1. Military affairs
a. A short range rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel.
b. Two explosive devices were found on in barrels on beaches in southern Israel. The devices appear to have been cast a float from Gaza. Two additional devices were intercepted and detonated at sea.
c. Investigations are continuing into the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
i. Unconfirmed Hamas sources have stated that a seven man team of Arabs had killed al-Mabhouh. Reports indicate that al-Mabhouh was wanted by both Egypt and Jordan.
ii. Dubai authorities have refused to permit Hamas to participate in the investigation.
iii. Osama Hamdan, a Hamas leader in Lebanon, stated It is quite possible that Palestinian Authority security forces were involved.”
iv. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast stated This is another indication of the existence of state terrorism by the Zionist regime.
d. Unconfirmed reports indicate that CIA Director Leon Panetta made a short unpublicized visit to Israel.
2. Terrorism
a. Reports indicate Egyptian security forces arrested 26 members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad on charges they planned to attack U.S. ships in the Suez Canal, Israeli tourists in Egypt and the tomb of Rabbi Yaacov Abuhatzia in the Nile delta town of Damanhour.
3. Middle Eastern diplomacy
a. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is visiting Israel for talks with counterparts. A joint meeting of the Israeli and Italian cabinets will be held. Upon arrival in Israel Berlusconi stated as long as I am one of the shapers of politics, my greatest dream is to include Israel among the European Union countries.
b. Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas stated that he would resume negotiations if Israel agreed to freeze all construction including in Jerusalem for three months and accepted the 1967 borders as the basis for future land swaps. Abbas stated These are not preconditions, they are requirements in the road map, … If they are not prepared to do that, it means they dont want a political solution. He added there will be no return to armed struggle. It will destroy our territories and our country. Spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, stated The Palestinians clearly fall short of their road map obligations, most recently on the difficult issue of incitement, and they should look in the mirror before accusing others.
c. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos is in Israel for talks with leaders including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Moratinos also met PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki in Ramallah.
d. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the U.S. will name Robert Stephen Ford as ambassador to Syria. Ford served previously as deputy ambassador in Iraq and as ambassador in Algeria. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador from Syria after the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
4. Iran
a. Reports indicate that the U.S. has deployed additional Patriot anti-missile batteries and naval vessels with anti-missile systems in the Persian Gulf. Speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani stated “Regional countries should know that this puppet show by the U.S., while claiming to create security in the region, is nothing except a new political ploy to increase the (American) military presence at the expense of others.”
b. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that Iran will deliver a harsh blow to global arrogance on February 11, the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. He added “The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism… If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles.
