defend.
With more burdens draggings from the Palestinian issue, IS is now distracted to a bigger nuclear threat from Iranian. Is this the coming of WW3?
Iran ready for Israel attack on nuclear facilities (Ynetnews)
Head of Islamic republic's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy responds to US Vice President Biden's signal that Washington will not try to prevent any Israeli assault. 'Both the US and Israel are aware of the consequence of an erroneous decision,' he says
Iran is ready to take "real and decisive" action if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, a senior Iranian parliamentary official said Monday.
The remarks by Alaeddin Broujerdi, the head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, came after US Vice President Joe Biden signaled that Washington would not try to prevent any such Israeli assault.
Both the US and Israel are aware of the consequence of an erroneous decision," Broujerdi told reporters at the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo.
"I believe our response will be real and decisive," Broujerdi said. He declined to elaborate.
Israel fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons to target the Jewish state. Iran denies it is pursuing an atomic arsenal, saying it only wants to produce nuclear power.
Israel's government has said it would prefer to see Iran's nuclear program stopped through diplomacy, but that it cannot rule out a military strike.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Biden was asked whether the US would stand in the way if Israel – viewing the prospect of an Iranian nuclear bomb as a threat to the existence of the Jewish state – decided to launch a military attack.
"Look, we cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do," he said.
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, said neither the United States nor Israel could allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapon.
"The US, like Israel ... has determined unequivocally that Iran must not have nuclear military capability," Ayalon told Israel's Army Radio.
"A military operation in Iran is something difficult and complex and perhaps would have severe consequences and there could be serious damage, but this is much less dangerous and complicated than to allow a nuclear Iran," he said.
'Totally peaceful situation in Iran'
Broujerdi also defended a recent crackdown on protesters following Iran's presidential election.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has said the June 12 election, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner, was illegitimate and marred with fraud. Riots and protests have followed, although Iran's restrictions on media coverage have made it difficult to confirm some reports.
Broujerdi said Iranian police had merely acted to restore order, and accused Mousavi of instigating the protests.
"There is no confusion. It is (now) a totally peaceful situation in Iran," he said. Broujerdi is visiting Japan as chairman of the Iran-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League.
The Guardian Council, Iran's top electoral oversight body, pronounced the election results valid last week. Ahmadinejad is set to be sworn in later this month for a second four-year term.
Reuters contributed to this report
Read more...
With more burdens draggings from the Palestinian issue, IS is now distracted to a bigger nuclear threat from Iranian. Is this the coming of WW3?
Iran ready for Israel attack on nuclear facilities (Ynetnews)
Head of Islamic republic's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy responds to US Vice President Biden's signal that Washington will not try to prevent any Israeli assault. 'Both the US and Israel are aware of the consequence of an erroneous decision,' he says
Iran is ready to take "real and decisive" action if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, a senior Iranian parliamentary official said Monday.
The remarks by Alaeddin Broujerdi, the head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, came after US Vice President Joe Biden signaled that Washington would not try to prevent any such Israeli assault.
Both the US and Israel are aware of the consequence of an erroneous decision," Broujerdi told reporters at the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo.
"I believe our response will be real and decisive," Broujerdi said. He declined to elaborate.
Israel fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons to target the Jewish state. Iran denies it is pursuing an atomic arsenal, saying it only wants to produce nuclear power.
Israel's government has said it would prefer to see Iran's nuclear program stopped through diplomacy, but that it cannot rule out a military strike.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Biden was asked whether the US would stand in the way if Israel – viewing the prospect of an Iranian nuclear bomb as a threat to the existence of the Jewish state – decided to launch a military attack.
"Look, we cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do," he said.
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, said neither the United States nor Israel could allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapon.
"The US, like Israel ... has determined unequivocally that Iran must not have nuclear military capability," Ayalon told Israel's Army Radio.
"A military operation in Iran is something difficult and complex and perhaps would have severe consequences and there could be serious damage, but this is much less dangerous and complicated than to allow a nuclear Iran," he said.
'Totally peaceful situation in Iran'
Broujerdi also defended a recent crackdown on protesters following Iran's presidential election.
Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has said the June 12 election, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner, was illegitimate and marred with fraud. Riots and protests have followed, although Iran's restrictions on media coverage have made it difficult to confirm some reports.
