* PM: Jerusalem won’t be first topic on peace talk agenda Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that discussion over the future of Jerusalem should be pushed off until a later phase in negotiations with the Palestinians, to avoid the risk of derailing peace talks.

* Iran: Israel too weak to confront us Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says Jewish state’s ballistic missile capability won’t help it in confrontations with Islamic republic.

* Egypt, Hamas close 1 of 3 gates at Rafah Egyptian security forces and Hamas gunmen in Rafah worked together Monday to string a barbed wire fence across one of the three breaches in the border in the latest effort to stem the flood of Palestinians across the frontier.

* ‘Iran producing 300 tons of UF6’ An Iranian official said Sunday that the Islamic republic has increased its production to more than 300 tons of a gas used for uranium enrichment, a semi-official news agency reported.

* Europe-wide terror plot thwarted Terror cell members nabbed in Barcelona reportedly planned to strike cities across Europe.

* 20 Years of Research Reveals: Jerusalem Belongs to Jews Jacques Gauthier, a non-Jewish Canadian lawyer who spent 20 years researching the legal status of Jerusalem, has concluded: “Jerusalem belongs to the Jews, by international law.”

* Iran and Egypt ‘to restore ties’ Officials in Tehran have announced that Iran is close to restoring full diplomatic relations with Egypt.

* Gangs on rampage in western Kenya Police are struggling to restore order in western Kenya, amid a recent wave of violence linked to disputed elections.

* Fatah TV Broadcasts Daily Call For Ethnic Cleansing of Jews Fatah chief and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s PA television has been repeatedly broadcasting a hate-filled music video calling for the ethnic cleansing of the Jewish people from Israel.

* Dutch reject Serbia deal with EU The Dutch government has rejected calls from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn for Serbia to be allowed to sign a pre-membership agreement shortly.

* Egypt watches Gaza traffic go on Thousands of Gazans have poured into Egypt for a fourth day, despite Egyptian attempts to reseal the border.

* Hamas keeps open Rafah crossing Thousands of Palestinians are continuing to cross in and out of Egypt after Hamas defied Egyptian attempts to reseal the border with Gaza and used bulldozers to smash through the barrier.

* Abbas: No talks with Hamas despite Gaza border chaos Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday stuck to his tough conditions for resuming contacts with Hamas.

* Pakistan says nuke arsenal is safe Pakistan is increasingly alert to the possible threat of Islamic extremists seeking control of its nuclear weapons.

* Mottaki: Iran isn’t threatening Israel, doesn’t want nukes “Iran is not threatening Israel and does not want nuclear weapons.

* EU far-right groups to form party Far-right political leaders from four EU nations have unveiled plans to form a pan-European “patriotic” party.

* U.S. Race Captures World’s Eye, and Holds It To look at the reams of coverage in newspapers outside the United States or to follow the hours of television news broadcasts, you might conclude that foreigners had a vote in selecting an American presidential candidate.

* Jordanians rally in support of Hamas in Gaza Chanting slogans urging Islamist Hamas militants to resume suicide bombings against Israel, thousands of Jordanians marched in the capital.

* In remembrance of Holocaust, UN chief Ban says ‘never again’ Days before the United Nations General Assembly observes the third annual day to commemorate victims of the Holocaust, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on the world never to let it happen again.

* Iran Reports 7th Shipment of Russian Nuclear Fuel Iran’s official news agency says the country has received a seventh shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia for its first atomic power plant.

* Gazans make new border wall hole Palestinians have bulldozed down part of the Gaza-Egypt border wall again, hours after Egyptian troops blocked holes recently made by militants.

* India to join nuclear mainstream India and the International Atomic Energy Agency are within weeks of reaching an agreement on oversight of New Delhi’s civilian nuclear program.

* Hamas: 500,000 will march on Erez Egypt has assured the Palestinian Authority that it will reseal its border with the Gaza Strip in the coming days.

