Welcome to Fry'd Daze - What is it.... Well, it is a long running diary series that is an Open Thread on issues around the Middle East. Anyhow, this is week 2.39
I don't want this to be a flame forum, Rather something we can exchange ideas about I/P and/or issues about the Middle East.
What I really want to try to do this on Fry'd Daze as a way to get people to talk about whatever comes into their heads regarding this subject... an open forum where people can meet and talk.
It's the tourist version of Fry'd Daze today.... Actually not really tourist as I used to live here, but, still nice. I get to meet fellow kossack Mets102 today as well.
Also, I want to repeat this paragraph for SF Bay Area Kossaks, I want to put out a "Save the Day" Note for S.F. Bay Area Kossacks interested in I.P. J Street has a series of events happening in October. Notably Jeremy Ben-Ami (head of J Street) will be speaking in Berkeley on 10.18 and then Ha'aretz columnist Bradley Burston will be appearing in both Marin and S.F. on 10.27. Personally (as many here know), Mr. Burston is my favorite columnist at Haaretz, so I am really looking forward to this event. Anyway without further ado.....
Our first story is from Maan News: Sha'ath: Abbas will resign
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian negotiations team member Nabil Sha'ah said Thursday evening that President Mahmoud Abbas will resign from his post, rebuffing days of speculation as the leader arrives in Libya for an emergency Arab League session.
Sha'ath told Ma'an that the president said he would "not backtrack on his national stance and that anyone who thinks he is sticking to his post in exchange for national consensus is wrong.
"Once and for all, [Abbas] is not clinging to the post [of president] nor ready to pay any price in return on the issue," Sha'ath said.
Abbas is scheduled to speak before the Arab Follow-Up Committee, responsible for the Arab Peace Initiative, on Friday where he has said he will make an "historic" speech.
Haaretz had this to say:
In a conversation he held last week in his plane with a reporter, Abbas said "this is the last time that you will fly with me while I am president of the PA."
Palestinian sources say that with Abbas's resignation and the collapse of the PA, the Palestinians will demand that the civil authority in the entire West Bank, including zones A and B, be returned to Israel or transferred to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, Haaretz has learned that even though U.S. President Barack Obama is satisfied at this stage with a temporary settlement freeze of 2-3 months, the U.S. government emphasized that it is not ready to relinquish the idea of a total settlement freeze.
Moreover, the Obama administration also made it clear that its principled stance regarding the settlements will not change, and it is not ready to accept the renewal of settlement construction in the West Bank.
Big news.... This could lead to a few things....
Our second story is regarding the ratcheting up of conflict again. Ynet (and everyone else is reporting): IDF kills 2 Hamas members in Hebron
IDF forces operating in the West Bank city of Hebron Friday killed two Palestinian terrorists, believed to be affiliated with Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The two, Nasat al-Karmi and Mamun Natashe, are believed to have been part of the cell responsible for a deadly shooting attack, which took place on August 31 and left four Israelis dead.
The IDF confirmed that a unit was operating in the city overnight – an operation which extended into morning hours, as gunfire erupted while the troops were surrounding several buildings in the Jebel Johar neighborhood.
Meanwhile Ma'an reports this as: Al-Qassam vows revenge over Hebron killings
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas' military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades vowed Friday that it would respond to the killing of two senior commanders during an Israeli raid in Hebron.
Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaidah said the militia would "reply in a suitable way to such a crime," to the killing of Nashat Al-Karmi, a senior military commander and Maamoun Al-Natsha, a local Hebron commander.
The killings, the spokesman said, would not "break the resistance and the fighters ... resistance fighters are free to reply at any time at any place."
Ok that is all I have time for but lots to discuss here. Have at it....