‘- Commentary by the Israeli Consul to New England in The Christian Science Monitor:
As part of an effort to restore diplomatic ties with Egypt, Tehran’s city council recently agreed to rename Khaled Islambouli Avenue, a street named after the assassin of former Egyptian Prime Minister and peacemaker, Anwar Sadat. On one hand, this is a positive sign of increased openness to the ideas of peace and moderation. However, the street was renamed Intifada Avenue after the violent Palestinian uprising against Israel, and a likeness of Islambouli still adorns a downtown building.
This story reveals a great deal about the conflicting attitudes and interests at work in the Muslim world – reform is possible, but old hatreds, misguided prejudices, and support for terrorism are still the norm.
– FrontPage Magazine has a commentary on EU funds being diverted to Palestinian terror.
– From Haaretz: A spokesman from PM Sharon’s office says the security fence will not extend to the eastern side of the West Bank:
Tirza said his committee has tried to limit the damage wrought by the fence. “In places where I can, I move the route of the fence so as not to destroy olive groves and hot houses. Not a single home has been destroyed as a result of the route of the fence, except for some homes built illegally in the area of Baka al-Garbiyeh.”
– From Jerusalem Report: The new Justice Minister of Canada is Jewish, and an committed Zionist.
– From Washington Institute for Near East Policy — ‘All Quiet on Israel’s Northern Front?’ :
The U.S. has repeatedly indicated that Syrian President Assad must take initial trust-building steps such as controlling Hizballah, preventing terrorist spillage from Syria into Iraq, and putting an end to terrorism directed from Hamas and Islamic Jihad headquarters in Damascus. Given Israel’s current focus on Gaza, Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations do not appear to be in the cards for the time being.