* Iraq sends troops for ‘decisive’ battle with al Qaeda Iraq is sending troops for a “decisive” battle with al Qaeda militants in Mosul.

* IDF beefs up security on Egyptian border The IDF closed down Highway 10 along the Israeli-Egyptian border from Gaza to Eilat Thursday night.

* Russia says foreign spies seeking WMD data: RIA Russia’s domestic security service said on Friday it had foiled several attempts by foreign spies to obtain technology for weapons of mass destruction.

* IAF Chief Links Ahmadinejad, Hitler IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedy made a pointed comparison Thursday between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

* Global share rebound continues Global stocks have risen on optimism that the White House and the Federal Reserve will steer the world’s largest economy out of a recession.

* US scientists close to creating artificial life: study US scientists have taken a major step toward creating the first ever artificial life form by synthetically reproducing the DNA of a bacteria.

* McCain is using support for Israel to court Jews – and Christians Thursday night may prove to have been the last time five Republican candidates appeared on the same stage.

* UN rights council condemns Israel’s actions in Gaza, W. Bank The UN’s top human rights body on Thursday passed a resolution condemning Israeli military action in Gaza and the West Bank.

* PM completely freezes new construction in West Bank settlements Israel has completely frozen all new construction in West Bank settlements.

* Egypt refuses to take control of Gaza A top Egyptian official said Thursday that Egypt’s border with Gaza will go back to normal.

* Arab League chief: Israeli policy is destroying peace process Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Thursday accused Israel of taking steps destined toward destroying the peace process.

* Abbas to MKs: Jerusalem is on the table Jerusalem is on the table in talks between Israel and the Palestinians but it has not yet been negotiated.

* MK Shteinitz: Solution in Gaza Remains the Same – Conquer it! Likud MK Yuval Shteinitz says that with the breakdown of the border between Gaza and Egypt, Israel’s lone option remains the same: “We must take over Gaza.”

* Dutch FM to lobby for Israeli membership in EU Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen has pledged to lobby the EU member states to admit Israel to its ranks.

* Kosovo’s independence ‘in days’ Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has said a declaration of independence is “an issue of days”.

* ‘Holland dominated by fear of Islam’ A Dutch politician cautioned that the government of the Netherlands was dominated by a “fear of Islam.”

* Davos switches focus to Mideast Fears of world recession briefly took a back seat Thursday at the World Economic Forum, where leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq focused on how to establish security in their volatile regions.

* Mubarak: Palestinians were allowed into Egypt on my orders By Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza crossed into Egypt on Wednesday after gunmen destroyed about two-thirds of the Gaza-Egypt border wall.

* Bolton: Israel May Have to Strike Iran Soon Former American Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton hinted broadly Tuesday that Israel will have to strike Iran’s nuclear program on its own.

* Hamas willing to cede border control Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Wednesday for an urgent meeting with his Fatah rivals.

* Report: 5 million killed in Congo conflict Hopes are high that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and armed groups can end a decade of fighting.

* Gaza battle moves to UNSC Even as Israel allowed some fuel and supplies to enter Gaza, and Kassam rockets again struck the western Negev.

* Greek PM in historic Turkish trip Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis arrives in Turkey on Wednesday in the first official visit there by leader of Greece for almost five decades.

* ‘New Iran resolution not harsh’ The new draft UN resolution on Iran over its disputed nuclear program does not call for any harsh sanctions.

* Political Unrest in Fear of Winograd Report A week before the release of the long-awaited Winograd Report on the government’s handling of the Lebanon War, bereaved parents hand in their own report – and it’s not pretty.

* Web pornography targeted in China Chinese authorities closed down 44,000 websites and arrested 868 people last year in a campaign against internet pornography, state media has reported.

* EU blames US spending for market turbulences The European Commission has pointed to unhealthy public spending in the US as the main cause of the current global market turbulences.

By: Michal Lando – The Jerusalem Post

Europeans feel more threatened by the possibility of interaction with the Muslim world than Americans or Israelis, according to a new report on the state of Muslim and Western interaction.

