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 2.35
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
For Fry'd Daze I generally try to take articles from different perspectives on the Middle East situation. Our first article is a bit different. It is from Haaretz where: Hebrew U. researchers develop treatment to kill HIV cells:
A team of researchers from the Hebrew University has developed a treatment that completely destroys HIV-infected human cells in laboratory cultures, according to an article published last month in the scientific journal AIDS Research and Therapy.
The therapy, developed by scientists from the university's Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the Institute of Chemistry, destroys cells infected with HIV without damaging adjacent healthy cells.
Great News regarding the fight against HIV/AIDS. This has nothing to do with I/P but, I really thought it was something important and it comes out of the Middle East so... I added it.
Ok... now on to the Political articles.
First off we have this article regarding Iran - which has now changed from being afraid of Israeli bombers to telling the world that Israel is "too weak" to attack Iran. AND they have video games to help destroy Zionism. Read on here:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told supporters across Iran on Friday that Israel and its allies were too weak to attack the Islamic nation's nuclear facilities, , as protesters gathered nationwide for anti-Israel rallies as part of the the 31st annual Al-Quds Day.
Ahmadinejad was quoted by the local IRNA news agency as saying in a pre-sermon address at Tehran University that Israel was endangering the dignity and culture of the world in its quest for survival and victory.
The late supreme leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, grand ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had declared the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as Quds (Jerusalem) Day and called for mass rallies against Israel and in support of the Palestinians......
.......During the rallies, the pro-government Basij militia group was to distribute two video games as an effort to reach the younger generation and expose "Zionists' crimes and atrocities in Palestine," state TV reported.
Video games - nice touch.
Our next story revolves around the fine folks at Hezbollah in their quest to get along with and reassure everyone of their peaceful and defensive attentions. Here we have the Hezbollah leader praises Hamas for West Bank shooting attacks
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah praised Hamas on Friday for the West Bank shooting attacks which left four Israelis dead and two injured, saying "this is the way to free Jerusalem and Palestine."
Speaking at a rally held in honor of Jerusalem day, in a neighborhood south of Beirut, Nasrallah said Hamas and other opposition forces "need to hear voices of support from the Arab and Islamic world."
This is the way to free Jerusalem and Palestine - eh? mmmmmk..... Now in News related yet another Explosion at apparent Hezbollah arms depot injures five.
Next up is an article from Ma'an News discussing the Inter-Palestinian rivalries and resistance. Gaza: Armed groups to form joint force
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Twelve militant groups held a meeting in the Gaza Strip last week, and agreed to form a joint operations room to coordinate resistance activities, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman told reporters Thursday.
Speaking shortly before US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell delivered an update on the peace talks in Washington, Abu Obeida, flanked by representatives of the 12 groups, announced a "new phase of advanced joint efforts" for the resistance
The response to heightened security followed...
During the news conference, the Al-Qassam spokesman urged PA forces in the West Bank to halt their mass detention campaign targeting Hamas members in the West Bank. Detentions of hundreds of men and women were reported in the days following the attacks against settlers, which have been condemned by rights groups as arbitrary and against Palestinian Basic Laws.
Detainees included teachers, students, professionals, traders, and imams of mosques across the West Bank. Many were arrested at work or at home while others were summoned to security offices by phone and then detained, investigations from rights groups reported.
Related to this is an issue that some Israeli columnists are addressing:
That would mean a prolonged impasse, at least until the next elections in Israel. And for the 75-year-old PA president, it would also deal a blow to his own standing and that of his party in the territories, leading many Palestinians to conclude that Hamas was right and force is the only language Israel understands.
Aware of the huge effort the Islamist group is investing in torpedoing the talks, Abbas told Netanyahu that the PA security forces were doing everything possible to catch the perpetrators of Tuesday's shooting attack near Hebron.
Both Israeli and Palestinian sources said the security forces have a lead to the identity of the perpetrators and Thursday's dragnet may have captured one of them.
Of course there are also issues on the Israeli side. Extremists in the Yesha Council (the settlers governing body) are vowing to break the Israeli Governments "freeze". Settlers defy peace talks with new construction across West Bank
How Israel responds to this is so very, very important. If they do nothing to stop this then the peace talks are dead and there is an obviousness to the fact that the Right Wing Government of Benjamin Netanyahu has no interest in Peace whatsoever. However, if the Israelis move to stop this, and extend the "freeze" as has been discussed for three more months - that would be a clear sign that they are serious about Peace. I think everything on this round of talks hinges here in the next month. BUT that is just an opinion.
Finally, I saw this humorous column from Carlo Strenger: Strenger than Fiction / To a Martian, Zionism can be confusing
In his column he clearly supports the Two State Solution and evicerates his right wing opponents. He rightly shows how in effect the Progressive Zionists are the "real Zionists" where the right wing settler folk are really "anti-Zionists"... It is an entertaining and educational article. I hope you all enjoy it.
Shalom, Peace, and Salam to all and Happy Labor Day to All....
***********************************UPDATE*********************************
The Sept. 26th deadline has been moved to Sept. 30th
A member of the Fatah Central Committee said on Friday that the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams will meet in the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday.
This will be the first meeting since direct negotiations began in Washington this past week.
Senior Fatah negotiator Nabil Shaath, who attended the official launch of the direct peace talks in Washington earlier this week, said a United States representative would be present at the meeting, which will also include chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators Yitzhak Molcho and Saeb Erekat....
....Shaath said that Israel has decided to postpone the expiration date of the contentious West Bank settlement freeze from September 26 to September 30, thus giving the two sides a full month to negotiate before the building freeze expires.
"Israelis claim that they can't continue the settlement freeze while we say that we can’t continue with negotiations if settlement building continues," Shaath said. "We will continue to work seriously until the end of the month."
"We have before us a month during which we will work under the framework of preparatory meetings and summit meetings," Shaath said