Broujerdi said Iranian police had merely acted to restore order, and accused Mousavi of instigating the protests.
"There is no confusion. It is (now) a totally peaceful situation in Iran," he said. Broujerdi is visiting Japan as chairman of the Iran-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League.
The Guardian Council, Iran's top electoral oversight body, pronounced the election results valid last week. Ahmadinejad is set to be sworn in later this month for a second four-year term.
Reuters contributed to this report
Read more...
Friday, July 3, 2009
For some Israeli Bedouin, border smuggling is a way of life (Haaretz)
The smuggling business is a way of survival in the borders between IS, Palestine & Egypt.
The issue is the items being smuggled are not the basic survival needs but illegal stuff like drugs & cigarettes.
Although, I am not saying it is alright if you are smuggling food but at least from moral standpoint, it is still forgive-able rather than risking your life in the bullet’s trail…
For some Israeli Bedouin, border smuggling is a way of life (Haaretz)
By Yoav Stern
Early one morning A., a resident of one of the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the south realized that his older son was not in his bed.
He was upset because this was the first time his son was not at home at that hour. His cell phone was off, and this added to his worry. It was 5 A.M. by the time he went to the home of relatives to look for the boy. There he was told that he had gone out with the "guys."
It was obvious to him where his son had gone: to take part in smuggling activities along the border.
"What does a young man want? He needs money to buy a cell phone, to buy a car. And what are his alternatives here? There is no work for the young here, there is no road here, there is barely a school. The most readily available job, the most lucrative, is in smuggling. But I did not allow him to do this," A. told Haaretz this week.
A., who asked to remain anonymous, says that at some point his son answered his telephone. "He told me: 'Don't worry, we are on our way back,' but I told him to get out of the car immediately, no matter where, that I would come pick him up from any place, just so that he won't be caught because then his life would be ruined," he said.
His son may have stopped working in smuggling but the entire area lives off of it. A relative who is unemployed most of the year recently bought an expensive new car; no one asks where the money came from because the answer is obvious.
There are communities, like Bir Hadaj, where smuggling is central to their livelihood. Some 60 percent of the men in the village - between 300-500 people - are part of the smuggling industry.
Outsiders who enter the community find it strange. There is always a sense that someone is following the guests to evaluate whether they are peaceful or whether they are the law. There are no roads here, not even an access road. The homes are not permanent structures.
Nonetheless, there is big money here. In this and other communities in the area there is trade in drugs, and low priced cigarettes - all part of an economy that is based on the border.
Many of the cars here do not have license plates. This is one of the security measures adopted by the smugglers.
In the language of the local smugglers, the car is a shamud, a word based on the Hebrew word for destruction. "People here work clean and are organized. They know they need to use a shamud vehicle for these [smuggling] purposes," one of the locals told Haaretz.
The types of vehicles normally used are 4x4 pickup trucks or jeeps, with space in the back for loading cargo. There are two areas where the activity takes place.
One is in the area between the border of the Gaza Strip and Sinai, and back through the Strip and the sand dunes of Nitzana. The other is from the same Gaza-Sinai border area, and back through the sands between Nitzana and Eilat.
Army sources say that in recent months there has been an increase in the amount of activity along the southern border, which stems primarily from the difficulty in crossing at the northern edge of the border where security is higher.
In addition to the smuggling the army is concerned about the abduction of soldiers along the border, as well as attacks against patrols or the smuggling of arms and explosives into Israel.
Nonetheless, the various security organizations are finding it difficult to curtail the smuggling, and rarely do so. The estimate is that only 5 percent of the smugglers are caught.
In most of the cases where there is a chase, the smugglers escape. But for the most part no one ever knows anything is going down.
However, even though the IDF does not release data on the number of smugglers caught or the number of pursuits that it has carried out, all indications suggest that there has been a massive drop in recent months in smuggling activity.
All seem to agree that this is the result of intensified activity on the part of Egyptian security forces operating in Sinai, along the border with Israel but also in the wilderness.
Much of the activity stems from the Egyptian concern that Hezbollah and Al-Qaida elements are active in the area, and their sense that they must act or risk losing control.