This first “Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue,” conducted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Georgetown University, looks at how Muslim and Western societies perceive and relate to each other at the political, social, economic and cultural levels.

The report finds that majorities in populations around the world believe that violent conflict between the West and the Muslim world can be avoided, but they also share a great deal of pessimism about the state of the relationship.

The deep division between Islam and the West is captured by the low level of optimism reported in the 2007 Gallup Organization Survey of Population Perceptions and Attitudes. The average score for the 21 Muslim and Western countries surveyed is 37 (where 100 is the most optimistic). In all but two counties surveyed (Bangladesh and Pakistan), a majority believed the interaction between Western and Islamic communities is getting worse.

Another common denominator between Muslim and Western nationals is the tendency to blame the other for deteriorating relations. Among both Muslim and non-Muslim majority, the proportion who say they think the “other side” is committed to better relations rarely rises above a minority of 30%.

Three in four US residents say the Muslim world is not committed to improving relations with the West; an identical percentage of Palestinians attribute the same apathy to the West.

At least half of the respondents in Italy (58%), Denmark (52%) and Spain (50%) agree that the Muslim world is not committed to improving relations. Israelis represent a notable exception: almost two-thirds (64%) believe the Muslim world is committed to improving relations.

But majorities of residents in nations around the world say that better interaction between the Muslim and Western worlds is important to them. Surprisingly, Iranians were among world leaders in this category, with 70% saying interactions were the West were important.

Although most Muslims say the Muslim world respects the West, many of them feel (ranging from 62-84%) that the West does not respect them. Western citizens tend to agree, with fewer than half agreeing that the West respects the Muslim world.

One area of disagreement, however, is the reverse – Muslim attitudes towards the West. Muslims tend to agree that they respect the West, but those in Western countries, including 82% of Americans, disagree.

The writers of the report suggest that the discrepancy between the way Muslims think the Muslim world regards the West, and the perspective of Westerners, may have to do with a Western tendency to conflate negative opinion of the US, common in the Muslim world, with a rejection of the West and its values as a whole.

An important finding of the report is the emergence of citizenship and integration as the second most powerful shaper of the state of dialogue after international politics.

“The combined effects of the agenda-setting impact of media and the demographic shifts in Europe are bound to propel the issue of citizenship and integration to the center of the West-Islam dialogue in the coming years,” the report states.

The percentage of Muslim population in the EU-15 is expected to rise from 4.3% in 2006 to approximately 10%-15% by 2025, with a higher concentration in urban areas of up to 30% in countries such as France, Germany and Holland.

“The World Economic Forum believes that like all other global challenges, it will take the collaborative effort of all stakeholders – from government, business, religion, media, academia and civil society – to preempt any crisis, create alliances and find solutions,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Over the course of 2008, the Community of Islam and the West Dialogue will invite leaders from various walks of life to engage in a concerted dialogue and debate of the most important issues, in particular the area of citizenship and integration.

By: Yaakov Lappin – The Jerusalem Post

An ambitious plan to launch a series of economic ventures in the West Bank is one step closer to being realized, according to President Shimon Peres.

President Shimon Peres.
Photo: AP

The initiatives, collectively known as the Peace Valley, have major international financial backing and aim to create 100,000 new jobs for Palestinians, he told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday at Beit Hanassi.

“Politics is about borders, while economics shape relations,” Peres said. Time was running out to find a diplomatic solution vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority, he said, adding that there was no need for economic initiatives to be put on hold while Israeli and Palestinian negotiators hammer out the thornier issues.

“One-hundred thousand workplaces will strengthen the position of Palestinians more than 50,000 guns,” he said.

The governments of Japan, Turkey and Germany have earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars of investment money for the projects, the Post has learned. According to Peres, the foreign backers were motivated by a desire to see peace in the region and by their own financial interests.

“They are all interested in peace,” he said. “Turkey wants to show that it is contributing to Muslims and that it has come to serve peace. Japan wants to show that it is helping to foster relations, and has invested $100 million for an industrial park in Jericho.”

