Hamas members foil attack on IDF forces
Palestinian sources report members of Hamas' security force arrested Islamic Jihad member as he attempted to plant explosive device near border fence
Members of Hamas' special security force arrested an armed member of the al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, as he attempted to place an explosive device near the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening.
Israel has no immediate plans to re-invade Gaza, seems Hamas is being given more time.
A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad's military wing refused to confirm or deny the report. Palestinian sources, however, reported that this was not the first time Hamas members stop members of the Islamic Jihad and other organizations from firing at IDF troops or planting explosive devices.
http://www.ynetnews.com/...
Further developments:
Hamas says will replace defunct Gaza courts with legal panel
Hamas is replacing Gaza's defunct courts with a legal committee consisting of an Islamic law expert, a military court lawyer and the head of the main prison, a spokesman for the Hamas force policing Gaza announced Saturday.
Hamas said it wouldn't use the committee to impose Islamic law, a concern raised by human rights groups since the Islamic militants seized control of Gaza by force last month.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Another good sign:
Mashaal apologizes for mistakes during Gaza takeover
Exiled Hamas leader acknowledges errors during bloody takeover of Gaza Strip, but says they were 'marginal mistakes made by individuals that do not represent our policies'
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal apologized on Monday for mistakes made during last month's bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip, saying they were individual acts that do not represent Hamas policies.
"What happened, I swear to God and God is a witness, was loathsome for us. But it is like a medicine pill that we were forced to swallow," he said in a speech at an Islamic conference held here. Parts of his speech was broadcast on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite TV station.
http://www.ynetnews.com/...
And now, James D. Wolfensohn, ex-president of the World Bank for 10 years (1995-2005) and Special Envoy of the Quarter to Middle East (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations) finely speaks openly about his role as envoy and the currents events in Palestine, and he lays most of the blame at the feet of Elliot Abrams, national security adviser in charge of disseminating democracy in the Middle East:
Asked whether the disengagement plan was not one big mistake, because of its unilateral character and because Israel has been attacked relentlessly from the Gaza Strip since its implementation, Wolfensohn waxes nostalgic for Ariel Sharon. "I don't think it was a mistake, if it had been followed by the second part of the disengagement - to create a self-sustaining entity that could be the first step to Palestinian statehood that could allow the Palestinians to live their lives and develop a sense of national integrity. That was an opportunity that was missed, and at the heart of it was Arik [Sharon]. He was an unlikely negotiator of peace because of his record, but I have to say that personally I found him very pragmatic. I can't say that he was fond of Palestinians, but he knew that for the future, you couldn't have an Israel full of Palestinians. That demographic imperative made it essential that there would be some kind of two-state solution."
snip
At that time, Wolfensohn recalls, powerful forces in the U.S. administration worked behind his back: They did not believe in the border terminals agreement and wanted to undermine his status as the Quartet's emissary. The official behind this development, he says, was Elliot Abrams, the neoconservative who was appointed deputy national security adviser in charge of disseminating democracy in the Middle East - "and every aspect of that agreement was abrogated."
His whole interview is worth reading:
http://www.haaretz.com/...
On the Israeli side there is good news this week. Olmert mentioned that Israel would not retain the whole West Bank, and the Homesh settlers/demonstrators were confronted:
Protesters barred from marching to ex-W. Bank settlement hurl rocks at Palestinian homes
Dozens of right-wing activists, barred by police from marching to the former West Bank settlement of Homesh on Sunday, entered a nearby Palestinian village and hurled rocks at the residents' homes.
Earlier Sunday, police forces removed hundreds of activists from a grove close to the ruins of Homesh, one of four northern West Bank settlements evacuated when Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip during the 2005 disengagement.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
Still not much news on Blair's role and doings.