If in the past the border had been nearly without security patrols on the Egyptian side, now there seems to be a soldier every 100 meters, with orders to open fire against any one trying to cross the border - irrespective of who the intruders might be.
In recent months there have been reports of confrontations between Bedouin residents of Sinai and Egyptian security forces, both along the border but also inside the peninsula. The clashes sometimes resulted in exchanges of gunfire and casualties among the Egyptian forces.
For this story, Haaretz interviewed defense, political and Bedouin sources in Israel. No one agreed to go on record, and the information had to be cross-checked by different sources. The IDF say that the issue is too sensitive to go on record; the police refused to offer any information on the smuggling.
To date there has been an unwritten agreement between the various security agencies and the smugglers, which restricted the smuggling to mostly cigarettes, drugs and African refugees. A few years ago, there had also been the phenomenon of trafficking in women, but this has in great part been curtailed, mostly because of the strong opposition that Muslim religious figures posed.
The statistics, which are in great part estimates, suggest that only three percent of the smuggling activities involves "security" related cargo.
The areas along both sides of the border are divided among various tribes, whose members live on both sides of the border and are involved in the smuggling. Other clans are also involved in the activity. All are familiar with the security weak spots along the border, and methods for bypassing the IDF and Egyptian patrols - whose modus operandi they are familiar with.
The smuggling operation involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination: On the Egyptian side one can find the person who is funding the deal; he needs to make available large sums of cash, often several hundred thousand shekels per deal. Smugglers regularly make NIS 30-50,000 for moving hashish and cigarettes.
When the money is paid and a decision is made on what cargo will be smuggled, the operational stage takes shape: a rear "command center" organizes the crew for the smuggling operation, including "mules" (people to carry the cargo ).
The timing is set by groups from both sides. The communications are based on Israeli cellular telephones. The Bedouin are very familiar with the areas in which certain companies have better reception than others.
A day before the operation, spotters are placed on both sides of the border. At times the spotters are equipped with advanced night vision equipment.
While on the Israeli sides there is usually a single spotter, on the Egyptian side there are more because there is greater danger of running into Egyptian security forces whose orders are to shoot first and ask questions later.
As the cargo approaches the border, the Bedouin on the Israeli side are given a 15 minute warning to get to the spot - approximately 500 meters from the point where Israeli sensors would be tripped, suggesting that the border had been crossed.
The short distance is covered at top speed, and there are vehicles ready with their back ends open to receive the goods. The exchange takes less than two minutes. Goods are in the hands of the Israeli Bedouin - and money in the hands of their Egyptian partners.
Read more...
The issue is the items being smuggled are not the basic survival needs but illegal stuff like drugs & cigarettes.
Although, I am not saying it is alright if you are smuggling food but at least from moral standpoint, it is still forgive-able rather than risking your life in the bullet’s trail…
For some Israeli Bedouin, border smuggling is a way of life (Haaretz)
By Yoav Stern
Early one morning A., a resident of one of the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the south realized that his older son was not in his bed.
He was upset because this was the first time his son was not at home at that hour. His cell phone was off, and this added to his worry. It was 5 A.M. by the time he went to the home of relatives to look for the boy. There he was told that he had gone out with the "guys."
It was obvious to him where his son had gone: to take part in smuggling activities along the border.
"What does a young man want? He needs money to buy a cell phone, to buy a car. And what are his alternatives here? There is no work for the young here, there is no road here, there is barely a school. The most readily available job, the most lucrative, is in smuggling. But I did not allow him to do this," A. told Haaretz this week.
A., who asked to remain anonymous, says that at some point his son answered his telephone. "He told me: 'Don't worry, we are on our way back,' but I told him to get out of the car immediately, no matter where, that I would come pick him up from any place, just so that he won't be caught because then his life would be ruined," he said.
His son may have stopped working in smuggling but the entire area lives off of it. A relative who is unemployed most of the year recently bought an expensive new car; no one asks where the money came from because the answer is obvious.
There are communities, like Bir Hadaj, where smuggling is central to their livelihood. Some 60 percent of the men in the village - between 300-500 people - are part of the smuggling industry.
Outsiders who enter the community find it strange. There is always a sense that someone is following the guests to evaluate whether they are peaceful or whether they are the law. There are no roads here, not even an access road. The homes are not permanent structures.