Four sites across the West Bank have been selected to underpin the initiative. Japan’s deputy ambassador to Israel recently told Peres that a location on the outskirts of Jericho had already been chosen for the construction of an agro-industrial park. Japanese planners are holding talks with Israeli security officials to coordinate the movement of goods and workers, according to a brief seen by the Post. Initial infrastructure construction on the site is scheduled to commence shortly, providing immediate jobs for Palestinians.

“Peace and prosperity in the Middle East region is a national interest for Japan,” Tatsushi Nishioka, first secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Tel Aviv, told the Post Thursday. “This time, after the Annapolis summit, is when the international community should get together to promote the peace process.”

Japanese companies could become involved in the project at a later stage, he said. Final talks were now underway to determine who would own the industrial park, he added.

A collaboration by the Turkish, Israeli and Palestinian private sectors, known as the Ankara Forum, is expected to build an industrial zone for textiles near Tarkumiya, west of Hebron. The project received the blessings of the Israeli, Turkish and Palestinian presidents during a trilateral summit in Ankara last November, according to an aide to Peres.

Germany is set to head an industrial initiative in Jenin, an idea originally agreed upon by Peres and former PA chairman Yasser Arafat.

A fourth project envisions the establishment of a joint Israeli-Palestinian university campus and medical center. It is being spearheaded by a Turkish professor, Ali Dogramaci, and will be located on the Israeli side of the Green Line on the northern tip of Samaria, between Afula and Jenin.

Peres said the area was ready for this level of economic cooperation, and that creating change was the only way forward. “Otherwise, all we’ll have is history,” he said.

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz plans to meet with his Jordanian counterpart to discuss a long-standing plan for a joint Israeli-Jordanian airport terminal in Akaba, Peres said. He could not say when work on the terminal would begin.

Peres said he wanted to see Israeli involvement in a future Mediterranean Union, a brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“The idea is to follow the European Union and create a union based on two core issues – immigration and a Mediterranean Bank to invest in vital development,” he said. “The Latin American and Asian versions of this union accomplished good things,” he added.

Peres said a Mediterranean Union could also play a part in solving the problem of Palestinian refugees.

“The union would bring us three partners – the Turks, the most important Muslim country in the region; the French, representing the power of Europe; and the Jordanians, who are keen for economic progress,” he said.

Meanwhile, John Chambers, the CEO of US computer-networks giant Cisco, is expected to arrive in Israel on January 27 to see how $3 million of his corporation’s money is being used to hook up the cities of Nazareth and Nazareth Illit to the Internet, Uri Ben-Porat, an aide to Peres, told the Post Wednesday. The Digital Cities Project will train Arab and Jewish residents of the cities to master Internet technology, he said, and was initiated by Peres several years ago.

“This will be Chambers’s first visit to Israel,” Ben-Porat said. “During his time here, [local employees of] Cisco will show him Israel’s technological and creative might in the hi-tech industry.”

* Ahmadinejad phones Mubarak to discuss Gaza situation Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad telephoned his Egyptian counterpart for the first time and discussed the situation in the Gaza strip.

* China: Nuclear standoff with Iran is at a ‘critical’ stage China said Tuesday that Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West was at a critical stage.

* UN Security Council to Meet on Gaza Blockade The United Nations Security Council is set to meet Tuesday late afternoon to discuss what Hamas has successfully billed as a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.

* Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the “imminent” spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

* Survey finds Europeans wary of interaction with Islam Europeans feel more threatened by the possibility of interaction with the Muslim world than Americans or Israelis.

* Russian bombers to test-fire missiles in Bay of Biscay Russia has sent two long-range bombers to the Bay of Biscay, off the French and Spanish Atlantic coasts, to test-fire missiles.

* Iran hails new delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia Russia delivered a fifth consignment of fuel for Iran’s first nuclear power plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr on Tuesday.

