The David Project

1. Middle Eastern diplomacy

a. Palestinian sources report that U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has proposed resumption of low-level Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and that Israel make confidence building gestures. These include ceasing Israeli military operations in areas under control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), releasing prisoners, and allowing more building materials into Gaza.

b. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon addressed the plenum of the Council of Europe in Strassbourg during a debate on the Middle East. He also met Mevlüt Çavusoglu, the new president of the Council of Europe and a member of the ruling Turkish AKP party. Ayalon stated “the meeting was held in a very, very warm atmosphere. I congratulated him for being the first Turkish and Muslim official to be elected as the president of the Council of Europe.”

c. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Poland for meetings with meet Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. On 27 January Netanyahu will attend a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

d. Israeli President Shimon Peres is visiting Berlin for talks with German leaders. He will also speak to the German parliament to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

e. Israeli Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will travel to Hungary for meetings.

f. Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Azevedo Jobim visited Israel for meetings with counterparts including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman.

2. Palestinian politics

a. Reports indicate that PA president Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree canceling a November decree that called for parliamentary and presidential elections in January. (photo: Issam Rimawi/Flash 90)

b. Reports indicate PA security agents arrested six aides to Aziz Dwaik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Dwaik is Hamas’ most senior representative in the West Bank.

3. Iran

a. European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss additional sanctions on Iran. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt stated “The sanction instrument is a very blunt one, so it should be used with extreme care…Our aim is to get the Iranians to the negotiating table and have a political solution, and if there are any…sanctions which can reinforce that possibility, I’m ready to look at them.” Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated “With Iran, (sanctions) will work out only if all the UN Security Council permanent members agree…The EU is ready to do it, but to get really functioning sanctions, we need all big players in the world to be united behind this decision.”

b. Reports indicate that a German firm has backed out of a deal to renovate the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. Israeli pressure was cited.

4. International relief

a. The Israeli field hospital in Haiti will close after two weeks of operation. Reports indicate the hospital rescued six persons buried in debris, provided aid to approximately 1000 people, performed 300 surgeries, and assisted in the birth of 16 babies. Most of the hospital’s equipment will remain in Haiti. (photo: IDF Spokesperson/Flash90)

5. Military cooperation

a. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is in Brussels to attend the annual NATO Military Chiefs of Defense Conference. He will also hold meetings with counterparts. (photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

6. Terrorism

a. A Syrian-born resident of Farmington Hills, Illinois was arrested entering the U.S. from Canada. Mohamad Mustapha Ali Masfaka was charged with Attempted Naturalization Fraud, False Statements, and Perjury, and with fund-raising for Hamas. Masfaka is a popular Arabic singer in the U.S.

b. The U.S. Treasury Department has removed all members of Hamas from the ‘Specially Designated Nationals’ list of terrorists except for Damascus-based Deputy Chairman of the Political Bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk. The terrorist list is distributed to the world banking system and is designed to prevent funds from being transferred to or from anyone on the list.

7. Global antisemitism

a. Former premier Mahathir Mohamad stated that “There is strong evidence that the [9/11] attacks were staged. If they can make Avatar, they can make anything.” He added Jews “had always been a problem in European countries. They had to be confined to ghettoes and periodically massacred. But still they remained, they thrived and they held whole governments to ransom…Even after their massacre by the Nazis of Germany, they survived to continue to be a source of even greater problems for the world.”

b. Two Britons, one American and one Greek have been arrested in connection with the recent arson attacks on the Etz Hayim Synagogue on Crete. The accused work as bouncers and waiters at local clubs.

c. Tadeusz Pieronek, former head of the Polish bishops’ conference, stated “The Holocaust, as such, is a Jewish invention…Undoubtedly, the majority of those who died in the concentration camps were Jews, but also on the list were Poles, Gypsies, Italians and Catholics. So it’s not right to expropriate this tragedy to make propaganda…The Jews enjoy good press because they have powerful financial means behind them, enormous power and the unconditional backing of the United States, and this favors a certain arrogance that I find unbearable.” Pieronek later claimed his remarks were taken out of context.

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