Nonetheless, there is big money here. In this and other communities in the area there is trade in drugs, and low priced cigarettes - all part of an economy that is based on the border.
Many of the cars here do not have license plates. This is one of the security measures adopted by the smugglers.
In the language of the local smugglers, the car is a shamud, a word based on the Hebrew word for destruction. "People here work clean and are organized. They know they need to use a shamud vehicle for these [smuggling] purposes," one of the locals told Haaretz.
The types of vehicles normally used are 4x4 pickup trucks or jeeps, with space in the back for loading cargo. There are two areas where the activity takes place.
One is in the area between the border of the Gaza Strip and Sinai, and back through the Strip and the sand dunes of Nitzana. The other is from the same Gaza-Sinai border area, and back through the sands between Nitzana and Eilat.
Army sources say that in recent months there has been an increase in the amount of activity along the southern border, which stems primarily from the difficulty in crossing at the northern edge of the border where security is higher.
In addition to the smuggling the army is concerned about the abduction of soldiers along the border, as well as attacks against patrols or the smuggling of arms and explosives into Israel.
Nonetheless, the various security organizations are finding it difficult to curtail the smuggling, and rarely do so. The estimate is that only 5 percent of the smugglers are caught.
In most of the cases where there is a chase, the smugglers escape. But for the most part no one ever knows anything is going down.
However, even though the IDF does not release data on the number of smugglers caught or the number of pursuits that it has carried out, all indications suggest that there has been a massive drop in recent months in smuggling activity.
All seem to agree that this is the result of intensified activity on the part of Egyptian security forces operating in Sinai, along the border with Israel but also in the wilderness.
Much of the activity stems from the Egyptian concern that Hezbollah and Al-Qaida elements are active in the area, and their sense that they must act or risk losing control.
If in the past the border had been nearly without security patrols on the Egyptian side, now there seems to be a soldier every 100 meters, with orders to open fire against any one trying to cross the border - irrespective of who the intruders might be.
In recent months there have been reports of confrontations between Bedouin residents of Sinai and Egyptian security forces, both along the border but also inside the peninsula. The clashes sometimes resulted in exchanges of gunfire and casualties among the Egyptian forces.
For this story, Haaretz interviewed defense, political and Bedouin sources in Israel. No one agreed to go on record, and the information had to be cross-checked by different sources. The IDF say that the issue is too sensitive to go on record; the police refused to offer any information on the smuggling.
To date there has been an unwritten agreement between the various security agencies and the smugglers, which restricted the smuggling to mostly cigarettes, drugs and African refugees. A few years ago, there had also been the phenomenon of trafficking in women, but this has in great part been curtailed, mostly because of the strong opposition that Muslim religious figures posed.
The statistics, which are in great part estimates, suggest that only three percent of the smuggling activities involves "security" related cargo.
The areas along both sides of the border are divided among various tribes, whose members live on both sides of the border and are involved in the smuggling. Other clans are also involved in the activity. All are familiar with the security weak spots along the border, and methods for bypassing the IDF and Egyptian patrols - whose modus operandi they are familiar with.
The smuggling operation involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination: On the Egyptian side one can find the person who is funding the deal; he needs to make available large sums of cash, often several hundred thousand shekels per deal. Smugglers regularly make NIS 30-50,000 for moving hashish and cigarettes.
When the money is paid and a decision is made on what cargo will be smuggled, the operational stage takes shape: a rear "command center" organizes the crew for the smuggling operation, including "mules" (people to carry the cargo ).
The timing is set by groups from both sides. The communications are based on Israeli cellular telephones. The Bedouin are very familiar with the areas in which certain companies have better reception than others.
A day before the operation, spotters are placed on both sides of the border. At times the spotters are equipped with advanced night vision equipment.
While on the Israeli sides there is usually a single spotter, on the Egyptian side there are more because there is greater danger of running into Egyptian security forces whose orders are to shoot first and ask questions later.
As the cargo approaches the border, the Bedouin on the Israeli side are given a 15 minute warning to get to the spot - approximately 500 meters from the point where Israeli sensors would be tripped, suggesting that the border had been crossed.