* Gen. Shachor: ‘Return to Gaza!’ Oren Shachor, a former IDF general who was forced to resign for having leaked details of secret Hevron negotiations to then-opposition leader Shimon Peres, is just the latest public figure to say Israel has no choice but to enter Gaza with military force.

* Bolton: Near zero chance of Bush attacking Iran Former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton said on Tuesday that it’s close to zero percent chance that the Bush administration will authorize military action against Iran before leaving office.

* EU worried at prospect of US recession EU finance ministers will today (22 January) debate the latest trends on the world markets.

* UN says Gaza facing food shortage UN food aid to about 860,000 people in the Gaza Strip will have to be suspended within days if Israel’s blockade continues, the UN has warned.

* Israeli satellite launched from India After several delays, the TecSar reconnaissance satellite was successfully launched Sunday overnight.

* ‘Gaza blackout is a Hamas deception’ Israeli officials claimed Monday that the Gaza blackout was deliberately instigated by Hamas, in a bid to present the appearance of a humanitarian crisis.

* Day after Gaza blackout, PM says ‘Gazans can walk’ Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged Monday that Israel would not allow the Gaza Strip to slide into a humanitarian crisis in the wake of the decision to halt fuel supplies over ongoing rocket fire on the Negev, but later said that gas-deprived Gaza residents “can walk.”

* Statistics: Jewish Population Flourishing in Judea and Samaria The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria is rising steadily despite Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s stated freeze on building in the expanding Jewish communities in the stony green hills that carpet the region.

* Survey: Muslims, West see divisions deepening Most people in Muslim and Western countries believe divisions between them are worsening and each side believes the other disrespects their culture, according to a poll released on Monday.

* Israeli Jews: No Voice for Diaspora Jews on Status of Jerusalem The vast majority of Jewish Israelis believe that Diaspora Jews have no right to make decisions about Jerusalem, according to a new poll commissioned by the Shalem Center’s Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies.

* Bolton: US intelligence has become politicized The 2007 US National Intelligence Estimate, as well as the skewed reporting around it, is a sign of the “illegitimate politicization” of the American intelligence establishment, according to former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

* Global shares tumble on US fears Global stock markets have tumbled amid growing fears of a recession in the US, and despite recovering slightly in the afternoon, were heading for big losses.

* Nationalist ahead in Serbia poll Hardline nationalist Tomislav Nikolic has won the first round of Serbia’s presidential election, but will face a run-off poll, officials say.

* Russian army chief: We’ll use nuclear weapons if threatened Russia’s military chief of staff said Saturday that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in preventive strikes in case of a major threat.

* Abbas calls Israeli air strikes ‘brutal’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday denounced Israel’s ongoing military strikes in the Gaza Strip as “brutal.”

* UN chief warns on Gaza violence UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Israelis and Palestinians to take urgent measures to try to end escalating violence in the Gaza Strip.

* Nasrallah: We have a near-complete body of an IDF soldier Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah appeared in public for the first time since 2006 on Saturday, warning Israel against attacking Lebanon.

* Iraqi Shia pilgrims mark holy day About two million pilgrims have marched through the Iraqi city of Karbala to mark Ashura – one of the holiest events in the Shia religious calendar.

* Serbians head to polls for decisive elections On Sunday (20 January), Serbian citizens will go to the polls to choose their new president in an election likely to strongly influence the country’s EU path.

* Pipeline Cements Russia’s Hold on Europe’s Gas Supply Russia strengthened its grip on Europe’s energy supplies on Friday as it signed a major gas deal with Bulgaria.

* Hamas: We foiled Fatah plot on Haniyeh A senior Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip on Saturday accused rival Fatah of plotting to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as he prayed.

* ‘A valley of economic harmony’ An ambitious plan to launch a series of economic ventures in the West Bank is one step closer to being realized.

* EU urges Israelis to ease Palestinian movement A senior European official urged Israel on Friday to ease freedom of movement and trade for Palestinians in the West Bank.