The short distance is covered at top speed, and there are vehicles ready with their back ends open to receive the goods. The exchange takes less than two minutes. Goods are in the hands of the Israeli Bedouin - and money in the hands of their Egyptian partners.
Read more...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Barak, Mitchell remain disputed on settlements (Ynetnews)
No go from IS side to freeze settlement also…
Again, the “talk” has again reaching the end of the tunnel but yet to see any light.
Looks like the whole thing will be further dragged again…
Barak, Mitchell remain disputed on settlements (Ynetnews)
After long meeting in Washington between defense minister, US Mideast envoy, two fail to agree on settlement freeze. Issue to be debated again when Mitchell meets PM Netanyahu in two weeks' time
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 07.01.09, 01:01 / Israel News
WASHINGTON - Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell failed to reach an agreement regarding the Israeli construction in the settlements during their meeting in Washington Monday.
Mitchell is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu in about two weeks.
A joint statement published following the meeting said that Barak and Mitchell "discussed the full range of issues related to Middle East peace and security and the contributions Israelis, Palestinians, their neighbors and the international community should make to this effort.
"Specifically, their discussions covered a wide range of measures needed to create a climate conducive to peace. These included measures on security and incitement by the Palestinians, steps by Arab states toward normalization with Israel; and, from Israel, actions on access and movement in the West Bank and on settlement activity. The discussions were constructive and will continue soon."
The two discussed ways to jumpstart the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinains. Barak made it clear that Israel is willing to pay a price for renewing the talks, but that the Arab world needs to contribute to the efforts as well. "We are weighing any positive contribution we can make to promote the peace efforts, while taking into consideration our security interests," he said.
No agreement was reached on freezing settlement construction. The US is demanding that Israel put an immediate moratorium on all building in the settlement blocs. However, the Obama administration is interested in decreasing the conflict that has flared between the US and Israel over the issue out of an understanding that such a state of affairs does not serve their interests in the Middle East.
Mitchell will arrive for another round of meetings in about two weeks. Until then, the Americans are expecting a number of goodwill gestures from Israel, such as easing restrictions on West Bank Palestinians.
Barak's entourage received the impression that the Americans understand that any demand for freezing settlement building must not be separate from an inclusive, regional peace process. Therefore, the US will also be looking for goodwill gestures from the Arab states.
Read more...
Again, the “talk” has again reaching the end of the tunnel but yet to see any light.
Looks like the whole thing will be further dragged again…
Barak, Mitchell remain disputed on settlements (Ynetnews)
After long meeting in Washington between defense minister, US Mideast envoy, two fail to agree on settlement freeze. Issue to be debated again when Mitchell meets PM Netanyahu in two weeks' time
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 07.01.09, 01:01 / Israel News
WASHINGTON - Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell failed to reach an agreement regarding the Israeli construction in the settlements during their meeting in Washington Monday.
Mitchell is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu in about two weeks.
A joint statement published following the meeting said that Barak and Mitchell "discussed the full range of issues related to Middle East peace and security and the contributions Israelis, Palestinians, their neighbors and the international community should make to this effort.
"Specifically, their discussions covered a wide range of measures needed to create a climate conducive to peace. These included measures on security and incitement by the Palestinians, steps by Arab states toward normalization with Israel; and, from Israel, actions on access and movement in the West Bank and on settlement activity. The discussions were constructive and will continue soon."
The two discussed ways to jumpstart the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinains. Barak made it clear that Israel is willing to pay a price for renewing the talks, but that the Arab world needs to contribute to the efforts as well. "We are weighing any positive contribution we can make to promote the peace efforts, while taking into consideration our security interests," he said.
No agreement was reached on freezing settlement construction. The US is demanding that Israel put an immediate moratorium on all building in the settlement blocs. However, the Obama administration is interested in decreasing the conflict that has flared between the US and Israel over the issue out of an understanding that such a state of affairs does not serve their interests in the Middle East.
Mitchell will arrive for another round of meetings in about two weeks. Until then, the Americans are expecting a number of goodwill gestures from Israel, such as easing restrictions on West Bank Palestinians.
Barak's entourage received the impression that the Americans understand that any demand for freezing settlement building must not be separate from an inclusive, regional peace process. Therefore, the US will also be looking for goodwill gestures from the Arab states.
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